Si Yan saw the message as soon as he got into the car, but he still took Jiang Nuo home first.
He seemed especially clingy tonight, as though he felt insecure.
Just before Jiang Nuo got out, he was even asked for a goodbye hug.
He rubbed Little Lucky Star's head, thinking he was simply tired, and casually told him to go home early and rest.
But Si Yan was not satisfied.
His listless phoenix eyes were half-lidded, and he all but leaned his entire body into Jiang Nuo's arms.
He was especially dependent on the warmth of Jiang Nuo's body, as though once he left it, the cold outside would ravage and hurt him.
Thinking of what he had to do when he went back only made Si Yan feel more down.
"Nuonuo..."
"Hmm?"
"You haven't held hands with me today."
Jiang Nuo froze for a moment, then looked down at the way they were embracing.
Wasn't this more than holding hands... His thoughts abruptly stopped, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You mean absorbing Spiritual Power like we did on the show?"
Although he already understood that Si Yan was aware of the Spiritual Power inside his body, Jiang Nuo had never known that Si Yan could clearly sense it every time he absorbed Spiritual Power from his meridians.
The hand gently stroking his head slid down, feeling along the nape of the man in his arms, as though it might tighten around his throat at any moment.
"You knew all along. Why were you willing to let me absorb the Spiritual Power in your body?"
But Si Yan merely gave a muffled grunt without struggling at all. He even used the position to rub his cheek against Jiang Nuo's shoulder, playing the picture of harmlessness.
"It feels good. I like it."
"...You don't think I have ulterior motives?"
"I'm only afraid Nuonuo will think I'm useless and go protect someone else."
It had to be said that Si Yan's answer pleased Jiang Nuo very much.
His touch eased, and he gave the back of Si Yan's neck another reassuring squeeze. Without ceremony, Jiang Nuo wrapped an arm around Si Yan's waist and pressed forward, forcing him back against the seat.
Then he began absorbing Spiritual Power.
Rather than taking just a little through their hands, Jiang Nuo bit through the skin of Si Yan's neck again. When he tasted the metallic sweetness of blood, the pupil of his left eye suddenly turned slightly red.
Compared to the previous two times, when emotional turmoil had driven him to absorb it, he was more composed and elegant today, like a vampire noble savoring his beloved young lover. Danger abounded, yet there was an undercurrent of intimacy.
Both of them enjoyed it.
With Jiang Nuo, Si Yan always appeared obedient and harmless, but the madness in his bones could not be suppressed. It always surfaced in the little details of their interactions, just as it did now.
Although he was the one having his Spiritual Power absorbed, he looked particularly sated. He pressed a hand against Jiang Nuo's back and turned his head to gaze at the faint, flickering light on the car ceiling.
His eyes were deep and dark, surging with intense emotion, yet they looked incomparably tender.
It was not that Jiang Nuo failed to notice, but he also enjoyed seeing Si Yan like this. There was a joy in encountering someone of his own kind.
Still mindful of Si Yan's health, he did not absorb very much. He even fed some of his own source Spiritual Power back into him to soothe his meridians.
Si Yan leaned in his arms for a while longer to recover before reluctantly saying goodbye.
Only after watching Jiang Nuo get out and leave did Si Yan sit upright and regain his unapproachable air. Still yearning for that warmth, he curled his hand and rubbed his fingertips together.
"Go to the association."
"Yes."
"Young master, you're finally here!"
The attendant on duty in the lobby saw Si Yan and sighed before hurriedly saying, "The president has been waiting for you for a long time."
"There are still guests this late?"
Si Yan looked toward the light spilling through the gap in the meeting room door, a little surprised.
"Things haven't been peaceful lately. There have been quite serious incidents in all sorts of places. The president has been run off his feet."
Si Yan headed toward the study upstairs. Before going in, he took off his wool coat and casually put it on the coat rack, then heard a steady, elderly voice from the inner room.
"I thought you were going to stand this old man up today."
The study was well heated. Si Yan rolled up his sleeves and walked into the inner room, his black shirt accentuating his tall, slender figure. His tone was casual. "If you hadn't guessed I was coming back, Grandpa, you'd probably have gone to bed long ago."
Various ancient texts were displayed in the inner room, along with Taoist scriptures that had already been lost to the world, all neatly arranged. An elderly man in white traditional Chinese clothing sat behind the desk. A tea set stood on the nanmu desk, and the pixiu tea pet was already wet.
Si Yan sat down and drank a cup of tea before his grandfather spoke unhurriedly.
"I watched your last few livestreams. What are your plans regarding that boy called Jiang Nuo?"
Rather than answer the question immediately, Si Yan set down his teacup and asked in return, "Grandpa, what do you think of the state of my soul lately?"
He had not sensed it when Si Yan first arrived. Only now did Si Mingde realize that Si Yan, who had gone nearly three months without having his soul repaired, currently had exceptionally healthy bodily meridians.
He was a little surprised. Then, recalling how clingy his grandson had been with Jiang Nuo in the livestreams, he paused. "Is it because of that boy, Jiang Nuo?"
"Nuonuo is very capable. Being with him lets my soul recuperate."
Instead of only being able to lie in the sickbed here, waiting for those cold silver needles to pierce his body and forcibly repair it with magic.
"So that dream you mentioned before, the one that said you would encounter a fortuitous opportunity by taking part in this variety show, might have been referring to Jiang Nuo."
Si Mingde sighed with feeling and patted the desk.
"Good. Heaven is looking out for you, after all."
He had spent half his life worrying that he, an old man, would have to bury someone younger. Now he could finally put his mind at ease.
"You saw it today too. I sent Wang Ping to assess Jiang Nuo's abilities because I wanted to recruit that boy into the association. Hua Country hasn't been peaceful lately."
He sighed. Only in front of his grandson would he voice all his concerns.
"The dragon veins have been damaged, and nearly all the native cultivators of foreign countries have seized the opportunity to oppress us. Hua Country's dragon veins are closely tied to its people. Number One at the top has already issued a request for us to resolve this matter as soon as possible."
"That's why we made information about the association public online and began recruiting all kinds of capable and extraordinary people."
After hearing this, Si Yan asked, "The dragon veins have sustained themselves endlessly since ancient times. Why would they be damaged?"
"The cause is still under investigation, but we won't have results anytime soon."
Si Mingde tapped the desk and showed him a document.
"I'll discuss it with the director of Weird and Strange Adventure. We'll take over the variety show and use it to assess Jiang Nuo and the several extraordinary people we've recruited, while also gradually letting the public learn about Hua Country's native mystic arts."
Si Yan never concerned himself with the association's work. "I'll leave all the arrangements to you, Grandpa. But if Nuonuo doesn't agree, I hope you won't force him."
Si Yan did not want things between him and Jiang Nuo to reach that point.
"All right, I understand everything you've said. Go lie down next door. Even if nothing's wrong, your soul still needs repairing."
"Mm."
When the silver needles pierced his acupoints, stabbing pain and cold swept over him. Si Yan felt unwell and gripped the bedsheet, but he was already thoroughly familiar with this sensation.
At that moment, he missed Jiang Nuo's embrace especially badly.