Chapter 38 – Never Marry A Man With Two Tintins

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Cheng Nuo felt truly happy at meeting an old friend again. Bai Rui still rarely spoke and mostly just listened to Cheng Nuo. The way that Bai Rui’s beautiful golden eyes were always focused on his face made Cheng Nuo feel inexplicably nervous.

He didn’t know how long they spoke before Cheng Nuo’s stomach started making noises. Looking up, he saw that the sun was already going down on the Western side of the sky. He smiled and said, “Come, let’s eat while we talk.”

Bai Rui gave him a gentle look, swallowed a pill, and his hair and eye colors turned black again. Cheng Nuo suddenly remembered the alias Bai Rui had used and smiled: “Why did you use that name?”

“Ah, just to avoid something troublesome.” Bai Rui turned around to hide the look of embarrassment on his face and walked straight ahead.

Cheng Nuo didn’t think too much about it. He just couldn’t help smiling at the thought that Bai Rui had unexpectedly learned how to lie. He’s making good progress.

When they returned to the little tearoom, Cheng Nuo ordered some light and refreshing dishes that he knew Bai Rui preferred. Knowing Bai Rui’s obsession for cleanliness, he added a few coins and ordered the waiter to use new bowls and chopsticks.

Bai Rui silently watched him then suddenly pushed the dragon-shaped ornament over to him: “Here you are. But I thought your ability is wood-based.”

“Liu Guang will be returning soon and I wanted to give him a gift. I didn’t think we would meet like this,” Cheng Nuo said with a smile.

Bai Rui gave an “oh” and the soft expression on his face became slightly colder.

Cheng Nuo didn’t notice the change. He suddenly wondered if Liu Guang would accept this item if he knew it was made by Bai Rui. But their childhood rivalry surely wouldn’t matter now that they had both grown up, right? Surely they wouldn’t be that immature anymore.

Rejecting this item wouldn’t be good so, without further protest, he put it in his storage bag and smiled: “Bai Rui, you’ve learned how to craft and refine items? I will treat you to a meal another time.”

Bai Rui eyes lit up and he explained: “I used to do a little of it before and now I’m learning it again. That short sword was something I made when I was a child.”

Cheng Nuo was shocked. He knew that some people could train for years but still be unable to refine a single weapon. Cheng Nuo always carried the short sword that Liu Guang disdained. Now he pulled it out and observed it carefully and sighed, “You’re just too awesome for words!”

Bai Rui hadn’t expected that Cheng Nuo would be keeping it close to him at all time. He was surprised so it was only after some time that he was able to respond: “That’s made out of just a few rare materials. The quality is not too high but I’ll upgrade it for you some time.”

His tone of voice was casual but he was various emotions were inwardly welling up and he felt overjoyed.

By the time they finished eating, it was already dark. Cheng Nuo retrieved his ox-headed magical beast and they strolled the streets together. When they passed a shop selling low-grade magical beasts, Bai Rui stopped and bought two messenger birds. He gave one of them to Cheng Nuo: “Write to me if you need to.”

Bai Rui’s face burned hot with embarrassment but, fortunately, the darkness of the night hid his flush.

Cheng Nuo stroked the bird’s small head. It was very tame and had bright feathers. He liked it at once so he smiled and nodded his head: “Alright.”

Bai Rui suddenly reached out and touched Cheng Nuo’s hair that was soft and smooth even though it was short. He whispered, “In fact, your manner hasn’t changed at all.”

Cheng Nuo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He used to rub this little kid’s head but now it’s the other way around! And he’s changed a lot, okay?

He mounted the magical beast, smiled and waved farewell to Bai Rui.

Cheng Nuo was very busy during the next few days. Every day when he returned to his room he would see that well-behaved, clever messenger bird perched on its stand. He wanted to be like a parent sending a letter to his child who had just entered elementary school but though he wanted to contact Bai Rui, he didn’t know what to say. Bai Rui was the first to send a letter.

Bai Rui’s calligraphy was clear and square, dignified and cold like his personality. The letter only contained a few lines and the tone was very formal. It was nothing more than a greeting and a few pleasantries asking about his health, and so forth. Although Cheng Nuo had practiced calligraphy for a few years when he was younger, his writing couldn’t be compared to Bai Rui’s.

He read the note a few times and couldn’t help but laugh. He sent a message back to Bai Rui, filling the pages with gossip and random chatter. After that, they sent messages back and forth every few days.

Cheng Nuo counted the days, knowing that Liu Guang would be back soon. He had carefully prepared a lot of things and the wait was making him anxious.

He tried to imagine what Liu Guang would look like now, wondering if he would still easily explode the way he used to. The mere thought of it made him laugh.

One afternoon he was preparing raw materials for Du Yue Lin’s pharmacy when someone hugged him from behind. Cheng Nuo was stunned. The person behind him was obviously taller than Cheng Nuo and the arms embracing Cheng Nuo’s waist were quite strong, almost making Cheng Nuo’s bones creak.

When Cheng Nuo saw the long, red hair falling on his shoulders, his stiff body immediately relaxed and he said hesitantly: “Xiao Guang?”

He wanted to cry but there weren’t enough tears. Why were the two of them so tall? Never mind Bai Rui, how did this bean sprout become taller than Cheng Nuo in just two years? What’s going on?

Liu Guang’s heart was almost beating out of his chest as he put his head down on Cheng Nuo’s shoulder and sniffed his familiar scent: “It’s me. Cheng Nuo, I’m back.”

His voice was rough and discordant, like a young boy’s, perhaps because of excitement. The slight trembling of his voice made Cheng Nuo’s heart soften. He patted Liu Guang arm in a soothing manner.

Cheng Nuo struggled to free himself because he wanted to turn around. Liu Guang finally released him but when Cheng Nuo turned around, he was hugged again before he realized it. His entire body was pressed against Liu Guang’s. Cheng Nuo could clearly feel Liu Guang’s body trembling and hear Liu Guang’s rapid breathing in his ears. Cheng Nuo was shocked and hugged him tightly.

“Cheng Nuo, I’m so happy…” Liu Guang loosened his hand slightly, moved his head back a little, and looked intently at Cheng Nuo’s face. He felt feverish. In the past two years, his training was extremely harsh, but he still dreamed of Cheng Nuo countless times, making it hard, if not impossible, for him to fall asleep at first.

Cheng Nuo raised his head to look at Liu Guang, only for his mouth to fall open in amazement. The little brat suddenly became a handsome teenager. He’s simply like a fish out of water!

Liu Guang’s short, soft red hair has become shoulder-length, and his facial features have become more distinct. Although still a little childish-looking, Liu Guang was now a very handsome young man. Perhaps because he grew too fast, he was now thinner but his emerald eyes were even brighter than before. He was also covered in dust, obviously because he had been in a hurry to return.

Cheng Nuo couldn’t help but reach out and touch Liu Guang’s forehead. “Xiao Guang has really grown up.”

Liu Guang’s eyes were bright as he looked at Cheng Nuo who was the same as ever, still looking warm-hearted when he smiled and making Liu Guang want to keep him close. Liu Guang couldn’t help but stroke Cheng Nuo’s cheeks and hair. Other females mostly have long hair but he thought that Cheng Nuo’s short hair looked very attractive.

“I grew up a long time ago. Don’t call me Xiao Guang…” Liu Guang stared at Cheng Nuo without blinking and murmured, “I won’t let you suffer anymore.”

Cheng Nuo laughed. “I haven’t suffered much, but you’ve suffered a lot in the past two years, haven’t you?”

However, this place wasn’t really a good place for them to have a chat. Liu Guang heard someone’s footsteps and reluctantly let go.

Cheng Nuo had a good relationship with the other disciples so since he had already almost finished sorting the medicinal ingredients, he asked a disciple to help him finish the rest. Then he took Liu Guang back to his room.

The messenger had become very fond of Cheng Nuo so when he returned, the bird jumped down from the shelf to him. Cheng Nuo fed it some grain.

Liu Guang glanced at the bird but didn’t pay it any mind, thinking that it was just a useful little pet that Cheng Nuo had raised. All his attention was focused on Cheng Nuo. They were sitting opposite each other but he really wanted to take Cheng Nuo in his arms. Resisting that impulse, he took out rare herbs, high-grade magical beast parts like fur, claws, teeth, etc, as well as all kinds of high-level energy stones, and so forth from his storage bag.

Cheng Nuo was stunned. He knew that outside the sect, there were spirit plants that couldn’t be bought at any price. These must be the fruits of Liu Guang’s two years of training. Cheng Nuo quickly asked Liu Guang about his training as he took out Bai Rui’s item and hung it on Liu Guang’s waistband.

Liu Guang knew that this item was something Cheng Nuo had bought for him. His face red, he touched the jade ornament then described his two years of training in a whisper. He used to chatter a lot but this time he was calm and concise in his speech. He obviously left out a lot of details about the dangers that he had faced.

Cheng Nuo said worriedly: “I had no news from you for two years… It would have good to send a messenger bird.”

Liu Guang glanced at him and said, “Barriers have been set up in the forbidden areas.”

Suddenly, he realized something, looked at the bird carefully, finally recognizing it for what it was. He wondered, “What do you do with this messenger bird?”

Cheng Nuo smiled and answered carelessly: “I saw Bai Rui a few days ago and I’ve written to him several times. He’s also in Liao Ji City, cultivating in Lingyun Pavilion…”

Liu Guang’s hand clenched so hard his bones creaked. Why couldn’t that d***ed Bai Rui just disappear?! He clenched his teeth and said: “You are not allowed to associate with him! He knows you’re a female?”

Cheng Nuo was startled and his mouth twitched suddenly. Liu Guang is still so hostile towards Bai Rui? Cheng Nup had made contact with a few females but he knew many more savage little boys. He had been so busy working every day that he had forgotten that he was a “female” in this world.

Recklessly, he said, “You think… Do I look like a female?”

Liu Guang glanced at him and said plainly: “No, you don’t.” But despite that, Liu Guang still liked it.

Cheng Nuo sighed in relief. Fortunately, he doesn’t look like a female. He’s all male, okay? He decided not to reveal that the jade was something that Bai Rui had refined because if Liu Guang knew, he would definitely throw it away or “lose” it. He couldn’t help but secretly laugh on the inside thinking of how Liu Guang still had a child’s temper even though at first it had seemed as though he had matured a lot. And what does Bai Rui have to do with Cheng Nuo’s gender that he shouldn’t contact Bai Rui? There’s no rule in this world saying that females can’t have friends…

Looking at the expression on Cheng Nuo’s face, Liu Guang was agitated because he knew that Cheng Nuo still thought of him as a child. In fact, he somewhat realized that Cheng Nuo had forgotten what he had said…

But Liu Guang meant what he said.

He couldn’t help but clasp a hand on Cheng Nuo’s wrist and whisper, “Next year I’ll be an adult, that will the time when we…” He took a few deep breaths but couldn’t finish the sentence. His face had turned bright red and had almost bitten his own tongue.

Cheng Nuo asked: “That will be what time?”

Liu Guang’s ears were red and all he could do was pretend to angrily burst out a warning: “Anyway, you can’t get too close to Bai. You’ll know what I mean at that time!”

The two of them had dinner together but were still unwilling to part afterward. Cheng Nuo prepared a bath and a new white inner robe for Liu Guang.

Liu Guang went to take a bath then came back with his hair wet so that Cheng Nuo couldn’t help but take a soft cloth to dry his hair for him. When he had short hair, Liu Guang looked very cute but now that he had long hair, he looked quite dazzling. Cheng Nuo couldn’t help but feel proud of how he turned out to be such an attractive teenager.

Liu Guang sat cross-legged on the bed. Cheng Nuo’s hand touched his bare skin from time to time and, somehow, the places he touched felt strange, almost painful. He carefully controlled his breathing but felt that his mouth was dry. He wanted Cheng Nuo to touch him more. When he was a child, he liked Cheng Nuo being close to him but this time his desire felt different though he didn’t know what that difference was.

Liu Guang’s robe was a little loose so Cheng Nuo caught a glimpse of Liu Guang’s chest muscles. Although he still had a teenager’s slenderness, this impressive sight was still something worth seeing. Cheng Nuo couldn’t help but smile and touch his chest jokingly: “Ah, your workout has borne fruit.”

Liu Guang suddenly felt a buzzing in his head as all the blood in his body seemed to ignite. He hugged Cheng Nuo around the waist then pressed him down under his body, his hands on Cheng Nuo’s sides.

Cheng Nuo thought Liu Guang was joking and pushed him away a few times with his hands and said: “Go to sleep, you must be tired.”

Liu Guang didn’t hear what Cheng Nuo said and his breathing became faster and faster. All he could do was stare at Cheng Nuo’s bright, moist lips as if he was possessed. His body felt extremely hot and he felt a strong urge to lick Cheng Nuo’s lips hard or gently bite them. The feeling of that brief touch had been imprinted in his brain. He had recalled that moment countless times and each time he remembered it, his entire body would go numb…

Right at the moment, a small bird flew in from the window, making “whump whump” sounds with its wings. It landed on the table and chirped a few times. The messenger bird in the room hopped down to it.

Liu Guang got up from the bed as though he had awakened from a trance. His face was so red and hot it was almost on fire. He glared at the bird resentfully and soon saw that it had a bamboo tube tied to its foot.

********

Reika’s Notes:

• The dragon-shaped ornament – It doesn’t say specifically what type of ornament it is. 配饰 pèi shì means “ornament” (jewelry, , etc) or “decorations.” Let me know if you have a suggestion.
• You’ve learned to craft and refine items – I’m not sure how to translate 炼器. It literally means to refine or smelt items. In cultivation novels, crafting is done by putting items in a cauldron then “refining” them. I wanted to use “alchemy” at first but I think “alchemy” is kinda too broad a term.
• … a useful little pet that Cheng Nuo had raised – This actually said “gadget” (小玩意 xiǎo wán yì) not pet but that sounded weird.
• Please let me know if there are any errors.
• This chapter is by Reika of Bc Novels. Thanks for reading!

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