After rummaging through chests and cabinets, Ji Huai finally found a pair of trousers that could be considered presentable. The original Ji Huai was truly impoverished—aside from the decent set he was wearing, he only had a few tattered garments full of patches.

The more Ji Huai searched, the more embarrassed he became. Forced by his destitute circumstances, he ultimately selected a pair of trousers with the fewest patches—just two—though they were washed out of shape.

“Here, for you.” Ji Huai handed the light gray trousers to Lin Heyu, adding a poor cover-up: “Mixed colors. Very fashionable.”

Lin Heyu accepted them, once again puzzled by Ji Huai’s incomprehensible words. He looked up and asked, “What is fashionable?”

Perhaps accustomed to the rough camaraderie of military barracks, Lin Heyu took the trousers and immediately began changing right in front of Ji Huai without a second thought.

“What are you doing!” Ji Huai shouted, covering his eyes and turning his back.

“Ah?” Lin Heyu scratched his head, baffled by Ji Huai’s exaggerated reaction. He paused mid-action of removing his trousers, completely bewildered.

Ji Huai felt both embarrassed and annoyed by Lin Heyu’s bluntness. Even though they were both men, certain boundaries should be maintained. In Ji Huai’s time, homosexuality was far too common, even among students, which gave him constant headaches and made him extra cautious.

Pushing against Lin Heyu’s sturdy back, Ji Huai ushered him all the way into his bedroom. Slamming the door shut, he yelled, “Come out only after you’ve changed!”

Clutching the clothes, Lin Heyu muttered under his breath, “Such a sharp tongue, yet so shy. With that delicate skin, he’s nothing like the rough men in the military camp.”

Ji Huai’s bedroom was spartan—just a bed, a wardrobe, a table, and a chair. It felt empty and bare, not much different from the house he had lived in back at Li Village, perhaps even simpler. There was no ornamental wardrobe; at a glance, Lin Heyu could see only shabby, heavily patched clothes. It didn’t seem like the dwelling of someone who had received a large sum of money.

How strange. Lin Heyu knew his father had given Ji Huai money—surely it wasn’t skimmed off by someone else?

He was certain his father wasn’t stingy; the amount given was probably substantial, enough for Ji Huai to buy a grand residence. So why was he living in such austerity?

Lin Heyu grumbled to himself, but his opinion of Ji Huai began to shift.

Perhaps this man wasn’t the vain, pedantic, meddlesome character he had assumed.

Still, Lin Heyu trusted his judgment of character. Before the drowning incident, Ji Huai had indeed been a stuffy Teacher full of archaic proverbs. But after the accident, he seemed transformed—eloquent, cheerful, knowledgeable about past and present, witty and endlessly amusing.

“Ahem.” Lin Heyu’s face flushed red as he realized where his thoughts were heading. He coughed lightly, trying to banish the image of the Teacher who loved to tease him from his mind. It took a while for the heat in his cheeks to subside.

Strange, so strange. What was wrong with him? Why did he keep inexplicably thinking about a man, and blushing at the thought?

Was he coming down with some illness?

While Lin Heyu was lost in these bewildering thoughts, Ji Huai outside the door was growing impatient. The weather was already hot, and Lin Heyu’s dawdling made Ji Huai even more irritable. His patience worn thin, he began pounding on the door.

“What are you doing hiding in there? Changing clothes takes so long—are you trying to kill me with this heat? Hurry up, hurry up, stop dawdling.” Ji Huai was impatient, banging on the door loudly.

Inside, Lin Heyu took a deep breath, the bit of fondness he had for Ji Huai instantly vanishing without a trace. Irritated by the urging, he yanked open the rickety door, unaware that Ji Huai was leaning all his weight against it.

And so…

Caught off guard, Ji Huai stumbled forward, watching helplessly as he fell straight into the stunned Lin Heyu’s arms.

On that sweltering afternoon, with the sticky breeze and the scent of flowers wafting over, the warmth of Ji Huai’s body filled Lin Heyu’s embrace completely.

Lin Heyu stood frozen in place, his eyes fixed only on Ji Huai rushing toward him—Ji Huai, who seemed as unanchored as duckweed, had landed safely in his arms.

He spread his arms and held the person firmly against his chest, his heartbeat completely erratic, rapid and out of control.

Thump

Thump

Thump

Each beat pulled surges of blood through his limbs, numbing his hands and feet, shutting down his mind. Beyond the faint floral scent at his nose and the vivid green filling his arms, there was nothing else in his eyes.

“You smell so good…”

Perhaps bewitched, Lin Heyu, who always prided himself on his straight-as-an-arrow resolve, blurted out the words to Ji Huai in his arms.

Ji Huai’s face flushed bright red in an instant. Already embarrassed by his vulnerable position, he was set off completely by Lin Heyu’s line, which sounded like something a rogue would use to flirt with a girl.

“Good smell, my foot!” Ji Huai’s eyes tinged with embarrassed anger, he clenched his fist and swung at Lin Heyu.

Lin Heyu reacted reflexively, effortlessly catching Ji Huai’s fist. By the time he realized what he’d done, Ji Huai’s eyes were reddening from the force of his grip.

“Sorry, sorry!” Lin Heyu immediately let go. Having spent so much time in the military camp, his grip was naturally strong. Ji Huai’s sudden move had caught him off guard, and he’d been too busy admiring Ji Huai’s captivating, flustered anger.

Ji Huai’s clenched fist, trapped in Lin Heyu’s palm, felt as if it were caught in iron pliers—the overwhelming force nearly crushed his hand bones.

Tears welled up in his eyes from the pain, startling Lin Heyu into releasing him and apologizing repeatedly. The ambiguous, tender atmosphere between them vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed.

Lin Heyu guiltily glanced down at Ji Huai’s reddened hand and tear-filled eyes, feeling a mix of remorse and heartache. Ji Huai wasn’t like him—rough and sturdy, able to take a few squeezes without issue. Ji Huai had delicate skin, couldn’t carry heavy loads or do strenuous work; he needed to be cared for, not put through hardship.

Coming to this realization, Lin Heyu made a startling decision.

“Ji Huai, I’m going to stay at your place and take care of you. Consider it my way of making it up to you.”

His words were shocking!

Ji Huai stood frozen, clutching his sore wrist, lips parted in disbelief. After a long pause, he stammered, “W-what?”

Lin Heyu seemed naturally immune to embarrassment and more accustomed to doing as he pleased. He waved a hand at Ji Huai and declared firmly, “No more talking. I’ll take responsibility for my mistake. Since I hurt your hand, I’ll be in charge of your daily needs—food, clothing, shelter, everything—for a while.”
“No, what do you mean it’s your fault? How could…” Ji Huai remained in a dazed state throughout, growing even more confused by Lin Heyu’s words.

However, Lin Heyu felt that his Teacher appeared to be a mature Master on the surface, but was actually a fool who couldn’t cook, mend clothes, or take care of himself. Consequently, Lin Heyu’s sense of mission to aid the poor and weak sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, growing with remarkable vigor.

“Stop talking, it’s decided. From now on, I’ll be in charge of washing clothes and cooking in this household,” Lin Heyu declared with notable masculine authority.

After recovering from his shock, Ji Huai blinked speechlessly, slowly digesting Lin Heyu’s proposal. Although this kid was quite irritating, he had to admit that Lin Heyu seemed more capable at cooking than himself.

After pondering for a long while, Ji Huai’s eyes shifted craftily as he realized the proposal offered him nothing but advantages. He then nodded with feigned reserve.

“Very well, this Teacher agrees.”

“Okay.”

Lin Heyu nodded, then suddenly pulled Ji Huai into the room while walking and said, “You’re not much older than me. When we’re alone, you don’t need to put on your Teacher act.”

“Hey, hey, what are you doing?” Ji Huai was forced to follow Lin Heyu’s steps into the room. His not-so-straight mind flooded with inappropriate scenes from his past life, making him blush crimson. His mouth didn’t rest for a moment: “In broad daylight, why are you pulling me into the room? How audacious! Let go!”

Lin Heyu wasn’t using much strength, so Ji Huai broke free with a slight effort. He leaped like a startled rabbit to the farthest corner of the bed from Lin Heyu, watching him with full alertness.

?

Lin Heyu was covered in question marks. He strode toward Ji Huai and casually pushed him down onto the bed.

“Ahhhhh, assault! What do you want to do!” Ji Huai’s mind nearly exploded. Falling backward onto the bed from the momentum, he protectively crossed his arms over his chest, glaring wide-eyed at Lin Heyu while his brain raced furiously.

A half-naked man with disheveled clothing had forcibly dragged him into the room, pushed him onto the bed, and was now looking at him with predatory eyes. Ji Huai’s heart trembled slightly as he stared at Lin Heyu’s exceptionally handsome face, swallowing hard with extreme nervousness.

? Lin Heyu looked utterly confused, scratching his head dopily as he asked, “Ji Huai, where’s your bruise medicine? I’ll apply it to your hand.”

Ji Huai: “…”

Damn idiot.

The misunderstanding Ji Huai, with a carp’s leap, sat up from the bed, pointing randomly with clear displeasure. “I don’t know. Find it yourself.”

His tone was somewhat sharp. “Also, call me Teacher. No using my name – no respect for elders.”

“What’s wrong now?” Lin Heyu couldn’t understand why his moody Teacher was angry again, but seeing the lingering finger marks on Ji Huai’s wrist, he dutifully began searching the room for ointment.

The restless Lin Heyu muttered to himself while searching: “But speaking of which, Ji Huai, you’re really too weak. I pushed you and you fell over just like that. If this were a battlefield, you’d have died eight hundred times already. You really need to exercise. What difference is there between you and a girl? Delicate body, soft and easy to push over – too weak.”

“Just shut up!” The misinterpretation-prone Ji Huai broke his composure once again, randomly grabbing a pillow and throwing it at Lin Heyu.

Lin Heyu’s martial skills were not weak; without even turning his head, he caught the pillow Ji Huai threw at him and clicked his tongue twice: “Even your way of hitting people is like a girl’s—weak and feeble.”

“Shut up!”

That day, Ji Huai was completely provoked and lost his composure because of a little brat from ancient times.