SWHCBB 48

Chapter 48: Zhiyu, What’s Your Weak Spot…

“I love you too!” Jiang Chuang was so happy that the corners of his mouth were nearly grinning up to his temples.

Now that Wen Jue had lost his voice, Jiang Chuang let out all his usual mischief, relentlessly pestering him with questions that Wen Jue would normally be too embarrassed to answer.

“Zhiyu, be good, tell your husband, don’t you really like it when I hold you up when we’re doing it?”

Wen Jue, shocked, raised a hand to cover his mouth, his face flushing red, trembling as he breathed. He didn’t dare nod or shake his head easily, but his reaction gave Jiang Chuang all the confirmation he needed.

Jiang Chuang chuckled, pulled his hand away, and continued, “Then do you also really like being kissed afterward?”

There was a long silence. Just when Jiang Chuang thought he wouldn’t answer, he saw Wen Jue shyly give a small nod.

Overjoyed, Jiang Chuang kissed him a few times before letting go. Wen Jue silently reached out to smooth his now-mussed hair, his expression resentful. But Jiang Chuang was too busy grinning like a fool to notice.

“So when did you start liking me, huh?” Jiang Chuang frowned and puzzled aloud. “Was it after the wedding? Did you fall in love with me while doing it?”

He didn’t notice the flicker of guilt that flashed across Wen Jue’s face. He was too caught up in his own thoughts. He knew he had been thoroughly seduced after they married, totally hooked with no turning back.

But what about Zhiyu? In their previous life, Jiang Chuang had never once heard him say he loved him. Now there was no way to go back and ask. So… what about this lifetime?

Might as well use this chance to probe a little!

Jiang Chuang leaned closer. “Did you fall for me over time? Like, gradually, after we got married?”

Wen Jue pursed his lips and didn’t respond, no nod, no shake. He just left him hanging.

Jiang Chuang stared at him, hugging him tighter and giving him a little shake. “Come on, tell me~” He purposely lowered his voice to whisper sweetly in his ear, and was pleased to see his ears turn redder and redder.

Still no reply. Wen Jue gently pushed him away, then took his hand and began writing slowly in his palm.

Jiang Chuang’s palm tingled with the sensation. He didn’t catch the character the first time. “Uh… I didn’t get that. What word was that?”

Wen Jue rewrote it, and this time Jiang Chuang focused on the delicate motion of his finger. Zhiyu’s fingers are so nice. Only when he snapped out of it did he realize what had been written.

–‘Hungry.’

“Oh! You’re hungry?”

Wen Jue nodded. Jiang Chuang slapped his forehead, how could he have forgotten they hadn’t had lunch?

He carried him to the bed, helped him sit comfortably against the headboard, and handed him a Luban lock. It was a recent little toy he’d bought for Zhiyu to pass the time. Wen Jue loved tinkering with its hidden mechanisms.

“I’ll go check on lunch,” Jiang Chuang said.

Only once he left did Wen Jue finally exhale in relief, turning the Luban lock over in his hands. He barely avoided the crisis.

____

Now that Wen Jue had lost his voice, Jiang Chuang just talked more and more, muttering to himself as if trying to make up for two people’s share of conversation.

Wen Jue didn’t mind at all. In fact, he listened with a soft smile, nodding or shaking his head in response.

Every time that happened, Jiang Chuang would stare at him in a daze until Wen Jue tugged his sleeve, snapping him back to his senses. Then he’d grin sheepishly and say:

“You can’t blame me for zoning out, look at you. With that face of yours, a total disaster for the nation, and treating me so well, always smiling at me like that… You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?”

Jiang Chuang was just teasing, but he actually nodded. As a result, Jiang Chuang’s blood nearly boiled over. Greedy, he pressed on.

“Zhiyu, if it feels too good tonight and you accidentally cry out, will your throat hurt?”

Wen Jue hesitated, then uncertainly shook his head.

Jiang Chuang could see that little flicker of anticipation in his eyes. He tapped his nose and laughed. “Little pervert.”

But that night, contrary to what Wen Jue expected, Jiang Chuang didn’t do anything. He simply held him close and read to him.

The story, though, started to get a little strange.

Frowning, Jiang Chuang puzzled over the characters. “The two nestled in the academy as thunder and wind raged outside. Young Master Du crawled into Scholar Li’s arms and cried: ‘You…’ uh… ‘are my…’ my what again? Roof radical (八), eight, then the character for ‘skill’ (巧). »

Wen Jue rasped quietly, “Weak…spot. (窍)”

“Oh~ That’s it! ‘You’re my weak spot…’”

He didn’t even finish the line before Wen Jue snatched the book from him and shut it with a snap. Jiang Chuang blinked at him, confused, then saw his flushed face as he shook his head.

“Did I read it wrong or something?” Jiang Chuang asked.

“…Sleep,” Wen Jue croaked. His voice was still hoarse, like torn cloth scraping his throat.

“You want to sleep?” Jiang Chuang watched him nod, then gently took the book and set it aside. He helped tidy his hair and blew out the candle. “Sleeping early’s good. Early to bed, early to rise. Let’s both take care of our health so you get better soon, okay?”

Wen Jue nodded with a smile and nestled into his arms.

Jiang Chuang closed his eyes, holding him close. He lifted Wen Jue’s legs and draped them over himself, letting their bare feet touch to share warmth.

They were completely tangled together, Wen Jue resting against his chest like someone embraced by a furnace.

With his eyes closed, Jiang Chuang murmured, “Sometimes I feel like I can only be sure you’re real when I’m holding you like this… like you’re not just a dream.”

Only when he could feel his warmth, his breath, could he believe the world was real.

Outside, the sound of rustling leaves and distant chickens squabbling echoed clearly in the quiet night, strangely calming.

Inside, they lay embraced, warm and at peace.

But then Zhiyu began to shift a little in his arms. Jiang Chuang was just about to ask what he was doing when he suddenly felt something warm and soft touch his Adam’s apple, just a brief kiss.

His throat bobbed, his skin tingled. He pulled Zhiyu tighter, like he’d just been kissed on his most vulnerable spot.

Weak spot… weak spot…

Suddenly it clicked. Jiang Chuang burst out laughing. “So that’s it–hah! Weak spot… these scholars really know how to write, huh? Weak spot… pfft…”

Wen Jue pinched his arm, as if scolding him.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop!” Jiang Chuang surrendered, though he was still cracking up inside. So he was embarrassed earlier, that’s why he took the book away.

He quickly played innocent. “My bad. Who knew a proper bookshop would sell this kind of… lewd fiction? Should’ve reported them to the authorities!”

Wen Jue chuckled too, until Jiang Chuang leaned in close to his ear and whispered:

“Zhiyu… do you have a weak spot that’s ever been… touched…”