Zhou Hu pulled aside the tent flap, just in time to see Le Hu sitting up. The thin blanket slid from his slender shoulders, revealing a chest marked with faint traces. Having seldom been exposed to the sun, his skin was as pale as milk. These marks on his body looked like the random strokes of a calico cat on a white canvas.
"You're awake. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" Zhou Hu smiled, brighter than the sunlight outside.
"No, I'm just a bit hungry." Still groggy from sleep, he prepared to get out of bed, but a strain in his lower back from overuse brought Le Hu back to reality.
What had happened last night? He had only helped the person back to the tent, how did it end up in bed?
He pulled the blanket over his head, pretending to be a turtle.
Zhou Hu chuckled and moved forward, placing breakfast on the table and sitting by the bed. He gently tugged at the blanket and said softly, "Shy? You weren't like this last night." He teased the boy with a wicked sense of humor.
The blanket was pulled tighter, as if he was determined not to come out.
"We've already consummated our marriage. Are you going to be one of those 'use and discard' scumbags?" The term 'scumbag' was, of course, taught to him by Ye Qingcheng.
"I'm so sad. I can't believe you're that kind of person," he said with feigned sadness.
Le Hu was flustered, throwing off the blanket and quickly saying, "No, I'm not. I just feel I'm not worthy of you." He sat up too quickly, causing a twinge of pain in his injured lower back.
In Zhou Hu's eyes, it looked like a pale, timid little white rabbit. He lost any desire to tease further. He held the boy in his arms with concern, patting his back gently. The touch was both warm and reassuring.
"I know what I'm doing, so you don't need to worry about whether you're worthy or not. I've been an orphan since I was ten years old. The Prince took me in and raised me."
"So, you don't need to worry about pressure from my parents. The Princess Consort told me that once you discover your feelings, you must seize them, or you'll regret it later. As a rough man, I don't know how to pursue someone, but I know clearly that I want to be with you, I want you to be my wife, I want you to take my surname, I want to take care of you, and I want to give you all the good things."
Zhou Hu spoke with utmost sincerity, placing Le Hu's hand on his chest, letting him feel his strong, steady heartbeat.
Le Hu, however, remembered last night and blushed. It seemed he had scratched the skin under his hand.
"I understand. Let go of me first, I'm hungry." He was still embarrassed.
"Alright, alright. You eat first. If you're too tired today, you can rest in bed."
He placed the small table on the bed so Le Hu could eat without having to get up.
While one couple had found their happiness, Xiao Wangye had been tossing and turning all night.
"Ding, San San reminds you that the world bug fix has reached twenty percent." Ye Qingcheng was startled awake by the voice in her mind and sat up abruptly.
"Damn it, my head hurts so much." She rubbed her head, muttering curses.
"Awake?" a voice like that from hell, as cold as the northwestern wind of Siberia, asked.
"Hi, handsome. Good morning!" Ye Qingcheng knew she was unbearable when drunk, so much so that even her own mother dared not face her.
Sitting in a wheelchair, sipping hot tea, she had evidently changed into a set of clothes and looked as composed as usual. "Strange, how can someone be so calm?" Ye Qingcheng thought to herself.
"Eat first, then we'll talk," Xiao Wangye ordered.
Only then did Ye Qingcheng notice the breakfast on the table before him, still faintly steaming. He had clearly calculated the time of her awakening.
With the world's greatest emphasis on eating, she decided to deal with Lord Yan of Hell after she had eaten her fill.
After a quick wash-up in less than three minutes, she sat opposite Xiao Wangye and began to devour the food with chopsticks.
It should be mentioned that on the day San San woke up, she had asked him for a set of toiletries. It was truly unbearable for modern people not to brush their teeth.
"I'm done eating. What did you want to talk about?" She sat up straight, awaiting the leader's decree.
"We leave for the capital in three days. You forgot to give me acupuncture last night. After that, you will personally serve me until my legs are completely healed."
These were the terms he had come up with after much thought the previous night, once Ye Qingcheng had fallen asleep. He realized he had been acting unusually lately, his emotions being stirred by Ye Qingcheng's every move.
Ye Qingcheng was confident and flamboyant, unlike the person he liked. He had finally confirmed that Ye Qingcheng was just Ye Qingcheng, and the other was merely herself, like a rose with thorns.
But he hoped that this rose's thorns wouldn't need to grow, and that she could grow wild under his protection.
"Although I can take care of you, do I need to personally serve you?" It sounded strange no matter how she heard it.
"Someone was drunk as a skunk last night. I, a disabled person, had to help with drinks and wiping faces. I couldn't even celebrate with the soldiers. Alas, when I woke up, that someone denied it. Isn't that called biting the hand that feeds you?"
Ye Qingcheng felt insinuated and deeply embarrassed by her behavior when drunk.
"Host, San San advises you to agree to the male lead." It was a timely assist.
"Alright, you can't refuse when someone has fed you. I agree. Thank you for taking care of me last night. I will definitely live up to your expectations and take good care of you." Once Ye Qingcheng agreed to something, she always fulfilled it.
Xiao Wangye looked at the resolute light in her eyes and, for the first time, realized that they seemed to have reached a consensus so peacefully.
"Before we return, you need to go with Old Man Wen to treat those children of the herders. If it takes too long, we'll stay a bit longer."
Ye Qingcheng looked at him in astonishment, seemingly shocked that he would say such a thing.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not someone who casually slaughters innocent people."
"Lord Yan of Hell, you've become a better person," Ye Qingcheng said, looking at him with a kind gaze.
Xiao Wangye closed his eyes in exasperation. "Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go find Master Wen."
Perhaps he had truly changed, changed because of her. He would no longer question who she was, as long as she didn't betray him, he could trust her forever.
Seeing Ye Qingcheng emerge from Xiao Wangye's tent, the news spread through the entire military camp in less than half a minute, and on her way to the medical tent, she received a salute from everyone.
"Strange, why are they all looking at me? Is there something unwashed on my face?"
"No, from what I know, the soldiers are very curious why you came out of Xiao Wangye's tent."
"What? Is it that strange to come out of his tent?"
"Because everyone suspects your relationship with Xiao Wangye, and they all suspect he's gay." San San's words shocked Ye Qingcheng.
"So my male disguise was that successful?"
"That's not the point, hey!"