EHW Ch62

Gu Fangzhi wasn’t exactly experienced himself, but compared to Pei Xin, who only knew how to slam into people with brute force, he was doing much better.

He kissed Pei Xin’s lips lightly, like a soft peck.

Pei Xin stared dazedly at Gu Fangzhi’s eyelashes.

Truly, practice makes perfect, no ancient proverb had ever been more right.

Only when compared to Gu Fangzhi did Pei Xin realize how clumsy and awkward his previous kisses had been.

Those earlier ones had certainly been satisfying and exciting, but this one was different, it made his heart tremble, a deep, spreading warmth from within, filled with contentment and a quieter, hidden longing.

He reached up, wanting to press on the back of Gu Fangzhi’s neck to deepen the kiss, but before his hand even touched him, Gu Fangzhi straightened up.

Pei Xin stared without blinking.

The man’s lips were naturally red, but now, after that kiss, they were even more vivid, impossible to look away from.

Pei Xin asked, “Why did Teacher stop? I haven’t finished learning yet.”

Gu Fangzhi coughed twice. “Too much at once, you’ll choke.”

Pei Xin asked tentatively, “Does Teacher also… like…”

Before he could finish, Gu Fangzhi clamped a hand over his mouth.

He didn’t dare imagine how many bad endings the system would throw up if that word I, the Emperor were followed by “like you.”

As for the real answer to Pei Xin’s question,

Pei Xin had his strengths and flaws.

He could sense the system, could speak to him through it, they were fixed points together in a chaotic timeline, a kind of mutual anchor.

But Gu Fangzhi didn’t bother weighing pros and cons. He simply felt… happy whenever he was with Pei Xin.

So yes, if he had to answer honestly, the answer would be yes.

Pei Xin was straightforward; Gu Fangzhi, being the older one, felt embarrassed to be any less direct.

After a long internal struggle between the titles “teacher’s wife” and “teacher’s husband,” he glanced at Pei Xin’s bright eyes, recalled their height difference, and how his own knees had gone weak just moments ago during the kiss,

And finally chose the latter. “From now on, Your Majesty can be the teacher’s husband.”

Pei Xin: “……”

What kind of nonsense was that?

Teacher, door opens, and I’m the teacher’s husband?

Who gave birth to whom now?

Pei Xin laughed.

Not the usual cold, restrained, unreadable smile that others saw, but a genuine, youthful one, like spring sunlight breaking through clouds.

He raised a hand and stroked the small mole on Gu Fangzhi’s cheek, rubbing the skin until it turned pink.

Gu Fangzhi caught his wrist, a teasing gleam flickering in his eyes.

He asked, “By the way… I’m curious, when did Your Majesty change his preferences? Didn’t you once say you preferred someone younger, with a bright personality, smooth neat hair, and no mole on the face?”

Pei Xin: “……”

Ah, yes, go ahead, embarrass him to death.

When he’s dead of shame, see who you’ll kiss then, Gu Fangzhi!

Without a word, Pei Xin tugged gently on the loose strand of hair beside Gu Fangzhi’s face, pulling him down again.

Then, imitating how Gu Fangzhi had just kissed him, he tilted his head slightly to avoid their noses and pressed his lips to Gu Fangzhi’s.

He copied the soft pecks at first, then, building on what he’d learned, experimented further: lightly biting Gu Fangzhi’s lower lip, brushing with his teeth, then testing with the tip of his tongue.

The bitterness of medicine mixed slowly with the faint sweetness of osmanthus.

Several times, Gu Fangzhi tried to pull away, but Pei Xin’s persistence left him dizzy and breathless.

Finally, Gu Fangzhi straightened abruptly. “No more, my back’s killing me. Let me stretch.”

【Congratulations, player: you’ve reached BE Ending – “Straight Man.”】

Gu Fangzhi: “……”

Nonsense.

He was not!

Pei Xin, pretending to be serious, had another bowl of medicine prepared, this one for Gu Fangzhi. He said it was to prevent the illness from being “passed through their mouths.”

Yang Luhai entered with the bowl, and upon seeing Gu Fangzhi’s face, immediately grew concerned. “Lord Gu, are you… having an allergic reaction?”

Snowball trotted in behind him, sniffing busily. Its dark eyes flicked from Gu Fangzhi to Pei Xin, head tilting again and again, as if trying to understand why their scents had mixed together.

Gu Fangzhi, red to the ears, held the bowl up to cover his face. “…A little.”

Pei Xin reclined against the pillow, reading memorials as if nothing had happened.

Maybe it was that medicine, or maybe it was being kissed for so long, but that night, when Gu Fangzhi lay down, he could still smell a faint bitterness on himself.

It wasn’t unpleasant, actually, it made his heart flutter.

Under the blanket, he silently punched the air in excitement.

***
A few days later.

That morning, before court, heavy snow fell. Manman said he’d wait for Gu Fangzhi to come home so they could have a snowball fight together.

Thinking of the child’s eager expression, Gu Fangzhi hurried back.

By the time he arrived, Manman was already bundled up like a snowball, waiting in the courtyard. The four brothers drew lots for teams, Gu Fangzhi paired with Gu Yunchuan, the other two forming the opposing team.

Gu Fangzhi had planned to cheat slightly by saving and reloading mid-battle, but it turned out his eldest brother was a one-man army. With just one hand, Gu Yunchuan unleashed an avalanche of snowballs like an entire army.

Gu Fangzhi didn’t even interfere, he just sat on the ground cheering. “Big Brother’s amazing! Brilliant! One punch could knock down three floors!”

Gu Yunchuan, face red, stopped mid-throw.

Just then, Ah-Qi came rushing from outside. “Second Young Master!”

“What is it?”

“His Majesty sent word, He requests your presence at the palace.”

Gu Fangzhi’s lips curved in a knowing smile.

A boy of seventeen or eighteen, how could he possibly hide his feelings?

Every time Gu Fangzhi went to accompany him, he ended up being kissed breathless, knees weak and mind blank, half-convinced the system would flag another bad ending.

Still, Pei Xin’s nightmares had lessened recently.

He’d even told Gu Fangzhi to take the holiday and rest at home… yet here he was, calling him back already?

Gu Fangzhi glanced at his save files.

Slot 1, no, let’s not mention that.

Slot 2, saved earlier in the Ministry of Rites, when he’d been feeling sleepy and, just in case he nodded off during duty, had cleverly saved in advance.

But then he’d thought of Pei Xin, and somehow, he couldn’t sleep anymore.

Slot 3, saved just now for the snowball fight, to ensure victory.

Of all the saves with Pei Xin, only Slot 1 remained. So he decided to check what the emperor wanted this time.

The world darkened, and Gu Fangzhi found himself back in the familiar western suburban palace.

Pei Xin’s voice thundered: “Mad dog!”

Gu Fangzhi blinked. “What’s wrong? Did Snowball bite someone?”

In the distance, the envoy from Xihu looked utterly wronged. “Me?”

Pei Xin: “……”

Both Pei Xin and Gu Fangzhi said together, “Not you.”

The envoy finally retreated.

Pei Xin rubbed his forehead with a cold sneer. “That mad dog, who knows what’s gotten into it, it tried to lick my face.”

Gu Fangzhi picked up casually, “Your Majesty doesn’t usually mind being kissed on the face, though?”

Pei Xin: “……”

The furious dragon was instantly appeased, a smile tugging at his lips. “Can Teacher be compared to Snowball?”

Then he asked, “So, what brings Teacher here?”

“I just came to ask what Your Majesty needed me for.”

Pei Xin said, “Nothing serious. You’ll see when you’re here.”

“Oh,” Gu Fangzhi replied lightly. “I thought maybe Your Majesty missed me.”

Pei Xin smiled. “That too.”

He stood, stretching out his arms, caging Gu Fangzhi between himself and the table.

His warm lips brushed along Gu Fangzhi’s jaw, then up his cheek, finally stopping at the corner of his mouth.

Gu Fangzhi’s lips curved in amusement; his fingers slid through Pei Xin’s hair. Their lips were just about to meet when-

Gu Fangzhi suddenly remembered something and pushed him away.

Pei Xin rasped, voice low and hoarse, clearly displeased. “What’s wrong?”

Gu Fangzhi, pale with shock, stammered, “Your Majesty, this save file, you’re underage right now!”

He didn’t even want to imagine how many bad endings would pop up if he went through with that kiss.

Pei Xin: “……”

Ah. Right.

This was before his birthday.

Pei Xin sulked, only to feel something damp touch his cheek.

He looked up, straight into Snowball’s eyes.

Pei Xin: “……”

Careless-

He’d been defiled.

Gu Fangzhi, flustered, shouted, “Quick, Your Majesty, let me clean it for you, with my mouth!”

***

Gu Fangzhi was still shaken when he returned to the Gu family courtyard.
Pressing a hand to his unsteady heart, he said to Ah-Qi, “Let’s go. To the palace.”

Gu Yunchuan watched his younger brother’s diligent figure and smiled with pride.

Gu Huaiyu, meanwhile, muttered, “AUV.”

***
When Gu Fangzhi arrived at the study, he finally learned why Pei Xin had summoned him.

There were two very familiar faces waiting inside,

Qin Xuan and Ye Bao.

Both were travel-worn and dusty; it seemed they had just returned to the capital.

Gu Fangzhi was genuinely startled. “You’re back?!”

“To deliver something,” Qin Xuan replied, glancing meaningfully toward the square, cloth-covered box on the desk.

“This is…?”

“Simply put,” Ye Bao said, arms crossed, “we’ve encircled and wiped out the Cangsheng Cult’s stronghold. That’s their- ”

Gu Fangzhi looked at the box and immediately felt a bad premonition. His face went pale. “That’s not… someone’s head, is it?”

“Ha. What are you thinking?” Ye Bao chuckled. “It’s evidence of their crimes.”

Then he added with a smirk, “What, you think we’d really bring back a person? The road’s too long, they’d get shaken apart before we reached here.”

“Mm,” Qin Xuan said evenly, “we only brought back both of his hands.”

Gu Fangzhi’s vision flickered black.

Pei Xin quickly reached out to steady him. “Teacher, are you all right?”

“I’m not, dead,” Gu Fangzhi managed, forcing himself upright.

But the hand supporting his arm didn’t move away.

Ye Bao, ever observant, caught that and stared silently. “……”

***

A little while later, the Right Chancellor and other officials arrived.

When they confirmed that Qin Xuan had indeed annihilated the Cangsheng Cult, the court burst into astonished excitement.

But the next question was how to pacify the common people who had once followed the cult.

That would take time, but not difficulty, Pei Xin’s new reforms would gradually win them over.

The Right Chancellor said, “I still recall Your Majesty’s youthful vow, to cleanse the six realms and unify all under heaven. Which region will you pacify next?”

Ye Bao was quick to respond, fired up. “Exactly! That’s the spirit!”

Pei Xin: “……”

Ah, he’d been distracted, watching Gu Fangzhi.

What did they just say? Unify the world?

True, that had once been his boyhood ambition…

But now-

“Rather than unifying the world through war,” Pei Xin said quietly, “We would prefer peace beneath the heavens.”

The Right Chancellor froze.

The ministers looked at one another, and in each other’s eyes saw quiet relief.

Gu Fangzhi, more than anyone, felt proud of Pei Xin.

Under the table, he stretched out his leg and tapped the toe of Pei Xin’s boot. Pei Xin lifted his gaze to him, and then deliberately hooked Gu Fangzhi’s calf with his own, trapping it so he couldn’t pull away.

The boy’s expression was full of mischief. Gu Fangzhi, exasperated, simply loaded a save and slipped away like a golden cicada shedding its shell.

Pei Xin: “……”

Unhappy, he reached out again, searching for Gu Fangzhi’s leg.

Ye Bao, deadpan, said, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Wrong person!”

Pei Xin: “…………”

After a long silence, he finally bowed his noble head toward Gu Fangzhi and muttered,
“Teacher… please rewind.”