Chapter 63 Part 1

Yu Qingxian had a very long dream, and in the dream, it seemed Chu Yi was there.

In his dream, Chu Yi tied his hair up and wore a deer antler hairpin. He dressed in simple coarse cloth clothes and a deerskin vest, looking like he was from ancient times.

As for him… he didn’t even know what he was. At first, he was a pitch-black mass, chaotic and disordered. Gradually, he gained consciousness and even manifested a body.

He watched Chu Yi walk through the mountains and forests, gathering and picking herbs, collecting firewood, repairing his wooden hut… He was always alone, repeating these tasks day after day, living a simple and lonely life.

He secretly observed Chu Yi, and Chu Yi seemed to know about him too. Sometimes, after picking fruit, Chu Yi would leave a few wrapped in leaves for him. After eating the offerings from Chu Yi, he grew fonder of him. Occasionally, he would deliberately reveal his head or tail to let Chu Yi spot him—it was their little game.

Those days were peaceful and warm. The only thing that upset him was that Chu Yi would disappear for a few days every once in a while, only to return from the foot of the mountain carrying new rations and salt.

He sulked and stopped appearing. Chu Yi somehow figured out how to coax him with candied sweets and pastries bought from down the mountain. But the next time, Chu Yi still went down, and the coaxing continued… After it happened too many times, he began to yearn for the world below the mountain too. But he couldn’t figure out how to leave; every time he tried to follow Chu Yi down, he was blocked by an invisible barrier.

Chu Yi seemed to notice his restlessness. The next time, he stopped bringing things back and became much more silent—though he wasn’t talkative to begin with, the difference between true calm and dejection was still something he could sense.

He grew larger and larger, and the range of the barrier holding him back began to expand outward. Even more miraculous was that whenever he wanted to see the birds in the sky, one would drop down silently; whenever he wanted fish from the water, one would float up belly-up.

He brought the birds and fish to Chu Yi, but Chu Yi wasn’t happy at all. Chu Yi hunted occasionally when he craved meat, yet he wouldn’t allow him to kill.

Still, Chu Yi treated him very well. Whenever there were tasty or fun things, Chu Yi saved them for him first. Greedy for Chu Yi’s company, he obeyed him obediently.

There seemed to be many voices around him, telling him that Chu Yi wasn’t sincere, that he had ulterior motives and kept him from going down the mountain out of wariness. At first, he ignored them and even flew into a rage, but over time, some thoughts wormed their way into his mind.

One day, he finally mustered his courage, picked a bouquet of the freshest and prettiest flowers, and stammered as he asked Chu Yi if he wanted to be his partner.

Chu Yi seemed very surprised and asked where he had learned the word “partner.” Then he refused, saying he was still too young and didn’t understand what a partner meant.

Both angry and heartbroken, he smashed the bouquet and finally believed those voices—Chu Yi was a liar, and everything he did was just to placate him!

“Little Xian, Little Xian.” Someone gently shook his body and tried to wipe his tears with their fingers. Yu Qingxian jolted awake and stared blankly at the person in front of him.

“Big Brother?”

“It’s me!” Yu Zhensheng was both shocked and delighted. “Little Xian, how do you feel? I’ll go call the doctor!”

Yu Zhensheng hurried off after speaking. Yu Qingxian touched his sore and swollen chest, as if he could still feel the pain of rejection and betrayal from the dream.

Then, thinking that he and Chu Yi couldn’t be together in reality either, Yu Qingxian felt even worse—was that dream just what he thought about during the day manifesting at night?

Big Brother Yu quickly brought the doctor, along with the Yu Patriarch, Mrs. Yu, and his second sister Yu Fengqing.

“Big Brother, how long was I asleep? Why am I in the hospital… Did Liu Shengqing send me here?”

Seeing that he remembered, Yu Fengqing said with a face full of disgust, “As if he would send you to the hospital! He’s the one who did this to you! When he saw you pass out, he got scared and ran away. It was your driver, Uncle Wen, who brought you here.”

He ran away?

Yu Qingxian wasn’t surprised at all. From his second sister’s tone: “You all know Liu Shengqing’s identity now?”

The key was his mom—would she be heartbroken?

Yu Qingxian instinctively looked at his mother. Mrs. Yu came over, straightened his blankets, and playfully scolded him with a smile. “What, you think your mom hasn’t seen this before? Were you trying to hide it from me?”

Yu Fengqing pursed her lips. “Exactly. That old man’s illegitimate kids are all over the place. One more or one less doesn’t matter… How did you end up tangled up with him?”

Yu Patriarch: “Fengqing, watch your words.”

Yu Fengqing stuck out her tongue. “Got it, Grandpa.”

She knew the old man wasn’t really angry; he just didn’t want outsiders overhearing and questioning the Yu family’s upbringing, so she felt secure.

Sure enough, the Yu Patriarch didn’t pursue it and turned to Yu Qingxian. “Fengqing’s right. Did that guy cause you trouble, or is he pestering you?”

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, but usually, they tried to get close to him or his eldest grandson Yu Zhensheng. It was the first time someone had singled out Qingxian.

“No, it was his first time approaching me. I don’t even know what he wanted…”

Yu Qingxian instinctively hid that Liu Shengqing had actually come looking for Chu Yi. Even though Chu Yi had made him angry in the dream, he didn’t want the old man and the others to misunderstand him.

By then, Yu Zhensheng had finished questioning the doctor and returned to announce Yu Qingxian’s condition to everyone. Aside from a bruise on the back of his head from the impact, his body was perfectly healthy.

Mrs. Yu frowned. “If he’s so healthy, how did he stay unconscious for days? Could there be other aftereffects?”