30 Chapter 24: Stuffing Ji Huaizhi’s Hand Under His Shirt

Qianning Village was a branch of the Miao Clan. The villagers there were mostly reserved by nature, shunning contact with outsiders—and even keeping largely to themselves within the village.

It was perfectly normal for one villager not to know another.

Yet among them all was an extreme case: Ning Shuang, a man whom even dogs hesitated to approach.

In time, with the reforms of the new century, the young Clan Leader issued a blanket prohibition on raising or using Gu. Ning Shuang finally got his wish and headed off to university.

During his sophomore year, Ning Shuang fell in love at first sight with freshman Ji Huaizhi. Before long, he launched a relentless pursuit.

But his underclassman was the department's lofty ice prince, no easy conquest. They had gone out together, shared meal after meal, exchanged gifts—yet Ji Huaizhi offered no response to Ning Shuang's confessions of love. His friends insisted Ning Shuang was being strung along, but he refused to accept it.

Resolved, Ning Shuang decided to use a Truth-Telling Gu on him, to pry out his true thoughts.

The Clan Leader's ban on Gu was real enough, but the Clan Leader was back in the village, Ning Shuang was in the city, and this wasn't aimed at the Clan Leader anyway. No harm, no foul.

To his shock, something went awry in the process. Instead of Truth-Telling Gu, he implanted a Love Gu—and the two of them tumbled into bed together.

From that night forward, they were officially a couple.

As months passed and Ning Shuang witnessed just how attentive and caring Ji Huaizhi could be, guilt began to eat away at him.

After one final night together, Ning Shuang slipped him the antidote, left behind a letter of atonement, and returned home without a backward glance.

They met again at the Ancestral Hall. The young Clan Leader—who always held meetings online—had suddenly demanded everyone attend in person.

There Ning Shuang beheld Ji Huaizhi seated at the head of the gathering.

Long hair flowing, clad in a flowing purple sorcerer's robe with earrings dangling from his ears, he radiated aloof mystery and abstinence. His gaze upon Ning Shuang brimmed with reproach.

Ning Shuang: …O.o?

***

Small Theater:

“Clan Leader, slipping you that Gu was my mistake. I won’t chase after you anymore, or bother you,” said Ning Shuang, after everyone else had left. His legs buckled beneath him, and he dropped to his knees, hurriedly listing his offenses.

Ji Huaizhi: “Chase?”

“Weren’t we together ages ago?”

Ning Shuang: “That was an accident. Does... does that even count? O.o?”

Ji Huaizhi nodded.

So... he had seduced and then abandoned their aloof Clan Leader?!