The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

The young scholars were reluctant to leave. As they walked away, one of them couldn’t help looking back. He was curious to know why a good-natured young master was hanging around such a big ice lump.

“! ! !”

The unexpected sight that met his eyes made him exclaim.

His companions were displeased. “What are you doing all of a sudden?”

“No, I, they…” The young man was incoherent.

Their conversation drew the attention of the others, who came to a stop one after the other.

“What’s wrong?”

“What happened?”

The young man pointed behind them. “See for yourselves!” 

When they saw the scene in the corner, their eyes widened.

Under the low wall, the young man in white was wrapped in the arms of the tall man in black. From their point of view, all they could see was the man bending over the young man’s neck, while the young man revealed an expression beyond endurance.

Against a background of light and shadow, their black and white clothes were mingled as if they were one.

After a long time, someone found his voice.

“Ah…” It seemed that he’d discovered why they were so unpopular before.

“The two young masters have that kind of relationship?”

“Don’t be rude, don’t be rude. Just pretend we didn’t see anything.”

Dappled light and shadow fell from overhead. Shen Yu couldn’t help but squint his eyes. Maybe he was stimulated by the light, or maybe it was from some other reason.

The delicate skin was crushed red, but Shang JunLin still refused to let go, and the tip of his teeth gently stabbed at him. Compared to simple pain, the feeling was even more indescribable.

A fire ignited under his skin, and the flames spread quickly, roaming everywhere. Shen Yu was being ground down little by little, and his strength drained away.

The arm that confined his waist was strong and steady, supporting him so he wouldn’t fall.

Shen Yu couldn’t help but reach out, borrowing the man’s strength to prevent himself from slipping.

They were in a secluded corner. Outsiders came and went, but hardly anyone spared this place a glance.

But just because no one was paying attention didn’t mean he wasn’t affected.

Shen Yu heard sounds from time to time and footsteps walking back and forth. The tension of being discovered at any moment made it more and more difficult to control himself.

His neck was being marked bit by bit, as though the man was claiming territory. Everywhere he touched, another gorgeous flower bloomed.

“Your Majesty, someone will come….” Shen Yu struggled to find his voice. When he finally managed to speak he realized he was incredibly hoarse. 

For Shang JunLin, the sound was like pouring oil on a fire.

In an instant the arms around Shen Yu’s waist tightened, and a tingling pain came from his neck.

Shen Yu barely pressed down the cry that was threatening to escape his lips, and he clenched his teeth. The fingers clutching the man’s black outer robe slowly curled.

“Eh? Is someone over there?”

“It looks like it. Let’s go check it out.”

The sudden voices and approaching footsteps woke Shen Yu from his daze. He grabbed a lock of hair that had fallen close to his hand and pulled it with force.

Shang JunLin wasn’t pleased at having to stop. He took off his cloak and wrapped up Shen Yu tightly.

Meanwhile, the speaker reached the corner of the alley.

“Huh? Someone’s really here.”

Shen Yu was hidden by Shang JunLin’s body. When he heard the voice, it sounded familiar. He pulled down the cloak covering his face and peeked out from behind Shang JunLin.

It was Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu, whom they’d met before.

“Hey, it’s Young Master Yu and Young Master Lin.” Jiang HuaiQing couldn’t help feeling that he knew Shen Yu. It was like he’d made an old friend at first sight. When he saw the two of them, he wanted to go over and catch up.

Hè ChengYu observed that the atmosphere between the two wasn’t right and tried to stop Jiang HuaiQing from interrupting. Unfortunately, he was too late and had no choice but to follow.

Shen Yu took a moment to catch his breath, and then he came out from behind Shang JunLin.

He was still draped in Shang JunLin’s black cloak. A small corner of the fabric trailed on the ground, which made it a little hard to move. Shen Yu had to slightly lift the hem.

When Jiang HuaiQing saw Shen Yu, his eyes lit up. “Young Master Yu looks really good today.” 

Skin like snow, raven hair, a faint blush glowing on his cheeks. Against the background of the black cloak, his skin looked even more pale than usual.

Shang JunLin gave the man a cold stare and put his arm around Shen Yu’s waist.

Jiang HuaiQing felt confused, and he whispered to his companion, “Why does Young Master Lin seem so unhappy to see us? Did I somehow do something to displease him?”

When Hè ChengYu heard him, a vein throbbed in his temple.

How innocent did you have to be to not see something so obvious?

Clearly they’d interrupted some “good fun” between them, which was why one of the two people didn’t welcome them.

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Despite Shang JunLin’s displeasure, Shen Yu was glad of Jiang HuaiQing’s arrival. Otherwise he really didn’t know what else his neck would have suffered.

Shen Yu could tell without looking that his neck probably wasn’t fit to be seen at the moment.

He hadn’t thought a jealous Shang JunLin could do something so irrational.

Shen Yu decided that he should ease up in the future. It was better not to be so bold in public. Facts had proven that a man who’d been over stimulated didn’t have much sanity.

Shen Yu wanted to make friends with Jiang HuaiQing. After meeting the other two, they became a group of four.

When the book stall owner saw them, he gave them a warm greeting. “Aren’t you the two young masters from before? You didn’t finish reading your books. Do you want to continue? Or save the remaining books for later and come back another time?” 

He recognized them at a glance, which wasn’t surprising. Compared with the crowd of young scholars around them, the temperament of the two men was too unique. The proprietor had traveled the world for many years and his eyesight wasn’t lacking.

“Is it possible to do that?” Shen Yu asked. “How can the boss be sure the guests who came back are the same guests who didn’t finish reading before?”

“We have a special token.” The boss took out a handful of cards made of a material that resembled white jade. “Before the guest leaves, take a token with you. When you come back, you can borrow the books you didn’t finish last time.”

The token was the color of jade, about one finger long and two fingers wide. Shen Yu took one and weighed it in his hand. “It isn’t jade.”

“It’s a jade-like stone. Its properties are similar to white jade,” Shang JunLin explained. “Generally, women from less affluent families like to use this kind of stone for their hair ornaments.”

The bookstall owner agreed. “The young master is right. This kind of stone is rarely seen in eminent families. However, it’s highly popular among the common people because of its appearance.” 

“Even so, the stone used by the proprietor is of very high quality. Usually this type of jade-like stone doesn’t have such a translucent effect,” Shang JunLin concluded, touching the token in Shen Yu’s hand.

“The young master has keen eyes. This batch was specially customized and engraved with an anti-counterfeiting pattern. That means they’re very difficult to fake,” the boss said.

Shen Yu picked up the token and held it to the sunlight. Sure enough, each of the four corners had different patterns.

“That’s a clever idea.”

Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu had just arrived, and it was still early in the day. Shen Yu wasn’t in a hurry to leave and decided to stay a little longer.

Shang JunLin always let Shen Yu decide this kind of thing. Even if he wasn’t happy that their two-person world had been disturbed, he didn’t object.

Shen Yu was interested in the book about legal cases that one of the young scholars had shown him before. He asked the boss to find it for him and then read through it slowly.

After reading a few pages, Shen Yu realized the book didn’t contain the same material as the Court of Judicial Review file. This book was closer to a story. The case was described like a narrative, and many curious anecdotes were added.

Seeing that Shen Yu was interested in a less academic type of book, the boss took out a wooden case and hinted mysteriously, “Young master, would you like to see what’s in here? I guarantee you’ll like it.”

Shen Yu was provoked by his surreptitious air. He leaned closer to the proprietor and murmured, “What is it?”

“Is the young master more interested in storybooks? This box is full of novels, and ah…” The boss paused deliberately, full of mystery. “They’re all about two men.”

Shen Yu didn’t understand. Why did the boss suddenly think he was interested in books with two men as the main characters?

“The young master and the young gentleman in black are a couple, right?” The boss had a face that said “I know everything” and said, “It’s nothing. His Majesty likes men too. By the way, this case also contains short novels about His Majesty and the noble monarch. They outsell everything else!”

The boss could tell clearly that the man in black was extremely protective of the young man in front of him. Aside from that kind of relationship, who would protect a person of the same gender like that?

Shen Yu had no idea that one day he’d be marketed in a novel where himself and His Majesty were the protagonists. The idea made him laugh, but he also couldn’t help feeling a little intrigued, and he asked His Majesty to come over. “Ah Lin, come here for a moment.”

When Shen Yu was taken aside by the book stall owner, Shang JunLin felt a little unwilling, but he was also worried he’d done something bad earlier and didn’t insist on following. When he heard Shen Yu’s voice, he immediately put down the book he was holding and walked over.

Jiang HuaiQing and Hè ChengYu were paging through books not far away. When Jiang HuaiQing saw this, he moved over to Hè ChengYu. “ChengYu Xiong, do you think Young Master Lin is a little too obedient to Young Master Yu?”

Hè ChengYu didn’t look up. “They’re husbands,” he reminded.

“That’s right, I almost forgot.” Jiang HuaiQing scratched his hair and belatedly thought of something. “Ah? Do you think we disturbed them just now?”

Hè ChengYu glanced up from his book and studied his slow-to-react companion. “What do you think?”

“No wonder….”

No wonder Young Master Lin gave him such a terrifying stare before.

Although he didn’t know exactly what he’d interrupted, keen intuition told Jiang HuaiQing that it was better not to know. “Should I go over and apologize?” 

Hè ChengYu looked at the two people standing close together and gave his sincere opinion. “I think it’s better if you don’t disturb them.”

Jiang HuaiQing thought about it and decided he agreed. He could find a time to apologize to Young Master Yu later. Inexplicably, he felt a little scared of Young Master Lin.

Shen Yu couldn’t resist the enthusiasm of the book stall owner. When Shang JunLin came over, Shen Yu already had several more books in his hands.

When Shang JunLin reached them, the boss enthusiastically handed several books to him too.

Shang JunLin opened them and flipped through a few pages, then silently turned his head to look at Shen Yu.

The books all used pseudonyms, but there were unmistakable references to certain events. It wasn’t hard to tell that the two main characters were himself and Shen Yu.

Shen Yu looked at the assorted books in the case with their garish covers. “Boss, your shop actually specializes in novels, doesn’t it?”

The boss smiled shyly. “The young master has good eyes. After all, I can only sell the other books once every three years, while these books sell every day. As for the ones you’re looking at now, there are a lot of people who buy them.”

Shen Yu was speechless.

He looked at Shang JunLin, thinking he’d be angry. Unexpectedly, Shang JunLin not only didn’t appear upset, he seemed very interested in the books and discussed them with the boss.

In the end, Shang JunLin bought a copy of every novel based on them. The boss beamed with joy and gave Shang JunLin a pamphlet with a black cover. He chuckled and said, “Here’s something maybe you can use~~~”

At that moment Shen Yu was looking at a novel. He didn’t see Shang JunLin quickly hide the booklet in his sleeve.

“Why did Your Majesty buy all these novels?”

Shang JunLin gave him a concise and comprehensive answer: “To study and learn.” 

—

The author has something to say:

Shen Yu: One day I was actually hit on the head with my and His Majesty’s cp [shocked cat.jpg]

Quiz: What’s in the pamphlet~~~~~

TL Notes:

Don’t be rude – 非礼勿视 – look at nothing that is not consistent with propriety; not to look at things which do not conform to the rites; see no evil

“good fun” – “好事” – good action, deed, thing or work (also sarcastic, “a fine thing indeed”) / charity / happy occasion / Daoist or Buddhist ceremony for the souls of the dead

like a narrative – from 春秋手法描述的 – described in a spring and autumn way

CP – couple, pairing, relationship