Xingqiu's gaze was so intense it felt as if it could pierce through fabric. Chongyun abruptly shook off Xingqiu's hand, took a step back, and pointed a finger at him, stammering incoherently, "Stop talking nonsense! I—I am naturally certain! You are clearly a man!"
"Oh? And how did you determine that?" Xingqiu crossed his arms and looked at him leisurely, closing in step by step, seemingly determined to tease the serious Taoist Practitioner. "Could it be that Taoist Practitioners have some special technique to discern yin and yang at a glance?"
"We... we practice swordsmanship together! We bathe together! We..." Chongyun hurriedly listed his evidence, but stopped abruptly halfway through. Certain images flashed through his mind, making him turn even redder, unable to continue.
Seeing Chongyun's flustered state, looking as if he were about to start smoking, Xingqiu finally couldn't help himself and burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you." He waved his hand and stood up straight again, regaining his usual elegant and composed demeanor. "I am naturally a man. That book is nothing more than street-side gossip meant for a laugh; there's no need to take it seriously."
He walked over to Chongyun and patted his friend's still-stiff shoulder, his tone softening. "However, thank you, Chongyun."
"Thank me for what?" Chongyun asked blankly, not yet fully recovered from the shock.
"Thank you for coming to tell me in such a hurry, and even more so..." A flash of sincere Warmth flickered in Xingqiu's eyes. "...for defending me so firmly."
Chongyun looked into his friend's clear, smiling eyes, which reflected his own flushed face. His heart, which had been tossed about by rumors and Xingqiu's prank, finally settled back into place.
Yes, this was Xingqiu—the Xingqiu he had known for so many years.
How could he possibly be a woman?
His wild thoughts along the way just now seemed... not much better than those who had believed the rumors.
At this thought, the heat on Chongyun's face rose a few more degrees, though this time it was out of shame.
"I... I'm going to buy popsicles." After a long silence, he finally squeezed out the words gloomily, turning to flee the place where he had repeatedly lost his composure.
"Hey, wait." Xingqiu called out to him and followed leisurely, walking side by side with him, a smile playing on his lips. "I happen to be a bit thirsty as well. How about we go together? And while we're at it..."
He tilted his head, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he lowered his voice. "Why don't you 'confirm' it properly? For instance... listen to see if my voice is deep enough? Or perhaps look at my Adam's apple?"
"Xingqiu!!"
On that summer afternoon, the young Taoist Practitioner's embarrassed and annoyed shout startled several finches by the lotus pond. Meanwhile, the culprit fanned himself with a folding fan, smiling like a fox whose scheme had succeeded.
Before Chongyun's protests could fully fade, Xingqiu had already slung an arm around his shoulder, half-pushing and half-coaxing him back onto the cushion by the railing. The book, secret tales of feiyun, had been deftly snatched from Chongyun's arms by Xingqiu at some point, and he was now holding it, weighing it in his hand leisurely.
"Don't be in such a hurry to buy popsicles. Why don't we first appreciate Mr. Lovia's new work?"
"Hmm, the binding is quite good," Xingqiu commented solemnly, his fingertips brushing over the cover as if he were truly appraising some rare ancient manuscript.
Chongyun felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Watching his friend toy with the book that had caused him such unease felt a hundred times more awkward than facing it alone.
"Xingqiu, this book... its contents are absurd. It's better not to read it." He attempted a final struggle.
"How could I not?" Xingqiu raised an eyebrow. "Since it contains secret tales about me, how could I, the subject, possibly miss it? Moreover, you specifically brought it as 'evidence'."
He deliberately emphasized the word "evidence," making Chongyun's ears burn once more.
Xingqiu gave Chongyun no further chance to object and skillfully flipped open the pages.
He scanned a few lines quickly, then seemed to find something extremely amusing, the curve of his lips becoming more pronounced.
"Oh? It starts with: 'The Second Miss of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, sixteen years of age, with the beauty of a celestial maiden, yet forced to present as a man due to hidden family circumstances...' Tsk, tsk, this opening certainly has the flair of a popular novel." Xingqiu even read it aloud with great interest, his tone full of playfulness.
Chongyun's scalp tingled with embarrassment; he felt so awkward he wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. He sat stiffly to the side, his eyes darting everywhere but the pages of the book or Xingqiu's current expression.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was the protagonist of that book.
Xingqiu read with great relish, occasionally offering commentary: "Hmm, it says here my 'fingers are like scallion roots and lips like vermilion.' Haha, quite the detailed observation. Unfortunately, the calluses on these hands of mine from holding swords and brushes are likely thicker than those of many men."
He held out his hand and waved it in front of Chongyun.
Chongyun glanced at it instinctively. It was indeed a pair of slender but by no means delicate hands, with distinct knuckles and the characteristic strength of a martial artist. He felt slightly relieved, but Xingqiu's next words immediately made his nerves tighten again.
"Wow, this part is brilliant!" Xingqiu suddenly lowered his voice and leaned in close to Chongyun, pointing at a passage in the book. "Look here, it actually says that 'every night of the full moon, she gazes into the mirror with self-pity, her clothes soaked with tears as she laments her drifting fate'... Hahaha, since when did I have such graceful and restrained sentiments? On the night of the full moon, I'm usually either in the study or looking for you for a spar. When have I ever wept before a mirror?"
His breath brushed against Chongyun's ear, carrying the scent of Qingxin tea and sunshine, but the content made Chongyun curl his toes in embarrassment. Especially the phrase "gazing into the mirror with self-pity," combined with Xingqiu's earlier tease about "applying yellow flowers before the mirror," caused some images that definitely shouldn't be there to surface uncontrollably in his mind.
"You—stop reading that!" Chongyun reached out to snatch the book.
Xingqiu dodged nimbly, laughing even harder. "Don't be in a rush; we've just reached the crucial part. Look at this, it even makes up stories about the relationship between the two of us..."
Chongyun's heart skipped a beat.
Xingqiu's gaze swept back and forth between the pages and Chongyun's flushed face as he deliberately read slowly: "'That Taoist Practitioner, Chongyun, often accompanies the Second Miss. Though he appears oblivious to romance, in truth, he has long since developed secret feelings. Every time he sees her, his Pure Yang Constitution becomes restless and difficult to restrain, yet he merely attributes it to the mischief of evil spirits...'"
"Nonsense!!" Chongyun reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, jumping up abruptly. The heat from his Pure Yang Constitution surged violently, and he felt as if his entire body were about to catch fire.
This book was written far too... too outrageously!
How could they slander their friendship like this!
Just as Chongyun felt himself losing consciousness from the heat of his Pure Yang Constitution, Xingqiu suddenly burst out laughing.
"Yes, yes, this Mr. Lovia is indeed talking nonsense." Xingqiu spoke in a relaxed tone, casually placing the book on the nearby stone table as if it were truly an insignificant idle read. "I didn't expect that he would include you as well as me."
"This makes it even more intriguing..."
"It seems this Mr. Lovia not only has a rich imagination but is also quite skilled at playing matchmaker. Unfortunately, while his writing is good, it is ultimately a castle in the air and cannot be taken as truth."
He stood up and stretched. The sunlight spilled over his blue robes, creating a bright luster. His posture was elegant and free; he was clearly a bright young man.
"I've seen enough of this book. Rumors end with the wise." Xingqiu looked at Chongyun with a smile, his eyes clear. "Let's go. Weren't you going to buy popsicles? If we don't go now, the summer heat really will make you faint."
Chongyun shook his head, quickly casting aside those messy thoughts. Xingqiu was right—rumors end with the wise. He shouldn't let this book affect him any longer.
"Let's... let's go," Chongyun replied in a low voice.
Xingqiu nodded with a smile and walked out side by side with him.
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