Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 80

Perhaps Wu Jing’s anxiety and discomfort were too apparent in his eyes. Ning Qinghong lightly touched his forehead with his lips and let out a gentle laugh near his ear.

It wasn’t laughter at the misplaced sympathy.

Instead, it was touched by the way the young man, having been bullied, turned around to show concern for the one who bullied him. It was simply adorable.

Wu Jing, still in a daze, was kissed again and, feeling faint, reached out as Ning Qinghong withdrew. Just as he was about to make contact, he came back to his senses, his ears burning. He stared blankly at Ning Qinghong’s face, which was so close.

After receiving what seemed to be a tacit approval from Ning Qinghong, he dared to close his eyes and, with trembling eyelids, kissed the side of Ning Qinghong’s face, leaving a damp mark.

After kissing, he felt quite embarrassed.

Wu Jing instinctively lifted his fingertips to wipe it away.

Since Ning Qinghong had previously allowed him to touch his face, the young man hesitated for a moment, glanced at Ning Qinghong as if asking for permission. After receiving a silent yet indulgent response, he carefully used his fingertip to awkwardly wipe the mark away.

It was a somewhat novel experience.

This made Wu Jing’s gaze at Ning Qinghong bolder, and as he faced the tender and affectionate gaze of the other, he couldn’t help but wonder if he could also use his face to nuzzle against Ning Qinghong’s.

It wasn’t until Wu Jing was almost pressing his nose against Ning Qinghong’s that he suddenly came to his senses, his whole body flushing red, and he buried himself again, like an ostrich.

It was a strange feeling, as if there was something about Ning Qinghong that irresistibly attracted him—his gaze, his presence, his scent… everything made Wu Jing’s subconscious desire to get closer.

He wanted to embrace and snuggle up, not wanting to part, but after realizing this, he felt very shy.

When they went to the dining hall, in the presence of others, Wu Jing made a great effort to restrain his instincts and did not cling to Ning Qinghong. Instead, he sat quietly at the round table, eating his meal.

Not long after, he heard Ning Qinghong teasing, “Wu Wu’s face is almost buried in the rice bowl. Why do you always eat on your own?”

Ning Qinghong leisurely remarked, “You’re enjoying the food and don’t think about others.”

Wu Jing was momentarily stunned, guessing at Ning Qinghong’s meaning. He picked up a piece of meat from his bowl with his chopsticks and put it into Ning Qinghong’s bowl, nervously saying, “This is delicious.”

He was afraid he had misunderstood.

Wu Jing noticed Fuchen, who was preparing the dishes with serving chopsticks. Realizing this, he hurriedly grabbed new chopsticks to put the piece of meat back and select a fresh piece without his saliva.

Before he could act, Ning Qinghong had already taken the meat and eaten it slowly.

Previously, he had given Ning Qinghong half of a mooncake he had eaten, but this time, Wu Jing added a bit of everything he thought was delicious for Ning Qinghong to try.

Ning Qinghong tasted each item, even though he preferred milder flavors. It was visibly evident that the young man’s tension slowly eased, becoming more relaxed.

Wu Jing was completely unaware of this—he continued to happily eat.

After dinner, the routine was the same as before; he held Ning Qinghong’s hand and walked back quietly.

Ning Qinghong asked, “Has anyone bullied you while you’ve been studying recently?”

Wu Jing shook his head. “No.” He thought for a moment. “At first, my classmates didn’t want to talk to me, but later, when we became friends, it got much better.”

Ning Qinghong smiled. “And?”

Wu Jing counted, “The old gentleman has been looking after me. I’ve learned many characters and memorized a lot of poetry.” He became more talkative. “The food at the school is also very good.”

Ning Qinghong spoke slowly, “But I’ve heard people say that you still get distracted?”

Wu Jing hesitated and defended himself guiltily, “I don’t understand, so I just study on my own. I don’t get distracted… Well, sometimes I do get a little sleepy.”

The young man hurriedly tried to change the topic, talking about everything from the birds flying by the window today to other trivial matters.

Ning Qinghong listened with a half-smile.

Wu Jing glanced at him repeatedly, finally hesitatingly asking, “And you, Brother? What have you been doing?”

He anxiously waited for a response, fearing that Ning Qinghong might brush him off, but he heard Ning Qinghong slowly say, “I haven’t done much. I’m half awake and half dreaming every day, only handling some court affairs.”

He really told him.

Wu Jing felt dazed and a bit unreal.

He was escorted back to his bedroom, took a bath, and when he returned, Ning Qinghong was still by the desk, methodically dealing with the neglected paperwork from recent days, smiling and telling him to rest first.

In the middle of the night, Wu Jing was awakened by noise. Groggily opening his eyes, he saw Ning Qinghong, dressed in a snowy robe, gently tidying the disarrayed blanket and picking up the soft pillow, cloth tiger, and wooden clogs that had fallen to the bed.

One by one, Ning Qinghong neatly arranged everything.

Wu Jing thought Ning Qinghong hadn’t noticed he was awake, but as Ning Qinghong lay down, he suddenly heard him gently ask, “Wu Wu, do you want to hug your brother while you sleep?”

The young man didn’t speak. He turned over slowly, moving closer, and for the first time, actively embraced the person beside him.

He soon fell back into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Wu Jing woke up to find that Ning Qinghong was no longer there. The bell for the academy rang at the fourth hour, around nine in the morning.

Naturally, as a scholar from a noble family, Wu Jing went to the best school.

He attended classes until noon, had a one-and-a-half-hour break, and then went back to class until the evening, allowing him to take the carriage home.

In contrast, Ning Qinghong had already arrived at the Golden Luan Hall early every morning to attend court sessions with the officials, making Wu Jing’s schedule seem much easier.

After having breakfast, Wu Jing, yawning, walked slowly to the carriage that took him to school, still feeling drowsy. He climbed into the carriage.

Lifting the curtain, he saw that Ning Qinghong was already inside, wearing a crimson ceremonial robe and calmly reading documents. After sipping tea, he looked up and smiled at the dazed young man at the curtain, “Wu Wu, if you don’t come in soon, you’ll be late.”

Wu Jing was still stunned, and Fuchen outside the carriage said, “Your Majesty, in another quarter-hour, the bell at the academy will ring.” He cheerfully added, “After the court, His Highness came out of the palace to pick you up. He must return to the palace to discuss matters with the ministers, so we need to be punctual.”

Wu Jing nodded absentmindedly, got into the carriage, and sat quietly for a while. He noticed Ning Qinghong was looking at his school books and notes, including some poems he had memorized and even some scribbled papers.

Everything was intact, not a single piece missing, all neatly arranged by Ning Qinghong.

Wu Jing hadn’t thought much of it until he saw Ning Qinghong pick up a large blank sheet of paper with just a few messy “Ning” characters written on it. His face turned red, and he hurriedly snatched it away, “You’re not allowed to look at this!”

Seeing Ning Qinghong’s amused look, Wu Jing quickly added, “This is my stuff. If you want to see it, you need to ask me first.” He spoke softer and softer, feeling his excuse was quite ridiculous.

Ning Qinghong had previously checked his homework, helping him find and correct errors, but Wu Jing had been careless and scribbled all over.

Caught in the act, he ended up blaming Ning Qinghong.

Ning Qinghong smiled, “It’s my fault.”

Wu Jing was taken aback, swallowed hard, and, seeing that Ning Qinghong was indeed serious, became very unsettled and fidgety, stealing glances at him repeatedly.

Before getting out of the carriage, Wu Jing knelt to pick up Ning Qinghong’s documents and papers. As he leaned in to reach for them, he was very close to Ning Qinghong, close enough to feel his breath.

The young man’s pace slowed, his ears burning red. Wu Jing bit his lip and stammered, “You’re so busy, you don’t need to come and see me off in the future.”

Holding his own documents, Wu Jing clumsily tried to turn and leave. After walking a short distance, he suddenly felt blank-headed and walked back, not knowing what he was doing.

He looked up, exhaled warmly, and absentmindedly kissed Ning Qinghong’s face. In a daze, he whispered, “I… I’m going to the Academy.”

He even used the familiar words out of habit.

Ning Qinghong softly said, “Go ahead, Wu Wu.” He spoke while smiling gently, his lips still close to Wu Jing’s.

Neither advancing nor retreating.

Wu Jing stared at him, lost in thought.

Ning Qinghong’s “Hmm?” seemed to question why he wasn’t moving.

The blushing young man, flustered, hurriedly got up and rushed outside. The sound of his stumbling footsteps could even be heard from inside the carriage.

Fuchen’s voice urged, “Your Highness—young master, be careful and watch your step. Don’t fall.”

Wu Jing didn’t respond, burying his head and rushing forward, even covering his tingling ears with one hand.