Guanshan Muyu

chapter 57

Having nothing to occupy himself with, Xia Xun found a piece of wood to carve. He refused to let it go during breakfast. He drank porridge absent-mindedly, leaving one hand free to stroke the lump of wood from time to time.

Qi Yan asked curiously: “Where did you find the wood?”

Xia Xun said carelessly:

“I took down the memorial tablet you set for me and cut it from it.”

Seeing Qi Yan’s chopsticks stop in mid-air, he added:

“That thing looks inauspicious and it’s made of fine cypress wood. It was a pity to throw it away, so I thought I might as well use it.”

Qi Yan had a lot to say but swallowed his words in the end.

“…as long as you enjoy it, you can do whatever you want.”

He glanced at the wood twice and then complimented:

“Your hands are still so clever. The puppy looks so vivid.”

Xia Xun paused and said, “I’m carving a camel.”

Qi Yan was startled but reacted quickly, pointed to the corner of the piece of wood and corrected himself:

“I was really shocked and my eyes were confused. It’s clearly the camel’s tail, how could I make a mistake like this.”

It took a while for Xia Xun to speak.

“—That’s the camel’s leg.”

Qi Yan’s smile froze on his face.

Xia Xun drank all the porridge in the bowl until there was not even a grain of rice left. Putting down the bowl, he said to Qi Yan:

“If you can’t think of a compliment, you’d better stop talking, so that you don’t slap yourself in the face with every sentence.”

Qi Yan was taken aback for a moment, but immediately thought of a way to solve the dilemma. He held Xia Xun’s hand and smiled at him with the most affectionate smile.

“Having said that, why did you suddenly think of carving a camel?”

Xia Xun didn’t hear what he was asking at all. When Qi Yan smiled, all his attention was focused on Qi Yan’s face.

He saw Qi Yan’s curving eyes, his long eyelashes and the mole at the corner of his eye. Below Qi Yan’s tall nose, there were thin lips, very light in colour and looking extremely soft. Somehow he couldn’t help but want to reach out and touch.

With his mind in turmoil, Xia Xun had already forgotten what Qi Yan had just said. He suddenly retracted his gaze and replied, “It’s nothing.”

Taking note of this incident, Qi Yan stood up with satisfaction. It was time for him to go to court.

Xia Xun cursed himself for being useless and always falling for this kind of trick, thinking: the misfortune of beauty is not just an empty phrase.

Before leaving, Qi Yan told him:

“If you want to go out, remember to wear a hood.”

Xia Xun asked rhetorically: “How do you know that I am going out?”

Qi Yan blinked: “Who ran outside every day a few days ago?”

Xia Xun stood his ground.

“Since you have said so, wouldn’t it be very ungrateful of me not to go out?”

He picked up the hood that was placed aside, put it on his head haphazardly, bypassed Qi Yan and rushed out of the mansion before him.

Qi Yan was right. He did always run out these days, otherwise he wouldn’t think of carving camels.