Qu Xueyu carried a bag of dried fish and a few oranges before heading back to the maple forest. Just as he neared the edge of the forest, he saw Lu Bai standing there, panting. Qu Xueyuâs eyes narrowed, and his brows furrowed slightly: âXiao Bai?â The young manâs face was so pale that his heart ached almost immediatelyâbut he was clearly fine just a moment ago.
Thump.
Lu Bai pounced into Qu Xueyuâs arms, almost tackling the other man to the ground.
Qu Xueyu simply dropped the bag of dried fish and oranges on the ground, then wrapped one hand around the young manâs waist, before gently kneading the back of his neck: âXiaobai, whatâs the matter?â His voice contained worry.
âI hate this maple forest.â Lu Bai tightly clutched the otherâs waist, his knuckles turning faintly white.
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Qu Xueyu kissed the young manâs head; his tone sounded so gentle that it felt like a lullaby, âThen weâll leave now.â
âBut,â Lu Bai raised his head, meeting the youthâs beautiful dark eyes. âI want you to kiss me now.â Not waiting for an answer, he slightly stood on tiptoe and kissed the youthâs lips.
His heart felt numb and chaotic, and he desperately needed to touch this youth to confirm that he was really still there.
In this world, there was no âRuan Jiangjiuâ. Only âQu Xueyuâ really existed. Truthfully, it didnât matter to him if he was Ruan Jiangjiu or Qu Xueyu. Either way, they were his.
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Nevertheless, whether it was a prank or something more sinister, it told him that something was threatening his man. No matter what, even if he had to gamble his freedom and life, he would never allow such a thing to happen.
Qu Xueyu responded to the teenagerâs kiss, dotingly indulging the almost rough nibbling of his mouth.
âXiao Qu,â Lu Bai panted slightly, his lips red and swollen, but tightly encircled the otherâs neck. âWhen you are filming for that movie, I have to be there with your team for sure.â
Qu Xueyu gently touched the reddened edges of the teenagerâs eyes and smiled, âOkay.â After a moment, he removed his windbreaker and draped it over the teenager, âAre you still cold?â Just now, he felt that the teenager seemed to be shivering against the chilly-autumn air.
The windbreaker contained the youthâs body heat, and Lu Bai felt much more comfortable and warm, yet he still shook his head without guilt, âNo, Iâm still very cold.â Taking a breath, he added, âThatâs why you have to hug me more snugly.â
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Qu Xueyu let out a light chuckle, then lowered his head and pecked the tip of the teenagerâs nose. Then, he firmly gathered the other man in his grasp and made his way out of the maple forest.
âXiao Bai, tell me. What happened?â Outside the forest and under the warm sunlight, there were no trees to shade them. Qu Xueyu cradled the teenagerâs face and asked, his beautiful eyes showing worry.
Lu Bai sincerely regarded the young manâs dark eyes which were warmed under the amber hue of the autumn sunlight. The young man looked at him with those clear and love-filled eyes so exclusively, which made him so happy he was nearly delirious.
What happened in that clearing was just too weird, and he didnât really want to ruin the youthâs mood with such a matter, so he decided not to say anything about it and changed the topic. âXiao Qu, I truly love you.â He paused before adding, âEven more than you can imagine, I love you.â
Qu Xueyuâs pupils narrowed: The word âloveâ was so official and ceremonious that he felt he had to pick the right time to confess it to the teenager. He was afraid of spooking him, even though he, himself, didnât understand the reason why. In such a short period of time together, his feelings for the teenager were like an out-of-control blaze that was burning away inside of him, almost as if it was going to thoroughly consume his heart.
He had wanted to say such an important thing to the teenager, but he didnât expect that the teenager had managed to say it first.
Qu Xueyu scooped Lu Bai into his arms and let out a low laugh as he brought his lips over the teenagerâs ear and quietly whispered something, to which, the teenâs ears turned completely red.
âShall we go back to my room?â Lu Bai was seemingly in a rare shyness, and his voice was a bit soft. He had come to the villa here a lot as a child, so he had a room on the second floor.
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Qu Xueyu brushed a hand over the teenagerâs adorable red and flushed earlobe, teasing the other with a raised eyebrow. âWhy do you want to go to your bedroom?â
The young man he was holding in his arms raised his head to look at him and said without a trace of modesty, âBecause I want to undress you and kiss you. But I donât want anyone else to see your bodyâjust because thereâs no one here now, doesnât mean there wonât be later on! In addition, I also want you to kiss me-â he waved his hand. âNot only on the mouth.â
Qu Xueyu: ââŚâ
Lu Bai was still a bit morose even after he said this, âI ordered that no one was to come into the maple forest. We could have played there, but I hate it now.â
Qu Xueyu took a deep steadying breath while he kneaded the back of the teenagerâs neck. He looked up at the clear fall sky and concluded, âThatâs alright. Weâll just go up to your room then.â
Lu Bai smiled with satisfaction.
Qu Xueyu took the teenagerâs hand again and held it as he walked along the path to the villa that was lined with ginkgo trees1For your mental imagery, They have walked out of fiery shades of red and yellow forest to a golden tree-lined path. Check the link for some beautiful pictures! (It is a Japanese tourism link and not a China link so there may be some slight differences, but still fairly close) https://hyperjapan.co.uk/tourism/maple-vs-ginkgo-japans-must-see-fall-foliage-rivalry/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba, and right now, the path was awash with dazzling shades of gold. Lu Bai smiled happily as he gently placed a single beautiful golden ginkgo leaf on the top of the youthâs head, âXiao Qu, you suit this very well, honestly.â
Qu Xueyuâs eyebrows twitched a little, but in the end, he did not remove the leaf. âOh.â The teenager was in a better mood, and he didnât want to spoil his fun.
He had caught a single golden leaf in his hand and was about to childishly place it on top of Lu Baiâs hair in revenge when he saw a figure emerge at the end of the path. Seeing him, Qu Xueyuâs eyes narrowed dangerously and subconsciously shielded the young man behind him.
âLu Bai.â Qin Gu stared intently at the two holding each otherâs hands. His heart felt like it was being gnawed by countless ants, and then he looked straight at Lu Bai with his reddened eyes and said through clenched teeth, âWe need to talk.â
~~~~~~
On the v-blog, a post was quietly fermenting.
#Shocking exposĂŠ: A web drama appears to be the double of the movie star Qu!
#Noble son who loves movie emperor Qu has become obsessed with raising a stand-in â a clone of his very likeness!
The male lead of âThe Immortalâ felt that he had outdone himself this time. Not only did he create a flattering image of Emperor Qu, whom everyone sought out, but he also didnât expose the young master of the Lu family, and he even provided the drama with a hot streak2In his opinion, he brought the drama a lot of attention. Getting it trending on this social media platform= Providing heat. More attention gives the topic a red color and most people associate red with warmth hence the jargon relating to heat or the opposite where they are cold/unpopular..
After the drama aired, that Ruan Jiangjiu guy would be torn to shreds by Film Emperor Quâs fans and passersby-alike. Even if that young master of the Lu family were to speak up, the Lu family would hold him down, not letting him get into trouble for a canary who had already been exposed. Whatâs more, he did it especially subtly this time, no one would suspect him at all!
It was perfect, simply perfect. The male lead smiled from ear to ear, admiring his own wisdom.
âIs he stupid?â A small group of extras whispered surreptitiously to one another.
âYeah-,â Another small actress smirked, âSo stupid. Heâs offended Movie Star Qu, offended Young Master Lu, and offended Mr. Lu! Mr. Lu already said that weâre not allowed to say anything about Movie Star Qu to the public right now.â
âHe shouldnât-â A small actress frowned sharply. âEven now, does he still think that Movie Emperor Qu is really just a stand-in for himself?â
It dawned on the young actress, âMaybe? But doesnât he read the news? The fact that Movie Emperor Quâs next role is called Ruan Jiangjiu has already been announced several times, right?â
The group of extras fell silent for a few seconds, âIt turns out that there really is such a naive person in the circle.â
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Nitta
1For your mental imagery, They have walked out of fiery shades of red and yellow forest to a golden tree-lined path. Check the link for some beautiful pictures! (It is a Japanese tourism link and not a China link so there may be some slight differences, but still fairly close) https://hyperjapan.co.uk/tourism/maple-vs-ginkgo-japans-must-see-fall-foliage-rivalry/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba2In his opinion, he brought the drama a lot of attention. Getting it trending on this social media platform= Providing heat. More attention gives the topic a red color and most people associate red with warmth hence the jargon relating to heat or the opposite where they are cold/unpopular.