RIIDMDR chapter 79

 

Nan Xu’s cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, and the slender figure sometimes appeared as two or four in his eyes.

He held his wine glass, his eyes hazy, but stared intently at the figure, refusing to move. He had drunk too much. Just as he was thinking about reuniting under the full moon, he saw the figure appear before him.

As the man approached, Nan Xu watched for a moment, then laughed at how his eyes could deceive him. But whatever, he was drunk anyway, so he just pretended it was Tingchuan.

Nan Xu raised his wine glass, smirking at the man and saying, “Tingchuan, come drink with me.”

He thought he was talking to himself. Then, he saw the man lean down. With his trembling hand, he placed his lips on the wine glass and downed the contents in one gulp.

Nan Xu froze, lost in a trance of reality. He didn’t even notice that the wine glass had fallen to the ground. Leaning on the edge of the table, the man ignored the broken glass and slowly approached Nan Xu, taking in his stunned expression. His voice was melodious. With a faint smile, he said, “Very sweet. You’re drunk.”

Nan Xu shook his head. “No, I can still have a few more drinks with you.”

The man laughed again. His voice was low and seductive. “I’m drunk.”

Nan Xu looked up at him. They were so close that his mind was clouded, and he couldn’t understand what he was hearing. He could only smile foolishly at his face. “You’re so beautiful!”

The handsome man chuckled and picked him up. “Go to bed.”

Nan Xu said, “Oh,” and then he remembered something. He reached out and grasped the white beard on the table. Relieved, he said, “Okay, go to bed!”

Ting Chuan paused midstep, his gaze falling on Nan Xu’s hand. The white hair looked particularly unpleasant in his eyes.

–

When Nan Xu woke up, he was lying in his bed. He seemed to have lost much of his memory from the night before, when he had drunk heavily, but his head didn’t hurt. The alcohol he had consumed was of good quality and had no adverse side effects.

As he lay in bed, he vaguely remembered Danyin trading a strand of her hair for half a bottle of wine the night before. He felt bad about it, but Zhixing had secretly told him that this strand of white hair could fetch tens of thousands of coins and was in high demand. Nan Xu’s eyes widened as he stared at Danyin’s head, filled with envy.

If only Danyin’s hair were growing on his own head!

With this thought, Nan Xu suddenly sat up. He’d blacked out last night—he couldn’t have lost that hair!

Looking around, he didn’t see it anywhere. Growing anxious, he got out of bed to search the courtyard. Before he could take a few steps, however, the door opened from outside. The person who walked in made him stop dead in his tracks.

Nan Xu’s eyes widened in disbelief as a wave of surprise and joy washed over him. Incredulous, he asked, “Tingchuan, when did you come back?”

Tingchuan’s expression softened as he replied, “Come back?” “We drank together last night, and you’ve forgotten?”

Nan Xu scratched his hair, unable to recall this incident.

Tingchuan hadn’t changed much; he was still wearing the same light blue clothes. Perhaps because they’d been apart for over a month, though, Nan Xu felt a little embarrassed standing opposite him. He gave a sheepish smile.

He didn’t say anything, and Tingchuan didn’t care. He asked, “What are you rushing to do?”

The familiar tone dispelled the slight sense of strangeness in Nan Xu’s heart. Nan Xu then remembered and said, “Yesterday, Danyin gave me a hair to trade for some wine, and I forgot where I put it.”

Tingchuan’s smile faded slightly when he heard this. When he arrived yesterday, he saw a little demon lying drunk across from Nanxu. Nanxu held a cup in his hand and had a dazed look in his eyes from laughter. Tingchuan imagined that they had been drinking and singing together and that the atmosphere must have been pleasant.

Tingchuan carried Nanxu back to the room. Even though Nanxu was drunk, he still grabbed the demon’s hair. He had to coax him for a long time before he released it last night. Who knew that the first thing he would do when he woke up this morning would be to find the hair again?

Tingchuan knew that Nanxu had always admired beauty and would take a second look at any attractive creature. He hadn’t anticipated that, after just a month of absence, another man would have taken his place in Nanxu’s heart.

Feeling depressed, Tingchuan’s expression dimmed slightly. Seeing this, Nanxu felt a pang of guilt.

Was Ting Chuan upset? Did he… do something to him last night?

The moment this thought occurred to Nanxu, he became nervous. Although they had slept in the same bed before, Nanxu had never imagined falling in love with Tingchuan. He had simply considered him a dorm buddy, and they had gotten along harmoniously without crossing any boundaries.

However, after Ting Chuan left Zhuyu Mountain, his daily longing and self-questioning confirmed his feelings. That change in mindset was enough that, while drunk, he might have done something inappropriate.

But how could he bring himself to ask this question? Even if he was willing to take responsibility, how could Tingchuan accept it if he had flirted with him while drunk?

Nan Xu sighed, feeling that the situation was incredibly difficult. He had eagerly anticipated Tingchuan’s return for over a month but had forgotten to consider how to pursue him, even if Tingchuan was willing.

Not to mention, they were different species. How could twenty-some years of experience ever compete with the charm of a thousand-year-old fox?

Nan Xu felt his mind racing, yet he still hadn’t figured out how to approach Tingchuan.

“Zhixing said the ginseng demon’s hair was very valuable. He liked it, so I thought I’d give it to him to make medicine. It’s an investment in his business. He’d give me a share of the profits. After all, the hair is useless to me. It’d make a great tonic for chicken soup, but I’m in great shape and don’t need it. Besides, using hair to make soup isn’t very hygienic…” Nan Xu lowered his head and whispered.

Nan Xu didn’t even know what he was saying. He didn’t dare look at Tingchuan, saying whatever came to mind. He was afraid that if he stopped talking, Tingchuan would ask why he’d flirted with him last night.

Tingchuan’s frown slowly relaxed as he listened, finding it increasingly amusing. He couldn’t help but curl his lips, fold his arms, and look at Nan Xu with a relaxed expression.

Nan Xu talked until his mouth was dry, recounting every little thing from the past month—big and small—from changes to the inn to Zhixing accidentally using sugar instead of salt when frying cucumbers. He left nothing out. But through it all, Tingchuan didn’t say a word.

Nanxu swallowed and looked up at Tingchuan. He had been talking for so long, yet Tingchuan didn’t show any sign of disgust. In fact, he seemed to be listening with great interest. When he paused, Nanxu asked, “Nothing else?”

Nanxu:

Nothing else? What else? Was he referring to the time he had drunkenly flirted with Tingchuan the night before?

Maybe he wasn’t fully awake yet—or maybe the alcohol hadn’t worn off yet, lowering his IQ—or maybe…it was just a thought in his heart. Without realizing it, Nan Xu had convinced himself that what he’d imagined had truly happened.

Nan Xu and Tingchuan stared at each other for a long moment. Nan Xu shook his head. “That’s all.”

He’d said everything except the one truth: he’d confirmed his feelings for Ting Chuan.

Tingchuan’s inquiring gaze fell on Nanxu. He asked with a smile, “Then why do you feel so guilty?”

Nan Xu froze for a few seconds. Was it that obvious? Of course he felt guilty—he had plans for Ting Chuan! But on the surface, he straightened his neck and said firmly, “I’m not! Why would I feel guilty?”

Tingchuan remained silent for a few seconds. As Nan Xu’s heart raced, he asked, “…you haven’t been getting close to anyone else behind my back, have you?”

The question was strange and ambiguous. Nan Xu sensed that something was amiss, yet he didn’t understand Tingchuan’s meaning. He shook his head, his expression sincere.

Then Tingchuan chuckled. “Come on, let’s have breakfast. The ginseng hair you’re looking for is outside.”

It seemed he was teasing him. After this incident, Nan Xu’s guilt faded. Reflecting on his behavior that morning, he felt embarrassed.

After all, he had been alone for over twenty years. The first time he fell in love with someone so beautiful in the demon world was a huge leap, and he couldn’t keep his composure for a moment.

Tingchuan left the room first, followed closely by Nan Xu. As he watched Tingchuan’s back, Nan Xu suddenly remembered that Tingchuan had been talking all morning and that he hadn’t asked how Tingchuan could have come back so soon. He also remembered that they had agreed to meet in a week.

After Nanxu washed up, the three of them gathered around the table for breakfast. The alcohol in the demon world isn’t very strong, so Zhixing got drunk from the human liquor last night. Within two glasses, he passed out. Thankfully, Tingchuan had been kind enough to carry Nanxu back first, then return to the courtyard to fetch Zhixing, so he could sleep comfortably in bed.

As for Danyin, Tingchuan didn’t give him a second look. He had slept drunk in the courtyard all night, and his back ached. He woke up early and returned to his room, but he hadn’t shown any signs of waking up yet.

Tingchuan wasn’t a particularly good cook, but he could make decent porridge. It was quite soft and mushy. The three of them each held a bowl. Zhixing looked from Nanxu to Tingchuan, his eyes filled with curiosity. Did Senior Tingchuan come back last night to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with the owner?

After finishing his bowl of porridge, Nanxu felt his stomach settle. Tingchuan glanced at him and asked, “Are you full?”

Nanxu felt his stomach and felt nothing. He shook his head, and Tingchuan took his bowl and headed toward the kitchen. Nanxu stared blankly at his empty hands, then grinned.

Zhixing: …

Zhixing was quite puzzled. Hadn’t Senior Tingchuan done the same thing before? Why was the owner’s expression so different today? They had been so affectionate for so long. Was the owner only just realizing it now? Or was this what the other demons meant by, “A short separation is better than a new marriage”?

Zhixing, a young demon who had never been in a relationship, thought about this as he silently ate the dog food[mfn]“吃狗粮 (chī gǒu liáng)” — literally “eat dog food” — is a popular Chinese internet slang term. It means “being forced to witness other people’s public displays of affection (PDA)”, especially when you’re single and have to watch a couple being all lovey-dovey.[/mfn] the two had given him. He hadn’t even finished two bowls of porridge after breakfast, but his stomach was full.

Nanxu cleared the dishes and went into the kitchen, followed by Tingchuan. Zhixing examined a 2,000-year-old wild ginseng root curiously when a familiar voice called from outside the courtyard: “Little Hedgehog, do you have any food?”

Zhixing’s body trembled as he looked outside. He saw a child swaggering down from You’an’s shoulders.

Zhixing stood up and started to go inside. You’an dropped Xule and quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his way. He recalled how Zhixing had once criticized him for eating too much. “Why are you running away when you see me? It was that kid from the canine tribe who asked for food. Don’t hold it against me.”

 

---

Author’s Note:

Demon Calendar Year XX, Month XX, Day XX

Demon Realm Forum:

Post by: Nan Xu
Title: Seeking 100 Ways to Chase a Husband
Content: This is my first time in love. I’ve fallen for the most handsome man in the demon realm, but he’s so hard to win over! Please, my fellow demons, give me some advice—please, please!
IP: Zhu Yu Mountain

——

Ting Chuan: ???

——

Depressed Ting Chuan carried Nan Xu away from home that night.