BXBX NOVEL Chapter 49: Nod and Smile
“I don’t think we’re at the stage to discuss marriage yet.”
Despite the abrupt questioning, Xiao Yuanmu still retained his calm. Although his voice was chilly, it didn’t make the person he was refusing feel uncomfortable at all.
Not only was Li Nianan not angry, but her smile also became even more sincere. She said, “You’re both young, so it’s normal to not want to talk about something so distant. It’s because I’m old that I’m thinking so much.”
Song Xuanhe was finally able to let out the breath that had been stuck in his chest. He turned to look at Xiao Yuanmu and saw that the other’s long, straight lashes were slightly lowered. It looked like he didn’t plan on replying to Li Nianan’s words.
“But,” Li Nianan didn’t force Xiao Yuanmu to reply either. There was a faint smile on her face, “Since the two of you are dating, you two should get along nicely. If you treat each other with sincerity, even if you’re no longer together in the future, at least hatred will not be borne of your love, and you won’t become enemies. Xuanhe is my son. I know that he’s difficult to interact with. He always needs to be coaxed or persuaded. Sometimes, his temper can get really bad. However, he has dared to go against his father for you. They nearly had a falling out, and Xuanhe almost moved out. It’s obvious that he really likes you. I hope that you’ll take care of him a bit more.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s eyelashes trembled slightly. His eyes shifted towards Song Xuanhe, astonishment flitting through his heart.
When he felt Xiao Yuanmu’s gaze on him, Song Xuanhe forced himself to keep a straight face. “Mom, are you done? I still have something to do with him.”
“Alright. You young’uns go have fun with dating. I won’t disturb you two anymore.” Li Nianan smiled. “I was originally going to have dinner with the two of you, but Xuanhe didn’t want me disturbing the two of you. I’ll you two enjoy your own little couple’s world.”
Song Xuanhe tugged on Xiao Yuanmu and stood up. He hastily said, “We’re going first.”
Xiao Yuanmu was pulled downstairs by Song Xuanhe. Only after they had returned to their room did Song Xuanhe let a breath out of relief. At the same time, he felt like he really couldn’t figure out why Mrs. Song was suddenly so supportive of him and Xiao Yuanmu being together.
In the past, at one point, she had been on the same side as Song Guochao. She had hoped that he would get together with Song Jiani.
“How long are you planning on holding my hand for?”
A sudden voice echoed through the room, interrupting Song Xuanhe’s thoughts.
He subconsciously looked up into Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes. He then belatedly realized that he was still holding Xiao Yuanmu’s hand. He relaxed his own hand, wanting to let go. But a second before he fully let his hold go, he suddenly remembered that it would be best for him not to go against his character settings.
It didn’t matter what was going on with Xiao Yuanmu. If he had changed, then what was important was that Song Xuanhe had to remain calm and act accordingly. If he hadn’t changed, then Song Xuanhe should prepare accordingly. After Li Nianan’s interlude, Song Xuanhe had actually calmed down. When he looked at Xiao Yuanmu, there was none of the vigilance and misgivings he had had in his eyes just a while back. In any case, he wouldn’t end up any worse off than the original host.
The hand he had just loosened tightened again. He raised his chin and cocked a brow. “If I want to hold your hand, I will for however long I want. Even if I want to hold your hand all day, all you can do is let me hold it.”
Song Xuanhe was acting haughty and overbearing, but in Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes, he looked like a kitten trying to act threatening. Even when this kitten’s fur was puffed out, he was just a little round ball. There was a wariness and probing in his round eyes that could not be hidden.
“Since you like to hold it, don’t let go today.” Xiao Yuanmu’s gaze shifted from the other’s black eyes and fell on their intertwined hands. He switched his hold, so he went from being the passive party to the initiator. Song Xuanhe’s hands were a bit smaller than his and fit perfectly in his own.
Song Xuanhe tried to pull his hand out. When he realized that he couldn’t, he pressed his lips together and furrowed his brows. “I don’t want to hold hands with you anymore. Let go.”
“Too late.”
*
Zhou Nan exchanged a weird look with Xiao Shenglin. He then turned to look at Song Xuanhe and coughed. “Song Er, can you tone it down a notch while we’re eating?”
Song Xuanhe paused while picking up some food with his chopsticks, expression stiffening. He glanced at Xiao Yuanmu, who was eating gracefully with his left hand, in his peripheral view. Song Xuanhe gnashed his teeth and vented his stifled anger onto Zhou Nan. “Eat your food. Don’t meddle in other people’s business.”
Zhou Nan choked. He looked helpless. “I’m worried that it’s not convenient for you to eat like this, okay. Besides, both of you only have one hand on the table. It looks really weird to me, sitting opposite of you.”
“Then, sit at another table.”
Song Xuanhe rolled his eyes. Since Xiao Yuanmu had said that he wouldn’t let go, he was really doing as he had said. Things had been super inconvenient for him. However, he had no way of pulling his hand out of the other’s hold. Furthermore, he didn’t have the courage to directly have a falling out with the big shot, so he could only bear with it, sullen.
Even while eating, he didn’t dare to drink any soup. He was afraid that Xiao Yuanmu would insist on coming with him to the washroom!
Because of this, Song Xiao Shaoye, who already had a bit of a bad temper, currently had a fiery rage burning in his stomach. At first, he could still endure it. But, who could have expected room service to suddenly be suspended? Because of this, he had to come out to eat while holding hands with Xiao Yuanmu. While leaving, he had even been thinking that they absolutely could not bump into anyone they knew.
He hadn’t expected that, as soon as they had sat down in a little corner of the dining room, Zhou Nan, who had just been a step behind them, would come right over and insist on sitting with them. As if that hadn’t been enough, he had even called Xiao Ranyun and Xiao Shenglin over, making Song Xuanhe’s expression all the more uglier.
Zhou Nan didn’t know why Song Xuanhe was suddenly so angry. He just thought that the other’s cold face was because he was in a bad mood. Therefore, Zhou shaoye, who had received a completely uncalled for eye roll, felt a bit wronged. Still, he asked Xiao Yuanmu curiously, “He was still fine this morning. Why’s he suddenly so angry now?”
Xiao Yuanmu glanced at Song Xuanhe’s pursed lips and replied, “I don’t know.”
Zhou Nan thought about it for a while and then snapped his fingers. “I had been thinking that Song Er’s temperament had gotten better as of late. I thought that he had changed. But alas, he’s the same. Men, there are always a few days a month when they get like this. I get it.”
Song Xuanhe narrowed his eyes slightly, lowering his voice. “Say one more thing, and I’ll make sure you can’t get up for the next few days.”
Zhou Nan laughed, not afraid in the least. “If you want to make it so that I can’t get up, you’ll have to first free your hand.”
Seeing that Song Xuanhe’s expression was a bit off like he really was planning on hitting Zhou Nan, Xiao Shenglin mediated. “The food’s already cold. Let’s eat.”
They finally quieted down and finished their food. After the meal, Xiao Ranyun lamented, “Yuanmu gege, are you left-handed? Looking at you just now, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that you used to use your right hand in the past. Your relationship with Xuanhe gege is really good. You guys really haven’t let go for even a second.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s lips curled up a few degrees discreetly. He spoke in neither a fast nor slow pace, voice very tranquil. “He said that he wanted to hold hands all day.”
Song Xuanhe looked at Xiao Yuanmu, shocked. He hadn’t thought that the other would act so shamelessly right now. When did he ever say that he wanted to hold hands all day?!
However, the others at the table didn’t notice Song Xuanhe’s expression. This was because, while Xiao Yuanmu had been saying this, although his voice was cool and his expression as cold and distant as ever, they didn’t know why, but they felt like they could hear a trace of helplessness in his flat tone.
Zhou Nan’s gaze towards Song Xuanhe changed slightly. He said, “Song Er, how come I never noticed that you were this clingy in the past?”
The vein in Song Xuanhe’s forehead throbbed. For the first time, he understood what it was like to be unable to explain himself. However, he was still determined to clear his name. “It was he who said he wanted to hold my hand. I didn’t say that I wanted to hold his hand.”
When he said this, it wasn’t just Zhou Nan, even Xiao Shenglin’s expression changed. Xiao Ranyun quietly asked, “Xuanhe gege, are you guys doing that rumoured thing? Are you ‘force-feeding’ us ‘dog food?’”
Xiao Yuanmu remained silent. Song Xuanhe was speechless.
Neither of them spoke, but everyone at the table felt like Xiao Yuanmu was the one giving into Song Xuanhe. They felt like they could feel his helplessness and doting towards Song Xuanhe. They also felt like Song Xuanhe looked like he was purposely putting on a show of affection.
Because of the strange atmosphere here, Song Xuanhe dragged Xiao Yuanmu back to their room without any reluctance.
Song Xuanhe sat down on the 3-seater and inwardly hated this suite’s living room for not having any single-seater sofas. He couldn’t even sit on an armchair to force Xiao Yuanmu to let go.
He pulled at his hand and said, “I want to brush my teeth after eating. Let go of my hand.”
Xiao Yuanmu said plainly, “I’ll go with you.”
Song Xuanhe: “I can’t squeeze toothpaste out with one hand.”
Xiao Yuanmu fiddled with the hand he was holding and said, “I’ll help you.”
Song Xuanhe’s expression warped. He endured and endured, and then, he suddenly beamed. “I want to use the washroom. Number two.”
Xiao Yuanmu paused his action of playing with the other’s hand. He looked up at Song Xuanhe, who was looking at him provokingly. The corner of his lips rose slightly, and he said calmly, “Then, I’ll let go when you want to come out.”
Song Xuanhe felt his eye twitch. For the first time, he realized just how much of a freak Xiao Yuanmu was. This had also made him all the more certain that this wasn’t the Xiao Yuanmu of the past. Despite that, Song Xiao Shaoye, who had no other choice, could only ease up his tone and compromise. “How can I make you let go?”
“Weren’t you the one who wanted to hold hands?”
“No!” Faced with Xiao Yuanmu’s smile that didn’t reach his eyes, Song Xuanhe’s expression changed. However, his bladder that was getting fuller by the minute forced him to adapt. He squeezed out a smile and asked, “What do you want me to do for you to let go?”
“Just answer one question.” Xiao Yuanmu raised his hand and stared at Song Xuanhe with his bottomless eyes. There was a bit of hoarseness to his refreshingly cool voice. “You don’t like me, so why do you want to be with me?”
Song Xuanhe’s pupils constricted slightly, and he looked away at once. He said, “How do you know I don’t like you?”
Xiao Yuanmu looked at him calmly. “It doesn’t matter whether you like me or not. Just tell me why you are so insistent on being with me.”
“Because, you’re good-looking.” Glancing at Xiao Yuanmu’s face, in a spurt of cleverness, Song Xuanhe answered, “I like good-looking people. You’re good-looking. Therefore, I want to be with you.”
Xiao Yuanmu raised a brow, “Really?”
“Yes.” Although Song Xuanhe didn’t understand why the original host had chased after Xiao Yuanmu and forced him to be with him back then, he thought that there were probably two reasons: Xiao Yuanmu’s looks and a man’s desire to conquer.
The desire to conquer wasn’t really appropriate to say out loud though. It didn’t really make a difference to just say that it was because of Xiao Yuanmu’s looks.
Xiao Yuanmu’s heavy gaze closely examined every inch of Song Xuanhe’s expression. However, the other’s eyes were pure, and his expression was calm. There were no signs of him lying.
Did Song Xuanhe really force him to be with him in every world just because of his face?
Suddenly, a sliver of unhappiness emerged in Xiao Yuanmu’s chest. His already cold eyes became even chillier. It was like a layer of frost had formed over his eyes.
Song Xuanhe naturally had noticed the change in Xiao Yuanmu’s expression. However, he didn’t have the energy to say anything more. He pulled at the hand Xiao Yuanmu held and said, “I answered you. Let go.”
But, the cold in Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes only lasted a second. Very quickly, they regained their calm. He said, “If that’s the case, why haven’t you slept with me even after all this time?”
This time, Song Xuanhe’s expression changed slightly. All sorts of reasons floated into his head, but Xiao Yuanmu’s dark, ruthless eyes pulverized those thoughts. The only one left was:
“Because…I can’t get it up.”
The System: !!!
Xiao Yuanmu was quiet for a moment. He then narrowed his eyes. “Are you lying?”
“I’m telling the truth.” Song Xuanhe gritted his teeth. Although he and the original host had the same name, he wasn’t the original host. He had drawn a line between himself and the original host, so his words were very smooth. “I’m not lying. Otherwise, why wouldn’t I touch you?”
After saying this, Song Xuanhe really did think that maybe this was the reason the original host had never touched Xiao Yuanmu. Otherwise, with the original host’s morals and character, there was no reason for why he wouldn’t have touched such a perfect person.
Xiao Yuanmu let go of him. Song Xuanhe quickly went to the washroom, sighing in relief. Halfway, however, he heard a chilly voice behind him.
“I will check to see if you’re lying to me.”
Eve: I actually laughed at the hand-holding part. And then laughed even harder at that last line. He bao’s actions biting him in the butt hahahaha.
Kara: Ahahahaha, I really do love their dynamic of push and pull like this; it’s always so fun to see! (*≧艸≦) Also, how cute is SXH?? I agree with MuMu, our He bao really is a little fluffy kitty furball. ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)