The Blessed

“You go to help Jinghan look for books he needs, I will go to the shopkeeper to buy brushes, ink, paper and inkstones.”

Then the two brothers separated. One turned to the counter, while the other went to those shelves. The strange thing was, since they came in, they didn’t see anyone who came to serve them. After quite a while, Ling Jingxuan found a young man sleeping on a deck chair behind the counter, with sword-shape eyebrow, nose like a hanging hook, lips as red as blood, matched with that delicate goose egg face, if it hadn’t been that he was wearing men’s clothes and that flat chest, Ling Jingxuan and Yan Shengrui even couldn’t help doubting whether he was a woman. Apparently this man was pretty, to pretty to be real, like someone from a painting.

“Daddy, you…who are you...”

Bang~

A boy about ten years old suddenly came out from the inside. When he saw them clear, not, to be more exact, when he saw Yan Shengrui clearly, his little face turned pale instantly, and the inkstone in his hand fell onto the ground, with only astonishment filled in his wide open almond-shape eyes, and the trembling lips explained how he was terrified now.

Yan Shengrui darkened his face, eyes looking alert. Ling Jingxuan also formed a smile at the corner of his mouth, started to size him up. The boy was about ten years old at most, wearing dark blue silk robes, tall, but a bit too thin. When he moved his eyes on his face, he got stunned. That face was kind of familiar with the little buns, not, to be more exact, with Yan Shengrui! Is it possible this boy is also from the imperial family? Since when can people of imperial family be seen everywhere?

“Huh? Yan’er, what are you yelling for? I…”

The man woke up and subconsciously looked toward the boy. Noticing his abnormality, the man followed the direction his son was looking at. When he saw clearly Yan Shengrui’s face, he instantly knitted his eyebrow, and he immediately moved to the boy’s side, with that pretty face written with all coldness and indifference, and that trace of annoying feeling disappeared in a flash.

“Who are you people?”

After looking at each other in silence for a while, the man suddenly tried to hide his strange feeling away and asked coldly. It was only then that he found out that Yan Shengrui was wearing such shabby clothes. In a moment, numerous speculations slipped through his mind and he fell in his thoughts.

“You...know me?”

Yan Shengrui asked before Ling Jingxuan opened his mouth, frowning. The moment he saw them, he had some kind of familiar feeling. But it was gone soon. Their abnormal behaviors didn’t escape from his eyes. His intuition told him they should know him.

“No, please help yourself if you’d like to buy any books.”

Although not knowing why, Yan Shengrui seemed to have forgotten about them. After knowing this, that man became more confident.

“No, you must know me.”

This time, Yan Shengrui directly put the cards on the table, with that pair of tiger eyes firmly nailing on that man’s pretty face.

“I said I don’t know you. Are you also one of those dandies who would generate those dirty thoughts about me since I am too pretty? If so, you better drop that. One’s appearances were given by parents. I don’t have a choice. But I am a 100% man. I have a wife and a kid. And I am not interested in men.”

This man was really very beautiful, but his temperament was cold and aloof, who wasn’t supposed to be such a glib. Ling Jingxuan who hadn’t spoken a word rolled his eyes. Anything strange had its reason. Shengrui was right. They should know him, it was quite possible they had some connections. As for the man’s denial and his strange behaviors, he should have his purpose—to distance them from Shengrui.

“Shengrui!”

Thinking of this, Ling Jingxuan went forward and pulled Yan Shengrui who was still trying to say something, smiling, “I'm sorry, my man was rude. He was injured a few days ago and lost all his memories. Your abnormal behaviors made him confused. I am Ling Jingxuan, an ordinary farmer. My younger brother knows a few words, so he asked me to buy some books home for him. And my children have reached the school age, so I plan to buy some enlightenment books and relevant stuff like ink, paper and inkstones.”

These remarks not only clearly explained the situation of Yan Shengrui and reassured them, but also revealed their reason for coming and indirectly removed their guard.

“Since it is amnesia, then I overreacted. To tell you the truth, this child seldom meets strangers, even time he sees a stranger, he’d panic. Sorry to make you laugh.”

As shrew as that man was, with only a few sentences, he just turned the whole thing into nothing. After saying that, he even pushed the boy from behind. The boy gave his last suspicious look at Yan Shengrui and turned to walk to the backyard. After watching him leave, that man felt relieved in the heart, he even had cold sweat in his palms, and didn’t turn to them after taking a few deep breaths, “How old is your younger brother, if I may ask? Any title?”

Back and forth, it was only a few minutes’ time, the man went back to normal again, with a little smile crawling onto that pretty face, which always carried that fault-tolerant alienation, giving one some kind of cold feeling. Ling Jingxuan slightly raised his eyebrow, and secretly had an eye contact with Yan Shengrui, then said with a smile, “He is fourteen years old, no title yet. He plans to join the tongsheng examination this winter. I am also no very clear what kind of books he needs. Would you please make some recommendations, Mr. Chu?”

“How did you know my surname is Chu?”

Pupils reflectively constricted, the man blurted out. Ling Jingxuan calmly explained, “Haha... you should be Chu Ci, right? To tell the truth, I am a friend of Shopkeeper Zhang of Xinyuan Restaurant. Not long ago, I consulted him about our children’s school thing. He recommended Chu Ci to me and simply told me about his condition. According to his description, I guess you should be him.”

In the twenties, cold, not liked making friends, opened a book shop…all these were enough for him to guess out who he was. It was just that he really didn’t expect it would be so coincidental. He still planned to take the kids to visit him some other day.

“You...your children?!”

Not only hearing him say his children, Chu Ci pointed at them and asked. In his memories, wasn’t Yang Shengrui not supposed to have feelings for women? Let alone men! Where did the children come from?