Chapter 32: Found a Handsome Man

Translated by Eve

Edited by Kara

The room fell quiet again. There was also a hint of awkwardness in the room. Guo Tao was the most embarrassed. He had originally hoped that this intervention would pacify Song Xuanhe's anger. He hadn't expected that things would turn out like this after coming upstairs.

However, the expressions of the three people involved in this situation hadn't changed in the slightest.

Song Xuanhe sat there languidly. He had already severed any possibility of being on friendly terms with Bai xiao shaoye, having recited his lines from the plot. Therefore, he absolutely could not be the one to mediate this situation. Furthermore, he didn't know why, but...although Bai Mo seemed harmless and gentle, the other made him feel uncomfortable.

The moment he heard Xiao Yuanmu say such a thing, the only thing Song Xuanhe had felt was shock. After all, Bai Mo was supposed to be the white moonlight in Xiao Yuanmu's heart. He had never expected that Xiao Yuanmu wouldn't give his white moonlight any face in front of so many people.

He had especially never thought so because the two of them had seemed to have been chatting quite happily earlier today. Furthermore, Bai Mo had helped Xiao Yuanmu out during that whole fiasco earlier. Song Xuanhe had also seen a rare softened expression on Xiao Yuanmu's face. That scene had been transmitted through the System, so he couldn't have seen it wrongly.

When he thought of this, Song Xuanhe felt a bit intrigued. He wanted to know just what Xiao Yuanmu was thinking.

Bai Mo also wanted to know what Xiao Yuanmu was thinking. He had felt the other's softness beneath his cold exterior when they had been talking earlier. He had thought that he was probably a bit special in Xiao Yuanmu's heart. However, if that was the case, why would Xiao Yuanmu say such a thing to him just now?

Although he was puzzled over this, the smile on Bai Mo's face didn't change. His lips curled up into a smile, dimples appearing faintly. He said in an amiable, adorable voice, "Mr. Xiao is right. There's nothing between Mr. Xiao and I. Furthermore, Mr. Xiao and Song shao are sweethearts. How could I have any intentions towards him? I didn't mean anything with what I had said earlier. If I have made you misunderstand, allow me to apologize again. Furthermore, I will give another bottle of precious wine to Song shao as an apology."

Bai Mo was good at gauging the situation and saying the right thing. He handled it with ease and carried himself with a generous and dignified manner. Zhou Nan and Guo Tao, who had originally felt like something was up previously, both now thought that they had probably been thinking too much. They no longer looked at him in such a scrutinizing and strained manner.

Song Xuanhe clicked his tongue inwardly. Bai Mo was deserving of being Xiao Yuanmu's white moonlight. Even Song Xuanhe had no choice but to admit that even though Bai Mo didn't have an attractive face, his aura that made others let down their guard and his mild-mannered bearing really drew people in. Moreover, he had a high EQ, allowing him to easily turn the situation around in a flash.

However, since Bai Mo had already said something like that, Song Xuanhe couldn't just sit back and watch the show anymore. "Bai xiao shaoye is overthinking things. Neither Yuanmu nor I blame you. There's no need for an apology gift."

When he heard this, Bai Mo sighed and completely relaxed. His actions were a bit excessive but didn't feel exaggerated. He blinked his eyes, appearing very youthful. "Because I grew up abroad, I'm pretty frank and tend to forget that my words could be interpreted differently here. I'm lucky that Song shao is really easy-going and willing to overlook this. Moreover, it's because I really like Song shao and Mr. Xiao that I spoke up. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to become friends with you. If I had ended up offending you instead of becoming friends, I would have been really sad."

When Bai Mo spoke, both his tiger teeth and dimples could be vaguely seen. His eyes had been full of sincerity when he said that he wanted to be friends with them. There was a youthful liveliness and sincerity in his voice. He gave off a very candid vibe.

Guo Tao was acquainted with Bai Mo's older brother, but because Bai Mo had been abroad this whole time, this was his first meeting with the younger man. When he heard the other speak like this, his impression of the other became better. Therefore, he smiled and tried to ease the room's tension. "Song shao has always been easy-going. We can all see that you didn't mean anything by what you said. Although you've just come back into the country, you need to consider your words more carefully in the future when you visit older folk. Otherwise, you might end up making bad impressions on them."

"I understand. Thank you, Guo ge." Bai Mo nodded, smiling in thanks.

Guo Tao, seeing Bai Mo act so lovably, felt the need to protect his friend's younger brother. Therefore, he turned to say to Song Xuanhe, "I mentioned wine tasting earlier. I'll go get it now. With an expert like you appraising it, I won't have to wonder whether I had accidentally bought a counterfeit."

Zhou Nan had his fill of the show. He had also wanted to try the wine Guo Tao had been mentioning for a long time now. Therefore, he teased, "Buying counterfeit wine is fine. It's only a problem if you drink that counterfeit wine. Indeed, you should let our Song shao taste it for us first."

Song Xuanhe rolled his eyes at Zhou Nan and ignored the other when he made eyes at him. He accepted the wine glass from Guo Tao and looked at the translucent wine inside. He then sniffed the rich but not overwhelming alcoholic scent. With just that alone, he could tell that Guo Tao's wine must have cost quite a lot.

He took a small sip, letting the lemony, herbal-scented wine slide down his throat. Song Xuanhe slightly narrowed his eyes, taking in the aftertaste. He then smiled. "Guo ge, you must have paid a hefty price for this. From what I know, people usually collect this wine. Very few bottles have been opened for the purpose of drinking."

When Guo Tao saw Song Xuanhe's expression, he knew that he had made the right choice in buying this wine. He smiled and said, "I'm a businessman. I'm not much of a collector. Furthermore, wine is meant to be drunk in my eyes. In my opinion, letting someone who can appreciate the wine taste it is the right way to ensure that it won't go to waste."

The other people in the room also began to sip the wine. Even Zhou Nan, who didn't like to drink wine much, thought that it tasted pretty good and couldn't help but take a few more sips. In contrast, Song Xuanhe, who had always liked wine, drank a few glasses. In the end, his eyes had turned a bit misty.

Only Xiao Yuanmu had refrained from touching the wine. That was why when it came time to leave, he politely refused Guo Tao's offer of arranging a ride for them. Instead, he drove them home himself.

Xiao Yuanmu looked at Song Xuanhe, who was sitting on the sofa with a vacant look in his eyes. The light in his eyes flickered.

When they had been in the car just now, he had asked Song Xuanhe a few questions, sounding him out. He had discovered that when Song Xuanhe was drunk, he was abnormally docile. The other would answer any question he was asked. Even when he didn't know the answer, he would ponder over it for a while before slowly telling Xiao Yuanmu, "I don't know."

Song Xuanhe sat on the sofa, looking lovable. His posture was very upright. He didn't curl up into a ball, cross his legs, or sit in some other sloppy position like he usually did while sober. Instead, he simply blinked his misty, droopy eyes as he looked up at Xiao Yuanmu. His limpid eyes were full of bewilderment and curiosity. When he blinked, one could also feel his fatigue.

His eyes were pure like that of a child. It made one want to carry him to bed and softly coax him to sleep.

Xiao Yuanmu had never seen this lovable, soft version of Song Xuanhe in any of his lives. It caused a sliver of some strange, unrecognizable feeling to emerge in his still heart.

Xiao Yuanmu turned around and sat down on the armchair nearby. His eyes were calm and still, completely void of any ripples of emotion. His gaze met with Song Xuanhe's as he got straight to the point. "Why are you so insistent in being with me?"

Song Xuanhe, who was still sitting on the sofa, seemed to blink in hesitation. He furrowed his brows slightly, obviously pondering the question. About half a minute later, he seriously said, "Because, you're good-looking."

Xiao Yuanmu's finger that had been tapping against the armchair paused. His voice was flat. "Then, why don't you sleep in the same room as me?"

Regardless of whether it had been the past him from before he had ever been reborn or the Xiao Yuanmu of this timeline who the current him had taken over, they had both been puzzled over this. However, before he had ever been reborn, although he had been bewildered, he had rejoiced over the fact that they hadn't had to sleep together. Meanwhile, the Xiao Yuanmu of this timeline had felt both confused and hopeful.

Xiao Yuanmu stared at Song Xuanhe, waiting for his response.

Song Xuanhe had been mulling over this question earnestly. However, two seconds later, he blinked and yawned softly. His eyes were slightly red and watery. He then quietly said, "I'm sleepy."

Xiao Yuanmu's tapping against the armchair paused again. He said in an insipid tone, "You can sleep after you answer my question."

Song Xuanhe stared at him. He looked even more innocent with his teary, droopy eyes and reddened nose. When he spoke again, he sounded a bit wronged. "I want to sleep."

Xiao Yuanmu frowned slightly. He was about to say something when he saw Song Xuanhe stand up. His gaze sharpened, and he was about to pull the other back when he saw the other instead head towards his direction. Song Xuanhe fell into his lap, arms wrapping around his neck as he burrowed into the crook of Xiao Yuanmu's neck. The other then nuzzled at his skin.

He hadn't expected that Song Xuanhe would sit in his lap like this. Xiao Yuanmu's body stiffened. Suddenly, the scene of his pre-rebirth self trapping Song Xuanhe onto his lap and French kissing him appeared in his mind, causing him to abort his action of shoving Song Xuanhe off of himself.

Xiao Yuanmu's thin lips pursed softly. He rescinded the billowing emotions in his eyes and eased up the tone in his chilly voice. He spoke with a coaxing tone, "Tell me why you don't sleep in the same bed as me even though you clearly like me, and then, I'll let you sleep."

Song Xuanhe lifted his head when he heard this, his gaze meeting with Xiao Yuanmu's at this close distance. His voice carried a faint sound of exhaustion and was very sweet. "I can sleep after telling you why?"

Xiao Yuanmu looked into his distinct, bright eyes and made a soft sound of agreement. He then watched as the other blinked slowly. Song Xuanhe was silent as if pondering over this matter seriously. After some time, he slowly asked Xiao Yuanmu, "Why do we have to sleep together?"

If it wasn't because Song Xuanhe looked so innocent and lost right now— his misty eyes, full of doubt, and slightly turned head all made it clear that he hadn't understood Xiao Yuanmu's question— Xiao Yuanmu would have thought that the other was pretending to be drunk to trick him.

Why would a couple sleep together?

Did this question really need to be answered?

However, when he looked into Song Xuanhe's pure, limpid eyes again, Xiao Yuanmu pressed his lips into a straight line. His Adam's apple bobbed a few times before he pushed Song Xuanhe away and stood up. With a chilly voice, he said, "No reason."

Song Xuanhe looked like he hadn't expected Xiao Yuanmu to suddenly treat him so roughly. He blinked, eyes suddenly turning even more watery. He grabbed the bottom of Xiao Yuanmu's shirt, voice filled with a wronged, sobbing tone. "Daddy, don't be angry. I won't be bad anymore. You and Mommy...don't abandon me, please?"

Xiao Yuanmu's steps paused. He then turned to look at the tear-streaked Song Xuanhe.

The author has something to say:

Xiao Yuanmu: Call me Daddy somewhere else from now on.

Eve: Patreon update~ There is now a RMLE 10 tier so you can be ~10 chapters ahead of schedule. Check it out if interested~ Thank you to all my current Patrons! Also, drunk Xuan bao is so, so, so cute?!!!! My heart!!!! How can anyone resist him??? And then my heart ached for my baby. And then the author's note killed me LMAO.

Kara: Aww, SXH is truly adorable! Mumu, don't you dare treat him badly, otherwise we will be having words!! <(｀^´)> The author's note though LMAO pls author, why you like this ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)