Back beside Shu Yao, staring at his overly pale face, besides the worry in his eyes, Shu Yue felt a heartache that was uniquely reserved for him.
He raised his hand and placed it on that blood - less cheek. The slight coolness he felt chilled his heart. He tucked away the blue hair half - covering Shu Yao's chest, fully revealing his elegant and handsome appearance.
After a long pause, he suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he last looked at his father so intently. Every inch of those eyes and eyebrows was deeply engraved in his affectionate and gentle eyes.
"Dad, did I do something wrong..." Shu Yao, who should have lived a carefree life, was dragged into the mortal world's disputes because of him, suffering such grievances, all because of himself.
He suddenly regretted bringing Shu Yao to the mortal world to experience the so - called folk customs. If they had stayed in this tree - house at that time, although isolated from the world, they could have abandoned distractions, kept their hearts as pure as still water, without disputes or attachments.
If at that time, he had chosen to stay on the mountain with his father, enjoying this 'paradise' away from worldly strife, would these troubles and disputes have never occurred?
If...
Then, he let out a soft laugh, as if lamenting or self - mocking. In this world, there were no so many 'ifs'...
Bringing his thoughts back, he focused on Shu Yao again. One glance seemed to last a millennium, and it was like an eternity.
There was still tenderness in his deep eyes. Looking at those frost - white lips, so bloodless that it made his eyes freeze for a moment. He had a desire to make them turn back to their usual cherry - red color.
Thinking about it, his body made a slight movement following the commotion in his heart. He hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward carefully, getting closer to those two soft but pale lips.
They were just inches apart. The cold fragrance from the tip of his nose wafted over again, making his breath turn hot. He shed the last bit of hesitation in his heart and gradually brought his thin lips closer.
Just as he was about to touch them, the sleeping person suddenly let out a soft groan. Before Shu Yue could pull back, he saw those beautiful eyes half - open and slowly open.
The next second, their big eyes stared at each other. They were silent for a few seconds, and then Shu Yue was suddenly pushed away by a force and almost fell to the ground.
"Shu Yue, what are you up to again!" Shu Yao instinctively looked down at his clothes. After making sure they were neat, he felt relieved, but still remained vigilant against this 'hooligan' who took advantage of him.
This guy actually wanted to take advantage of him while he was asleep again. His guts were getting bolder and bolder!
Shu Yue waved his hands repeatedly, looking innocent: "I didn't do anything. I just wanted to look at you, Dad. I have no other improper thoughts."
After saying that, Shu Yue even wanted to slap himself. This far - fetched excuse would not convince Shu Yao, let alone himself.
"You can look, but why do you have to get so close to me?" Although Shu Yao was angry, he was also amused by this lousy excuse.
"I..." Shu Yue stammered for a long time. Then, with the mentality of going all out, he said firmly, "I'm not afraid of making you angry, Dad. To be honest, I just wanted to kiss you. What's wrong with that?"
Shu Yao was stunned for a while. Such a righteous statement left him without a reason to refute.
Seeing that his father didn't say anything, Shu Yue pulled his hand into his palm. He just wanted to give this cold hand a little more warmth and also hoped that this moment could last a little longer.
But there seemed to be a bit of guilt and solemnity on his face. He frowned and said, "Dad, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I made you bear so much public opinion. It's all my fault."
At this moment, Shu Yue was really like a child who had done something wrong, sincerely apologizing in front of his father.
The sudden solemnity between his heroic eyebrows made Shu Yao suddenly feel heartache. He frowned slightly and placed his other hand on that slightly rough big hand. He sighed and said, "Shu Yue, this has nothing to do with you. Since I chose to come to the mortal world, I have to learn to accept these disputes. Moreover, what others say is their business. I don't care."
"Dad, why don't we not go back to Kunshan? Let's just live in this tree - house and never go anywhere else." Suddenly, Shu Yue looked up. The dimness in his eyes was instantly replaced by a determined light. Every word carried a firm promise.
Shu Yao immediately rejected it without any hesitation: "No. You must go to Kunshan. Not only you, but I will also go back with you."
"Dad, our affairs may have already spread like wildfire among those little Taoist priests. Isn't it just asking for trouble if you go there?" He didn't understand why his father still insisted on going. Some people would not want to go back and face the gossip.
"We are innocent. Why should we care about others' opinions? Moreover, aren't you still by my side? Even if I'm isolated, I still have you."
He smiled like a flower in full bloom, as gentle as the spring breeze in March and as gorgeous as a hundred flowers in bloom. It dazed Shu Yue's eyes and also shook the stubborn persistence in his heart.
At the same time, he was inexplicably touched and also very gratified. At least in his father's eyes, he was still cared for in this way and his father knew to rely on him. That was good enough.
"Okay. Since you rely on me so much, Dad, I'll temporarily agree to you." After clapping his hands in agreement, he suddenly remembered something. He suddenly leaned closer to Shu Yao and said seriously, "But Dad, no matter what happens in the future, you can't hide anything from me. Do you understand?"
He seemed to be deliberately bringing up the matter of Li Nao to see Shu Yao's reaction. Sure enough, he saw a flash of panic on Shu Yao's face, and the frown between his eyebrows deepened.
Because of this incident, Shu Yue began to be afraid that Shu Yao would hide other things from him in the future. He was really afraid that some serious consequences would occur because of his negligence.
"Okay, I promise you." Shu Yao calmly agreed and gave a faint smile, but his words didn't match his heart.
Some things were better left hidden. There was no need to cause more trouble for Shu Yue.
Suddenly, Shu Yue seemed to remember something. He asked curiously, "By the way, Dad, I forgot to ask you. How did you get into that Yanyun Tower?"
Logically speaking, with Shu Yao's unworldly nature, he should have no interest in such places. Usually, he would be the one being lured there.
However, Shu Yao had completely forgotten about his memories of the Yanyun Tower. He didn't react for a long time and asked, "What Yanyun Tower?"
"Just the brothel you were in before, Dad. You can't have forgotten about it, right?" Shu Yue was quite surprised. How could Shu Yao have completely forgotten about this matter?
"Brothel? You mean I've been to a brothel?"
Shu Yue was stunned for a while at this repeated question. Seeing Shu Yao's confused and a bit anxious look, Shu Yue quickly tried to cover it up: "No, what I meant was, I want to know where you went after you left Kunshan?"
Shu Yao didn't doubt this question and just threw his previous doubts to the back of his mind. He could only recall slowly and say, "After I left Kunshan, I just wandered around aimlessly. Then... then I seemed to be taken to a place by someone."
He shook his rather heavy head and frowned slightly: "And then, I can't remember anything after that."