Chapter 2079: How to Tame the Rebellious Youth 28

The courtyard arranged by the Martial Arts Alliance for Jin Chen was naturally the best.

The square archway was a flower-lined corridor, secluded yet not remote, far superior to Sword Villa's Gazing Cloud Pavilion.

But since arriving here, they never had much time to keep each other company.

Jin Chen walked down the corridor, pushed the door open, and saw Ji Lai zhi dazedly sitting at the table, not knowing what he was thinking; the room had a faint smell of blood, presumably he had already cleaned up himself.

"Lai zhi."

Hearing the sound, Ji Lai zhi inexplicably tensed his body, turned around, and instinctively forced a smile.

"You're back." His tone carried longing and anticipation, lacking the grievance Jin Chen had expected.

Ji Lai zhi seemed fine; unless observed closely, one couldn't detect the pain and repressed endurance he had just experienced.

Right now he merely sat at the table's edge, lifted his head and smiled at Jin Chen: "How is it, have you ferreted out the mole?"

Jin Chen's expression darkened slightly.

The dependence cultivated over so long unexpectedly made him retreat at once when others criticized.

He sat down beside Ji Lai zhi, and their breathing intermingled in the room.

"Everything's been handled; the few thorny ones are just a matter of time."

Jin Chen replied softly to his earlier question, then reached out and pinched Ji Lai zhi's earlobe: "What about you—did you suffer some grievance? Why didn't you come tell me, instead running off to hide yourself?"

Ji Lai zhi pressed his fingertips lightly against his palm, lowered his head to avoid Jin Chen's gaze, yet his voice trailed off with a hint of tremor.

"You should know—I fought Ji Si Yao outside and won."

"... Am I awesome?"

Jin Chen's fingers, still pinching the earlobe, moved backward to press the vermilion birthmark on the nape, and said, "Ji Lai zhi."

Ji Lai zhi's eyelids twitched; his sore, hot eye sockets could no longer hide his grievance, and mist instantly blurred his vision.

"... Mm." He replied in a muffled tone.

"Come hug me." Jin Chen lowered his head to look at him, raised a hand to touch the boy's wet lashes, and caught the body that lunged forward.

Ji Lai zhi hooked his arms around Jin Chen's shoulders, holding tight as if wanting to bury himself.

"When did our Lai zhi turn into a little silent gourd?" Jin Chen rubbed his back, then lowered his head to kiss the top of his head.

Ji Lai zhi shook his head, his voice weakening: "No, I don't want to hide anything from you."

"But you're too busy," Ji Lai zhi said, his expression somewhat dim, carefully brushing his chin: "You've been exhausted lately; I don't want to cause you more trouble."

"Ji Si Yao deliberately provoked me today, but I still couldn't hold back."

Ji Lai zhi is not the type to learn obedience; recklessness and rebellion have been etched into his bones since childhood.

But in front of Jin Chen, he can't help but want to behave more obediently, ideally surpassing many peers, so he can feel at ease being the only person by Jin Chen's side, whether as a disciple or any other role.

That's not bad in itself, but failing to gauge the degree easily leads to suppression that leaves him breathless.

He should have realized this earlier, Jin Chen thought; since his identity was exposed, Lai zhi has become far more anxious than before, though they usually stay together, leaving little chance to show it.

Ji Lai zhi didn't know what Jin Chen was thinking; merely, even a brief silence now made him somewhat traumatized.

"Did I overreact?" Ji Lai zhi asked softly, "I injured Ji Si Yao today; Flowing Cloud Pursuing Moon will surely be angry, and will cause trouble for you…"

Those words that struck straight at the heart were seized by Jin Chen, who pinched his chin and kissed him, completely blocking them.

Jin Chen gave him no time to adapt, kissing him even somewhat fiercely, as if it were also an intangible severe punishment.

The prolonged, dense fierce kiss left Ji Lai zhi somewhat breathless.

Yet precisely because of that, the emotions Ji Lai zhi had buried in his heart seemed to release as well, and tears gradually slid down.

The pale red at the corner of Ji Lai zhi's eye made his cinnabar mole look all the more moving; Jin Chen paused for a moment, then placed a kiss at the eye's corner, finally ending this somewhat prolonged deep kiss.

"…" Ji Lai zhi panted slightly, then had his face wiped clean while being held; his eyes filled with dazed confusion, all grievance and sorrow kissed away.

Jin Chen's eyes grew deeper, his tone gentle yet dangerous: "Who taught you to be so self‑deprecating?"

"You suffer grievance in silence, yet hold the blame on yourself—is that how I taught you?"

Ji Lai zhi was startled and shivered again.

Belatedly he realized Jin Chen seemed angry, torn, he picked at his fingertips, lifted his head, and actively kissed him again.

Jin Chen pressed his forehead against his, "Coquetry won't help."

"Am I wrong in doing this?" Ji Lai zhi eased his tone and asked very seriously.

"No."

Jin Chen said, "Ji Si Yao hit, then hit; since he provoked first, even if Flowing Cloud Pursuing Moon comes for trouble, it's not your fault—yet you first think you're wrong."

"Second," he said, his hand at the waist exerting a bit more force.

"Have you forgotten that I told you your identity could protect you in any situation?"

Ji Lai zhi blinked slowly, trapped in the embrace with nowhere to escape.

"I remember, I remember." Ji Lai zhi said, his cheeks warming.

"What good is remembering if you don't heed my words, readily believe others' persuasion? You might as well not remember." Jin Chen said, pinching his fingertips.

Ji Lai zhi: "..."

Ji Lai zhi licked his lower lip, guiltily raised his eyes to Jin Chen, and changed the subject.

"My emotions today are off; I almost couldn't control them—should I take medicine?"

Jin Chen's mouth corner twitched, he handed the medicine bottle to Ji Lai zhi, nudged the tea cup, and said, "Take five pellets."

Ji Lai zhi made an aggrieved sound.

Jin Chen is too terrible. He thought, today even taking medicine he has to do himself, and Jin Chen actually didn't coax him.