Chapter 2816: The Stand‑In Was Forcibly Taken by the Bandit's Wife 22

Approximately an hour later.

The courtyard gate was gently pushed open, then bolted; footsteps sounded through the rain as they climbed the steps to the outer warm pavilion.

Gu Fanghe brushed off the rain moisture from his shoulders and pushed the door open.

"Xiao Chen, tonight Chen Xiaoshan came to me about Ruan Sutong gathering herbs—he…"

The outer room's candlelight was still lit, the inner door ajar, casting a faint yellow glow.

"Xiao Chen?" Gu Fanghe called again.

No one answered.

His heart gave an unexplained jump; he hurried to the inner chamber, where the bed curtains and blankets were neatly folded, and the couch was empty.

Gu Fanghe's heart tightened; he turned sharply, quickly walked to the bedside, then turned toward the screen behind, even opening the wardrobe.

"Jin Chen!"

Gu Fanghe turned to rush outside, countless bad thoughts flashing through his mind.

Just as his mind was in turmoil and he was about to recklessly rush out to gather people and search the stronghold, he caught a glimpse of the door moving slightly, and a figure stepped out.

The dim yellow candlelight cast the figure in a hazy glow, as if seen through mist—only visible was a person in plain white robes, hair half-bound in black, the tips still damp.

Gu Fanghe's breath caught.

This attire…

Jin Chen walked up to him, his near-dangerous allure making Gu Fanghe's gaze dazed, his lips opening and closing for a moment.

His distinctively jointed fingers lifted Gu Fanghe's chin.

Jin Chen lowered his head, leaning close, his voice soft like raindrops tapping the window lattice: "Who am I."

In Gu Fanghe's sight, only Jin Chen's overly gorgeous face was visible; he could not possibly fail to recognize him, even if wearing the same white clothes.

"Xiao Chen…" Gu Fanghe finally found his voice: "Why are you wearing…"

"Why are you wearing these clothes, where did you go, did you get caught in the rain, are you cold?"

But before he could finish, Jin Chen interrupted.

Jin Chen slightly tilted his head, speaking in a languid tone, his fingertip lightly scraping Gu Fanghe's chin: "When I first came to Black Mountain Cliff, wasn't it this outfit that the chief had sent for me?"

He drew even closer, his breath brushing Gu Fanghe's lips, the corners of his eyes slightly curving: "So it turns out that back then, the chief wanted to see someone like this."

"It's Ruan Sutong."

"No! Of course not," Gu Fanghe said, twisting a wet strand of Jin Chen's hair between his fingers, unconsciously rubbing it, "Don't think that way."

Jin Chen slowly lowered his head, as if to kiss him.

Gu Fanghe instinctively leaned in, but Jin Chen turned aside, and the kiss landed in empty space.

Gu Fanghe's breath suddenly halted, as if he had stepped into empty air.

Jin Chen tilted his head, his cool cheek touching Gu Fanghe's, the skin damp with rain.

"If not," Jin Chen said word by word, his breath brushing Gu Fanghe's sensitive ear, "Why did the chief never see me, yet first paint me?"

Jin Chen's fingertip slid along Gu Fanghe's jaw, moving up to press the red mark beneath his eye—clearly an affectionate gesture, yet his words made Gu Fanghe shudder.

"Could it be that, based on the portrait of Ruan Sutong from three years ago, you deceived me that night?"

"Gu Fanghe, have you ever deceived me?"

"No." Gu Fanghe answered immediately, his voice hoarse yet resolute, pulling that cool hand to his lips and kissing his fingertips repeatedly: "I have not deceived you."

"Xiao Chen, hear me out: that painting… existed even before I met Ruan Sutong."

Jin Chen's eyes flickered.

"I don't know how to explain… that painting was made by me, years ago, after a severe injury left me unconscious, from the lingering impressions in my dreams."

Gu Fanghe's brows knit tight as he recalled those fragmented, unreal fragments: "The person in the painting has blurred brows and eyes; I couldn't paint them, I only felt… it ought to be like that."

"Later, I saw Ruan Sutong." Gu Fanghe's voice lowered, somewhat self-mocking: "At first glance I thought he was somewhat alike, yet something felt off, so I didn't keep him, letting him go to the capital."

"But only when you appeared." Gu Fanghe looked at Jin Chen, his eyes welling with intense feeling, almost obsessively certain: "Only when I saw you, Xiao Chen."

He held Jin Chen's hand to his face: "The person in that painting is you."

The words having been spoken, there is nothing more to hide.

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 67!】

"Xiao Chen, Young Master," Gu Fanghe pecked Jin Chen's cheek, his voice hoarse to the point of being unseemly, "Don't be angry with me; how could I deceive you?"

Jin Chen caressed Gu Fanghe's cheek, his fingertip once again grazing that scar, then pressed his lips to Gu Fanghe's.

Enough tenderness, it enticed Gu Fanghe to seek his affection like a craving.

After a while, Gu Fanghe drowned in that kiss, until Jin Chen finally placed the kiss at the corner of his lips, whereupon he lost himself and opened his eyes.

"Gu Fanghe." Jin Chen called him, his fingertip lightly rubbing his neck.

"Mm." Gu Fanghe replied at once, his arms tightening.

"If one day you deceive me, and it still concerns Ruan Sutong…"

He hadn't finished speaking when he first bit Gu Fanghe's neck, then said, "I will leave the Black Mountain Stronghold."

Gu Fanghe turned his head to look at Jin Chen, seeing his brows and eyes full of feeling, his gaze shifting; though he spoke threatening words, his eyes were like hooks, tugging at his heart, making it itch, as if his soul were about to be pulled away.

Although he had not drunk after dinner, Gu Fanghe felt intoxicated—drunk on the springtime in Jin Chen's eyes, drunk in this rainy night.

Gu Fanghe's eyes brimmed with growing ambition and possessiveness, allowing Jin Chen to kiss and bite him, while he slightly lifted his head, his fingertips threading through Jin Chen's slightly damp hair, moving slowly, his heart itching fiercely.

"Young Master, I won't give you this chance; since you have come to the Black Mountain Stronghold, you are mine. In this life, the next, and for all eternity… do not even think of leaving."