Ch 46

Zhao Feng halted. Whilst he has always been an unscrupulous man, he did not like seeing his stupid rabbit cry.

He stood in place for a long while, silently eying the youth curled up against the wall, waiting patiently for him to calm down.

After a while, Su Yang's emotions finally wound down. He sniffled, then asked in a tiny voice, "Feng gē, I have something to ask you."

"Ask. If I have the answer, I won't hide it from you."

Su Yang picked up the mobile phone from the floor and tapped on the screen. His eyes brimmed with tears again as he choked out, "You are an expert in the research of the Yu Dynasty. Then can you tell me, how did the [Yu] in the Yu Dynasty come about?"

His question caught Zhao Feng by surprise. In fact, as long as one did a simple search on the internet, the answer would be readily apparent.

"Yu, stands for dazzling brilliance and radiance. Before the Emperor Cheng Tian ascended the throne, he had been granted the title of Rong. Because Yu conforms to the meaning of Rong, there is a consensus within academic circles that this was Emperor Cheng Tian's way of venerating himself and promoting himself as a Son of Heaven."

{T/N : Yu (煜) means brilliant or glorious. Rong (荣) means glory or honour. Refer to the previous arc, where ML was granted the title of Róng Wáng (King Rong)}

But this was because few knew the Empress Tao's name—— Tao Ziyu. This secret was only recently discovered by the branch of the Zhao Clan which had guarded the Empress Tao's body for generations.

Zhao Feng crouched down, one knee pressed against the floor as he brought the boy, who had cried till his entire face was red, into his arms. He reached out to wipe away the tears from the boy's face, but Su Yang subconsciously evaded his touch. Zhao Feng went still.

His brows drew together in a faint frown. "The word [Yu] was taken from the name of Emperor Cheng Tian's beloved wife, the Empress Tao, who was formerly known as Tao Ziyu," he continued tersely.

He felt the boy in his arms give a shudder at his words. The teardrops clinging to his lashes began rolling down. Zhao Feng's frown grew deeper.

"Does this concern you so much?"

Su Yang shook his head silently. Zhao Feng's words had served to confirm a growing suspicion in his heart, making it weight down heavily in his chest.

For the people in this world, it was but a period in history that occurred over six hundred years ago. All of the people and events of that time have been washed away by the flowing river of time. But for Su Yang, just a few short months ago, he had still been clasped in that man's embrace, cherished and so very tenderly doted on.

In the blink of an eye, that powerful and indomitable man has turned to a handful of dust, with not even a remnant of a skeleton to be found.

Su Yang considers himself one who easily forgets the pains of the past once the wounds have healed. How else could he have completely glossed over the memory of being shackled by the Tiānshān Lock, and only recalling how good that man had been to him.

But even though Jing Cheng did hurt him, Su Yang too, had deceived the man's feelings. Who can keep the scores in this rotten debt account? Jing Cheng and Tao Ziyu have been dead for over six hundred years. There is no longer any sense in trying to unravel who was in the right and wrong.

The pain gnawed at him unbearably. Perhaps the shock of this discovery was too much for Su Yang, leading to his emotions running wild. He will be fine after he cries it out of his system. Everything will be fine once he's done venting till there's nothing left to vent. At least, this is how Su Yang consoles himself.

Zhao Feng was more than a little alarmed at the sight of Su Yang's state. He immediately began lightly patting the youth's back to coax him. "Don't cry, are you a little girl? Even a pampered princess wouldn't be as hysterical as you..."

He coaxed and cajoled to no avail. Su Yang was completely deaf to his pleas, and was wholly focussed on crying even harder.

Zhao Feng's patience finally ran out. He pressed his mouth down on Su Yang's lips, heedlessly pushing his tongue in to sweep through the youth's mouth, tasting the sweetness within. Su Yang's eyes immediately flew open and he began struggling wildly to push Zhao Feng away, but his strength was no match for Zhao Feng's. In a fit of desperation, he bit down fiercely. The taste of blood filled his mouth.

{T/N : ML, serves you damn right}

"Hsst—–"

Zhao Feng jerked back with a scowl. Before him, the usually foolish and obedient rabbit who only knew how cry and cry some more was now glaring at him ferociously with a pair of dewy, black eyes. It was like he had transformed into a fierce little puppy.

Zhao Feng's expression grew darker as he felt the stab of pain on the tip of his tongue. He swiped a thumb over his lips before drawing it away to see the blood on it.

He couldn't understand what went wrong. It wasn't too long ago when he thought this boy's entire being, body and soul, already belonged to him. But now, his views formed over the past few months were completely overturned, until what remained was completely unrecognisable.

Perhaps, the youth in front of him was not actually as docile as he seemed, nor does he actually love Zhao Feng as much as he professes to.

This possibility had barely taken shape in Zhao Feng's mind, yet it was enough to trigger a wave of rage in him. If the one the youth loves is not Zhao Feng, then who is it! Who is the one in his heart! Qiao Yang? Or someone else!

Zhao Feng's eyes grew murderous. Su Yang tried to struggle free, but his wrists were firmly shackled in a forceful grip, rendering his wishes futile.

Su Yang forcefully schooled away the resentment on his face, and attempted to explain himself in a low voice, "I didn't mean to. You suddenly came on to me, I... I acted without thinking. It was an accident, I'm sorry."

Zhao Feng stared silently at his face for a while, before suddenly snatching up the phone which had fallen by the side. Su Yang's expression twisted and he made to grab it back, but was easily wrestled down against Zhao Feng's chest with one arm. He could only look on helplessly as the phone's screen lit up.

Su Yang was extremely nervous. He had not had time to clear the browsing history. If Zhao Feng discovers something suspicious, he dared not imagine the consequences.

However, as Zhao Feng skimmed over the browsing history, he only knew confusion. Because this information, such as the details of the Yu Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, is general knowledge. Setting aside how Xu Yanqing was a graduate from a police academy, even a junior high student ought to know these things, much less the last few searches on "what was Emperor Cheng Tian's birth name" as well as "who were Emperor Cheng Tian's wife and children". This was all basic knowledge.

He continued scrolling down, then paused. One of the searches recorded was — what happened to Wu Xingde father and daughter.

{T/N : Reminder, MC's maternal grandpa in the last arc}

If the search had only been limited to Wu Xingde alone, that would not have been overly suspicious. However, few knew of Wu Xingde's daughter. This woman's life was the same as Tao Ziyu's, in which all records of her had been completely erased. Asides from the Zhao family, there were less than a handful of people on earth who knew of her. In which case, how did Su Yang learn of her?

Zhao Feng frowned and continued scrolling, but there was nothing else besides more information regarding the Emperor Cheng Tian. On matters related to Jing Cheng, no one on earth understood him better than Zhao Feng. His interest petered out and he threw the phone aside, before carefully scrutinising the young man in front of him.

Su Yang's face was still smudged with tears. Tear drops trembled on his thick lashes, drawing the light to spark off the wetness in his eyes. Sensing the gaze boring into him, he immediately pulled up the corners of his lips tremblingly in a bid to please Zhao Feng, but his smile seemed wan and strained. There was none of the fawning devotion of before.

Anger bubbled up in Zhao Feng. "What the hell happened to you?" he demanded. "What's with this sudden interest in the Yu Dynasty? And why were you crying like this. Explain yourself clearly."

Su Yang only shook his head. He no longer dared to lie, but it was even more impossible for him to voice the truth. He could only keep his silence.

Zhao Feng was at a loss as to how to deal with him. He couldn't bear to hit or scold him, and if he tries kissing the youth, he must be prepared for another bite. In the end, he could only tighten his arms around the youth, holding him tightly against his chest.

He exerted so much strength that Su Yang began feeling suffocated.

Zhao Feng said in a low voice, "Exactly how many secrets are you still hiding from me? Every time I think I've finally understood you, you always turn around and surprise me. I can't figure you out at all. Exactly which one is the real you?"

Su Yang answered mutedly, "I don't know either..."

He really does not know. He came from a family of celebrities. From his earliest memories, he had been participating in all sorts of variety shows, and had taken roles in all sorts of movie and television works. Day in, day out, he played the role of a perfect Su Yang to win the love of his parents, his elders, his fans, the public masses. And after being bound to the system, nothing much has really changed. He is still doing all he can to please someone else.

It's just that, before, if he does not perform well, at the very most he would suffer criticism and backlash from his haters, maybe even get thrown out of the entertainment industry. But now, if he fails, he will die. He would never be able to return home.

This bootlicking behaviour to curry favour, more often than not, meant having to abandon his own beliefs and throw aside his dignity. He knew only to present the personas that would best be able to charm different people, and increase their good impression of him. As a result, it has never occurred to him to wonder what his true self ought to be like.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be like either," he muttered, lost. "Zhao Feng, I really don't know."

This was his first time calling Zhao Feng by name. His tone seemed to carry hints of petulance, woven with a faint thread of grievance. It was impossible to continue questioning him like this.

Zhao Feng finally understood what a scourge meant. This little bastard was definitely sent down by the heavens to test his will.

He brushed a hand over Su Yang's cheek, and said gently, "Xu Yanqing, the thing I regret the most is not blowing your head off after finding out you're an undercover agent. It would have been the best outcome for everyone."

If he had not witnessed the changes in the youth's temperament for himself, this showy but useless fake goods would not have had the chance take root in Zhao Feng's heart, and would have remained a disposable plaything he could discard at will.

But now, Zhao Feng had no way of uprooting this boy from his heart. Because the very thought of hurting him would bring about a wrenching pain inside him.

Su Yang was silent. It was clear from Zhao Feng's dark expression that he had meant every word he said. He really does regret not having killed Su Yang when he had the chance.

Su Yang suddenly felt some pity for this man. Whether it was the original Xu Yanqing or himself, they both had ulterior motives for approaching Zhao Feng.

He wondered, with how he had been deceiving other people's feelings all the time to ensure his own survival, surely he would receive his own comeuppance one day.

The system, which had been playing dead all this while, came online silently. "You have to trust that what you're doing is right. What's more, it is worthy and of great import."

Su Yang was too tired to argue with it. He laid his head on Zhao Feng's shoulder with a rare look of exhaustion on his face. "But I am glad you did not kill me," he said softly. "I do not wish for you to become a murderer because of me."

A gleam of light darted through Zhao Feng's dark eyes. He lowered his head, slowly pressing close towards those cherry red lips. But Su Yang abruptly turned his face away to avoid the kiss.

"Sure enough..."

Zhao Feng loosened his hold on Su Yang, laughing mockingly at himself. "No matter. What I want is just you. Who your heart belongs to, however many secrets you are keeping from me, I... don't care at all."

He lifted Su Yang to the bed, rubbed his hair and said, "Rest well, remember to drink your porridge when you wake up."

Without waiting for a reply, he strode swiftly from the bedroom.

In the split second as he turned away, Su Yang missed the ruthless look on his face.