Chapter 101 Indecency

Chapter 101: Harassment

At this moment, Cheng Ge felt like the sky was falling.

He seriously suspected he wasn't just being set up by the money men—he was being surrounded by them.

His body jolted in terror, and he frantically twisted and squirmed to get away.

But before he could escape, a claw-like hand instantly yanked him back.

"You... mmph." Just as Cheng Ge was about to curse, a hand covered his mouth.

The door creaked open, a sliver of light slipped in, then quickly vanished.

Yun Xunyu raised his index finger to his lips, making a shushing motion.

The sound of two pairs of light footsteps sounded in the room, growing closer.

Cheng Ge dared not move, his body pressed tightly against Yun Xunyu's, and they could almost hear each other's heartbeats.

"Lord Liu, the list of juren for this session is all set. This is a birthday gift specially prepared for you." A sycophantic voice rang out.

Cheng Ge's eyes flickered; if he wasn't mistaken, the speaker was Zhang Hong.

Zhang Hong pulled a sandalwood box from his sleeve and respectfully handed it to Liu Xianyue.

Lord Liu lifted his eyes, stroked his jet-black beard, looking quite scholarly.

He took the box, casually opened it, glanced at the banknotes inside, and placed it on a side table.

"Have the others been taken care of?"

Zhang Hong smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Everything is taken care of. Those people took the silver—no issues."

Liu Xianyue nodded with satisfaction. "Also keep an eye on the Hanlin Bachelors at the Academy. Let them know the score implicitly—no funny business."

Then, as if remembering something, he added, "Oh, and that matter Wang Ying asked about last time—taken care of?"

"Rest assured, Lord Liu. Wang Jin has already been admitted as a Hanlin Bachelor."

"Be more thorough next time—no more screw-ups." Liu Xianyue's tone was stern. "Otherwise, everyone will suffer."

Zhang Hong hurriedly nodded and bowed. "Yes, yes, Lord Liu is right. I'll be more careful next time."

"Last time was truly an accident. The bandits had already taken the person away, but somehow that Cheng Muyu managed to return alive to the capital."

Cheng Ge twisted his body slightly, about to reach out and pull away Yun Xunyu's hand gripping his waist. But then he suddenly heard his own name and his whole body gave a jolt.

"Holy crap! How did this drag him into it? Could it be that the original owner's run-in with bandits wasn't an accident?"

"But at least we replaced Li Zhi—should be airtight now."

Hearing this, Cheng Ge sucked in a sharp breath.

Li Zhi had been his classmate, from a Jiangnan silk merchant family, ranked nineteenth in the palace examination, and was later appointed together with him as a Hanlin Bachelor.

But just three days before starting his post, he died suddenly at the Emerald Cloud brothel.

Supposedly he overindulged and died of mashangfeng (a sudden death during sex)—scandal spread like wildfire.

When Li Zhi's parents heard, they were so ashamed they didn't even claim his body.

In the end, Zhang Qinghang supposedly bought a cheap coffin and buried him in a hurry.

At the time, many scholars praised him for his benevolence and gentlemanly conduct.

Listening to these words, Cheng Ge was shocked. So Li Zhi's death was their handiwork all along.

He subconsciously held his breath, his body tensing even more, and his heart seemed to skip a beat.

But just then, a hand reached out and slid across his face.

Cheng Ge instinctively turned his head, but then—unexpectedly—warm lips pressed against his eyelid.

Cheng Ge: "!!!" Goddammit, this sicko was at it again!

Yun Xunyu found his expression extremely endearing and lowered his head to peck twice on the tip of his nose.

He was so startled that he quickly turned his head to avoid it, but the other man locked his head in place.

How could he tolerate this? He immediately aimed a vicious knee at the man's groin.

Yun Xunyu had anticipated this, nimbly sidestepped and trapped Cheng Ge's leg between his own.

The corners of his lips curled slightly as he leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Don't be stupid. You want to get us caught?"

Cheng Ge felt completely violated, but given the situation, he had no choice but to endure it.

Vowing to make that bastard pay the second they got out, he gritted his teeth and glared at Yun Xunyu, temporarily calming down.

In the room, Liu Xianyue and Zhang Hong continued talking for a while, the conversation nothing but sleazy backroom deals.

Swallowing his anger and fear, Cheng Ge forced himself to stay calm and caught every word.

"Well then, I'll be going." With that, Zhang Hong prepared to leave.

The footsteps came closer and closer to their hiding spot. Cheng Ge's heart was pounding in his throat, and he didn't dare to breathe.

Finally, a click of a mechanism, then the sound of a hidden door sliding open.

At that moment, the bookcase opposite the bed slid aside, revealing a secret room.

Liu Xianyue picked up the box from the table and stepped inside.

Cheng Ge stared at Liu Xianyue, about to pull away from Yun Xunyu.

But Yun Xunyu only pulled him tighter, like he wanted to fuse him into his own body.

That hand of his was still roaming, groping and pinching Cheng Ge's waist, taking full advantage.

The soft spot on Cheng Ge's waist was a sensitive zone—the slightest brush made him so ticklish he almost yelped.

Furious and desperate, Cheng Ge sank his teeth into Yun Xunyu's neck, his eyes reddening.

But just as Cheng Ge was hell-bent on taking Yun Xunyu down with him...

That white snake suddenly emerged from nowhere and locked eyes with him.

The white snake tilted its head, looking at Cheng Ge, and gently flicked its tongue, barely touching the corner of his mouth.

Cheng Ge's hairs instantly stood on end, and he immediately opened his mouth in shock.

He leaned back, head raised, trembling uncontrollably.

But the little snake seemed to like Cheng Ge very much, wriggling over to him.

The snake coiled around Yun Xunyu's shoulder, arching its upper body to cautiously approach Cheng Ge.

Cheng Ge had nowhere to escape, his mind went completely blank, and seeing the snake head so close, he nearly died of fright on the spot.

"Don't be afraid, Star Frost likes you just as much as I do."

Cheng Ge: I don't want either of you liking me!

Cheng Ge's eyes widened. Star Frost carefully retracted its tongue and nuzzled his forehead, a very affectionate gesture.

Feeling the cool touch, Cheng Ge felt as if his blood had frozen solid.

Perhaps in his past life he had committed terrible crimes, like murder and arson, and that's why he now ended up in the clutches of this guy and his snake.

Cheng Ge twisted his body forcefully a few times, yanked his hand free and aimed a chop at the snake.

As if prepared, Star Frost immediately recoiled, turned its head to look at Yun Xunyu, as if complaining.

Cheng Ge completely ignored everything else, swung his arm, and smashed his fist into Yun Xunyu's face.