Chapter 311 Oh…

Chapter 311: Oh...

That question made Cheng Ge's head feel twice its size.

He was still a baby himself—how could he possibly handle this? He didn't have a damn clue!

The two of them stared at each other, at a total loss with a babbling baby who had no clue about the world's troubles, and the golden mess he'd made.

The stench in the air grew thicker, and in the end, it was Cheng Ge who caved first.

Unable to bear it any longer, he practically rolled off the bed and bolted out of the tent.

Before long, the seasoned Funiang showed up after getting wind of it.

Seeing the two tall men in the tent completely clueless over a baby, and the unmistakable smell in the air, she figured it out right away.

Biting back a smile, she cleaned up the little culprit with practiced ease, wrapped him up in fresh swaddling, and then cradled him in her arms, hauling the soiled swaddling cloth away with her.

Before leaving, she thoughtfully had a couple of people come change their bedding.

The tent was clean again, the weird smell faded away, and Cheng Ge and Cui Ji stood by the bed, exchanging glances.

They got back into bed, and the candlelight flickered, casting swaying shadows on the tent walls.

Without the little one between them, the two were now lying almost face to face.

So close that they could clearly hear each other's breathing, and the vibe suddenly got heavy and awkward.

Cheng Ge felt the earlier embarrassment come roaring back, even stronger than before.

Cui Ji noticed the gap in the middle of the blanket letting in a draft and casually reached over to tuck the corner in.

Cheng Ge sniffed without thinking, his fingers fidgeting with the mattress beneath him, his eyes darting everywhere.

Finally, his eyes accidentally lifted and met Cui Ji's calm, steady gaze.

He froze, his heart feeling like something had softly knocked against it, and he couldn't help but purse his lips.

His toes started curling up under the blanket again, trying to grab onto something.

Cui Ji didn't say anything, just quietly watched him without a hint of guilt.

Cheng Ge's eyes darted, instinctively wanting to look away, but faced with Cui Ji's completely unbothered attitude, a wave of confusion washed over him.

Was he... overthinking this? That kiss earlier—was it really just an accident? A careless graze?

Besides, Cui Ji had so many gorgeous wives and concubines—he didn't exactly seem gay.

Maybe... he should just ask straight up? Guessing like this was getting him nowhere.

"Cui Ji..." Cheng Ge mustered his courage and spoke in a low voice, his tone a little raspy from nerves.

Cui Ji answered, his eyes still locked on Cheng Ge's face: "Mm."

Just one word, steady and calm, but it instantly drained half the courage Cheng Ge had scraped together.

Damn it, how the hell was he supposed to ask? Could he just blurt out, "Why did you kiss me this afternoon? Are you gay?"

Just picturing that scene made Cheng Ge's scalp crawl, and his cheeks and ears started burning uncontrollably again.

If he asked and it turned out to be a misunderstanding, wouldn't that be embarrassing as hell? How could he ever look him in the eye again?

But... what if... it wasn't a mistake?

He opened his mouth, the words rolling around on his tongue a few times, but in the end, they wouldn't come out, fading into a barely audible sigh.

His eyes dropped in a panic, staring at the small wrinkle in the blanket between them.

Cui Ji waited patiently, his fingers still lazily rubbing the jade pendant.

Silence fell over the tent again, broken only by the occasional soft crackle of the candle.

The silence felt heavy, pressing down on Cheng Ge's chest and making it even harder to breathe.

He snuck a quick glance at Cui Ji, and seeing him still as calm as a lake, his mind got even more tangled.

His brain started scrambling for a way in, trying to think of clever ways to test the waters.

To get the answer he wanted without tipping him off.

He nervously licked his dry lips, his eyes darting around, too scared to look at Cui Ji again.

He opened his mouth, his voice even softer than before from guilt, barely a whisper.

His eyes glued to the pattern on the quilt, as if he could see flowers blooming in the fabric: "You... what do you think of... Yuli?"

Cui Ji: "..."

The tent fell into an even more bizarre silence than before. The candle flame flickered, casting shifting light and shadow across Cui Ji's face.

This random question, on top of all of Cheng Ge's weird behavior earlier, made his probing intent painfully obvious.

Cui Ji's fingers paused for a moment, his eyes darkening in the flickering candlelight.

He was quiet for a beat before speaking slowly, his tone carrying a strange chill: "The eldest young master of the Lin family is famous far and wide—naturally... he's fine."

Cheng Ge snuck a look at him, and his heart inexplicably skipped a beat. That tone... why did it sound so passive-aggressive?

"And... the Crown Prince? And... the Young Prince? Oh right, and Ling Feng! What do you think of them...?"

He raised a hand and scratched his head without thinking, then, bracing himself, he rattled off every name he could think of like he was reading off a menu.

Trying to muddy the waters, or fish for some clue in Cui Ji's reaction.

Cui Ji watched him, clearly grasping at straws and even starting to ramble, and stayed silent for a few seconds.

That gaze was calm, but it cut right through him, making Cheng Ge's scalp tingle and almost driving him to run.

Just as Cheng Ge was about to break under the pressure and roll over to fake sleep, Cui Ji suddenly let out a barely-there sigh.

The sigh was almost inaudible, but it felt like a feather brushing across Cheng Ge's heart.

He stopped paying attention to Cheng Ge's clumsy probing, his gaze locking straight onto Cheng Ge's nervous, flickering eyes.

His voice was clear, each word like a brand seared into the quiet of the night.

"Cheng Muyu... you're the one my heart wants, no one else."

The second those words left his mouth, the air seemed to freeze, even the candle flame stopped flickering, and the tent fell into utter silence.

Cheng Ge felt a bomb go off in his head—every guess, every tangled thought, every shred of self-doubt was blown to bits in that instant by this unadorned confession.

He stared blankly at Cui Ji, and in those deep, dark eyes, he could see his own stunned face mirrored back at him.

They churned with feelings he couldn't quite read, yet they made his heart pound with inexplicable panic.

He dropped his gaze, flustered, his long lashes veiling the turbulent storm surging beneath, his heartbeat thundering so loudly it seemed ready to burst through his eardrums.

After a long while—so long that Cui Ji nearly thought he wouldn't respond—

He finally managed to choke out a single, dry syllable: "...Oh."