Chapter 416 Look Down on Me

Chapter 416: Look Down on Me

Yun Xunyu's lips turned down slightly, looking a little hurt as he rubbed his chin against Cheng Ge's hand.

"My dear may not know," he said in an extremely soft voice, as if afraid of disturbing something fragile, "people out there say I killed my father and murdered my brothers. Forget being a ruler... now I'm not even fit to be called human."

Cheng Ge opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but the words caught in his throat.

Not for any other reason—because that was exactly the damn truth.

Regardless of the reasons, Yun Xunyu really had killed his father and murdered his brothers. That was a fact.

No matter how they flattered and fawned to his face, the infamy and condemnation behind his back—he was stuck with it for life.

Thinking of this, Cheng Ge suddenly remembered that it was because he had sent a letter asking for help that the other had done such "inhuman" things.

Under such circumstances, in practical terms, the real culprit should be considered...

Cheng Ge immediately felt a pang of guilt. His gaze darted guiltily toward Yun Xunyu, and he spoke without confidence or conviction, his voice lacking any real backbone:

"Ah, people are all like that. Everyone's got a mouth, there'll always be gossip."

He coughed dryly, trying to sound more convincing. "If anyone dares to object, just... execute their whole family."

After saying this, he felt it might be too brutal—likely to earn him eternal infamy and get cursed out by historians—so he quickly added:

"But then again, as long as you govern diligently and achieve some political accomplishments, you might still become a great ruler through the ages! With great achievements, you'll surely be... praised for a thousand years!"

The more he spoke, the less confident he sounded, and the last few words were practically swallowed in his throat.

Yun Xunyu, however, let out a soft laugh.

The laugh was very light, carrying an indescribable meaning, like a feather gently brushing against Cheng Ge's ear.

Cheng Ge looked up and saw Yun Xunyu gazing at him.

Moonlight filtered through the window paper, casting a hint of dampness in his beautiful phoenix eyes.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint my dear—this throne of Nanling... isn't mine to take."

Cheng Ge's expression froze, clearly not having processed it. "You fucking succeeded in your rebellion, and you still let someone else take the throne?!" he blurted out. "You're way too useless..."

Upon hearing this, Yun Xunyu leaned in even closer, almost pressing against Cheng Ge, his tone even more pitiful:

"Now that I've lost my power, my dear must look down on me now."

Cheng Ge stiffened at the sudden closeness, pressing his hand against Yun Xunyu's shoulder and staring at him quietly.

In the air, the calming incense seemed to take on a hint of heat, wisps of it drifting into his nose, making his blood feel faintly hot.

"Actually, you're overthinking it... I've always looked down on you anyway."

Yun Xunyu: "..."

Yun Xunyu's expression didn't change, still wearing a smile, the dampness in his eyes not yet faded, glimmering in the moonlight.

His fingertip gently hooked around Cheng Ge's pinky, a cautious probe, yet also a lingering entanglement.

"If my dear drives me away again," his voice dropped even lower, almost a whisper, carrying warm breath that brushed past Cheng Ge's ear, "I'm afraid I truly... would have nowhere to go."

The guilt already churning in Cheng Ge's heart, stirred by these words, turned into a heavy stone lodged in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

All the words of refusal stuck in his throat, neither able to go up nor down.

He abruptly pulled his hand back, then "swish" turned around, presenting the back of his head to Yun Xunyu, and simply stopped talking.

A brief silence fell over the bed, broken only by the interweaving of their uneven breaths.

Yun Xunyu gazed at the nape of the neck so close before him, able to see the fine hairs in the dim light.

The smile in his eyes deepened, but he didn't make a sound.

Yun Xunyu quietly climbed onto the bed, his movements as light as a cat prowling at night, making almost no noise.

Cheng Ge, with his back to him, seemed to have eyes on his back, immediately warily shifting inward, leaving a large gap at the edge of the bed, silently drawing a line of demarcation.

Yun Xunyu looked at that back that seemed desperate to press against the wall, and the corner of his mouth curved up silently.

He didn't try to get closer again, nor did he say anything more. He simply lay quietly on his own side, perfectly proper, even his breathing kept soft and slow.

As the night deepened, the faint candle flame in the corner cast their two shadows long across the wall.

As time passed, Cheng Ge's breathing gradually grew slow and steady.

Yun Xunyu's body shifted, extremely slowly inching closer by a hair's breadth.

Then another hair's breadth.

Until his chest was almost touching Cheng Ge's back, through two thin layers of nightclothes, he could faintly feel the warmth radiating from the other's skin.

His gaze fell on the patch of bare skin at the back of Cheng Ge's neck, watching for a long time.

Moonlight seeped through the crack in the window, tracing the soft, fragile lines there.

Finally, he pressed his forehead against it, extremely gently—a silent, almost devout gesture.