Tomb Raider: The Fox's Ways to Seducing the Kirin

The moment the young man walked out of the room and closed the door, all his strength was instantly drained away. God knows how much effort he spent to steady himself and not lose his composure in front of the gods.

He lowered his eyes and slowly slid down the wall to sit on the ground. For a moment, he didn't know whether he had run out of strength or was panicking.

An unknown amount of time had passed, but when the young man came back to his senses, a hand appeared in front of him and handed him a plain handkerchief.

"Wipe it, kid." Bai Ma's voice sounded above Cheng Ji's head.

Cheng Ji mechanically took the handkerchief, and the moment he held it in his hand, he was shocked to find that his face was already covered with tears.

"Thank you..." Cheng Ji began to thank him, but he couldn't hide the crying tone in his voice.

Bai Ma sighed, helped the young man who was still sitting on the ground with his knees hugged, and took him to another room. He asked the young man to sit on the edge of the bed while he went to get the things to bandage his wounds.

The young man didn't say anything, so Bai Ma had to speak to break the silence and said, "Did you have a quarrel with the young official?"

The young man lowered his head, unable to make out his expression. After a long while, he replied, "No, aunt, my brother and I are not very familiar with Mr. Zhang."

Bai Ma sneered and said nothing about the boy's words: "A stranger can risk his life to save him and his family. A stranger can drag his sick body just to help him share some tasks. Two strangers can stick together every day and be as close as wearing the same pair of pants."

Cheng Ji was stunned by Bai Ma's words for a long time, and then he said dryly: "That's all my wishful thinking."

Bai Ma didn't believe the boy's nonsense and continued, "I have never seen the Zhang family let an unfamiliar person get so close to them."

If the boy had heard this sentence yesterday, he might have been a little surprised, but now, he could only smile bitterly in his heart. Isn't he now the unfamiliar person who is not allowed to get close to him?

Seeing that the young man was still unmoved, Bai Ma seemed to understand something. He was silent for a moment and asked, "Has this young official been granted by heaven?"

The boy didn't answer, but the expression on his face confirmed Bai Ma's guess.

"Then what are you going to do? As long as I don't want to get up, you don't plan to keep this friend? If I'm not mistaken, your feelings for him are more than just friends, right?" Bai Ma revealed the secret.

The young man was a little speechless, and didn't even dare to face Bai Ma. He lowered his head and said nothing.

After all, this kind of feeling has not been recognized by the world even a hundred years later, let alone in modern times, not to mention that the person who discovered his hidden feelings was the person's mother. How could he answer this question?

Seeing that the boy didn't say anything, Bai Ma helplessly raised his hand and stroked the boy's head, and said seriously: "I have no objection, kid, sometimes you really look at things lightly after experiencing life and death. Don't let the present blind you to some things, and feel them more carefully. Xiaoguan has lived in the Zhang family since he was a child, so he is naturally quite wary of people."

"Once he lets down his guard against you, your position in his heart will definitely not be simple. I hope you give yourself and him a choice, instead of giving up without his knowledge. This is unfair to both of you."

It was not known whether the young man took the woman's words to heart, but judging from the fact that his fingertips turned white from clenching too tightly, he must not be very calm.

After a long while, the young man spoke again: "Aunt, I don't even know half of what I am carrying. Whether I will live or die in the future is still uncertain. I can't become a burden to him. The burden on him is already heavy enough."

"I will seriously consider it, aunt. Now my brother... Mr. Zhang needs your care. Please, here are some pills that can relieve headaches. Please give them to him." The young man rummaged around in his own space, and using the cover of his pockets, he took out several bottles of pills and handed them to Bai Ma.

Seeing that he could not persuade the young man for the time being, Bai Ma had to get up and go out, closing the door when he left, so that the young man could think carefully alone in the room.

The next morning, as spring was about to arrive in Motuo, the snow on the mountains had already shown signs of melting. The young lama was sweeping the snow in the yard with a broom. Seeing Zhang Qiling coming out of the house, he handed him the envelope and a cloth bag that he had found in the boy's room early in the morning.

The moment Zhang Qiling saw the envelope, his heart ached for some reason.

Zhang Qiling opened the envelope in the early morning sunlight and took out the note inside.

*

Mr. Zhang:

Qi Xinjia.

By the time you see this letter, I should have left Medog.

You probably don't remember the purpose of your coming to Medog now, so I'll remind you. You came to Medog on the orders of your family to investigate the unusual movements of the King of Hell riding a corpse at the Bronze Gate. Fortunately, the facts have been successfully concluded and you have nothing to worry about.

There are some silver and life-saving pills in the cloth bag I left behind. If you feel it is a psychological burden to hold them, just think of them as being lent to you. Remember to return them when we meet next time.

Although you don't remember, I still want to tell you that I am going to find out the truth of something. No matter I succeed or not, when we meet again, I will tell you in person that I like you and have liked you for a long, long time.

Next time we meet, give me an answer, an answer that you have carefully considered and that cannot be changed by heaven or by life or death, okay?

Brother, eat well, have a good rest, and see you next time.

Cheng Ji stayed.

*

The young man, who had already set out on the road down the mountain, responded to the chattering girl walking with him in the morning light, his expression expressionless, his thoughts already drifting far away.

He thought about it all night yesterday and figured out a lot of things. He could choose to continue to follow his god, but not now. He made a promise to himself that if he could confirm the guess in his heart, then when they met again, he would tell everyone that he liked a boy named Zhang Qiling.

He thought that day would not be too far away.

Before leaving, he left a lot of silver and life-saving pills. He didn't want his god to go through the suffering of that life again.

After sixteen years of walking, I found three days of silence, a mouthful of tsampa, and a day's food.

Now that he can be by his side, he will not let him suffer even a little bit, because even if it is only a little bit, he will feel distressed.

"Hey, little fox, where are you going next?" Xiao Li's sudden words interrupted the boy's thoughts.

Cheng Ji folded his hands and said with an unfathomable look: "Keep it a secret."

"Hey, you really are such a person, don't go too far!"

"Guess, I'll tell you if you're right."

"Get out!"