Spring Trees and Sunset Clouds

Nan Ge Er’s health wasn’t too good, but in an unexpected turn of events, due to a peak of interest, he took a sip of wine when Mo Shu was away—though it was a total force of habit.

He almost always drank during all of his past New Year’s; hence, it became natural for him this time to take Mo Shu’s wine cup and gulp a mouthful down… However, once he did, he regretted it immediately… It wasn’t apparent at all on the surface that not only was the wine Mo Shu drank strong, but it also tasted terrible.

A soon as the wine reached his throat, Nan Ge Er could feel his whole body burning up, especially in his mouth. It was as if he had just swallowed knives, practically rendered him speechless. The only sensation he could feel was the spicy, burning pain. With his face burning red, he hurriedly grabbed a cup of water and chugged it down ferociously.

Mo Shu, who got back from the kitchen, instantly spotted Nan Ge Er chugging down water, red-faced. He was a little confused at first, but when he detected a faint smell of wine on his breath, he immediately understood what had happened. He hastily walked out.

Nan Ge Er couldn’t be bothered with what Mo Shu was doing; he was too busy with his own affairs—fire was about to spill out from his mouth! He drank water while coughing desperately. It is so spicy! I never would have imagined this is the wine Mo Shu was actually drinking all along. The wine doesn’t smell strong, so why does it taste so horrifying? It is shocking to know that Mo Shu can actually drink it with ease; this thing is practically a spirit!

Mo Shu returned after a short while with a porcelain jar in his hand before handing it to Nan Ge Er, “Drink up.”

Nan Ge Er was almost choked to tears, his vision blurred terribly by the wetness in his eyes. Although he knew Mo Shu was handing something to him, he just couldn’t grab it properly. His trembling hands kept swinging wildly. Even when he finally got hold of it, somehow, he couldn’t put the jar to his mouth properly, so he spent quite some time gesticulating wildly.

Mo Shu simply propped Nan Ge Er’s chin up, pouring the contents of the jar into his mouth.

… It’s honey! Nan Ge Er could only make out the taste after drinking half the jar, smacking his lips as he did so.

Putting aside how Mo Shu was able to get a hold of something only rich people could afford, the fact that such a sweet item could get into his mouth was shocking on its own. After all, Mo Shu had an extreme fondness for sweet food!

Noting that Nan Ge Er finally looked better, Mo Shu began to speak, “… You are weak now, so you can’t have that kind of wine.” Nan Ge Er didn’t raise his head, which made him miss the worry in Mo Shu’s eyes. Nan Ge Er’s body’s condition isn’t great at all. Now that he secretly drank wine… who knows if his condition will worsen tonight.

Right after Nan Ge Er’s face slightly regain its colors, it flushed red again. As expected, I got caught… this is too embarrassing; I ended up actually steal a sip of wine—and, even more tragically, I got caught red-handed.

Nan Ge Er’s awkward expression calmed Mo Shu’s nervous expression a little. He reached his hand out to pat Nan Ge Er’s head, “If you like, do you want me to get Aunt Deng from the distillery to make some distillers’ grains for you next time?” Mo Shu asked before continuing, “It’s great; it tastes sweet.”

… Not everyone has a love of sweets like you, alright?! If not for his embarrassment just now, and that his current condition wasn’t that great, Nan Ge Er almost wanted to diss him again. For now, he could only stay silent.

He remembered that he could hold a bit of liquor in the past, but he had forgotten that it was during the time when he was a prince, and it had been three years since. Perhaps because he hadn’t trained for a long time and due to the degeneration of his health condition, he wasn’t used to any types of wine any more. Besides, the most critical part of the problem was that the “spirit” Mo Shu drank wasn’t something a typical person could bear.

Mo Shu lowered his head to observe Nan Ge Er’s expression, “Are you feeling better?”

Nan Ge Er looked down as he nodded—he felt too ashamed to look at anyone.

“Alright, let’s eat.” Mo Shu held his laughter as he spoke, patting Nan Ge Er’s head, getting ready to sit.

Before Mo Shu’s buttocks even came in contact with the chair, Nan Ge Er, who was sitting obediently across from him, stood up suddenly before covering his mouth as he rushed out clumsily.

“Hey!” Mo Shu knew that the situation he feared would happen became a reality when he looked at Nan Ge Er’s pale and nervous expression.

As soon as Nan Ge Er reached the door, he began retching. In a semi-dizzy state, he had to muster all of his strength to grab onto the door frame in order to prevent himself from collapsing. Of course, the vomiting wasn’t the result of him being drunk or anything along those lines. It only happened because his body hadn’t recovered yet, and his stomach wasn’t able to get used to such a stimulus. After all, he had only drunk a mouthful; it didn’t matter how ridiculously strong it was. All of a sudden, his hands were caught. Someone supported him and patted his back to make him feel better.

Ceasing to care anymore, Nan Ge Er leaned onto Mo Shu, with half of his body weight supported by him, as he focused on vomiting his stomach clean of those few mouthfuls of food he had eaten. In the end, after Nan Ge Er, who had emptied his stomach, vomited quite a bit of acid water, the terrifying nausea finally subsided. However, he didn’t even have the energy to stand up.

Mo Shu dragged him, and helped him to lean on a chair, “I’ll go get some clothes.” Though Nan Ge Er’s clothes weren’t tainted by any filth, his cold sweat still drenched the inside of his clothes; he might get cold if he let it be, which would then easily worsen his condition.

“But…” Nan Ge Er croaked feebly with a hoarse voice, “I don’t have a dry change of clothes.” He had only two sets of clothes himself, one wasn’t dried yet, and the current one he was wearing that was drenched in sweat…

“Wear mine for now.” Mo Shu reached out to Nan Ge Er’s forehead to check his temperature, leaving to get the clothes after confirming that the other party didn’t heat up.

The cold sweat from Nan Ge Er’s body still came in fits and starts. Nan Ge Er leaned on the back of the chair, feeling cold and uncomfortable as his consciousness began to fade. His vision kept shaking non-stop, flashing blacks and whites. His mind went blank, his heavy eyelids slowly drooping down…

After some time had passed, he felt chilly. Following after, something was wrapping him up with a rustling noise, and after yet another while, warmth inched towards him. He instinctively leaned in. Not long after, that warm thing began to blanketing him. He smacked his lips rather contently, trying hard to shrink his body, wanting to make himself smaller as he curled up to that warmth. So tired; I’m sleepy.

Mo Shu hugged Nan Ge Er, who was entirely leaning on his body, with one hand, while holding on a wine cup in the other. He lowered his head to look at the fellow who was coiling in his arms and trying to curl himself up into a ball.

He had checked just then. Nan Ge Er wasn’t actually in any danger at all. his tiredness was probably because his physical stamina couldn’t catch up, and he got too tensed mentally. It should be fine after a good night’s rest.

The clothes were a bit too large, so they seemed somewhat loose on Nan Ge Er’s body. Mo Shu was afraid that he would catch a cold, so he hugged Nan Ge Er when he was half-conscious. Never would he expect him to lean in so adorably.

He is revealing a desirous expression that was usually impossible to see while slowly moving over; it is seriously extremely enamoring. His body is frail, and his complexion is pale. Moreover, he has various ranges of scars, and those on his body were rather frightening. Truthfully, he appears to be more atrociously ugly than being pitifully cute. However, strangely enough, everyone seems to find him weak and in need of protection. Of course…

Mo Shu finished the wine in his cup, lowering his head again, looking at Nan Ge Er who had his face almost fully buried into his chest. He set his cup down, extending a finger to poke him.

I think that he is really adorable and likable too. Competent yet clumsy, sensitive yet thick, smart yet childish, materialistic yet a little imaginative, his impenetrable expression containing a pure, fragile heart that craved warmth. Contradictory, but extremely cute.

Being a child who floated over here with the currents, his heart filled with despair and numbness, but, like a gift from the heavens, he made my life zestful. So, I hope that the child would be the same as me, having a zest for living.

The fellow in his arms seemed to be muttering something, his head moving a bit, as if trying to avoid Mo Shu’s finger, but it was obviously in vain, he couldn’t evade Mo Shu’s harassment at all. He could only knit his brow, rubbing his entire face on Mo Shu’s chest.

The corners of Mo Shu’s lips raised slightly, smiling. He reached out his finger to dip it into his cup. The fingertip dipped in wine was then placed on Nan Ge Er’s dry and rather chapped lips, “Get well soon, and then…” He didn’t continue on, only stroking his lips. He continued hugging him while he ate and drank. The two of them spent the New Year’s Eve silently, as they welcomed the arrival of a brand-new year.