Come, read it for us. (2)
At this point, he seemed to suddenly think of something and whipped his head around to look at Shi An. “Speaking of which, is he…..”
Mu Heng nodded. “Yes.”
Principal Pei revealed a dazed look.
No wonder.
Whether it was the ancient language talent that Shi An had displayed or that Mu Heng didn’t hide such important information before him, it all seemed to make sense.
Principal Pei looked carefully at the young man not far away.
He had not said a word since a while ago, burying his head behind a few thin pages, with his soft hair hanging down, covering most of his fair face, and seemed to be translating intently all along.
Such a good child.
Principal Pei’s expression softened slightly as he lowered his voice and asked kindly, “Child, how is it? How is your progress?”
Shi An was slightly startled and looked up towards Principal Pei with a fake calm look on his face.
“N-No progress.”
Such a modest child.
Principal Pei’s eyes became even kinder as he said, “Hah, your talent is already one in a thousand. You must have self-confidence in yourself.”
He encouraged, “Come, give it a try. Try to translate the first paragraph and read it for us. Young people shouldn’t be worried about trials and errors.”
Mu Heng nodded. “True.”
He lowered his silvery white eyelashes, his clear blue eyes gazing at the young man who looked fidgety before him and said, “If there’s any mistake, the senior will correct you. No need to be afraid of mistakes.”
Shi An: “…..”
He turned his head to look at Principal Pei, who had an expectant face, then at Mu Heng, whose eyes contained encouragement, weakly and helplessly squeezing the paper in his hand.
This….. This…..
Shi An resumed lowering his head, evasively dropping his own eyes on the paper in his hands, and stammered as he spoke.
“D-D-Dragons are…..”
The young man’s white, delicate ears quickly filled with blood, the redness spreading from his cheeks to his neck like some ripe fruit that would break its skin and ooze sweet juice at the slightest touch. His voice grew smaller and gradually became almost as small as a mosquito.
“Li-Licentious…..”
Mu Heng’s eyes slightly darkened.
The fingertips hanging at his side couldn’t help but move, barely resisting the urge to go up and squeeze it.
Principal Pei obviously didn’t think much of it.
He stroked his beard and laughed heartily. “See, your translation isn’t bad. No need to be embarrassed. You can do it after trying a few more times later.”
Shi An lifted the paper to cover his face and gave a muffled “hmm.”
*
Since Mu Heng and Principal Pei were experts in this field, so the work progressed quickly. However, they lost track of time as they got busy with their work, and by the time they came out of the workshop, it was late at night.
The moon was round and extremely bright.
The moonlight spilt and spread over the ground like white frost and snow, making it dazzlingly bright.
Shi An hung his head and followed behind sullenly without saying a word.
He had been earnestly pretending timid all afternoon, but the “academic exchange” between the other two still reached his ears unstoppably, especially when they were discussing…… such strange content in such a severe tone. It was too humiliating. AHHH!
After being tortured for a whole afternoon, Shi An felt as if his soul had gone out of his body.
He followed behind Mu Heng numbly, his long tail drooping without spirit. His entire dragon being was like a frosted aubergine, listless like a walking corpse.
Mu Heng stopped in his tracks, turned his head to look at the teenager behind him, and asked, “Your dormitory has a restriction, right?”
Shi An nodded absentmindedly.
Mu Heng looked down at his watch.
At this hour, I’m afraid it is impossible to return.
He seemed to have thought of something, raised his eyes, and asked, “Oh, right. How did you feel this afternoon?”
Shi An was startled and jumped backwards violently. “W-What?”
Mu Heng didn’t expect such a big reaction from the other party either. He raised his eyebrows and said calmly, “Translating.”
“Oh…..” Shi An breathed a sigh of relief.
Mu Heng narrowed his eyes and examined him steadily.
Under the moonlight, the man’s silver hair dazzled like a pure white flame, his eyes were deep, the pupils of his dark blue eyes were hidden in the shadows, and his expression was one of concentration.
“What did you think it is?”
As Mu Heng asked the question, snippets of unpleasant content burrowed into his head uncontrollably.
Shi An stammered, “N-Nothing.”
Mu Heng took a step in Shi An’s direction without warning.
His legs were long and the distance between the two immediately shortened.
The impulse that had been forcibly suppressed a moment ago began to rise and act.
It was like a dark, deep current surging through his heart, bringing with it a strange desire that was hard to describe, forcing him to make a move that he himself felt was out of place.
Mu Heng lifted his hand and cupped the young man’s thin, white chin, forcing the other man to tilt his face up towards him with a slight force.
“Is that so?” His voice was low and calm, repeating without the slightest fluctuation of emotion.
“Nothing.”
Whether intentional or not, the rough leather glove absently rubbed the young man’s jaw, causing a faint red colour despite the lack of force.
Mu Heng frowned slightly and trailed off, seemingly in genuine heartfelt disbelief.
“Why do you blush so easily?”
He lowered his eyes, his dark, inscrutable gaze landing on Shi An’s face, and his highly existential sight wandered intrusively.
It really made people…… want to see more.
——————–
