Chapter 453: Chapter 437: Gentle
Early in the morning, Ruyi was already clamoring for his father. Lady Zhang brought him over to find Xie Jue, but the attendants were absent from the courtyard. Lady Zhang didn’t dare to venture into Xie Jue’s bedroom lightly and waited with Ruyi in her arms under the corridor, hoping the attendants would return to relay the message. However, Ruyi couldn’t be restrained and struggled out of her grasp to go find Xie Jue himself. Lady Zhang nearly couldn’t hold onto him and had no choice but to put him down. Before she could catch him, Ruyi dashed inside like a gust of wind.
Xie Jue was a light sleeper by nature, but this morning he had been sleeping soundly. Fang Chuning was playing absentmindedly with Xie Jue’s hand when a rosy-cheeked little child stumbled in. Ruyi wobbled as he walked, still unsteady on his feet, grabbing the edge of the bed and staring wide-eyed in curiosity at the man lying beside his father.
The pair of eyes, so strikingly similar to Xie Jue’s, fixed on Fang Chuning with curiosity.
"Daddy..."
"Shh..." Fang Chuning made a quieting gesture. Ruyi’s chubby little hands grasped the bed’s edge as he tried to climb up. Yet his short legs failed to give him the leverage he needed, his face turning red from exertion. Fang Chuning, suppressing his own pain, sat up and hoisted Ruyi up, casually helping him remove his shoes. Ruyi crawled toward Xie Jue, seemingly ready to call out to him, but Fang Chuning caught the child, pinched his chin, and stared contemplatively at him before turning to look at Xie Jue’s face. "He really looks like him."
Marquis Zhenbei Xie Yuan’s sons were all strikingly similar to him, especially in their eyes and brows, which were nearly identical. Xie Jue and Xie Xun had similar brows and eyes too, but their temperaments rendered them entirely different in feeling.
In Xie Xun’s face, those eyes radiated soft ripples of spring water, naturally imbued with tenderness.
In Xie Jue’s face, they reflected the cold clarity of a secluded mountain spring, shimmering with detached coolness.
In the child’s face, those eyes were innocent and pure.
Fang Chuning couldn’t help but recall Xie Jue’s childhood and felt a flicker of amusement. His fingers poked at Ruyi’s cheek. "Xie Wen... Ruyi. That’s truly a fine name."
Ruyi stared curiously at the unfamiliar man. Fang Chuning’s face, still bruised, looked even worse after a night had passed. The marks had darkened into blackened purple, giving him a terrifying appearance.
Ruyi shrank back in slight fear.
"Don’t wake your father; he’s still sleeping," Fang Chuning cooed softly to the boy, his voice gentle as he attempted to comfort him. "You’re really attached to him, aren’t you? Coming to find him first thing in the morning—your father must spoil you quite a bit."
Ruyi was indeed always attached to Xie Jue, needing his father’s coaxing before bed and seeking him out to play upon waking. Only when Xie Jue was busy would he turn to Xie Xun or Fengyu. Now, Ruyi looked from Xie Jue to Fang Chuning, his confusion deepening.
Ruyi crawled forward and lay down between Xie Jue and Fang Chuning, his glossy, pitch-black eyes fixed steadily on Fang Chuning. The child settled in the middle, leaving Fang Chuning no opportunity to play with Xie Jue’s hand anymore, to his slight disappointment. Like a restless little worm, Ruyi wriggled back and forth between them, curiosity brimming as he clambered up again to inspect Fang Chuning.
Fang Chuning couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. "What are you staring at?"
Ruyi flashed him a smile, his fear suddenly dissipated. Fang Chuning, knowing his bruised face looked terrifying and worried about scaring the child, smiled back. Ruyi’s squirming and bustling finally woke Xie Jue. He opened his eyes to see Ruyi’s wide eyes locked with Fang Chuning’s, feeling a faint pang in his chest but saying nothing. Fang Chuning clearly noticed that Xie Jue had woken but stayed silent as well.
"Daddy..." Ruyi, delighted to see his father awake, excitedly pounced on him, rubbing his cheek against Xie Jue’s with intimate affection. Fang Chuning watched the father and son, his expression inscrutable, lost in thought. Xie Jue gently stroked Ruyi’s head. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
Ruyi shook his head. Xie Jue lifted him up and sat him on his lap. Ruyi, seated snugly in his arms, pointed to Fang Chuning as if asking who he was. Xie Jue tousled the boy’s hair. "Go and have breakfast."
Ruyi obediently nodded, cupped Xie Jue’s face, and kissed him. Fang Chuning’s brows tightened ever so slightly. Ruyi cautiously climbed down from the bed, and Xie Jue, worried he’d fall, reached out to steady him.
After Ruyi had left, Fang Chuning remarked calmly, "You’re certainly patient with your son."
"I have even more patience for you."
Fang Chuning, "..."
Unsure how to respond to this remark, he opted for silence. Fang Chuning had witnessed how Xie Jue interacted with children, and precisely because he had, he couldn’t help but feel perplexed.
Xie Jue was waiting for Fang Chuning to ask about the child. Yet, to his surprise, Fang Chuning asked no further and instead quietly closed his eyes.
Lady Zhang had been waiting outside for Ruyi the whole time. Seeing him come out, she quickly scooped him up and left promptly.
Xie Jue got up, instructed the attendants to prepare breakfast, and sent someone to inform Fang Lingjun that Fang Chuning had awakened, reassuring her not to worry. Fang Chuning still had trouble moving when he got up. He leaned against the bed’s headboard, trying to rest while watching Xie Jue efficiently handle these mundane tasks.
"While I recover... will I be staying here with you?" Fang Chuning asked.
"Mm," came Xie Jue’s calm reply.
"Sharing the same bed?"
"That’s right."
Fang Chuning gave a wry smile. "No need to keep such tight tabs on me. Following me out, watching me come back—why not just stick to me like glue?"
"Alright!"
Fang Chuning took a deep breath, his chest faintly aching. His blows were ruthless, and Xie Xun’s were just as merciless. Feeling the pain, Fang Chuning coughed a few times. Xie Jue came over with a bowl of medicine. "This is for the pain."
"I’m fine. I can endure it." Fang Chuning didn’t want to drink the pain-relief medicine.
Xie Jue frowned. "I brewed this myself."
"Give it here!" Fang Chuning reached out, took the bowl, and drained it in one gulp.
The attendants placed breakfast in the hall, and Fang Chuning could smell the enticing aroma of the food, stirring up his hunger. Since yesterday afternoon, he hadn’t eaten much, and the scent made his empty stomach ache with hunger.
As Xie Jue helped Fang Chuning sit, Lady Zhang entered carrying Ruyi in her arms, nervously saying, "Second Young Master, Ruyi wants to eat with you."
"Daddy..." Ruyi toddled over and hugged Xie Jue’s leg. Xie Jue bent down, picked him up, and sat him on his lap. Ruyi’s dark, glimmering eyes remained locked on Fang Chuning.
Fang Chuning looked back at him.
Xie Jue said, "Ruyi, call him ’Uncle.’"
Ruyi refused to call him anything, burying his head in Xie Jue’s chest in defiance. Xie Jue didn’t force him, instead letting Ruyi sit on his own chair and holding out his porridge for him.
Watching Xie Jue gently feed Ruyi, Fang Chuning suddenly felt his appetite for breakfast dissipate.
He had never imagined Xie Jue playing the role of a father.
Nor had he ever imagined that the Second Young Master of the Xie family could be such a tender father.
The word "tender," almost foreign to his perception of Xie Jue across the years, seemed reserved entirely for Ruyi today.