Blow out the exuberant vitality, making him feel comfortable when he sees it.
The triennial imperial examination is approaching, and the whole Great Chu country is very lively. The county town is not far from the capital city, and the county town is famous for its Hundred Flowers City. Therefore, as the exam approaches every year, the county town will hold a lively flower viewing banquet.
At that time, famous scholars and scholars would come to participate, and they would compete in poems and essays at the banquet. Not only can they become famous all over the world if they win, but they also have various rewards.
In the past banquets were sometimes money, sometimes rare famous paintings and calligraphy collections. It is said that this time the Minister of Household Affairs even wanted to select a son-in-law for his daughter at this flower viewing banquet.
Everyone has heard about the Minister of Household Affairs’ daughter. She is a talented and beautiful woman, so this flower viewing banquet is even more lively than previous banquets.
Fu Junli is also participating in such a lively banquet. He is not there to marry the Minister’s daughter, but as an invited guest to attract popularity.
Since Fu Junli is going, Gu Bai naturally has to follow. He has to quickly win people over before the White Lotus Flower appears, otherwise, his chances of winning will be greatly reduced once the White Lotus Flower appears.
Gu Bai changed into a white shirt, holding a fan to show off, complaining about the trouble of literary gatherings in his heart, while sitting beside Fu Junli to participate in the flower viewing banquet together.
Before the official start of the poetry contest banquet, scholars who were lucky enough to have seats were already seated, greeting each other in a courteous manner.
Those who did not get seats could only stand around and watch, after all, the venue for the banquet was limited, but there were over a thousand scholars in attendance. If everyone came to recite poetry, the banquet would not end until early the next morning. Therefore, in each flower viewing banquet, there were only a few dozen people selected to participate in the poetry contest.
Gu Bai was not a participant in the poetry contest, but due to the halo of being the number one scholar in the county town, he also had a seat.
However, since no one was familiar with him here, and when people wanted to greet him but hesitated due to Fu Junli’s cold attitude, for a while, no one spoke to him.
Since no one approached him, Gu Bai could only sit in his seat bored, yawning, shedding two tears from his beautiful eyes, hanging on his dense eyelashes.
He rested his cheek on one hand and held a teacup in the other, drinking tea, the white mist lingering, blurring his features, giving the delicate and beautiful young man a charming appeal that attracted the attention of many around him…
Fu Junli, who was sitting next to him, appeared to be engaged in a conversation with someone, but in reality, his eyes were fixed on Gu Bai, noticing his appearance, his gaze subtly changing.
The dignified manner of Fu Junli never showed such a careless and lazy posture before. Although he did not care much for etiquette, his usual demeanor adhered to the principles of a gentleman. If someone behaved disrespectfully in front of him, he would frown and feel disgusted. However, the lazy posture of Gu Bai at this moment did not evoke disgust in him. On the contrary, he found the misty appearance of the other party charming and lovable.
“Are you bored?” he couldn’t help asking softly.
“Yes, look, I’ve had two pots of tea, and I heard that the banquet won’t start until the hour of the pig. It’s only the hour of the rooster now…” Gu Bai nodded, picked up the tea cup, shook it, his lips slightly raised, as if expressing helplessness and coquetry, the deep blue clear eyes shimmering with seductive charm.
Fu Junli was momentarily stunned by this enchanting charm, hesitated for a few seconds, then reached out to touch his head and said warmly, “In that case, shall we play a game?”
“What game?” The young man’s eyes lit up, shining like a brilliant sun.
Fu Junli hesitated and smiled at him, gesturing for him to wait, then stood up and addressed the scholars below. “On such a beautiful day like today, we might as well play a game together. Since it’s a flower viewing banquet, how about playing the ‘Flying Flower Command’? Today’s theme will be flowers…”
The Flying Flower Command was one of the drinking games that helped to liven up the atmosphere. It was an elegant game that required a good understanding of poetry. Those who did not have a foundation in poetry could not play it at all, so this kind of drinking game was one of the favorite word games of literati. Such a refined game was perfect for the atmosphere of today’s flower viewing poetry contest banquet, and the fact that it was proposed by Fu Junli, the number one scholar of the county town, was met with unanimous agreement from the others.
Gu Bai also showed interest, but inwardly he complained. As a pretentious literati, he didn’t really like these brain-teasing games. However, seeing the interest of everyone, including the big boss, he couldn’t stand out, so he had to reluctantly go along with this group of literati.
As it came to his turn in each round, Gu Bai felt no pressure at all, shamelessly plagiarizing the poetic verses he had heard in his previous two worlds and in his past life. If he encountered something familiar, everyone praised him for being knowledgeable; if he came up with something different, the unknowing scholars were amazed by his quick thinking and ability to compose poetry on the spot.
Until later, the entire game of Flying Flower Command basically turned into his personal show. Gu Bai shamelessly and confidently copied without any hesitation, not seeking the limelight, but enjoying the deepening admiration in Fu Junli’s eyes.
Fu Junli was a talented and noble man, and such people would appreciate those who were talented like themselves. The more Gu Bai showed his talent, the more Fu Junli paid attention to him. Once Fu Junli began to focus on and think highly of him, it wouldn’t be long before he fell in love. The love between men often began with admiration and gradually progressed.
As for the issue of Gu Bai eventually being discovered to have no ink in his belly, he didn’t consider it. By that time, he would have completed his conquest and left Fu Junli behind. Fu Junli would not have the opportunity! So he seemed to be toying with people’s feelings, but he had no choice. He was just a bystander in this world; his purpose in coming to this world was a task that the original host had to fulfill.
Past life, present fruits, the fate of all the mission targets was exchanged by the original host with his soul. He was just an outsider.
Yes, he was ultimately just an outsider…
Thinking so, Gu Bai smiled faintly, picked up the cup on the table, tilted his head back, and drank. For the first time in his life, he reflected on the meaning of living, the purpose he had been striving for all along. Why did he work so hard to live? Why…
The act of drinking was so elegant, the expression so charming, that it left the people around him stunned. Besides the people at the banquet, there was also a man sitting on a pavilion above, looking down through the window, and he too was captivated by this charming gaze.
His subordinate next to him saw the man’s expression and couldn’t help but pat him on the back, “Master, this young man is truly amazing…”
“He is a daring one…”
Ji Changyin stared at the beautiful young man at the banquet, feeling pleasantly amused and chuckled softly.
At that moment, Gu Bai seemed to sense something. He turned his head to look in this direction, and when he caught sight of the man’s figure, his eyes lit up with a surprised expression. Seeing this, Ji Changyin’s smile widened, his mood becoming even more joyful, and he instructed the guard by his side.
“Go and bring him up…”
“Yes.” The guard received the order and hurried downstairs to fetch the person.
At this moment, Gu Bai, in a moment of inexplicable sadness, felt a familiar presence around him. He immediately recognized who this familiar atmosphere belonged to. His melancholy heart suddenly turned into excitement and joy. He almost couldn’t resist the urge to leave immediately to find the person, but he managed to hold back. If the man wasn’t in a hurry at this moment, if the mission failed, the consequence would be a bleak future where he would no longer have any connection with the man.
After waiting for a while, Ji Changyin’s guard finally arrived.
“My young master wishes to invite you upstairs to have tea, Mr. Du.”
The guard expressed his intentions clearly and concisely, taking out a golden token with a dragon around the edge and a simple ‘Ji’ character in the middle. Those who had some status present took a sharp breath upon seeing it. Fu Junli’s face also changed, hesitating for a moment, then he took Gu Bai’s hand to prepare to go together. That master was not a kind person, and if one person went there alone, it could lead to unpredictable consequences.
“Master Fu, my master said he wants Mr. Du…” The guard interrupted him impassively. Seeing this, Gu Bai looked up at the man standing on the pavilion, smiled in his heart, pulled Fu Junli’s sleeve, and whispered softly.
“Don’t worry, Brother Junli, Yuexi will be back soon after going. It’s just to have tea; Yuexi knows etiquette.”
After speaking, Gu Bai followed the guard out. Fu Junli stood in place, watching Gu Bai’s figure getting farther away, his expression showing worry. The young man, like Lianzhi, seemed to understand etiquette, but in reality, his simple and innocent nature did not understand the rules fully, and he flaunted his youthful rebellion more than Lianzhi.
Lianzhi, Yuexi, Lianzhi, Yuexi. Fu Junli’s mind was momentarily in turmoil, the two similar yet different figures intersecting in his thoughts…
Chapter 32
On the other hand, Gu Bai was quickly led up to the elegant building by the guard.
“Ji Changyin!”
As soon as he entered the room, Gu Bai joyfully threw himself in front of the man, his hands wrapped around the man’s neck, hanging on him completely. If in the past life he had some hesitation, this time he had no more reservations. Whatever feelings he had for this man, as long as he could make his heart beat, that was the most important thing. The mysterious Master had said that in three thousand worlds, they couldn’t meet every time. Who knows if the next task would involve meeting this person again.
“I stole the spotlight just now, after today, I’m afraid you’ll be famous all over the county, but I can’t see your knowledgeable appearance…”
The man promptly supported his lower back and also kneaded his flexible flesh with relish, quite unwilling to let go, his voice filled with pleasure.
Gu Bai smiled and relaxed his body against him, saying, “I don’t have much knowledge, but I can still recite a couple of verses. Do you want to hear?”
Without waiting for the man to speak, he started reciting.
“Humanity’s passions run deep as the sea, but can’t match half of mutual longing; the sea has its limits, but mutual longing has no bounds. Ascending the high tower with a qin in hand, the moonlight fills the empty tower; playing the mutual longing tune, the strings break in an instant. How do you find this poem?”
After finishing, Gu Bai cockily tilted his head up, looking at the man, subtly expressing a desire for praise.
The man, smiling, shook his head as he looked at the person hanging without courtesy on him.
“It’s a good poem, but why did you recite this poem? And in such a mournful tone?”
“Mutual longing, where the longing for you cuts through my guts, do you think of me too…”
Gu Bai stared at the man in front of him, his eyes showing a different kind of brilliance that made Ji Changyin’s eyes darken. He found that he had no resistance to these eyes. They always made him feel an uncontrollable joy, making him want to kiss and suckle the young man.
