After taking several deep breaths, Mu Xueshi finally realized how badly he had lost his composure. Like a stiff puppet, he slowly turned his head and forced an awkward laugh.
“I… wasn’t talking about you. Uh… heh…”
Su Ruhan was sitting nearby, leisurely sipping tea. Earlier, when Mu Xueshi had awakened, his expression had changed several times in rapid succession before he suddenly shouted as if no one else were present. The anger on his face had looked rather strange—but also somewhat amusing.
Mu Xueshi secretly feared Su Ruhan might look at him with disgust. Back when he was still in school, he would occasionally have strange outbursts like that. Whenever it happened, the students around him never held back, throwing insults at him—idiot, lunatic, freak. Even though he had only been venting his frustration, no one had ever cared about how he felt.
Yet Su Ruhan showed no sign of contempt.
In fact, he did not even look at him.
Mu Xueshi let out a quiet sigh of relief, though at the same time he felt slightly awkward.
“…Will you be staying here tonight?” Mu Xueshi asked.
Su Ruhan shook his head.
“No.”
Mu Xueshi’s expression changed immediately. Gathering what strength he could, he climbed out of bed and walked toward Su Ruhan.
Su Ruhan had assumed Mu Xueshi would stop several steps away to talk. Instead, Mu Xueshi dragged a stool over and sat right beside him, even pulling the chair closer until he was practically in front of him.
A faint, pleasant fragrance from Mu Xueshi’s body drifted into Su Ruhan’s senses, while that flawless, delicate face was suddenly very close.
If the person before him were anyone else, they might already have been completely spellbound.
But Mu Xueshi seemed utterly unaware that his behavior looked like deliberate seduction. He casually slung an arm around Su Ruhan’s shoulders and grinned ingratiatingly.
“How about this—why don’t you just stay here tonight? We can share the room.”
Su Ruhan immediately removed the arm from his shoulder and replied coldly,
“No. Linhan Palace was granted by the Third Prince for Young Master Xue’s temporary stay. How would I dare disturb it…”
“No, no, no!” Mu Xueshi waved his hands quickly. “Why be so polite? Tonight I’ll make the decision myself. You eat here, sleep here—later I’ll get another quilt.”
His insistence came from lingering fear of the strange events that had happened on the back mountain earlier that day.
He still believed he was the Third Prince’s friend—an honored guest in the residence. Keeping Su Ruhan here felt only natural, even righteous. In fact, Mu Xueshi assumed Su Ruhan’s own living quarters were surely far less comfortable than this place.
But Su Ruhan remained unmoved.
“I appreciate Young Master Xue’s kindness,” he said calmly, “but I am not refusing out of courtesy. I simply do not wish to stay here and share a bed with someone.”
“What’s wrong with that? We’re both men.” Mu Xueshi spoke casually, yet his hand gripped Su Ruhan’s sleeve tightly, refusing to let go.
Someone had to stay with him tonight.
The night was dark, there were no lamps, and in a place this eerie, even if ghosts did not devour him, they would scare him to death.
Su Ruhan was truly stunned by Mu Xueshi’s words.
Nowadays, relations between men were hardly rare. Two unmarried men sleeping together would easily lead to endless rumors. And Mu Xueshi was someone close to the Third Prince—if word spread, there would be no explaining it.
Even if Su Ruhan truly harbored feelings for him, he would never risk such trouble—let alone when he had no such intentions.
The Third Prince trusted Su Ruhan precisely because he knew Su Ruhan understood boundaries. Yet he had never expected that while Su Ruhan would keep his distance, Mu Xueshi would instead cling to him so persistently.
No matter how composed Su Ruhan was, he could not remain completely unmoved under such relentless closeness. Mu Xueshi kept smiling at him with innocent warmth, and for a moment Su Ruhan’s mind wavered.
At last, he steadied himself.
With a single push—using less than a tenth of his strength—he shoved Mu Xueshi back several steps.
By the time Mu Xueshi regained his balance, Su Ruhan had already strode out the door and vanished into the dark night.
Futile Devices Scans 
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