Both are Foxes Chapter 48

Chapter 48:

Nangong Piaoran froze. Fine rain drizzled outside. The youth lay next to the window like a scene from a painting. He could not speak, fearful of breaking the perfect scene.

"Young master Nangong, you're here?" A female voice shattered his daydream. He glanced sideways and saw a pretty girl in a light blue dress. She looked pleasantly surprised.

Nangong Piaoran was vaguely annoyed. Before he could speak, the graceful girl walked over to the youth angrily. She drew the window close arranged his fox fur coat carefully, reproaching him at the same time. "Why do you never listen? Do you want to get so sick again that you can't get off the bed?"

The youth looked up at the girl with a sheepish smile. He spoke so softly, Nangong Piaoran could not hear what he was saying, but he did not want to know either. He only felt that the scene before him was piercing.

The youth and girl were a perfect match. Anyone who saw would gasp with praise. Truly a match made in heaven! However, Nangong Piaoran felt his heart ache. How he wished that the youth would only smile like that at him…

He clenched his fists so tightly, his nails pierced his skin. The pain finally brought him back to his senses, but then he felt a surge of anger. What was happening to him?

"Brother Nangong, what are you just standing there for? Come in. Don't expect me to stand up to greet you, I was just ordered to go back to bed," Ye Yin smiled, glancing at Lanzhi. Thought his eyes appeared resentful, Nangong Piaoran sensed it was playful.

He forcefully suppressed his anger, then walked into Ye Yin's room and sat down. "In just a few days, you've already worsened so much. Lady Lanzhi is right to not let you leave your bed."

Ye Yin curled his lip, feigning helplessness. "Oh, she only knows how to echo other's words. Because Mr. Zhuo's medical knowledge surpa.s.ses hers, she listened to every word he says. She basically treats him as a G.o.d!"

As she handed Nangong Piaoran a cup of tea, Lanzhi rolled her eyes. "Young master Nangong, if you've returned, does that mean my young master's poison can be cured now?"

He shook his head. "We'll have to wait a few days, I'm afraid. Although I have already given the antidote recipe to Brother Du, the ingredients still have not been completely gathered. Brother Du says we must wait for Mr. Zhuo to collect all the ingredients before Ye Yin can start taking the antidote. But there should be no further problems. Lady Lanzhi does not need to worry."

Lanzhi's smile dimmed. She gave him a bow. "Young master Nangong, thank you for finding the antidote recipe for my young master. Please sit here with young master Ye Yin for a while. I need to go."

As Xie Lanzhi left, Nangong Piaoran a.s.sumed a carefree manner. "Little Qi, seeing you with Lady Lanzhi is like seeing a fish in water. I envy you!"

"Envy me? Forget about it! You haven't seen her true face. She pesters me every day, I cannot stand it!"

"Enough, appreciate what you have!" Though Nangong Piaoran had a playful tone, his eyes were dark.

Ye Yin was skilled in reading faces, but he did not understand why Nangong Piaoran would be displeased. Did he offend him?

"Oh right, Brother Nangong, didn't you dislike my elder brother before? Why are you calling him 'Brother Du' so intimately now? Is it because you realized that Brother Du is really not bad, so…" Although he did not know what Nangong Piaoran was displeased with, it might be related to Lanzhi, so he decided to tease Nangong Piaoran and change the topic.

Nangong Piaoran rolled his eyes, annoyed. "It's because of you, otherwise I wouldn't even pay attention to him. I spent a lot of effort for you this time, Little Qi. How do you plan on repaying me?

Nangong Piaoran's pretty eyes narrowed, as if calculating a debt. Ye Yin's smile stiffened. Was he serious about the debt? It would not be easy to repay a man like Nangong Piaoran. Best to act dumb.

Seeing Ye Yin's frozen expression, Nangong Piaoran felt a burst of happiness. He glanced over at Ye Yin. "What, do you feel it is too difficult?"

Ye Yin did not respond, only smiling blankly. He didn't purposely ask for a favor, but this person was treating him as if he did. Hateful! Though he was silently cursing Nangong Piaoran in his heart, Ye Yin smiled brightly. It seemed Nangong Piaoran still had more to say, he just didn't know what, humph! He had not planned on repaying him from the start. They would just have to fight it out.

Nangong Piaoran turned around, smiling charmingly. "Actually, you don't need to worry. I originally said I did not plan on asking you for anything. I simply did not want to see you die of poison. Little Qi, I admire your talents, so saving you was natural, right?"

"Of course!" Ye Yin nodded hurriedly. Inwardly, he humphed. Why did he not say it was because they were friends? This implied he would never help him as a friend in the future.

"Nangong Piaoran, to be honest, I have nothing to pay you with, I can only invite you out to drink the future. Ah right, Brother Nangong, how was your journey?" He could not lightly promise him anything, otherwise the net around him would tighten.

"Fine, it was only just a pity that there was not an antidote readily available, otherwise you would already… Little Qi, you are unlucky."

Ye Yin smiled wryly. It was as if he and Nangong Piaoran were playing a chess game, first speaking cautiously, then using an irrelevant statement to change the topic. It seemed Nangong Piaoran came today with some kind of motive in mind, but… What exactly did he want from him?

Nangong Piaoran raised the teacup to his lips and took a sip. "Good tea!" he exclaimed. "I did not expect Lady Lanzhi knew how to make great tea as well! Little Qi, you sure are lucky to be able to come across such a great woman."

"It's because I'm a good man. Brother Nangong, don't tell me you want to negotiate for Lanzhi, Lanzhi is a little pesky, but I like her very much, so you can't carry out your plan."

"n.o.blemen don't steal women from others. How could I plan to take Lady Lanzhi!" Nangong Piaoran deliberately pretended to be dissatisfied.

The topic had circled back to Lanzhi, which annoyed Ye Yin. He sat plainly and spoke plainly. "Brother Nangong is obviously here for some other kind of reason. Why don't you just admit you're here to take Lanzhi? Is Lanzhi not related to the reason why you're here?"

Nangong Piaoran's smile gradually widened, increasingly alluring. "Little Qi, you are simply too perceptive. What I am here for does not have anything to do with Lady Lanzhi. I just want to know your real ident.i.ty!"

"Ah, so Brother Nangong has been troubled about my ident.i.ty I see. But Brother Nangong does not need to be so troubled. You and I are friends, I would have told you my ident.i.ty if you asked for my ident.i.ty, but if you did not ask for ident.i.ty, then how could I know you wanted to know my ident.i.ty? If I decided to say my ident.i.ty out of the blue, I was afraid I would seem overly clingy, that would be too embarra.s.sing."

Nangong Piaoran's smile stiffened at Ye Yin's long winded words, like that of a monk reciting sutras. Seeing the faint twitch from the corner of his lip, Ye Yin laughted internally. No one liked buddhist sutras!

"Ahem." Ye Yin adopted a serious expression. "I am the prime minister of West Zhi, Ye Yin. Because of the poison, I have not a.s.sumed my post yet."

"I just wanted to hear you say it yourself, it was merely my conjecture that you could be the prime minister of the new dynasty."

"Is that so?" Ye Yin raised his teacup but did not drink. He only peered into the cup, watching the steam rise. "Then, Brother Nangong, why did my ident.i.ty trouble you? Are we now enemies?"

Nangong Piaoran laughed coldly. "How could that be? You are the new prime minister of West Zhi, I am a Nanrong merchant. There are not conflicts between us, and my business in West Zhi will be watched under your eye, prime minister! We should not be enemies. At least, we are not enemies now."

Not enemies now does not mean they would not be enemies in the future! There was no such things as eternal friends or enemies.

Ye Yin looked up, wearing a bright smile. "Of course. Otherwise I would be troubled."

"Little Qi, it is fun to stay with you, but I must return to Nanrong. I won't be able to see you for a long time, I'm afraid. Take care of yourself. I hope the next time we meet, you won't look as if you could be blown away by the wind."

"You're returning? Why? Didn't you just arrive in Yue city, why…."

"Something occured in Nanrong, so I must travel back immediately. I only came here to send you the recipe for the antidote. I never break my promises."

Ye Yin paused. "If your time is so valuable, you did not need to come personally to send the recipe of the antidote, you could have…"

Nangong Piaoran broke him off. "I would not be at ease if I a.s.signed someone else to send it. After all, this recipe is related to your life. I also wanted to see how you were doing. Although the people I left behind in Yue city informed be that you were in good hands, I was still worried."

Ye Yin fell silent. If they were not enemies, they could have been great friends, but… fate is inescapable!

Nangong Piaoran stood up. After saying his goodbyes, he turned around and left. Watching the lavishly dressed figure leave, Ye Yin lied next to the window and sighed. Would he and Nangong Piaoran become enemies?