MLIAM Chapter 80

Chapter 80: A Love Token Portrait – You are the only one, unique, …

Yu Shuli glanced at Wei Yan’s expression and retreated two steps briskly, “Not looking.”

He pushed the painting box over, “Here, take it back.”

“You have no choice but to look.” Wei Yan wrapped his arms around Yu Shuli, holding him tightly in his embrace.

Yu Shuli struggled, and he immediately feigned a muffled groan, “You’re touching it.”

Yu Shuli’s ears turned red, and he gritted his teeth, “Nonsense! How could it be so easy…” for a spark to ignite.

He didn’t dare move again, but cursed, “Are you a breeding stallion? Aroused anytime, anywhere?”

“Is that what I meant?” Wei Yan’s lips were close to Yu Shuli’s ear, and he breathed softly, “I’m talking about… touching… the wound you bit last night…”

He chuckled and placed a kiss on the obedient boy’s earlobe, saying meaningfully, “What did you think… was touching?”

Yu Shuli snorted and turned his head away, “How would I know? If you don’t mind, I’ll just help you take it out and see, wouldn’t that be clear?”

Wei Yan gently pulled him closer, the distance instantly becoming extremely ambiguous. He raised an eyebrow at Yu Shuli, “Really? Do you dare?”

Yu Shuli clenched the hem of his robe with one hand and warned, “In broad daylight, don’t you dare do that thing in the daytime, I’ll hit you.”

Wei Yan’s expression and tone were quite helpless, “Didn’t I bring you to see the painting?”

Yu Shuli held down his fingers that were wandering on the edge of dangerous territory. “Is this what you call looking at a painting?”

“Why not?”

Wei Yan’s fingers were pulled away by Yu Shuli, but he wasn’t annoyed. He simply moved them upward slowly and gently combed through Yu Shuli’s dark hair.

Yu Shuli, having been stroked, couldn’t get angry anymore. He pushed him, “Stop dawdling, open it quickly.”

Wei Yan moved, pressed him down on the chair, and with a kick of his foot, Yu Shuli’s whole body was trapped against the desk. To get out, he could only move Wei Yan first, and then move the chair that Wei Yan was blocking.

Wei Yan’s shoulder blade was pressed against his soft waist, and just as Yu Shuli was about to say something, Wei Yan leaned over him. With a “click,” he opened the lock.

The mysterious painting box finally saw the light of day.

“Didn’t you want to see? Why are you dazed?”

Yu Shuli pursed his lips, and out of curiosity, he didn’t try to break free from this restraint. Instead, he followed his lead and reached out, randomly pulling out a scroll.

The painting page looked a little old, probably having been stored for many years.

But there wasn’t even a layer of dust on it, showing how much Wei Yan treasured it.

Yu Shuli caressed the surface of the paper and looked sideways at Wei Yan, “Then I’ll open it?”

“Mm.” Wei Yan’s voice was low, and his eyes seemed to hold a faint, complex light.

Yu Shuli pinched the scroll and slowly unfurled the seemingly ancient painting.

The burning breath suddenly froze on his face, leaving him a little at a loss.

Yu Shuli looked up a little blankly, “Wei Yan?”

Wei Yan took the scroll and flicked it open with force.

Instantly, an old, scholarly fragrance of ink rushed towards them, and the entire painting came into view.

The person who painted it seemed to have a naive and unskilled hand, lacking in the depiction of details, but relying solely on the rich colors and his own emotions, he painted the person in the picture vividly.

Yu Shuli was completely stunned. “This… is me?”

To be precise, it was him from many years ago.

The person in the painting stood in the sunlight, wearing a suit of armor. The warm sunlight shone through the gaps in the trees and onto his armor, reflecting dazzling light.

Under the sunlight, he, clad in golden armor, turned back with a bright smile, his deep eyes full of endless determination towards the war, revealing a tenacious belief and a yearning and anticipation for the future.

Yu Shuli’s own painting skills were ordinary, but he also knew that to paint a person well enough, emotion was a very important part, in addition to superb painting skills.

Obviously, Wei Yan’s painting skills weren’t as good as they were now when he painted this picture. But the emotion in it just made up for everything.

“This painting is called ‘Young General’.” Wei Yan’s voice fell beside his ear, “It’s when you first left the The Capital City and went to the border alone, I painted it.”

He chuckled, as if recalling something, “At that time, I don’t know why, I just wanted to record your appearance. However, at that time, everyone in the high-ranking families was used to writing poetry and enjoying music, admiring mountains and playing in the water. As for figure painting, it didn’t seem that they were very proficient. I couldn’t find a good teacher, so I simply taught myself to paint figures, painting… you in my memory.”

“You were gone for three months, and I painted for three months.”

Yu Shuli’s fingers touched his face on the painting.

That slight, strange bump seemed to carry him through the boundaries of time and space, directly hitting the depths of his soul.

Wei Yan wasn’t afraid of gaudy colors when using his brush. The person in the painting was vivid and bright, with bright eyes and white teeth, so beautiful that even strangers would be moved.

Although his painting skills were unskilled, his brushstrokes were delicate, slowly unfolding a soulmate on the paper who seemed ready to step out of the painting.

Yu Shuli was in a daze, unable to recover for a long time, listening to Wei Yan’s rambling.

“At that time, I realized that leaving you for so long would make me miss you so much.”

Yu Shuli slowly closed the painting. He knew that besides the visual shock, there was also the sound of his heartbeat being tightly pulled by Wei Yan, reminding him of how touched he was.

“Wei Yan… I…” Yu Shuli’s mood was stagnant.

He was afraid… that he couldn’t give Wei Yan so much sincerity.

The word “love” was originally unfamiliar to him, and now he was just at the stage of groping his way across the river.

And Wei Yan’s feelings were too heavy.

The man leaned over and pressed against his shoulder, hugging him, “I’m telling you, not to increase your burden.”

Yu Shuli asked in a muffled voice, “Why didn’t you mention it before?”

Wei Yan chuckled softly, “Since you haven’t figured it out, I’ll just wait a few more years. Why force things to grow?”

Yu Shuli shook his head and raised his eyes to meet Wei Yan’s deep gaze. “That’s not it.”

“I know, that’s not it.”

Wei Yan’s smile gradually stiffened, and in the end, he couldn’t maintain even the slightest curve.

“Wei Yan, you must have suffered a lot these years.” Yu Shuli cupped his face and said seriously, “Unrequited love is always the most tormenting, especially since I’m not only slow on the uptake, but also have a straightforward personality. You didn’t say it, because you didn’t dare to, right? You were worried that if you said it, you wouldn’t even be able to be brothers with me.”

Wei Yan finally looked up, his eyes no longer hiding the surging and longing emotions, “Isn’t that… true?”

Yu Shuli really wanted to retort that it wasn’t. But the fact was indeed true.

Wanyan Jun in the past, and later the Crown Prince, Wu Peng… not that Yu Shuli was narcissistic, but he himself knew that he had attracted a lot of inexplicable romantic debts these years. In other words, he knew that his appearance and personality were both well above the passing grade. It wasn’t unusual for someone to like him.

He had been confessed to a lot these years.

“Yes…” Yu Shuli simply admitted.

He cupped Wei Yan’s face and met his gaze, “But, over the years, the only one who has made my heart flutter and ache is you.”

“Only you, Wei Yan.”

“You are the only one, unique, who can make me develop infinite affection even in my dullness.”

Wei Yan’s eyes suddenly deepened.

Almost hoarsely, “Ji’an, don’t you know what the consequences will be for telling me nice-sounding lies?”

He abruptly tightened his grip on Yu Shuli’s arms, and in Yu Shuli’s exclamation, his fingers climbed onto the firm and slender legs under his palms.

This time, Yu Shuli didn’t dodge. He raised his neck and gently kissed Wei Yan’s cheek, “I’m not lying to you, how do you want me to prove it?”

His eyes seemed to be filled with countless stars, and his relaxed body showed infinite indulgence towards Wei Yan.

Wei Yan’s throat tightened.

He couldn’t wait to kiss him, as if eager to confirm Yu Shuli’s feelings, pulling him into a net full of love and desire.

After the kiss, both of them had disheveled hair.

Yu Shuli’s hair was stuck with sticky sweat, entangling Wei Yan’s originally meticulous sideburns with a bit of messy beauty.

Yu Shuli chuckled and buried his head on Wei Yan’s shoulder. He pointed to the bloodstain on the corner of his lips, kicked Wei Yan, and asked, “Hey, does that count as proof?”

Wei Yan’s emotional perception was extremely keen at this time. When he was kicked, he suddenly groaned.

Yu Shuli was dumbfounded, “You…” He hesitated.

Wei Yan’s body was pressed tightly against him, and after their lingering kiss, they were almost one.

“Let’s do it?” Wei Yan’s low, hoarse voice had a bewitching magnetism, his beautiful eyes slightly red, his tenderness like water, like a demon from the depths of the mountains with profound magic, charmingly pulling Yu Shuli to sink together.

Yu Shuli kept silent, but finally allowed him to pull on his collar and slowly pull it open.

Wei Yan knew that he was always very soft-hearted. After being tacitly permitted, his movements finally stopped being restrained.

A kiss full of possessiveness and control entangled Yu Shuli.

Two bodies were pressed tightly together on the small desk, the sound of their heartbeats transmitting to each other through their chests.

Yu Shuli was teased until he was slightly dazed. He gritted his teeth and pushed Wei Yan, seeming to think that messing around in the study during the day was still indecent, and tried to struggle, “But… what if I just want to see the painting you made? You can’t not let me see it, right?”

“You can see it like this too.” Wei Yan buried his head in his neck and whispered, “I’ll make another one on your body, and let you watch it in person, okay?”

“Ahhhhh… so erotic!” Yu Shuli’s face flushed pink, and he covered his eyes, not even daring to look at Wei Yan, “I’m warning you… Wei Yan, don’t push your luck!” The words, which should have been very imposing, were soft at this time.

Wei Yan chuckled, “Like this… I would think that you are inviting me…”

His fingers stroked Yu Shuli’s belt, and then slowly untied it. “What should I paint?”

“How about painting: ‘Mandarin ducks dance with entwined necks, kingfishers in a cage of joy?'”

“Don’t paint!” As soon as the words fell, Wei Yan’s heat swept down.

Yu Shuli groaned, pressed Wei Yan’s hair, and pulled him away, “You!… Be gentle!”

Wei Yan blinked, his well-defined palm pressed on his ankle, “Be good, bear with it.”

The two were like a small boat floating, bumping on the sea, letting the turbulent waves toss them up and down.

Yu Shuli gradually lost the self-control he had tried to maintain. After a tremor, he hooked his arms around Wei Yan’s neck, “Xianqing… love me.”