Chang Geng closed his eyes. He knew that he could no longer exceed their boundaries. Affection could not be controlled, but his limbs and body could be.

He obediently let go of Gu Yun and calmly stood on one side, enduring the invisible wildfire in his chest. He knew that he wanted too much to the point of irrationality, even causing many types of grievances and hatred to be born from it. They were all so despicable and ugly; thus, he dared not let them be seen in any way.

Chang Geng took a deep breath and asked: "How come yifu has traveled to Jiangnan?"

Gu Yun glared at him then unhappily replied: "Still have the face to ask, was it not because of you?"

Chang Geng did not dare to look at him for long; he bowed his head slightly.

Gu Yun only assumed that he had just said heavy words. The reprimands that had already reached the tip of his tongue were hurriedly swallowed back by himself. He curled his thumb into the palm of his hand, flexing the joints back and forth two or three times. The exhaustion from traveling for a thousand miles came crashing down on him. He endured this sudden tiredness, and after pondering over it several times, he tried to stay as calm as possible and said to Chang Geng: "Sit down, tell me why you were with that bald... ahem."

Gu Yun realized that it was not appropriate to call Liao Ran a bald donkey in front of Chang Geng. But he could never say the word 'master' either; hence, he was stuck in the middle.

Chang Geng: "When Master Liao Ran wanted to travel to the south, it was me who had insisted on going with him. If yifu troubled him for this reason, I would also feel uneasy."

Gu Yun: "..."

Chang Geng was too good at talking. With just one sentence, he had asked for the donkey to be pardoned and not angered Gu Yun at the same time. Inside and outside were made distinctively clear, causing Gu Yun to almost feel 'uneasy' himself. He was secretly surprised for the second time today. Only a year had passed, how did the child who used to be as straightforward as a wooden pole learn this way of talking?

"When yifu was my age, you had already ventured to the south to ease the rebellion, but me, I am still inexperienced and incompetent. Thus, I wanted to leave the manor to see the world outside."

Chang Geng snuck a glimpse of Gu Yun and found that his eyes were bloodshot. He was unable to speak anymore. Guilt rose from his chest to his throat, he whispered: "...just that my means of doing things was impulsive, even troubling yifu to travel from a distance away, I was wrong, yifu, please punish me."