HNMSGHML Chapter 11: Going Out

Chapter 11: Going Out

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Rattie

 

Xia Qian’an was sitting in his chair; he took a peek at An Jiu while drinking milk, and then quickly averted his eyes again, though there was no expression on his face as usual. In fact, he was crazy inside, especially when he was with An Jiu.

Why did he watch that video last night? Now, he couldn’t stay beside An Jiu in a normal state of mind at all. As long as he stayed with An Jiu, he would immediately think of that picture. God! For shame!

An Jiu put the shelled eggs into Xia Qian’an bowl; he glanced at his master and caught his master peeking at him. His master’s response was a little strange. Why did he feel that his master was being shy? Was it an illusion?

Xia Qian’an bowed his head to drink porridge and dared not to look at him. His ears were pink. He couldn’t keep it up anymore; he would be discovered by An Jiu for sure. Xia Qian’an tried to calm himself down. That was what he would experience in the future. Now, he just previewed it in advance. Xia Qian’an was constantly reassuring himself.

After eating, Xia Qian’an went back to his music room. The music room was on the third floor and there were many instruments in it. The most expensive one was the guqin, followed by the big piano on the other side.

The guqin was his father’s birthday gift to him, but he had forgotten which one. Xia Qian’an’s musical talent only covered the guqin and the piano, nothing besides that. His strongest merit was his concentration. When doing something, many people were easily disturbed by the outside world, but it was not easy for them to concentrate, which could be both good and bad.

Upon entering the music room, Xia Qian’an’s heart calmed down. Looking at his favorite partner, he smiled. Musical instruments were his partners and they accompanied him all the time growing up, so he didn’t feel that his life had lost hope.

Xia Qian’an walked slowly and stroked the cold surface of the piano with his right hand. He hadn’t played it in a long time, and he hoped that he still knew his chords. He sat down, opened the lid, pressed down on a key with one hand, then he put both his hands on it. At first, he played slowly. Then, he gradually immersed himself in the sound of the piano, and his fingers danced on the keys.

An Jiu leaned against the wall, looking at his master attentively. At the moment, his master was absolutely dazzling. Xia Qian’an was totally immersed in his own world, playing piano scores one after another. An Jiu stood by quietly and watched on without blinking. After a while, An Jiu moved.

He stepped forward and stood beside Xia Qian’an. His master had been playing for a long time, and his body couldn’t bear it, but he couldn’t snap his master out of it with conventional methods. His eyes were dim.

“An’an, you need to rest.” An Jiu bent his head close to his master’s ear; his voice was low, and his breath entered his master’s ears. Xia Qian’an’s ears trembled a little, and the piano stopped abruptly.

Xia Qian’an turned his head and covered his thin lips with An Jiu’s slightly colder ones. When their lips met, his mind went blank; An Jiu’s breathing was ragged, and his eyes darkened.

In the next second, Xia Qian’an position changed, his whole body imprisoned in An Jiu’s arms. An Jiu held him tight and gently sucked the lips of the person in his arms. Although he was very gentle, Xia Qian’an could feel that An Jiu was holding back.

An Jiu buried his head in his master’s nape; he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and that made Xia Qian’an’s heart race. His body was relaxed, completely leaning onto An Jiu’s chest. An Jiu raised his head, sorted out his master’s disorderly clothes and covered the traces of his actions. Xia Qian’an’s lips were red, and his eyes were dark and moist, making An Jiu want to tease him.

“An Jiu…” Xia Qian’an raised his head from his arms and spoke in a soft voice.

“Mn.” An Jiu held his master close and sat still. Xia Qian’an’s heart didn’t slow down, and he struggled to get out of An Jiu’s arms. His eyes were slightly moist, and his ears were a bit red.

Every morning after breakfast, An Jiu would sit in the garden with his master. Sometimes they would read books together, or An Jiu would read books and study while Xia Qian’an did something else beside him. Xia Qian’an refused at first. He hated being outside. He felt insecure when he was outside, but he finally accepted it because he was with An Jiu, a man who made him feel comfortable no matter where he was.

And he had to work hard to change himself…

An Jiu packed everything, sat next to Xia Qian’an and asked, “Master, can you accompany me outside? It’s a good thing that you can stay outside your room for a long time without feeling anxious.”

He wasn’t telling his master to go and touch strangers, but he also wanted to see the world his master lived in. At the moment, he had learned almost everything. While there were no other people, it was difficult to determine his difference.

“… Mn, I’ll go out with you tomorrow,” Xia Qian’an agreed after a moment’s silence. It had been nearly a month since An Jiu came here. He should also go outside to have a look. Xia Qian’an put his hand on his back and trembled slightly; An Jiu didn’t notice anything. After living in ancient times for several years, he became more skilled in controlling his emotions.

As Xia Qian’an was not fully focused on this day, it was seen by An Jiu several times. An Jiu didn’t say anything about it, but looked at his master silently, which must be understood by his master himself.

However, at dinner time, Xia Qian’an had less food than usual. An Jiu also felt that his master was anxious.

Xia Qian’an also wanted to relax, constantly reminding himself that he should not be so nervous, but it had barely any effect, and he was getting more and more nervous instead; his heart was beating fast, and it had begun to affect his work and rest.

“Master, it’s okay. I’ll be with you tomorrow.” An Jiu made Xia Qian’an sit on his lap, held his head close, and gently caressed his back with his right hand to let him relax slowly.

Xia Qian’an reached out to hold onto An Jiu’s waist, breathed in the mint smell on him, and he gradually calmed down. Finally, Xia Qian’an fell asleep with An Jiu by his side.

Early the next morning, just after breakfast, Mrs. Li began to help the Young Master prepare his bag. The Young Master didn’t go out often, so he would not know what to take with him. She beamed a smile. Today must be the happiest day of her life. Now, she was not going to regret never seeing the Young Master go out to play in his lifetime.

“Have a good time, Young Master. Remember to keep up with Young Master An. I’ve put everything you might need in your bag.”

An Jiu took the black bag from Mrs. Li, then he took Xia Qian’an’s hand in his other hand, nodded to Mrs. Li and went out with Xia Qian’an.

The driver waited there since early in the morning; he waited for the Young Master to get in, then started the car. He was not very talkative and didn’t take the initiative to speak much, but he had watched Xia Qian’an grow up, just like Mrs. Li did. He was as good to Xia Qian’an as he would be to his son.

There were few people living near Xia Qian’an. It took more than twenty minutes to drive out. Maybe it was because of going outside, but Xia Qian’an’s face was a little pale, and his expression was stoic.

An Jiu held Xia Qian’an’s hand. It was cold, and An Jiu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Maybe he was too worried. After all, his master’s condition had been going on for more than ten years.

“An’an…” An Jiu looked at him and said softly. He couldn’t call Xia Qian’an ‘master’ in front of outsiders. They had agreed to it before.

“… It’s okay, I’m fine.” Xia Qian’an shook his head, and he said that it was no problem to go to a place where there were few people if he had An Jiu by his side.

Slowly, the car went into the city. An Jiu watched the different world around; the buildings were very strange, very high, and the pedestrians’ clothes made it unbearable to look at them directly. It was simply… It was too exposing. The material of their clothes seemed to be of poor quality.

They reached their destination, and they got out of the car. The driver was waiting. An Jiu was nearly 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) tall, and his face was cold and expressionless. He seemed standoffish. An Jiu wore a white dress shirt and a pair of black pants; combined with his cold eyes, it gave him an austere appearance.

Xia Qian’an inherited the excellent genes of his parents. At the age of eighteen, he had grown to a height of 1.8 meters (5.9 ft). His skin was white and his face delicate. He stayed at home often and didn’t come out very much. He looked sickly. Xia Qian’an wore a blue sweater and put on his hat before getting out of the car. The hat was big enough to cover a third of his face. He didn’t like people staring at him.

An Jiu carried a bag on one shoulder and held Xia Qian’an’s hand with the other. As soon as they got out of the car, all eyes were on them. It was no wonder, since they looked so stunning. 

Fortunately, An Jiu was a little intimidating. There was no-one within half a meter around them, and neither of them dared to look at the others openly.

As they took Xia Qian’an’s situation into consideration, the place where they came out to for the first time was relatively small, and they chose a working day. All the working people were working and all the students were at school.

Although Xia Qian’an was eighteen years old and at the age of being in college, the Xia family had plenty of money. Even if he was an illegitimate child, his treatment was excellent. Xia Qian’an had been away from school since the fourth grade of primary school. He’d requested a tutor. He was provided with all kinds of cultural lessons, and etiquette lessons as well.

After all, An Jiu was not a modern person. Even after learning about modern knowledge for nearly a month, he didn’t know much about the food, clothing, housing and transportation in this era. Finally, Xia Qian’an could only introduce things nearby while walking.

Gradually, Xia Qian’an felt more at ease, but his hand was still holding An Jiu tightly, as if grasping that hand would let him have the whole world.