Chapter 24.1: Clues (1)

“I’ve never seen you before.” The little boy continued.

After being locked up here for a long time, Kan Chen had never met anyone other than the butler. He looked at the vast expanse of light pouring out behind the young man as the iron door opened, restraining his wistful eyes.

He repeated, “Who are you? Why did you come here?”

The little boy’s voice sounded raw as it echoed throughout the small room.

“…” Xia Nuo didn’t know what to say.

In fact, he instantly paused when he opened the door and saw the little boy with black hair and blue eyes.

Although he’d seen what he looked like in the family portrait, back then, he wasn’t aware that Little Luo’er was the same person as Kan Chen. 

He looked at the child, a new feeling rising within his heart. This is what Kan Chen looked like when he was a child?

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“R’x blal vs vyjl usw yoyu.”

Lso vbyv bl’p qswde vbl uswdt hlapksd sq Iyd Ubld, bl osd’v fwpv blzrzlppzu oyvnb bkx cl zsnjle wr kd blal.

Mbl assx oyp dsv yp eydtlaswp yp bl wple vs vbkdj cwv kv oyp eyaj yde eyxr. Jwv vbl assx’p blyhu kasd essa yde pxyzz okdeso vbyv zssjle yp bktb yp y qldnl xyel vbl assx pllx zkjl y rakpsd nlzz.

It would be difficult for the light to pass through in such a room. If he hadn’t redeemed his eyesight, he wouldn’t be able to see Kan Chen’s position by his dynamic vision alone.

How could a small boy bear to be locked up in such a terrible environment?

The little boy looked at him strangely after he heard his words. Then he raised his hands and asked, “But don’t you see that there’s no way for me to get out here?”

Two long chains attached to the shackles on the boy’s wrist made a crisp crashing sound.

“This… This is too much!” Xia Nuo could hardly contain his anger.

Locking a small boy in a dark attic and restraining him with shackles like a prisoner. Isn’t that manor owner a scum?

Not to mention that this is his own grandson that he’s abusing, even if he’s just a stranger to him, should he really be this cruel?

He suddenly regretted that he didn’t curse, otherwise he wouldn’t be able stop himself from swearing.

Little Kan Chen looked at the young man’s angry expression. His cheeks were bulging, tempting him to poke it.

His fingers placed on the bed sheet trembled a few times, but he resisted the urge he felt.

“Don’t be angry,” He comforted Xia Nuo and answered as if everything was normal, “It’s not worth getting angry over that kind of person.”

Right. This isn’t the time to get angry.

Xia Nuo tried to calm himself down. He walked up to Little Kan Chen and knelt down on one knee.

Little Kan Chen looked at his actions with a puzzled look and asked, “What are you going to do?”

Xia Nuo showed him a reassuring smile as he put his hand on the shackles, “I’m gonna show you some magic.”

Magic? Little Kan Chen curled his lips. He wanted to say that he no longer believed in something that childish.

Yet he looked at the young man in front of him who wore a serious expression and decided to stay quiet. He turned his eyes to the shackles on his wrist.

Then miraculously, under the gaze of his burning eyes, the shackles on his wrists broke apart and fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.

“Wow—” Little Kan Chen let out a sound he didn’t even realize he made because he got so amazed. “How did you do that?”

He held Xia Nuo’s hand and turned it back and forth, trying to find the secret to how he opened the chains with his bare hands. But he didn’t find anything special even after looking.

The young man’s fingers were white, slender and smooth. At first, Little Kan Chen was really trying to find out the reason behind his magic but after that, he no longer wanted to let go.

Unlike Xia Nuo’s palms, the little boy’s palms were chubby and tender. Perhaps afraid of hurting the young man, Little Kan Chen’s movements were very gentle.

Xia Nuo was ticklish and couldn’t help but laugh, “I told you, didn’t I? It was magic.”

Actually, he also just found this out when he opened the door to the attic. In this time and space, it was like something was helping him to search for clues, like he could do anything to get what he wanted.

When he didn’t want to be found, the waiters in the banquet hall turned a blind eye on him. When he wanted to get information, his presence became perceptible. When he wanted to open the iron lock on the door, he got the result he wanted.

Because of this discovery, he became sure that he would be able to unlock the shackles on Little Kan Chen’s wrists. And he was right.

Little Kan Chen’s eyes changed instantly and sparkled, “Are you a fairy?”

As soon as he uttered those words, he immediately tried to change it, “No, should I call you a little fairy boy?”

Fairy boy¹A way to tease(?) a pretty boy with feminine looks? Xia Nuo paused. Uhh, that’s a bit…

He got so distracted to even retort back to the title the kid gave him.

Little Kan Chen didn’t seem to notice his unusual actions as his beautiful blue eyes stared unblinkingly at Xia Nuo, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have thought that you wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Before he was caught and got separated from his happily, he was also a child living in a happy family. His father would always tell him fairy tales every night to lull him to sleep.

When he was younger, he still believed in the existence of fairies and even imagined that he could learn magic one day and become a hero.

As he grew up and read a lot of books, he became skeptical about the existence of fairies. When he was locked up in this dark attic, no matter how much he prayed, no fairy appeared before him. He stopped believing in those imaginary things.

But this young man appeared in front of him like heroes in fairy tales, not only bringing light but also removing the shackles, saying that he would take him away.

So I was wrong. He now believed sincerely.

Little Kan Chen lowered his head, wanting to imprint the young man’s face in his mind, and stared at him deeply.

Xia Nuo felt like the atmosphere had turned a little strange. Little Kan Chen looked like he really did believe what he said and now he feels a bit worried.

He suddenly regretted that he joked about knowing how to do magic. The child probably didn’t  know how to distinguish right from wrong, so he probably took his joke seriously.

Xia Nuo also tried to imagine the adult version of Kan Chen calling him a ‘Little Fairy Boy’… So embarrassing!

His round eyes widened in horror at the thought. He needed to find a way to clarify this. He didn’t want to hear this name being placed on his head again!

At this time, the big clock of the manor struck ten times. Xia Nuo snapped out of  his thoughts and continued to speak as if nothing happened.

“Let’s get out of here first.” 

As for that little fairy boy nickname, let’s pretend that never happened, alright?

Little Kan Chen also heard the clock ringing. He nodded obediently. “Okay.”

As per the usual routine, in another fifteen minutes, the butler would come here to bring him food and to ask him, ‘Young master, have you realized your mistake? If you apologize to the Master, you will be allowed to get out of here.’

He certainly wouldn’t apologize to that old man who bullied him when he didn’t even do anything wrong. Also, now that he had this young man by his side, he’d certainly be protected!

Xia Nuo didn’t know Little Kan Chen’s blind trust in him. He bent down and tried to pick up the little boy sitting on the bed.

Little Kan Chen sensed his intention and obediently stretched out his arms. He hadn’t let anyone hold him since he was three years old—but this big brother was different.

Little Kan Chen looked like a weightless small ball back when he was still curled up in his bed. So Xia Nuo was confident that he’d be able to pick him up—

—he was proven wrong though.

Reality is much more cruel than his imagination. He underestimated Little Kan Chen’s weight and overestimated his strength. After three attempts, he finally gave up.

“Sorry.” Xia Nuo hung his head and dared not imagine the expression on Little Kan Chen’s face right now.

Isn’t this too embarrassing? Xia Nuo squeezed his soft arm in disbelief, not believing that he would be this weak.

His whole body wilted. After all that happened, Little Kan Chen’s impression of him might just change from ‘little fairy boy’ to ‘weak little fairy boy’!

Little Kan Chen was unaware of his thoughts. He took the initiative to hold Xia Nuo’s hand and kindly said, “It’s okay, it’s not your fault.It’s because I’m heavy.”

…are you a little angel? Xia Nuo blinked, feeling moved by his words.

He didn’t expect Little Kan Chen to be so considerate and understanding. He actually took the blame to not embarrass him.

But in retrospect, the adult version of Kan Chen was also like this. But sometimes, he also played tricks on him deliberately.

He couldn’t help but bow his head as thought about the adult Kan Chen. In this time and space, Kan Chen was only just a little boy. He even showed his unfamiliarity with thim, indicating that he didn’t have any memories of the adult Kan Chen.

So where is the real Kan Chen now?

Xia Nuo thought about this question while pulling Little Kan Chen out of the attic. The lamp on the wall shone faintly.

He heard the child sigh, “So nice. I haven’t seen the light nor have I spoken to anyone for a long time.”

In that small space, darkness and loneliness invaded his mind all the time, roaring at him to give in, to sink into the boundless darkness.

Xia Nuo empathized with the boy’s words and gently touched his head.

He’d stopped using his eyesight a long time ago. When he destroyed Little Kan Chen shackles, he had a sudden thought: Since this time and space granted him so many privileges, could he also get his eyesight back temporarily?

The result was a pleasant surprise. He no longer needed to spend exorbitant points to redeem his eyesight.

Little Kan Chen’s hair was soft and felt good to touch. Xia Nuo suddenly understood why the adult Kan Chen liked to touch his head.

The little boy felt the gentle strength above his head and smiled, “Luckily, you came! Thank you for saving me, little fairy…”

Xia Nuo immediately stopped him when he heard the end of the child’s sentence, “Actually, I was kidding. It wasn’t magic. It was… Uhh, I had a key in my hand.”

The young man’s voice sounded somewhat bothered, and sounded a bit embarrassed, “Don’t call me little… Yeah that. I can’t really do magic.”

He couldn’t even say it, he had no choice but to mumble.

His reason sounded lame, not to mention, Little Kan Chen carefully checked his palm and  found no key.

But since he said so, perhaps he didn’t want to reveal his identity?

If that’s the case, then Little Kan Chen decided to not mention it again. It’ll only be a secret between the two of them.

When he thought about it like this, he felt a little joy in his heart. Because of this one secret, he felt like the relationship between him and the young man became closer!