C56. The Talent of Chu Hechao.

C56. The Talent of Chu Hechao.

Yuan Li didn't expect that a simple sentence from him could elicit such a strong reaction from Chu Hechao, making him burst into laughter.

Could it be that Chu Hechao, who seemed like a seasoned player in everyday life, was actually a virgin?

Oh my, a twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old ancient virgin.

Yuan Li tried to hold back his laughter, his face turning red with a clenched fist to suppress his smile, he walked to the bed. Although he was also a virgin, it didn't stop him from mocking Chu Hechao.

He suddenly realized the joy of teasing Chu Hechao. The General appeared imposing and handsome, seemingly a tough guy on the outside, who would have thought that his reaction to being teased would be so amusing?

Yuan Li felt a bit mischievous, his courage instantly boosted.

He crawled under the covers, his eyes fixed on Chu Hechao, who was still frozen in front of the screen, and asked in a deliberately concerned tone, "General, how did you knock over the screen?"

Chu Hechao not only knocked over the screen but also shook his hand and peed on his boots.

Realizing what he had done, the General's face darkened as he quickly fastened his pants, picked up the screen, and walked out.

After a while, he returned to sit by Yuan Li's bed after changing his boots.

Yuan Li couldn't help but laugh, teasingly saying, "General, why are you so nervous when I compliment you?"

Chu Hechao had just been flustered by his earlier comment, but now being teased by Yuan Li, his masculine pride took over. He seemed to forget his embarrassing actions, raised an eyebrow with a calm expression, and a playful smile, revealing a hint of lazy and wild charm, "Am I nervous? Kid, I'm just afraid of scaring you."

With a deep laugh, he leaned down, his tall shadow looming over Yuan Li, "Have you never seen one this big before?"

Yuan Li's heart skipped a beat, feeling embarrassed.

Fuck!

He, a modern man who had seen the world, how could he lose to Chu Hechao in such crude banter?

A strange sense of pride and competitiveness arose, suppressing his embarrassment as he decided to strike back. With a smile, he said, "I only took a quick glance, General. I couldn't say for sure. How about... I take a closer look?"

When it came to being rogue, Chu Hechao was unmatched as long as he had the audacity.

The General narrowed his eyes, gazed at Yuan Li for a moment, casually lifted his robe aside, and began unfastening his belt as if he were really going to show it to Yuan Li.

Wait!

I was just talking big!

Yuan Li's scalp tingled momentarily, but thinking of Chu Hechao's earlier clumsy actions with the screen, he didn't believe he would dare to do it. Estimating that it was a bluff, Yuan Li couldn't let himself be intimidated.

He analyzed in his mind, regained some confidence, and maintained a calm appearance, with a playful smile and curious eyes fixed on Chu Hechao.

The two stood in silence, the unnamed anger burning in Chu Hechao's heart, causing a layer of sweat to form on his back, an unquenchable heat that gradually spread within him. His movements slowed, the belt slipping through his fingers.

Suddenly, he raised his eyelids, a teasing smile on his lips, "Do you really want to see? Yuan Li, nod your head, and we'll call it even."

Appearing firm, Yuan Li joked with a stiff upper lip, "General, feeling like you've talked big?"

Chu Hechao chuckled, his eyes fixed on Yuan Li, and decisively removed the belt from his waist. Just as he was about to take out his "bird brother," Lin Tian's voice came from outside, "General, your medicine is ready."

Both men in the room simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace, Chu Hechao quickly re-fastened his belt and took the lead by saying, "Come in."

As Lin Tian brought the medicine, breaking the strange atmosphere in the room, a bitter taste drifted in.

Yuan Li sighed in his heart, feeling fortunate at the moment, he didn't have time to inquire about the bitterness of the medicine. He received the medicine without saying a word and drank it in one go.

Lin Tian took the empty bowl and quietly retreated.

Watching Yuan Li's twisted expression of bitterness, Chu Hechao poured a glass of water and handed it to him, a mix of annoyance and amusement in his expression, "Can't you drink slowly?"

Yuan Li breathed a sigh of relief after finishing the glass of water, "Drinking slowly makes the bitterness stronger."

After returning the cup, Yuan Li didn't want Chu Hechao to dwell on the previous topic, so he changed the subject, "General, have you settled the arrangements for the soldiers?"

Chu Hechao lazily replied, "Everything is arranged. The medical visits to the people and soldiers you sent have been well taken care of. The repairs to the estate can wait until spring. I've sent men to investigate whether Xiao Ce is still collaborating, and those suspected are currently being interrogated."

"Thank you for your hard work," Yuan Li nodded, sighing, "It's fortunate that you arrived in time yesterday, or the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Frowning, Chu Hechao said, "Your soap factory was burned down. I heard all the soap was destroyed?"

Yuan Li let out a bitter laugh, "The batch of soap in the factory was made from the lard of the two thousand pigs slaughtered before. It's a pity to see all that lard go to waste."

Comparing the soap factory to the palace, the estate saved half. But the entire soap factory burned down to ashes, and it was fortunate that there were no casualties.

As Chu Hechao listened to him, he started to feel sorry halfway through. Thinking about the price of a bar of soap, he regretted not dragging Xiao Ce back to whip him again. He smirked, "Xiao Ce and his ilk got off too easy."

"He should have died sooner," Yuan Li frowned, "He's cunning. Despite having a broken leg, he stayed in his room and managed to cause so much trouble. The craftsmen you brought to Youzhou are trustworthy, yet some were still influenced by him. His words are dangerous."

Seeing Chu Hechao tug at his collar and sweat on his forehead, Yuan Li paused, "Are you feeling hot, General?"

"It's fine," Chu Hechao casually hooked the chair beside him, propping his feet up, and leisurely said, "Should I consider this a merit?"

"It counts," Yuan Li understood his implication and asked generously, "For your merit, what would you like? As long as it's within my power, I will do my best to get it for you."

Chu Hechao clenched his teeth and asked, "Do you have any siblings in your family?"

Yuanli shook his head, "No, I am the only child in my family."

Leaning back like a resting tiger, Chu Hechao's striped, inscrutable, as if unable to decipher his thoughts, "No siblings in your clan either?"

At this, Yuan Li's mouth twitched, he had a low status in his clan. Among those of his age, eight out of ten were his senior relatives, "No, just a few uncles of about the same age."

Chu Hechao sneered, "Your status is really low."

Yuanli replied, "It is very low, but I am still your sister-in-law."

Chu Hechao's smile gradually faded.

He used to think nothing of the term "sister-in-law."

Knowing that Yuan Li didn't like being called that, he had deliberately teased him by using the term. However, for some reason, hearing those two words, Chu Hechao felt a sudden irritation deep inside, a suffocating anger lingered around those words, pressing heavily on his mind and furrowing his brow with a cloud of blackness.

Unknowingly, Yuan Li's words seemed to have touched a nerve, causing Chu Hechao's mood to shift abruptly, unable to suppress his emotions. Frowning and pursing his lips, his handsome face was veiled with a dark cloud.

Confused, Yuan Li asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Chu Hechao, fearing to startle him, restrained his expression and adopted a calm demeanor, "No."

Yuan Li hesitantly asked, "Really no?"

Glancing at him sideways, Chu Hechao remarked, "Are you hoping to provoke me?"

Yuan Li rolled his eyes, "Chu Hechao, you really like to shift the blame."

Unable to contain his amusement, Chu Hechao chuckled, then sat up straight, his muscular figure imposing as he stood by the bed. In a low voice, he said, "Yuan Li, among the youngsters who have not yet been inaugurated, you are the first to dare to call me by name to my face."

"I'm seven or eight years older than you," Chu Hechao tapped his thigh with his fingers, bending his waist even lower, "Try calling me Older Brother."

Yuan Li looked puzzled, "How can I address you like that?"

Even though Chu Hechao was older, they had a relationship as brothers-in-law. Yuan Li had intended to use this relationship to control Chu Hechao, so he couldn't be too casual.

Chu Hechao asked, "Will you call me that?"

Yuan Li replied, "It's not appropriate."

Glancing up at Yuan Li, Chu Hechao said, "When you wanted to see my private parts earlier, why didn't you say it was inappropriate then?"

Shadows clouded Chu Hechao's face, his eyes burning with a fierce intensity. Something wild and untamed rose but was quickly suppressed, causing Yuan Li to shiver as if he were being watched by a ferocious tiger.

"Are you really not going to call me?" Chu Hechao asked one final time.

Yuan Li's fingers tingled as if struck by electricity, his words blocked, he could only clear his throat and ask, "Is this the reward you wanted?"

Chu Hechao replied, "Close enough."

A renowned general in the Northern Zhou Dynasty being called "little brother" by certainly kid who had not entered adulthood felt uncomfortable. From this perspective, Chu Hechao's desire to be addressed as "Elder Brother" by Yuan Li was not unreasonable.

Struggling, Yuan Li said, "Are you sure you just want to hear me call you 'Older Brother'? General, wouldn't it be better if we discussed something else? For example, the recent capture of ten thousand war horses by the army. Don't you think they should be equipped with stirrups?"

Chu Hechao retorted, "If I don't want it, will you still provide them with stirrups?"

Although Yuan Li wanted to threaten him, it was a matter of duty. Straightening his expression, Yuan Li replied, "Even if you don't mention it, I will ensure they are equipped with stirrups."

Chu Hechao smirked, "I don't want you to provide anything else, just call me 'Older Brother.' It costs nothing and requires no effort, why are you unwilling?"

Yuan Li pondered for a moment, "Do you really want to hear it?"

Chu Hechao cut to the chase, "Of course."

With a sigh, Yuan Li decided to just say it and call him "Older Brother." If not for the brothers-in-law relationship, Yuan Li should have called him "Older Brother" anyway. In his previous life, he called people "older brother" and "older sister" due to his youth, so adding this title didn't make much difference.

Unsure why Chu Hechao was so keen on this insignificant title, Yuanli rubbed his forehead, "General, could you pour me another glass of water?"

Obediently, Chu Hechao got up to pour him a glass of water. As Yuan Li took a sip, Chu Hechao sat down unexpectedly, and Yuan Li blurted out before he knew it, "Older Brother."

Chu Hechao suddenly looked up at him, his gaze intense.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable under his gaze, Yuan Li sensed that Chu Hechao seemed to relish this title. Tentatively, Yuan Li added, "Older Brother, my hand is itching."

"Um," Chu Hechao replied from his throat, leaning back comfortably in the chair and closing his eyes, "Just endure the itch."

Yuan Li: "..."

Did he really enjoy being called that by him?

Undeterred, Yuan Li pressed on, "Older Brother, I can't bear it, it's too itchy."

Chu Hechao asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Yuan Li responded, "Treat my itch for me."

This request was too strange. With an itchy throat, Chu Hechao stopped himself from saying something inappropriate like, "How should I relieve your itch?"

He couldn't help but recall the scene of Chu Mingfeng revealing his last words before his death.

"I consider him my wife, he is a daughter-in-law of the Chu family, and your own sister-in-law."

Yuan Li was Chu Mingfeng's wife, a daughter-in-law of the Chu family, and his own sister-in-law.

His own sister-in-law.

Chu Hechao suddenly opened his eyes, his expression a mix of discomfort and shock. Glancing at Yuan Li, he abruptly raised his hand and slapped himself hard, then turned and ran out the door.

Yuan Li stood still, staring as Chu Hechao dashed out and disappeared.

In two lifetimes, it was the first time he had seen someone inexplicably hitting themselves.

Chu Hechao, what a talent.