Xiaoxiao and Mo Yan - Chapter 1

My elder brother brought a beautiful young man home from Yangzhou.

Father and Mother nearly fainted when they heard.

My brother had always been refined and proper, a model for the young men of the capital. Who would have thought that beneath his cool manner lurked such passion? He had gone and done something outrageous without a word to anyone.

Father adored his legitimate son. He cracked his whip against the ground but could not bring himself to strike him.

“If you’d kept him outside the household, that would have been one thing. Why bring him home?”

My brother knelt ramrod straight. “He… he said he wanted a home.”

Whatever thought crossed his mind turned his ears scarlet.

Father nearly fainted again. Pointing at him, he stammered, “You, you, you…” before finally snapping, “Keep him under control!”

Half the household was waiting for a spectacle.

The young man, dressed in fine crimson silk, lounged against a pillar. When my brother came out, he threw an arm around his neck and cuddled up to him without a care who saw. “Gu Luochen, I want a quiet courtyard. Don’t forget.”

My brother still had some regard for appearances, though he was plainly fond of him. He gently lowered the young man’s hand. “Mm,” he said indulgently. “I won’t forget.”

Countless families in the capital had marked the eldest Gu son as a prospective son-in-law. Then they heard about the beautiful young man.

So he liked men!

Would their daughters have to compete with a man for his affection? And if he only liked men, wouldn’t any wife of his be condemned to a marriage in name alone?

No, no. Withdraw their names at once!

Gu Luochen’s reputation plummeted. Tearful young women struck him from their lists of possible husbands.

But one of them refused to give up: his cousin Lin Yue.

Twisting her handkerchief, Lin Yue cried, “A man? How could Brother Luochen like a man?”

I waved my round fan. “The whole household knows. You can hardly deny it now.”

She sprang to her feet. “I have to see what that seducer looks like! Brother Luochen would rather have a man than me!”

The thought made her cry harder, and she ran off wailing.

I rose too and strolled toward the courtyards. My route grew more secluded, my footsteps lighter. The sky deepened toward dusk.

At the window stood the young man, his hair swept high to reveal the pale nape of his neck. His loose collar almost exposed his smooth white back. It made me want to pull his clothes away and see what lay beneath.

I reached out…

“Aha.”

He caught my hand, his eyes tilting with mischief. “What have I caught? A flower thief!”

I laughed. “Mo Yan, have you no shame? Do you really think you’re a flower?”

He tipped back his head, showing his small Adam’s apple, and pulled me inside with one arm. My skirt swirled as we tumbled onto the bed together.

I pushed myself up and sat astride him. His collar slipped open, baring much of his chest.

I pointed a finger at it. “What took you so long? You should have arrived ages ago.”

He pouted. “It was my first journey so far from home. I fell ill and lost days on the road.”

I pinched his cheek. “I told you to exercise more. But you’re so lazy you can hardly move. You brought it on yourself.”

Mo Yan took offense at once. “You don’t care about me at all!”

He pressed close to my ear. “My heart hurts terribly. Only your touch can make it better.”

I gave his chest a light smack. “Speak properly.”

“…I’m not talking to you anymore.”

Laughing, I rubbed the faint red mark on his chest. My intentions were perfectly respectable. His mind, of course, was somewhere else entirely.

Mo Yan stared at me. “So that’s it, Gu Xiaoxiao. You don’t care how I am. You only want my body.”

He twisted his waist, his eyes reddening. “I knew it. My body is all you want.”

Then he took my hand and pressed it to his face. Blushing, he said, “If you want it that badly, you can have me now.”

I let the motion carry my palm against his cheek. It was no more than a playful slap. “I’m ravenous for you. But I still need this body for something. Once I lose my virginity, you’ll be the first person I come to.”

Mo Yan looked wounded. “Don’t say it like that. You’re breaking my heart.”

I couldn’t stand seeing him upset. Before I left, I touched him some more. Tears gleamed in his eyes, his breathing turned rough, and even his chest flushed a delicate pink.

Like a fox spirit who could steal a soul, he kissed my hand. “Xiaoxiao, are we having an illicit affair?”

I laughed and slapped him again, harder this time, right on the fleshiest part of his backside. It bounced, and he nearly leapt off the bed.

“Ow, ow, ow! Gu Xiaoxiao, you’re heartless!”