Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 912 - 887: Who Am I

Originally, Fang Chuning intended to take Xie Jue for a spring outing, but after being mistakenly identified by the young lady on the shore, Fang Chuning fell silent. Xie Jue did not explain and simply accompanied him along the way.

It was the first time Fang Chuning realized that the one who needed a veil was Xie Tingfeng, not him, because as they walked, many people looked at Xie Jue in surprise, then quickly averted their eyes, becoming extremely cautious. After that cautiousness, they kept turning back to look at Xie Jue, pondering whether they had mistaken identity or if Xie Jue looked too much like someone else.

Back in the day, Xie Xun had fought against the epidemic in Yangzhou, rescuing the city from disaster. The people of Yangzhou were grateful to him every year. Xie Xun had ascended the throne a little over a year ago, and almost the entire city of Yangzhou supported his ascension, appreciating the emperor’s virtues. Fang Chuning, who recuperated in Yangzhou for several months, naturally heard of Xie Xun’s deeds. He was no fool and naturally realized something was amiss.

Fang Chuning tentatively asked, "Xie Jue, with the courtesy name Tingfeng?"

Xie Jue, strolling with him in Yangzhou City, obviously knew he would be recognized. He indeed resembled Xie Xun, especially since his appearance hadn’t changed a bit over the years, looking remarkably like Xie Xun years ago. It’s no wonder people would mistake him.

"Mhm."

"You lied to me!" Fang Chuning abruptly stopped, his eyebrows filled with anger. His entire body stiffened with shock. He realized he was standing before the notorious, lascivious, and incompetent Prince Yan, who almost incited two clans into warfare. Fang Chuning had never associated Xie Tingfeng with Xie Jue. His impression of Prince Yan was the same as the one from the operas: lustful, forceful, gentle, and sinister. That image had nothing to do with the Xie Tingfeng before him. Even when he heard the operatic characterizing of Fang Chuning and Xie Jue, he never got angry. He only bad-mouthed Fang Chuning once, and he only defended him once. How could he ever connect Prince Yan with Xie Tingfeng?

In just a few days of interaction, the Xie Tingfeng in his eyes changed from initially frantic to a calm, ascetic, and detached man. Lustful?

With his demeanor, what lust?

Incompetent?

He was emotionally balanced, handled things with precision and measure, nothing like a man who would incite wars over lust. The rumors misled me!! The rumors misled me!!

"When did I lie to you? I am indeed Xie Tingfeng," Xie Jue said calmly. "Which part did I lie about?"

"Your courtesy name is Tingfeng, your real name is Xie Jue, and you only told me your courtesy name."

"Among peers, we address each other by courtesy names. You never asked for my real name," Xie Jue explained. "When the shopkeeper at the Luoying Inn could bring out nu’er hong, you should have thought I was from the Imperial Family."

Among the Imperial Family of his age, there were only the Xie brothers.

"Is it my fault? Is it because I’m not smart and perceptive enough to realize your identity as the Prince sooner?"

Xie Jue didn’t deny it, which amused Fang Chuning. Then he turned it over in his mind, questioning why Xie Jue stuck close to him. Fang Chuning, Fang Tunan — a chill ran through Fang Chuning’s heart as he remembered his father’s grand general-like aura. The answer seemed obvious, but he refused to believe it. The truth was just too sudden and unexpected, and Fang Chuning didn’t dare ask further.

"Why not continue asking?" Xie Jue asked softly.

Fang Chuning abruptly averted his gaze and hurried forward as if trying to shake off something terrifying. He became cautious and panicked, struggling to accept that he was the person from the operas, the one who was criticized for having a liking for men and incited warfare, deemed unworthy of being the Great General’s son. He had verbally attacked this person more than once, only to realize he had been criticizing himself all along.

Why?

He wasn’t dead, so why was he recuperating at Lu Liu Villa?

Was he truly Fang Chuning? Could he trust Xie Jue’s word? Could he really trust it?

Watching Fang Chuning’s tall yet panicked back, Xie Jue felt a twinge of bitterness. Was it so hard for him to accept? The person who always ran to him now only wished to stay away. Without their longtime bond, it turned out their feelings were so fragile, quick to fall apart. If they hadn’t grown up together and gone through so much, would Fang Chuning have liked him?

They were family friends. When Xie Jue was bullied and neglected at the Imperial College, Fang Chuning, with his enthusiasm and sense of justice, promised his father to look after him, so it became a habit to stick close to him, treating him exceptionally well. From childhood friendship to habitual care, their feelings grew naturally. Had they not known each other, how would things be now, upon meeting?

Xie Jue gave a bitter smile. What’s there to guess? Don’t you already know?

Not even self-deception works!

After walking briskly for a moment, the stifling feeling in Fang Chuning’s chest seemed to dissipate. Unable to hold back, he turned back to Xie Jue, who had been following him unhurriedly. Seeing him approach, Xie Jue stopped and gazed steadily at him.

Fang Chuning asked, "Then who am I? Fang Tunan or Fang Chuning?"

"Who do you wish to be?"

"Don’t play with words! I am who I am," Fang Chuning said, somewhat impatient. Xie Jue was not the kind of person who would find a substitute for a deceased lover. If the Xie Jue in the operas was how it really was, it wouldn’t matter. But the living Xie Jue before him was not someone fictionalized by others.

"Anning, you’ve lost your memory." Xie Jue looked steadily at him, that overly focused gaze striking Fang Chuning’s heart. Somehow, he believed in Xie Jue. He doubted his father’s words, as if listening to someone else’s story, always keeping one foot off the ground. Yet, in Xie Jue’s deep and gentle eyes, he was convinced he was indeed Fang Chuning.

It turned out they were the characters from the operas, reviled for almost inciting war between Beining and Sannan. No wonder he always felt his father was unlike a businessman, more like a benevolent Great General, unable to hide his aura of killing intent, lacking the shrewdness and smoothness of a businessman, ruthless to the point of wanting to kill at the slightest provocation.

No wonder his father, in front of Xie Jue, though furious, was helpless.

Fang Tunan, Fang Chuning!

"Why?" Fang Chuning muttered to himself, "My father said I was dead, yet I’m clearly alive."

"No matter what I say or the Great General says, you have no real sense of it. Anning, you don’t need to listen to what we say. Once you remember on your own, everything will become clear," Xie Jue said. "I came to Jiangnan not to force you to acknowledge anything. I want to be with you, to wait until your memories return. Before then, let’s treat our relationship as... a dream. You don’t need to worry, or perhaps, you might want to get to know me anew."

Fang Chuning shook his head. Xie Jue’s gaze dimmed slightly, realizing he misunderstood. "I’m not resisting getting to know you again. It’s just... I don’t know what to do. Everything I thought I knew has been turned upside down. I don’t know who’s telling the truth or who’s lying. I instinctively want to trust you, but I’m terrified this is a carefully orchestrated deception. I dare not trust anyone."

"Anning, leave Yangzhou with me. Let me take you somewhere, to revisit old haunts. Would you like that?"