Chapter 108: You Feed Me, and I’ll Eat.
Chapter 108: Chapter 108: You Feed Me, and I’ll Eat.
After changing into his nightclothes, Xie Jinbai turned to the girl on the bed, who hadn’t made a sound. "Are you thirsty? Would you like some water?"
"..."
While he was changing, Cui Lingyao had snuck a quick glance. Seeing no other wounds and that his bandages were the same as before, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
Hearing his question, she nodded quickly, as if she had a guilty conscience.
Xie Jinbai picked up a teacup, poured a cup of cool tea, and brought it to her bedside.
When Cui Lingyao took it, the cup was warm to the touch.
She paused, then held the teacup and took a delicate sip.
It really was warm.
Warm.
She frowned. "You can’t use your Inner Strength."
Xie Jinbai paused, then smiled.
"Worried about me?" Before she could react, he added, "It’s true that I shouldn’t use my Inner Strength, but this is nothing."
’It was just warming a cup of tea. He wasn’t so useless that he couldn’t even manage that for her.’
Cui Lingyao glanced at him but didn’t take the bait. Instead, she changed the subject. "What’s happening outside? Do Zhiqiu and Shen Tingyu... do they know I’m here?"
Xie Jinbai’s smile faded slightly. "Just stay here and don’t worry. Liu Yue will arrange everything so they won’t get the wrong idea."
’On a night of violent wind and rain, all the Shen Family’s servants and guards were busy scrambling to repair the tents. No one would have noticed him carrying her over, wrapped in a quilt.’
’So, there’s nothing to worry about.’
Cui Lingyao did indeed let out a long sigh of relief.
She began to drink her tea in earnest, while Xie Jinbai watched her intently.
’She’s so adorable.’
’The way she holds her teacup and drinks her tea is adorable, too.’
’So adorable it makes his heart melt.’
A faint ripple disturbed the calm depths of his eyes.
"What am I to do?" he chuckled, teasing, "After all this running around, you’ve ended up in my nest after all."
"..." Cui Lingyao choked and immediately burst into a fit of coughing.
"What are you so nervous about?" Xie Jinbai tutted lightly and raised a hand to pat her back. "With our relationship, you can’t create distance even if you want to."
’We pledged ourselves to each other—a bond between husband and wife.’
’She’s the only woman who has ever been in my bed; I set my heart on her long ago.’
’It’s not as if she can just draw a line between us whenever she pleases.’
Cui Lingyao brushed his hand off her back. "Once my tent is repaired, I have to go back."
"Alright," Xie Jinbai said, not meaning to make things difficult for her. He nodded in agreement. "If you want to go back, you can go back."
Cui Lingyao looked at him suspiciously. "Don’t you lie to me again!"
’She didn’t quite believe he would be so agreeable.’
"I’m not lying," Xie Jinbai said with a smile, then sighed. "I just think you’re too adorable. I can’t quite bring myself to bully you."
’She’s so good, trusting him so much, letting him carry her all this way. How could he bear to make things even a little difficult for her?’
His gaze was tender, filled with infinite gentleness.
Cui Lingyao, who considered herself quite familiar with him, still found it hard to withstand this side of him.
She turned her face away, tilted her head back, and downed the rest of the tea in one gulp, trying to suppress the strange, indescribable restlessness stirring within her.
"More?"
Cui Lingyao shook her head.
Xie Jinbai took the empty cup from her and set it down.
For a moment, neither of them spoke again.
The tent grew quiet.
Above them was the sound of raindrops pelting the roof, punctuated by the occasional howl of the wind, which felt right at their ears.
’What awful weather.’
’I wonder if my tent can even be repaired.’
’With Liu Yue and Liu Rong helping, it should be fine... right?’
As Cui Lingyao’s thoughts drifted, a shadow suddenly fell over her. She looked up gently.
Xie Jinbai sat down on the edge of the bed and asked in a warm voice, "What are you thinking about?"
"..."
’Maybe it’s because his temper is strangely good tonight, no longer so domineering and tyrannical.’
’Or perhaps it’s the drowning, disarming gentleness in his eyes; it’s truly overwhelming.’
In any case, Cui Lingyao voiced her worries.
Xie Jinbai listened with a placid expression, then said, "If it’s not fixed, you can sleep here."
Cui Lingyao: "..."
Her expression was complicated.
Seeing this, Xie Jinbai laughed and reached out to pat her little head. "What are you afraid of? Am I going to eat you?"
’Even if I were going to "eat" you, it wouldn’t be in a place like this, or under these circumstances.’
He lifted her chin and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. "Don’t be afraid. I’ll only eat when you let me."
As his warm lips lingered gently on her brow, a shiver ran through Cui Lingyao. She pushed him away a little and asked, "If I sleep here, where will you go?"
Xie Jinbai allowed her to push him back a little. Hearing her question, he said, "With the situation outside, where do you think I can go?"
Cui Lingyao didn’t speak, only stared at him.
...
Xie Jinbai understood what she meant.
"Are you telling me to go stand in the rain, or do you want me to sleep in the carriage?"
His expression darkened. "Have you forgotten? I’m still injured. The Imperial Physician instructed me to rest well and not let the wound get wet."
They both remembered how he had just carried her in through the downpour, getting soaked in the process.
’To kick him out now... would be a bit too heartless.’
Cui Lingyao wasn’t a cruel or ruthless girl; she naturally couldn’t do such a thing.
’But there’s only one bed in this tent.’
’If he needs to rest well, that means he’ll have to sleep with me...’
’How could that be okay?’
Her hesitant and wary posture made Xie Jinbai very unhappy. "You don’t have to guard against me like I’m a thief. If I really wanted to do something to you, your defenses would be useless anyway."
Cui Lingyao knew he was telling the truth.
’But even so, that doesn’t mean I can just lie in the same bed with him without any reservations.’
"Alright," Xie Jinbai sighed, pulling her into his arms. "I promise I won’t do anything. We’ll just talk, and I’ll leave tomorrow."
Cui Lingyao was about to struggle free when she heard that last sentence. She looked up abruptly. "Where are you going?"
"..." Xie Jinbai’s heart stirred. He lowered his head to look at the girl in his arms.
Their eyes met.
The light in his eyes flickered and changed for a long moment before his lips suddenly moved. He asked her, "You did like me back then, didn’t you?"
’Otherwise, she wouldn’t have tried every trick in the book to appear before me after we met just once.’
’And I silently permitted her to get close, permitted her pursuit.’
’I was worried her infatuation was fleeting, that she’d be scared off by my coldness, so I even gave her a little encouragement from time to time.’
’I kept her on the hook with a perfect mix of attention and distance. After a few months, we had grown much closer, to the point that she accidentally drank my wine.’
’That time, her life was nearly in danger.’
’Her pretty face went pale, a red rash covered her body, and her breathing became ragged.’
’I panicked and finally admitted to myself that I loved her.’
’But from beginning to end, I never asked her if she felt the same way.’
’I just assumed that since she dared to get so close, she must love me deeply.’
’At least, much more deeply than I loved her.’
’That was why later, when I realized her feelings weren’t what I had imagined, my whole world came crashing down, my love tangling with hate.’
’Looking back, I might have been wrong from the very beginning.’
’My expectations for her love were too high. The moment they were shattered, I fell into utter disappointment, even despair.’
’Everything was black or white.’
’If it wasn’t a perfect score, I considered it a zero.’
’That was wrong.’
’There are other scores besides zero.’
’So, she must have had feelings for me, too.’
’It’s just that her love was too shallow—nowhere near as deep as mine.’
’But she hadn’t lied to me.’