Chapter 112: "Can’t you be quiet? You’re so noisy!
Chapter 112: Chapter 112: "Can’t you be quiet? You’re so noisy!
Having figured it all out, Cui Lingyao simply pouted.
Xie Jinbai watched her, a smile on his face. "We’re only two days from Pingzhou. I’ll ride ahead tomorrow morning and wait for you there."
"..."
Cui Lingyao lowered her head and ignored him.
Seeing her like this, Xie Jinbai felt a headache coming on. "What new crime have you accused me of in your head now?"
He took a deep breath. "No matter how calculating I am, how meticulously I plan every move, I’ve been thoroughly defeated now that I’ve fallen into your hands. To be honest with you, whenever it concerns you, I can never think calmly or find a solution. I can’t resort to my usual bag of tricks or carefully weigh every word."
’You can only handle things with ease when you’re perfectly rational.’
’And in front of her, all his remaining rationality was spent just trying to control himself.’
’Don’t frighten her. Don’t hurt her.’
There were several times she made him so angry, he was tempted to just snatch her up and carry her back to his den.
But he always managed to resist.
The man who was usually as cold as ice and unapproachable to the outside world had completely abandoned his usual concise manner, rambling on as he gently confessed his feelings to her.
All because he was afraid she would misunderstand him.
Cui Lingyao couldn’t help but be moved.
She listened quietly, her head still bowed. From Xie Jinbai’s perspective, he could just make out the fan of her eyelashes, which trembled from time to time.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. He reached out and brushed a finger over them, the long lashes sweeping across his fingertip.
’So soft, so gentle, it was an irresistible sensation.’
Xie Jinbai’s breath caught in his throat, and he lowered his head to kiss her.
His breath drew near in an instant, but Cui Lingyao was just as quick. She slapped a hand over his face and pushed him away. "Behave yourself!"
’Behave myself...’
Xie Jinbai pressed his lips together and murmured a low, "Oh." Just as he was about to say something more, he heard her add, "You’re really long-winded."
"..."
Accused of being long-winded for the very first time, the man was left completely speechless, silently staring at the young woman in his arms.
Cui Lingyao still didn’t look up. She took her hand off his face and said in a serious tone, "I’m exhausted. Since you claim you’re not playing any games and that this is all from the heart, then let me go so I can get some proper sleep."
By now, it was very late.
Tonight, they had argued, bared their souls to each other, and become physically entangled.
After expending so much energy and saying so much, she was beyond sleepy and utterly exhausted.
Even after she’d said all that, Xie Jinbai was still reluctant to let her go. He loosened his grip just a fraction, trying to bargain. "How about we sleep while I hold you? Just like..."
"No!"
Cui Lingyao cut him off. "Show me some sincerity. Don’t try to bargain with me."
Xie Jinbai: "..."
He took a deep breath and obediently released his arms.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Cui Lingyao scrambled out of his embrace and moved all the way to the other side of the sleeping mat.
With his arms suddenly empty, Xie Jinbai’s first instinct was to pull her back.
He even reached out a hand before he stopped himself.
He stared at her slender back, now half an arm’s length away, his eyes full of a pouty grievance.
"Yaoyao..." he whispered. "Turn around and face me when you sleep."
No one answered him.
Xie Jinbai waited a moment, then tried again. "Turn around. I want to look at your face while you sleep."
"...Yaoyao?"
"Are you asleep?"
A hand landed on her shoulder. Cui Lingyao, who had been pretending to be asleep, immediately shook it off. "Can you please be quiet? You’re so noisy!" she said in annoyance.
Xie Jinbai: "..."
He said no more.
Silence returned to the tent.
Only the sound of their breathing, slowly mingling in the air, remained.
’How long has it been? She was finally back by my side.’
Xie Jinbai lay on his side, his gaze locked on the young woman next to him. The rims of his eyes gradually turned red and grew moist.
If Cui Lingyao were to turn around, she would surely marvel at how such an impossibly arrogant man could look as pitiful as a puppy abandoned by its owner.
But she was habitually hard-hearted and would never turn back, so she was destined never to see this side of him.
Besides, she truly was exhausted. Being near him didn’t make her feel awkward; on the contrary, it was strangely reassuring. Before long, her eyelids grew too heavy to keep open.
Her breathing soon deepened into a steady, rhythmic pattern.
The faint, sweet scent that was uniquely hers seemed to drill its way into his heart, wisp by wisp. Xie Jinbai sniffled, the urge to hold her returning.
But he was afraid of waking her.
After a moment’s hesitation, he reached out, took a lock of her hair in his palm, and slowly closed his eyes.
’As long as I’m holding this, she’s mine.’
...
「The next day.」
When Cui Lingyao awoke, she found herself back in her own tent.
Zhiqiu came in with a basin of water to help her dress and wash. "You didn’t get caught in the rain last night, did you, My Lady?" she asked with concern. "I wanted to come stay with you, but one of Prince Yu’s guards called me away to help set up tents."
She was still puzzled by it. With so many strong men around, why single out a young girl like her to help?
Feeling a little guilty, Cui Lingyao shook her head. "I was inside my tent the whole time. No rain got in."
"That’s good," Zhiqiu said. "It rained so heavily last night that many people got soaked. They’re making ginger soup outside. You should have a bowl later to warm up."
The weather had changed so abruptly. After a night of torrential rain, the autumn chill was impossible to ignore.
Such a sudden drop in temperature made it easy to catch a cold.
Once she was dressed, Cui Lingyao lifted the tent flap and stepped outside. There, standing not far away, was the man who had clung to her so desperately the night before.
Unlike the other young masters of noble birth, he disliked wide-sleeved robes. He was almost always in the tight-sleeved, cross-collared attire of a martial man, ready to leap onto a horse and ride off at a moment’s notice.
Today was no different; he wore black robes and stood with his side to her.
A good night’s rest had completely erased any sign of his serious, unhealed injuries or the fatigue from days of hard travel. On the contrary, he looked to be in high spirits.
Bathed in the morning sun, even his ramrod-straight posture seemed to be gilded with a touch of softness.
The instant her gaze fell upon him, it was as if he could feel it, and he turned to look her way.
Their eyes met.
Xie Jinbai’s eyes lit up, a faint smile gracing his lips.
He just stood there, smiling at her.
’He was quite handsome.’
’Deceptively so.’
Fortunately, Cui Lingyao had seen that look many times and had long since built up a resistance. She turned away, her expression unchanged.
Just then, Zhiqiu brought her a bowl of ginger soup.
Cui Lingyao took it, blew on it gently, and took a small sip.
"Were you frightened last night?"
A familiar, mellow voice spoke.
Cui Lingyao turned her head and saw Shen Tingyu, who had appeared at some point without her noticing. She shook her head. "No."
Shen Tingyu didn’t reply, his gaze fixed on her face.
She was traveling, and under these circumstances, she wasn’t wearing any makeup.
Her makeup-free skin was fair and radiant, with no dark circles under her eyes.
’She had slept very well.’
’And as a result, her complexion was excellent.’
The look in his eyes was too deep, too heavy, and it made Cui Lingyao feel a little uneasy.
She suspected he knew where she had slept last night, which only made her more uncomfortable. She abruptly changed the subject. "What about you? Did you get caught in the rain?"
Shen Tingyu sighed softly. Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own. "You’ve truly made up with him this time, haven’t you?"
Before Cui Lingyao could answer, the other man, who had seen them standing together, was already striding over.