Xiaomei was heading back to her room with her mind occupied with Chuhua and Bojing that she didn't notice LiJie coming behind her. "Huang Daiyu," LiJie called out and grabbed her sleeve.
ZhangWei entered the residence and was about to head towards Xiaomei's room after he received no news about Zhou Haitou and finished his work early. He stopped in his tracks once he spotted LiJie and Xiaomei together. He narrowed his eyes at LiJie's hand that grabbed Xiaomei's sleeve. His body immediately wanted to interfere with them until he saw her pull her sleeve away. He instantly felt content.
LiJie was a little startled by Xiaomei pulling away from him, but he said, "Huang Daiyu, was it you who saved me? That day when I fell in the river?" LiJie asked, showing her the small waist tassel as he had already asked Baozhai about the tassel and soon figured out who the owner was.
She was slightly surprised to see her tassel. She then looked him in the eyes and saw how sure he was, so there was no point in denying it.
"Yes, it was me," she said without her facial expression changing.
He wanted to say something, but she interrupted him, "Don't worry. I didn't do it, so you have to repay me, or I get something in return. I don't need anything. I only did it because I know there are people who care about you if you die."
"I-I," he didn't know what to say. He still felt guilty for accusing her of hurting Baozhai, and now this.
"If that's all. I'll be leaving now," Xiaomei said, taking a step to leave.
"Wait," LiJie shouted out. "I-I'm sorry...," he finally said, avoiding her eyes.
"It's alright. I didn't want you to know either," she said, moving one of her feet.
"No. Not only that... b-but also accusing you," he said, forcing it out of him.
"Oh," she said, a little surprised. She sort of forgot about that. "There's no need for an apology. I long forgot about that, so it's no longer necessary," Xiaomei said, stopping moving and looking him in the eyes.
"B-but...," LiJie tried to say, but then Baozhai spotted them.
"There you are. I was looking for you and Chuhua. I was wondering where you two went. Have you seen Chuhua?" Baozhai said, walking towards them.
Xiaomei answered, "I was with Chuha a couple of minutes ago, but something happened, and she ran off" Baozhai tightened her lips in disappointment and nodded her head. "But what is it you need to see me?" Xiaomei asked.
"Oh, I wanted to see how things went last night since yesterday night was a little hectic," Baozhai said.
"Oh, I see. Everything went well," Xiaomei said, acting like nothing happened. LiJie looked at her smile and didn't say anything.
"Have you finished talking to Huang Daiyu?" Baozhai asked LiJie, causing him to stop looking at Xiaomei's smile.
"Ah, yes," he answered. Even though it wasn't really resolved, it was done. "I see," Baozhai said, not minding it as if she knew what he wanted to talk to Xiaomei about. "Let's see if we can find Chuhua. I'm worried about her. She didn't want to talk about it last night," Baozhai said. Xiaomei nodded her head in agreement.
"I'll join you," LiJie said.
Before they could even start looking, Chuhua and Bojing were spotted from afar. They started walking closer to them and could hear and see Chuhua's unpleasant voice and expression.
"I-I already told you, it's nothing. I'm busy and don't have time to talk to you. So excuse me," Chuhua said, trying to leave.
"Chuhua!" Bojing said abruptly, as he couldn't let her go. "Wait. I can tell something is wrong. So please tell me," Bojing said, holding her hand.
Chuhua looked back at him, and her eyes once again started to tear up as she saw his eyes showed great concern for her, but she knew it was because he thought of her as a childhood friend, nothing compared to how she felt for him. She wasn't ready to pull up her smile and act like nothing was wrong. She didn't have the strength to continue to lie to herself again and hoped she still had a chance. She was done.
She pulled her hand away and quickly ran off. "Chuhua!" Bojing said. His eyes widened in shock as he couldn't believe that she pulled her hand away. It felt like she was slipping away from his fingers, and he may never be able to have her in his grasp again. It was as if ice-cold water poured on his heart, and the cold sensation lingered and left a sharp pain. His body immediately went after her, but this time Xiaomei and Baozhai stopped him.
"I'll go after Chuhua," Baozhai said.
"B-but...," Bojing tried to say.
"Don't worry, I'll go," Baozhai said, reassuring him, but Bojing didn't seem to care if Baozhai was going or not, he was still going after Chuhua.
"Go ahead, Zhou Baozhai. I will talk to General Bojing," Xiaomei said, giving Baozhai the look to go ahead. Baozhai instantly nodded her head and went after Chuhua. Bojing tried to follow after her. "General Bojing, can I talk to you in private," Xiaomei said, blocking his path. At first, he didn't seem to listen and tried to go around her, but she continued to stop him. "General Bojing, it won't take that long," Xiaomei said. Bojing stopped his track and looked at her before complying. Both Xiaomei and Bojing moved to another area to have a private conversation, leaving LiJie alone while ZhangWei was watching the whole thing from afar. Both ZhangWei and LiJie felt mixed emotions as they were left to watch.
"Huang Daiyu, what is it that you need to talk to me about? Can you make it quick? I-I need to go find Chuhua," Bojing said in a hurry as his gaze was not on her but in the direction where Chuhua ran off.
"General Bojing, settle down. Zhou Baozhai is talking to her now. So it will be alright," Xiaomei said.
"B-but," Bojing tried to say.
"General Bojing, let me ask you why do you care so much about Han Chuhua?" Xiaomei asked. Bojing instantly stopped fussing and went quiet. "I-I," He couldn't answer because he didn't know either. Xiaomei tilted her head, waiting for his answer. "S-she is someone important to me," he finally answered.
"Someone important, like having special feelings," Xiaomei said, trying to help him understand his feelings since it didn't seem like he was going to figure it out on his own.
"N-n... Well, I knew her when I was young, and she has been with me for so long," Bojing said, avoiding the question. Xiaomei crossed her arms and said, "General Bojing, have you truly never noticed how Han Chuhua feels for you, or are you plainly ignoring it?"
"I-I," he didn't know how to answer since he obviously knew.
"Let me see if I can help you figure it out. You say that you and Han Chuhua have known each other for so long and are like childhood friends. How would you feel if Han Chuhua finally found the right man and left your side and will never return to your side?" Xiaomei could see Bojing's expression instantly changed.
"No. S-she wouldn't leave me," he said instantly as he was very sure of himself.
"How sure are you? Didn't she leave you a while ago? She didn't even look back," Xiaomei pointed out. Immediately, a shot of pain pierced his heart and his face darkened as he started to be unsure of himself.
"Just imagine her smiling and holding hands with another man she is in love with while you are in the back watching her. You probably felt that feeling before," Xiaomei said, creating an illusion for him. He felt his heart tightening and started to feel like he couldn't breathe. The tightness was feeling so suffocating and painful. He never felt this suffocating pain. It was like the person, who was always there with him, was ripped out of his heart.
Xiaomei saw his eyebrow furrowing together and his eyes emitting enormous pain in them. "There. Do you understand your feelings," Xiaomei said.
Bojing looked at her with great despair as if he had already lost his love. "It was just an imagination. Don't be disheartened," she said with a smile. She saw the tension on his forehead and wanted to poke his forehead until an image of ZhangWei's face appeared in her head. She remembered how he would always poke her forehead.
"Ah..., i-it's nothing more than an imagination," she said quickly, trying to get back in focus and quickly pushed the thought of ZhangWei aside. "You still have a chance, but you should hurry before it's too late. You and Chuhua should have an honest conversation and get everything straight." Xiaomei said. "You better hurry before she really moves on, and your relationship is too damaged to start," Xiaomei said before Bojing immediately hurried off.
Xiaomei sighed, "Hopefully, Han Chuhua make him work for it after all the pain she had felt because of him, but knowing her personality, she will give in."
Xiaomei headed back to the room. She was extremely tired from this long day. She hoped that everything would work out between Chuhua and Bojing. She entered her room and noticed someone on her bed.
"Mister Wei, what brings you here," she said.
He ignored her question and said, "Why is it that you are always fine talking to them but never want to talk to me?" He felt jealous of how she would casually talk to LiJie and Bojing, but when it came to him, she always tried to make him leave. He felt bitter.
Xiaomei raised an eyebrow before saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? You always show up without even caring what I have to say. Also, what's there to talk about? We see each other every day as if you are my companion." Her words flowed out of her without her realizing what she just said. His eyes widened from hearing what she said. He instantly felt content and smiled in delight. "A companion?" he teased. Her face froze as she realized what she just said.
She cleared her throat and said, "Yes, like a dog," as she couldn't go back on her words. He smiled before saying, "A dog? I thought you said I was like a fox. Annoying cunning fox?"
"Dog. Fox. It's the same thing. Both of them are animals. Like a pet," Xiaomei said, shrugging her shoulders and sprouting any nonsense that came to her to help her escape the web she had created for herself.
"A pet?" ZhangWei said with a smile. For some reason, his smile gave her a funny feeling. She knew he was up to something, but she didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. "It's funny. You think of me as a pet, but I think of you as a lover," he said, latching onto her wrist and pulling her into bed. By the time she could comprehend, she was already in his arms.
"L-Lover? W-what nonsense-" Her eyes became anxious as she tried to speak, but he pinched her chin and pulled her lips to his. She instantly felt his soft warm lips. Her eyes widened as he deepened their kiss.
She felt like she was in this sort of semi-conscious state as her brain was trying to understand what was happening and what she was feeling at the same time while his mind was too busy expressing his feelings for her as he continued his action. He soon licked open her mouth with his tongue trying to invade her mouth. Before he could stick his tongue into her mouth, she finally awakened and remembered.
She immediately pushed herself away from him. Her face flushed red, and her red lips were wet with his saliva. Her heart pounded in realization. Her eyes trembled with mixed emotions. She tried to get off of him, but he refused to let her completely get off him as she was still lying on him with her elbows creating a distance between them.
"Do you understand now?" ZhangWei teased with a smile, and his eyes showed great love. Of course, she knew. She wasn't stupid not to know how he felt or how she felt.
She wiped his saliva off her lips with her sleeve as her cheeks still felt like they were burning. He didn't need a word to confirm her feelings since her face said it all. He reached out to touch her face, but instead, she grabbed his hand. "Hm?" ZhangWei said, noticing the mixed emotions in her eyes.
"ZhangWei," Xiaomei said very tenderly. ZhangWei smiled and tilted his head before interlocking his fingers with hers. "Listen to me first before you start assuming things and interrupting me, alright?" Xiaomei said, seriously and extremely cautious. He could tell how nervous and serious she was. It wasn't her usual act.
"Alright. I will listen to you entirely," ZhangWei said genuinely. They both looked into each other's eyes.
"I-I can't accept your love because I want you to find someone else," she said, avoiding his eyes. ZhangWei wanted to interrupt but remembered his words and kept quiet.
"Once these Zhou Haitou matters are over, I'll be leaving. Somewhere far away. I-I don't want you to wait for me," she finished and avoided looking at him. Even though she wasn't sure if the end would take her back or not. She didn't want to risk having any heartache because she would be the only one to have the memories of them whenever she goes back since he was not a real person but a side character from a book.
"Then I will follow you. You silly cat," ZhangWei answered, lifting her chin to make her look at him. She saw his genuine teasing eyes as she sadly smiled. "I will be going somewhere so far that you won't be able to find me. You can't even go there with me," she said, looking into his eyes.
He deeply stared into her sad eyes and said, "Why are you leaving?"
"Simply because," she answered.
"If that's the case, then I will continue to love you to the end of my days," he said wholeheartedly.
"I don't want that," she quickly said, looking at him with great heartache.
"Why does it matter to? You're the one leaving me," ZhangWei acted seriously but was actually teasing her because he wanted to see how she would react. He wasn't stupid. He knew she loved him too.
"I-I," she didn't know what to say because it was true; she had no right since she was the one leaving him. "You stubborn cat, are you talking about the poison in you? Are you worried that it will unfreeze and you will die?" ZhangWei said, creasing her head. She didn't respond and remained quiet. "Dummy, didn't I say I will find a cure for you? Don't worry. I will search high or low to find you a cure," he seriously said.
She didn't know how she could make him understand without telling the truth. If she really did tell him the truth, he would probably think she was a demon or a crazy person or even ruin the storyline. However, there wasn't any possible way to explain to him so he could truly understand.
"I-I had this dream," Xiaomei said. ZhangWei raised an eyebrow before shifting his head to look at her, "A dream?" He didn't consider her to be superstitious.
"Mmh, a dream," she said, nodding her head. "It was like an unimaginable dream," she added, looking deep into his eyes while he quietly listened to her.
"In the dream, I was living as another person. The name I had there was Li Xiaomei. I had a lovely family and home to go to. During my days, I spend my time working as an editor, and in my free time, I read books. My life there was pretty content. I was very pleased with it. However, one day I was reading a book called Tangled Thread, and the next thing I knew I was trapped inside the book. It felt like I was in another world. A non-existing world where I knew the entire story. However, in the original story, I knew I was destined to die. Therefore, I tried my best to survive to the very end in hopes of returning to the real world where I am called Li Xiaomei, but then I-I woke up... but what I find amusing is that my current reality, as Huang Daiyu, is the same as my dream. Could it be that I'm not Huang Daiyu and may disappear one day," Xiaomei finished telling her "so-called dream" as she hoped he would think she was a superstitious nut, but to her surprise, she found him sleeping as if it was like a bedtime story for him. She scoffed in disbelief.
She looked down and noticed the small beauty mark under his right eye. She reached over there and touched the small beauty mark. "This small beauty mark really does make you look cunning but charmingly," she said with a smile. However, her smile didn't take too long to fade away, and she touched his beauty mark again. "Would you believe me if I said that dream was true that I'm not the real Huang Daiyu, but Li Xiaomei?" she softly whispered as she was kind of glad he was asleep because she didn't know how he would react.
She basically told him the truth, but at least she could make it sound like she was a crazy superstitious person, and it was all in her head.
She deeply exhaled as she didn't know what to do next. She hoped he would forget about his confession and move on because she couldn't possibly know how to postpone it any longer.
She... she knew she had feelings for him, but she had to leave since this was a book. However, the thought of him being all alone made her want to stay. "Stupid fox, please move on," she whispered.
Her heart grew bitter and sadder, looking at his peaceful sleeping face. She couldn't get rid of the thought of him being all alone. She reached out and lightly stroked his cheek. It didn't take long before she softly chuckled to herself as she saw him slightly tighten his eyebrows together.
"How do you like being teased when you are sleeping," her voice had a soft ring to it. She couldn't help but wonder how this man entered her heart. She was always busy thinking about how to speed up the story or trying to stay away from the main couple, but he just had to come and disturb her. Without any warning, he suddenly appeared in her life and captured her heart. Just like a sly fox, he was. Always persisting her and teasing her, but always by her side.
She had a subtle smile on her lips, and her gaze became soft and heartfelt before saying, "Annoying fox, thank you for being by my side. Even though it was slightly annoying. It wasn't lonely... Thank you."
It didn't take long before she felt a weight on her chest, making her heart grow heavier, but then ZhangWei rolled over, disturbing her heavy thoughts.
She didn't realize how late it was. She was about to reach her hand over to wake ZhangWei up to tell him to leave her room, but then she stopped her hand. She soon was afraid that he would continue their conversation. She didn't know what to do. It was as if her brain was malfunctioning, and could not come up with any ideas to lie her way out anymore. So she immediately got off the bed and slept on the couch.
After the room grew quiet, he noticed no movement from her. He opened his eyes to see her back facing towards him. In his dark eyes, it was impossible to discern his emotions. He did not expect or imagine anything like this. He was astonished, as if his brain was struggling to comprehend it. At first, he thought she was sprouting some superstitious nonsense, but he could tell how serious she was when telling her dream. It was as if she was telling her deepest secret. He then knew. It must be true.
Soon everything started to make sense to him, like how she knew his name or the sect when he never told her before.
He...he was unsure of what to think anymore.
He wanted to gather his thoughts and refocus, but then Xiaomei turned over to face him as she was fast asleep. His heart immediately felt a great spark inside of him. He could see her eyelids were well-rested. Her lips had a cherry pink color and appeared to be soft to the touch. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, giving the impression that she was cozy warm. He watched her peacefully sleep, and at that moment, all he could think and feel was that he loved her, and that was the only thing that mattered.
He got up from the bed and carried her into the bed with him. She was lying on the bed while he was sitting beside her.
"It must have been hard on you. Thank you for sharing your burden with me. It's sad that I'm just a character from a book," he said, looking at her. He slightly brushed her eyelashes with his pointer finger as she wrinkled her forehead but resumed sleeping. "Even if I know we can't be together, I will always love you unconditionally in this so-called book," he whispered. "Maybe, I am an idiot for loving you," he chuckled to himself and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
In a dark room, a man handed a letter to another. "Send this letter to the Emperor immediately," Zhou Haitou spoke in a hushed tone. The man in black immediately disappeared. Zhou Haitou sat in the empty room, and an evil smile appeared on his face with his hand clenched in anger. "Just wait. You all will suffer," he said in a deep gravelly voice.
"Master, ZhangWei's men are on our trail again. I think it best we leave here," one of his men reported out of the blue. Zhou Haitou tightened his grip on the teacup before saying in a deadly voice, "ZhangWei again. Just you wait."
The sun rose and peeked through the clouds. It lit up the sky and brightened the day. The light peeked through the cracks of the window, causing Xiaomei to open her eyes in irritation. She rubbed her eyes before finding a familiar chest in front of her. She was caught off guard to find herself in ZhangWei's arms. She was very sure of herself that she was sleeping on the couch last night. She felt his arms move and pull her closer into a better position. Once she could feel the warmth between them, she immediately struggled to free herself from him. She felt her heart racing and her cheeks burning. It felt like her heart was about to explode in excitement and embarrassment. However, he pulled her back into his arms, preventing her from leaving. He slowly moaned as if he was waking up but did not, and then he nuzzled his chin on the top of her head.
"Z-ZhangWei...wake up," she said, but he didn't seem to hear her and slowly moaned again. He held her tighter and rested his chin on her head. "ZhangWei!" Xiaomei tried to speak louder. She tried to use her hand to push him away, but she didn't move an inch. "Wang ZhangWei," she struggled to say as he pulled her deeper into his chest. She started to hit his chest to get him up, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. "S-stop messing around," she forced out.
Soon a low chuckle was heard. "Why are you up so early," he mumbled to her.
"Stop fussing and let me go," Xiaomei firmly said. "But I'm still tired," he said, moving a bit to get more comfortable with her.
"What are you talking about? You slept when I was telling you my dream-" Xiaomei stopped herself from ending her sentence as she realized she was throwing herself into the rabbit hole again. ZhangWei loosened his hug and looked down at her. "That reminds me. We didn't finish our discussion last night," he said with a smile.
"Um...I-I should get up," she tried to say and avoided his gaze. She once again tried to break free. "Since you don't want to talk, then I will. You know, last night, you technically didn't reject me. You just said to find someone else, and I refuse to love anyone else," he swooped down and kissed her lips. Her eyes widened, and she tried to move her head in reflexes, but instead, he grabbed the back of her head and kissed her deeply. She struggled at first before getting swept off her feet and allowed him to kiss her deeply and started moving her lips against his too.
It didn't take long, and she was starting to have a hard time breathing. She opened her mouth to say something, but then he stuck his tongue in. He started sucking and clinging to her tongue. She gripped his clothes and did a tiny tug on his clothes.
He finally released her as a thin line of saliva stretched between their mouths before it broke off. Both of their faces were flustered, and their hearts were pounding rapidly.
"I-I," she tried to say as she was out of breath. He then used his thumb to wipe away extra saliva off her lips. Her face instantly turned beet red and felt her face heat up again. He immediately smiled at her reaction. She quickly avoided his gaze and cleared her throat before trying to say, "I-I reject-" but then she got interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Miss Daiyu?" a voice came through the door. Xiaomei and ZhangWei both looked at the door.
"It looks like you can't finish your sentences," ZhangWei teased with a smile. "I-I don't like-" she tried to say, but the voice called again. "Miss Daiyu, are you up?" the person shouted.
"I think you should answer, or you want them to see us together," ZhangWei teased again. Her eyes widened, and she sat up and answered, "Yes."
"Miss Daiyu, Miss Baozhai asked if you wanted to join them for breakfast," the maid answered back through the door.
She thought for a minute. She didn't want to go, but she needed to get rid of ZhangWei. "Yes, tell her I'll be there shortly," she said. The maid answered back and left to report back to Baozhai. "You need to leave," Xiaomei said, pushing ZhangWei to tell him to get off the bed.
"I guess you are going to avoid our conversation again," ZhangWei said with a smile, relaxing on her bed as if he had time for the world. "I-I already gave you an answer," Xiaomei said, avoiding his eyes and trying to get off the bed.
"Is that so," ZhangWei said, pulling her back into him. Once she landed on top of him again, he grabbed the back of her head before pulling her to kiss him again. At first, she resisted again, but once again, it didn't take long for her to be swept off her feet. He pulled away as her face was once again flustered.
"You say one thing, but you let me kiss you so many times. How do you explain that?" ZhangWei said, wiping her lips again. Xiaomei's cheeks felt like they had burned up.
"I-I...," she stuttered, not knowing what to say. "I-I go to go," she said, hurrying off the bed and leaving the room in a rush. He chuckled while he watched her scurry away. He was about to go after her when a shadow guard appeared in front of him.
"Young master, we spotted Zhou Haitou," the shadow guard reported. "And," ZhangWei said seriously.
Once Xiaomei was far away from her room and noticed he didn't follow her, she finally slowed down and stopped to catch her breath. She patted her chest to calm her heart down. She started to yell at herself, "Stop being swayed."
"Huang Daiyu," Chuhua called out behind her. Xiaomei turned her head to see Chuhua and Bojing coming towards her. She could tell they were all good to go. They both were holding hands until they noticed Xiaomei was looking at them. Their faces brightened in a pinkish-red color. Xiaomei could help but smile at their cute little actions. "Are you joining us with breakfast?" Chuhua said, trying to change the topic. Xiaomei nodded her head.
"What happened to your lips? They are slightly swollen," Chuhua said. Immediately, Xiaomei's cheeks turned pink, and she started cussing ZhangWei in her heart, but she calmly said without her voice wavering in nervousness, "Is that so? I didn't seem to notice. I should go to the clinic for some medicine." Touching her slightly swollen lips. Both Chuhua and Bojing nodded their heads, and Chuhua was about to say something back
However, Xiaomei quickly said to change the subject, "We should hurry to meet with Zhou Baozhai and Crown Prince LiJie." As they were heading to meet with Zhou Baozhai and LiJie, Xiaomei continued to cuss ZhangWei in her heart while touching her red lips. She couldn't believe how dare he made her lips swollen and made everyone know.
After breakfast, Baozhai asked if Xiaomei would join them to go with them to attend their small event. She just wanted to relax in her room and read a book, but she didn't want to deal with ZhangWei as she was upset with him and was flustered to see him, so she agreed with Baozhai. The whole day, she followed the two couples around the small event. During their time going around, enjoying the event, she occasionally noticed LiJie looking at her as if he had something to say but didn't say anything. She didn't mind him and simply ignored his gaze and minded her own business
Little did she know, but LiJie couldn't help but look at her as he felt he had unresolved matters that constantly bothered him. He knew he had wronged her in many many ways, but before he could apologize or do something for her to forgive him, she had already moved on and no longer dwelled in the past. Therefore, he had no right to bring up the past when she no longer cared about the past as he could only look at her with regret.
She would occasionally notice how sweet Bojing would casually watch over Chuhua and sweetly follow after her as she was having her fun without realizing she was separating from the group. She also noticed how happy Baozhai would tag along with LiJie. She would show LiJie all the stuff she was looking at, and his eyes would soften in love whenever he looked at her and see how Baozhai would brightly smile.
Xiaomei felt like the unnecessary fifth wheel of the group. She felt her feet dragging themselves while she was following after them. She started to scan around. She was surprised that ZhangWei hasn't shown up yet. Even though she didn't want to see him. She sort of missed his stupid presence. "No," she quickly thought and shook her head. "Stop thinking about him," she mumbled to herself.
"Huang Daiyu," a voice called her. "Hmm?" she said, snapping out of her thoughts.
"Are you alright?" Zhou Baozhai asked, looking at her. "Ngh," Xiaomei nodded her head in response.
The sun had set, and they all settled in a restaurant to end the day. The server brought over plum blossom wine while they were chatting among themselves, Xiaomei was busy pouring some wine into her cup. She sighed in great relief. She hasn't tasted wine in a while. She remembered drinking whenever she was stressed out from work with her coworkers. She took a sip before she felt refreshed. "Ah," she unconsciously said.
Before she could take another drink of the wine, someone stopped her from drinking. "You better slow down. Even though plum blossoms taste sweet and don't seem to be strong in alcohol. It will take effect quickly," ZhangWei said, appearing out of the blue and sitting beside her.
"Oh, ZhangWei. Where have you been? I was surprised not to see you around," Baozhai said. "You must be busy with being the new leader," Baozhai added.
ZhangWei was not in a chatty mood and nodded since his attention was on Xiaomei, who was pouring another cup of wine. He once again tried to slow down Xiaomei from gulping down the wine. "You really don't listen. Slow down," ZhangWei said, holding her wrist to stop drinking the rest of the wine in her cup.
"Stop fussing. I'm fine. The wine isn't even strong," she said, fussing with his hand. ZhangWei poked her forehead and said, "You are the one who needs to stop fussing."
Xiaomei just brushed his hand before she started to feel the alcohol taking an effect.
The two couples watched those two flirt with each other.
"Any news on Zhou Haitou?" LiJie asked, disturbing the two. "Yes, that's why I was gone this morning. I have received some news about spotting Zhou Haitou in the nearest town. I already had my man on the search," ZhangWei said as everyone sat up straight.
Once Xiaomei heard what ZhangWei finished saying, she said, "Good. I'm done," as her voice slurped. "I'm all set! The story is locked in. Now I wait," Xiaomei happily exhaled as she assumed she had said that in her head but unconsciously spoke out loud. She didn't realize her mistake as the wine had already taken effect. Her cheeks were red with her eyes looking a bit hazy.
However, everyone didn't seem to mind what she had said since they were too shocked by the mesmerizing expression on her face. It warmly struck them as they froze in place. Her eyes were shining, and her face was bright. Her lips were glossy red as they had a hint of seduction, but what drew them in was her beautiful smile that lit up the atmosphere. They never saw or knew that she had such a relaxed, bright, and soft expression before. It was endearing. They only saw her cold, obsessive, fake expressions.
ZhangWei immediately blocked her face with his hand to cover his treasure. He didn't want her to show her true expression to anyone. He grew sour and felt his heart turning bitter. "You are drunk," he said, hiding Xiaomei's face and taking away the cup from her hand. Once ZhangWei blocked her face, everyone snapped out of their daze.
Xiaomei softly moaned in annoyance at ZhangWei's hand and tried to get rid of his hand. Her low soft moan echoed in all their ears, scratching a warm sensation in their hearts as if it was bringing them back into a daze. "I'm not drunk," Xiaomei denied it, but her face was written 'totally drunk'. Her body slightly swayed a bit as ZhangWei was quick to hold her.
Before anyone could speak again, Xiaomei continued to rant about what she had in her heart. "The story is finally moving. I can go home. I'm so tired," she let out a sigh of breath. They didn't understand what she was talking about, but she didn't seem to notice their confused looks and continued. "You knew how tiring it was."
1
Xiaomei then looked at LiJie, "Like you, stop staring at me. If you have something to say, then say it! Also, stop being a cold-hearted ignorant jerk. Express your feelings better." She looked at Baozhai, "You, open your eyes like didn't you see how odd your uncle was looking at you? Also, speak your mind. Sometimes you are so quiet."
She then went on to the next person, Bojing. "You too. Stop staring at me. Stick to your girl. Geez. No offense. I'm happy for both of you, but how long were you going to realize your feelings?" She breathed out of exhaustion.
1
She looked at Chuhua, "You, I'm happy for you, but stop being short-tempered. Take some time to think before saying anything because sometimes what you say can be slightly annoying." Xiaomei breathed a sigh of relief as if she finally got out all of the complaints that she had been holding inside.
After expressing her frustration, she laid her head on the table. She quietly mumbled in exhaustion. Everyone was speechless and bewildered as they stared at her, frozen in place.
Xiaomei then noticed the tall man sitting beside her. Her eyes glanced up to see the handsome face with his beauty mark shining in the light as he was staring at her. Her hazy eyes dimmed. She slowly raised her finger to point at him and drunkenly said quietly, "Y-you...mustn't fall for me...I c-can't stay... If I remember correctly, Zhou Haitou probably has-"
"You are drunk," ZhangWei said, stopping her from finishing her sentence as it was best not to expose her any more than she already did. He pulled her off the table and close to his chest. They snapped out of their confused thoughts and were about to say something, but ZhangWei interrupted them before they could spit out a word. "Since she is drunk, I'm taking her back," he said. He carried her in a princess style before walking away from the table without glancing back. The remaining people at the table remained silent as they were left speechless. They couldn't tell what was more shocking, Xiaomei spouting nonsense and criticizing everyone, or how enchanting her expression was as if she looked so loveable exposing her true relaxed face.
"You drunk," ZhangWei softly scolded her after he placed her on the bed in his room. Once her body touched the bed, she immediately rolled to her side and pulled the blanket up to her face. She closed her eyes and started nuzzling her face against the blanket smiling in delight. His eyes were surprised to see her cute little action. Her rosy cheek against the blanket made her face look adorable. A smile appeared on his face and softly chuckled. "Look at you. Being so silly." He poked her forehead. She wrinkled her forehead in annoyance. He smiled brighter and said, "It's nice to see your vulnerable expression." He continued to poke her head.
Her eyebrows frowned, and she grabbed his hand to stop him. Instead of swatting his hand away, she pulled his hand to her as she hugged his arm, causing him to sit on the bed with her.
His eyes widened as she started to nuzzle her face against his hand. She smiled brighter as she rubbed her face against his hand. He sat bewildered, but then she pulled his arm to get it closer to her, forcing him to lay on the bed with her. "Alright. Alright," he softly coaxed her as she started to grumble because she felt his hand wasn't listening to her. He lay on his side as he was facing her.
Once his body lay on the bed, she nuzzled again before she drowsy opened her eyes and stared at him. Her eyes were hazy, but her focus was on him. Even though her eyes were hazy, they still gleamed.
"You little drunk. You are not allowed to drink with others. Only me got that," he said, seriously as his heart was itchy in irritation, just thinking of other men seeing her vulnerable expression.
"B-but I always do?" she innocently said, tilting her head in confusion.
Immediately, his gaze turned dark. "With who?" he said deadly.
She was silent for a moment as she was having a hard time thinking. "J-Jianyu," she said softly as she remembered Jianyu and her would go out for drinks when they had a long stressful day at work.
"Who?" ZhangWei's voice turned into ice. He removed his hand from her grasp and pinched her chin. She frowned her eyebrows. "J-Jianyu," she repeated herself.
"Huang Daiyu, do you know what you are saying?" he said, extremely upset. "You dare say another man's name in front of me, "he said deadly. Xiaomei didn't like the pain she was feeling on her chin and started to pout and frown in frustration. Since she didn't like the pain, she opened her mouth and bit the hand that was gripping her chin.
He chuckled in amusement but in a low, deadly tone and said, "You dare bite me after you are in the wrong."
She couldn't escape his grasp. So the only thing she could do was stare at him as her eyes got teary. She looks like an innocent child being bullied. Her big watery eyes make one heart break from looking at them. Immediately his anger dissipated, and his heart softened.
"You little brat," he sighed, feeling wrong for hurting her. Once he let go of her chin, she wrapped her arm around his waist and nuzzled her face against his chest as she started to softly whimper.
"Alright. Alright. I'm sorry," he coaxed her and wrapped his arms around her. She still felt wronged and bit his chest in anger. "I'm sorry," he said softly, enduring the pain and patting her back.
She soon loosened her teeth and was no longer angry as she was starting to feel tired and didn't have the energy to be angry. She started to move closer and rub herself on him. Instantly, his eyes jumped, and he tried to move away from her. However, she refused to let him go.
"Huang Daiyu," ZhangWei said firmly, trying to create a distance between them. However, she didn't seem to hear him and continued to get in a comfortable, warm position. "Y-you-," he tried to speak, but no words could express what he was feeling now.
He couldn't stop her from moving closer to him and started to feel the heat, but he was not a savage who would take advantage of a person who was not in a clear conscience. He immediately rolled her over to lay on her other side and tried to continue to push her away, but she still had her hand latched onto his arm. Now his arm was over her body with her back facing him. He tried to pull his arm away, but she gritted in anger and pulled it back to her chest.
"Alright, Alright. I'll let you have my arm. Just don't move back and stick close to me," he softly coaxed. He sighed in relief as they had a distance between them. Even though it was small, it was a distance. However, it didn't take too long for another problem to appear. Xiaomei once again nuzzled her face against his hand before falling asleep, but ZhangWei could feel her warm buns on her chest against his arm.
He tightened his lips together before saying in a low voice, "Has the cat turned into a sly fox." He started chanting inner peace before he soon drifted into sleep.
The morning arrived, and the sun was up. The light shone through the window and irritated Xiaomei's eyes. Even though the light was bugging her, it was not as worse as the agonizing pain her head was pounding into her.
"Ugh," she groaned in pain and forced her eyes open. Her hands started to rub her forehead to help ease the throbbing pain. She doesn't recall getting drunk that easily. She usually can drink a lot of alcohol and wouldn't get drunk. She was certain she had a high tolerance to alcohol since she and Jianyu, along with her other coworkers, would drink until midnight.
"Maybe this body has a low tolerance for alcohol," she thought, enduring the hangover. She tried to think about what happened last night, but she felt a strong pain in her head and couldn't remember anything. Her brain was completely blanking out. She didn't remember a single thing. When she tried to think harder, her memories became a big blur with a shot of pain in her head.
She groaned again before sitting up and looking at her surroundings as she found herself all alone in an unfamiliar bed.
"This isn't my room? Isn't this ZhangWei-," The door opened and entered ZhangWei.
"You are awake," ZhangWei said with a small bowl in his hand.
She wanted to say something, but he reached her and said, "Here, have some soup to help with your hangover." He handed her the bowl of soup in her hands.
"Thank you," she said, quiet as a mouse. She felt his gaze staring at her as if she had done something to him, but she doesn't remember what she had done. So, she quietly ate the soup with her head down.
He could tell how nervous she was, but his heart was still a little bitter. "So who is Jianyu?" he asked in a deadly tone. Once she heard that name, she immediately choked on the soup. She started coughing and avoided his gaze. "H-how does he know that name? D-did I say something last night? I-I can't remember," Xiaomei nervously thought.
"J-Jianyu?" she said slowly and settled. "Who's that?" she said with her voice doing a soft squeak at the end of her sentence. He just gave out a smile that brought chills down her back.
"Oh, so you don't know anyone named Jianyu?" he said in a low voice.
"Of course not," she said calmly. He immediately lowered his gaze at her as she could sense she was in trouble.
"Well, look at the time. I should head back to my room and take a bath," she said, getting up from bed and setting the bowl aside.
He did a quiet chuckle only for himself to hear as he saw how antsy she was as if it was a cat taking a bath. The tiny bitterness he had vanished in thin air as he smiled at her. "Don't worry, I got some water ready for you to bathe and clothes for you to change to," he said.
She looked at him and noticed how he was enjoying himself. She realized how he was playing with her. "Is that so," she said in an unfriendly tone.
"Weren't you in a hurry?" he said with a smile. She wanted to rebuke him, but she held her temper as he held the cards. He must have said Jianyu's name for a reason. She must have said something last night, but since she couldn't remember anything, it was best to keep quiet and hope he doesn't bring anything up.
She watched him cautiously at first but then started to think about what she did last night before slowly entering the washroom. His smile broadened brighter as he watched her try to think so hard to herself. He knew she didn't remember anything just by the way she acted.
It didn't take her long to take a bath and get changed. Once she exited and returned back to his room. She almost choked on her own saliva when she noticed that she was wearing a light purple lilac color while he was wearing a dark royal purple as if they were wearing compromising colors.
Before she could say a word, he said, "Let's go on a stroll." He grabbed her hand and tried to lead her, but she didn't move as if she was too distracted looking at their hands together. She didn't expect him to take hold of her hand.
He smiled, noticing how she was looking at their hands together. "Oh, that reminds me. Last night-" he tried to say but was interrupted by her.
"Didn't you say you wanted to go for a walk? Let's go," she rapidly said, hoping to avoid anything about last night since she had no memory whatsoever as she tightened her grip on his hand and quickly dragged him out the door.
ZhangWei instantly followed her with a remarkable smile on his face as if he wanted to laugh out loud but sweetly endured
Those two took a walk around the market. They casually check certain stalls here and there. It didn't take long before Xiaomei remembered that she almost finished the novel she was reading.
"I have to stop at the bookshop. I'm almost done with my book," she said, making her way to the shop. ZhangWei didn't mind and followed her.
Once they were getting close to the shop, something caught ZhangWei's eyes. "You go first. I have to get something first," he said. She immediately stopped and said, "I...can wait."
He smiled before saying, "Don't worry. You go on ahead. It won't take long. I will be right behind you."
Xiaomei hesitantly walked forward before looking back. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her looking back at him. Once she stopped looking back, he walked towards a stall. He leaned over and picked up a jade waist pendant.
"Leader Wang, is there anything you like?" the owner said. "Do you have any jade pendant that has a carving of a cat or an uncarved jade pendant?" ZhangWei said as his fox jade pendant hung on his waist belt.
Xiaomei entered the bookshop. She scanned around and looked at any books that intrigued her. She opened out a book that had a blue cover. Before she could skim through it, a man appeared in front of her.
"Lady Daiyu, correct?" the man said, looking at her with bright eyes. Xiaomei looked at the young scholar. He was wearing a simple white robe, and his hair was nicely combed down. He had a yellow scroll in his hand.
"Ah, yes? And who may you be?" Xiaomei asked cautiously.
"Sorry, to startle you. I don't think you remember me as I am a small bookkeeper in this little sect, but you came here last time to buy one of my books. I was extremely pleased that someone like you was interested in novels," the man said as he was trying to say it calmly, but Xiaomei could see the tip of his ears turning red. However, Xiaomei thought nothing of it.
"Ah, I remember now. You are the bookkeeper who shows me the book I am reading," Xiaomei said as her defense disappeared and her face brightened.
"Ah, yes," the bookkeeper said, relieved.
"I'm almost finished reading the book, so here I am getting another one," she said with a smile.
"Oh, how do you like that book so far?" The man asked with great curiosity.
"I felt it was a great love story. So far, I'm reaching the end where it's become a heart-wrenching tragedy between the two lovers. It makes one so heartbroken as if one had experienced it. The author is great at describing the emotions through written words and making it so life-like," she said.
"I agree with you. The author has a way of bringing out the emotion within you." The bookkeeper smiled in delight. Immediately, Xiaomei and the young scholar started talking about all types of books as they had a common connection. It was as if they were two friends.
"So do you have any recommendations on the next book I should read," Xiaomei said.
"Ah, I have the perfect one," the bookkeeper said and started looking for the book. "Here, this one. I think you will like it," he said.
"Thank you. How much?" Xiaomei said, accepting the book.
"Since you like books so much like me. I'll give you half the price," he said with a bright smile.
As she was about to hand him the money, she asked, "I forgot to ask you, what is your name, kind sir?"
"The name is Yan Jianyu," he said. She stopped for a moment before looking closer to the man's face.
"Yan Jianyu?" she said. The bookkeeper was about to nod his head, but a man who had been watching for a while now stepped in between them.
"Jianyu," ZhangWei said in a low voice as if it covered the atmosphere. Xiaomei immediately felt chills down her back.