Chapter 250: A Sunny Day Chapter 226: What Are You Running From

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

Liu Qi nodded subconsciously, though inwardly he did not know whether he had truly been listening.

His ears were already as attentive as could be, even pulling down his cloak hood to ensure his five senses faced no obstruction, yet he could not rein in the surging emotions; they raced wildly through every vein, rushed into his heart chamber, surged into his mind, and the pounding of heart and brain drowned out the wind and snow, while his solemn, tense gaze seemed to melt every snowflake between them, leaving only her in the world.

Her voice was near before his eyes, yet seemed to come from the horizon; her words remained plain and concise, but each word accumulated a flood in his heart, and she actually said:

"Liu Situi, my fondness for you is not the fondness that wants you to make a good match with another."

In the instant that voice fell, the flood accumulated in Liu Qi's heart rushed down wildly, sweeping away tension and unease—she had spoken so frankly of her fondness for him, leaving him flattered yet extremely fearful that it was only the open fondness between good friends.

But now unease was washed away, every drop of water splashing in his heart turned into immense joy, and the snow clutched in his hand turned into warm, crystal snowwater flowing through his fingers; Liu Qi clenched his fingers, suppressed all impulses, and confirmed again: "Shaowei, besides this... what else?"

Shaowei looked at him, striving to keep a serious expression, and said candidly: "Besides this, I also do not want to see you show those intimacies that only you and I have shared with another."

Liu Qi could not help but reach out his right hand to grab Shaowei's arm, eager to confirm her boundaries: "For example?"

Shaowei glanced at the hand grabbing her arm; he tried hard to restrain his strength, but the tendons and bones on the back of his hand stood out clearly. Sensing the degree of his concern, Shaowei raised her eyes and answered: "For example... that day you and I toured the lake, lying together in the same small boat, hidden under the same lotus leaf."

A snowflake hung on Liu Qi's thick eyelids; when the snowflake blinked away, a bright light appeared in his eyes, and his hand unconsciously used some force; as he spoke, he was almost urging: "Shaowei, what you want has always been obtained, and what you do not want should naturally not be allowed to happen—"

Shaowei looked into his eyes: "Then should I not monopolize you?"

Liu Qi's eyes grew even brighter; the leg kneeling in the snow could not help but tense and tremble, as he suppressed the corner of his mouth: "Why not? This is clearly very good."

Such an exclusive possessiveness; by the time Shaowei understood it, she herself felt it was inexplicably somewhat overbearing, and though she had always been overbearing, loving to be first in everything, she had never had such possessiveness before; she loved Jiang Fu, but if Jiang Fu had other disciples, she would be very happy to be the majestic Senior Sister; she loved Mother, but as long as Mother was willing, she would also be very happy for Mother to have other children, and if that child was willing, she would be happy to teach them all her skills; she also loved Qingwu and Ji Jin, but would not feel lost or angry because Qingwu and Ji Jin had the possibility of greater intimacy; only toward Liu Qi did such a possessive thought arise. Shaowei felt this was very lacking in human courtesy, but after repeated contemplation these past days, there was no possibility of stepping back. This thought was unreasonable, uncontrollable, but it had to be faced directly; it absolutely could not be violated in a muddled way, breeding sticky resentment.

Shaowei vaguely understood that such matters required mutual willingness, and his answer right now was "this is clearly very good"; Shaowei was delighted in her heart, but on her face she tried not to reveal it too hastily, instead asking in a fair tone: "Then what about you? What kind of fondness do you have for me?"

"I..." Liu Qi's speech was somewhat confused, but he also hurriedly answered: "Shaowei, my fondness for you is much more serious; I do not need you to perform intimate acts between you and me with another, not even like last time when you said you were not as obedient as Liu Cheng—I felt the sky collapse and the earth sink, and no longer wanted him to appear before you, diverting your gaze—"

After saying this, he hurriedly promised: "But this is only my private thought, and not to restrain you; I want you more to be at ease, happy, and unrestrained..."

By this point, the prepared words had long since vanished; the flood in his heart still flowed, and whatever drop of water splashed out of his heart, he said that sentence, not caring whether it fit the question itself:

"Shaowei, my fondness lies in wanting you to wear the warmest clothes in the world, live in the brightest and cleanest house in the world, wield a staff when you want to wield a staff, make snowballs when you want to make snowballs, run when you want to run, run wantonly, sleep when you want to sleep, sleep at ease, not grieve for yesterday, not worry for tomorrow, only do what you like and what brings joy, heal the wounds all over your body from years past, live healthy and stable... until the very end, then go bestow your chivalrous righteousness upon this world."

"I naturally know you are the bravest and most fearless tiger, a sky-mending stone bearing miracles, perhaps not needing my protection; at first my fondness for you also lay in your great valor, repeatedly saving me from the mire, but I absolutely do not want hardship to be required to prove your valor; from now on I also want to do my best to let you live at ease and composed."

"In short, no matter what you do, whether drawing a blade to kill or lying flat on the ground, I love and approve of it all... you tell me, what kind of fondness is this?"

After asking this, tears glimmered in Liu Qi's bright, smiling eyes; Shaowei looked at him, thought it over, and answered softly: "It seems to be a fondness that takes different paths to the same destination as mine. But you speak so specifically, showing that you know far better than I how to love a person."

And Liu Qi said seriously: "Shaowei, I very much want you to pity me, but you must not only pity me; since childhood I have received the love of many people, I should know very well how to love a person, I was born naturally suited to love you."

He had once doubted whether true love existed; this trust in love was awakened by her, and it should all be repaid to her; in this matter, he was fortunate across three lifetimes, and she deserved it without guilt.

Liu Qi felt his words were confused and not enough to express his sincerity and heart, and was about to speak again, when he heard Shaowei say directly: "I understand; since it is mutual willingness, then we can become consorts, right?"

She had seen her own heart clearly, asked about his heart clearly, and confirmed that the strange prey that had broken into the nest was originally a companion of the same kind; she no longer hesitated, immediately took him in her mouth to see a new world, and walked into a new relationship.

And she did not care whether he could react in time, immediately exercising the power of the new relationship, seriously discussing with him: "Since we are consorts, do you know what consorts usually do?"

"I, I am not very clear..." Liu Qi was dazed as if in a dream, but the corner of his mouth could not be suppressed no matter what; even if it were a dream, he boldly grabbed the arm he was holding, made her hand gently rest on top of his head, and said softly: "But I know, you should touch me like this."

Shaowei's fingers slid from the top of Liu Qi's head to his forehead; that night in the park, she had also stroked his forehead, but that was for outsiders, in the name of gods and spirits, while now it was herself, in a brand-new relationship.

Warm fingers carrying exploration; Shaowei, who had lacked worldly experience since childhood in two lives, had once learned how to be a person, and now was learning how to be consorts with the one she loved; worldly people as consorts rarely put intimate details in the open; young men and women inevitably feel unfamiliar and curious; Shaowei's gaze followed her unfamiliar fingers downward, touching Liu Qi's eyes, the bridge of his nose, and finally lightly pressing on one corner of his mouth.

Liu Qi's mouth corner twitched slightly; his beautiful eyes flashed once in the snow, and he unconsciously wanted to swallow, causing his Adam's apple to roll.

Shaowei noticed that rolling thing; it was the mysterious thing she had been curious about for a long time; her fingers could not help but probe into his tense neck, wanting to touch and see; Liu Qi immediately became vigilant, as if startled and ticklish, hurriedly shrank his neck, and quickly grabbed her hand that learned everything "a thousand li in a day."

Liu Qi's heart pounded wildly, his face red and ears hot, yet there was also a hidden secret joy; he lowered his head, pressing his forehead against the back of the girl's hand that he was holding and cupping, smiling with closed eyes, trying to regulate his breathing.

However, such contact stirred a longing akin to appetite; he could not help but move his forehead upward; his moist eyelashes and cool nose tip brushed over the back of her hand, and then his lips lightly fell upon it; unable to help himself, he opened his mouth and, with clean, slightly cool teeth, lightly bit a mouthful of the back of her hand stained with snow crumbs.

Shaowei, suddenly feeling pain, could not help but regard this as a provocation; also dissatisfied with his stingy reaction of refusing to let her touch his neck, she quickly withdrew her hand, leaned forward, and pressed him down onto the snow in one motion.

Heaven and earth in great snow; in a flash, it seemed as if they had returned to the scene of their first meeting on Tianlang Mountain; both were somewhat dazed; this time no blood was seen, but there was another breath of surging qi and blood in the air.

This time Liu Qi was not long suppressed in the snow; the moment he fell to the ground, he supported himself with his right hand beside his body, exerted force in his waist and abdomen, and propped up his upper body.

Shaowei did not lean back to dodge; just about to question him why he had bitten her without permission, she saw that face draw near, turn its head, and lightly place a kiss on her cheek.

The speed of the falling snow seemed to slow; Shaowei widened her eyes, her heart thumping wildly, and then, unwilling to be outdone, counterattacked, also using her lips to press once on one side of his face.

Liu Qi was stunned for a moment; the smile in his eyes spread, and in an instant he grasped some shameful scheme; he once again boldly drew near and kissed Shaowei on the other side of her face.

Shaowei did not simply imitate and counterattack as before; she keenly locked onto the source, carrying a certain countermeasure of "capture the king first," and directly pressed against those smiling lips.

Snow like reed flowers, again like silver feathers; falling on the forehead as if turning into flowing light and drilling into the mind; Liu Qi had not been prepared for this at all; his right hand propped in the snow suddenly lost strength, and his whole body fell backward into the snow, splashing snow mist.

Shaowei followed by throwing herself onto him; just about to raise her head, she saw a large hand full of snow crumbs cover her eyes that had remained open; the owner of that hand slightly propped himself up, and soft lips touched again; a tender, vigorous breath was exchanged, and heaven and earth fell into a haze.

All sounds vanished by her ears; in a state of scattered thoughts, Shaowei noticed her lower lip was lightly bitten; she immediately pressed him down into the snow again, and bit back his lip, his chin, his neck.

Liu Qi's body tensed; suddenly he bent one long leg, raised his hand to push Shaowei away, at the same time turned sideways and rolled, kneeling in the snow in a fluster, his back to Shaowei; one hand arranged the collar of his robe, the other arranged the hem of his robe; he secretly exhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm his mind and stop his thoughts.

"... Why did you push me?" Shaowei sat up and drew near.

As she questioned, her hot breath sprayed by his ear, straight into his five viscera; Liu Qi, his face red, suddenly avoided her, answering "No, nothing," while hurriedly standing up; because of a guilty conscience and flustered appearance, afraid she would press him for the truth, he actually turned and ran.

Such concealment and avoidance made Shaowei even more astonished: "... What are you running for! Speak clearly if you have something to say!"

Liu Qi ran ahead with his heart in a mess, unable to compose himself, embarrassed beyond bearing—this matter... could not be explained clearly!

He certainly had no experience, but he naturally would not be ignorant of his body's reactions; clearly he originally had no stray thoughts, yet it was such a great mood-killer and offense against propriety, fearing she would notice and discover it, and at the moment he truly did not know how to explain it to her.

Shaowei turned and chased after him, grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it at the fleeing back; Liu Qi was hit, stumbled underfoot, and was soon caught up with by the swift Shaowei; Shaowei once again threw him down in the snow, and grabbed a large handful of snow, viciously stuffing it into the back of his neck.

Liu Qi was itchy and cold, and laughed loudly; the two tumbled and played in the snow for a while; Liu Qi managed to recover his calm mind and clear body, continuously begging Shaowei for mercy: "Wrong, wrong, I won't run anymore..."

Shaowei's anger dissipated, and she let him go; the two lay flat in the snow, quietly watching the sky and the snow.

Liu Qi extended one hand, found Shaowei's hand, and with his palm from below lifted her hand up, first separating her hand from the accumulated snow, then gripping her palm tightly.

Shaowei originally subconsciously wanted to break free, but thinking of their current relationship as consorts, she let him hold her hand.

In a short while, Shaowei turned her hand around and pulled Liu Qi up from the snow in one go. After Liu Qi stood up, he let go of Shaowei's hand and carefully brushed the snow off her, also clearing out the snow that had poured into the openings of her deerskin boots. Finally, he readjusted her wind hood over her head, then took her hand once more, and they left the woods together.

Deng Hu, waiting outside the woods, was bored to tears, squatting in the snow and packing a large pile of snowballs, nearly dozing off, when he heard footsteps and looked up. He suddenly saw a pair of hands clasped beneath their sleeves, and a jolt ran through him as he straightened his body.

Seeing this, Shaowei wanted to pull her hand back, but it was too late. She could only pretend nothing was amiss, straighten her back, and lead Liu Qi—who refused to let go—past the stunned Deng Hu in long strides.

Nowadays, besides trustworthy servants, Taoxi Mountain Villa also housed many of Shaowei's subordinates. Most were former wandering knights who now had official identities, guarding the villa here. When busy, they disposed of bodies; when idle, they tended the villa's fields.

Two adjacent houses were cleaned spotless, charcoal basins were lit, and hot water was warming on the stove. Shaowei casually pointed to one for Liu Qi, then entered the other herself.

After washing up, Shaowei wrapped herself in a quilt and rolled around on the bed, thinking aimlessly for a while, but eventually fell asleep lying face down.

In the neighboring room, Liu Qi tossed and turned, sometimes rolling over, sometimes resting his head on his arm in a daze. Deng Hu on the other bed turned to look and saw, in the dim light, someone occasionally smiling and revealing a row of white teeth—a scene truly eerie.

Deng Hu had a mind to ask the neighboring Jiang Jun to do a good deed and finish the job, simply knocking Your Highness unconscious with one palm. After all, Your Highness had always enjoyed being bullied and beaten by Jiang Jun, so this would be killing two birds with one stone.

This idea of killing two birds with one stone stopped only because Deng Hu lacked the courage to go wake Jiang Jun.

Deng Hu had no choice but to leave his Master alone and went to sleep himself, sleeping until the sky began to lighten. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he saw his Master already dressed and up, washing up.

Deng Hu focused his hearing again and detected faint sounds of rising and moving in the neighboring room. He thus concluded that his Highness had not slept all night, and the moment he heard Jiang Jun rise, he sprang up from the bed as if summoned.

Therefore, when Shaowei pushed open the door and came out, she saw Liu Qi come out at the same time, showing her a bright and refreshing smile.

Also appearing before Shaowei's eyes were two women sweeping snow below the steps. Both were former wandering knights, idle and accustomed to irregular schedules, with no habit of rising so early to sweep snow. It was only because they had heard last night's rumor that the Young Master had brought a beautiful youth into the villa at midnight to stay, that they made this energetic effort this morning.

At this moment, the two came down the steps. The Young Master walked away without glancing sideways, and the indeed stunningly beautiful youth smiled on his face as he followed, walking away into the distance. Both women had light and happy footsteps.

The two female knights completely stopped sweeping snow. One of them sighed and asked: "Where on earth did they find such a beautiful son-in-law?"

"I know him. I saw him last time, but he's no ordinary youth—he is the current Heir Apparent, Crown Prince Qi!"

"The Young Master is actually this promising..."

The two women spoke not loudly, but Shaowei's hearing was extraordinary, and she deliberately listened closely to the gossip behind her. Hearing such conversation, she couldn't help but feel pleased, and turned up the corners of her mouth.

Seeing her in a good mood, Liu Qi edged closer and secretly reached for Shaowei's hand again. Shaowei thought that even as husband and wife there was no precedent for holding hands at all times outside, and was about to pull away when she saw Liu Qi shrink his straight shoulders and softly hiss: "The snowy weather on this mountain villa is really cold."

His hand was indeed a bit cool, so Shaowei clasped his fingers with her warm palm.

A smile never left Liu Qi's eyes as he was led by Shaowei all the way onto the carriage returning to the city.

?? Thank you everyone for your blessings! Received them all! Everyone, good night!