Chapter 371, If you keep procrastinating, I’ll throw you down (third watch)

Feng Yi stood with his hands behind his back, a look of disgust on his face, "No thanks, I don’t like this stuff. It’s too cloying. You give it to Mingqian."

"I don’t want it either," Ji Mingqian refused.

Jiang Yisheng, "..."

They had no idea about the deliciousness of candied haws. It was better to hang out with Jiuliang.

Meanwhile, having left Feng Yi and the others behind, Li Mochan and Ye Jiuliang strolled around the Maple Forest.

When they passed a stall selling boiled hot spring eggs, Ye Jiuliang found it interesting and stared at the hot spring eggs for a while.

"Want to try one?" Li Mochan looked down at her craving appearance and let out a soft chuckle.

Ye Jiuliang nodded with a smile in her eyes.

Li Mochan took out a red banknote from his pocket and handed it to the owner. Ye Jiuliang casually picked an egg; it was still warm.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw other couples cracking eggs on each other’s heads. Her lips curled into a mischievous smile.

"Mohan."

Stuffing the change into his coat pocket, he turned around subconsciously at the sound of her voice.

A "thud" as his forehead was tapped with an egg.

"You little rascal, looking for trouble, huh?" Li Mochan narrowed his eyes dangerously, his deep voice dropping several tones.

The man’s skin was pale, with a slight flush on his forehead. Ye Jiuliang giggled, looking at the intact egg in her hand with a flattering smile.

She asked with a cheeky face, "Mohan, can I hit you with it one more time?"

Li Mochan, "..."

This heartless little rogue.

He reached out to take the egg from her, pretending he was going to knock it on her head.

Ye Jiuliang dodged quickly, covering her head to prevent him from succeeding and grinned, "Li Mochan, you’re so cruel. Seems like I really have to reconsider getting married."

At her words, Li Mochan’s forehead creased as he reached out to grab her.

"Li Mochan, catch me if you can; catch me and you can knock," Ye Jiuliang made a face at him, "Nyah nyah nyah."

Li Mochan watched her run faster than a rabbit, a helpless smile playing in his eyes as he took off after her.

Once he caught the little rascal, he would definitely give her a good lesson.

"Li Fifth Master, you’re running too slowly. Are you too old to keep up?" Weaving through the Fenglin, Ye Jiuliang didn’t stop teasing Li Mochan, wildly pushing her luck at the edge of being disciplined.

"It’s okay. Just take a break if you’re tired. It’s understandable for the elderly to be slow."

Li Mochan’s gaze darkened, his eyes reflecting the slender figure of the woman ahead.

She was simply...

In need of a lesson.

The two of them ran wildly around the Fenglin. In the end, Ye Jiuliang couldn’t run anymore and simply climbed up a tree to hide.

She had worn too much, and after running a circle, she was covered in sweat.

Gasping for breath, she looked down from her perch at the man below, "I can’t run anymore, truce, let’s have a truce first."

"Come down." Li Mochan looked up at the woman sitting in the tree, his lips parting slightly, his breath even, not out of breath at all.

Swinging her dangling legs, Ye Jiuliang asked with a smile, "Will you hit me if I come down?"

"Depends on how you behave," Li Mochan replied, holding back a laugh, trying to keep a straight face.

Ye Jiuliang chuckled, "Then I won’t come down."

With his "fierce" look, she was certain to be "dealt with" if she went down now.

"You little rascal, if you won’t come down, I’ll come up," Li Mochan threatened.

"Come up if you can," Ye Jiuliang’s eyes lifted with a defiant tone, just like the first time they met in Mo Garden.

Li Mochan fixed his gaze on her for a moment, a fleeting light passing through the depths of his eyes. The little rogue was getting wild again.

Confident that he would never climb up the tree, Ye Jiuliang’s triumphant smile hadn’t lasted a few seconds before she was startled by his next move.

Ji Mingqian, who had always turned up his nose at climbing trees, actually climbed one.

And he was quite quick about it, too.

Ye Jiuliang drew in her legs, just about to flee, but as if something occurred to her, she swung a punch toward Li Mochan with her other hand.

Caught off guard by the sneak attack, Li Mochan tilted his head to dodge, and the chilling punch whooshed past his cheek.

"You’re really not behaving," a deep voice faded into the fiery-red maple leaves.

"You little rascal, you’re asking for a beating."

Ye Jiuliang chuckled slyly, and seeing an arm reaching out towards her, she dodged backward.

The maple tree wasn’t very big, making it difficult to fight on as neither could fully swing their punches or kicks with the added risk of both falling off.

Nearly missing her step, Ye Jiuliang grabbed a branch to stabilize herself.

"Where do you think you’re going, huh?" Li Mochan parted the dense maple leaves, his thin lips curving into a rogue’s smile.

Ye Jiuliang’s eyes flickered, and she let go of the branch, pretending to lose her balance and falling backward.

"Mohan."

Li Mochan’s expression changed slightly as he stretched out his hand to grab her wrist.

With her feet hooked around the treetop, Ye Jiuliang hung upside down from the tree.

"Hahaha."

Her clear laughter echoed in the space, and realizing he had been tricked, Li Mochan pulled her up, flicking her forehead with his fingertips a bit forcefully.

"You little rascal, you’ve got guts."

Ye Jiuliang yelped, covering her forehead and burrowing into his embrace, complaining shamelessly, "Li Mohan hit me, my head hurts."

Amused and unable to stay mad at her, Li Mochan held her close to prevent a real fall.

He pretended to be stern and threatened, "Keep acting up, and I’ll throw you down."

"Would you really?" Ye Jiuliang raised her head from his chest, smiling with her eyes curving up.

In a tone more ruffian-like than a ruffian’s, "If you throw me down, you won’t have anyone to warm your bed tonight."

The tension on Li Mochan’s face immediately broke, his eyes betraying his amusement.

He leaned down, touching foreheads with her, "Who’s warming whose bed, hmm?"

"You’re warming my bed," Ye Jiuliang kissed his lips, smartly correcting herself.

Li Mochan’s deep gaze darkened slightly, his thin lips curling into a satisfied smile.

Caught up in their play fighting, the two had completely forgotten about Ji Mingqian and the others.

The afternoon sun filtered through the Fenglin, lighting up the fallen maple leaves scattered across the ground.

Tired from playing, Ye Jiuliang only walked halfway before acting spoiled and demanding Li Mochan carry her.

Ye Jiuliang lay on Li Mochan’s shoulder, fiddling with a maple leaf in her hand.

Out of the blue, she asked, "Mohan, do you think if I hadn’t gone to Country Y as a kid, we might have met earlier?"

"I don’t know," Li Mochan murmured with a faint smile.

"If we had known each other as kids, we probably would have fought a lot," Ye Jiuliang said, amused.

"I was a real handful as a kid, always leading others up trees to pick fruits or into the river to catch fish. Sometimes, I even glued my master’s hair and beard together, driving him so mad he’d chase us with a slipper, trying to give us a thrashing."

Listening to her prattle on, Li Mochan couldn’t help but chuckle, "Did he ever catch you?"

"Master always bluffed, but there was this one time we really got a whipping." Ye Jiuliang’s eyes crinkled with laughter, "On master’s birthday, we lit firecrackers, and accidentally burned off his beard."

Back then, Chu Chen and Ji Mingqian were the unluckiest, not only getting their palms slapped but also being made to run laps by the master as punishment.

"The master used to say I was so mischievous that no one would want me later."

"Indeed very mischievous," Li Mochan spoke in a husky voice.

Ye Jiuliang curved her lips, "Then why do you still want me?"

"Afraid you’d wreak havoc on someone else," Li Mochan teased, so he reluctantly took her in.