Chapter 70: "Consider myself despicable."

"Bang!"

My heart pounded violently.

The pale eyes beneath the mask suddenly narrowed, almost constricting to a slit, like a venomous snake poised to strike.

Ji Chengnin kissed him. Ji Chengnin kissed him on his own initiative. It wasn't coercion or enticement, and it had nothing to do with anything else. However, his thoughts were churning wildly. He was horrified to find that no matter how hard he tried to calm down, his mind was still like boiling tea, bubbling and gurgling.

He couldn't concentrate on thinking at all; all he could think about was Ji Chengnin kissing him.

Why?

Does Ji Chengnin like him?

How could Ji Chengnin like someone whose face is indistinct, whose gender is unknown, and whose nature is unclear? If Ji Chengnin doesn't like him, then why would he do this? Can he treat anyone like this?

No.

The idea was rejected outright by him as soon as it came to mind.

The Crown Prince would never take the initiative to kiss someone unimportant.

It was just him.

Only him.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently as if he were thirsty.

He stared intently at Ji Chengnin.

From those beautiful eyes, her gaze slid down to the lips that had just kissed him.

His lips curled up, whether from pride or joy, it was hard to tell.

The corner of the lip was pulled, forming a small indentation on the innermost side.

He couldn't take his eyes off him.

All those he saw were cloaked in a sanctimonious facade; even the most beautiful appearance would eventually turn into nothing more than bare bones, nothing special. However, in Ji Chengnin, he found a thousand good qualities; there was simply no part of him that was not pleasing to the eye.

With long, thick, dark eyebrows, clear, bright peach blossom eyes, and a high, straight nose, even the small, faint scar left at the corner of his eye from when he bumped into a blade as a child, which was barely noticeable unless you looked closely, was a minor flaw in his otherwise beautiful face, making him both vivid and endearingly pitiful.

He desperately suppressed the urge to tear off the obstructive thing from his face and bite the slightly reddened lips of the person in front of him.

"frivolous!"

He gritted his teeth and rebuked.

Ji Chengnin paused for a moment.

The ghostly figure immediately tensed up.

He did resent Ji Chengnin's frivolity, but he didn't resent Ji Chengnin's frivolity towards him.

The young marquis got angry and shifted his waist slightly, as if he wanted to overturn him. The "ghost" who had just been righteously scolding him got anxious and wrapped his arms tightly around Ji Chengning's waist.

It's as if they want to hang themselves on the other person.

Ji Chengnin chuckled.

He lowered his head, and in the darkness, his handsome and radiant face, as beautiful as a peach blossom tree, drew closer to the ghostly figure. The latter stared intently at him, and then—"slap."

A slap landed on the mask, neither too hard nor too soft.

The dull thud of the black iron made his forehead ache, but he didn't have time to feel dissatisfied. A more intense, almost overwhelming joy surged into his heart.

Ji Chengning pressed his forehead against his.

Sticky, humid breaths mingled.

The young marquis parted his full, crimson lips slightly, "If I'm frivolous, then," even though there was a mask between them, the ghostly figure seemed to be burned by his breath, his whole body tense to the point of being unbearable, "If you do this," he looked up, easily avoiding the shadowy figure, and subconsciously tilted his head back to follow, Ji Chengning chuckled, "What does that count for?"

The next second, the breath was instantly withdrawn.

Ji Chengnin immediately increased the distance between them, looking down at him with disdain.

Ghost Shadow was startled, and then realized that Ji Chengnin was just teasing him.

He pressed his hand on Ji Chengnin's arm, gave a cold laugh, and spat out four words with a sharp edge: "Consider me despicable."

Ji Chengnin groaned as he was being squeezed.

It wasn't that he felt uncomfortable, but rather that he felt too comfortable. He was so comfortable that he couldn't help but let his guard down a little, yet he couldn't completely trust him.

He glanced at the ghostly figure casually, as if he were wary of a large cat with a bad temper, who could be purring at him one second and then slap him hard with a paw the size of a human head the next.

Ji Chengning lay on the pillow, and upon hearing this, he retorted seriously, "I won't allow you to talk about yourself like that." He was pleased, and his voice was lingering in his mouth, slow and sticky. Ghost Shadow looked at him, and the young marquis raised his chin triumphantly, "Liking this young master is not being a masochist."

Ghost Shadow: "..."

Her gaze kept drifting towards his neck.

I really want to strangle this heartless little bastard on the spot!

Seeing that he remained silent, Ji Chengnin yawned out of boredom.

Then, a hand was placed on his burning eyelids, cool and refreshing, almost like a soft piece of ice.

Yan County was as hot as an oven. Ji Chengning pressed his hand intimately against the icy cold hand and squinted his eyes contentedly.

"You're so cold," he murmured casually.

The ghostly figure merely gave a cold laugh in response.

The two then fell silent.

The ghostly figure had a faint fragrance, which, combined with his icy body temperature, made him feel strangely calm despite his overwhelming presence beside Ji Chengnin.

You're really out of your mind.

Ji Chengning cursed himself in his heart.

But the faint scent of jasmine wafts past the tip of the nose, harmless and pure.

Ji Chengning liked the gentle fragrance, so he grabbed the other person's hand that was on his eyes and rubbed his nose against the inside of the other person's wrist, sniffing like a puppy affectionately.

Breath hits the skin on the inside of the wrist, which is not exposed to much sunlight.

Ghostly figure stiffened, raised his hand, and pressed Ji Chengnin back down.

Ji Chengnin chuckled to himself.

Although he didn't know why, he was certain that this person had no intention of killing him. Not only did he not want to kill him, but he even had a strangely virtuous nature.

Ji Chengning even suspected that the person in front of him was a wild animal he had released while hunting, which had finally managed to take human form and was now beating up—no, repaying his benefactor.

He chuckled at it.

Before long, Young Master Ji was exhausted. After being massaged and rubbed, the pain in his arm was relieved, and he finally fell onto the pillow, his breathing gradually becoming steady.

Ghostly Shadow's tense body hadn't had time to relax after half the night. The restless bastard, even in his sleep, instinctively moved closer to Leng Yuan, wrapped his long arm tightly around his waist, and kept rubbing his face against Leng Yuan's neck.

The ghostly figure stared at Ji Chengnin, its clear whites now streaked with blood.

Flirtatious, flirtatious, flirtatious, flirtatious!

Even when he's asleep, he's like this. He sneered inwardly.

Beneath the mask, the corners of his lips couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

It rose again.

Nothing happened that night.

...

Since setting off, Ji Chengnin has had an unusually good night's sleep.

There was something cold and cool emanating from his arms, making him feel no heat at all. It was quite large, unlike a cooling pillow or a bamboo mat. Instead, it resembled a strong, muscular man's body. Ji Chengning, half-asleep, frowned slightly.

The sky was bright.

Ji Chengnin suddenly opened his eyes.

The bed was collapsed, and the brocade quilt and bed curtains were scattered all over the floor. The heat was already rising, and he felt thirsty. He got up and poured himself a cup of cold tea.

Two distinct indentations were visible on the soft bedding.

One of them was his, crooked and unsteady in his sleep.

The other one seemed to have not moved all night; elegant, but stiff.

Ji Chengnin stared at it for a long time, then raised his leg and kicked away the mark that clearly did not belong to him.

After washing up and changing his clothes, he went out and was about to head to the drill ground when, after a few seconds of thought, he turned back and went to Cui Yao's barracks.

"Knock knock knock—"

The door was knocked several times.

A slightly hoarse voice, clearly someone who had just woken up, came from inside: "Who is it?"

“It’s me.” Ji Chengning stood in front of the door.

"Your Highness..." The person inside was taken aback, then exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness!" Ji Chengning first heard the sound of clothes rubbing together, followed by hurried footsteps approaching. With a creak, the door was pulled open.

Summer sunlight streamed into the room.

Cui Yao couldn't help but squint her eyes.

He had just woken up and hadn't had time to change into his official robes. He was only wearing a plain-colored long robe, and in order to see Ji Chengning, he hurriedly put on a light gray outer garment, which was softly piled up and scattered. His long black hair was draped behind him, without any decoration, yet it was so elegant and beautiful that people couldn't take their eyes off him.

Ji Chengnin entered the room and said apologetically with a smile, "Did I disturb my cousin's rest?"

As he spoke, he subtly glanced around and noticed that the bed was slightly messy, with the blankets piled up, as if someone had slept there.

Cui Yao went to pour tea for Ji Chengning first. Her long, loose hair swayed gently with her movements. Only then did Ji Chengning notice that Cui Yao's hair was very long. Although one's body and hair are given to one by one's parents, he rarely saw hair that was so long. Her sideburns were black and densely spread down, like a dense spider web.

“I’m already awake,” Cui Yao said with a smile, gesturing for Ji Chengning to look at the table. Ji Chengning looked over and saw a book lying face down on it. “I was so engrossed in reading miscellaneous books that I’m disheveled and unkempt. I hope Your Highness will forgive me.”

Ji Chengnin took the tea and teased, "What rare and precious books have managed to keep our well-read A-Yao under her watchful eye?"

"Just some local gossip." Cui Yao didn't want to elaborate and subtly changed the subject. "What brings you here, Your Highness? May I tie my hair up first?"

Ji Chengnin smiled, "No rush."

Cui Yao then knelt down in front of the mirror.

The bronze mirror was small and blurry, but one could barely make out a human face.

Cui Yao picked up the comb.

Ji Chengnin's gaze naturally followed the downward movement.

Cui Yao's fingers were long and quite sculpted. Her hands were more bony than fleshy, but not slender. Because she held a pen for many years, there was a thin layer of calluses on her fingertips. Her skin was so white that it was almost bloodless. Her whole hand looked as if it had been sculpted from snow.

This hand was clearly not clumsy, but... Ji Chengning frowned. Cui Yao combed her hair as if she were wielding a knife, not a comb.

The comb teeth plunged into the hair, pressing down hard, and all the unruly strands were flattened. After only a few strokes, Ji Chengning noticed that there were many strands of hair that had been forcibly pulled off the comb.

The young marquis's chivalrous nature resurfaced, causing the marquis to gasp and furrow his brows even deeper.

Cui Yao was completely unaware and continued to comb her hair quickly.

Ji Chengnin could no longer hold back, and suddenly stood up, striding behind Cui Yao.

Cui Yao tilted her head in confusion, "Your Highness?"

Ji Chengnin patted the back of his hand. "Give me the comb."

Cui Yao was puzzled, but she still obediently turned around and presented the comb with both hands.

Ji Chengning's gaze swept over the comb.

Given the terrifying wealth displayed by the Cui family, it wouldn't be an exaggeration for Cui Yao to carve a comb out of a priceless jade. However, this comb was just ordinary peach wood with a few silver auspicious floral patterns inlaid on the handle.

In fact, regardless of clothing, food, housing, or transportation, Cui Yao always displayed a casualness that seemed inconsistent with his status and wealth.

No, it should be described as crude.

Despite her young age, Cui Yao possessed astonishing wealth and a delicate, beautiful appearance. Yet, Ji Chengning suddenly realized that despite spending half a year with her, he knew very little about her preferences.

Does he really have desires?

If a person has no basic desires like food and sex, then what is he craving?

Ji Chengning knew very well that his cousin was by no means a person who was detached from worldly desires.

Having already possessed immense wealth, why did you insist on temporarily residing in the Marquis's mansion in the first place?

What exactly does he want to do?

His mind raced, but his face remained impassive. With one hand, he skillfully brushed a strand of hair aside, inserting the comb teeth and gently combing it from root to tip.

Cui Yao remained motionless.

If Ji Chengning had gotten any closer, he would have seen that Ji Chengning's shoulders were stiff as if they were frozen stones.

"Hair is the surplus of blood," the comb gently scraped across the scalp, making a rustling sound, which, along with Ji Chengnin's smiling voice, entered the ears, making the spine itch, "Cousin, your hair is as beautiful as clouds, why do you have to ruin it like this."

Beneath his collar, his Adam's apple bobbed dryly.

After a long while, he heard Cui Yao say softly, "I'm used to being rough around the edges, please forgive me, Your Highness."

“I wouldn’t call it a laughing stock,” Ji Chengnin said earnestly; “It’s just that A-Yao is wasting such a precious thing, making me…”

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly noticed that several strands of Cui Yao's hair were tangled together. He wondered how a person could get their hair twisted like that while sleeping, so he put down the comb and carefully tried to untangle it.

Cui Yao waited for a few moments but received no further news.

His original intention was that if Ji Chengning didn't say anything, he wouldn't ask. However, the young marquis was lying behind him, his breath intimately brushing against his ear, warm and comforting, making Cui Yao feel resentful.

Fingers moved nimbly through the hair.

Cui Yao stared intently at the bronze mirror.

In the mirror, two figures overlapped, blurry yet resembling a pair of lovers entwined in tender affection.

He gripped the ring tightly.

He loved the reflection in the mirror, so much so that he wished he could carve the image onto it. But considering Ji Chengnin's reputation for womanizing, he hesitated before...

He hated the countless people he combed and untangled their hair.

I hate that the world must have combs and bronze mirrors, and that intimate lovers must tie their hair and sweep their eyebrows to show their deep affection. I hate even more that someone else has stood beside Ji Chengning.

The mechanism inside the thumb ring creaked and groaned from being crushed by its owner.

Ji Chengning untangled his hair and then picked up a comb.

This time, he knelt beside Cui Yao and leaned slightly closer.

Cui Yao couldn't help but hold her breath.

He sat upright, his eyes fixed straight ahead, as if Ji Chengnin, this living person, didn't even exist in his sight.

"Ah Yao," Ji Chengning lowered his head slightly, his breath gently brushing against her hair, the black strands of hair in his palm swaying and fluttering with his movements, "which jasmine water from which flower oil shop did you use?"