Chapter 50 The incense made me feel numb and painful, like I was about to explode.

As the sun sets and twilight descends, dew quietly condenses on the windowsill and treetops, reflecting the last rays of sunlight.

Because he had been resting for too long to recover from his injury, Xiao Qiyu changed his daily morning boxing practice from half an hour to half an hour in the morning and evening, spending most of his day in the front study.

He returned to Qiyun Pavilion, his feet wet with dew, expecting to see Cui Ying lying on the couch with his legs crossed, reading a storybook, as was customary.

But when you push open the door, what you see is a young girl sitting under the lamp, her brows furrowed in seriousness, holding an embroidery needle in her hand, meticulously doing needlework on the taut silk.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Qiyu wondered if he was seeing things.

He'd be better off believing the sun rises in the west than believing Cui Ying could embroider a needle.

Cui Ying seemed to sense the disbelief in his words and rolled her eyes at him, saying, "Yangyang hasn't been sleeping well lately, so I made her a sachet filled with calming herbs. I hope it will come in handy."

She then beckoned him over, her tone tinged with a hint of pride: "Come and see how well I've done my embroidery?"

Xiao Qiyu walked over, glanced at the pattern on the fabric, and for the first time, a hint of appreciation appeared in his eyes. He nodded and said, "Not bad."

Cui Ying immediately raised her chin: "That's right, I was just too lazy to do needlework in the past, otherwise, with my aptitude, all the embroiderers in the capital would have to become my apprentices."

Xiao Qiyu picked up the embroidery pattern, examined it carefully, and exclaimed, "This steamed bun is indeed embroidered to life."

Cui Ying: "..."

Cui Ying: "This is a fairy peach."

"Then this peach embroidery is indeed very steamed bun-like."

Xiao Qiyu's expression was serious, his eyes were solemn, and his gaze swept over Cui Yingying's smooth and delicate cheeks, as if he were sincerely praising her: "The land in the Heavenly Palace must be incredibly fertile to grow such a plump and lustrous immortal peach."

He didn't say anything even more provocative.

What he really wanted to say was: Just like your face.

Cui Ying seemed to read his mind, snatched the embroidery material away, and cursed, "A wild boar can't eat fine chaff, go play somewhere else! Don't bother me while I'm embroidering!"

Xiao Qiyu originally wanted to tease her a little more, but when he saw her almond-shaped eyes widen and her neck turn red and hot, he knew that she was really angry. So he casually said, "Can't I even speak the truth?" and took long strides to go behind the magnolia screen to take a bath.

The sound of splashing water rang out, and the screen displayed the outline of a boy's strong muscles, with long arms, a narrow waist, and clear lines.

Once the sound of water subsided, Xiao Qiyu emerged from behind the screen, his wet hair draped over his shoulders and neck, wearing only an inner garment. Because of the lingering moisture, his handsome features softened, and his phoenix eyes casually gazed at the lamplight.

Cui Ying was still sitting under the lamp embroidering peaches. Perhaps she had encountered a tricky part, because her brows were furrowed into a deep frown. She even pricked her finger with the needle, and hersed in pain as she put her fingertip in her mouth.

Wisps of smoke drifted from the three-legged hibiscus stone incense burner, its sweet fragrance pervasive, mingling tightly with the warm air.

Xiao Qiyu had just washed away the heat from his body, but now he suddenly felt parched and his gaze was drawn to Cui Ying's lips, which were holding her fingertips.

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, as he reached for a glass of water.

Cui Ying then said, "Come here."

His voice carried a hint of lingering frustration.

Xiao Qiyu's forehead veins throbbed suddenly. He suddenly wanted to get away from Cui Ying, but his feet wouldn't obey him. He inexplicably stepped closer and closer to her.

Today, Cui Ying wore a smoky pink chiffon blouse with acacia flower patterns and a light willow-colored strapless long skirt. The gorgeous combination made her already fair and delicate complexion even more beautiful, like a pearl glowing with radiance.

She looked up, holding up the embroidery pattern in her hand, almost touching his nose: "Take another look, does it still look like a steamed bun now?"

Perhaps truly devastated, Cui Ying specially embroidered a shadow on the peach to make it appear slimmer and less like a steamed bun.

Xiao Qiyu lowered her eyes as instructed, but her gaze involuntarily drifted away from the embroidery pattern and landed on her fingertips, which had just been pricked and were still glistening with moisture.

Cui Ying's hands were exceptionally beautiful, with well-proportioned bones and flesh, fair and delicate, and her fingertips were unusually pink, as if the vitality and energy within them were about to burst forth, mixed with her unique, faint floral fragrance, wafting towards you.

Xiao Qiyu's Adam's apple bobbed even more violently.

He felt something was off about him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

It seems... I can't look at her anymore.

Xiao Qiyu turned his head away, suppressing the burning sensation in his throat, and said, "It doesn't look like it anymore."

"You didn't even look carefully!" Cui Ying was dissatisfied with his perfunctory attitude. She suddenly stood up, took a step closer to him, raised her arm high, and insisted on presenting the embroidery pattern to him.

Xiao Qiyu took a step back, feeling as if her body was completely enveloped by the fragrance of flowers, her eyes filled with that delicate arm, unable to see anything else.

"Look at me carefully, does it still look like a steamed bun or not!" Cui Ying's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she said fiercely.

Under normal circumstances, Xiao Qiyu would definitely fight her to the end, repeating "same as, same as" three hundred times.

But at this moment, a burning crimson flush rose behind his ears, and he desperately swallowed hard, gritting his teeth as he said, word by word, "It doesn't seem like it."

Cui Ying was finally satisfied. She turned around, put the embroidery pattern back into the wicker basket, stretched comfortably, and moved her stiff neck.

More smoke drifted out of the incense burner, like an invisible net enveloping the two of them.

Standing behind Cui Ying, Xiao Qiyu watched as her clothes slipped down to her arms as she stretched, and her slender, fair neck beneath her thick hair. His gaze involuntarily darkened and deepened, his eyes fixed intently on the girl's neck.

So white, so soft...

It feels like I could pounce on it and take a big bite.

The night wind rattled the windowpanes, and Xiao Qiyu suddenly snapped back to reality.

He immediately looked away, refusing to glance at Cui Ying again, and strode to the tea table. He poured a full cup of cold tea and drank it all in one gulp.

Just when he thought this would give him a moment of clarity, the sound of splashing water came from behind the magnolia screen—Cui Ying had gone to take a bath.

Sweat dripped down his chin, and Xiao Qiyu felt like he was going crazy.

He was still young, his heart was not yet open to love, and he had no precedent to follow. He had no idea what was going on with this feeling of being hot all over, his blood surging, and his mind filled with disgusting and absurd thoughts.

He felt as if he had suddenly contracted some strange illness, and those unfamiliar and surging desires were like a flood of ferocious beasts, about to completely devour him.

From behind the screen, one could faintly hear Cui Ying humming a little tune.

The tune was haphazard, yet because of her naturally sweet and delicate voice, which carried a languid and charming quality, it intertwined with the sound of water, making it exceptionally clear and... alluring in the quiet night.

Xiao Qiyu's breathing suddenly became heavy and hot, his voice hoarse without him even realizing it: "Can you shut up? It sounds awful!"

Cui Ying retorted, "I'll sing! Take it or leave it!"

After saying that, she sang even louder, full of provocation, as if deliberately trying to annoy him.

Xiao Qiyu's eyes turned red. He rushed to the quilt on the floor, wrapped it tightly around his head, and shut himself out of everything outside.

When Cui Ying finished bathing and emerged from behind the screen, drying her long, wet hair, the room was quiet. If it weren't for the outline of the quilt on the floor, she would have almost thought that Xiao Qiyu had been angered and run away.

She strolled slowly toward the bed, and as she passed the floor mat, she still felt aggrieved and lightly kicked the raised "mound" of the bed.

The "small hill" remained completely still.

"She's fast asleep?" Cui Ying muttered under her breath, pursing her lips. "It's good that she's asleep, so she won't open her mouth and make people angry."

She hummed a little tune as she lay down on the bed, intending to take advantage of her refreshed state after her bath to embroider a few more stitches. However, as soon as she held the fabric in her hands and glanced at it a few times, her eyelids began to droop involuntarily, and her thoughts became muddled.

Cui Ying looked at the three-legged hibiscus stone incense burner, yawned, and said, "Third Sister-in-law didn't lie to me. It really is much more potent than ordinary calming incense."

Today, instead of burning her usual pear incense, she used a new incense that Qian Qiuchan had brought in the evening, saying it had a remarkable effect on calming the nerves and helping with sleep.

Cui Ying hadn't intended to use it so quickly, but Qian Qiuchan was so enthusiastic that she lit it for her herself while they were talking, so she had no choice but to let it burn.

Smelling the rich, intoxicating fragrance, Cui Ying felt not only more drowsy than ever before, but also a strange, inexplicable heat rising within her. Even though she had just washed herself, she felt as if countless tiny insects were crawling restlessly under her skin, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

"Strange," she frowned, her voice already heavy with sleepiness, "It's already autumn, why is it still so hot?"

The last syllable faded from her lips, and she tilted her head, clutching the unfinished embroidery pattern, before drifting completely into sleep.

...

The night was as dark as ink, and the dew grew heavy as the night deepened.

The candles had burned out, and the Qiyun Pavilion was plunged into darkness, with only the wisps of smoke rising from the three-legged incense burner drifting and dispersing in the air like wandering ghosts.

Xiao Qiyu woke up drenched in sweat, panting heavily and breathing rapidly.

An indescribable thirst gripped his throat, burning his lips and tongue, and making his heart pound like a drum.

It felt like a raging fire was burning in my lower abdomen, a tingling, painful sensation that felt like it was about to explode.

Xiao Qiyu irritably threw off the covers and sat up. In the darkness, fine beads of sweat had already seeped from his forehead and temples.

He got up and rushed to the tea table, grabbed the teapot again, and poured several large mouthfuls of icy tea into the spout. But instead of extinguishing the evil fire, it was like pouring oil into a fire, causing the flames to leap even higher, burning his internal organs with a dull ache. An uncontrollable impulse surged through his blood.

"Damn it..." Xiao Qiyu didn't understand what was wrong with him. He cursed under his breath, his voice hoarse, and pressed his throbbing temples hard.

Just then, a very soft sob came from the bed, attracting his attention.

It is Cui Ying.

Xiao Qiyu's heart sank, and he subconsciously walked towards the bed.

By the faint moonlight filtering in through the window, he could make out Cui Ying's appearance.

The girl was curled up in the brocade quilt, her cheeks were abnormally flushed, and her hair was wet with sweat and stuck to her smooth forehead.

Her brows were furrowed, her breathing rapid and hot, her small nostrils flared with each breath, and her lips parted slightly, emitting soft, unbearable moans. She looked as if she had just been pulled from boiling water, exuding a morbid, breathtaking... allure.

Xiao Qiyu swallowed hard, suppressing his surging desire and instincts, and called out to her repeatedly, "Cui Ying? Cui Ying, what's wrong?"

Cui Ying didn't wake up, but she slept very restlessly. Her red lips parted slightly, and she let out a suppressed, extremely painful whimper.

Xiao Qiyu sensed something was wrong and reached out to touch Cui Ying's forehead. His rough fingertips covered the girl's delicate skin, and the burning heat almost made his heart stop beating.

He got up and was about to rush out to call for help, his steps were fast and disordered, and he almost fell several times.

But when he reached the door and opened it, Xiao Qiyu's heart sank even further—

The door was locked.

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Author's note: Hehe