Chapter 15 Don't Lick Randomly

Twenty thousand taels of silver?!

Although it was Kengjiang Prefecture that she asked the Princess for help with, and she was the one who devised the plan, the Princess added her own twist during the execution. Otherwise, so many noble servants would not have gathered at Youyun Pavilion that day to stage a battle for the ownership of the last bar of soap.

Arranging for troublemakers was Shang Yuji's plan, while the servants of powerful families were meant to put pressure on the steward of the Jiang family. If the steward of the Jiang family failed to win the bid in the end, other powerful families would buy it at a high price anyway, so the princess would not lose out.

Shang Yuji counted and counted several times, confirming that it was indeed 20,000 taels of silver.

She knew the Jiang family was wealthy, but she never imagined they were incredibly rich.

"Xi Qu, we have money again." Shang Yuji stood by the desk, clutching the silver notes in her hand, her tone somewhat unsteady.

She was grateful for the Jiang family's generosity, which relieved her of the worry about a lack of funds.

Seeing her finally smile, he cheerfully chimed in, "Ah Ji can relax a bit now."

Shang Yuji listened to the voice, her gaze falling on him. She rested her chin on two fingers and silently looked him up and down as if deep in thought.

Jiang Xi, not understanding what was going on, assumed that she wanted to take a closer look, so she slowly turned around in front of her and asked, "Aji, is there something on me?"

She paused, then replied, "By the way, could this money be considered a belated alimony payment from the Jiang family?"

Upon hearing this, his smile widened. He stepped forward, grasped her wrist, and looked down directly at her, saying, "Then Aji should take it even more. Aji is supporting me now. I eat Aji's food, drink Aji's drink, and live in Aji's house, so I should pay Aji!"

Shang Yuji was somewhat surprised: "Where did you learn these words?"

Jiang Xi raised her dark eyes, which were as clear as autumn water, and said softly, "I heard Old Wang say that when I was buying the pancakes."

He cleared his throat twice, his delicate brows furrowed slightly, and his face showed a bitter expression. He imitated the tone and posture of a distressed merchant, playing three roles in one: "Oh dear, if I don't earn more this month, I won't even be able to recoup the money for the shop!"

The next moment, an even older voice said, "I see the shopkeeper is making a fortune; where would he lack money?"

"Shop rent, goods purchase price, spoilage costs, and then there's the need to replenish firewood, rice, oil, and salt at home, buy fabric for new clothes, and even lack of needles, thread, and candles. It's tough!"

Another, more childish voice asked in confusion, "Father, what should we do?"

"What else can we do? Quickly serve the guests the food; we can't neglect them!"

Jiang Xiqu couldn't recite the entire passage verbatim, but he conveyed most of it. He captured the essence of the characters, making it easier for Shang Yuji to visualize the scene.

Jiang Xi's slowness and dementia were not due to congenital physical deficiencies, but rather to his slow reactions and lack of understanding of the world resulting from being isolated from society from a young age, growing up alone for a long time, and not communicating with others.

On the contrary, he has a good memory, not so much that he can remember everything he sees, but he can remember most of what he sees.

Seeing that Ah Ji's attention was focused on his imitation, he smiled and said, "Renting a shop requires money, and I also need to pay Ah Ji for living here."

“It’s different.” Shang Yuji led him to sit down beside her and explained, “Because the shop doesn’t belong to the shop owner. The shop owner is only temporarily using that land to do business, so they have to pay the owner for renting the space. But this mansion is different. After we buy it, it will be our home. It belongs to us, and we don’t need to pay any extra money.”

Jiang Xi tried to process what she said, and then said, "Since Aji pays for all my food and drinks, I also want to pay for Aji's food and drinks."

Do you know why I'm willing to pay you?

"Why?"

Shang Yuji knew she couldn't be too subtle with him. He didn't react quickly enough, so she explained directly, "Because I consider Xi Qu family, and family members don't talk about giving and receiving."

"family?"

"Family members are not the parents who sold me out, nor are they the fathers who neglect you. Family members are those who support each other, who are our backing and confidence when we are out in the world, and who are the closest people to us throughout our lives."

Twenty thousand taels of silver notes were stacked on the desk. Shang Yuji cupped his cheeks, letting the crystal tears slide down her palms, and said gently, "I'm so happy that you're willing to pay for me, because you also consider me your family."

You can't judge Jiang Xi by appearances alone. He's too naive and doesn't understand the true meaning of many things. Even if he expresses a small amount of water, what lies behind it is a lake that is already full.

"Aji, I didn't want to cry, but the tears just kept falling." Jiang Xi took her hand away, her eyes brimming with tears as she stroked it. She took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped her hand, her voice filled with grievance: "You've gotten Aji's hands all wet..."

Tears streamed down his face as he lowered his head, falling like pearls onto his moon-white robes, creating a misty haze. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, "A-Ji, can one choose their family?"

Shang Yuji ignored the faint sound of him sniffing and gently grasped his trembling fingers through her handkerchief: "Why can't we? I chose you, and you chose me."

"Waaaaah, Ah Ji—!" Jiang Xi suddenly opened his arms wide, the handkerchief losing its support and falling onto his knees. He bent down and pulled Shang Yuji into a tight embrace, resting his head on her neck and shoulder, sobbing softly.

"Ah Ji, waah Ah Ji, you are also my closest family member, Ah Ji, Ah Ji... Can we really be together forever?"

The high bridge of his nose poked against the fabric of his neck and shoulders, causing a slight itch. A damp scent spread, mixed with soft humming sounds.

Shang Yuji reached out and pressed down on the head that was constantly rubbing: This sentence sounds like it's planted with some kind of extraordinary flag.

Jiang Xi was unhappy that she didn't reply immediately, so he rubbed against her with more force, forcing her to raise her head. She didn't object, which meant she was indulging his actions.

"Ah Ji, oh, please tell me, please tell me! We're the best of friends in the world, we'll always be together, Ah Ji, Ah Ji..."

"Good, good, good, we are the best in the world."

Well, if they really do plant the flag, she'll have to find a way to pull it down.

"Ah Ji, Ah Ji is the best, sob sob, Ah Ji, I can't live without you—"

The faint scent of the night-blooming cereus seemed to surge with his intense emotions, making her head feel a little dizzy. Shang Yuji gently patted his back, following the embrace she was in.

"Why are you crying even harder?"

Shang Yuji couldn't see the beautiful face buried in her neck and shoulder. He felt the body trembling more and more under his palm and heard the growing sobs. He continued to stroke her gently, trying to calm her emotions.

"I don't know, Aji, I don't know why I'm crying, sob, but my eyes hurt so much, my eyes want to cry, Aji, wait a minute, I'm trying not to cry, uh..."

Jiang Xi knew that he would cry when he was sad or hurt, but he wasn't sad now, nor was he being beaten or scolded. On the contrary, he was very happy. Aji said that he was the family she had chosen, and they would be together forever.

But the tears just wouldn't listen and kept streaming down my face.

When he learned the word "happiness," he realized that feeling happy could also make him cry. Before he understood the meaning of happiness, he experienced the taste of happiness.

Hearing him sobbing and hiccuping, Shang Yuji said helplessly, "Don't hold back, keep crying."

"Hmph, Ah Ji is so nice!"

In a corner unnoticed by Shang Yuji, her collar was loosened by a rubbing, and Jiang Xi's long eyelashes dripped with tears. Under his eyes, the tears passed over her neck and collarbone, slowly sliding into her collar and disappearing into the fabric, leaving a faint watermark.

Jiang Xi stared blankly, momentarily forgetting that she was still crying, only thinking that her tears had soiled Aji.

He needs to... clean it up. He shouldn't trouble Ah Ji; he can clean it himself.

The crying stopped abruptly. Shang Yuji thought he was tired from crying and needed to rest, but then she felt a strange dampness on her neck.

Before her brain could even process what was happening, her hand had already instinctively grabbed Jiang Xi's dark blue hair and pulled it down. Her gaze followed, and a beautiful, pitiful face, like a pear blossom battered by rain, came into view.

With his hair being pulled, Jiang Xi lifted his head using the force. Shang Yuji's questioning gaze fell on his half-exposed, bright red tongue, which he hadn't had time to retract: "What are you doing?"

His reddened eyes unexpectedly held a hint of allure. He withdrew his tongue, wanting to move closer, but was stopped by her grabbing her hair. He wrinkled his nose and explained pitifully in a soft voice:

"Tears fell on Aji, and I'm licking them clean."

Shang Yuji refused: "No, you can't just lick people."

Jiang Xi let out two sobs and whimpered to express her loyalty: "I didn't lick indiscriminately, I only licked Aji's!"

There's absolutely no need for that!

"But it's not clean!"

Jiang Xi quickly replied, "Aji is fragrant and soft, and very clean. I am clean too, Aji, please don't dislike me!"

After a moment of silence, Shang Yuji reflected on his thoughts and came up with a taste assessment.

“Ah Ji, look, ah—” he said, opening his mouth slightly to her.

She didn't immediately understand what he meant, but then she noticed his rosy lips, white teeth, and neat teeth, which suggested he had a very healthy oral cavity.

The hand that was pulling at black hair loosened a little, and he immediately moved closer: "I'm not dirty. I wash myself carefully every day. Ah Ji, let me lick you. It feels so good. It feels so good to lick Ah Ji."

Help!

Even though she knew Jiang Xi didn't mean anything by it, her ears still felt hot from hearing those sweet words.

It's good to have no sense of shame; you can say things that would get you banned from online gaming platforms without even realizing it.

Fortunately, Jiang Xi was unaware of this, and Shang Yuji quickly regained her composure, raising her hand to grab one of his ears: "I said no, and that means no. You can't talk like that in front of others, do you understand?"

Jiang Xi didn't go to help the bullied earlobe, but instead leaned against her neck and shoulder, gently rubbing against her: "I understand, then I won't lick it anymore, I want a hug, Aji, I want you to hug me."

Ah Ji's embrace was also fragrant and soft, and he liked it all.

In this position, Shang Yuji could only see his face, which was flushed from crying. The mole on his cheek seemed to have absorbed a lot of energy, making it appear even redder than usual, and even more captivating.

She hugged the person who had calmed down, and the two nestled together, their black hair intertwined, inseparable.

A note from the author:

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No flags were planted!

It won't end badly!

[Rainbow fart] Couples should give me sweet, loving happy endings.