Chapter 991 Aqing's Vulnerable Side [Happy National Day, please vote with double monthly tickets!]

The air in the bathroom was quiet for a moment.

Ouyang Rong heard a girl's sweet, nasal voice burying her face in his chest:

“Brother, actually, Aqing isn’t that afraid of thunder, it’s just that dream… that dream… they came together, and Aqing doesn’t even know if she was woken up by a nightmare or by the thunder… When she woke up, she was scared and wanted to go find you… She thought you hadn’t returned yet, but then she saw your bamboo tube on the table, and the long robe she had folded for you was gone…”

Aqing's sobs subsided somewhat, and she began to mutter incoherently, which Ouyang Rong listened to patiently.

However, when he heard her mention the long robe, his expression became somewhat troubled. The robe was already blocking the two of them, and Ouyang Rong had only managed to put on one sleeve, not even fully dressed, as it had already been soaked by the bathwater.

Ah Qing seemed unaware of this. After she finished speaking, her tone was somewhat guilty as she asked softly:

"Brother, did Ah Qing scare you? Did she let you get it? Ah Qing isn't usually like this, she's not such an inconsiderate person..."

The girl asked this question, but she did not break free from Ouyang Rong's embrace; instead, she held on even tighter.

Ouyang Rong shook his head:

"No, you did nothing wrong. It's your brother who's at fault for not thinking of this sooner. I didn't know you were so afraid of thunder. I should have known earlier. It was my oversight... I haven't been paying enough attention to you."

He gripped her shoulders tighter.

Aqing calmed down in her brother's arms, tilting her head slightly as if she wanted to see his expression at that moment.

Unfortunately, their current posture and the surrounding environment did not allow it, and she vaguely did not want to end this state.

After a moment, she asked softly:

"Brother, don't you always carry the bamboo tube with you? Why did you leave it in the main house when you took a bath..."

Ouyang Rong didn't say anything, but A Qing had already guessed it.

She lowered her head, feeling both joy and embarrassment.

“Brother doesn’t not care about Aqing; he’s just subconsciously protecting her…”

Ouyang Rong raised his hand and rubbed her little head, murmuring:

“Ah Qing, why do you think about so many things every day? It must be exhausting… Sometimes I think, maybe I shouldn’t have brought you to Jianze. It’s too tiring for you.”

"No, I'm not tired."

To everyone's surprise, the girl in his arms immediately shook her head, eagerly correcting him:

"Brother, Qing likes this kind of life now. It's very, very good..."

She lowered her eyes and said slowly:

"Of course, the main reason is to be able to follow my brother and help him. I used to dream of being by my brother's side and helping him."

"It's a pity that my brother was too busy before, living far away in Xunyang. With Sister Xie and Miss Ye around, he didn't lack people to take care of him, so he didn't need Aqing..."

Ouyang Rong frowned slightly and tapped her forehead with his finger:

"What do you mean by 'not useful'? There's no such thing as 'useful' or 'not useful.' Ah Qing should have told her brother in the letter back then, and her brother would have picked you up directly so you could keep Auntie company. She really likes you..."

His eyes held a hint of reminiscence, and his tone was filled with emotion: "Besides, I thought at the time that Aqing was reluctant to leave Longcheng County, the place where she was born and raised, and couldn't bear to separate you from your mother, so she never mentioned it, only thinking about finding you a good home in the future..."

Ah Qing suddenly interrupted:

"Brother."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

The pretty young girl tilted her head slightly, as if smiling faintly in the darkness as she asked him:

"Isn't Ah Qing a good match now?"

Ouyang Rong was stunned.

After a moment's thought, he asked:

"Does Aqing like Yunmeng Sword Marsh, and does she like this life in the Queen's Palace, practicing swordsmanship with Lady Zhishuang?"

Aqing nodded, then shook her head, and said again:

Not entirely.

Ouyang Rong looked thoughtful and said:

"So you're saying that Aqing likes living like this now?"

"Um."

After a pause, Aqing added in a low voice:

"If I can reach the seventh rank, I hope my master can let Ah Qing come back every day and not be too strict with her. It would be even better if she could take care of my brother."

Ouyang Rong was speechless, and said softly:

"He's only at the eighth rank, take it slow."

Aqing stubbornly insisted, "Time waits for no one."

Ouyang Rong nodded.

The atmosphere between the two remained quiet for a moment.

The thunder outside seemed to have disappeared, and we waited for a long time without hearing it again.

But then Ouyang Rong heard the clear sound of a wooden fish in his ear.

It goes without saying who can repay the merit at this moment.

He couldn't help but glance at the pretty young girl in his arms.

It feels like this little girl is trending towards becoming his "merit gift package".

Ouyang Rong shook his head, assuming it was simply a natural dependence on her older brother, a habit she'd had since childhood.

The thunderstorm outside had subsided, and the thunder had stopped.

Ouyang Rong loosened his arms from holding A Qing and stopped protecting her. However, A Qing, perhaps asleep, still clung to Ouyang Rong with both arms and wouldn't let go, as if she hadn't heard the commotion outside.

Ouyang Rong's expression suggested he wanted to say something but hesitated.

There were some things that he, as the elder brother, couldn't say directly, but fortunately, there was a long robe between the two of them.

Ouyang Rong didn't deliberately try to feel any inappropriate softness through the thin fabric; he simply called out:

“Aqing.”

Ah Qing in my arms was quiet for a moment before responding with a nasal sound:

"Um?"

Ouyang Rong said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Um... how about we go back inside first? If you're still scared, then don't go out yet. Turn your back to me, and wait a bit, brother, then you can get dressed, okay?"

Ah Qing tilted her head slightly, as if she was thinking about her brother's words.

Just as Ouyang Rong was feeling somewhat uneasy and wanted to explain further, Aqing suddenly seemed to have a sudden realization and said:

"Oh, so you were shy, brother. Why didn't you say so sooner..."

Her tone was playful, as if she were scolding someone.

Ouyang Rong's face turned even redder, somewhat embarrassed.

However, after a while, he changed his mind and came to his senses.

No, how could I be verbally teased by a little girl who hasn't even grown up yet? Is that right?

Ouyang Rong immediately put on a stern face, displaying some of the authority of an elder brother:

"Alright, listen to me, turn your back. No joking around, be serious."

Actually, what Miao Si said in the closet not long ago made a lot of sense: the eldest brother is like a father, and he does have a lot of authority. In this era, the eldest brother can decide the most important things in A-mei's life. If someone wants to marry A-mei, they must get the eldest brother's approval. In a family where the father is not present, this is equivalent to a second father-in-law, and he must be treated with utmost seriousness...

"I know, brother."

Aqing seemed to suppress her smile and replied with a bite of her lip.

Despite teasing her brother, Aqing had almost never disobeyed Ouyang Rong's words.

The girl in the nightgown released her arms, and in the darkness, Ouyang Rong breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, as Aqing turned around, she asked again:

"Brother, would you like to change into something else? Do you need my help?"

Ouyang Rong was speechless upon hearing this.

He could guess the curious look on the little girl's face without even looking at her.

Ouyang Rong said irritably, "No need, it's enough. We'll talk about it when we get back inside. You should turn your back to me."

Aqing nodded with a slightly naive charm:

"Oh, I've turned around. Brother, go ahead and get dressed. Don't be so polite with your sister."

Polite my foot.

Ouyang Rong, who was putting his robe back on, had a few black lines on his forehead and was too lazy to complain about this girl.

We don't know who she learned it from, so we can rule him out first.

It's probably Miaosi who led them astray; it seems we should limit their time together in the future.

Ouyang Rong thought to himself.

Soon, Ouyang Rong finished putting on his robe, and A Qing also left the bathroom.

The rain outside had lessened considerably, and the thunder in the dark clouds had died down, as if it had never been there.

A short while later, Ouyang Rong brought A Qing back to the main house.

The sound of Miaosi snoring away came from inside the wardrobe. There was thunder outside just now, and the little Mo Jing was still sleeping so soundly. She was like a dead pig that didn't care about boiling water.

It seems that Miao Si still felt the environment was too safe in the past, and that he handled everything, as if she could rest easy as long as he was there.

On the other side, Aqing, who was preparing to take off her shoes and get into bed, saw Ouyang Rong timidly tidying up the bedding on the floor and said:

"Brother, the floor is cold, you'll easily catch a cold. Brother, don't sleep on the floor, come and sleep here instead. We can have two blankets, each of us can sleep in half..."

Ouyang Rong carried his things to the desk, shaking his head as he said:

"It's alright, brother. He won't sleep on the floor. He'll just make do with the desk for the night. He'll sleep on the stool with blankets, so he won't catch a cold."

"oh."

Aqing's voice sounded somewhat downcast.

Ouyang Rong asked, "What's wrong with Aqing?"

"Brother...it's nothing."

She gently shook her head.

Ouyang Rong, who was spreading out a quilt by the desk, turned his head and saw that the silhouette of the girl on the bed was curled up, as if she was sitting on the bed with her knees drawn up and her face down.

Ouyang Rong fell silent for a moment, his hands stopping their movements.

On the other side, Ah Qing, who was hugging her knees and burying her head, suddenly felt something warm on her head. It was a warm, gentle hand covering and rubbing her head.

"Ah... Brother."

"No need to get up, sit down."

Ouyang Rong gestured for A Qing to remain seated, and he sat down on the bed as well, asking her softly:

Are you still scared?

Ah Qing's gaze shifted: "Hmm..."

Ouyang Rong sighed softly.

Lei Yu has already heard this. Since he's not afraid of thunder, then he must be afraid of something else.

Aqing asked in a low voice:

“Brother, is Ah Qing a nuisance to you? Ah Qing isn’t usually like this.”

Ouyang Rong gently shook his head: "No, I just feel more guilty."

Aqing hesitated, then Ouyang Rong turned and asked:

"Was it that nightmare?"

Aqing paused for a moment, then lowered her head.

Ouyang Rong continued softly:

What exactly did you dream about?

Ah Qing shook her head and murmured:

"It's nothing, just some things that don't exist."

Ouyang Rong continued, "Is it related to my brother?"

Aqing bit her lip, remaining silent but not denying it either.

Ouyang Rong immediately fell silent.

Aqing forced a smile, as if nothing had happened, and spoke in a soft tone:

"Brother, could you stay with your sister for a while? Wait until she falls asleep before you leave... Hmm, I'm afraid I'll disturb your rest."

"How could that be?"

Ouyang Rong immediately shook his head, then got onto the bed and sat on the outermost berth, leaning his back against the headboard.

"Then you can sleep on your brother's lap."

After Ouyang Rong sat down, he patted his thigh as a gesture.

Aqing was taken aback, perhaps not expecting Ouyang Rong to take the initiative to make such an intimate gesture.

The girl's face flushed slightly, like a peach blossom blooming late in the mountain temple in April, arriving late yet exceptionally beautiful.

Ouyang Rong rubbed her head:

"If you're used to sleeping alone, that's fine. I'll bring a chair and stay by your bedside..."

Aqing immediately said:

No, I want it.

Before Ouyang Rong could react, A Qing had already lay down, her head comfortably resting on Ouyang Rong's lap.

Ouyang Rong felt his thighs were a little heavy. Aqing's posture was the same as when he was half asleep on her lap yesterday evening.

The roles of the brother and sister were reversed.

Although the lights were off, Ouyang Rong could still see the undisguised smile on A Qing's face.

"Stop grinning like an idiot, go to sleep."

Ouyang Rong said helplessly, and then, as if he felt it wasn't right to leave his hands empty, he tried to massage A Qing's temples.

The slender girl stretched out a big yawn, her narrow eyes squinting, just like a cat taking a comfortable nap.

However, this languid, reclining posture, when she stretched, also revealed her slender, mature body curves, especially her full breasts, which were quite large, and she was only wearing a thin nightgown... In fact, Ouyang Rong had already vaguely sensed something when A Qing rushed into his arms in the bathhouse, but he was not sure, or rather, he did not want to think in that direction.

But at this moment, Ouyang Rong, sitting in the back, could see this fair-skinned scenery from the side from this angle. It was exactly what they meant by "a mountain range seen from the side, a peak seen from the front".

Although there were no lights, the light on the tatami was dim, and the scenery was only halfway up the mountain, some of the snow-white snow could penetrate the darkness and go straight to people's hearts.

He could only blame himself for being too observant. Ouyang Rong snapped out of his daze and immediately lowered his eyes, though he also felt a slight pang of reproach for his lazy sister on his lap. Why was she stretching in her nightgown without being careful around her brother?

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[PS: It's National Day again. It's been two years and nine months since I started writing "Junzi". It has 4.08 million words. According to the outline that Xiao Rong has planned, "Junzi" will have a long journey ahead. I hope to spend it with everyone who is willing to wait.]

Over the past two years, Xiao Rong's biggest takeaway is that everything has its ups and downs. This applies to the body, inspiration, and work. Just like waves, there are high and low times. No one can stay on the crest of the wave forever; that goes against the laws of physics.

The true way of this world is that flames will fade and things will increase in entropy. Trying to reverse it with strong willpower is going against the natural order. The best way is to go with it. You can reverse small trends, but you must go with the big trend. Patiently wait for the waves to fall and rise up in that magnificent arc again.

In his recent spare time, Xiao Rong has been studying the Ten Gods, flipping through the Book of Changes, and particularly loves one line: "Nine in the third place: A superior man is active all day long, and vigilant at night, and will be without blame."

That's well said. I'd like to share it with everyone. Finally, I wish you all a happy National Day holiday, and may our motherland prosper and flourish. That's all.

(End of this chapter)