Chapter 72 I Didn't Want You to Cry

Jing Qianheng changed into a frost-colored long robe and came out, while Jiang Zhishui held a tree branch and gestured with the big black chicken in the yard.

Seeing him come out, Jiang Zhishui threw away the tree branch, ran up to him excitedly, raised her eyebrows, and smiled slightly.

"Qianheng, Li Mo told me a lot about the past. Shall I tell you?"

Jiang Zhishui tried to take his hand, but he pulled his hand back, leaving her with empty air. She looked up at him in surprise, then silently rubbed her hands together, giving up the idea of ​​taking advantage of him.

The big black chicken and the white fox stood side by side, their four eyes fixed on the scene where Jiang Zhishui was rejected when she tried to touch his hand.

"You bought the sugar figurine, why didn't you say so? The herbs too, why didn't anyone say that you went through so much trouble to find that magical herb? And... I misunderstood you, but you didn't explain. Do you know how angry I was? I was scolded by you for no reason, I thought you were..."

Jing Qianheng paused in his steps.

Jiang Zhishui's incessant chatter abruptly stopped, and she even took two steps back. After standing still for a moment, Jing Qianheng stepped deeper into the woods. The woods were quiet, but restless sounds came from behind him again.

"Now that I think about it, the reason you were willing to come out with me back then wasn't because of Senior Sister Liu. I racked my brains to come up with excuses every time, afraid that you wouldn't believe me. It seems that you knew I was lying to you every time, but you were still willing to be lied to by me."

"You like being with me, right? Then why are you always pouting? Are you shy?"

"So... that time I accidentally fell into the cave, you liked me back then, so I didn't mean to bully you, right?" Jiang Zhishui peeked at the person in front of her who was walking straight ahead, wondering why he wasn't reacting. She continued, "When I told you to pretend it never happened, were you furious and thought I was playing with you?"

Jing Qianheng climbed up the hillside, his breath unsteady. He leaned on a tree trunk, his cheeks flushed. He had his back to Jiang Zhishui, his other hand clenched into a fist. Jiang Zhishui looked up at him and analyzed to herself, "From your perspective, I am indeed very thick-skinned."

The two walked along a path, and Jing Qianheng bent down to pick a few small red berries—the kind Jiang Zhishui had mentioned were delicious. A slight smile played on his lips, but a shadow suddenly fell over his eyes. Jiang Zhishui squatted beside him, watching him pick the berries. "I've always wanted to tell you this," she said, "that although I wasn't fully conscious at the time, I... I did feel something. You kissed me many times. It wasn't me who asked you; you kissed me on your own initiative, and your hand was..."

As Jiang Zhishui recalled these past events, the memories became more vivid. Things that she couldn't remember before suddenly became very clear. Her ears turned red, and she muttered, "I can't say it out loud, but you know it in your heart anyway."

Jing Qianheng dropped all the fruit in his hand. His eyes were fixed on the red fruit scattered on the ground. His fingers trembled slightly as he tried to calmly pick up the fruit, but the person squatting beside him reached out and picked it up for him.

A pair of fair and delicate hands presented him with a bright red fruit, but Jing Qianheng refused to take it. He straightened up and, unable to contain himself any longer, said, "Can you please shut up!"

Jiang Zhishui pulled her outstretched hand back. She had been talking the whole way, and Jing Qianheng had let her talk without responding much. The more she talked, the less she could stop, and the less restraint she became. Now that she had quieted down, she looked down at the fruit in her palm and realized that it was the fruit Jing Qianheng had picked for her earlier, which she had praised as delicious.

Jing Qianheng's carefully composed state of mind was completely thrown into disarray by her unreasonable nagging. He didn't even know where his anger came from, "Go back, don't follow me!"

Jiang Zhishui noticed that his flushed complexion was somewhat better than when he was furious; otherwise, he would have had a perpetually cold and lifeless face. Holding the fruit, she approached him, seemingly oblivious to the danger, and said, "One minute you're telling me to shut up, the next you're telling me to leave. How can you be so unreasonable? You were allowed to criticize me before, but you're not allowed to now? Do you think I don't remember and can get away with it...? Qianheng, I remember how nervous you were back then. You were trembling too, and when I cried out in pain, you panicked terribly..."

Jing Qianheng turned around, ignoring her, and used magic to seal her mouth with a leaf.

Jiang Zhishui whimpered a few times and then stopped. She knew that if she didn't stop soon, she would go too far.

Seeing that she had suddenly calmed down, Jing Qianheng became even more uneasy. He watched her warily as she went to the stream to wash the fruit. When she came back, she took a fruit and tried to feed it to Jing Qianheng. Jing Qianheng stared at her blankly for a while, then angrily took the fruit she gave him and turned to leave.

Back at the cabin, the big black chicken was gone. Jing Qianheng wasn't worried. He just said that Li Mo was unwilling to give up and was unwilling to spend the last few months in this chicken body. He wanted to find a way to escape on his own.

Jiang Zhishui took some fruit to give to the white fox. The white fox had been outwitting the big black chicken all day. Taking advantage of the big black chicken's absence, it nestled in a corner and slept soundly, refusing to wake up no matter how much she poked it.

Jing Qianheng didn't do anything, but suddenly felt very tired. He went back to his room and wanted to rest early.

As soon as he lay down, he heard a cracking sound. He immediately got up and went to Jiang Zhishui's room to check.

He knocked on the door and waited for a while, but there was no response from inside. In a hurry, he broke down the door and went in. He found Jiang Zhishui sitting calmly on the bed, wearing an apricot-colored nightgown.

Her long hair hung down, the strands slightly damp and cool, and the room was filled with a faint fragrance, the scent of flowers left after she had just washed up.

When Jing Qianheng saw the broken teacup under the table, he breathed a sigh of relief. After calming down, he felt sorry for barging in without permission. He lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, I thought something had happened to you."

He hesitated for a moment before raising his eyes to look at Jiang Zhishui on the bed. She pointed to her mouth, and Jing Qianheng's eyes widened. He then remembered that he had been using leaves to silence her and hadn't yet untied them.

Jing Qianheng hurriedly raised his hand to cast a spell to lift the seal, and a leaf drifted to the ground. His voice was low and hoarse: "I...I didn't mean to."

Ever since Jiang Zhishui was brought to this small house, Jing Qianheng's behavior has been contradictory. He was the one who imprisoned her, yet he was the one who was bound, trying to please her in everything, approaching her cautiously, and always keeping his distance, afraid of upsetting her.

"It's nothing. I just said some things I shouldn't have, and I apologize for bothering you." Jiang Zhishui touched her chin and moved her stiff lips. "Qianheng, could you get me a glass of water?"

Jiang Zhishui sat on the bed, her hands supporting her on the edge, looking up at Jing Qianheng not far away. In the candlelight, she had a serene smile on her face. She was perfectly capable of walking, but she couldn't move an inch and had to have someone pour her water.

Jing Qianheng looked away, turned around and took a step, but stopped abruptly. His hands and feet disobeyed him, but he still poured her water and walked towards her.

He handed her the water, glancing at the slightly ajar window. Just as he was about to close it, he felt a warmth on his hand. He turned to see Jiang Zhishui taking the cup and taking his hand. He tried to pull away, but she gripped it tightly, causing the cup to tip over and spill water all over the bed. Jing Qianheng frowned as he looked at her soaked dress and asked, "What... what are you trying to do?"

Jiang Zhishui said innocently, "I didn't mean to do anything... How come you have so many small cuts on your hands? How did you get them?"

Jiang Zhishui carefully examined the several cuts on his hand, then suddenly realized something. "These were... cuts you made when you were learning to cook? I was wondering why you were always in the kitchen for so long. I thought... you were deliberately keeping me occupied..."

Jing Qianheng withdrew his hand, his eyes fixed on the hem of her skirt.

Jing Qianheng said in a low voice, "Your clothes are wet."

Jiang Zhishui glanced down and said nonchalantly, "It's nothing, just a little bit. Don't put so much effort into it next time. It's not like I have to eat it. Forget it, don't make it anymore."

Jing Qianheng said unhappily, "Don't you like to eat this?"

Jiang Zhishui originally planned to provoke him into submission. He had already relaxed somewhat during the day, and she thought that by then Jing Qianheng should have calmed down.

Seeing how much care he had taken for her these past few days, Jiang Zhishui suddenly felt guilty, as if she shouldn't treat him so casually. She stood up and shook her skirt, which was thin and slightly sloping at her shoulders and neck. Jiang Zhishui casually pulled it back straight and looked up with a smile, "Then... I'll help you cook next time, like chopping vegetables and stuff."

The moment Jiang Zhishui met his gaze, the hand that was fiddling with her skirt froze. Her fingers curled slightly, and her chest rose and fell gently. The atmosphere instantly became awkward. She unconsciously lowered her voice and stammered, "I...I'm pretty good with a knife. I've peeled radishes, and bamboo...um..."

The next moment, Jing Qianheng kissed him.

She was pushed onto the bed, and as their kiss reached its most passionate and tender moment, he suddenly pulled away, pinning her wrists down beneath him. Their breaths mingled, their bodies steaming. Jiang Zhishui saw the intense desire in his eyes. He closed his eyes, and the wrists he had raised above his head were suddenly released. Jing Qianheng got up to escape, but Jiang Zhishui swiftly grabbed his sleeve.

Grabbing him was an instinctive act, but Jiang Zhishui regretted it immediately afterward.

A cool night breeze stirred, causing the slightly open window to creak open. Jiang Zhishui trembled slightly as Jing Qianheng leaned down and embraced her, kissing her tenderly, seemingly unaffected by their surroundings.

Jiang Zhishui's attention was drawn to the sound of the window swaying, and she began to get a little distracted. Thinking about what Aunt Wu had said, she unconsciously hugged Jing Qianheng back.

She felt inexplicably happy, as if all the thorny problems had a good start.

No matter how difficult the problem, there's always a solution.

Her slightly upturned lips suddenly froze, her brow furrowed, and her scattered thoughts snapped back to reality. She abruptly opened her eyes, grabbing at the clothes that had been pulled off, but found nothing. Her voice trembled as she said, "No..."

Jing Qianheng gripped her sash, his eyes lowered, his body stiffening as if startled by her word "no." He struggled to steady his breathing and asked in a low voice, "Wh-what?"

Jiang Zhishui slightly raised her chin, her breathing erratic, and she couldn't speak clearly: "Please don't do that anymore, I'll start acting very strange..."

She was still shaken by the incident. She couldn't understand why Jing Qianheng gave off such a stark contrast: a serene and detached air, yet a completely different demeanor in bed.

Jiang Zhishui clutched half of her skirt, seeing his troubled and helpless expression, she gritted her teeth and said, "Alright, I won't say anything more. Do as you please. I... I won't say anything more."

Jing Qianheng recalled the booklet he had seen before, and he thought that she might not have liked the way she did last time.

He hesitated slightly, his eyes darting around as he pondered for a moment before getting up.

The wind blew the window open wider, letting in a chill that made Jiang Zhishui's hair stand on end.

"Why...why is this...?" Jiang Zhishui's pupils trembled, her voice broken, unable to finish her sentence: "Why...why...don't you!"

Leaves drifted down in the courtyard, fluttering and dancing, a few carried lightly through the wind into the window and landing on the floor inside the house.

Jing Qianheng kissed her lips, propped himself up to look at her. Her eyes were watery, and she looked slightly startled, staring at him blankly.

He knew how out of control he would be when he was with her. During that time in the cave, he had several scratches on his back, some deep and some shallow. She clung to him purely out of survival instinct, and even though that experience had been painful for her, she couldn't let go of him.

It was only after that incident that Jing Qianheng realized he wasn't as calm and composed as he thought. He had believed he could watch her from afar, to like her, and that he only wanted to see her from a distance, never expecting anything in return. The moment he touched her, he went mad. It would have been better if he hadn't gotten her; once he did, he was hooked and could never forget her.

Jiang Zhishui thought that he had been overly cautious these past few days. She originally thought that he would not be too presumptuous, but who would have thought that when he avoided her like the plague, he was so polite, but once he was indulged, he would be as uncontrollable as a wild horse.

The candle was blown out by the wind. Jing Qianheng got out of bed, closed the annoying window, walked back to the bedside, reached out and wiped away the tears from Jiang Zhishui's eyes, and said insincerely, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry."

Jiang Zhishui's gaze was fixed on his cold, strong fingers—long, powerful, elegant, and beautiful. What was he thinking, using his hands...?

As she stared at it, Jiang Zhishui couldn't help but shudder.