Chapter Sixty-Nine

At that moment, Zhou Yanqing's breathing became erratic, and she lost her grip on the umbrella, which also fell to the ground.

The umbrella canopy and handle rolled a few times, then met another umbrella, the two handles resting together, nestled together like their owners.

Strangely, despite being soaked by the rain, neither of them felt cold. They tightened their arms around each other, as if trying to merge into one another.

Si Yanmo looked up and watched the rain run down the man's nose, and the impulse in her heart grew stronger.

"Zhou Yanqing, don't go..."

As she spoke, she stood on tiptoe and kissed the man's nose, trying to reach up to kiss his eye sockets, but she couldn't reach them.

The woman patted her husband's hand in a panic.

At this moment, Zhou Yanqing was almost unaware of what had happened. She was completely stunned, even forgetting to breathe, and did not understand the meaning of her actions.

She had no choice but to say, "Hold me, pick me up..."

Si Yanmo's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it was extremely pleasant to listen to, making one almost willing to go through fire and water for her.

Zhou Yanqing didn't even need to react; she instinctively followed her words and picked her up by the waist.

"Close your eyes," the woman whispered. Before he could react, a kiss landed on his brow.

After he obediently closed his eyes, she looked at his right eye and slid to his ear, saying, "Zhou Yanqing, I can't sleep."

Her voice was soft, with a coquettishness she didn't usually display, as if everything had returned to that night.

Zhou Yanqing opened her mouth, only to realize that she had forgotten how to make a sound, her voice hoarse, "I'll stay with you."

As if afraid of being too forward, he added, "Is that alright?"

Si Yanmo buried her head in his neck and nodded obediently.

His damp hair brushed gently against his neck, and the fire from the daytime returned.

He didn't care about anything else, he carried the person back to the room, not even having time to close the door.

He carried the person to the bed.

Just as he was about to lose control, the candlestick next to him was accidentally knocked over by the two of them.

He hurriedly stomped out the flames.

But at that moment, he suddenly remembered what Si Yanmo had said that morning.

She said she didn't like this feeling of being out of it.

And now? Is she lucid?

If she's not sober, will she regret it when she wakes up the next morning? Will she say things like she needs to keep her distance from him again?

Zhou Yanqing's heart sank once again. He asked, "Amo, are you awake now?"

Si Yanmo sat up and snuggled into his arms, her eyes glistening with what seemed like raindrops or lingering tears. "I feel so bad, Zhou Yanqing, can you help me? You must have a way."

He's definitely not thinking straight!

Zhou Yanqing shook her head helplessly and smiled bitterly.

If she were sober, why would she come looking for me? She would probably push me away like she did during the day, right?

He began to feel that it was unfair. Why did she not believe him when he liked her so much? She even thought that he was acting this way because of Ye Shengge.

And she herself, when the drug took effect, irresponsibly flirted with him, as if she could ignore her own heart and the intimacy between them just by using Ye Shengge's name.

Zhou Yanqing took a deep breath, and with a determined look, pushed the woman's hand away, saying as if in retaliation, "You're not sober right now."

Si Yanmo seemed to be awakened a little by those words, but her eyes were still filled with grievance. "But I can't sleep, I feel terrible."

“I’m even more upset, Amo…” He touched her cheek with a mixture of helplessness and heartache, his eyes filled with sorrow. “What do you take me for? Am I really just a tool? Amo, I have a heart, I’m sad.”

"I didn't..." Si Yanmo's voice grew weaker and weaker.

She was indeed not lucid enough to understand the sadness in the man's eyes.

"Besides you, I don't know who else will help me."

"But I don't want you to come to me only because you need my help..."

He almost dared not look Si Yanmo in the eye. He was the one who had asked the question, yet now he was the one who dared not hear the answer.

He received no reply for a long time, only a slender, white finger hooked around his ring finger.

"But I don't know what to do, can you teach me?"

Zhou Yanqing knew that what she was talking about was not love. She was already rejecting him, and even preferred to handle things herself.

He let out a heavy sigh, feeling helpless and aggrieved, yet also feeling that he had no right to be angry.

"Amo, what am I supposed to do with you?"

The candlelight was relit, dancing in the gentle breeze of her clothes. Zhou Yanqing held her in her arms, skillfully working with her tools, the fire within her burning within her too, yet unable to overcome the pain in her heart.

After an unknown amount of time, the person in his arms seemed to have regained some consciousness. He didn't care whether she was comfortable or not, and in a fit of pique, he let go of her, got up, casually wiped the water off his hands with a handkerchief, and sat down at the table without looking at her.

After the pleasure subsided, losing that tender comfort, Si Yanmo's heart seemed to suddenly plummet to the bottom.

She didn't quite understand this feeling, but she subconsciously looked at the person at the table.

"Are you angry?" she asked softly.

However, these words only made Zhou Yanqing feel even more frustrated, as if she had nowhere to vent her anger. Had she really ignored her earlier slump?

He lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "Amo, sometimes I really don't know if you're genuinely ignorant or just pretending? Were you like this in your past life too?"

Hearing about her past life from someone else for the first time, Si Yanmo was a little uncomfortable. She paused for a few seconds before asking, "What do you mean?"

Seeing that the woman still didn't understand what he meant, Zhou Yanqing had no choice but to stand up, walk to the bedside, squat down, and look at her with his eyes lowered by half a head.

"Didn't you marry Zhou Junsong in your past life? Was it the same for you and him?"

"You mean what just happened?"

"I'm asking if you're just as indifferent to him as you are to me? You're so enthusiastic when you need him, but when you don't, you have to tell me to calm down?" he said, sounding somewhat indignant, which made Si Yanmo feel a little guilty.

She couldn't help but think about her past and present lives, both bound by imperial decrees and strangers to each other. She and Zhou Yanqing seemed to have developed a greater understanding and openness, but the sincerity of their past lives had faded.

She sighed, "In my past life, I did dream of being with him for life."

"What did you say?" Zhou Yanqing's eyes turned cold.

He originally thought that someone as dense as Si Yanmo wouldn't develop feelings for anyone. After all, they had been together for so long, and he had practically laid his heart bare to her, yet she remained unmoved.

But now, she tells herself that she once thought of spending her life with someone else, and that she once had a sincere heart for another person.

These words were like the sharpest sword piercing Zhou Yanqing's heart. He didn't want to ask any more questions; he didn't want to hear the answer he didn't like.

"You...you go to sleep first, I'm going out for a bit." He practically fled.

"Wait!" Si Yanmo called out to him as he pushed open the door to leave, "Let me finish!"

"No need to say anything more!" he hurriedly interrupted, not wanting to hear any more.

"It's still raining outside!"

"It's nothing." He ran out, the rain falling on him, extinguishing the heat on his body and the burning fire in his heart.

The room suddenly felt empty, with only the pattering rain outside and Si Yanmo's own breathing remaining.

She knew she seemed to have done something wrong, but she didn't know how to explain it. She didn't even know how to view herself and Zhou Yanqing now.

Zhong Zihe once said that she was indeed a blockhead. In the past, when men flirted with her and expressed their love for her at He Chunlou, she would even ask them if they had sand in their eyes.

But Zhou Yanqing was different from others. She wasn't completely blind to his heart. How could she not feel anything when such a blazing flame burned around her?

She simply didn't know how to respond. In her past life, her relationship with Zhou Junsong was more like a responsibility, a helpless bond she formed, but that time left her with too many shadows.

She experienced the unpredictability and indifference of human nature for the first time there, and she also died there.

For her, marriage seemed to represent only a period of forced dependence and compromise, and an unexpected death.

That's why she never thought about feelings during her marriage to Zhou Yanqing.

They were originally allies, so why should they get involved with these people?

It now seems that Zhou Yanqing has forgotten their initial agreement.

And her?

She didn't know, she didn't like thinking about these things, and she even wanted to escape from them.

Si Yanmo lay on the bed, where the man's warmth still seemed to linger. She thought: If she couldn't control herself, then cutting her losses now might be the best course of action.

The moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, and when it tried to reappear, it was already daytime. It was replaced by sunlight and had to dim. What followed was the opening of the door and the woman's decision.

"Zhou Yanqing, let's... get a divorce."

Upon hearing this, not only was Zhou Yanqing, who was practicing martial arts, stunned, but Wu Guan, who had just walked over to ask the two if they wanted to have breakfast, was also stunned.

The man, sword in hand, took a few steps forward in disbelief and stood before her, his voice trembling slightly: "What did you say?"

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to make up her mind, and said, "I say let's get a divorce."

One sentence drained all the strength from Zhou Yanqing's body.

Is it because of that problem last night?

Could it be that she still can't forget Zhou Junsong?

Don't even mention it, even if you give me a chance?

Then why did she leave space for him and Si Yunyun at the palace banquet?

Zhou Yanqing wanted to question him, but couldn't open her mouth. Instinctively, a metallic taste rose in her throat.

Sure enough, before he could react, Wu Guanxian rushed over.

"Your Highness, blood..."

Wu Guan was so frightened that his legs trembled. He had only ever seen his master come back from the battlefield with minor injuries, never before had he vomited blood just because of a single sentence.

He quickly reached out to help her, but Zhou Yanqing pushed him away.

The man said angrily, "We agreed on a one-year period, and it hasn't been up yet. Does Master Mobo think you can just leave whenever you want?"

His words were sinister, yet his eyes betrayed a deep sorrow.

"I won't leave. I'm still your sorcerer. I said I'd save you, and I will. But we..."