Chapter 44 [VIP]
Chapter summary: I like it.
Yu Jing looked up and saw Xie Xuan, holding a large bouquet of red and white flowers, with two bunches of red fruit in his other hand, and a yellow oil paper-wrapped bag hooked on his pinky finger. He was already handsome, and with the flowers in his hands, the outline of his eyebrows and eyes was blurred behind the flowers, but it was precisely because of this that the youthful vitality of him was even more apparent.
"Xie Xuan!" Yu Jing called out with a smile when she saw Xie Xuan return. Because it hurt to speak loudly due to her injury, her voice was very soft.
Xie Xuan didn't answer, but instead ran towards Yu Jing carrying flowers and candies. When Xie Xuan reached her, Yu Jing smelled an exceptionally sweet floral fragrance. Before she knew it, the two strings of bright red candies were right in front of her.
"Here you go!" Xie Xuan said, his voice filled with excitement and joy, and a hint of pride.
Yu Jing reached out and took the candy Xie Xuan handed her, smiling as she asked, "Where did you get this?"
Xie Xuan was about to speak when Sun Jun spoke first: "Miss Guiyi, your husband is truly amazing. I originally thought that hunting two pheasants was already quite impressive. I never expected him to hunt a fire fox. He sold the fire fox for a good price, and then he asked me to take him to buy maltose. And here he is, at the place selling maltose, he saw some candy and stared at it blankly. I guessed he wanted to buy some for you. Your husband truly misses you dearly!"
Xie Xuan's ears turned slightly red, as if his secret had been exposed.
Sun Jun's words made Yu Jing feel a little embarrassed, since she and Xie Xuan were not husband and wife, yet people still misunderstood that they were in love.
Just as Sun Jun finished speaking, Li Yun came out of the kitchen, saw them, and said with a smile, "You're back."
Seeing the pheasant in Sun Jun's hand, he asked with some doubt, "What's wrong? Manager Zhang won't accept it?"
"No, we caught a lot today, so we thought we'd keep one to take home and make soup."
"That's great." Li Yun said as she walked over to Sun Jun and took the pheasant from him. "I picked some mushrooms this morning and I still have some left. I'll use them to make a pheasant stew. It'll be both delicious and nutritious."
"Guiyi, you should use more of this tonight so you can recover faster!" Li Yun said to Yu Jing immediately.
Yu Jing felt a warmth in her heart and replied with a smile, "Okay!"
“You wouldn’t believe it, Xie Xuan actually hunted a fire fox!” Sun Jun then followed Li Yun into the house, his tone quite proud.
"Really!" Li Yun asked in surprise, glancing back at Xie Xuan.
“Of course, why would I lie to you!” Sun Jun replied.
Xie Xuan stood next to Yu Jing, who shyly waved two strings of candy in front of him. Xie Xuan looked down at her.
"There are two skewers." Yu Jing only said this much, and Xie Xuan understood that she couldn't eat that many by herself, so she reached out and took a skewer from Yu Jing's hand.
After Xie Xuan took the candy, Yu Jing bit into one. The moment it entered her mouth, she was enveloped in a sweet taste. Biting into the fruit inside, a unique tartness wafted out, mixing with the sugar coating—it tasted wonderful. Xie Xuan didn't taste it, but instead secretly observed Yu Jing. The fruit was a bit large for her; one cheek was bulging, like the little squirrel he'd seen on the mountain earlier, munching on a pine cone. Thinking of this, Xie Xuan suddenly remembered the dream he'd had that morning. He swallowed hard and said to Yu Jing, "I've taken the flowers inside."
"Okay, sure," Yu Jing replied, completely unaware of Xie Xuan's thoughts.
Xie Xuan entered the kitchen. Li Yun was wiping mushrooms, and Sun Jun was killing pheasants. Xie Xuan carried flowers and took some candy with him. Thinking of something, he asked Li Yun, "Big sister, candy."
Li Yun glanced at the candy Xie Xuan was offering her and said with a smile, "You can have it. It was just for you to try. I've eaten too many of these mountain plums before, so I don't like them anymore."
Hearing Li Yun's words, Xie Xuan said nothing more, but pointed to the magnolia flower in his hand and asked, "That flower?"
"Put them in that wooden basin, I'll wash them later," Li Yun instructed, glancing at the flowers. Seeing Xie Xuan about to put the flowers in the basin, he suddenly remembered something, "Hey!"
Xie Xuan, puzzled, turned to look at Li Yun.
"Pick a pretty one and make a hairpin for your wife," Li Yun said, wiping the mushrooms. "Today I helped her out to sit, and since we didn't have a hairpin, I just grabbed a stick. I think that magnolia flower is quite nice. Your wife is beautiful; she'll look even more stunning with that flower in her hair!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Xuan lowered his eyes to look at the magnolia flowers he was holding, gently stroking the flower stem, and replied, "Okay."
Xie Xuan picked and chose for a while before finally selecting a magnolia flower with a relatively straight stem and half-open blossoms. He took the flower and went outside. Yu Jing, still eating candy, heard the noise and looked at Xie Xuan. For some reason, Xie Xuan suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of fear. It was a feeling he hadn't even experienced when facing a vast army.
"What's wrong?"
Yu Jing looked at Xie Xuan without speaking and asked.
"Oh, my elder sister told me to pick a magnolia flower to make a hairpin for the lady," Xie Xuan explained as he approached.
“Okay,” Yu Jing readily agreed.
Xie Xuan walked behind Yu Jing, still holding uneaten candies in his hand. Seeing that it was inconvenient for him to hold them, Yu Jing reached out to help him hold them.
Xie Xuan reached out and pulled the wooden stick from Yu Jing's hair. The cool, smooth, black hair fell down, nestling between Xie Xuan's fingers, a pleasantly cool and ticklish sensation. Xie Xuan carefully tied Yu Jing's hair up. It was his first time styling a woman's hair, and before he could even put on the magnolia flower, the bun had come undone.
Yu Jing sensed it and gently reassured her, "It's alright, take your time."
Xie Xuan finally managed to style his hair properly after three attempts, tucking the magnolia flower into his bun, where it stood gracefully. A section of Yu Jing's neck was exposed, snow-white and delicate like mutton-fat jade. Xie Xuan was lost in thought when he smelled a sweet scent. When he came to his senses, Yu Jing tilted her head slightly and handed him the candy in her hand.
Xie Xuan reached out and took it, when suddenly he heard Yu Jing ask, "Is it pretty?"
Xie Xuan paused for a moment, then said, "It's...beautiful." He then quickly walked towards the kitchen, saying, "I'm going to help in the kitchen."
Yu Jing watched Xie Xuan's flustered steps, wondering if he was trying to scare her by thinking she was the Empress Dowager, hence his strange reaction. But oh well, Xie Xuan had seen her in all sorts of disheveled state before, so she let it be.
Xie Xuan returned to the kitchen with the candy. Sun Jun was plucking chicken feathers, and Li Yun had already cleaned the mushrooms and was sitting in front of the stove starting a fire. Xie Xuan looked at Li Yun and said, "Big sister, let me start the fire."
Li Yun originally wanted to refuse, but he had promised Xie Xuan before, so he stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "Okay, then I'll go wash the magnolia flowers."
Xie Xuan sat down, glanced at the candy in his hand, and tentatively took a bite. The sweet taste filled his mouth. Xie Xuan didn't actually like sweets, but these candies were bought with money. In the past, it wouldn't have mattered, but the situation was different now.
Li Yun, washing the magnolia blossoms, asked with a smile, "Xie Xuan, I heard you say before that you and Gui Yi had only recently gotten married, is that right?"
"Hmm," Xie Xuan responded, wondering why Li Yun had suddenly brought this up.
“These magnolia flowers are meant to be given to someone you like. I hadn’t thought of that when I asked you to give them to someone earlier, but now it’s all come about by accident,” Li Yun said with a smile.
When Xie Xuan first heard the word "like," his heart skipped a beat. Only now did he belatedly realize that he seemed to have found the reason for his recent strange reactions.
Li Yun didn't hear Xie Xuan respond, so he turned to look at him. Xie Xuan was sitting in front of the stove, the firelight reflecting on his face, making him look very lively and vibrant.
"Yes," Xie Xuan replied, slightly lost in thought.
They couldn't stay here long. When they returned to the capital, she would be the high and mighty Empress Dowager, while he would be nothing more than a subject. Even if he liked her, what could he do? He couldn't even express his feelings to her face to face.
Seeing that Xie Xuan looked slightly disappointed, Li Yun remained silent.
Xie Xuan turned his gaze to the bright, intense flames burning in the stove. He slowly ate the candy in his hand; the candy in his mouth, perhaps because it had been bitten open, tasted terribly sour.
Yu Jing sat outside for a long time. It had been so long since she had come out, and the distant mountains, clouds, trees, and birds were all so fresh and interesting that she didn't feel tired even after sitting there all afternoon. The sky darkened almost in an instant, and a breeze picked up outside, making it a bit chilly.
Li Yun glanced at the sky outside and saw that it was getting quite dark. Remembering that Yu Jing was still sitting outside, he looked at Xie Xuan and said, "Xie Xuan, it's getting dark outside. Your wife is still outside. Help her in, and she can sit and eat with us in a little while."
"Okay." Xie Xuan replied, stood up and went outside.
The light and shadows were blurred, and Yu Jing sat quietly in the chair, as if she were immersed in the sky.
Xie Xuan wanted to call her, but after thinking about it, he swallowed the title and walked to Yu Jing's side, saying, "It's getting dark, let me help you inside."
Yu Jing nodded and replied, "Mm."
Xie Xuan walked to Yu Jing's left, and Yu Jing reached out and grabbed Xie Xuan's forearm. When those slender, white hands, as delicate as scallions, rested on Xie Xuan's arm, Xie Xuan suddenly remembered those hands from last night, which were just like that. He resisted the urge to think about it and carefully helped Yu Jing up. Yu Jing had an injury on her right chest and could only lean most of her weight on Xie Xuan.
Yu Jing asked somewhat shyly in a low voice, "Is it heavy?"
Xie Xuan quickly shook his head: "No."
Before even entering the kitchen, she could smell a delicious aroma. Even though Yu Jing had eaten a lot at noon, the smell still made her a little hungry.
Li Yun was frying magnolia flowers when he heard the noise. He glanced at Yu Jing and smiled, "It really suits her. A beautiful woman looks good in anything she wears."
Yu Jing felt a little embarrassed after being praised by Li Yun, and gave a shy smile.
Xie Xuan was right beside her, and her smile easily caught his eye. Even though he had thought things through clearly, he couldn't control his heartbeat.
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