She kisses my cheek, will you kiss me too?
He pronounced the short sentence with exceptional clarity and lingering tone, his voice a mixture of bitter self-deprecation and barely concealed expectation.
He looked down at her.
Her clear eyes, devoid of any lingering infatuation, shimmered and sparkled.
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Shen Suqing turned his face away in disappointment, no longer looking at her, and gazed wistfully at the red paper he had just hung on the treetop.
"...Never mind, just consider it me talking nonsense."
The wind was gentle, and so was their breathing. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the world, Zhan Xinjia suddenly tiptoed and cupped his face in her hands. Her lips lightly touched his cheek, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
She let go, opened her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly with tension, and even her breath became hot.
The little girl looked up, her pupils veiled in misty haze.
"I kissed you too, can you comfort me now?"
The young man stood frozen in place, his expression one of astonishment, his pupils trembling with disbelief.
The warm, soft touch that landed on his face still lingered with fragrance. His heart pounded rapidly, and the knuckles that had been clenching under his sleeves loosened and then tightened again. For a moment, he was at a loss for what to do.
A gentle breeze makes the red paper with tassels twirl on the treetops; the red background and black ink characters are written with sincere devotion and determination.
"I only wish that our hearts are one."
Shen Suqing stood there for a long time, and in the end, he only restrainedly raised his finger to brush a fallen leaf from her hair.
His face was as white as jade, but the tips of his ears were burning red, and his voice was becoming increasingly hoarse and husky.
"I don't want to be your ordinary friend, and I don't want to hear the word 'we're not familiar' from you again, whether it's a joke or something. I really... just hearing these words makes me sick."
Before meeting Azhi, Shen Suqing always thought that the idea that scholars were more sensitive and fragile was just a stereotype. At least he never took any bothersome matters to heart.
But only today did he realize that his mind was so fragile that even a joke could easily break him down, leaving him depressed and unhappy.
I was filled with fear and anxiety, but I didn't know who to talk to.
He tried his best to appear nonchalant and suppress his emotions, attempting to maintain a semblance of dignity in front of her so that she wouldn't take his affections for granted and stop bullying him with such malicious intent...
Even something as simple as this, he couldn't do at all.
Just thinking about it is driving me crazy.
how so……
Fu Shouan, who was acting as a wingman not far away, turned his back in disgust, covered his eyes, and let out two speechless "haha" sounds.
Holy crap, Chen, you look so worthless!
Naturally, no one paid any attention to Fu Shou'an.
Their clothes brushed against each other, and Zhan Xinjia took Chen Suqing's hand.
With a sly smile on her face and her eyes crinkling, she pulled the somewhat dazed-looking Lord Shen towards the front of the temple.
"Okay, okay, since we're already here, Mr. Shen, can you write a wishing fortune slip with me too?"
That's what she said, but when it came to actually putting pen to paper, Zhan Xinjia was a little conflicted.
I have so many wishes to make, I'm being too greedy. Which one should I write down?
May my parents enjoy good health!
She was full of confidence and was about to start writing when the young man snatched the red paper away with lightning speed after she had only written a few strokes.
Zhan Xinjia froze, looking up at him in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Shen Suqing remained silent and handed her a new sheet of paper.
Completely bewildered, Zhan Xinjia took the letter with suspicion.
Whatever, I won't write about that anymore. Let me change my wish. Hmm... I'll just write that I hope Yan Xiyue and Cui Wanzhao can both get what they want and be with the people they love, and that Qiao Qiao gets promoted and becomes rich!
Zhan Xinjia curled the corners of her mouth and picked up her pen again, but this time she had only written two words before the young man snatched it away.
She was stunned, holding her pen tightly and glaring at him angrily.
"What happened?"
Shen Suqing remained silent, his face growing even darker. He pursed his lips and silently handed her another new sheet of paper.
Zhan Xinjia: "..."
She hesitated for a moment, then wrote on it in a crooked and messy hand—
"To be with Lord Shen forever."
This time, the young man did not disturb her again, but instead secretly relaxed his brows and looked at the red paper with satisfaction.
Zhan Xinjia pouted, "Little Shen, you're such a stingy person."
Taking the red paper with the writing on it from her hand, the young man carefully dried the ink and hung it on the same tree branch as his red paper, as if it were a precious treasure. Under the bright sunlight, the tassels intertwined.
Shen Suqing smiled with delight, all the loneliness and desolation he had felt when he arrived vanished, leaving only a bright and cheerful mood.
"go home."
He took the little girl's hand and led her through the crowd, feeling exceptionally at peace.
I don't want to like something based on weighing the pros and cons.
I want my lover to love me like a madman.
——
Zhan Xinjia had been recovering from his injury for quite some time.
Of course, she wasn't idle during those two weeks; instead, she was thinking about how to help Yan Xiyue cut off her unwanted romantic advances.
With the tribute festival approaching, she finally came up with a terrible idea.
Because he was to enter the palace today, Shen Suqing had been busy since before dawn. After finishing his housework and making breakfast, he went to the side room and knocked on the door. He knocked for a long time, but there was no response from inside.
"Ah Zhi? I'm coming in."
Pushing open the door, the bedding on the bed was piled up haphazardly, but there was no one in sight.
He frowned deeply.
Where did she run off to so early in the morning?
"Master Xiao Shen!"
A familiar voice sounded from behind, startling Shen Suqing, who turned around.
A spirited young man stood under the eaves.
His long, jet-black hair was tied high into a ponytail with a crown, looking dashing and neat. He wore a coral-red, dark-colored robe with narrow sleeves and a round collar embroidered with eagles, with a snow-white inner robe collar underneath. The outer robe was decorated with gilded patterns, and a leather belt around his waist accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He also wore a pair of thin black boots.
Full of vigor and high spirits.
At that moment, this strange yet familiar young man was swaggering towards him.
"Master Xiao Shen?"
Upon hearing the voice again, Shen Suqing realized that the person standing in front of him was actually... Azhi?!
“Ah Zhi, you…”
"Oh, it's a long story~ There's no Ah Zhi today. I promised to do a small favor for our noble Princess Caixia, hehe... Today, my identity is Zhan Wending, a distant nephew of General Zhan!"
She smiled brightly.
This was a name she had come up with with great difficulty—a name that was both pretentious and cool.
"How about that? Isn't it cool?!"
"Really..."
Shen Suqing sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "This is ridiculous. But how did you get so tall...?"
He was unusually curious. Usually, the little girl looked malnourished, barely reaching his shoulder. Now, standing opposite each other, they looked almost the same height, which was unbelievable.
Zhan Xinjia waved his hand smugly, showing his pride.
"Disguising one's height is the most trivial, beginner-level skill in the art of disguise. Alright, Lord Shen, I have to go to the palace with my parents today, so I'll be going now!"
After saying hello, Zhan Xinjia turned to leave, but as soon as she turned around, the young man's hand landed on her shoulder.
Back in the kitchen, Shen Suqing wrapped several freshly steamed glutinous rice and salted egg yolk shumai in oil paper and handed them to her.
"breakfast."
"It smells so good!!"
Zhan Xinjia took the oil paper package and sniffed it with satisfaction.
She took a bite haphazardly, then crumpled the rest up again and casually stuffed it into her bosom, smiling and waving as she walked out.
"Ahem... Well then, see you later, Grand Tutor Shen."
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