Betrothal
After an awkward meal, Gu Zeyu made an excuse that it was getting late and wanted to stay overnight. Since he had said so, Zhao Youyi couldn't refuse, since he didn't need another tent.
Chu Chanyin tugged at Zhao Youyi's sleeve and asked her in a low voice, "Where will I stay, A-Wan?"
Seeing that Gu Zeyu had already walked away, Zhao Youyi approached him and deliberately teased, "Why don't you stay with me, Brother Huai Cong?"
Faced with such a huge temptation, Chu Chanyin blushed and was somewhat at a loss. He could only stammer, "This...this is not good, after all, men and women should not touch each other. Although...although we are cousins, this is still not appropriate."
Zhao Youyi stood on tiptoe, reached out and gently pinched his nose, her gesture affectionate: "Just kidding, my bed is too small for you."
Seeing her say that, Chu Chanyin refused: "Actually, I can also sleep on the floor in my cousin's tent."
"That won't do. Aren't you afraid I'll climb into your bed?" Zhao Youyi moved even closer to him.
Chu Chanyin turned his head, exposing his bright red ears to her. "My cousin wouldn't do that."
Zhao Youyi felt that Chu Chanyin always had a mysterious confidence in her, and she really couldn't resist it.
"Zhao Shimei." Gu Zeyu, who had returned, was somewhat surprised to see the two so intimately together and subconsciously asked, "What are you doing?"
Facing Gu Zeyu, he became more assertive, putting his arm around Zhao Youyi's waist and replying, "What does this have to do with Young Master Chi?"
Gu Zeyu stared at the scene before her in disbelief, then turned to Zhao Youyi: "Sister Zhao, what does His Highness the Prince of Chu mean by that?"
Zhao Youyi was about to say something when Chu Chanyin stopped him with a look.
Hey, someone's suddenly become domineering.
Zhao Youyi looked at Chu Chanyin with great interest. Seeing that he looked like a little fox with its teeth bared, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She reached out and quietly patted his back, signaling him to tone it down.
Chu Chanyin exchanged a glance with her and saw that her eyes were full of doting affection, which immediately put his mind at ease.
Compared to Gu Zeyu, whose identity is unknown, Awan still prefers him and trusts him more.
"It's getting late, Brother Gu, you should go and rest." Zhao Youyi avoided answering.
Upon hearing this, Gu Zeyu glared at Chu Chanyin, then turned and left without saying a word.
Zhao Youyi pulled Chu Chanyin into his tent, and the two sat facing each other. The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
"Was Brother Huai Cong jealous just now?" Zhao Youyi tilted her head and asked him, feigning curiosity.
Chu Chan lowered his head, revealing his bright red ears.
Seeing his silence, Zhao Youyi pressed on, "Is it or isn't it?"
Chu Chanyin didn't look at her, which only made her more curious. The distance between them kept closing. Chu Chanyin subconsciously turned his head, and their eyes met. Their lips were only inches apart.
Chu Chanyin's tender, peach-blossom eyes held pain and resentment.
Chu Chanyin took her hand and placed it next to his face, rubbing it against her like a fluffy puppy.
Zhao Youyi watched his sudden action without saying a word.
“Jealousy and hatred can make a person ugly, and I’m sinking deeper and deeper. I’ve even started to envy him for having seen you, whom I’ve never seen, and I even want to have a future with you, even the rest of my life.” Chu Chanyin laughed self-deprecatingly, his eyes filled with pain. “What can I give you? What do I have that would make you want to stay? I don’t know, but I still crave your favor.”
“Brother Huai Cong,” Zhao Youyi felt as if a thousand blades were piercing her heart when she saw him in such pain. She stepped forward, took his hand, and placed it on her heart. “Don’t say that, and don’t think that way. I don’t need anything from you. I just want you. You are enough.”
Chu Chanyin's tears rolled down, landing precisely on the softest spot in her heart.
"So, do you really like me?" Chu Chanyin's tears were about to fall, as if veiled by a layer of mist, his gaze fixed on her. "Not the kind of liking based on pity, not the kind based on coercion, is it really true?"
Zhao Youyi leaned in and pressed her forehead against his, answering earnestly, "I like you, I like you very seriously, I like you wholeheartedly, and I only love you."
Chu Chanyin's tears fell in a stream, sliding down to the corners of his lips. Zhao Youyi gently leaned over and kissed those soft lips, the salty tears mingling with their breaths.
When the kiss ended, both of them were a little out of breath, their faces flushed as they looked at each other, then looked away the instant their eyes met.
So innocent, so naive.
"Stay and sleep with me tonight," Zhao Youyi whispered, hooking her little finger around his.
Chu Chanyin nodded happily, not daring to look at her.
Since they had just finished dinner, neither of them could sleep. Zhao Youyi suggested taking a walk in the nearby bamboo forest, and Chu Chanyin naturally had no reason to refuse.
The two walked together, their shadows gradually closing in distance, until finally they held hands through the wide sleeves of their clothes, feeling each other's warmth, as if they were melting.
Chu Chanyin carried a lantern to light the way for her. Because of what had just happened, the two of them were a little embarrassed and remained silent the whole way. Zhao Youyi kept drawing circles in his palm with her fingers. Chu Chanyin turned his head to look at her, not understanding why.
Zhao Youyi mouthed "fun".
Chu Chanyin really wanted to reach out and flick her nose, but both his hands were busy, so he could only smile helplessly at her.
Upon reaching the bamboo forest, both of them stopped. Chu Chanyin noticed a white figure flash by in the distance, and he raised an eyebrow with interest.
Zhao Youyi stared at his rosy lips, her thoughts drifting away: "What are you looking at?"
Chu Chanyin did not answer her. The lovers who had just confessed their feelings were already sparking with each other, and they could be ignited without a fuse.
The wind rustled through the bamboo forest, their eyes met, and Zhao Youyi tilted her head slightly, wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him close, and kissed his soft lips.
It was a feeling that was hard to describe, like a feather gently brushing against the tip of the heart, making one want to search for its trace, and the more one could not find it, the more anxious and restless one became.
Their breaths mingled as they parted, and Chu Chanyin's voice was low and chuckled: "What should we do? It seems like someone saw us."
"What are you pretending for? Didn't you already find out?" Zhao Youyi bit his lip.
"You are too," Chu Chanyin retorted.
Standing not far away, Gu Zeyu, carrying a rabbit lantern, looked dazed, clutching the lantern tightly as if afraid of making the slightest noise. On the way, he overheard people in the Chu army camp gossiping that the prince and princess had always slept in separate beds in the mansion. Observing the two of them together this time, Chu Chanyin's behavior and speech were polite and restrained, so he mistakenly thought that the two were a fake couple.
Unexpectedly... watching the two kissing in the distance, he burst into tears. He remembered that they had once strolled through a lantern festival together when they were young. Gu Qiyu dragged Zhao Youyi to buy lanterns. The rabbit lantern that Zhao Youyi picked out at first glance was bought by someone else for a lot of money. She looked disappointed. A few days later, he used the excuse of making a lantern for Gu Qiyu and also made one for her as well, and gave her the rabbit lantern that he had made himself.
She politely thanked him, carefully put the item away, and later gave him an expensive piece of calligraphy and painting in return.
He assumed she was interested in him too.
Seeing this, Gu Zeyu didn't have the courage to look any further, so he tiptoed away and turned to leave.
His every step was both extremely light and extremely heavy, as if he were wearing shackles on his back—the love that had bound him for more than ten years, a love that he could not express or explain.
Salty tears streamed down his cheeks, and he tasted the bitterness. He looked up at the not-so-perfect moon and thought, "Indeed... how many perfect moons are there in the world?"
Zhao Youyi didn't want to feed the mosquitoes anymore, so she pulled Chu Chanyin back to the tent. "You didn't answer me just now, were you jealous?"
Zhao Youyi moved closer to him, unable to resist teasing him further.
Chu Chanyin raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, his eyes conveying a clear message: "What else?"
Zhao Youyi grabbed his arm and shook it, almost like she was being coquettish, "Tell me, Brother Huai Cong, were you jealous just now?"
Chu Chanyin nodded helplessly: "Yes, of course I'd be jealous with so many suitors around my Awan."
Zhao Youyi stood opposite him, reached out and gently pinched his nose: "You don't need to be jealous, I only like you."
Chu Chan lowered his head and touched his forehead to hers, his tone very gentle: "Yes, I love you the most. You are the most important person in my heart, and my only choice."
After revealing his feelings, his advances became fierce and direct. The way his affectionate peach blossom eyes narrowed made him look just like a cunning fox.
"No wonder Cousin Chi said you're a vixen." Zhao Youyi lifted a strand of her hair with his fingers and twirled it around a few times.
Chu Chanyin was clearly displeased upon hearing this person's name: "So you also think I'm a vixen?"
"Yes, she's my favorite little vixen." Zhao Youyi leaned against him and kissed his chin.
"From childhood to adulthood?" Chu Chanyin asked.
"What?" Zhao Youyi was a little confused by his seemingly nonsensical question.
"My favorite..." Chu Chan added, her ears turning red.
Zhao Youyi felt that her little vixen was still a jealous person: "Of course, I've liked you the most since I was little, Brother Huai Cong."
Zhao Youyi hugged his waist, pressed her ear against his chest to listen to his heartbeat, and said, "The thing I'm most glad about is that I agreed to your marriage proposal that day."
"Yes, otherwise you would have married your childhood sweetheart." Chu Chanyin was filled with dissatisfaction with Chi Yuming, clearly still bothered by the childhood sweetheart that Chi Yuming had mentioned when he provoked him.
Zhao Youyi could only pat the little fox spirit's head and comfort her, saying, "It was all arranged by your father and mother when you were little, so it doesn't count for anything with me."
Chu Chanyin embraced her, his fingers running through her soft, beautiful black hair with a gentle touch, filled with reluctance: "But I can't give you anything. When you become emperor, will you take many young and handsome men into the palace?"
Zhao Youyi left his embrace, stared at his face, and said earnestly, "One life, one love, to grow old together, this is my promise to you, and it will last for this lifetime."
Zhao Youyi extended her little finger like she did when she was a child, and Chu Chan smiled and placed his little finger on hers. The two little fingers wiggled, and the agreement was fulfilled.
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