Chapter 9
Alo felt a pang of sadness, like when he was a child and had happily brought home a rabbit that had run away without hesitation.
I felt both disappointed and regretful.
He didn't know how to treat Pei Jian—should he be closer or more distant? He also didn't know how to communicate with her, or what to talk about without offending her. As a result, he dared not be too direct in asking Pei Jian about her preferences.
For example, what do you like to eat? What's your favorite color? What kind of small animals do you like?
He couldn't bring himself to ask, fearing that voicing such a question might signify the estrangement and emptiness between them.
Why did she agree to her request?
A Luo dared not think too much about it. He deceived himself into believing that Pei Jian, like him, had feelings for the other person.
It's perfectly normal for her to develop feelings for Pei Jian, but as for him? A Luo doesn't think anyone would genuinely like him.
Even his parents would abandon him without hesitation.
...
A Luo took out a clean handkerchief from her bag and carefully touched Pei Jian's cheek, wanting to wipe away her tears.
Pei Jian silently slapped his hand away.
“I’m sorry,” A Luo lowered his hands and inappropriately moved a few inches closer to Pei Jian, as if he wanted to hug her.
But he can't do that now, because Jane is still very angry.
Pei Jian had cried enough, wiping her face haphazardly with tears and snot, then smearing them all on her skirt. A Luo stayed by her side the whole time, his huge shadow silently enveloping her.
Suppressed and suffocating.
“Stop for a moment,” she said.
The carriages did not stop despite Pei Jian's order until A Luo repeated her request, at which point the procession immediately came to a halt.
Pei Jian sighed, kicked the door open with a bang, got out of the carriage, and randomly found a new one to crawl into.
When the team restarted, Pei Jian's tense shoulders finally relaxed. Fortunately, A Luo didn't follow along like a dog, shamelessly.
Inside the carriage were four timid dragon maids, huddled together, watching Pei Jian with bated breath.
Pei Jian looked extremely disheveled, with two red-rimmed eyes, her face covered in wet tear stains, and her wrinkled skirt hanging to the ground.
"Miss?"
The four of them knew Pei Jian, a human woman who was taken in by Prince A Luo. They heard that she was a kidnapped hostage and didn't hold much power.
Judging from her haggard appearance, she had probably just been reprimanded by Prince A Luo. The four of them slowly sat up straight, their expressions no longer as flustered as before.
"Is there anything you need?"
Pei Jian shook her head and chose the corner. She had cried so hard earlier and hadn't recovered yet. Her head was dizzy and her mouth was very dry.
Is there any water?
“Yes,” one of them said, taking a used cup, emptying the water, and pouring Pei Jian a new one. “Just make do with this.”
Pei Jian didn't mind and took the drink.
After drinking, she fell asleep immediately. When in doubt, it's best to take a nap first. Even the biggest problems can wait until she wakes up.
They had just fallen asleep when the marching procession was stopped once again.
Alo got out of the car and knocked lightly on the window. The maid opened the window and, seeing it was him, said in a flustered voice, "Your Highness."
Where is Miss?
"She's asleep."
The maid stepped aside so that A Luo could see more clearly, and Pei Jian lay on the table with his arms under his head.
A Luo couldn't see Pei Jian's face clearly. Her head was tilted to the side, and her hair was tied into a small bun, revealing smooth, fair shoulder and neck lines.
He whispered, "The four of you, change to a different carriage."
"yes."
Pei Jian was sitting very close to the car door. The table inside the car wasn't spacious and was some distance from the seat, so her upper body was suspended in the air. It's no wonder she felt uncomfortable when she woke up like that.
A Luo asked for a thin blanket and draped it over Pei Jian.
He had never taken care of anyone before, and he awkwardly tried to pull Pei Jian close to him, but he was afraid of waking her up, so he just stared at her, not knowing whether to go in or not.
-
When Pei Jian woke up, it was already evening, and the car was empty.
It was completely dark outside. Attendants carrying torches followed on both sides of the caravan. The moon was big and round, hanging over the branches. A few crows cawed, bringing Pei Jian back to his senses.
I'm hungry.
A plate of peanut cakes sat on the corner of the table.
Unfortunately, Pei Jian is allergic to peanuts and cannot eat them.
I'm so hungry. The more I stare at that plate of peanut cakes, the hungrier I get. Eating one shouldn't hurt, right?
When she was a child, she didn't know she was allergic to peanuts. Her elders in the family fed her countless peanuts under the guise of "brain-boosting" them. Later, she was apparently taken to the hospital and given an IV drip.
I don't think there was any serious allergic reaction.
Thinking this, she picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.
Crispy and fragrant, the aroma of grains instantly fills the entire mouth.
Eating just two pieces shouldn't be a problem, right?
...
By the time Pei Jian realized what was happening, she had already finished the entire plate of peanut cakes.
I'm still very hungry.
There were only six peanut cakes in that dish.
Before long, large patches of red spots began to appear on Pei Jian's body, and he experienced rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath.
We're doomed.
Pei Jian: [System, System, I won't die, will I?]
It would be too undignified to die because of gluttony.
System: 【...No, please rest assured, host.】
Pei Jian felt relieved and lay back in the chair, feeling dizzy and disoriented, to review the situation. He had been so hungry that he couldn't think straight and had only been thinking about filling his stomach.
Why do I always fail because of food?!
“Jane, Jane.”
Alo rode his horse close behind her carriage. "The cook made some rice porridge with meat broth. I'll bring some over for you."
"don't want."
How embarrassing!! Pei Jian didn't want anyone to see her in this 'flashy' state.
"Listen to me, eat something warm when it's getting cold."
“No,” she repeated.
All day today, Pei Jian didn't seem to have eaten anything substantial. A Luo thought to herself that she must be hungry, and even if she wasn't, not eating for a long time would harm her spleen and stomach.
So he stopped the carriage, dismounted, and brought out a steaming bowl of rice porridge with meat broth, topped with an egg and covered with large slices of beef. "I'm coming in."
"don't want!"
Alo got into the car on his own.
Pei Jian didn't even have the strength to stop him, let alone verbally refuse. He lay listlessly on the chair, his face covered by a thin blanket, one hand bent and placed on his lower abdomen, the other hanging down naturally.
"What's wrong?" A Luo put down the bowl and reached out to lift the thin blanket, but Pei Jian immediately grabbed it tightly. "It's hard to breathe like this, it'll make you feel uncomfortable."
"Won't."
A Luo thought Pei Jian didn't want to see him, so he backed down, "I'll watch you eat something, and I'll take the dishes with me when you're done, okay?"
"not good."
Pei Jian loosened his grip intermittently, and the thin blanket was suddenly pulled away, revealing his burning cheeks, full forehead, and rosy lips.
A Luo knelt on one knee in front of Pei Jian, her hand gently encircling Pei Jian's waist. "Wh...what's wrong?"
She's so hot.
Wasn't everything fine just a few hours ago?
Where does it hurt?
A Luo helped her sit up, pressing his dry palm against her forehead, listening to her mumble incoherently, "It's so embarrassing."
Who gets caught red-handed for being greedy!
Because the trip was short, there was no doctor on board, only some essential medications.
A Luo was still unclear about the root cause of Pei Jian's illness, and dared not even use the most basic medicines indiscriminately. "A Jian, A Jian."
"Hmm," Pei Jian couldn't stand being disturbed any longer, and lifted her head slightly from his neck. "What's wrong?"
A Luo simply wrapped the person in a thin blanket, pulled them onto his lap, and rubbed them against his skin. "Tell me what's wrong, okay?"
"Peanut allergy."
"What?"
“I said,” Pei Jian repeated irritably, “I’m allergic to peanuts.”
She pointed to the empty plate on the corner of the table, "I ate all the peanut cookies on that plate."
A Luo's head buzzed. He was afraid that A Jian would be hungry when she woke up, so he specially asked someone to prepare some snacks.
But he didn't know that A-Jian was allergic to peanuts.
A gust of wind picked up, and the window, which wasn't fully closed, rattled loudly. A Luo stared at Pei Jian in his arms, belatedly realizing that he was truly a terrible person.
-
In his dazed state, Pei Jian felt cold, shivered a few times, and buried himself in the blankets.
When I opened my eyes, I stared blankly at the magnificent yet completely unfamiliar ceiling. My eyes slowly moved as I looked around at the furnishings in the room, all of which were priceless items. The room was large, with a few sofas and chairs in the corner. The style was simple, understated yet luxurious.
She remembered that she seemed to have fainted due to a peanut allergy, then Alo came, said a lot of things, and then... she ended up here.
Pei Jian felt a slight itch on the tip of his nose. He reached out from under the thick blanket to scratch it. It was so warm, like a huge boiler was hidden underground, crackling and boiling water.
At the same time, she heard footsteps that were deliberately slowed and made softer.
who?
Her intuition told her that there was nothing to worry about; the visitor meant no harm.
"woke up?"
Alo?
Arlo changed into some lighter clothes, sat on the edge of the bed with an apologetic look on his face, and stared at her.
Pei Jian's hand, which was about to be lowered, stopped at the tip of his nose, and he scratched it several times uncomfortably. "Is there something on my face?"
"I'm sorry," A Luo tucked the blanket in and solemnly assured, "I didn't know you were allergic to peanuts, but I've remembered now and I won't forget."
Pei Jian tried to sit up, but A Luo quickly supported her back and helped her sit up, placing two pillows behind her back to make her more comfortable.
"It's okay, ignorance is no excuse, and you didn't force me to eat it, I wanted to eat it myself."
"By the way," Pei Jian changed the subject, "Where is this?"
"My bedroom."
"Hmm...hmm? How did I end up in your bedchamber?"
“Because…” Alo couldn’t say.
Yes, he could have taken Pei Jian to her own room, but he was too flustered to leave her for a while, so he simply brought her to his side and took good care of her.
"Never mind," Pei Jian said, seeing that he couldn't explain himself and that he had regained some energy, so he got out of bed and went back to his place.
The blanket had just been lifted when it was pulled back down.
"What's wrong?" A Luo pressed down on the blanket with his large hand and grabbed Pei Jian's arm with his other hand. "You're not fully recovered yet, so you can't move around too much."
Pei Jian tried to pull her arm away from A Luo's grasp, and said truthfully, "I want to go back to my bedroom and lie down."
A Luo took a deep breath and asked gently, "Is the bed not soft enough? Or is the blanket too thin? Or perhaps..." He looked up and scanned his surroundings, the familiar environment with gray floor tiles, white ceiling, and black leather tables and chairs.
Is it because of the color?
"What?" Pei Jian was lost in thought and didn't hear what he asked.
"Don't you like the color of the room?"
"No," she replied. She genuinely disliked overly monotonous colors and preferred vibrant hues, such as orange. However, this wasn't her home, so did it matter whether she liked it or not?
Pei Jian's brief pause in her speech made A Luo realize that she was lying; she didn't like these black, white, and gray colors.
"I'll have someone come and replace all of these in a few days."
Pei Jian ignored his words.
She couldn't interfere with Alo's decision, and his decision wouldn't bother her anyway, so let him do whatever he wanted; he had plenty of energy.
A Luo's hand was still pressed on the quilt. He looked very worried about Pei Jian leaving and was in a state of high tension.
Pei Jian shrank under the covers and patted his arm through the blanket. "I'm much better now."
"I've had some food prepared; would you like some?"
"don't want."
Now, Pei Jian has to accept the fact that she will be living here permanently.
"After you eat something, I'll take you out for a walk to clear your head," A Luo said, automatically filtering out Pei Jian's 'whimsical' words.
Before Pei Jian fell into a coma, he hadn't eaten anything proper, and when he woke up, he hadn't even had a sip of water.
Alos released his hand from the blanket, got up and poured her a glass of warm water, which was in a clear glass, "It might be a little hot."
"Thank you," Pei Jian said, taking the bottle in her hand and taking a small sip; the temperature was just right.
Just then, the maid brought in the freshly prepared food from the kitchen, placing it on a plate.
The indoor temperature was a bit low, and the windows were tightly closed. Even so, Pei Jian still felt cold. She didn't want to get out of bed to eat; if that was the case, she would rather not eat at all.
A Luo took one of his thick coats and draped it over Pei Jian's shoulders. "No need to get out of bed."
He held the plate steadily so that she could easily pick up food.
"There's chicken soup simmering in the kitchen, drink some to warm yourself up," A Luo said. He was hungry when he got back. He had swallowed some dry food before Pei Jian woke up, and he was fine now. He was like a stray dog that had just been taken home, afraid of being abandoned again. He stared at his owner with unblinking eyes.
His gaze carefully traced Pei Jian's appearance.
She seems to have lost a lot of weight. I remember when I first met her, her face still had a bit of childish chubbyness. Now, after this long journey, she's lost everything.
As the memories slowly rewind, Alo inevitably recalls that difficult escape.
He held Pei Jian hostage; the blade had roughly grazed her delicate neck, and he saw the mottled bloodstains on her collar. Her legs were also covered in deep and shallow cuts from sharp branches, and there was the vomiting she had been trying to suppress.
A Luo felt a buzzing in his ears, his lips went numb, and goosebumps instantly rose all over his body.
How could this brief period of indulgence have made him almost forget his previous outrageous and despicable behavior?
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