Chapter 22: Secret The black piece fell onto the chessboard, making a crisp sound. ...
The black piece fell down the chessboard, making a crisp sound.
Yan Heng looked up, startled, and then he remembered that there was an ingredient in the recipe for the medicinal food that could calm the nerves and help with sleeping.
He walked over silently and covered Ji Yunchan's slender shoulders with a piece of clothing.
The midday sunlight came in, revealing every detail of the fine hair on her cheeks.
The girl lay in front of the chessboard like a cat, and a black piece fell from between her white fingers.
Yan Heng couldn't help but reach out his hand, but when it was about to touch her cheek, he restrained himself and pulled it back.
Silently sitting back opposite, Yan Heng supported his chin and stared at Ji Yunchan's defenseless sleeping face, a soft sweetness rising in his heart.
When he was awake, he was so obedient and respectful, respectfully distant, and his distantness was like punching cotton, leaving him with no place to vent his anger.
Yan Heng gritted his teeth and thought hard, it would be more pleasant to fall asleep.
But this thought was fleeting, his eyes fell on her knuckles, where there were still scattered, unhealed chilblains, and there was only pity in his eyes.
He murmured softly, "Sleep well, Yuanyuan."
......
When Ji Yunchan woke up, the sun was setting and the birds were returning to the forest.
My thin eyelids slowly opened, and my four limbs and five senses gathered together. I felt very warm and slept a very deep and long sleep. My chest was filled with the satisfaction of a good sleep.
She blinked, suddenly took a deep breath, her almond-shaped eyes suddenly widened, and she sat up sideways, just in time to meet Yan Heng's eyes.
Realizing that she had fallen asleep while playing chess, Ji Yunchan felt a surge of shock in her heart.
She looked at Yan Heng in disbelief and trepidation, her words stammering: "...General."
Then Yan Heng let out a short laugh, "You slept for a long time, did you sleep well?"
Although Ji Yunchan had been praised as the "other people's child" for more than ten years, this was the first time she had encountered such a thing. Her ears turned red and she opened her mouth but didn't dare to answer.
What is going on...it's ridiculous.
Where Yan Heng couldn't see, Ji Yunchan wrinkled her sleeves.
Seeing her so embarrassed, Yan Heng comforted her, "There is a tranquilizer in the medicinal food."
Ji Yunchan then raised her eyes and suddenly realized.
"It's just that the medicine isn't very effective." He calmed down, tapping the table with his slender fingers as he stared at her. "And you're sleep deprived and haven't rested well."
He pointed out the crux of the matter directly, leaving her with no way to refute it.
It's just that they just moved into the house and there are things that need to be taken care of. He can't do without her, but he doesn't want to miss the opportunity to be with him... Even his mother didn't notice.
Ji Yunchan stammered and looked up at her cautiously.
That look of weakness carried her usual unconscious coquettishness. Yan Heng pinched his brows. What else could he do? He couldn't bear to say another harsh word.
He drove the person away with a cold face, saying, "Go back if you are tired. I don't need you for anything."
Ji Yunchan thanked him tactfully and went home.
Except for those who served the master, everyone else had finished their work at this time. When Ji Yunchan returned home, her younger brother and sister-in-law had also returned.
Upon asking, I found out that Yun'e was working in the accounting office of the mansion, while Qin Nian was learning from scratch with a civil officer in the army. It was not difficult to see that this arrangement was painstakingly made.
Ji Yunchan said nothing and turned to look at the brightly lit general's mansion.
......
The next day, at noon.
Ji Yunchan looked at the bowl of dark brown medicinal food with deep resentment and did not touch it for a long time.
Yan Heng looked at her like this and didn't understand.
He had tasted the recipe when it was first made, and while it wasn't particularly tasty, it certainly wasn't unpalatable either. He even had someone add two spoonfuls of honey.
When did you become so picky?
Yan Heng looked at her for a moment, then said with a hard heart, "Drink it."
Ji Yunchan's holding hand trembled slightly twice, and then she drank it all in one breath eagerly, as if she was drinking some poison.
She frowned uncontrollably, swallowed with difficulty, and then put down the bowl with a sigh of relief.
Yan Heng, who witnessed this series of actions: ...
His throat moved, and he asked her curiously, "Is it really that hard to drink?"
The bitterness in her mouth had not yet dissipated. Ji Yunchan struggled to control her expression and couldn't help but tell the truth: "I said the general doesn't like sweet things, so I didn't ask the kitchen to add honey."
Yan Heng was stunned, as if he hadn't reacted, and asked in disbelief, "What?"
Ji Yunchan met his gradually changing gaze and nodded slowly.
Yan Heng hesitated to speak, his comfort mixed with heartache, and finally he felt like laughing.
He pushed his untouched teacup over.
"Thank you, General." Ji Yunchan did not refuse, feeling a sense of grievance and injustice that she herself was not aware of.
Yan Heng smiled faintly.
"Forget it," he waved his hand, "you come and play chess with me."
Ji Yunchan responded and sat with Yan Heng on either side of the chessboard in front of the window.
When the two of them said a few words, the black and white were clearly distinguished, but it was a familiar opening. Ji Yunchan couldn't help but feel dazed. The last time they played chess was several years ago.
......
There are weeping crabapples and grape trellises in the Ji Mansion Garden. When Ji Yunchan was young, she liked that quiet corner and often studied and practiced piano there. Just across the wall is the Yan Mansion.
Yan Heng never went through the main gate, but often climbed over the wall.
There was a chessboard in the corridor. The two of them played against each other countless times. They knew each other's moves by heart and won and lost over and over again.
——Yuanyuan, you lose.
——I’ll just let you do it today.
Ah Heng, what did I say? I lost.
——At worst, I can win it back another day.
The image of the young man Yan Heng sitting on the wall, pretending to be nonchalant, surged into her heart.
......
"It's your turn."
Yan Heng, who had already put on a crown, reminded Ji Yunchan and brought her back from her memories.
She put aside all distractions and wrote down a word, exactly in the same place as she remembered.
But the person opposite did not follow this path and landed in a place she had never seen before.
Ji Yunchan hesitated for a moment. The chess piece was like a trap and a loophole, appearing right before her eyes.
The chess path was instantly widened, and she considered the possibilities and made her move.
Yan Heng followed closely behind.
The two men, one white and one black, fought for a long time.
After about two cups of tea, Ji Yunchan gradually slowed down her moves. She pondered deeply, placed a move hesitantly, and looked up at Yan Heng.
Then the latter looked back at her calmly with an indifferent expression.
With a single word falling from his fingers, the originally complicated situation instantly changed direction.
If the road ahead was unclear just now, the white pieces in his hand are now like a trapped beast.
Ji Yunchan was concentrating, her hands unconsciously supporting her face, a gesture she would only make when she was completely defenseless.
There was an unconscious smile in Yan Heng's eyes.
She cautiously placed a move, a move that had a certain unexpected edge, unlike her usual style. It was just a beginning, a bit naive. Yan Heng sighed, then ruthlessly cut it short.
Once this piece falls, White's defeat is obvious and there is no way to recover.
Yan Heng threw the chess piece back and said, "Ji Yunchan, you lose."
She hadn't touched chess for a long time, her skills had been neglected, and defeat was almost inevitable.
I know this very well, but I still can't help feeling sad.
Ji Yunchan sat up straight, lowered her brows in shame, and said softly, "I have neglected practice, and my chess skills are no longer perfect."
This is the truth. Her chess moves are stagnant and her skills are getting worse instead of better.
Yan Heng looked at her twice, and seeing that the girl was obviously depressed, he did not choose to comfort her.
Ji Yunchan would never indulge in sweet words or be drowned in self-satisfaction. Condescending comfort is as pale as paper to her.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then come and play chess with me every day when you have nothing to do."
Ji Yunchan raised her eyes and nodded seriously.
She collected the chess pieces on the table, along with her shame.
The tea in front of Yan Heng had already gone cold. She prepared to make another cup for him. When she leaned over to serve it, the two of them were quite close, their clothes almost touching.
Yan Heng suddenly asked, "Are you afraid?"
Ji Yunchan turned her head and met Yan Heng's gaze.
It was so close, Ji Yunchan couldn't help but think that she could almost count his eyelashes.
The fabrics of the skirts rubbed against each other, adding a bit of ambiguity.
Ji Yunchan didn't understand for a moment, "What?"
Yan Heng's Adam's apple moved, and he stared at her without blinking, "That day when it snowed."
Ji Yunchan suddenly realized.
"Scared." She answered softly, lowering her eyes, and slightly tightening her knuckles holding the teacup. "To be honest, General, that was the scariest time in my life."
I’m so scared that even the memories hurt.
The overwhelming despair, the bone-chilling cold... When I closed my eyes, it felt like there was a howling blizzard all around me.
Unable to control herself, she began to shiver slightly, almost masochistically, and looked outside involuntarily - but she couldn't see any snow.
Yan Heng grabbed her.
The warm palm pulled her out of her trance and anxiety with the power to clear the clouds and reveal the sun, like a nest that sheltered her from the wind and rain.
Ji Yunchan looked into his eyes with a sense of realization, as if she had found a life-saving straw.
Yan Heng took the teacup and put it aside, then half-forced her to turn around and not look at the dirty snow outside.
"The snow has started to melt. Although it hasn't completely melted yet, the next few days will be sunny." He looked into her eyes and spoke slowly, as if to ask for her confirmation.
He promised word for word: "You don't have to be afraid anymore."
......
At that moment, Ji Yunchan's eyes couldn't help but turn red.
It was like a fishing boat that had experienced a storm and finally saw the bay. For the first time since waking up, I felt such a strong sense of security after surviving the disaster.
Her lips trembled and she bit the tip of her tongue hard, but she couldn't hold back her tears. She nodded hurriedly and turned around.
Not turning.
Yan Heng was still holding her arm and had no intention of letting go.
As the movement went back and forth, tears fell and happened to hit Yan Heng's hand.
Ji Yunchan looked at him with tearful eyes and begged for mercy, her voice already broken, "General..."
Yan Heng was first burned by the tear, and then seeing her like this, he felt unusually at a loss.
There are very few things that can make him feel helpless nowadays, or rather, there have been very few since he was a child.
The girl in front of me is undoubtedly the exception.
Yan Heng pretended to be calm and let go of her hand, then asked her calmly, "Why are you crying?"
Ji Yunchan wiped away her tears and said nothing, shaking her head repeatedly. Her heart was filled with a sense of heaviness and bitterness, as if a thousand tender buds were about to bloom.
There was a voice clamoring desperately, telling him, telling him the truth about what happened that day, it was not your fault.
Tears welled up in her eyes again, and Ji Yunchan thought bitterly through her tearful eyes, but what right did she have to bring up the past again?
Things have changed and people have changed. The world has changed dramatically.
Even the swallows that lived under the corridor back then may have moved to a new home.
Yan Heng had never seen Ji Yunchan like this before. He was just joking when he said she was spoiled. She just had a little temper. The girl he liked was more resilient than anyone else.
But not everyone has seen death.
Yan Heng couldn't help but think of the lingering fear he felt when he had his first brush with death, and regretted that he shouldn't have mentioned it.
He handed her the handkerchief, looked up at her from the bottom up, and coaxed her humbly: "I won't mention it anymore, don't cry."
Ji Yunchan took the handkerchief but didn't use it. She closed her eyes and tried to hold back her tears.
Holding the handkerchief in his hand, he seemed to have gained strength.
Facing Yan Heng's softened brows, she spoke softly, "Then when the snow melts, I'll tell the general a secret."
Yan Heng looked at her serious expression and had a vague guess in his mind.
He reached out his hand almost reverently, carefully wiped away a tear from her eye, and nodded, "Okay."
Scratching with the fingertips brings a slight itch.
Ji Yunchan couldn't help but blinked but didn't dodge.
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