Chapter 863 I'm Willing
"Something's not right."
No one dislikes their sweetheart showing affection and saying tender words.
But Xie Zheng knew that Song Chunxue wasn't that kind of person.
When it comes to matters of love, she is even more awkward than he is.
Saying a few sweet words to her is more painful than taking her life.
Xie Zheng took a step back and grabbed her hands. "What's making you so happy?"
Song Chunxue felt a little annoyed. Did he mean that she had been heartless and ungrateful all along?
“I’m quite happy,” she said, pulling out a large red cloth bag embroidered with lucky bags in gold thread. “This is money for you to ward off evil spirits on the first day of the Lunar New Year.”
Xie Zheng accepted it with a smile, and the two of them took off their shoes and sat on the soft couch.
He opened the bag, expecting it to contain silver, but upon seeing the large gold ingots inside, he couldn't help but exclaim, "So generous?"
"Am I stingy?" Song Chunxue subconsciously pursed her lips and looked at him, but she quickly realized that she sounded like she was being coquettish, so she quickly returned to normal.
“Ah Xue, you know that’s not what I meant, but you have a lot of uses and expenses, so you can’t just give away money for warding off evil spirits. I’ll just take one.”
As he spoke, Xie Zheng grabbed one from the pile and handed the rest to her.
“You can’t take only a portion of the money for warding off evil spirits, that’s bad luck,” Song Chunxue said, raising her hand and taking out a box from her storage ring and placing it on the ground. “Actually, the real New Year’s gift is here.”
Xie Zheng realized that she had made a fortune today, a huge windfall.
He listened carefully to her account of meeting Song Che that day, and felt very worried.
“Evil cultivators are unpredictable. Aren’t you afraid of retribution?” Xie Zheng said, deep in thought. “No, we’ll go to the Zhao residence tomorrow.”
“My senior brother will handle it; he’s already taken the man away. Besides, I also poisoned him—real poison. If he ever has any bad intentions, he’ll have to think twice about what will happen to him,” Song Chunxue raised an eyebrow. “I’m not that stupid. The worse a person is, the more they value their life, and this kind of trick works the best.”
Xie Zheng didn't believe him. "Where did you get the poison?"
"It was given to me by Patchouli."
Xie Zheng frowned slightly and gently nudged Song Chunxue's arm. "How come I didn't know?"
Song Chunxue vaguely sensed that something was amiss, and after thinking it over carefully, she said, "Then I'll remember to be more specific next time?"
These words successfully amused Xie Zheng. "That's not what I meant. Never mind, let's not talk about this. I know you genuinely want to share good things with me, but you can't be too generous. Do you want to do business in the capital?"
"Hmm?" Of course she wanted to, but she came from a small town and felt somewhat apprehensive looking at the vast capital city. How could she possibly do business?
"If you trust me, I'll help you."
As he spoke, he began to list his family's connections and how he wanted to find a reliable accountant for Song Chunxue.
Song Chunxue raised her hand to cover his mouth, "We'll talk about these things later. I heard that Princess Anyang sent someone to deliver a gift to you today?"
"..." Xie Zheng was stunned for a moment, thinking that she was angry, and quickly said, "I didn't accept it, I had someone send it back, don't misunderstand."
Song Chunxue looked up at him calmly, "What misunderstanding?"
"I've already asked Wu Shuang and Wu Bing about their matter. Although she vehemently denied it, I will have no further dealings with her. As for those people who have come to my door recently, I will explain everything clearly and explicitly. Please don't take it to heart."
Seeing his serious expression, Song Chunxue was touched; he seemed to care a lot about her feelings.
But she was far inferior.
"What if I don't mind?" she asked seriously. "Would you be happy or unhappy?"
He smiled, held her fingers, and whispered, "Not very happy."
Why?
He gently rubbed her fingers, a fleeting look of melancholy crossing his sharply defined features.
But this time, Song Chunxue caught it.
"Xie Zheng, would you like to become my Daoist partner?"
He looked up in surprise, his face filled with disbelief and overjoyed. He moved his lips, unable to hide the joy in his eyes, and even couldn't help but hug her and kiss her forehead.
"Of course I want to, but didn't you say you didn't?"
Song Chunxue looked down at them, who were all dressed in dark green, and said gently but firmly, "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I used to think... no one can truly stay together with one person until the end and grow old together."
Suddenly, Xie Zheng was speechless, realizing why she would think that way.
It's not her fault.
He used to think so too.
Upon reflection, he realized that he had wronged Yun'er's mother, and he also felt that no woman could tolerate someone as stubborn as him.
Those women who blushed at him because of his youthful looks were merely captivated by his appearance.
In Song Chunxue, he saw his own past coldness and untrustworthiness.
So for the past two years, he has been quietly helping Yun'er's mother as much as he can.
It wasn't that I still had feelings for her, but rather that I felt indebted to her and wanted to alleviate her difficult situation a little.
But now he doesn't have to worry about these things; Yun'er can openly help her mother.
"It's better if you don't want to, Xie is not the right person for you..."
Song Chunxue pinched his lips.
"..." No one has ever been so simple and direct as to pinch his lips like kneading a pancake.
“I said I do.” She released his hand and gently stroked the rough stubble on his chin. “From now on, I will try my best to consider our relationship and not get too close to other people…”
Xie Zheng pulled her into his arms. "No need, you don't need to do this. I can feel Xue's feelings. I'm not such a petty person."
"But……"
“We can discuss this another day. Would you like to soak your feet?” Xie Zheng stroked her hair. “I’ll go and get someone to bring some water.”
"You actually don't want to become my Daoist partner."
"Of course I want to keep you by my side, but I'm also afraid you'll regret it," Xie Zheng said solemnly. "Becoming Daoist partners is more formal than marriage, more solemn than vows of eternal love. I'm afraid..."
They both knew what they were afraid of.
I'm afraid I won't be able to stay with the other person for too long.
But Song Chunxue didn't think much of it; he simply didn't want to.
"I understand, we'll talk about it later." She nudged him. "Didn't you say you needed water? Go get it now."
"Ah Xue..." Xie Zheng sensed that she was angry.
Song Chunxue gave him a light kick. "Go quickly, or I'll go back."
People are strange. She didn't want a formal title before, but recently she suddenly realized that a formal title is actually very important.
She is a spiritual practitioner who lives freely and at ease, but she is also a woman.
His frequent visits to the Xie residence seemed somewhat improper.
"Stretch your foot out."
Xie Zheng brought in the foot-washing water and squatted down in front of her.
Song Chunxue looked wary. "What are you doing?"
"You still won't let me see your feet?"
She stepped aside, saying, "No, I'll do it myself."
In their village, a man who washes a woman's feet will be laughed at for the rest of his life.
"No one saw it, Xue, I am willing to become your Daoist partner."
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