Chapter 13 The chair, besides her, only had him.
What the heck? Wasn't she here to make up stories for Jinlan? Master Yixiao was one thing, but now she wants Morax to listen too? And she's going to tell her own little story of unrequited love. How embarrassing and shameful!
Qiao Xi silently shed tears in her heart. She glanced at Jin Lan and thought that this concerned her image, so she couldn't make up any more melodramatic stories for him.
It would have been better if Qiao Xi hadn't looked at Jin Lan. But once she did, she couldn't help but wonder: what was with the strange look of anticipation mixed with a little bit of excitement on Jin Lan's face?
But soon, Qiao Xi found a reasonable explanation for Jin Lan's expression: Gossiping is human nature.
Yi Xiao always looked at Qiao Xi with the eyes of an elder caring for a younger generation, as if he were witnessing his own child experiencing the first stirrings of love.
As for Morax, Qiao Xi couldn't help but glance at him. He sat expressionlessly on her bamboo chair.
Qiao Xi wanted to look away, but she stopped in her tracks. This bamboo chair was one she made herself when she first came to the Bamboo Garden.
At that time, she knew nothing about mechanical arts. She carried a curved knife by herself and relied entirely on brute force to create a crooked chair.
Later, Master Liuyun taught her knowledge, and she gradually transformed the chair into what it is today.
She has spent most of her time in this chair during this period.
When she misses home, she will lean her face against the back of the chair and cry secretly, her tears soaking a small spot on the back of the chair.
When she sneaks a snack, she squats on a chair, and crumbs fall onto the chair surface.
In the quiet bamboo garden at night, when only the chirping of insects and the moonlight remain, she would wear only a thin gauze tank top that reached her knees after taking a bath, holding a book, and letting her skin and the sweat of early summer rub against the chair surface.
In short, this chair is where I saw her most private side during the days I spent alone with her, and now, Morax sits on it as if he were sitting on countless moments that have quietly happened but have already passed.
Besides her, only Morax has ever sat in this chair.
Qiao Xi silently withdrew her gaze and began to unconsciously weave a story about herself and Lu Tian in her mind.
"He's very tall," Qiao Xi said, glancing at Morax and then at Yi Xiao.
Jinlan observed Morax and Qiaoxi back and forth, trying to get a little sweetness from them through their micro-expressions, but Morax remained expressionless and Qiaoxi looked dazed, leaving Jinlan somewhat disappointed.
Yi Xiao: "And then, how did you come to like him?"
Qiao Xi felt so helpless. She had to reveal her secret crush in front of her elders. God, could there be a more desperate social death?
She continued, "It was because during one of my cleaning duties, he gave me a piece of candy, strawberry milk flavored. When I took it, I looked up at him, and he was looking at me too. His eyes were so beautiful when he smiled, like they had little stars in them, and that's when I... I started to like him."
Jin Lan's expression was contorted with jealousy. His mind was filled with thoughts like: "Qiao Xi, what are you doing?! What kind of pure romance are you writing?! How is this any like your usual wild writing style?! You're out of character, you know that?!"
Of course, he learned the term "OOC" from Qiao Xi.
Yi Xiao's face was full of a motherly smile: "Oh, I didn't expect Xiao Xi to have this side to her. You said you've forgotten a lot of things from the past, but you still remember the story with that boy. Young love is so beautiful, Your Majesty, don't you think?"
As Yi Xiao spoke, he threw the question to Morax. He originally just wanted to reach a point of resonance with Morax, since the feelings between the younger generation were at most cute to them.
But Morax didn't seem as willing to participate as Yi Xiao had imagined. He just gave a distant "hmm" and then silently glanced at Qiao Xi.
Qiao Xi was already so immersed in her own embarrassment that she just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, and she didn't care about reading other people's expressions or their reactions.
Yi Xiao asked Qiao Xi, "Anything else? Do you remember that boy's name? Which academy did he attend? Where does he live? How many people are in his family? What is his birth date?"
Jinlan listened from the side and couldn't help but feel anxious. What was going on with Yixiao Daotian Zhenjun acting like he wanted to play matchmaker for Qiao Xi?
He just wanted to hear the story and get some gossip, but the marriage-stealing couple Qiao Xi and the Emperor couldn't be broken up!
Jinlan looked at Qiaoxi for help.
Qiao Xi looked at Jin Lan with a face full of question marks, as if to say: Shouldn't I be the one asking for help now?
She touched her neck helplessly. She had heard Chen Niannian say before that when people are flustered, they will subconsciously look at the person who can give them the most sense of security. When Qiao Xi's first reaction was to look at Morax, she suddenly remembered what Chen Niannian had said.
But Morax didn't look at her; he seemed completely unconcerned.
Qiao Xi said to Yi Xiao, "I forgot. I don't remember who he is. I just know that this happened."
In order to stop her lovely Master Yixiao from asking too many questions, Qiao Xi added righteously, "I've forgotten what he looks like."
Yi Xiao asked in confusion, "Then why did you say his eyes were very bright?"
Qiao Xi: "Yes, I only remember the brightness. Maybe my eyesight is good."
Yi Xiao: "But do you still remember what kind of strawberry milk candy it is?"
Qiao Xi's gaze was firm: "Because I'm greedy!"
Jinlan almost burst out laughing.
Morax, listening from the side, couldn't help but frown and look at Qiao Xi with a complicated expression.
The young girl possessed an inexplicable determination, staring intently at Yi Xiao, as if she would rather die than utter another word.
Yi Xiao wanted to ask something more, but Morax interrupted her, saying, "Yi Xiao, let her study. I'll check on her in a while."
After saying that, Morax stretched out his hand, and suddenly, a brief golden light flashed, and a long-handled rapier landed in his palm.
Morax calmly extended his hand and handed the sword to Qiao Xi.
Qiao Xi was stunned for two seconds. It turned out that the reason Morax had turned back to find her was to give her this sword, but he was forced to stay here and listen to her tell an embarrassing story about a youthful campus crush that ended without a trace.
"Th...thank you." Qiao Xi took the sword from Morax's hand, and as her fingers left, they brushed against Morax's palm.
Morax lowered his gaze slightly for a fleeting moment, almost imperceptibly.
The sword was quite heavy, but the overall weight was just right for Qiao Xi to handle. The hilt and scabbard were purple, and when she drew it slightly, a cold, silvery light poured out.
Who doesn't dream of being a chivalrous hero? Eighteen-year-old Qiao Xi's childish spirit was awakened by this sword. If Morax hadn't been there, she would have used a bed sheet as a cloak, stood on the table, and shouted that she wanted to roam the world.
The moment she sheathed the sword, she was already thinking about designing a strap to carry it on her back.
I don't know if there's a technique for flying on a sword. Although Qiao Xi is afraid of heights, she thinks that flying ten centimeters in the air on a sword counts as flying, like a hoverboard in a science fiction movie. In short, it's cool!
Although she didn't say it, her joy was impossible to hide on her face. Yi Xiao tapped her on the head, forcibly pulling her out of her dream of being a great hero.
Yi Xiao: "Be careful."
Qiao Xi smiled shyly, looked at Morax with sparkling eyes, and said, "I like it very much."
Morax nodded slightly, said no more, stood up, and left with Yixiao.
Stepping out of Qiao Xi's cabin, as the cold winter wind blew against his face, Morax couldn't help but recall the expression on Qiao Xi's face when she described the boy she had a crush on.
It was an expression he had never seen before.
He remembered Qiao Xi saying that she liked that boy because of a "strawberry milk candy".
He had never heard of this candy, but he knew that winter strawberries were sweet, and that many winter strawberries grew along the river to the south.
Thinking this, he left with his hands behind his back, walking ahead of Yi Xiao, walking in Qiao Xi's fading gaze, walking in the wind and snow.
*
"It's burnt, it's burnt, it's all your fault!"
After Morax left, Qiao Xi realized that there was still a pile of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn roasting in the brazier. She quickly found some fire tongs and scooped out the cooked food, not forgetting to give Jin Lan a smack.
Jinlan retorted to Qiaoxi, "Why are you blaming me for this? Who complained that there wasn't enough food and insisted on adding potatoes?"
The slap landed on Qiao Xi's back. The Qianyan Army's training had given them great strength, almost making Qiao Xi vomit blood. She coughed twice, and angrily pretended to poke Jin Lan with red-hot fire tongs.
Jinlan looked at the potato stuck in the tip of the fire tongs and begged for mercy on the spot: "I was wrong, I was wrong."
Qiao Xi shared the potatoes with Jin Lan, while she picked corn herself. The two sat in front of the small brazier, eating like hamsters.
Qiao Xi: "Do you still want to hear a story? I just thought of an old-fashioned story about a love story filled with hatred and longing, a white moonlight, a double getting a cornea transplant, amnesia from a car accident, lovers ending up as siblings, and a tragic ending with a terminal illness."
Jin Lan choked slightly, then looked at Qiao Xi: "Did something happen to you?"
Qiao Xi nodded sadly, chewing on corn kernels and mumbling, "It's so embarrassing."
Jinlan couldn't help but laugh when she saw her like that.
Qiao Xi looked at him with a resentful expression.
Jinlan stuffed a potato into her mouth, her face covered in crumbs, and habitually wiped her hands on Qiao Xi's cotton vest: "Go on, go on, I was just so jealous of your story."
Qiao Xi slapped Jin Lan's hand away, causing him to howl in pain, and looked down at her own bright red hand.
The two looked at the snow outside the yard, where a round snowman stood. After telling this cheesy story, Qiao Xi let out a long sigh of relief: "Awesome!"
Jinlan: Tell me one more!
Qiao Xi lay on the floor, rubbing her stomach, feeling full. "I'm completely out of ideas. I need to take a break before I can continue."
Jinlan also lay on the floor. The wooden floor wasn't cold. He tilted his head to look at Qiao Xi and asked a question he really wanted to ask: "Do you still like that boy?"
Qiao Xi shook her head: "I don't know, I haven't seen him in a long time."
Jinlan nodded.
The two stared at the ceiling for a while, then Qiao Xi suddenly sat up and said to Jin Lan, "Do you want to go fishing? Ice fishing! Morax just gave me a sword, which I can use as a harpoon!"
Jinlan sat up incredulously, frowning as he looked at Qiao Xi: "Are you out of your mind? Using the Emperor's sword as a harpoon?"
Qiao Xi smiled sheepishly.
Jinlan: "On another note, you just said you like to eat strawberries, right? There are many wild winter strawberries growing along the river to the south."
A note from the author:
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