Chapter 28. Feeling sullen and inexplicable—what a guy!
As dusk fell, Cui Ying returned to Qiyun Pavilion with light steps, carrying the colorful butterfly kite that Xiao Shu had given her like a precious treasure.
Inside the room, the soft candlelight filtered through the silk lampshade, illuminating the neatly folded crimson armor robes on the table.
The sound of rushing water came from behind the screen, and a tall, strong silhouette was clearly projected onto it—broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a sturdy chest that perfectly overlapped with the magnolia blossoms embroidered on the screen, exuding a serene yet alluring charm.
Cui Ying was in such a good mood that she was practically bubbling with joy, walking like a little rabbit, hopping every two steps.
She strolled over to the coffee table, poured herself a cup of tea, but didn't drink it right away. Instead, she sat down on the embroidered stool and carefully brushed the dust off the kite.
"I heard you fainted at the Vermilion Bird Gate at noon?" Cui Ying glanced casually at the screen, not noticing anything unusual as her gaze swept over the silhouette. "Is that so?"
The sound of water suddenly stopped.
Xiao Qiyu emerged from behind the screen, his snow-white undergarment clinging to his wet upper body. The collar was slightly open, revealing the outline of his firm abdominal muscles. His slender fingers gripped a cloth, casually rubbing his wet hair. His tone was flat: "Just heatstroke."
As he spoke, he walked over to Cui Ying, his gaze sweeping over the tea table. Seeing a cup of tea already prepared, he picked it up and drank it all in one gulp.
"Hey you—"
Cui Ying's almond-shaped eyes widened, and the words "How dare you drink my water!" almost escaped her lips.
But when his gaze fell on Xiao Qiyu's Adam's apple, which was heaving wildly as he swallowed, he thought that he was able to reconcile with Xiao Shu thanks to this guy's message. Plus, he was in a good mood after playing all afternoon, so he swallowed back his unhappiness.
Cui Ying continued brushing dust off his face, casually replying, "Heatstroke? I don't feel that hot today."
"Clang!" The teacup was slammed back onto the table.
Xiao Qiyu, who had just finished drinking water, was breathing heavily, his eyes were red at the corners, and his voice seemed to be suppressing fire as he said with restraint and indifference, "I feel very hot, are you satisfied now?"
Cui Ying slammed the kite on the table with a "bang," stood up abruptly, and raised her voice by more than three octaves compared to Xiao Qiyu's. Her big eyes glared fiercely at him: "Did you take some medicine? Who offended you again!"
Cui Ying understood Xiao Qiyu.
Most of the time, he would use sarcastic and insidious remarks towards her; he rarely showed his displeasure directly like this.
Cui Ying only knew that women had those few unpleasant days every month, but what about Xiao Qiyu? Did he also have those days?
Their eyes met.
The boy's tall figure cast a shadow that almost completely enveloped the petite Cui Ying.
She could even clearly smell the crisp scent of soap on him.
However, besides the familiar scent of soapberry, there was an even more unfamiliar, scorching aura emanating from him. Just by looking at each other, she felt as if she were enveloped in a hot wind, and her exposed skin felt slightly hot.
Cui Ying felt a vague unease.
This unease did not stem from the disparity in size or the oppressive aura, but rather from the instinct of a small animal encountering a predator, feeling its territory being silently invaded.
She didn't like this feeling.
“Cui Ying.” Xiao Qiyu frowned deeply, his voice low, his dark eyes unfathomable.
Cui Ying put her hands on her hips and glared back: "Spit it out!"
Unusually, Xiao Qiyu didn't immediately retort. He parted his thin lips slightly, seemingly considering his words, and after a moment, he hesitated before finally speaking, "In the future, could you...?"
Can you please stay away from Xiao Lin?
"girl!"
Just then, Cui Jin's clear voice came from the corridor: "The belt noodles you ordered have been bought. The servant specially rode a horse to buy them, just in case they were delivered in a clump. Please take a look and see if it's the one you ordered."
Like a startled rabbit, Cui Ying darted towards the door in a flash, completely forgetting about Xiao Qiyu behind the screen, and exclaimed excitedly, "Quick, let me see it!"
The nameless anger that Xiao Qiyu had just suppressed instantly flared up again, burning even more fiercely than before.
With a sullen face, he grabbed the teapot, poured himself a full cup of tea, tilted his head back and gulped it down, his face so dark it seemed to drip water.
Returning to the table, Cui Ying gently lifted the lid of the food box and took out the bowl of belt noodles inside.
In an instant, a rich and pungent aroma filled the room, quite different from the light steamed and boiled dishes commonly found in the Marquis's residence.
“That’s right, that’s the taste!” Cui Ying nodded in satisfaction, then, as if remembering something, turned to Xiao Qiyu and asked, “Are you hungry?”
Xiao Qiyu paused slightly as he raised his cup. Although he had already eaten at the captain's residence, he said against his will, "A little."
His gaze involuntarily fell on the bowl of noodles.
The noodles, as wide as trouser belts, were soaking in clear meat broth, topped with bright green scallions and a thick layer of chili powder. The chili powder had obviously been poured over boiling hot oil and was slightly solidified, so it had to be stirred with chopsticks before eating.
Cui Ying still didn't understand him enough.
Xiao Qiyu thought to himself: I have never been fond of spicy food.
"Too much pepper," he pointed out in a flat tone.
Cui Ying looked down and said, "Is that too much? I think it's not enough."
Xiao Qiyu's expression remained unchanged, but he sighed silently in his heart.
Well, it's her good intention after all, so it's not so bad to eat it reluctantly.
If I had known she meant so well, I shouldn't have spoken so harshly to her earlier.
Xiao Qiyu was feeling annoyed and was about to ask the maid to fetch chopsticks when Cui Ying instructed Cui Jin: "Take this bowl of noodles to the Fifth Miss and tell her it's compensation for breaking my promise last year. If there's a chance in the future, I will still personally take her out to eat."
After saying that, Cui Ying looked at Xiao Qiyu, who was standing there in a daze, blinked her almond-shaped eyes, and said very "thoughtfully": "I don't know how good the new cook is. If you are hungry, I will have her make you a couple of dishes. It will be a good opportunity to test her skills."
Xiao Qiyu's already gloomy face darkened even more.
“No need,” he said coldly.
Cui Ying snorted: "Eat it or don't, it's up to you."
After giving Cui Jin a few more instructions, Cui Ying went behind the magnolia screen to take a bath, washing away the stickiness of the summer heat. She then changed into a light white silk nightgown, her wet black hair casually coiled on top of her head, revealing her dark hair and skin as white as snow.
She walked out of the screen feeling refreshed, and was about to collapse onto the bed to stretch comfortably when she was shocked to see Xiao Qiyu lying casually on her private bed, holding her storybook in his hand.
"I'll sleep in the bed tonight, you can sleep on the floor."
Xiao Qiyu didn't even lift his eyelids, coldly finished speaking, and casually threw the storybook onto the floor.
Cui Ying was completely stunned.
Xiao Qiyu hadn't been this shameless in a long time, so much so that when she saw this scene and heard these words, her first thought was whether she was hallucinating.
Cui Ying rubbed her eyes hard, making sure what she was seeing was real, and a surge of anger rushed to her head: "No, what gives you the right—"
Before she could even utter the word "me," Xiao Qiyu had already turned over, leaving her with his cold, hard back.
Cui Ying: "..."
She felt more bewildered than a dog that had been kicked for no reason on the street.
What a bizarre guy!
Who on earth provoked him this time?!
...
For several days in a row, Xiao Qiyu wore a cold, aloof expression, as if he wanted to keep strangers away.
Cui Ying was too lazy to pay attention to him. Anyway, he left early and returned late, and when he came back at night, she just buried herself in her storybooks and pretended that he wasn't in the house.
If she felt bored, she would instruct the small kitchen to prepare a delicious meal and invite Xiao Shu and Xiao Wan to Qiyun Pavilion. The three girls would chat and laugh, and time would fly by.
That day, Cui Jin came to Cui Ying with red eyes to ask for leave, saying that her mother had fallen ill and she wanted to go back to take care of her for a few days.
Cui Ying readily agreed, not only giving Cui Jin a package of sixty taels of silver, but also carefully preparing many precious medicinal herbs, exquisite pastries, and several bolts of fine silk.
Xiao Shu happened to be a guest at Qiyun Pavilion. Seeing Cui Ying writing down a long list of gifts, she couldn't help but click her tongue: "Don't you find it troublesome? If you want her to bring something, just give her more money. If she needs something, doesn't she know to buy it herself?"
Without even looking up, Cui Ying's slender bamboo pen moved fluently across the paper, the ink flowing and creating lines of delicate and elegant small regular script.
Everyone in the capital knows that the third young lady of the Duke of Wei's mansion is illiterate, but few people know that Cui Ying actually has excellent handwriting.
“Cui Jin wouldn’t be willing to spend that money.” Cui Ying continued writing. “Not everyone is as fortunate as you and me to be born into wealth. It’s only natural to be frugal. If she were to buy these medicinal herbs and fabrics herself, she would grit her teeth and never be able to bring herself to do it. It’s different when I give them to her.”
"Then aren't you afraid?" Xiao Shu smiled mischievously, teasing her on purpose, "She gets all these good things and then sells them off? If it were me, I couldn't resist."
Cui Ying remained calm and composed, saying, "That's her own business. Anyway, I've conveyed my sentiments. Besides, if selling the items can make her life a little easier, I'll be happy too."
Xiao Shu was truly convinced now, and said sincerely, "In the past, I only saw your carelessness, but now I realize that you are actually good at winning people's hearts. With a master like you, which maid wouldn't be willing to do anything for you?"
After writing the last line, Cui Ying gently blew on the still-wet ink and placed the brush on the rhinoceros horn brush rest: "It's not a matter of 'gathering'; it's just that Cui Jin has served me so well, so naturally I should think of her as well. My mother said that people treat each other as they would like to be treated. If I treat others well, they will naturally treat me well in return."
Her clear voice drifted through the latticed windows, where the shadows of the trees swayed in the breeze, and the dappled golden light of the evening rippled on the pink walls like flowing water.
Xiao Qiyu stood quietly under the eaves, listening to every word spoken inside the room.
Scenes of Cui Ying flooded my mind uncontrollably:
Cui Yinghui remembered her grandmother's cough and specifically asked Chen Shuangshuang for some salted citron.
Cui Ying saved her grandmother, but attributed all the credit to Chen Shuangshuang.
Cui Yinghui specially made up for Xiao Shu's broken promise last year by serving her that bowl of belt noodles.
Cui Ying meticulously prepared a gift list for a young maid who had asked for leave.
He used to not understand why everyone liked Cui Ying.
Now I understand.
It's because Cui Ying is kind to everyone.
The light and shadow on the wall were chaotic, and the boy's already dim eyes gradually darkened, sinking into a bottomless abyss. The veins on the back of his hand taut and throbbed silently.
Cui Ying is kind to everyone.
They were only unkind to him.
They were only unkind to him.
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The author's note: Actually, the little Yu had already given the answer when he was a cub: "Cui Ying doesn't like me, and I don't like her either."
Is it Choi Young that I dislike, or Choi Young who only plays with others and not with me?
Tsk, so hard to guess CVC
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