Chapter 84 "We're going home soon..."
"Are you going out again today?" Azhi asked, propping her chin up on the low table, her voice filled with urgency, as if she had something on her mind.
She's been clinging to Yoriichi Tsugikuni these past few days, and she doesn't even sleep in in the mornings anymore.
Despite saying she doesn't sleep in, Aori doesn't actually get up early. Anyway, when she opens her eyes, Yoriichi Tsugikuni is already waiting for her to have breakfast.
Originally, after returning to the Tsugikuni residence, it was mentioned that they would have dinner together. However, after considering various factors, Yoriichi Tsugikuni decided to have dinner with Oori in a small room instead.
Aori has never been one to take things too seriously, and her unusual behavior these past few days seems quite strange to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
After he asked, Azhi kept her mouth tightly shut, looking like a rabbit being pulled by the ears, with wide eyes and a very innocent expression.
It was obvious that something had indeed happened, but she was unwilling to talk about it, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni couldn't force her to.
Yoriichi took a cloth and dried the water off Aori's hands, which she had hastily made herself clean with, before shaking his head with a relaxed expression as an answer to the question he had just asked.
He has remained taciturn all these years, but fortunately, Aori has gotten used to it. She silently looked at Yoriichi Tsugikuni and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni was confused, and then he saw Ori run up to him and stop in front of him.
She simply tiptoed and patted his arm, and Yoriichi obediently placed his hands on his lap and slowly bent down.
This was, of course, to accommodate their ever-growing height difference. At these times, Azhi became acutely aware of her own short stature once again.
Thinking this, she spoke up, exaggerating a bit: "You seem to have grown taller since a few days ago."
She muttered to herself, placing her hand across Yoriichi's chest, looking somewhat heartbroken: "I feel like I haven't grown much at all, even though I was about the same height when I was little..."
In fact, there was no such thing as the latter part.
000 knew very well that Aori's height had never been taller than Yoriichi Tsugikuni, but it was already a very mature system and would no longer argue with Aori about such trivial matters.
Because in the end, the other party will usually apologize, which isn't worth it.
Not only his height, but compared to before, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's physique has also undergone tremendous changes, and his body lines have become more refined.
Although he didn't train daily like a swordsman, his innate physical qualities and life in the mountains allowed him to gradually develop from the thin muscles of his youth to the solid and fluid muscles of his adulthood.
It's fair to say that any stranger would feel pressured in front of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, but he hid it well in front of Aoi, preventing her from realizing this pressure.
Azhi wet her hands and softly called out, "Don't move yet."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni did not ask the girl for her reason. His aura was very calm, and his deep eyes were always focused on Ori, as if she could do anything for him.
Of course, A-Zhi would not let this trust down.
She had just noticed the striking hair on Yoriichi's head, which stuck up and swayed as he walked.
Coupled with his completely oblivious face, it's a little bit funny.
But actually, Azhi wasn't the first person to discover it.
The servants saw it when they brought the food in the morning. Perhaps because they thought "Young Master Yoriichi must have his reasons for doing this," or perhaps because they were warned of the risk of being scolded in anger, no one dared to tell him.
Furthermore, Yoriichi Tsugikuni himself does not have the habit of looking in a mirror, so he was completely unaware of this.
Azhi pressed down with her hand, trying to smooth down the tuft of hair sticking up on Yuanyi's head, but as soon as she withdrew her hand, the tuft of hair stubbornly stuck back up.
Well, it seems they'll be hard to tame.
She frowned and stared for a while, repeating the same action of pressing down and raising her head, before finally giving up.
Aori patted Yoriichi Tsugikuni, signaling him to get up, and said helplessly, "It's a good thing you didn't go out today, or people would laugh at you."
Although, in reality, only A-Zhi was laughing.
However, Yoriichi Tsugikuni did not refute this.
In this situation where the host and the mission target are exchanging feelings, 000 would not normally interrupt easily, but seeing that Azhi still had the potential to expand, it couldn't help but speak up.
Don't forget to get down to business!
This was discussed before going to bed yesterday. After 000 seriously analyzed a series of drawbacks of continuing to stay in the National Government, Azhi's idea coincided with it.
She had long since wanted to leave this place.
Ji Guoyansheng's strange remarks that day gave her a strange sense of being pressured, and even now, when she thinks about it, she can still feel the turmoil she felt at that time.
Her only coping mechanism was to hide like an ostrich.
As for her time at the Jiguo Mansion, she personally found it quite boring.
Everything was handled by dedicated servants. Although Azhi had never done any real work on the mountain, she had never been to this extent.
She was gently stopped by the servants for everything she did, as if all she had to do was reach out to put on her clothes and open her mouth to eat.
Yeah, there's something a bit scary there, so it's best to leave as soon as possible.
[I haven't forgotten!] Azhi vehemently refuted 000's questioning, feeling the system was being sarcastic and retorting, "It's only been one night, how could my memory be that bad!"
000 Suspicious: [Really?]
"You're getting worse and worse!" Azhi was truly wronged this time. She glared at him angrily. "You wronged me, you need to apologize!"
000: […]
It was also the one question that was asked in return.
Azhi didn't say anything more. 000 knew she was waiting to be coaxed, so she decisively spoke up, preventing a storm from brewing but never actually breaking out: "I'm sorry."
It has become quite adept at compromising with Azhi, going from initial unfamiliarity to now speaking it fluently.
I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but I felt like I was being manipulated, even though Azhi doesn’t usually show this kind of strength.
Ah Zhi was satisfied and let out a soft hum after a while.
She took something out of her kimono sleeve, first mysteriously hiding it in her palm, then presenting it to Yoriichi's mouth like a treasure, a sweet smile on her face.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni didn't refuse, and even unconsciously smiled, "It's sweet."
Azhi nodded in agreement: "Mine is apple flavored."
She opened her rosy lips and showed Yoriichi the crystal-clear candy she had just placed on her tongue, then pulled it back into her mouth, and a small bump slowly swelled up on her right cheek.
It's been a long time since I last ate candy. It's not that I haven't been able to eat it, but that I've eaten too much and gotten sick of it.
One day, Yoriichi Tsugikuni brought back half a beehive from somewhere, and there was still a lot of honey inside.
Azhi first ate it plain, then paired the rest with fruit and flowers, and ate it without restraint for a while.
Fortunately, she didn't develop cavities from eating it.
"Yoriichi, when are we leaving here?" With a candy in her mouth, Aori's speech was a little unclear. She looked at Yoriichi Tsugikuni eagerly, and the unconsciously drawn-out ending of her voice was sweet.
"I want to go home."
Hearing this, 000, who had been listening the whole time, felt that this was a sure thing. How could Yoriichi Tsugikuni possibly resist Oori saying "go home" in front of him?
As expected.
As if his deepest feelings had been touched, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's gaze softened, something he had never dared to imagine before.
Under Azhi's expectant gaze, he curled his lips into a subtle smile, his tone resolute: "Today."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni also felt that it was time to leave.
For reasons unknown, and on whose orders, Yoriichi Tsugikuni was abruptly brought to a meeting at the Tsugikuni residence to discuss official business.
Just yesterday, he was sitting next to Tsugikuni Iwakatsu, listening to his retainers report on recent events in the castle and the movements of enemy castles.
This wasn't the first time, but even so, his retainers still occasionally cast what they thought were very discreet probing glances at him.
His appearance undoubtedly sent a signal to the retainers of Tsugikuni: facing these two similar faces of Tsugikuni, one wonders what they would think.
Ji Guoyuan was caught up in it all, but felt completely lost.
Although he was unaware of the significance of his presence at the meeting, he listened intently to the lengthy accounts of his retainers and silently tried to determine if there was anything he could do.
So after the meeting, Yoriichi Tsugikuni did not leave immediately, but instead expressed his thoughts to Kokushibo: "Brother, if it's about the matter in the east of the castle, I can help."
It is unknown whether there are bandits who have roamed to the east of the city. In recent days, they have committed several heinous crimes, but the murderers have not yet been found.
Ji Kuniwa saw that he simply wanted to help, and after a moment's thought, he said, "No need. That's Yoshida's area of responsibility. He handled it poorly and should make amends for his mistakes."
Yoshida has indeed neglected his duties and has become increasingly arrogant in recent years.
However, what puzzled Yoriichi Tsugikuni even more than attending several meetings was yet to come.
Someone came to see him, openly or secretly, bringing gifts, and spoke in a mysterious and incomprehensible manner.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni, of course, did not accept the gifts. He really couldn't understand these people's intentions and felt completely baffled.
However, none of that matters anymore.
Even though it was only a short period of time, Yoriichi Tsugikuni missed his life on the mountain so much. After hearing that Ori also had the same idea, he became even more impatient.
Azhi was unaware of these things. She was stunned after receiving a completely unexpected answer, and was still looking up in a daze.
It was so sudden, I forgot to be happy.
“I’m the same as you.” Yoriichi Tsugikuni rarely spoke so much. He naturally took the girl’s hand into his palm. “We’ll be going home soon.”
Aori's hands are small, and when clenched, they can be completely contained in Yoriichi's palm, looking like a perfect fit.
But his palm was very hot, and Azhi felt a little burned. She realized what was happening and tried to open her hand, but to no avail.
Fortunately, she adapted quickly, and she didn't really try to break free.
"Okay."
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Author's Note: Yuan Yi: Consistent Performance
Yan Sheng: Undermining others in secret
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I'm back to updating, but I'm not feeling well. I can only say that I'll try my best to finish this story this year. If it's going to be ranked, I'll update accordingly, but I don't think I'll be doing that. I don't have the energy.
I jotted down many fragments on and off during my convalescence, but I wrote them down so haphazardly that it's a real headache to organize them now.
Thank you all for your support.
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