Chapter 70 Did you hear me? Did you hear me shout the last...?
"This is the wound medicine he asked me to give you. He should have already told you how to use it before. Remember to apply the medicine to the wound on your neck on time."
Ji Dian placed the white jade porcelain bottle on the table beside him, casually picked up a steaming piece of cake from the plate, and stuffed it into his mouth: "You really have the leisure to do this, even in this bandit's den, you still have the time to have your servants make cakes for you to eat."
“These are the pastries that Schumann loves. Since you’re back, could you please take these two packages to her?” Xue Rongyue handed over two heavy packages of pastries wrapped in oil paper. “If I didn’t do this, Luo Hongfang would probably be losing sleep day and night.”
Ji Dian pondered for a moment, then nodded.
Too.
Given Luo Hongfang's suspicious nature, he would panic if Madam Xue suddenly "changed her personality drastically" and stopped being so brainless and domineering.
"Why do I have to deliver it again? Are you two addicted to ordering me around?" Ji Dian wasn't particularly unwilling, though he grumbled a bit.
"Given my current status, it would be difficult to explain if I were to accidentally bump into someone."
Jingnu's adoptive parents were street vendors who made and sold pastries. Growing up surrounded by them, Jingnu's pastry-making skills became exceptional. Later, she came to serve Xue Rongyue, and with Xue Rongyue's protection, she no longer had to do these rough jobs.
These past few days, Xue Rongyue's meals have all been prepared by her personally, which makes her feel more at ease eating them and also allows her to continue to maintain the pampered lifestyle of a wealthy Xue family lady, thus avoiding arousing Luo Hongfang's suspicion.
The cakes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a fragrant aroma constantly wafting out from under the steam.
Ji Dian, still enjoying his meal, sat down without any hesitation, poured himself a cup of strong tea, picked up a piece of tea, and just as he put it in his mouth, he suddenly heard Xue Rongyue speak: "You're back, and he should be back too. Why didn't he come to deliver it himself?"
Ji Dian chuckled and said, "Shouldn't that be a question for the two of you? Why did the task of delivering medicine fall to me out of nowhere? Did you two... have a fight?"
Xue Rongyue poured the steaming cakes onto the oil paper without looking up. After slowly wrapping the cakes, she narrowed her eyes and snorted coldly, "Who knows what he's thinking? He's been avoiding me for days, isn't that enough?"
With a keen interest, Ji Dian asked Xue Rongyue, "When you first arrived in Lin County, even though he was on the mountain, he would try every means to see you. I helped him hide his whereabouts quite a bit for that. So, what exactly did you do to make him suddenly avoid you?"
Xue Rongyue couldn't help but recall their conversation about the purse that day.
Qin Jin's unusual behavior still baffles her. She had embroidered the purse herself, stitch by stitch, on one of the few occasions when she hadn't lied to Qin Jin. Why was Qin Jin making such a fuss and then avoiding her afterwards?
Ji Dian's gaze was inquisitive and playful as he quietly awaited Xue Rongyue's answer. However, Xue Rongyue had no intention of answering his questions. Before he could reach for a piece of cake, she pulled the jade plate back in front of her and said, "It's getting late. I'd appreciate it if you could hurry up and take these cakes to Shuman."
Ji Dian's eyes widened, and before he could utter a word of dissatisfaction, Xue Rongyue had already placed another bag of pastries in his hand: "This is for you, eat it slowly when you get back."
Ji Dian then stood up, satisfied.
After leaving the dungeon, Ji Dian, carrying the heavy cakes in her hands, did not go straight back to rest. Instead, she climbed up to the dense forest behind the mountain, searching tree by tree, and finally found Qin Jin's figure on a cypress tree.
"Why does this purse look so familiar?" Although Qin Jin put it away quickly, Ji Dian's eyesight was better. He saw the style of the purse with its emerald green base clearly and immediately understood what it meant.
Qin Jin closed his eyes, rested his head on his arms, and looked up at the huge, bright moon.
The silvery sunlight filtered through the layers of leaves, casting countless rays that fell upon his straight nose, illuminating the small mole on it clearly.
He did not have a gentle and refined appearance. Although he had a pair of captivating and affectionate peach blossom eyes, most of the time, his eyes were cold and indifferent. When he was not smiling, his eyes were filled with a sharp light. When he looked over, it seemed that he could see into people's hearts, which made people feel intimidated.
It's a waste to have such sharp eyes; they're usually so perceptive, yet they always seem to fall for the same person.
Ji Dian sighed and unwrapped the oil paper covering the cakes: "Are you hungry? Do you want to come down and eat something?"
Qin Jin casually hummed in agreement, took the pastry he tossed to her, and took a bite: "...Did you get this from Xue Rongyue?"
Ji Dian looked up in surprise: "You were actually following me?"
"......"
Qin Jin opened his eyes helplessly: "Xue Rongyue likes to eat dried apricots. The servants in her courtyard often put chopped dried apricots into the pastries they make. You can tell just by tasting them."
Ji Dian was truly convinced now and couldn't help but laugh: "You two really are childhood sweethearts."
Childhood sweethearts?
Qin Jin lifted his eyelids and quietly looked at the bright moon in the night sky. Hearing this, he slightly curled his lips and let out a soft sneer: "You said before that we were destined enemies from birth."
Ji Dian sat down on the ground: "Then why don't you mention that she was going to try and cut you with a knife back then?"
Qin Jin didn't want to hear this last thing, so he clicked his tongue and accused her, "Stop bringing up the past. I've already told you she's reformed and won't kill me anymore."
"......"
Ji Dian's expression was sincere as he said, "Do you know that every time you say that, I feel a nameless anger rising in my heart, and I really want to take a knife and chop you up?"
Qin Jin said casually, "Just telling the truth."
Ji Dian: ""
Ji Dian was so angry she laughed. She even stopped eating the cakes and asked him, "Since she has turned over a new leaf, why are you suddenly avoiding her? She even asked me about it when I delivered the medicine today."
Qin Jin's brow twitched slightly, and he asked calmly, "What do you mean?"
Ji Dian drawled, "Ask why you didn't deliver the medicine yourself."
Qin Jin pursed his thin lips and asked in a low voice, "So what was your answer?"
"How would I know? You've been wearing a cold face and radiating coldness these past few days, like you just crawled out of an ice cave. Haven't you noticed that even Luo Hongfang doesn't dare to chat with you much anymore?"
Ji Dian spread her hands: "I wanted to ask her if you two had a fight, but she wouldn't say anything and just sent me away with some cakes."
His tense body relaxed slightly, and after a moment of silence, Qin Jin reached out and plucked a green leaf, playing with it in his palm. Suddenly, he spoke again: "...Didn't she ask anything else?"
"What do you want her to ask?" Ji Dian cut to the chase. "You want her to care if you're hurt, you want to see if she cares about you?"
Qin Jin closed his eyes, then opened them again, and threw the leaf in his hand at Ji Dian.
In the stillness of the night, green leaves fluttered down, swirling and drifting away in the night breeze, their whereabouts unknown.
Ji Dian curled her lips: "Did you two really have a fight?"
Qin Jin reached out and plucked another emerald green leaf, lowered his eyes, and denied, "No."
Ji Dian raised an eyebrow slightly: "Then why did you two suddenly...?"
Why does this feel so awkward?
Ji Dian was unsure whether he should ask that question.
Qin Jin clearly understood the question he hadn't finished asking. His long, slender fingers, with their distinct knuckles, crumpled the green leaves until the juice stained his fingertips. Then, his deep, husky voice rang out: "I just... I just don't know how to face her right now, and I have some questions in my heart."
Ji Dian asked, "What question do you have?"
Another silence fell. Qin Jin, with one knee slightly bent and his brows furrowed, kept pulling green leaves from the tree in agitation. Just as Ji Dian was about to remind him not to strip the whole tree bare, he suddenly laughed and said, "Tell me, how can a person fall twice on the same person?"
His voice trailed off, his brows furrowed, and he took a deep breath, muttering hoarsely, "I just haven't known how to get over this hurdle in my heart..."
Ji Dian only heard the first half of the sentence, and was immediately stunned. Then, she was so moved that her eyes filled with tears: "So you knew! I always thought you didn't know. Also, stop flattering yourself. You've fallen for her more than twice. Do you want me to list them for you?"
"......"
Qin Jin said expressionlessly, "Don't make things difficult for me right now, okay?"
With a sigh, Ji Dian suppressed his smile and became more serious: "Life is short, only a few years. Why limit yourself? Just do whatever makes you happy. I only know that being happy in the moment is true happiness, but the worries you have in your heart may not come true."
Qin Jin hissed.
Ji Dian said with no small amount of pride, "Well, what I said makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? Are you shaken by it?"
Qin Jin shook his head and said with great emotion, "I really didn't expect that such elegant words would come out of your mouth."
Ji Dian's face immediately fell, and she stood up angrily: "It was all for nothing to come and comfort you tonight; you should have just frozen to death in this tree—"
He turned around as he spoke, but stopped abruptly when he saw the figure behind him.
Qin Jin also keenly sensed something at that moment. His sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he propped himself up with one hand, sitting up halfway and looking over at them. His thin lips pursed up.
Xue Rongyue stood not far away, holding a cloak in one hand and cakes wrapped in oil paper in the other, tilting her head to look at him.
Ji Dian gasped, "How did you get here?"
He had barely finished speaking when he changed his question again: "How long have you been here?"
Xue Rongyue stepped forward: "From the moment you started spouting grand principles."
Ji Dian breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief. Xue Rongyue looked the two of them up and down and said, "Which of you two had a sudden urge to come to this deep mountain forest to have a heart-to-heart talk in the middle of the night? Aren't you afraid of encountering wild beasts?"
"The ferocious beasts are nothing to fear; it's someone who has something on their mind that's more important."
Ji Dian picked up the unfinished cake: "Since you're here, I'll be leaving now. I suppose you're more suitable than me to help someone resolve their inner conflict."
He strolled slowly to Xue Rongyue's side, then suddenly turned and smiled at her, a smile that sent chills down Xue Rongyue's spine. She frowned, about to ask him what he was thinking, when he snatched a bag of pastries from her hand and ran off laughing.
Xue Rongyue: "......"
Seeing that someone had escaped, Xue Rongyue had no way to deal with the culprit, so she could only point at Ji Dian's triumphant departure, turn around and glare at Qin Jin, and question him: "Did you see that?"
Qin Jin leaped down from the tree, landing precisely two inches in front of Xue Rongyue. A long wind blew through Xue Rongyue's hair, and a few strands of her dark hair were tossed by the wind, brushing against Qin Jin's deep-set eyes.
The two were so close that they could feel each other's breath. Under the bright moonlight, their own reflections in each other's pupils were clearly visible.
The mountain wind raged on, but the sound of each other's breathing was not muffled; on the contrary, it became even clearer.
The two stared intently at each other, it was unclear whether one of them spoke first, or whether they spoke at the same time.
How did you find your way here?
"Qin Jin, did you hear that that night?"
Qin Jin was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "What?"
Xue Rongyue did not directly explain, but instead answered Qin Jin's question first: "I asked Ji Dian, didn't he tell you?"
Qin Jin pursed her lips: "No."
"So it seems he deliberately wanted to tease you." Xue Rongyue stared intently at Qin Jin. "Can you answer my question now?"
"That night, at the pavilion where we parted, did you hear the last words I shouted?"
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Author's note: With the changing seasons, everyone must pay close attention to the weather forecast and avoid catching a cold. [crying emoji]
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