Chapter 71 One Person, One Question: Someone wasn't sincere when they said that...
The low-hanging night sky is like a painter's brush, its ink seeping into the paper as it falls, the blurred strokes outlining the contours of layered mountains. The noise and heat of the day have faded, leaving only a dark, boundless silence.
The crescent moon, round as a jade plate, hangs above the mountains and rivers, standing serenely, casting a hazy, gauze-like silver glow. It is not enough to illuminate the undulating ravines between the mountains, but it perfectly outlines the features that are so close to each other.
"That night, at the pavilion where we parted, did you hear the last words I shouted?"
A strong night wind swept through the trees, whispering in his ears. As Xue Rongyue's last word was blown away by the wind, Qin Jin's prominent Adam's apple bobbed violently. After a few breaths of silence, he gave his answer: "No."
"lie."
Xue Rongyue stared at him intently.
Qin Jin opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Xue Rongyue cut him off with a single sentence. Her voice was soft, but her tone left no room for doubt: "If you really didn't hear it, you should ask me now what exactly was said that night."
After a brief silence, Qin Jin sighed, sat down on the ground, crossed his long, straight legs, and said helplessly, "...You don't actually have to know me so well."
Xue Rongyue spread her cloak on the vast grassland and sat down: "You shouldn't have said this to me now. If you had said it to me ten or twenty years earlier, when I was just born, it might have been useful."
Qin Jin plucked a blade of grass from beside him, chuckled upon hearing this, and turned to look at her.
The moonlight, like water, flowed gently across Xue Rongyue's profile, clearly outlining her exquisite and superior features. Beneath her pert nose, her red lips were vibrant and luscious.
Although it was already summer and the daytime was gradually getting hot, the mountaintop was still cold at night. Xue Rongyue wore a thin cloak over her clothes, and her dress underneath was thin with wide sleeves that made it clear that a lot of wind had gotten in.
Qin Jin asked, "Aren't you cold?"
Xue Rongyue turned her head, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and said with displeasure, "How can you be so insensitive? You shouldn't be asking me if I'm cold right now; you should just put your cloak or cape on me—"
Xue Rongyue's words abruptly stopped when her gaze fell on the clothes Qin Jin was wearing.
She then noticed that Qin Jin was neither wearing a cloak nor a cape; his coarse linen clothes looked even thinner than the dress she was wearing.
Xue Rongyue subconsciously placed her hand on the long sash of her cloak tied below her neck.
Following Xue Rongyue's gaze, Qin Jin's eyes fell on his own clothes. After a brief moment of surprise, he raised his hand to protect his collar.
The next moment, the two said in unison—
"I am frail and cannot withstand the wind, so I cannot lend you my cloak."
"I'm only wearing these clothes. If I take them off and give them to you, I'll be too ashamed to face anyone and I'll jump off a cliff."
Qin Jin: "......"
Xue Rongyue: ""
Her wary expression instantly changed. Xue Rongyue's cheeks flushed slightly. She glared at him fiercely, turned her head away, and the hairpins on her hair rattled loudly.
She said gruffly, "Who cares!"
Qin Jin scoffed, "You're stingy."
Xue Rongyue choked.
After considering the purpose of her visit tonight, she hesitated between freezing and getting her clothes dirty, and finally reluctantly pulled on the long sash of her cloak: "Okay, okay, here you go."
"Just kidding." Before Xue Rongyue could actually give up the cloak, Qin Jin stopped her, "Wear it. It's not a good thing to get windy and hot at this time of year."
Xue Rongyue feigned modesty and continued to say, "They're all untied."
Qin Jin glanced sideways.
Two slender, peach-pink ribbons hung down, revealing Xue Rongyue's snow-white, slender neck. A few stray strands of hair fell loosely, throbbing restlessly in the surging night wind.
He turned around, his clean knuckles suddenly curling up the two long ribbons, the peach-pink ribbons casting a pink hue on his fingertips.
Xue Rongyue's pupils contracted slightly; Qin Jin's action was completely unexpected.
Her neck tensed, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment. Xue Rongyue hesitated and lowered her eyes, her gaze sliding from Qin Jin's well-defined knuckles to his eyes. After a brief hesitation, she raised her chin slightly and let Qin Jin tie the long belt of her cloak.
The moonlight enveloped the world, stretching and intertwining the shadows of the two people.
Warm breaths brushed against each other's bare skin. The howling mountain wind seemed to have gone far away at this moment, leaving only strands of hair that were constantly being teased and hanging down the sides of their necks. Apart from the soft breathing, the only sound in their ears was the increasingly clear heartbeat, like a drumbeat.
The melodious sounds echoed through the mountains and fields, making it impossible to discern their source, or perhaps... both of them were inextricably linked to them.
Qin Jin's gaze fell steadily and obediently, without the slightest deviation or overstepping of boundaries. After tying a neat knot, he released his hand: "You didn't know how when you were little, and you still don't know how now?"
Xue Rongyue awkwardly looked away: "The knot I tied is crooked and not as pretty as the one Jingnu tied."
The knotting was complicated, but Xue Rongyue wasn't stupid. The reason she couldn't do it was because someone was always there to help her.
When she was almost eight years old, she discovered that her brother was always sneaking out of the mansion. He not only kept it a secret from their parents, but also refused to take her with him. No matter how much she cried and made a fuss, it was no use. This was the first time her brother had been so heartless to her. Naturally, she was unwilling to let it go, so she took advantage of the darkness one night to follow her brother out of the mansion, wanting to find out what was going on.
Unfortunately, her brother had already learned to ride a horse. After walking for several streets, he led over the horse that had been prepared and mounted it with ease. Just as she was feeling smug that her brother hadn't noticed her, the sound of hooves rang out. By the time she realized what was happening, the horse had already carried the boy away into the distance.
She panicked and chased after him for a whole street, but how could her two legs keep up with the galloping horse? She could only stare dumbfounded as the man and horse gradually disappeared into the night amidst the rising dust.
Just then, a small horse was tied up not far away, unattended.
Out of confidence in herself and disdain for the significantly shorter pony, she removed two valuable gold and jade hairpins from her hair, placed them under a stone on the side of the horse, and then secretly untied the rope binding the pony.
Before she could even mount the horse as she had imitated, the pony suddenly neighed, and then the mansion gate burst open. With a resounding shout of "Where do you think you're going, you little thief? How dare you mess with me!", the "master," who was about her height, rushed forward and kicked her.
Although she quickly dodged to the side, the foot still kicked her left leg. She fell to the ground with the force of the kick. Fearing that the person would kick her again, she was about to loudly announce her name when, before she could even open her mouth, a surprised voice rang out: "Second Aunt?"
She belatedly looked over and saw Qin Jin standing in front of her with a shocked expression, surrounded by a swarm of servants.
Actually, that kick didn't hurt, but for some reason, Xue Rongyue burst into tears. She slapped away Qin Jin's hand that was trying to help her up, stood up herself, and kicked him several times: "I'll teach you to kick me! I'll teach you to kick me!"
Qin Jin didn't dodge, obediently standing still and letting her kick him. Only after her anger subsided a bit did she explain, "I thought it was a horse thief..."
As a child, she was domineering and unreasonable in front of Qin Jin. Although she knew that Qin Jin was not to blame for this, she still relentlessly said, "Who is the horse thief? Who is the horse thief?! If your eyes are not working properly, gouge them out. You can use them to vent your anger!"
At this time, Qin Jin's tolerance and indulgence were her greatest source of confidence to cause trouble.
Sure enough, even after being kicked several more times, Qin Jin wasn't angry. Instead, he pulled her to sit on the stone steps beside him and checked her legs. Having grown up together, they had no concept of gender segregation at this moment. After taking a look, Qin Jin immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness you're alright."
Seeing that her cloak was dirty from being kicked, he quickly took off his own cloak and draped it over her shoulders. Then, he naturally bent down and tied the long sash for her.
"How can you be alright? My leg still hurts!"
At that time, she was used to this behavior and didn't take it to heart at all. While naturally tilting her head back to cooperate with him, she was still upset about the kick just now. She bluntly said something and started to think about Xiao Ma again.
After hearing the whole story, Qin Jin pulled her to her feet and said boldly, "Then you've come to the right person. I'm an expert horseman. Get on the horse, and I'll take you to find Brother Xue!"
Xue Rongyue followed him with some skepticism, her mind replaying the rumor from the servants that he had fallen off his horse three times while practicing horsemanship. Looking at his personal servant beside her, who seemed hesitant to speak, she asked somewhat timidly, "...Are you sure you can do it?"
"Why can't I? Master said I've made great progress, so don't underestimate me." Qin Jin widened his eyes, patted his chest, and assured him in a gruff voice, "Don't worry, if I ride too fast, don't be afraid."
As he spoke, he stepped onto the saddle and mounted the horse. Xue Rongyue felt a little relieved seeing that his movements were quite smooth. He pulled her onto the pony, and Qin Jin reminded her, "Hold on tight to me, or you'll fall off."
Xue Rongyue was very obedient and wrapped her arms around his waist. Qin Jin, like a victorious general, proudly cracked his whip and shouted, "Let's go!"
The pony neighed and suddenly reared up on its two front hooves—
Before Qin Jin's smugness had faded, he and Xue Rongyue were thrown out together.
With a "thump," the two fell to the ground, their faces showing identical bewilderment and confusion. Golden light flashed before their eyes, and they felt as if their buttocks were about to be split into four pieces.
The servants rushed forward to help the two of them up. Xue Rongyue was really hurt this time, and she stared at Qin Jin with tears in her eyes, sitting on the ground and refusing to get up.
Qin Jin was genuinely guilty this time. He grimaced and rubbed his buttocks, not daring to look up at Xue Rongyue's expression. With the help of the servants, he stood up and forced himself to say, "Hey, this was an accident. Give me another chance, and there will be no problem."
As he spoke, he walked over to the pony, leaned close to its ear, and pleaded for a while.
Then, under Xue Rongyue's angry gaze, he approached the saddle again. This time, before he could even get on, the horse stretched out its hind hoof and ruthlessly kicked him away.
The servants were sweating profusely with anxiety, chasing after Qin Jinfei in the direction he had flown off, all the while trying to persuade him, "Young Master, my good Young Master, you were just kicked three times by this horse and passed out, how come you're acting up again now that you've just woken up?"
Xue Rongyue: "......"
This time, he was clearly kicked hard, and Qin Jin lay on his back on the ground for a while, seemingly dead.
He finally opened his eyes after a long while. The servants hurriedly lifted him and moved him to Xue Rongyue's side. Despite his weakness, he still managed to explain, "...Really, it was just an accident..."
Xue Rongyue: "Get lost."
Qin Jin lowered his eyes in grievance, covered his face, and was carried into the mansion by servants for treatment.
......
Whether they were both lost in memories or not, they suddenly fell silent, with only the chirping of cicadas in the distance.
Xue Rongyue seemed to realize something, her eyes darting around before she belatedly said, "...You're changing the subject again."
"Yes, I heard that."
This time, Qin Jin did not deny it and nodded in agreement.
Xue Rongyue looked at him: "Why did you lie?"
Qin Jin looked at her and asked, "You really...missed me?"
She pursed her lips and said, "First come, first served. I asked first."
Qin Jin chuckled: "I never care about first come, first served."
"Then what will you say?"
Staring intently at Xue Rongyue, Qin Jin's Adam's apple bobbed as he slowly said, "Whoever wants to know the answer the most, can answer first."
Xue Rongyue raised an eyebrow, moved closer, and asked in return, "So, who most wants to know the answer?"
Under the moonlight, a pair of bright almond-shaped eyes stared intently at him, their eyes slightly curved in a hint of provocation. The woman's faint fragrance wafted over as they closed the distance, and her soft breathing was clearer than the mountain wind that blew all night.
Unbeknownst to them, Qin Jin and Xue Rongyue's breathing became synchronized. He sighed slowly, a helpless smile curving his thin lips, and muttered in a low voice, "What to do? It seems like we dug our own hole and jumped in."
Xue Rongyue smiled smugly: "Please."
Qin Jin raised his eyelids: "Because I know that someone didn't mean it when they said that."
Xue Rongyue raised her eyebrows: "What makes you say that?"
Qin Jin stopped answering: "One person, one question. It's your turn to answer."
With a pout, Xue Rongyue deliberately muttered something about being stingy, then straightened her cloak behind her and lay down.
Facing us was a bright moon hanging in the sky.
Moonlight filtered through the sparse and dense branches, casting dappled and fragmented shadows that gently and clearly outlined Xue Rongyue's features.
She turned her head to the side, patted the empty spot next to her, and wanted to invite Qin Jin to lie down with her.
"what?"
Qin Jin was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "You're just pretending to be unconscious if you don't want to answer the question?"
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Author's Note: Actually, persimmons weren't much better, and they were pretty unromantic too... [melted]
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