Chapter 68, Chapter 68, quickly and casually flipped through...
After quickly and casually flipping through the balances of the ledgers in front of him, Qin Ji gave Xiao Yan a thumbs up: "Very impressive, you did a better job than I expected."
"Don't you think you have a great eye for choosing business partners?" Xiao Yan teased him, suddenly recalling their serious negotiations about the marriage in the restaurant.
“I think I have better taste in choosing a wife.” Qin Ji propped her chin up and looked at him from below. The light cast a hazy and ambiguous shadow on his face, but his eyes were particularly focused.
Xiao Yan instinctively avoided his gaze, but Qin Ji seemed even more interested.
He had actually realized long ago that in their interactions, if he took a step back, Yan Hui'er would become very bold, deliberately teasing and flirting with him. But if he took the initiative, she would become like a slightly timid little animal, shyly curling up into a fluffy ball.
It's very interesting.
"And what about this ledger in your hand? It looks unfamiliar to me." Qin Ji reached out and grasped Xiao Yan Hui's hand. His hand, tanned from the sun in Yunzhou, was placed on top of Xiao Yan Hui's fair hand. He slightly adjusted the position of his fingers so that he could completely cover Xiao Yan Hui's hand holding the ledger in his palm.
The two of them held the same ledger together, one large and one small, one black and one white, their hands overlapping each other, creating an unspoken ambiguity.
Xiao Yan felt an intense heat on the back of her hand, the warmth of his palm transmitting through their pressed skin. The heat seemed particularly penetrating, spreading upwards from the back of her hand, even making her face flush.
With a slight crackling sound, the candle flame popped, and the next second Xiao Yan Hui seemed startled by the sudden, unstable light, and immediately pulled her hand away and stepped back.
"Qin Ji, you... I asked you to look at the ledgers, don't try anything funny." Xiao Yan gave him a warning glare with her unusually watery eyes that night, though not particularly intimidating.
"They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but this isn't even a short separation for us, it's been a long time. And if you count how much time we've spent together, we're practically still in our honeymoon phase. Yan Hui'er, it's so unromantic of you to drag me to look at the account book like this. But, since you're so determined to look at the account book, then we'll look at it properly, slowly!" Qin Ji tossed the booklet in his hand, a hint of feigned grievance and mischievousness on his face, but his tone was full of teasing and banter.
Faced with his expression and tone, Xiao Yan felt slightly overwhelmed and looked away again.
How come this guy has suddenly become so unrestrained since he came back? Before we went out, he was the kind of person who would get shy if you teased him even a little, and then try his best to hide his shyness. How come he's suddenly become so irresistible now?
No, it was perfectly normal during the day today too.
With a slightly suspicious look, Xiao Yan turned her gaze back to Qin Ji, and then suddenly realized that the guy who had been so eager to "tease" her was actually just putting on an act of composure; his ears had long since turned completely red.
Knowing he wasn't as calm as he appeared, Xiao Yan's defiant spirit resurfaced. So what if they touched hands and exchanged some ambiguous flirtatious remarks? She wasn't afraid of him!
"How can I properly examine the ledgers if they haven't even been opened?" In the candlelight, her soft, white fingers, like jade, traced a gentle path along the back of his hand, her index and middle fingers moving alternately...
Qin Ji's hand holding the ledger visibly trembled.
"Hahahaha... You couldn't keep up the act anymore, could you!" Xiao Yan laughed loudly.
"You..." Qin Ji looked at the person who had completely destroyed the ambiguous atmosphere with a smile, and sighed deeply helplessly. He reached out and pulled the person into his arms: "Are you really not afraid that I will break my promise at all?"
After the ambiguous atmosphere that had made the air thick and sticky dissipated, Xiao Yan was able to be held by him quite calmly. Just now, when their hands were clasped together, she felt that sparks were flying in the air. Now, when she directly took his hands and played with them, it was just like playing with a table.
"Huh?" Feeling something was off about the texture of Qin Ji's hand, Xiao Yan turned Qin Ji's hand over and saw that his palm, which had only had a thin layer of calluses a year ago, was now covered with a thick layer of calluses and even had some cracks that had not fully healed.
Qin Ji tried to pull his hand away, but Xiao Yanhui tightened her grip.
"Why are there so many calluses on your hands? Did you go to the battlefield?" Ignoring his attempt to pull his hand back again, Xiao Yan gave him a slightly warning look, stopped his movement, and then examined his hands over and over.
“If you were helping with the carrying in the back, you should have calluses on both hands, but…” Xiao Yan opened Qin Ji’s hands, palms facing up, at the same time: “Your calluses are only on your right hand, and they are mainly distributed on the knuckles, the inside of the palm, and the web between the thumb and index finger. Based on my experience from martial arts novels, these are calluses left from long-term use of swords…”
"Yunzhou is a battlefield after all. I'm already there, so I need to practice a bit. Otherwise, I'd be too out of place." Qin Ji smiled nonchalantly, flipping his hand over to gather Xiao Yan Hui's hand back into his palm, and then naturally raising his other hand to ruffle her hair.
"Really? Qin Ji, I feel you're a bit suspicious. Are you hiding something from me?" Xiao Yan raised her head slightly, staring intently into Qin Ji's eyes, trying to see through his gentle and frank gaze.
This suspicion certainly didn't just arise from seeing the calluses on his palms tonight; rather, it was the indescribable sense of unease in this seemingly ordinary daily life that constantly stirred her doubts.
"...Yes, I've been secretly killing and committing all sorts of evil deeds outside." The hand that was touching her head tapped her head lightly with its fingers. Qin Ji subconsciously tightened his grip on her waist, but his expression was completely joking.
"Pfft!" Xiao Yan buried her face in Qin Ji's shoulder, amused, and teased, "No way, we're successors of communism, good citizens of a society governed by law. But if you really commit murder and arson, I'll help you dig a hole and bury the body, okay..." She laughed again as she spoke, her fluffy head bobbing up and down in Qin Ji's shoulder.
"You said it yourself, if I kill or set fires, you'll help me dig a pit and bury the body." Qin Ji's tone was gentle, his slightly lowered eyes fixed on the person who was lying in his arms, grinning foolishly, his gaze unfathomable.
"I've already dug a hole and buried your body for you, how are you going to thank me?" Xiao Yan continued to spout nonsense.
"Yes, I'll give you my life."
"You're really something, you can even pick up on that joke like that. You've been around for years, but you still haven't forgotten the domineering CEO's life-or-death literature!"
Qin Ji stretched out his arms and hugged Xiao Yanhui tightly, then rested his chin on Xiao Yanhui's shoulder. The two looked like a pair of mandarin ducks with their necks intertwined. "It's settled then. You can't go back on your word."
“No, that won’t do. Keeping your word is a gentleman’s duty, so if you say you can’t break your promise, then I can. I’m not a gentleman.” She reached out and hugged Qin Ji back, then ruffled his hair a few times like he had, her tone shifting from playful to tender and gentle:
“I know. Since you were on the battlefield, you couldn’t have just been doing logistical support. Otherwise, how could you be someone’s trusted confidant? Everything’s alright now. Yunzhou is pacified and you’re going home. Qin Ji, forget about the battlefield.”
For a fleeting moment, though not obvious, Xiao Yan Hui was certain she sensed something was off about Qin Ji's emotions. Although he kept saying he was only in charge of logistics and supplies, ... even if Xiao Yan Hui hadn't personally experienced the battlefields of the era of cold weapons, she had certainly seen them in TV dramas.
She could somewhat imagine what Qin Ji had experienced during his year in Yunzhou—bloodshed, battles, and killing—killing many people. She also knew that he had kept it a secret to avoid worrying his family.
After the sudden separation, he may not be able to return to a normal life for a while, but that's okay, time will heal everything.
Holding her in his arms and listening to her comforting words, Qin Ji's eyes grew increasingly complicated. He now fully understood what it meant to be caught in a dilemma; he had more than one chance to explain everything, yet he had chosen to conceal it time and time again.
That was a good opportunity, but... it seems he missed it again.
But his time is running out. Now that Yunzhou has been pacified, if he is in a hurry, the people and imperial decrees from the capital may arrive soon, at the latest by next spring.
He had to explain everything to Yan Hui and obtain her forgiveness before the people from the capital arrived, otherwise... he simply couldn't imagine how Yan Hui would react after learning everything from someone else.
It's highly likely that he'll be kicked away by the enraged Yan Hui because of these deceptions and concealments, and... what worries Qin Ji even more is that he can't ruin his image in Yan Hui's heart.
Thinking back to what I had heard before, these days the rumors that were going around in Jiangzuo City about Prince Cheng's ruthless actions, cruel methods, and even his violent and lecherous nature.
He was already in a difficult situation regarding the matter of confessing, and now there was a group of people hiding in the shadows smearing Prince Cheng's reputation, which only made things worse for him.
Qin Ji's eyes, fixed on Xu Shi, were filled with dark turmoil. It just so happened that Lin Ye would be coming this time. He would first deal with these people who were secretly smearing him, then clear Cheng Junwang's name, and finally... perhaps he could devise a self-inflicted injury scheme, and confess after getting hurt. Maybe that would make it easier for him to get through Yan Hui.
Holding the person in his arms, Qin Ji's mind was working at lightning speed, listing out various plans one by one. The mental effort he put into this planning was no less than that he put into the battlefield.
......
"Master, at least the young master isn't clinging to you today." On the bustling street, Xiao Yanhui strolled along with Zhu Yue and Mao'er.
"If you keep teasing me like this, you little raccoon, watch out for your year-end bonus." Xiao Yan glanced at the cat and hit her sore spot with a single sentence.
"No, Master, I was wrong." The cat quickly begged for forgiveness. A few days ago, she had her eye on a very beautiful hollowed-out gold ball and was waiting to buy it for the New Year.
"You really like those little trinkets, so calling him Cat was definitely the right name," Zhu Yue teased her. Then she winked and said, "But you were wrong just now. It's not that the young master isn't clinging to his master anymore, it's just that he's busy today."
"I think I've been too lenient with you two," Xiao Yan said, rolling her eyes at each of the two maids.
However, Qin Ji has been particularly clingy these days. If it weren't for her friend's invitation today, it seems she would have had a hard time shaking off that pest and going out for a stroll. Thinking of this, Xiao Yan felt both sweet and a little burdened.
However, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up again.
"Let's go, there's a restaurant called Xiankelai just ahead. I've been wanting to try it for the past few days, so let's have lunch there today." Seeing the well-regarded new restaurant not far ahead, Xiao Yan took the lead and walked forward.
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