Chapter 52 Shi Jiyu: Then what is he?
"No matter who I am, it doesn't affect my ability to make friends."
After a long silence, Ning Lu finally revealed her true thoughts.
“I don’t know how much you know about me, but Su Yun is my first friend here. For whatever reason, I can’t stay away from her.”
"The first one?"
Xie Qinghe sneered and asked in return.
Then what is he?
Seeing the atmosphere around this person turn cold, Ning Lu didn't even understand why he was angry, but she also became stubborn and turned her head to look straight ahead.
She was really unlucky; she hadn't met any sincere people since arriving in this godforsaken place.
For example, at first, she regarded Yu Niang as someone she could befriend, but later she discovered that there were some inexplicable calculations and deceptions between them.
Later, she regarded Ji Amin as a good person and a friend, but he suddenly transformed into Xie Qinghe.
Xie Qinghe was infamous and arrogant, and his rare acts of weakness always had ulterior motives.
She couldn't treat him as a friend.
But she had to admit that she really wanted to treat Ji Amin as a friend.
Ning Lu's profile tightened silently, and her lips pressed into a straight line.
Xie Qinghe took in her silent resistance and put the teacup back on the table.
With a soft click, she flinched and took a step to the side.
He's back to being like a frightened bird.
Xie Qinghe was furious, and his breathing suddenly became rapid and restrained.
His knuckles, which were white as he rested his hands on the rosewood chair, strained to suppress his voice and said slowly, "Since you're still so afraid, then go back."
Go back then.
Ning Lu lifted her foot to leave, but then felt something was wrong.
She is the one whose human rights have been deprived, she is the one who should be angry, why is he getting angry?
Does he really think he's the boss?
"Who said I'm scared?"
Ning Lu stopped and squatted down by the table, resting her chin on the table, looking somewhat like a spoiled child.
"I'm not leaving. You haven't even told me how much salary you'll pay me yet."
Ning Lu.
The chill in his voice seemed to seep into her bones, and Ning Lu turned her head to look at him.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, her lips were crimson, and her chest rose and fell.
She can't stand being treated like this.
"Why are you angry?" Ning Lu frowned and pouted, her tone revealing a hint of grievance.
“I’m the one being kept in the dark.” She muttered softly, “I almost told you all my secrets. I was acting like a fool, and I’m not even angry, so why are you?”
Xie Qinghe suddenly looked up and stared at her blankly, as if trying to confirm the meaning behind her words.
"That was the day I was going to buy alcohol and go home. If Zhao Yue hadn't arrested me, I would have done so."
Ning Lu looked annoyed.
She gets angry just thinking about it.
Now she has managed to pick up some of the original owner's skills, but whenever she thinks of her fight with Zhao Yue, she still can't think of a way to escape.
My gaze fell on this man's face and caught a glimpse of melancholy. The anger in his eyes seemed to have subsided a little.
What a fickle mood!
"Lord Xie, you're probably too busy with important matters to wait for me."
Not ignoring the sarcasm in her tone, Xie Qinghe closed his eyes slightly, suppressing all the emotions in his eyes, and turned his head in the opposite direction from hers.
I didn't hear his reply, and I saw his awkward expression.
Ning Lu suddenly realized something and belatedly asked, "You haven't been waiting for me all this time, have you?"
She turned her head even further away.
She seemed to have discovered a shocking secret. She turned around and walked in front of him. When he tried to avoid her again, she simply reached out and pressed her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you really waiting for me?"
Looking back now, Xie Qinghe actually arrived very quickly; she only stayed in the prison for a full day and night.
Look at the scene that day...
She nudged his shoulder and glanced at him guiltily.
Xie Qinghe's anger had mostly dissipated, replaced by undisguised weariness.
"We're not friends... why would I wait for you..."
Ning Lu was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this.
"That's not how it works."
She raised her hand, trying to interrupt his sarcastic remarks.
Leaning against the desk, she pondered for a long time, then suddenly chuckled and tugged at his clothes.
She teased him deliberately, "You want to be my friend?"
The man didn't want to say anything more to her, so he pulled his hand away and got up to leave.
Perhaps due to the intense emotional fluctuations just now, he staggered, his eyes closed, breathing heavily.
Ning Lu didn't dare to pull him rashly, and only instinctively used her hands to protect his body.
Their breathing rose and fell, and surprisingly, their breathing frequencies became identical.
Rarely, Xie Qinghe showed an expression of near-embarrassment and anger, and she couldn't help but chuckle.
Ning Lu.
There is a threat, but also something we can do about it.
She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and said softly, "That's not how it is, Xie Qinghe."
"Friends don't have to say harsh words or be sarcastic when they talk to each other."
“Like this.” Ning Lu composed herself, lowered her eyes slightly, and said slowly and sincerely, “Of course I know that Ji Amin is always waiting for me to come home. But if I knew that such a cold and aloof Ji Amin was looking forward to my return home and was curious about my secrets and stories, that would be very different. That is very important to me.”
Bang--
Bang bang—
My heart was beating erratically.
Xie Qinghe's hands, which had been supporting him at his sides, gradually relaxed, and his gaze softened.
Like a wild beast suddenly tamed, it no longer struggles or panics.
He opened his mouth, his brow furrowing slightly, but he swallowed the words back down.
Then, he slumped down, head bowed in dejection.
What are you saying?
He spent the entire day trying to find the right words, tossing and turning, unable to sit still, trying to figure out how to confess to her that he was the infamous Xie Qinghe.
He said he often woke up in a fright from his dreams and could not fall back asleep, and could only feel at ease when he peeked at her sleeping face by moonlight.
He said that the days in Zhujia'ao and Ying County were the most relaxed and leisurely time for him, so he selfishly procrastinated and became more and more cowardly each day.
He said he didn't understand those complex emotions at all; he only knew he didn't want to lose them and he only knew he wanted to hold on.
She was already easily frightened; his shameful feelings would only push her away.
"Okay, it's okay."
Seeing that he was unwilling to speak, Ning Lu released her grip on his shoulder and took half a step back.
She turned around, picked up the medicine bowl from the table, and walked out, saying, "I'll go back first, then call Wei Chun in."
He didn't look well, but having someone with him made him feel more at ease.
Ning Lu.
Her purplish-red lips opened and closed.
The sound was deep, like an echo from a valley.
"I'm curious..."
Xie Qinghe hurriedly got up to chase after him, and in his haste, he accidentally scattered a few books on the table.
My steps were unsteady, and my breathing was rapid.
"I've been waiting."
Waiting for an opportunity to be honest, an opportunity for you to see the real Giammar.
I'm also waiting for the opportunity to get closer to the real Ning Lu.
However, his true feelings were so blunt and unreserved that he could only stammer out his thoughts.
Ning Lu turned to the side and gazed at him intently, taking in his helplessness.
She admits that she is a soft-hearted person.
Xie Qinghe was an exception. When she was with him, she would express a variety of emotions beyond joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, and she would also have complex motivations beyond good and evil.
Just then, seeing his helplessness, the walls of his heart built up by those shocking rumors collapsed.
Standing in front of that wall was the imposing Xie Zhongcheng, and behind him stood the sharp-tongued but soft-hearted Ji A'ming.
They overlapped little by little, gradually becoming one.
"If you'd like... you can call me the same way you used to."
Ji Amin...
It sounds great.
He liked it very much.
Upon hearing this, Ning Lu suddenly felt a strange sense of relief. She turned around completely and took two steps toward him.
After a brief silence, he tentatively began to speak.
"Ji Amin?"
"Um."
Very low and muffled.
“Okay.” Ning Lu’s eyes darted around, a sly glint in them: “However…”
The man's slightly slumped shoulders tensed again as he silently stared at her lips.
"But what?"
"Xie Qinghe is also a very nice-sounding name."
She effortlessly channeled her indomitable spirit once again, patting the man's shoulder with her backhand.
"Since it's all you anyway, I'll just call whoever comes to mind."
Before he could react, Ning Lu swayed and slipped out of the room, leaving him with only a charming and cheerful back view.
She still didn't admit that they were friends.
The person who was usually most adept at appreciating the unspoken meaning was now stunned, pondering her attitude repeatedly.
After a long while, his eyelashes lifted.
It's better not to be friends.
He never just wanted to be friends.
When Wei Chun saw her slip out, he went inside to investigate and saw Xie Qinghe take two steps back and lean against the desk, her eyes downcast and her shoulders slumped, looking exhausted.
Then, the person sighed and chuckled softly, feeling a sense of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
When he was with Xie Qinghe, the Xie family had already been exiled, and he had become the most sought-after new official in the Crown Prince's palace.
In other words, from the day he began to stay by Xie Qinghe's side, he never had a single day of relaxation.
Never backing down, never softening his heart, never panicking, his coldness and hardness are unlike that of ordinary people.
At this moment, there is an exception, a soft spot, and it even seems somewhat like a living, breathing person.
Seeing Xie Qinghe lean on the table and walk back to his chair, leaning back and sitting down, Wei Chun quietly withdrew.
Warm and fragrant, a comforting sigh.
Ning Lu turned over leisurely in bed, pulling the blankets a little tighter.
Then he opened his eyes.
It was already broad daylight.
"Qinghuai! What time is it?"
"girl?"
"I mean, what time is it?"
"It's almost time for Chen Shi (7-9 AM). Miss."
Why didn't anyone call me to report for duty?
He jumped off the bed and grabbed a scarlet jacket from the side of the bed, putting it on.
Halfway through putting it on, she suddenly realized that it wasn't the official robes she usually wore.
"Last night, Lord Wei came to deliver a message, saying that the young lady hasn't slept well for several days, and she can go whenever she wants after she has had enough sleep."
What are you talking about? Why would anyone want to go to work?
Does this mean they're planning to let her go?
Ning Lu sat back on the bed, then realized, "No! No! We're interrogating Pan Xingxue today!"
"You promised to take me!"
He knew perfectly well that she wanted to go!
He reached out and pushed the clueless Qinghuai and Qingzhi to help her find her official robes and put them on. He then grabbed a pastry from the table in the outer room, ate it, and ran outside.
The biggest advantage of the official residences was, if nothing else, the short commute.
Ning Lu's unconventional and leaping movements will only make her faster.
In less than fifteen minutes, she was already standing at the entrance of the government office.
The Changzhou government office today is different from what it used to be.
The left and right sides were surrounded by people who had rushed over after hearing the news.
Even though the gates were tightly closed and the situation inside was unclear, no one dispersed.
The mansion gate slowly opened from the inside, and Wei Zhan appeared from behind the vermilion gate, stepping out steadily.
When people talk about Xie Qinghe's name, they inevitably mention his ruthless bodyguard and his womanizing young master Wei.
Upon hearing a command to be quiet, the onlookers immediately fell silent.
Ning Lu observed all of this, circled around to the side gate, leaped onto the wall, and headed towards the main hall with practiced ease.
A bright mirror hangs high, upright and just.
Beneath the plaque, Xie Qinghe sat upright, with a scholar holding a writing brush to his right and yamen runners standing on either side.
The left side was empty, and Wei Chun was nowhere to be seen.
Puzzled, she noticed a round stool in the hall, where Pan Xingxue, dressed in simple clothes, sat steadily.
"What? He actually got in?"
According to the laws of Jiang State, a third-rank official may sit and listen to the trial before being convicted.
Ning Lu turned to look at Wei Chun, who had suddenly appeared behind her.
What are you doing here?
"My master sent me to pick you up."
"Pick me up?"
Ning Lu looked at Xie Qinghe, whose face was as dark as Bao Zheng's, and then at Wei Chun's 'charming' smiling face.
"The master said that it is not advisable for the young lady to meet Pan Xingxue face to face."
"As the master said, if the young lady were to come, she would not likely use the main entrance."
Her smile froze, her lips slowly drooping, and she glared resentfully at Xie Qinghe.
Suddenly, a clear voice came from inside the hall. Pan Xingxue's tone was different from his previous flattery; it now carried a more determined and resolute air.
"Lord Xie, you say that I am colluding with Prince Jing, but in reality, it is you who are entangled with the people around the Prince."
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