Chapter 11 What exactly happened to her?
She slowly moved closer to Xiao Che's neck, her pearly white teeth lightly touching the side of his neck. Before she could close her mouth, she heard Xiao Che's voice in her ear. He didn't reveal any emotion, but he raised an eyebrow slightly and asked her, "Royal sister, what are you doing?"
This unexpected remark jolted her back to her senses.
Yes, what is she doing?
She just now... actually tried to bite Xiao Che?
Is she crazy?
She's not a dog, why would she bite Xiao Che?
Besides, men and women are different, how could she...
Why is she acting so strangely today? She actually had those kinds of fantasies about Xiao Che just now...
What exactly happened...?
No, it wasn't her fault, it must have been him who seduced her...
Yes, that must be it. He has the advantage of his bloodline; he was born with this ability...
But... but he would never stoop to doing such a thing to her, and besides, he hadn't done anything special today...
Her thoughts were in turmoil. On one hand, her body was clamoring with desire, while on the other hand, her remaining rationality was struggling to hold her back.
His fingers were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white, and sweat kept seeping from his fair forehead.
He remained oblivious, turning his head slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips, and lifting his eyelids, thinking she was about to play another prank: "By the way, what did you say you wanted?"
The soft light illuminated his handsome profile. His eyes were half-lowered, his eyelashes were surrounded by a halo of pale golden velvet, and his skin was so transparent that even the finest hairs on his face were clearly visible.
The faint blue veins on her neck stood out even more against her almost translucent white skin, especially when her attention was drawn to them…
She subtly moved her hand slightly, seemingly unintentionally, her fingertips trembling as she traced his veins, and she could even feel the pulse and the flow of blood beneath.
She licked her lips impatiently.
This excited her even more, though she didn't know why... It was just out of instinct that she wanted to bite him, to bite the few slightly protruding blue veins next to his Adam's apple.
He actually asked her what she wanted... at this crucial moment.
It's truly... seductive without realizing it.
She swallowed hard.
But what could she say, that she wanted to bite him?
Why? Even she herself didn't know why...
No, she can't do that. How could she bite someone, especially Xiao Che? If she bit him randomly, what would be the difference between her and a mad dog?
Once she does that, he will have something on her, and given his personality, he will definitely bring it up all the time. From now on, she will never be able to hold her head up in front of him again!
But Xiao Che was right in front of her, his every breath a silent seduction.
The growing craving and addiction screamed wildly in every vein and pore, tempting her to cling to Xiao Che's neck. Yet, a sliver of reason desperately warned her not to take that step: Was she insane? That was Xiao Che! What did she want to do to him?!
Let's just wait it out. Mount Li has always been a place rumored to be haunted by spirits and monsters, mysterious and enigmatic. She must have provoked something unclean on this trip, which is why she's behaving so strangely, developing a strong physical attraction to Xiao Che, even though she herself doesn't know why.
Perhaps this will only happen once, and she just needs to get through it! Otherwise, how will she explain it to Xiao Che when she regains her senses? And how will she face Xiao Jue if he finds out?!
Xiao Che wouldn't agree either. Did she expect him to beg her? But she had just sworn that she would never beg him again in her life! She had already lost enough face in front of him today. Other things could be explained by expediency and flexibility, but if she could go back on her word, she was afraid she would never be able to hold her head high in front of this mortal enemy for the rest of her life!
The thought of such consequences sent chills down her spine. No, she absolutely could not take that step. She had to endure it, just bear with it, and it would pass. It would only happen once. As long as she could get through it, she would still be the perfectly normal Princess Qinghe.
The intense physical desires and the frantic struggle of remaining reason resulted in a state of near exhaustion, with fingernails digging deep into the palms of the hands, to the point that the pain was no longer felt.
His fair forehead was covered with a dense layer of sweat, which dampened his temples.
Her rosy lips parted slightly, and after calling out Xiao Che's name one last time, she finally fainted again due to exhaustion.
When she woke up again, she seemed to hear concerned voices calling "Jiarou..." It sounded like Xiao Jue's voice.
She struggled to open her eyes, and as her vision gradually cleared, she saw Xiao Jue standing in front of her with a worried expression.
He wanted to take it a step further, but Xiao Che blocked his way.
Yes, she is still on Xiao Che's back.
She snapped back to reality and struggled to get off Xiao Che's back, looking pleadingly at Xiao Jue: "Crown Prince... Xiao Wenqi, please put me down!"
Xiao Che put her down without any expression.
Xiao Jue indeed reached out and pulled her out.
As soon as Yan Jiarou landed, she eagerly threw herself into Xiao Jue's arms, finally releasing all the pent-up grievances she had been holding back: "Waaah, Crown Prince, you've finally brought people to find me..."
Her pale face was streaked with tears. She looked up at Xiao Jue with teary eyes, sobbed a few times, and was about to say something when she suddenly realized that the unspeakable longing and the itching that felt like insects crawling all over her body and seeping from the very marrow of her bones had completely disappeared...
She transformed back into the perfectly normal Yan Jiarou.
But when she turned her head and secretly glanced at Xiao Che again, she met his nonchalant gaze, and for some reason, her face flushed and her heart raced. The intimate moments they had just shared flashed through her mind, lingering there...
Xiao Che glanced behind Xiao Jue without any expression and saw that he had indeed brought an imperial physician with him. He raised his chin slightly and said, "Since you have brought an imperial physician, why don't you take a look at her here? She was bitten by a wild fox and said that the wound is very itchy. I wonder if she has contracted some strange disease. Since she said that I was the one who brought the fox, I should pay more attention to it so that she won't rely on me in the future."
He looked at Yan Jiarou, raised an eyebrow, and said lazily, "Isn't that right, my royal sister?"
After what happened, Yan Jiarou didn't dare to look at him at all. Hidden under her hair, no one noticed that her jade-like earlobes were already bright red.
She stammered and turned her face away, "No...no need, I'm all better now, the wound isn't...it doesn't itch anymore..."
When it comes to the words "it's no longer itchy," I find it even more difficult to say them.
She spoke with a guilty conscience, wishing she could immediately pull Xiao Jue away from here—she really had no face to stay with Xiao Che right now.
Xiao Che scrutinized her for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips, and gave a vague "Oh?"
Yan Jiarou dared not look at him again. She pulled Xiao Jue's sleeve and shook it gently, pleading with him, "Crown Prince, I'm a little tired. Please take me back to my tent quickly."
Xiao Jue gazed tenderly at Yan Jiarou, and when she finally asked him for help, his eyes filled with even more affection: "Alright, you've been frightened this time. Don't be afraid, I'm here. Go back and rest well, and you'll recover." He then helped her walk back.
As Xiao Che watched the two figures walk away hand in hand, the already superficial smile on his lips finally vanished completely, and his amber pupils gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
Suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder, followed by a teasing voice: "Still looking? The person's already gone. Tsk, still saying 'I'm here, don't be afraid.' Little Jia Rou almost died under the horse's hooves when she mistakenly rode the mad horse. He wasn't there then. Now that the mad horse has been subdued and she's back safe and sound, he's here again—I didn't expect our Crown Prince to be so cunning, always picking up the pieces."
"Hey, speaking of which, how did you manage to tame that crazy horse?"
Xiao Che turned around, glanced at the newcomer indifferently, and said in a flat voice, "Dead. I fed him with a dagger."
The newcomer choked and coughed, "As expected of you. You dare to kill even the imperial steed without a second thought, aren't you afraid of the Emperor's wrath?"
“Father won’t blame me. It’s a matter of life and death. If it doesn’t die, Yan Jiarou’s life will be in danger.” He lowered his eyes, looked down at his palm, and said only, “Even if he does blame me, so what?”
"Her safety is of utmost importance. Even a single hair of hers is more precious than anything else. Even if the sky were to fall, it would still be so."
"What a fine 'even if the sky falls, it's still the same'! You've put so much effort into her, but alas, she doesn't appreciate it at all. You just saved her, and the Crown Prince arrived, and she eagerly left with him, as if she couldn't wait. She didn't even say thank you once. Tsk, what a heartless little thing."
"Yan Xiao," Xiao Che finally called out the name of the newcomer, and said calmly, "Have you been here long?"
Yan Xiao lowered his head and touched his nose, then chuckled awkwardly, "It wasn't that long ago, just a coincidence. His Majesty had sent me to do other errands earlier. When I returned, I wanted to ask you how much you had gained from the hunt, but I couldn't find you. I asked around and found out that you had defeated Zhuo Sha in a contest and received a snow-white horse as a reward from His Majesty."
"Then the horse went mad and carried Princess Qinghe into the dense forest, and you followed on horseback. No one else could possibly know your feelings for her, but do you think I, your brother, don't know?"
“If anything were to happen to her, you would definitely risk your life to save her. I was worried about you, so I came to see you too. I didn’t expect to run into the Crown Prince who was also searching for you with his men. When you met, I leaned against a tree trunk and watched for a while.”
Xiao Che: "…………"
Xiao Che: "Is it good-looking?"
"Beautiful, how could it not be beautiful? The trees here are incredibly lush, the scenery is beautiful, and your darling is beautiful. Look at the look on your darling's face when she's in the Crown Prince's arms, cough cough, even more beautiful..."
Xiao Che glanced at him: "Are you done?"
Yan Xiao coughed: "Finished... cough, not yet."
“Xiao Wenqi, I still want to give you some advice. If you really like her, don’t always act like this and refuse to back down. You need to think of a way.”
What are you trying to say?
"What do I want to say? You should know what I want to say. No, I just don't understand. The reason Yan Jiarou likes Xiao Jue is because she thought he was the one who saved her from falling into the water. But you clearly know that it wasn't him. The one who risked his life to jump into the water to save her was clearly you. You have a mouth, and it's quite good-looking, so why don't you speak up?"
"To be honest, the Crown Prince is really not kind. He's pretending to be ignorant when he knows the truth, and he's using all sorts of veiled criticism to acknowledge that favor, making Xiao Jiarou completely devoted to him. She can hardly even look at you properly. If you continue to let this misunderstanding continue, you and she will never have a chance in this lifetime."
"No, it's more like the emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is. I even wanted to go and talk to her for you, but if you don't admit it, it's pointless for me to say anything. She won't believe me."
“She just won’t believe it.” Xiao Che looked at him, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Do you think she’ll believe me just because I told her? No, she only wants to believe what she wants to believe. So what if I saved her? Didn’t I save her on horseback today? But has anything changed between us because of this?”
Yan Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then said with exasperation, "You haven't even tried, how do you know it won't work? Is saving her as a child the same as saving her now? It's precisely because she believes that the one who saved her as a child was the Crown Prince that she has already decided on him. So even if you save her now, it's useless. But what if she knew that it was you who saved her from the very beginning?"
Xiao Che's face remained expressionless. He simply lowered his eyes and scoffed, "Even if she truly falls for me because of this, so what?"
Yan Xiao was stunned for a moment: "So what? You've finally gotten what you've always wanted, so what if you tell me that?"
"You got what you wanted? Ha," he suddenly looked up and stared at Yan Xiao, saying, "Let me tell you what it really means to get what you wanted."
"She truly loves and likes me as a person, which is her wish fulfilled. She is only devoted to me and ignores other men, which is her wish fulfilled."
"But look at her now. She mistakenly believes that the person who saved her when she was a child was the Crown Prince, so she likes him. Let's not even talk about whether she believes me after I tell her the truth. Even if she does believe me and then likes me instead, it's only because of gratitude that she transfers her affection to me. She likes the person who saved her, not me."
"The Crown Prince saved her, and she fell in love with him. If you had saved her, would she have fallen in love with you too? Anyone could have fallen in love like that, but I, Xiao Che, would never want that. I would never stoop to using someone else's kindness for personal gain. I want her to truly and completely love only me. If I can't do that, I'd rather not have her at all."
Yan Xiao was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses: "No, why are you so stubborn? Win her over first, then take things slowly. In the future, it will be only a matter of time before she is completely infatuated with you, won't it?"
"No, Xiao Wenqi, are you really a member of the Lanling clan? You're supposed to be Consort Jiang's son, yet besides inheriting this physical appearance, how come you haven't learned even a single skill from her?"
“I was saying you should go back and consult Consort Jiang properly. Oh, wait, I haven’t finished speaking yet. Why are you leaving? Don’t think that using tricks and schemes is something only women do. These things don’t discriminate between men and women; it just depends on who makes the first move. Really, you should hurry back and consult your mother. Don’t be shy…”
Xiao Che, standing in front of him, paused, his long, slender fingers slowly clenching. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he turned his head and uttered a single word: "Get lost."
Yan Xiao watched his departing figure, then lowered his head and touched his nose, somewhat dismissively saying, "You're so high and mighty, so great. Wait until your sweetheart really runs off with the Crown Prince, then let's see where you'll go to cry."
—If he doesn't make changes, it's only a matter of time before things turn out this way.
But judging from his appearance, he's unlikely to change easily.
Yan Xiao thought that Yan Jiarou and Xiao Che were both arrogant and stubborn, and neither of them would take the initiative to back down. It was simply impossible to solve the problem.
It seems that only an unexpected opportunity will provide any chance for the relationship between the two to improve.
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