Chapter 145 - First published on Jinjiang | Parallel Universe ②
Xiao Jiarou was slightly out of breath. She stared blankly at Chengchen above her head for a while. After a moment, she took out the jade pendant from under her pillow. She gently stroked the raised and recessed patterns on it with her fingertips. It did look more like some kind of writing. With a sudden thought, she threw off the brocade quilt, put on her shoes, and ran outside.
In a side hall of the Pixiang Palace, there was an ebony robe inlaid with mother-of-pearl placed beside the bed.
After meeting the Imperial Concubine, Xiao Jiarou finally confirmed that the fairy sister in her dream had not spoken falsely.
At this moment, she stood in front of the wardrobe as instructed by the nanny. The nanny had taken care of Xiao Che's daily life since he was a child, and could be said to have watched him grow up, so she knew his temperament and preferences very well.
She told Yan Jiarou that Xiao Che actually liked her very much. When she was a child, or more precisely, when she was a baby, he would hold her and sleep with her, feed her and change her diapers, and he always liked to kiss her.
Before she was three years old, she was the one who clung to him the most.
However, after the age of three, due to the serious illness of the Imperial Concubine, she was taken to be raised by the Consort Shu and gradually became estranged from him.
He still went to see her every few days, but she preferred to play with the other little princesses. After a while, he became a little resentful and reduced his visits.
It's always sad to see a child you raised so close to gradually become distant, especially since Xiao Che himself was just a teenager at the time.
The nanny recounted their past interactions in great detail, and as Xiao Jiarou listened attentively, she seemed to gradually rediscover her forgotten memories through the nanny's detailed descriptions. A sense of closeness to Xiao Che arose spontaneously, especially since she had just confirmed that he was actually her savior.
Having saved her life and taken such good care of her as a baby, even though she hasn't met Xiao Che yet, he has already become Jia Rou's favorite older brother!
The nanny said, "Little princess, now you should know how much our prince loves you. He's shy and has never told you, but he misses you terribly. He often sneaks to Consort Shu's palace to see you. Because you had a fight, he only watched from afar. Seeing that you're still chubby and just giggling when you play with the other princesses, looking carefree, he felt at ease. Yesterday you had a big fight with him, saying you'd never talk to him again and would only play with the crown prince. I know you were just saying that in anger, but poor prince took it seriously. Since returning yesterday, he's been hiding in the wardrobe, crying secretly, not eating a single grain of rice, and won't come out no matter who tries to persuade him. Now that the princess is here, if you're willing to say a few kind words, you'll surely be able to coax him out."
...
With her thoughts returning to normal, Xiao Jiarou stood in front of the wardrobe and reached out to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. It seemed that Xiao Che was indeed hiding inside.
She withdrew her finger, habitually sucking it in her mouth while thinking, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence in a childish voice: "Brother, I know you're in there, please come out?"
Her only response was a deathly silence, like crows flying by.
Yan Jiarou blinked and pressed on, "Brother, please come out, I beg you."
"Jiarou has come to see you. Don't you want to see Jiarou?"
...
The little girl thought she had done everything she could to be charming and ingratiating, but the wardrobe door remained tightly shut in front of her.
After a few back and forth, she got angry and insisted on opening the cabinet door to see Xiao Che. So she rolled up her sleeves, put her chubby little hands on the doorknob again, took a deep breath, and pulled the door outward with all her might...
The door remained unmoved. Because she used too much force and her fingers slipped, her chubby little body unexpectedly fell backward. She lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground.
The fall was hard, and she froze for a moment. Her lips trembled, and she burst into tears, crying, "My bottom hurts so much... Brother is mean... Waaah... Bad brother..."
She was crying and kicking her little legs wildly, her chubby arms pounding the ground, looking every bit the spoiled brat. Lost in her own world, completely absorbed in her sobs, she was suddenly startled by a "creak" as the cabinet door opened…
Little Jiarou immediately stopped crying, sobbing as she opened her swollen eyelids. Her delicate, fair face was already a mess from crying, and tears clung to her long, curled eyelashes, threatening to fall. Her nose was bright red, making her look even more pitiful: "Ugh, brother, you're out..."
The boy was ten years old, already tall and handsome, with an exceptionally beautiful face, though his expression was slightly cold.
The golden sunlight streaming through the carved window lattice outside the eaves cast shadows and dappled light, making him appear even more otherworldly.
Yan Jiarou stared at him blankly until he stopped in front of her. Then, as if just coming to her senses, she opened her chubby arms to him and said in a clear voice, "Brother, hug me!"
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