Chapter 3 Speaking of which, your third brother seems to treat you exceptionally well...
Yan Jiarou was stunned, her fair cheeks immediately turning bright red: "You... what nonsense are you talking about!"
Xiao Che swung the belt in his hand, a mocking smile appearing on his lips. He merely raised an eyebrow: "I'm talking nonsense?"
Yan Jiarou was not good with words, but she still hurriedly retorted, "Xiao Che, it's not what you think!"
Xiao Jue then spoke up to explain, "You've misunderstood, Third Brother. It was just that Jia Rou accidentally knocked over a teacup, splashing water on her dress, which is why she loosened her belt. There was nothing else. She's shy, so please don't make trouble for her."
Xiao Che's expression softened slightly, and he said calmly, "Is that so?"
Her gaze swept over the pile of grape skins in front of Xiao Jue, and her eyebrows twitched slightly: "I remember, the Crown Prince doesn't like to eat grapes."
Xiao Jue was taken aback, then smiled gently and said, "This was peeled for Jia Rou."
Xiao Che gave a meaningful "Oh," then turned to Yan Jiarou, saying with a half-smile, "What's wrong, Princess Qinghe? Is your hand broken?"
"You! It's your hands that are injured!" Yan Jiarou said angrily, placing her hands neatly on the table. They were white and soft, without a single scratch. "I'm perfectly fine!"
Xiao Che was initially charmed by her sudden act of self-proof, and smiled. Then, he stopped smiling, leaned closer to her, placed one hand on the table, and slowly narrowed his eyes: "In that case, my royal sister has quite the grand style, daring to order the crown prince of a country to peel grapes for you."
Yan Jiarou couldn't stand his sarcastic remarks the most, and subconsciously retorted, "What's it to you!"
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Xiao Jue quickly intervened and said, "Third brother, this isn't Jia Rou's fault, it was I who initiated it..."
“Big brother,” Xiao Che turned to look at him, frowning, “She has always been a bit dim-witted and has been spoiled by us since she was a child. She is arrogant and has never been sensible in her actions. Why are you going to join her in her nonsense?”
"Now that we're out in the open, how can a mere maidservant accept a crown prince personally peeling grapes for her?"
"In the end, although she has the title of princess, she is not related to us by blood and has no support behind her. Fortunately, she has not made any enemies and has lived peacefully for more than ten years. But you, the crown prince, are the heir apparent of the country. How many eyes are watching you? If someone with ulterior motives sees her, wouldn't that harm her?"
"Besides, she is still an unmarried girl. You can't guarantee when you will marry her, and there is no engagement yet. Aren't you afraid of damaging her reputation by behaving so intimately and letting her wear your cloak?"
Xiao Jue pursed his lips and remained silent, as if lost in thought.
Yan Jiarou retorted angrily, "Xiao Wenqi, what nonsense are you talking about? My affairs with the Crown Prince are none of your business. Besides, what do I have to be afraid of? His Majesty has spoken on his own words, saying that I can marry one of the princes in the future. Anyway, in the end, I will either not marry at all, or if I do marry, it will definitely be the Crown Prince!"
Xiao Che twitched the corner of his lips, turned his head and whispered in her ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I say, my dear sister, sometimes you shouldn't speak too definitively—I think not."
After saying that, without paying attention to Yan Jiarou's anger, he picked up the plate of grapes on the table and handed it to the attendant behind him.
Yan Jiarou panicked immediately, her eyes fixed on the plate of grapes, filled with reluctance: "Hey, Xiao Che, what are you doing? Those are my grapes! You don't even like grapes, and you gave them to me!"
“Not anymore,” Xiao Che smiled slightly. “I’ve changed my mind and plan to reward Taxue. At least it won’t have to have someone else skin it, which is better than someone else. Don’t you think so, my royal sister?”
Ta Xue knew that it was Xiao Che's mount, a snow-white horse.
He would rather give the grapes to a horse than give them to her!
"You...you went back on your word, you shameless person!"
Xiao Che straightened up, his hands behind his back, his handsome face languidly bathed in the soft sunlight, which cast a golden halo around his features, making him appear even more otherworldly and captivating.
A nonchalant smile played on his lips, his eyebrows slightly raised, as he said dismissively, "So what if I'm shameless? What can you do about it?"
After saying that, he gave a slight smirk, turned around, and left.
Yan Jiarou stared blankly at his departing figure, seemingly stunned by his shamelessness. It took her a long time to come back to her senses before she angrily said, "Xiao Wenqi, I knew you had ulterior motives for giving me the grapes. You did it on purpose! You're so annoying!"
But then came Xiao Jue's gentle voice of advice: "Alright, Jia Rou, your third brother has always been like this. He's not much older than you, so why bother getting angry with him?"
Turning to face his gentle and warm face, her mood immediately eased, and she couldn't help but say in a coquettish tone, "Crown Prince, you are still the best."
Sensing the deep dependence and longing in the little girl's voice, Xiao Jue's lips curved slightly, and he said softly, "Really?"
"Of course! You're the best. You always coax me and indulge me, unlike that Xiao Che who only bullies me!"
Xiao Jue said, "It's only you and Third Brother who have always been so incompatible. I thought Third Brother was very handsome and should be very popular with young girls, and that's true. But it's strange that you and him are like oil and water."
Yan Jiarou said dismissively, "What's so strange about that? He's so annoying, even if he's good-looking, I still can't like him." She wasn't a superficial person!
In contrast, Xiao Jue, though only ordinary handsome and not as strikingly handsome as Xiao Che, had saved her life. In her eyes, he was the best of everyone, and no one could compare to him.
When she came to her senses, she heard Xiao Jue say, "Speaking of which, it seems that my third brother treats you differently. He is always indifferent to other women and never accepts their advances, but he always likes to provoke you."
Yan Jiarou snorted and said, "That's because although he doesn't like them, he doesn't hate them either. To him, they are just insignificant people. But I'm different. I don't know where I offended him, but he hates me so much and always targets and bullies me. He's really wicked!"
Xiao Jue lowered his eyes, concealing the emotions within them. His face remained unreadable as he simply said, "Is that so?"
In fact, the line between liking and disliking is often very thin. Sometimes, those involved are too blind to see clearly.
But either way is better than the phrase "unimportant".
It doesn't matter, he doesn't care which way it is. Even if Xiao Che's attitude is ambiguous, he is sure that Yan Jiarou's heart and eyes are full of him and she will never have a second thought. Xiao Che has always been proud and arrogant. The more Jiarou shows that she hates him, the more he will target her and bully her in order to get her attention. He really can't think of any opportunity that can make their relationship ease.
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