Chapter Ninety-Seven
"Stop, stop, stop!" Zhou Yanqing pinched her cheek. "You really are a little madwoman. You can come up with so many ideas even when you're locked up. Aren't you afraid I'll put them into practice?"
“You wouldn’t!” she said casually.
She knew this man all too well; he was always tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Last time he said he would lock her up, but after saying a few nice words, he immediately turned into a docile little dog.
If that's really the case, it's uncertain who will be imprisoned.
Moreover, even if Zhou Yanqing really locked her up again, she only needed to coax him like last time.
Puppies are the easiest to coax, aren't they?
She stroked Zhou Yanqing's hair at the back of his head, looking at him with a smile in her eyes, "The puppy is usually the one that gets locked up!"
Zhou Yanqing was not annoyed by the woman's spoiled attitude. He took her hand and kissed it lightly. "When does Master plan to lock me up?"
"Hmm..." She actually pretended to be thinking seriously, "Why don't we wait until we get back to Qin? There will be a cage there, so I won't have to make another one."
"Didn't you just say that using a cage was unoriginal?"
“Of course I’m different.” She shook her head proudly. “I’ll blindfold the puppy so it can’t see outside, and then it won’t feel at ease and will only be able to rely on me.”
"So ruthless?" Zhou Yanqing was amused by her adorable appearance and couldn't resist kissing her cheek. He whispered, "I have an even better way."
"What?"
He pulled her hand and made her touch his eyes. "Why don't we gouge these eyes out with a knife? That way we won't be able to see at all, and we won't be able to run away."
Si Yanmo didn't continue rambling on with him after hearing this. Instead, she frowned, her eyes filled with complex emotions, and asked, "You really want this, don't you?"
Zhou Yanqing's smile froze. He had made the joke, but she had seen through it.
He suppressed his smile and buried his head in the crook of her neck. "I told you you were too smart."
Si Yanmo felt the strong heaving of the chest of the person holding her.
She knew what he was enduring, and gently patted his back, "Why do you like being locked up?"
He must have hated that feeling the most since he was locked up by slave traders for so long when he was a child. Why did he specifically want to be locked up?
Zhou Yanqing did not speak.
Si Yanmo didn't force him; she just quietly stayed with him, helping him calm down.
She recalled the first time she saw the man's destiny and gradually thought of a possibility.
"You don't dislike the Qin Palace because it's luxurious, right?" Her voice was gentle and reassuring. "Is it because it's too big?"
Si Yanmo felt the person in her arms stiffen.
He raised his head, his eyes already red-rimmed, looking completely devoid of the majesty expected of the King of Qin.
"Yes." He nodded. "It's too big."
Even though there are so many people serving him every day, he still feels that the place is empty, without any trace of human life, and without anyone waiting for him to come home.
The Qin Prince's Mansion was different; even in an ordinary courtyard, there was a shrine for the masters in the backyard.
Wu Guan, Chen Wu, and the others will also live here; it's like a small home for them.
Occasionally, he could invite Mo Wenzhong to stay over, although he had almost never agreed since his master passed away. But that place still held memories for him, a place that contained the human presence he longed for.
He had never experienced love from his parents growing up, and he didn't know what it was like for a large family to live together.
He had to admit that he hesitated for a moment when he set fire to the slave trader's hideout.
He looked at the woman cooking and the child beside her, and for a moment thought that he just needed to run away.
But didn't a group of people also show him no pity?
The woman's own children could eat chicken legs and fish, but when the slave trader locked her in the woodshed and starved her for three days and three nights, she showed no emotion whatsoever.
Even if she had just given him a leftover meal or some rice porridge, he wouldn't have been so heartless.
She didn't, and he transferred the hatred he had felt for his parents who had abandoned him to these people.
He has no father or mother, so why should they be able to live a happy family life as a family of three?
Later, he finally found his mother, hoping to receive even a little bit of love from her, like the love that woman had for her child. Unfortunately, he didn't.
Without his master, he would probably have become a real demon long ago.
Even so, childhood trauma is irreparable.
He longed so much for someone to love him, for a love that would never separate him, a love that would never change.
so……
"Amo, lock me up." He shed a tear and hugged the person in his arms even tighter, as if afraid she would disappear.
Lock me up, so I can only see you. Maybe that way I can believe you care about me too…
Si Yanmo gazed at the man before her. Despite his imposing stature, he remained like a child at heart, utterly clueless about how to gain attention and affection from others.
She raised her hand to stroke his cheek, gently wiping away his tears. She pressed her forehead against his and said earnestly, word by word, "I won't lock you up. Zhou Yanqing, you don't only have me, but I will let you know that I will always be by your side, no matter what happens."
After she finished speaking, Zhou Yanqing was stunned for a few seconds, still somewhat incredulous: "Really?"
“Really.” Her tone was firmer than ever before. “Not only me, but many people around you will stay by your side. They will never leave you again. Because you are Zhou Yanqing, and you deserve our support.”
The moonlight shone on the snow and reflected back, making the night seem less dark and giving pedestrians the feeling of finding their way home.
Si Yanmo's words also gave Zhou Yanqing a new path.
He pinched the soft flesh of the woman's waist and said in a slightly coquettish tone, "Then can I kiss you?"
The topic changed so quickly that Si Yanmo paused for a moment before laughing, "That wasn't a scheme to get me to kiss you, was it?"
Perhaps comforted by her, Zhou Yanqing didn't seem aggrieved. Instead, she nuzzled her nose and said mysteriously, "Maybe. Can I?"
Si Yanmo gently pushed him away, waved her index finger in front of him, and said, "No!" Then she went back to bed to sleep.
The puppy instantly looked aggrieved, hugging her from behind, its large body completely enveloping her green figure. "Didn't you just say you'd stay by my side no matter what? Why are you going back on your word?"
"I said I'd be by your side no matter what happens, but I didn't say I'd kiss you!" Si Yanmo said in a serious tone. "Just be there, nothing else... um... His Highness Prince Qin's betrothal gifts might not be enough, we'll need to add more money."
"You little money-grubber!" He pinched her chin. "Why are you setting traps now?"
"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. What can I do? I'm a merchant's daughter." She triumphantly broke free from the man's embrace and returned to bed.
Seeing the man instantly become "listless," slump down, and sit on the edge of the bed, looking at her with a resentful expression.
She pretended nothing had happened, made her bed, and then crawled into bed and closed her eyes.
Zhou Yanqing was truly disappointed. She glanced back at the puppies who had also been "abandoned," and could only make up her own bed and lie down beside them.
“Amo…” He tried to awaken someone’s conscience, but the person didn’t react at all.
This woman really knows how to manipulate herself.
He turned to the side, using the faint moonlight filtering through the window cracks to trace the contours of the woman's face with his eyes.
"Well... goodnight."
He was about to close his eyes and fall asleep when Si Yanmo opened her eyes and looked at him with a smile, "So aggrieved?"
The next second, the woman slightly propped herself up, and a warm touch pressed against his lips, followed by the scent of jasmine that filled his nostrils.
Zhou Yanqing's mind went blank for a moment. He stared at the scene in disbelief, then grabbed the back of her head and deepened the kiss.
The scent of jasmine mingled with the moisture, seeping into his mouth little by little, making him almost lose himself in the moment.
Perhaps feeling it wasn't enough, he raised his other hand and pulled her directly to his side, not caring that she was on top of him.
"Amo..." After a while, he gave the two a few seconds to catch their breath, and before Si Yanmo could say anything, he kissed her again.
This time, it was even more intense than before, filled with the man's deep love.
Si Yanmo was even a little overwhelmed and wanted to push him away, but this time he really wouldn't give her a chance to escape.
The two almost forgot they were in an inn, as if they were the only two people left in the world, with only Ye Shengge, who was about to erupt, reminding them that it was time to stop.
Si Yanmo gently bit the man's lower lip, which made him release her, and she nestled breathlessly in his arms.
"We can't continue, we're still outside."
Zhou Yanqing chuckled, her lowered eyes just able to see the reddened corners of the person in her arms, and the slightly swollen lips stained with water. "It's okay, there's no one else here anyway."
Just then, a small white dog barked at the two of them, as if asserting its presence and that of its companion.
Si Yanmo couldn't help but laugh, "Look, they're all protesting."
"What are you afraid of? They can't talk." He brushed the stray hairs from her forehead and couldn't help but kiss her again, his voice becoming hoarse. "Amo, I've wanted this for so long."
Si Yanmo blushed at his words and buried her head, "Actually... you've already done that."
"Hmm?" Zhou Yanqing's eyes flashed with doubt, but also with some surprise. "When?"
The woman in his arms became shy and refused to speak.
He had no choice but to sit up, letting the man lie on top of him, and pretended to kiss him again, "If you don't say anything, I'll continue. I don't know if anyone lives next door? If Ye Shengge has an attack later, don't make a sound!"
Upon hearing this, Si Yanmo quickly covered his mouth, "I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"
The woman's face flushed crimson, as if it could bleed. He couldn't help but kiss her palm again, and quietly said, "It was that time... when you got drunk at the Sak Palace..."
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