Chapter 5 "So, what does Young Master Li think we should do with the loquat?"
I closed my eyes, stood still, and lowered my head, remaining completely motionless.
It looks like it's completely submissive and can be manipulated at will.
I figured that when Li Xiao got bored, he would probably let me go. As I thought this, I also estimated in my mind how long it would take for Young Master Lan to come back.
But Li Xiao just wouldn't let me off easily.
"Are you... playing dumb with me?" Li Xiao suddenly said.
Seeing that I had no intention of answering, Li Xiao laughed, with a hint of malicious mockery.
"Fine, then you'd better stay here and be a wooden doll until Brother Lan comes back. If you can hold out until Brother Lan returns, I promise I won't bother you again."
Li Xiao spoke slowly and deliberately, and even through my eyelids, I could still feel the gaze directed at me from the other side.
“But if…” he said, then paused abruptly, his voice deliberately lowered and very close.
I felt a weight on one shoulder as Li Xiao placed his hand on my shoulder and pressed it down.
I held my breath, but I could still smell the sweetness emanating from Li Xiao. It was a false sweetness created by pouring expensive candies and pastries on her.
If it's too sweet, it can taste a bit bitter.
"If I catch you moving even a little, I'll reward you by making you my dog from now on, how about that?"
The rising intonation, combined with the boy's clear voice, initially sounded innocent. Only those who truly experienced it firsthand would know the malice hidden within.
I did not answer.
—No answer is needed.
The moment Li Xiao uttered this utterly unfair bet, the agreement became effective.
My opinion is not important.
If I speak now, whether I agree or refuse, it would only be breaking the rules prematurely, which is tantamount to admitting defeat early.
So I remained silent and breathed softly.
I don't know what the odds of winning are.
Perhaps Young Master Lan will return soon, or perhaps he will be delayed on the road for a long time.
But at least for now, before the outcome is known, I want to take a gamble.
Just like back then, standing in the yard, looking at the loquat tree in the corner, I made the decision to leave in exchange for my family having enough to eat and wear for a period of time.
At that time, I also had no idea what the future held for me.
But in the end, my luck wasn't too bad. Not only did I survive, but I was also fortunate enough to meet such a good person as Young Master Lan.
This is probably what's known as the gambler's mentality. Once you win, you always want to win again.
However, I really don't have any other choice right now.
And what if I actually win...?
So, does that mean that in the future, we won't have to live like this anymore, simultaneously cherishing the beautiful dream of the ideal future described by Young Master Lan and constantly guarding against Li Xiao's malicious attacks?
Just thinking about it is too wonderful.
I became so engrossed in my imagination that I gradually forgot my surroundings, the people in front of me, and even the body I was in.
I have lost my sense of time, and time seems to have lost its effect on me.
I started to realize that it wasn't as difficult as I had imagined.
Just as I was thinking this—
Li Xiao spoke.
I hadn't noticed before, but you seem to have gained weight.
The boy's surprise seemed genuine, but I had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, as soon as I finished speaking, I felt a slight poke on my face.
—It was Li Xiao who reached out and poked my cheek.
I didn't move, not even furrow my brow. Although I had a million curses running through my mind, my muscles were so stiff and tense that they felt like they were about to tremble.
I held back.
Seeing that I didn't react, Li Xiao persisted and changed the kneading to pinching.
They pinched the flesh on both sides of my cheeks with two fingers and then randomly squeezed and kneaded it. It didn't hurt much, but it was very uncomfortable.
"Looks like it's true." Li Xiao continued, her hands still moving, "It seems Brother Lan has really been feeding you very well lately. What should I do? I'm getting a little jealous."
The boy spoke of jealousy, but his voice also betrayed a clear sourness.
I thought to myself, if that's really the case, Li Xiao could just do it himself. Until he's bleeding like I am... no, better yet, even worse off than me.
Although he was reluctant to admit it, given the friendship between Young Master Lan and Li Xiao, he would probably grant the latter's wish to be personally cared for.
Even if things don't go well, Li Xiao seems to have plenty of money.
As Lan Gongzi's only actual customer, this request should be achievable.
While trying to ignore Li Xiao's hands messing with my face, I secretly cursed Li Xiao for having terrible luck.
It felt like being hit on the head by a falling tile, tripping and falling flat on your face while walking down the stairs, or choking on food and getting tears and snot all over your face...
In short, without implicating those around them, they always encounter various accidents and suffer great misfortune.
The thought of Li Xiao being unlucky makes me happy, and I almost couldn't help but smile.
I don't know if it was because this desire to gloat was too strong, so much so that it turned into real resentment, but Li Xiao's actions of teasing my cheek suddenly stopped, and then she suddenly bent forward and sneezed.
At this very moment, standing before him, there was only me.
With a thud, I felt my forehead suddenly hit something that was neither soft nor hard, and then I felt a strange dampness on my forehead, with a warm touch.
At the same time, a muffled groan that sounded all too familiar also rang out.
No other reason than that the owner of this voice was just babbling in my ear not long ago, spouting meaningless nonsense.
Driven by curiosity, I opened my eyes.
The main issue is that I swayed backward the moment I hit that unidentified object. Since I'd already violated the rules by going left or right, it was better to figure out what was happening.
The first thing that catches the eye is Li Xiao's slightly lowered head.
This is truly a rare sight.
I've known this person for a while now. Apart from the occasional time I saw Li Xiao bowing his head in front of Young Master Lan, which was the time when my head was blown open.
However, last time, my vision was obstructed by blood, and my vision was also blurred by intermittent blackouts, so I could only see a blurry outline.
This time, even the strands of hair falling on the side of the boy's neck were clearly visible.
I didn't see anyone else around me.
Li Xiao has a problem.
He clearly looks like a young master from a wealthy family, but he dislikes being followed by others. Almost every time he comes to the building, he leaves his entourage in a private room downstairs.
Of course, it's also possible that he didn't want to be disturbed from his private time with his Lan brother.
In addition, he likes to ambush people in secluded corners.
Therefore, at this moment, no one else could notice Li Xiao's unusual behavior in this corner.
I touched my forehead, and sure enough, I saw bright red from my fingertips. But I wasn't bleeding, so the blood could only have been from Li Xiao.
Seeing the boy covering his face with his hands, I think I roughly know what happened.
It must have been because Li Xiao was standing too close to me when he sneezed, and he didn't control his strength properly, so his nose hit my forehead and drew blood.
To be honest, when I saw that my hands were free of any strange things besides blood, I subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
After thinking about it again, I felt it would be better to inform Li Xiao's entourage about this matter. After all, if it were a young master as precious as Li Xiao, his subordinates would probably be held responsible if he got even a minor scratch.
As for Li Xiao himself, I felt absolutely no sympathy for him.
I even felt like laughing.
I don't know which eye of Li Xiao saw me lift my leg, but he suddenly called out to me, "Hey, where are you going?"
Perhaps because he was covering his nose, the sound was muffled and somewhat comical.
I tightened my lips and turned around calmly: "Reporting to Young Master Li, Pipa is not going anywhere. Pipa just wants to call someone over to check on your injury."
I thought that if I said that, Li Xiao would probably let me go.
Because Li Xiao is very concerned about saving face, he accidentally bumped his nose and bled quite a bit.
I certainly wouldn't want to appear in public like this.
But we can't just leave it unresolved.
Letting me make the trip, to inform people about the matter, and having them come to him is undoubtedly the right choice.
But I don't know how Li Xiao's thought process works. He suddenly reached out his free hand and grabbed my arm, uttering something I couldn't understand.
"You've hurt me so badly, and you still think you can just slip away so easily?"
"???"
For a moment, I doubted my ears. I hurt him? How did I hurt him? Although I definitely had that thought, I never had the chance to put it into practice!
But Li Xiao persisted, insisting that since he was already in this state, how could I abandon him?
My arm hurts a bit, and so does my forehead.
My head was still wrapped in gauze that hadn't been removed yet.
I was thinking, if Li Xiao weren't Li Xiao, I probably would have pushed him down.
Unfortunately, I was sober.
Li Xiao only bumped his nose, not broke his arm or leg.
If I were to actually do that, the chances of achieving my goal would be extremely low, and I would definitely end up getting myself into trouble.
I don't want to ruin myself because of this annoying guy, even if he's a high and mighty young master and I'm just a lowly servant whose life or death can be bought with a string of copper coins.
—I still feel it's not worth it.
My arm was gripped tighter.
I turned my head and looked at Li Xiao with a blank expression, since his attention wasn't on my face anyway.
I asked, "So, what does Young Master Li think should be done about the loquat?"
Li Xiao seemed oblivious to the impatience in my words. Instead, he spoke in a muffled voice, as if he were enduring something intensely.
I was listening attentively, waiting to hear what he had to say.
As a result, Li Xiaogang had just uttered the word "I" when his body suddenly went limp and he collapsed. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that he had fainted.
Seeing such a sudden scene, I was stunned for a moment.
Crimson blood had somehow seeped from Li Xiao's fingertips, spreading large patches of red across his fair palm. An unsuspecting observer might have mistaken him for a murder scene.
Now, I really can't just leave.
I tried to check Li Xiao's pulse. The veins under his warm skin were beating strongly. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked straight outside.
Coincidentally, I hadn't gone far when I ran into Young Master Lan.
Beside him was a smiling manager, who was talking about something.
The manager was speaking when he suddenly saw me blocking the road. The old man seemed startled and glared at me with his old eyes, about to start cursing.
Young Master Lan spoke first: "Loquat, what happened?" He must have noticed that my expression was different from usual, which is why he asked this question.
I hesitated for a moment, not daring to mention Li Xiao's matter in front of the person in charge.
After all, Li Xiao was a major customer of the building.
Upon seeing this, Young Master Lan smiled at the steward, indicating that he was going back first.
The steward recognized me as being from Young Master Lan's room, so he put on a fake smile, exchanged a few polite words, and then turned and left.
Seeing that the steward had gone far away, I hurriedly led Young Master Lan to the scene.
Li Xiao was still asleep and lying on the ground.
Young Master Lan had already learned the general situation on the way. After seeing the scene, he waved his hand to indicate that there was nothing seriously wrong.
“However, it’s not right to just leave it here like this,” Young Master Lan said to himself.
I thought to myself, "That makes sense," and was just wondering where to lift it up.
Young Master Lan had already grabbed one of the arms and lifted the person up.
Seeing that I was still standing there in a daze, it waved and whispered urging me to follow.
So I obediently followed behind the two of them.
I had only ever seen Young Master Lan reading and writing before, but now I realize for the first time that although he looks gentle and mild-mannered, he is actually quite strong.
It seems that no matter how frail he may appear, he is still a grown man.
Lost in thought the whole way, I finally made it back to Young Master Lan's house. Luckily, the two places weren't too far apart, and we didn't run into anyone else along the way.
After the door was closed, Li Xiao had been gently settled by Young Master Lan on the embroidered couch against the wall in the outer room.
I was somewhat surprised, as I had thought the young master would simply put the person on the bed.
Seeing that I was still standing there in a daze, Young Master Lan told me to get some hot water and a clean towel.
I nodded hastily in agreement, but out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of Li Xiao's bloodstained hands and face, and suddenly I understood—Young Master Lan was a clean person, and Li Xiao's appearance was not only horrifying, but also quite filthy.
That being said, the fact that Li Xiao could make a nosebleed look like a throat-cutting effect suggests that he must have some extraordinary talent.
Young Master Lan took the snow-white towel, soaked it in hot water, and gently wiped away the bloodstains from Li Xiao's face, revealing the fair and smooth skin underneath.
The boy's eyes were closed, and his lips, which were not as bright as usual, were pursed. Combined with his loose, light-colored hair, he looked rather fragile and beautiful.
Although... it's all fake.
The task of washing others should have been left to me, a servant.
However, I don't want to touch Li Xiao at all, and I believe he feels the same way.
This is probably the only thing we can agree on.
At that moment, I suddenly remembered the boy's rude provocation earlier. Didn't he say that he was jealous of how Young Master Lan took care of me?
I never expected karma to come so quickly.
If I weren't worried, Li Xiao might have lost control of his anger and strangled me on the spot.
I really want to congratulate him properly after he wakes up, since it's truly rare for his wish to come true so quickly.
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