Shang Shaoyan sat in the carriage without saying a word, just looking at the book in his hand, completely ignoring Qiao Xiuyu who was staring at him expectantly.
Once again, she wearily admitted that not everyone deserves to like a silly beauty.
Qiao Xiuyu tugged at Shang Shaoyan's sleeve: "An'an."
Shang Shaoyan ignored him, flipping through the book while pulling his sleeve out of Qiao Xiuyu's hand.
Qiao Xiuyu shifted her seat and sat opposite Shang Shaoyan, pursing her lips: "An'an, I was wrong."
Shang Shaoyan then looked up at him, expressionless: "Then tell me, what did you do wrong?"
Without even thinking, Qiao Xiuyu blurted out, "My mistake was not contacting you before, and my mistake was being unreasonable just now."
Shang Shaoyan casually took a sip of tea and scoffed, "You really think you're wrong? Then aren't you going to do anything about it?"
Seeing that Shang Shaoyan was finally willing to speak to her, Qiao Xiuyu quickly smiled ingratiatingly, "I'll give you whatever you want. Or how about I play the zither for An'an when we get back to the manor?"
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
If you want me dead, just say so. There's no need for all this beating around the bush.
She glanced at Qiao Xiuyu speechlessly, then gave a cold laugh: "Weren't you going home to think things over? Why are you willing to come back to the manor with me now?"
Qiao Xiuyu, realizing she was in the wrong, lowered her head pitifully and said, "Then, An'an, what do you want to do?"
Shang Shaoyan put down his book, looked at Qiao Xiuyu, and remained silent.
Qiao Xiuyu trembled under her gaze. Just as he was about to say something, Shang Shaoyan suddenly reached out and pinched his chin, forcing him to lift his face: "Since you are willing to come back to the manor with me, it means you have thought it through. I'm not in a hurry. I'll give you another day. You can talk to me again tomorrow."
She didn't really want to give him a day's grace, but she was going to listen to Yan Xuening's lecture tonight (?), and after she got back and finished listening, she would make a plan so she could deal with Qiao Xiuyu properly tomorrow.
Qiao Xiuyu's chin was pinched by Shang Shaoyan, making him look rather pitiful. Shang Shaoyan leaned close to Qiao Xiuyu's face, whispered in his ear, and said, word by word, "I'm waiting for you, Mr. Lu."
After saying that, Shang Shaoyan chuckled softly. As the warm breath from his laughter entered Qiao Xiuyu's ear, Qiao Xiuyu's fingertips curled slightly, and her heart suddenly raced.
He looked at Shang Shaoyan, his cheeks slightly flushed. He raised his hand and grasped Shang Shaoyan's hand that was pinching his chin. He gently pried her hand away, and then, as if bewitched, he brought his lips close to her slender white fingertips and gently placed a kiss on her.
Now it was Shang Shaoyan's turn to feel uncomfortable. However, she was always strong-willed and unwilling to be outdone in matters of love. So she immediately moved closer to Qiao Xiuyu without showing any weakness, biting his lips. Her sharp canine teeth bit Qiao Xiuyu's lower lip until it bled.
Qiao Xiuyu licked the blood from her lips, smiled, and hugged Shang Shaoyan: "An'an, is this kind of gesture... okay?"
As he spoke, he pointed to his lips, his pale fingertips stained with blood, and raised an eyebrow at Shang Shaoyan: "You can bite me however you want."
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She was somewhat shocked by Qiao Xiuyu's shamelessness, yet also somewhat seduced by the intense, mad, and possessive aura emanating from him, leaving her in a daze.
However, in that fleeting moment of distraction, Qiao Xiuyu grabbed her hand and playfully bit Shang Shaoyan's fingertip: "An'an, don't you like my good looks? Do whatever you want, don't be angry with me, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Shaoyan barely came to his senses and realized that he was being loosely held in Qiao Xiuyu's arms in an extremely ambiguous and dangerous position.
Her expression was not good. She narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Can I take that as you trying to seduce me?"
Qiao Xiuyu immediately put on an innocent look, looked at Shang Shaoyan with slight surprise, and said aggrievedly, "Doesn't An'an like it?"
Shang Shaoyan: "..."
She liked him quite a bit, but Qiao Xiuyu was taking a shortcut. She couldn't let him get too big for his britches. If she spoiled him now, wouldn't he be out of control in the future?
Thinking this, Shang Shaoyan straightened his expression: "Lu Zhuo, what you're doing is wrong, I..."
Qiao Xiuyu pressed the tip of her nose against Shang Shaoyan's forehead and said softly with a smile, "My name is not Lu Zhuo, my name is Qiao Zhuo, and my courtesy name is Xiuyu."
After a pause, he gently released Shang Shaoyan amidst her shocked expression: "I didn't mean to be abrupt with you, but I just couldn't control myself. You can hit me or scold me, as long as you can forgive my rudeness."
Seeing that Shang Shaoyan remained silent, Qiao Xiuyu tugged at her sleeve again: "I am the seventh prince of Northern Zhou. Although I have my reasons, it was wrong of me to keep it from you before; I shouldn't have retreated to the palace because I didn't know what to do, causing you unnecessary worry. My mother said that one can never be too cautious when dealing with a woman one admires. Love breeds worry, and love breeds fear. I... I'm afraid. I'm afraid you will reject me, afraid you won't like me."
Shang Shaoyan stared blankly at Qiao Xiuyu, who was looking at him with deep affection. The expectation and love in his peach blossom eyes were undisguised and directly conveyed.
She suddenly realized.
It turned out that she was also afraid—afraid that he wasn't serious, afraid that he wasn't sincere.
However, I have no plans to be in a relationship right now, but I can still tease people.
So Shang Shaoyan smiled and hugged Qiao Xiuyu back, leaning close to his ear: "Yulang."
Qiao Xiuyu's body stiffened.
Shang Shaoyan laughed even more happily. She leaned on Qiao Xiuyu's shoulder and said, "Yulang, do you really think I deserve your affection? There are a lot of things I'm hiding from you, and I don't plan to tell you."
Qiao Xiuyu smiled and tapped Shang Shaoyan's nose: "No matter what you're hiding from me, as long as you don't have another love interest, I don't mind."
He paused, then added, “My father, mother, elder brother, and elder sister all think I’m not suited to be born into the royal family. They think I’m naive to the point of being silly. So as long as you don’t tell me, I’ll never know that you’re hiding other things from me.”
Shang Shaoyan raised an eyebrow and said teasingly, "What if one day you find that I am completely different from the 'Princess of Heyang County' you imagined? What kind of me would you like then?"
Qiao Xiuyu thought for a moment and said seriously, "The person I like is an ambitious little liar, a bit spoiled, but still incredibly cute."
Shang Shaoyan tilted his head, suddenly pushed Qiao Xiuyu away, and blinked: "Since you like me so much, then I'll give you a chance."
She thought for a moment, then raised her chin and said with a hint of arrogance, "Didn't you play 'The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate'? I'll give you a chance to pursue me. Whether you can win me over or not depends on your skills."
乔修玉被委婉拒绝，也不难过，更不生气，而是笑吟吟地点头：“好，多谢县主给我这个机会，从今天开始，我就要正式追求县主了。”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
