Desert Journey
"I've been caught in the act by my brother. How else do you want to explain? Oh no~ It's not an excuse."
Unable to argue, Yunqi Que simply "confessed" his guilt, but the words he said had a bit of a coquettish tone to appease him.
"Yes, I peeked. I wanted to know what was keeping my brother awake in the middle of the night, and I also wanted to understand his preferences."
Yun Jinglu recalled the smiling faces that filled his mind when he was reading the storybook last night, "Yeah, I've really been bewitched."
"Jinglu~Good Alu~Don't be angry~"
Yun Jinglu still ignored her and didn't even look at her.
She grabbed his shirt by his forearms with both hands and said mysteriously, "Are you really ignoring me? Yun Jinglu, believe it or not, I only need to say one word to make you turn around and look at me."
Yunqi Que leaned very close to him and, according to her own understanding of this part of the conversation, whispered in his ear, "Brother, you can do whatever you want."
This paragraph is roughly described in the storybook:
The male protagonist broke the taboo and couldn't help but get closer to her when the ambiguous atmosphere was at its peak. When the fire was burning, he still endured and restrained his emotions for fear of scaring her. However, she took the initiative to hand over the control to him and said to him: Brother, you can do whatever you want.
This action refers to love, and it is also her "invitation" to him to break through this relationship.
Yun Jinglu also has a clear memory of this passage.
Almost at the moment she finished speaking, he suddenly turned his head to look at her, and Yun Qique's smile of success was bright and wanton.
"You are not allowed to learn these things from the storybooks."
He understood what the protagonist's "doing" in the book specifically meant, but Yunqi Que did not understand it. He probably only understood it according to the most basic literal meaning.
"If you can learn, why can't I? You, who don't read storybooks, can read it so late, which shows that you like the content. So what's wrong with me learning what my brother likes and trying to please him?"
"Who said I like it? I don't like it."
Outside the house, footsteps were heard. Yun Jinglu's confidant was standing outside the door and knocked gently, reminding him that it was time to leave.
Just across the wall, while Yun Jinglu was distracted answering his confidant, Yun Qique leaned close to his ear again and repeated another sentence she had read in the storybook: "Brother, don't you want to kiss me?"
Yun Jinglu turned around and looked at her, his gaze uncontrollably falling on her lips, and was caught by Yun Qique.
"Alu obviously likes it very much."
After saying that, Yunqi Que quickly slipped away from the empty space on the other side of the table.
Completely oblivious to her, Yun Jinglu, who was sitting under the table, looked in the direction she had slipped away and quietly explained, "Brother doesn't enjoy reading this book. He wants to understand my morbid desire for you and whether it's normal by reading books that describe similar emotions."
After putting away the book, Yun Jinglu caught up with her and prepared to set off.
The journey was long and the desert was windy and sandy, so Yun Jinglu specially prepared a soft-chair carriage for her. However, when she saw the camels and horses, her eyes lit up.
"Want to ride? Pick one and I'll take you for a ride."
"Brother, take me horseback riding."
Yun Jinglu ordered his horse, Qi Que, to be brought in, with him at the rear, their two warm bodies pressed together. He wrapped a veil around her face, held her in his arms, and controlled the reins before he ordered the caravan to depart.
Afraid that she would be scared, Yun Jinglu, the pioneer, rode his horse slowly for a while before gradually starting to run faster.
She was in my arms, feeling both scared and happy, and everything she saw in her bright eyes was new.
"You obviously prefer camels, why did you choose to ride a horse?"
"Because I think riding a horse with A-Lu will make us much closer than riding a camel. It's rare for us to go out together. I can learn to ride a camel at home, but riding a horse allows A-Lu to hold me the whole time."
"Just to let your brother hold you the whole time, you chose to ride a horse all the way? Stupid sister, you're only doing a losing business."
"You're the idiot!"
"Okay, okay, brother is the idiot."
Yun Jinglu was in a good mood, and she was secretly happy all the way because of her little thoughts.
Less than an hour after the caravan set out, Yun Jinglu noticed that the girl in his arms was being shaken to the point of being unbearable, and she was also a little uncomfortable from sitting on the saddle for too long. Perhaps he was afraid of being discovered, so he stopped holding her and riding. She was very cautious and careful in her movements when she moved her butt from time to time.
But her moving around was a bit too torturous for him.
Yun Jinglu recalled the sad events and extremely angry memories in his life countless times before he restrained himself from "standing up and offending her."
For the first time, Yun Jinglu didn't want to be too close to her.
It’s so torturous…
In order not to spoil her fun, Yun Jinglu held on until dusk when he arrived at the first camp, only then was he able to escape.
This desert is very dangerous at night. First, there is strong wind and sand at night. Second, some parts of the sand in the desert become very soft at night. No matter how light the people, horses, or camels are, they will get stuck and unable to get out. It is like a "man-eating swamp" and is extremely unsuitable for traveling.
When the horse stopped, he immediately carried her off the horse.
After Yunqi Que stood still, he subconsciously rubbed his legs that were shaken and his sore buttocks and waist to relieve the discomfort.
It didn't take long for her to feel better before both she and Yun Jinglu realized she was feeling uncomfortable.
He couldn't help but laugh and teased her, "How is it? Are you still doing business at a loss?"
Yun Qique was afraid that he would think she was too pampered and would not take her on a long business trip next time. She was even more afraid that he would not hold her in his arms when riding a horse.
So, she stubbornly said, "I don't think this is a losing business. Riding a horse is no problem. My brother is an excellent rider and it won't be bumpy at all."
"Then I'll continue to carry you on horseback tomorrow. However, if we continue to ride so slowly as we did today, we'll definitely arrive later. We'll have to ride faster tomorrow. I was worried about whether you could handle it, but it seems I was worrying too much."
Yun Qique didn't dare to think about whether she would be crippled if he rode her for a whole day tomorrow. She just gritted her teeth and nodded and smiled at him, only daring to show an expression of wanting to cry but not being able to do so with her back to him.
His caravan was full of experienced people, who could survey the terrain, set up sentries, set up defenses, erect tents, light bonfires, cook and set up pots. They did these small tasks quickly and skillfully.
After the tent was set up, Yun Jinglu let her go in and rest.
The tent was simple, but it was big enough for her to sleep flat on her back with room to spare.
Because it was not yet time to go to bed, the bedding was covered with a thick blanket. She could sit on it to rest without bringing sand into the bedding and affecting her sleep at night.
Not long after he left, the maidservant came in with clean clothes, shoes, socks and medicine bottles.
She fastened the tent curtain tightly, leaving no gaps, and then said to her, "You've been riding for a long time today. Let me undress you and apply medicine to you."
"Apply medicine? I'm not injured, what medicine do I need?"
"This medicine was specially made by Doctor Liu from the caravan. Take an appropriate amount and rub it into the palm of your hand to dissolve it. Then, gently rub your palms onto the areas where you feel uncomfortable due to the jostling of horses. Rub until the gel is absorbed into your skin and becomes less sticky. It is specially formulated to treat and relieve the discomfort and fatigue caused by the jostling of horses. It is very effective. I think your skin is delicate, and you've been riding for a long time today. Whether you feel any discomfort or not, it would be helpful to use this to relieve your fatigue."
"Did your brother ask you to come?"
She shook her head slightly, not directly answering Qi Que's question, and only said, "My dear, you really do care about me."
Yun Qique looked at her reaction and expression and knew that it was Yun Jinglu who ordered her to apply medicine to him, but he probably didn't allow Yun Jinglu to say that he asked her to come.
He should be helping her to maintain her dignity.
"May I have your name?"
"My name is Xia Chan."
She didn't ask any more questions and helped the maid apply the medicine.
Xia Chan's technique of massaging and applying medicine was very good and very comfortable. Her warm palms massaged every part of her body that was uncomfortable, and her fatigue was instantly reduced by half. The ointment smelled very good too, with a light fragrance, and she was so comfortable that she almost fell asleep.
After applying the medicine, Xia Chan covered her with a thin blanket and continued to massage her until another maidservant whispered outside the tent that dinner was ready. Only then did she get up and put on her clothes.
As soon as she walked out of the tent, she saw Yun Jinglu sitting by the campfire with a roasted chicken in his hand.
Under the cover of night, the warm light of the bonfire shone on his face, making him look much gentler than usual.
"Aren't you hungry yet?" Yun Jinglu patted the cushion on the sand beside him, "Come to your brother."
"Here I come."
As soon as Yun Qique sat down, he handed her the fragrant roast chicken in his hand.
Her brother and others ate naan and beef jerky, but she was the only one who had roasted chicken.
No matter how dumb she was, she understood why and guessed how troublesome it would be to travel in the desert with a live chicken.
She passed the roast chicken to Yun Jinglu and motioned him to eat it, but he refused, saying, "You eat it, my brother has some dried meat."
She broke off a chicken leg and fed it to him. "If you don't want to eat it, then I won't eat it either."
"Okay, brother, eat."
She imitated Yun Jinglu's tone of praise for her being good and praised him, "Brother is good."
She asked Xia Chan to bring the oil paper for wrapping food. She broke off another chicken leg, carefully wrapped it with oil paper and placed it next to the campfire, then began to share the roast chicken with Yun Jinglu.
The two of them fed each other and had a lot of fun.
After they had eaten their fill, she took Xia Chan and the oil paper wrapped around the chicken leg back to the tent. The chicken leg was still warm, even through the oil paper.
After closing the tent curtain, she handed the chicken drumstick wrapped in oil paper to Xia Chan and said, "I saved this specially for you. You massaged me for so long and must be exhausted. You deserve a chicken drumstick as a reward."
"Thank you for your reward."
Xia Chan was actually just a girl younger than her. She was very touched and happy just to get a chicken leg from her.
Seeing that Xia Chan didn't eat it and just put it aside, Yun Qi Que thought she didn't like it.
"Don't you like roast chicken? That's okay, I'll treat you to something else delicious when I get back. Tell me what you like."
"No, no, I like it, but I'm still serving you, so I can't eat it in front of you. I'll take it back and enjoy it."
"So that's what you're so particular about. It's okay, just eat here. I told you to eat here. If you take it home and it gets cold, it won't taste as good if you reheat it."
To prevent her from feeling uncomfortable while eating here, Xia Chan stood up and said, "When you're done, help me make the bed, and then you can go and rest. I'm going to find my brother."
After saying that, she ran out to find Yun Jinglu.
After sitting down beside him, Yun Jinglu whispered in her ear, "Why don't you just give it to her directly? Why don't you go back to the tent?"
She also whispered in his ear, "Because there are too many wolves and too little meat. Besides, I can't bear to give away too much of the chicken A Lu roasted for me. Besides Xia Chan, everyone else has served me and worked for me. They don't see how hard Xia Chan works. If I reward only Xia Chan in front of everyone, I'm afraid others might think it's unfair. I don't quite know how to treat everyone in a way that makes them feel fair, so I can only do what I think of carefully. I just want to reward her with a chicken leg right now. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't reward her with something better."
After listening, Yun Jinglu did not preach to her, nagging her on what to do or what he thought was wrong with her simple ideas.
He just rubbed her head, praised her for doing a good job, and praised her for being thoughtful.
With him around, as long as it doesn't harm others, she can do whatever she wants, without worries, in peace and happiness. This is the meaning of his existence by her side.
As they were chatting, when Yunqi Que was about to go to sleep, he suddenly heard the faint howling of wolves in the distance and was suddenly a little scared.
"Don't be afraid. There are guards at night. My brother's tent is right next to yours. No jackal will be able to get into your tent alive. Sleep peacefully."
"good."
"Well, it's late, go to bed."
"good."
Yunqi Que crawled into the quilt that Xia Chan had prepared for her and warmed with a hot water bottle. She was the only one left in the dark tent. It was so quiet that the only sound she could hear was the crackling of burning firewood outside.
She was still a little scared and couldn't sleep at all.
But she couldn't show that she was too scared to sleep, because the day would always come, but she definitely couldn't let her brother think she was troublesome or spoiled.
Jackal?
What's there to be afraid of...
Brother will definitely protect her life!
Yunqique repeated these words in his mind to give himself courage, forcing himself not to think too much and go to sleep quickly.
but!
She is such a coward!
Can’t sleep… can’t sleep at all…
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the tent, and a tall figure was illuminated by the firelight on her tent.
It’s Yun Jinglu!
"Sister, I can't sleep. Can I sit outside your tent for a while? Just think of it as you keeping me company."
Yun Jinglu's voice was like a reassurance.
"Okay, it's cold outside, Alu can come in and sit."
Yun Jinglu sat down on the left side of the tent curtain with her back to her tent.
"You are about to go to bed. My brother has not yet married you and is not considered your husband. I cannot enter your tent at this time. If this gets out, it will damage your reputation."
"Alu will marry me anyway, so what does it matter?"
Yun Jinglu seemed to let out a long sigh.
"Qique doesn't leave a way out for himself, but I have to leave a way out for you."
His tone was low, and Yunqique could hear the worry in his voice.
She changed her sleeping position, reached out her hand from the tent, and groped for his hand through the tent curtain.
"Jinglu, although I don't understand what you are worried about, I want you to know that I will always be yours, just like you will always be mine."
"Well, I will always be yours, and you will always be mine."
His tone finally sounded happy.
"Yes. Jinglu, are you really not cold?"
"It's not cold, go to sleep, I'll leave when you fall asleep."
"But brother, it's not that he can't sleep and needs me to accompany him..."
Yun Qique finally realized that he came to accompany her because he was afraid that she couldn't sleep.
"Yun Jinglu."
"I am here."
"It's so kind of you."
"I know."
“…”
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