Chapter 22 Playing Hard to Get: "Men and women should not touch each other, but since my cousin knows me..."
Xie Zheng was stunned for a moment after hearing this. After looking at Pei Lang's normal expression, he slowly nodded: "...Yes, that scholar is very obedient to Xiao Jin. I'm afraid he was the one who lured Xiao Jin today."
Lin Zhi lowered her eyes but breathed a sigh of relief, her voice low: "Xie Shaoqing, no matter what, I am very happy to know that Miss Xie has not been hurt by a heartless person."
"But today, Miss Xie hurt my cousin. I am not worthy of such a friend."
"I hope that Mr. Xie will take good care of your younger sister in the future. If there is a next time, I, Lin Zhi, will never let it go."
Lin Zhi's voice was originally soft, but now, as she became serious, it carried a hint of intimidation. Even though it was nothing more than a cat showing its claws to the two people in front of her, it still made them glance at her.
"...What happened today was all the fault of the Xie family. Thank you for your magnanimity, Miss Lin."
However, as Lin Zhi helped Pei Lang leave, she couldn't help but stop and take out the things Chun Tao was carrying and hand them to Xie Zheng.
Looking at the exquisite red embroidered handkerchief in his hand, Xie Zheng looked up at her and saw only her fluttering eyelashes.
"Originally, it was intended as a congratulatory gift for Miss Xie, but I never expected it to turn out like this. However, my feelings and goodwill from before are genuine."
"Please trouble you, Xie Shaoqing, to pass this on for me."
Clutching the soft, silky embroidered handkerchief in his hand, Xie Zheng watched Lin Zhi lift the hem of her skirt and board the carriage. Just as he was about to look away, his gaze met that of his friend.
Xie Zheng knew that Pei Lang always kept a low profile, but even so, he was still startled for a moment by the coldness in Pei Lang's eyes. But when Xie Zheng tried to look again, Pei Lang was calm as usual, as if the warning in his eyes just now was just his imagination.
Thinking that the sedative would have limited effect, Xie Zheng didn't have time to think about the struggling sounds coming from his own carriage. He grabbed his embroidered handkerchief and hurried home with his sister.
On the way back to the Pei residence, the carriage was deathly silent.
Chun Tao was scared, so she sat outside the carriage with the coachman, leaving only Lin Zhi and Pei Lang inside.
Pei Lang leaned back against the carriage, his usually sharp expression softened by the pale color of his lips. Lin Zhi, however, kept her eyes fixed on him, afraid that something might happen to the person she was protecting.
Although her eyes followed him steadily, Lin Zhi's heart was in turmoil.
Pei Lang had tried to persuade her, but she hadn't listened and had even treated people so badly. Yet today, Pei Lang still came to save her, even at the risk of getting injured himself.
Lin Zhi stared at his awkwardly positioned shoulders and arms, her eyes welling up with tears. The care she had received was too little and too short-lived; her parents had died early, and there was no one left in this world who truly loved her.
The aunt was kind-hearted, but she only liked Lin Zhi, who was obedient and compliant and suitable to be her daughter-in-law.
Even now, sitting in the carriage, Lin Zhi's mind kept replaying Pei Lang's heroic figure as if he had descended from the heavens. No one had ever treated her like that before, willing to get hurt themselves to protect her.
The feelings that Lin Zhi had deliberately ignored and that Pei Lang had expressed now seemed to flow into her heart like a gentle spring stream.
"hiss......"
The carriage swayed a couple of times, and despite Pei Lang's best efforts to control himself, the movement aggravated his injury, causing him to groan in pain. Lin Zhi quickly moved closer, carefully cradling his injured arm against her chest to cushion the wound.
Feeling the soft warmth of the girl against his arm, Pei Lang finally lifted his long, dark eyes to look at her. Lin Zhi's profile, with her eyes lowered, was smooth and delicate, white and soft like a ripe peach.
"......open."
Pei Lang stared at it for a long time before looking away, but his voice became low and cold again.
Lin Zhi stiffened upon hearing him speak, but she refused to move her arm around his and explained softly, "By padding it like this, it won't hurt your wound when the carriage bounces again."
"Men and women should not touch each other. Since my cousin knows my feelings, why is she teasing me like this?"
Lin Zhi had said these words to him before, and he never expected that the man would still hold a grudge.
“I, Pei Lang, have not stooped to such a low level.”
Pei Lang's voice was restrained, as if he had suffered a great injustice, which made Lin Zhi dare not make any rash moves. Looking down, she was surprised to find that she had actually wrapped his arm in her arms and pressed it against her chest, which was indeed a bit inappropriate.
Lin Zhi blushed, but still didn't let go.
"That's not how it is, cousin. You did this to save me. Didn't you say before that we're family, and it's only right that we look after each other..."
Before Lin Zhi could finish speaking, Pei Lang suddenly pulled his arm back with such force that it even aggravated the bandage on his wound, and dark red blood seeped from his shoulder.
"Cousin! What are you doing! You've aggravated your wound!"
Lin Zhi was extremely anxious and reached out to hold him down, but her vision blurred and she was instead pressed against the carriage wall by Pei Lang.
Blood had already trickled down her arm and flowed onto Pei Lang's hand. The young man, with a dark expression, raised his hand and grabbed Lin Zhi's chin, completely disregarding his own open and bleeding wound.
He spoke each word as if he were grinding his teeth: "Lin Zhi, if you don't want to, then don't bother me."
"I have no patience and I disdain playing these games of playing hard to get with you."
"No one, never before, has ever treated me like this!"
Lin Zhi was already in a state of panic, and now seeing Pei Lang's bloodshot eyes and bitter expression made her even more flustered, and her amber pupils couldn't help but tremble slightly.
Pei Lang stared at her for a long time before finally letting go. He leaned against the corner of the carriage in despair, closed his eyes, and refused to look at her again.
After a long while, soft sobs could be heard from inside the carriage. Even though Lin Zhi tried her best to bite her lower lip to hold back her sobs, faint cries still escaped her lips.
Perhaps out of impatience, or perhaps out of compromise, Pei Lang slowly opened his eyes, his voice much calmer: "Stop crying."
"I spoke without thinking just now. You will still be my cousin from now on. Wait for Mingli's triumphant return in the Pei family."
"This will never happen again."
Despite hearing words that should have made her happy, Lin Zhi felt a tightness in her chest, unable to breathe properly, and she felt extremely uncomfortable.
The carriage stopped in front of the Pei residence's gate. Lin Zhi stepped forward to help Pei Lang, but was dodged, leaving her hand awkwardly hanging in mid-air. Having been publicly humiliated, her face flushed with shame.
Pei Lang staggered for only two steps before collapsing and falling unconscious.
"cousin!"
"Quickly, go and fetch the doctor!"
Seeing Pei Lang's inner garment cut open, revealing a bloody, mangled wound on his strong, broad shoulders, even more severe than before.
Lin Zhi couldn't help but gasp after seeing it, her face turning pale.
“If the young master’s shoulder injury is forcibly torn open again, I’m afraid he will have a hard time living in the future, let alone riding a horse or drawing a bow.”
"I hope Miss Biao will take good care of you and prevent the condition from worsening."
Lin Zhi's eyes were full of worry as she managed to say, "Thank you, doctor."
After everyone left, Lin Zhi stood by the bed, wanting to watch him wake up.
Ke Xingyun quickly came over and asked her to leave, saying, "Please don't make things difficult for me, Miss. Our young master probably doesn't want to see you."
Lin Zhi's slender fingers clenched tightly together, yet she had to separate them, and she spoke with suppressed emotion: "He's not even awake yet, how do you know he doesn't want to see me?"
Xingyun remained respectful: "Miss, there are some things I shouldn't say, but since we've gotten closer, our young master seems to have become a completely different person."
"Young Master is the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, a promising young man with a bright future, but when he is with you, he loses all his reason."
"Forgive my bluntness, but you will only cause the young master grief and injury. Now that the young master is seriously injured, I beg you to show mercy."
Lin Zhi seemed to be stung by his words. Her slender body swayed slightly, and she lifted the corner of her skirt and fled as if in a panic.
Just as Lin Zhi's beautiful figure disappeared from Lanxue Pavilion, Pei Lang on the couch slowly opened his eyes, his gaze complex.
"Young master, Miss Biao is following us again. Would you like to speak with her?"
Xingyun helped Pei Lang take a walk in the garden. It took half a month for his injury to heal and for him to be able to leave the room.
Pei Lang's ears twitched slightly upon hearing his words, but he did not respond.
After walking a few more steps, he pushed the person away, saying, "It's hot. Go find a fan to cool me down."
Xingyun paused for a moment, then quickly exclaimed "Hey!" and ran away.
Pei Lang had already spotted Lin Zhi hiding out of the corner of his eye. Ever since the two of them drew a line in the carriage, Lin Zhi had been approaching him like a greedy cat.
I don't want him to know yet...
Pei Lang clutched his shoulder, his eyes darting around, feeling that things were moving too slowly.
Lin Zhi, relieved, avoided Xingyun's gaze and followed Pei Lang at a distance, not too close, until she saw a handkerchief flutter down from his body.
But as he bent down to pick it up, it seemed as if he had accidentally aggravated his injury, and he arched his back in pain, feeling extremely vulnerable.
Lin Zhi's heart tightened, and disregarding her own current situation, she quickly stepped forward to help.
A note from the author:
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Thank you everyone for the nutrient solution and for saving this post!
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