preference
After becoming her personal immortal attendant, Qi Yuan clearly felt that the invisible boundary was blurring. She began to test it, as if leaping on ice, anticipating the sound of the ice shattering with each landing.
It started as a minor thing. She ruffled the branches of the meticulously pruned "cloud-patterned pine" in his study, calling it "more rustic." When Jiu Che saw it, he was only slightly taken aback, but said nothing.
She became bolder.
On this day, Jiu Che was discussing important matters with several elders when she walked straight in carrying a plate of freshly baked, fragrant peach blossom cakes. Ignoring the elders' surprised looks, she gently placed the cakes beside Jiu Che and said softly, "Your Highness has worked hard on the meeting, please have some snacks."
An elder with white hair and beard immediately frowned and looked at Jiu Che: "Your Highness, this..."
Jiu Che tightened his grip on the jade slip and looked up at Qi Yuan. She stood there, her eyebrows curved, appearing completely considerate of him, as if she had no idea that her behavior was inappropriate. A faint displeasure swept through him, not because she had disturbed him, but because her inappropriate "concern" made him feel somewhat... awkward in front of his subordinate.
"Get down." His voice carried a hint of coldness that he himself was unaware of.
Qi Yuan's smile froze for a moment, then he obediently replied, "Yes." He turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
After the meeting, the study returned to silence. Jiu Che looked at the plate of slightly cooled peach blossom cake; the displeasure he had felt earlier had vanished, replaced by a strange sense of unease. Had he… said too harshly? Perhaps she had simply… wanted to be good to him.
He got up, intending to go and say something to her, but found she wasn't in the outer room. A sense of emptiness quietly crept in.
It wasn't until evening that Qi Yuan reappeared, carrying a bowl of lotus seed soup brimming with spiritual energy. She placed the bowl in front of him as if nothing had happened, her voice light and cheerful: "Your Highness, would this be alright for dinner?"
Jiu Che looked at her, wanting to say a few words about what happened during the day, but seeing her clear eyes and bright smile, it seemed that she had already put the unpleasantness behind her. If he brought it up again, it would only make him seem petty. He silently picked up the jade key.
However, in the following days, although Qi Yuan still served by his side, he became much more "well-behaved." He no longer commented on his arrangements casually, no longer barged in when he was discussing matters, and even his smiles seemed to have been measured with a ruler, standard and distant.
This sudden insistence on propriety made Jiu Che extremely uncomfortable. The study seemed unusually quiet, and the cloud-patterned pine tree that she had disturbed had been neatly trimmed by the fairy servants, yet he felt it had lost its vitality. He found himself beginning to miss her "unconventional" little actions, and her slightly sly smile.
He then vaguely realized that, without realizing it, he had already tacitly allowed her to have "privileges" that others didn't have. That displeasure was less like anger and more like... an instinctive, clumsy defense when she suddenly crossed his line. And her "following the rules" was more like a silent protest, making him feel uneasy.
That day, when Qi Yuan was tidying up his desk, she "accidentally" spilled a drop of ink onto an important array diagram he was drawing. Normally, he would have frowned. But at this moment, looking at the abrupt ink stain and then at her face, which instantly became flustered and on the verge of tears, he felt strangely no anger at all, only a sense of relief that "she's finally back."
"Your Highness...I..." Her eyes were slightly red, and her fingers twisted the hem of her clothes, like a child who had done something wrong.
Jiu Che sighed, put down his pen, and said in a gentle tone that he himself did not realize: "It's alright, just redraw it."
Qi Yuan stole a glance at him, keenly catching a hint of helpless indulgence beneath his icy expression. She understood; the time was right.
Instead of backing away, she took a step closer, grabbed his wide sleeve, and gently shook it. Her voice was soft and sweet, full of coquettishness: "Your Highness, are you still angry with me? I know I was wrong. I will definitely behave myself from now on and never bother you again... Please don't ignore me..."
She tilted her head back, her eyes brimming with tears, full of dependence and ingratiation, as if he were her whole world.
Jiu Che's heart melted completely. All the entanglement caused by "rules" crumbled at her sweet words. He even subconsciously reached out and grasped her hand that was tugging at his sleeve, gently comforting her, "I'm not angry. You... are fine."
These simple three words deepened the smile on Qi Yuan's lips.
See, your principles are utterly vulnerable in front of me.
She was happy to enjoy this unique favor that he had personally given her.
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