Chapter 94 It's improper, so keep it safe. When you grow up, write me a marriage certificate...
"Cousin, do you know you were wrong?"
Li Xunhuan lowered his head and said, "It's my fault."
Niannian puffed out her cheeks and asked, "What did I do wrong?"
He said dejectedly, "My cousin wants to pick green plums to make wine. I shouldn't have said that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen."
Seeing that Niannian's expression was off, he hurriedly changed his words, saying, "I accidentally fed my cousin chili peppers in the dark yesterday, it was my fault."
"..."
"That was... when we were counting stars in the tree, shouldn't I have pointed out my cousin's mistake?"
Nian Nian glared at him.
He was speechless for a moment, then stammered, "Cousin, it's my fault for being so slow-witted."
Niannian threw down her pen and said angrily, "I want to kiss you, why won't you let me?"
After she finished speaking, she stood on tiptoe and pinched his cheek, "Why won't you let me kiss you? Say something!"
Those delicate hands pulled at him like dough, and her wide cat eyes stared at him without blinking, her long eyelashes almost brushing against his nose.
Li Xunhuan's mind went blank for a moment, his face flushed, and he broke out in a light sweat of embarrassment. He blurted out, "Niannian, stop being so cutesy!"
He frantically tilted his head back, covering his face in a gesture of obvious embarrassment, avoiding eye contact, and said, "You are a young lady, how can you speak like that? It's both abrupt and impolite. You can't do that."
Over the past three years, he has repeated these words countless times; even a blockhead would have to understand by now.
But, but my cousin just...
Seeing her resting her chin on her hand, her pearly teeth biting her lips until they turned white, Li Xunhuan said urgently, "Cousin, please don't bite your lips anymore, okay? What if you bite them until they bleed?"
Niannian coldly replied, "It can't be changed."
He frowned, and hesitated before saying, "But..."
"No permission allowed!"
After scolding him, Niannian rolled her eyes, took his hand, pressed his thumb to her lips, and winked at him, saying, "If you're really worried, cousin, just press it down when I can't help biting my lip."
He abruptly withdrew his hand, enduring the burning sensation at his fingertips as he curled his hand up, saying helplessly, "How can that be? It's against etiquette."
Niannian gets annoyed by talk of manners and immediately turns her head and says, "Then just bite me to death."
Upon hearing these defiant words, Li Xunhuan opened his mouth to offer advice.
"Are you going to try and control me? You're not my father," she said, covering her ears.
He lowered his eyes and said softly, "But I am your elder brother."
Niannian turned around and sat back down in her chair, sulking. The older one treated her like a daughter, and the younger one treated her like a younger sister. How could there be such a person?
Is she really that unlikable?
"Nian Nian..."
He pursed his lips, gently placed the wooden carving that had been hidden in his sleeve for a long time on the desk, and said hesitantly, "This is for you, please don't... be unhappy, okay?"
For the first time, Li Xunhuan realized that he couldn't read the phrase "Don't hate me" when they were put together.
He looked at Niannian with trembling eyes, feeling inexplicably nervous.
He had only just learned to carve wood, and after ruining many pieces, he finally managed to carve one that was barely passable.
Although the carving technique was still immature, the wood carving already possessed seven or eight parts of the spirit of the subject, and it was undeniably lively. However, when it came to giving it to Niannian, he always wanted to choose the best one.
He had just bent his elbow when he heard Nian Nian mutter softly, "Why is it another cat wood carving?"
It just went from a pitiful, freezing little wildcat to a calico cat with smiling, crinkled eyes.
Can't she even be a human being? It's obvious, how could a person fall in love with a cat?
Li Xunhuan was unaware of the background, let alone her twisted and strange thoughts.
His heart sank suddenly, feeling as if it had been soaked in plum juice, bubbling and sour. After a long while, his eyelashes fluttered slightly as he asked, "Have other people given you wood carvings before?"
She responded listlessly.
When Li Xunhuan saw the wooden cat carving again, he felt a lump in his throat. He was about to ask for it back and have it recarved when he heard someone mutter, "A very bad, very bad uncle once carved one for me."
He first breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned and asked, "Is it bad? Niannian, are you alright?"
Although he was young, he came from a prominent family, and his father was an official. Children of the Li family are often precocious, and he knew from a young age that many corrupt officials kept young girls even at an advanced age, which was truly despicable.
Niannian looked up at him with a smile, "Of course I'll be fine."
He quickly lowered his eyes. "Don't worry. Once my martial arts skills improve, I will avenge you."
His father had high hopes for him and his brother, but he had never been interested in fame or officialdom since childhood and could only listen to stories of the martial arts world.
He yearns for the carefree world of chivalry and righteousness, the chivalrous wanderer. What is the point of being trapped in the imperial court and burdened by fame and fortune?
Niannian blinked, asking curiously, "So how do you plan to help me get revenge?"
"An eye for an eye. Whatever he has done to you, I will make him pay back a hundredfold."
Niannian propped her chin up and recounted, embellishing her memory: "He made me chase after a horse-drawn carriage in the winter wearing only a thin shirt, pinched my flesh until it was red and purple, drove me to the brink of despair, and even tried to slap me for someone else's sake..."
Li Xunhuan clenched his fists, gritting his teeth and roaring furiously, "That beast!"
He only knew that his cousin was lonely and must have had a hard childhood, but he never imagined that she would be humiliated like this.
His heart felt like it was being pierced by needles, and he could hardly breathe. After a long while, he finally grasped her small hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Cousin, I will protect you from now on. I will definitely avenge you."
Niannian held his hand tightly, but said reproachfully, "I don't believe it. You're just as bad as him."
Li Xunhuan panicked and cried out, "How could I treat you like this? I will protect you for the rest of my life. I am not only your brother, but also..."
His face flushed, and his voice suddenly softened.
Niannian couldn't help but chuckle quietly, then slipped the pen from the table into his palm and said seriously, "Then write this down and put it in writing as proof."
Li Xunhuan's ears were flushed red, and he didn't know how to begin writing, so he could only mutter a sentence and then write it down.
By the end, he couldn't even hold a pen anymore, and ashamed to look at the letter, he hurriedly tried to escape.
Seeing that he was keeping his head down and his neck was red, Niannian laughed and grabbed his collar from behind, folded the paper she was practicing calligraphy on, and stuffed it into his heart.
She said sweetly, "This is the first document I've written with our names on it. Keep it safe and write me a marriage certificate when you grow up."
......
Li Xunhuan chuckled softly and carefully placed the slightly faded ink on the letter back into the box.
"cousin!"
Hearing the commotion outside the study, he quickly closed the box and hurried out. If his cousin saw him, she would probably say something outrageous again.
Niannian pushed open the door, her eyes lighting up as she saw him, and she pretended to hug him. Li Xunhuan skillfully dodged her, saying helplessly, "Niannian."
She pursed her lips and answered for him, "Politeness."
Niannian seemed to accept half of the reasoning, but in her heart she was thinking: What's with all the manners? It's just that he doesn't like her.
She gritted her teeth, deciding to wait until they were married and see what he would say then.
Seeing that she was upset, Li Xunhuan took out a small box from his sleeve and waved it in front of her like he was teasing a cat.
As expected, she snatched it away as if it were a ball of yarn.
The pear wood box was warm to the touch. When the lid was gently opened, a light blue Shu brocade hair ribbon lay on the plain brocade inside, with plum branches embroidered at both ends. The Suzhou embroidery technique was delicate, and even the fine downy hairs of the plum skin were embroidered vividly.
Niannian was already grinning from ear to ear when she saw the green plum, but when she saw the green plum branch, she thought to herself: How can there be someone who likes green plums so much?
She picks several baskets of these sour fruits for him every year; how come she never gets tired of them? What's so delicious about these sour fruits?
Although Niannian was puzzled, the Suzhou embroidery hairband was truly beautiful. She wrapped the hairband around Li Xunhuan's hand, turned her back, and said, "Cousin, quickly tie it for me."
Li Xunhuan gazed at her fluffy head, raising and lowering his hand repeatedly, making several gestures before daring to tie it for her.
It's obvious that if he accidentally damaged his cousin's hair, even a hundred Li Xunhuans wouldn't be enough to compensate him. How could he dare to be careless?
Fortunately, his knife-throwing skills weren't too bad; after a couple of twists, he tied a beautiful double loop.
As Niannian was holding his hand and acting coquettishly while looking in the mirror, Madam Li slowly walked in, looked at the two of them and said with a smile, "Why do you two always wear blue? Today is the Qixi Festival, why don't you wear some bright and colorful clothes?"
Niannian smiled and said, "Auntie, green is so pretty!"
Li Xunhuan looked away and echoed, "Wearing a blue cloud robe and a white rainbow skirt, I raise my long arrow to shoot the Heavenly Wolf." [1]
She covered her mouth and chuckled, unwilling to expose the young man whose pupils were trembling wildly, and only said to Niannian, "Be careful to stay close to your cousin, don't get lost."
Niannian nodded to her, stepped forward and took her arm, saying sweetly, "Don't worry, Auntie, we'll definitely be back soon."
Xunhuan's throwing knives had been successfully made, so she was naturally at ease. After giving them a few instructions, she let them leave the mansion.
The carriage swayed and rattled as it traveled westward, heading straight for the distant mountains on the outskirts of the city.
Today is indeed the Qixi Festival, but what's different about this annual celebration? They say it's for sightseeing and worship, but in reality, it's for visiting and befriending all sorts of wandering knights.
When Li Xunhuan was young, he loved to secretly read martial arts novels and miscellaneous books. Niannian would often take him out to buy miscellaneous books and inquire about anecdotes in the martial arts world.
As they grew older, the two secretly made friends with many wandering knights-errant. Nowadays, acts of chivalry and sectarian disputes are nothing special.
The only problem is that the journey is quite long.
Li Xunhuan looked out the car window at the vendors and said, "There's a sugar painting stall outside, Nian Nian, do you want to try it?"
Although he was asking a question, he already knew the answer. From childhood, everything Nian Nian found fascinating. Li Xunhuan pitied her loneliness and was naturally willing to offer her anything.
Niannian stood at the intersection, staring down at the sugar painting, and muttered, "Why didn't you draw the fine lines?"
Li Xunhuan lightly tapped her head and laughed, "Niannian is so mischievous, why did you have to draw me as an old man?"
Niannian said irritably, "It's better than you drawing a plum. Cousin, why don't you know how to draw me?"
Even if you paint me old, when will you finally like me?
Li Xunhuan was speechless. Under the smirking gaze of the vendors, he blushed slightly and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense."
If I hadn't been reminded of that, her next words would probably have made me blush and run away in a panic.
Just then, a neighing sound came from the end of the road.
As they turned to the side, the boy on horseback came into view. He looked to be about the same age as Li Xunhuan, around sixteen or seventeen years old, with his back slightly bent, and he was right in front of them in a moment.
His hair ribbons rattled wildly in the wind, and as the group converged, the howling wind tangled the blue and black ribbons together.
Under the force of the impact, the two headbands suddenly straightened into an arc.
In an instant, Nian Nian felt her hair tighten, and the boy snatched away the loosely tied hair ribbon.
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The author says: [1] It comes from Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs: Lord of the East".
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(Martial Arts Variety Show) Why is this supposed to be a romance variety show, but instead it's turned into a life-threatening situation?
Click the link below to start your live stream.
You clicked away the pop-up ad without batting an eye.
"Congratulations, you clicked on the fake 'x'. Your live stream is now open. Please click the button below to retrieve your live stream keyword."
You choose to go back to the previous page with a blank expression.
"The system detected that your phone is slightly tilted and has automatically selected a theme for you. 3...2...1...Congratulations, your live stream theme is 'Jianghu Romance'."
"Your live stream is now open to all players of the Infinite Flow mode."
you:?
You think your phone has a virus.
As a result, lines of bullet comments suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
"This year's limited-time events are finally interesting!"
"Ahhh, it's a romance variety show! It's been so many years since I've shipped any couples! I've forgotten what it feels like to be beheaded so many times."
"After killing monsters all day, I just want to see something sweet. Isn't the streamer going to stream? Aren't they going to let viewers donate?"
The system has notified you that your live streaming software has been updated.
You hurriedly turn on your phone.
Open the app and shake it to draw your favorite male guest from the dating reality show?
Add martial arts heroes as friends and unlock a unique online dating system?
A limited-time two-player challenge dungeon? A weekend-only date surprise?
You look at the bottom line of small print: "Every Monday from 12:00 to 24:00 is the date-themed challenge time; all levels are designed by players using the 'infinite flow' strategy."
Are players using the "infinite flow" (a term referring to a specific type of gameplay) designing live-action game instances?
The sky is falling, you'd better click to see.
Sweet Dungeon Pool Awaits: "Demon Maze," "Battle Royale," "Apocalypse Survival," "Extreme Cold Disaster Simulation Management," "Rules of the Strange," "Planting Plants to Beat Up Zombies"...
Is this sweet? Your vision goes black.
Ding dong! Other streamers are inviting you to join a PK battle!
The opponent has used a forced item; your life-or-death situation has been loaded...
Wait, why is this supposed to be a dating reality show that's pushing people to their limits?
In dating reality shows, the only way to survive is by selling on-screen couples.
I'm begging for shippers and items to help me pass levels. I'll kill you if it's not sweet!
Male Guest Number One: ...
Male guest number two: ...
Male guest number three: ...
Male guest number four: ...
Male guest undecided/Xiong Jing/Let's all ship this couple/Split storyline ending
There are two-player dungeons and multiplayer battleground dungeons.
We'll also play some cute and heartwarming games together~ including traditional dating reality show elements~
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