Chapter 47 Won’t Absolutely impossible.

Chapter 47: No, I Would Never Do That.

The saying "what you think about during the day, you dream about at night" was once again proven unreliable by Zhong Yao.

Before sleeping, she had thought about how Xie Chi, though harsh with his words, was actually very soft-hearted inside.

He was kind to his elder, Old Madam Xie, and responsible toward Xue Fang, his mischievous and disobedient adopted brother—curbing his behavior, teaching him to read and write, yet still allowing him to go out and play.

He seemed strict with the guards below, but didn't fuss over small matters—like when the guards found Xue Fang embarrassing and refused to fetch him from the villagers... that was indeed too shameful.

But Xie Chi was also good to her.

Zhong Yao remembered the night they first met, stranded in the wilderness. Back then, the weather was still chilly, with cold wind and rain outside, and vicious bandits and vicious dogs lurking beyond. Inside, there were only the two of them. Xie Chi found her annoying and pretended to be asleep just to avoid talking to her. When she called him out, he even snapped at her.

Now they were in the wilderness again, but in a much better situation. Xie Chi's attitude toward her had improved greatly—he was nearly furious with her but still didn't shove her away.

Zhong Yao thought to herself that she should have found an excuse to cry before she shut up, just to see if Xie Chi would dislike her as he had before. At the same time, she felt that Xie Chi had sacrificed too much to repay the debt of that one stab, and she should treat him better in the future.

Torn between these two thoughts, she fell asleep without realizing it and had a dream. In it, they found her second brother in the bandits' lair.

His arms and legs were intact, but when he saw her, he burst into loud wails. After crying, he asked, "Little sister, did you bring presents for your nephews?"

Zhong Yao hurriedly pulled out all her belongings from her pouch and handed them over. Her second brother glanced at them and said, "They won't like these... let them pick for themselves."

Then he tore open his own stomach, and a swarm of kids poured out—each with green faces and fangs. They lunged at Zhong Yao, shouting that they wanted to cut off her head, dig out her heart, and gnaw on her toes, scaring her wide awake.

After waking, she sat there, still shaken, for a long time, only snapping out of it when Shu Feng came in to check on her.

Maybe to avoid suspicion, Xie Chi and the guards had all gone outside. Only Zhong Yao and Shu Feng remained in the ruined temple.

Wash water had been set out. Zhong Yao, drenched in cold sweat, wanted to take a quick wipe-down, but the mountain water was icy even in summer. She only managed to wipe her neck before shivering from the cold.

Not wanting to get sick and slow them down, she gave up.

When traveling, you make do with what you have. After tidying up, they continued on.

That nightmare had really shaken Zhong Yao up. After setting off again, she seriously thought it over and decided she couldn't scare herself like this. It wasn't necessarily her second brother who'd had kids with the bandits.

She couldn't let fear take hold so soon.

Steeling herself for the unknown horrors ahead, Zhong Yao picked up the documents about Misty Hidden Mountain she had been reading earlier and continued flipping through them.

She read with intense concentration, completely tuning out the outside world, until Xue Fang jumped into the carriage holding a handful of wild fruits.

"Go ahead, eat," Xue Fang said, handing the fruits to Zhong Yao. "But remember my effort when you're done."

Zhong Yao, tired from reading, tilted her head back and rubbed her neck, asking, "Are they any good?"

Xue Fang replied, "Good, they're sweet."

But just as Zhong Yao picked one up to examine it and was about to put it in her mouth, he muttered, "Just kidding, they're not good. Really sour."

Zhong Yao, who'd been tricked by him before when he pretended to be a dog, didn't trust him much when it came to pranks. Since the fruit wasn't poisonous, she popped one in her mouth.

After tasting it, she exclaimed happily, "It's not sour at all! It's really good."

She picked up another fruit and turned, saying, "Heir Xie..."

She'd spoken before turning, so only after the words left her mouth did she realize Xie Chi was already looking at her. She didn't know when he had started or how long he had been watching.

It was normal for him to look at her when she spoke, but why was his gaze so strange?

It was full of curiosity and confusion, and a hint of greed—like those monstrous kids in her dream who'd fought to devour her.

Zhong Yao's voice trailed off. She stared wide-eyed at Xie Chi, trying to figure out what secret was hidden in his eyes.

Caught staring, Xie Chi didn't even blink. He met her gaze and asked calmly, "What are you looking at me for?"

With no evidence of his odd behavior, Zhong Yao blinked sheepishly and held out the fruit. "It's really sweet, Heir Xie. You should try one."

Xie Chi's gaze moved from her face to the fruit.

The fruit was pretty, bright red, still glistening with water from being washed—like the red pearl Zhong Yao had once worn in her hair and the coral bead tucked in his sleeve.

Xie Chi took it, his fingertips brushing Zhong Yao's.

He looked up at her, finding her totally unaware, her eyes sparkling as she waited for him to eat it.

Xie Chi glanced at the fruit again and was about to bring it to his mouth when Xue Fang suddenly went "wah" beside him, rushed out of the carriage, spitting repeatedly, yelling, "So sour! So sour, so sour!"

Xie Chi turned to Zhong Yao.

Under his gaze, her face slowly scrunched up. Finally, unable to hold it in, she covered her mouth, grabbed a teacup, and downed several gulps before stopping with a grimace.

After swallowing the bitter sour taste, Zhong Yao saw Xie Chi's indescribable expression and gave him a shy yet frank smile. "Almost tricked you, hehe..."

She looked both good and bad, silly and naive, which irritated Xie Chi—but also made his hands itch, and his teeth too, wanting to bite her.

Yet Xue Fang's words from yesterday, learned from their grandmother, echoed in his ears, restraining his actions, leaving him unable to do anything—unless Zhong Yao provoked him first.

After that, Xue Fang, bow and arrows slung over his back, continued darting around the carriage, occasionally shouting at interesting sights. Zhong Yao quietly resumed reading her documents. Xie Chi, with nothing to do, picked up a book as well.

After flipping a few pages, his gaze fell on the pile of wild fruits on the low table.

He stared for a moment, then picked one up and put it in his mouth.

It was indeed sour.

Frowning, he looked at Zhong Yao, who was leaning against the carriage wall, her eyes glued to the documents, reading with intense focus, not sparing him a single glance.

And he had coaxed her to sleep last night.

Use him and discard him. Ungrateful.

Xie Chi grew restless. He stretched out his long leg and propped it up beside Zhong Yao.

Finally reacting, Zhong Yao first looked at his foot, then shifted closer to him, saying, "Heir Xie, you're really becoming less and less refined."

Xie Chi replied, "Was Fei Anxuan refined?"

Zhong Yao had almost forgotten about that man. At his mention, she quickly patted Xie Chi's arm and said eagerly, "Heir Xie, you're even more vengeful than I am. Help me remember—once my second brother's matter is settled, I want to get back at him."

Using someone and then stepping on them?

Xie Chi reached out, wrapped an arm around Zhong Yao's nape, and pulled her closer. She let out an "ah" as she half-leaned into his embrace. He looked down and asked, "I'm vengeful?"

"Complimenting you, complimenting you," Zhong Yao said, her book falling as she turned sideways to pat his chest, pleading, "I'm vengeful. I'm the vengeful one."

Xie Chi still didn't let go. "Since you agreed to the Fei family's marriage proposal back then, you must have liked something about Fei Anxuan. What was it?"

Zhong Yao didn’t know why Xie Chi suddenly cared about this. She thought for a moment, then replied, “He knew how to say nice things—things like ‘a celestial maiden from the nine heavens’ or ‘a beauty rare in a thousand lifetimes.’”

“You believed him?”

“No,” Zhong Yao said. “He said it as a joke, and sometimes he’d even make himself laugh. I thought it was funny, and I didn’t want to mess up the relations between our families, so I agreed… Who doesn’t like hearing sweet talk? It’s like when I say you, Heir Xie, are elegant and amazing, and just looking at you makes my heart pound…”

She grinned at Xie Chi again, all silly and innocent, and he was so distracted he almost leaned in to kiss her.

Xie Chi got a little annoyed. He tightened his arm around her, and Zhong Yao immediately yelped, “Hey, hey!”

He looked down and asked, “I heard you want to take in a husband. What kind are you after?”

Zhong Yao said, “Someone like you, Heir Xie.”

Xie Chi’s heart jumped. His eyes narrowed as he stared down at her.

Zhong Yao met his deep stare for a moment, then burst out giggling, her body shaking, her shoulders thumping against his chest.

Seeing that, Xie Chi knew she was up to her old tricks.

His face changed a few times. With one arm still tight around her neck, he reached out with his other hand to pinch her cheek, but then changed his mind, grabbed a sour wild fruit, and shoved it into her mouth.

Zhong Yao, caught off guard, had no choice but to eat it, and her face puckered from the sourness.

Xie Chi watched her scrunched-up face coldly. After a moment, he picked up a teacup, brought it to her lips, and fed her water. After she drank, he let her go, closed his eyes and decided to ignore her.

But Zhong Yao wanted to talk to him.

“I was wrong, I shouldn’t have been messing with you…” She grabbed his arm and shook it, honestly admitting she was wrong. “My neck was sore, and your arm is strong—the way you held me felt all tingly and good. I just wanted to make you mad so you’d work out my muscles. I really didn’t mean to tease you.”

Xie Chi didn’t answer.

Zhong Yao shook his arm again, “Heir Xie?”

“Want me to do the same for you?”

“Ah, I’m kidding. I wouldn’t want someone like you…”

Zhong Yao had a way of making Xie Chi mad, whether with sweet words or mean ones.

Sure enough, she went on, “Heir Xie, how come you smell even cleaner than last night? Did you sneak off to take a bath without me?”

Xie Chi had indeed washed up while she was sleeping, all because of what she said the night before.

First she said he had no smell, then she said, “Even if you stank, I wouldn’t be as rude as you and point it out.” Wasn’t that just trying to make him doubt himself?

Zhong Yao was the worst girl Xie Chi had ever known.

He really didn’t want to bother with her.

Zhong Yao went on rambling, “I want to take a bath too. I had a nightmare last night—dreamed I had a bunch of little nephews who wanted to eat me up. I woke up drenched in cold sweat… I think I smell bad again. Want to take a sniff, Heir Xie? This time you don’t have to do it secretly…”

Xie Chi opened his eyes and clamped his hand on the back of Zhong Yao’s neck.

His broad, warm palm, slightly rough against her delicate skin, pressed with a firm force that made her neck ache and tingle—a sharp sensation.

She couldn’t take it and let out a soft cry, quickly shouting, “Alright, alright, no more rubbing…”

Xie Chi pressed down once more, and she cried out again, her voice long and sweet, making hearts race.

Xie Chi wanted to hate her again.

He pressed his thumb against that smooth skin, restraining the urge to knead deeper and rougher. He let go of Zhong Yao and asked, incredulous, “You’ve grown up this big and never really been hit?”

“How is that possible?” Zhong Yao was surprised, then said indignantly, “My eldest and second brothers never treated me like a little sister. They always bullied me. I cried all the time growing up.”

Xie Chi: “You deserve it.”

“Hmph!”

Zhong Yao was angry. She picked up the book that had fallen, turned around, and started reading again.

After a while, she glanced back at Xie Chi, meeting his dark, brooding eyes once more. He scowled first and demanded, “What are you looking at?”

Zhong Yao thought he was infuriating—always staring at her with that strange look and then accusing her first.

But they were getting closer to the mountain stronghold of the bandits. In two or three days, they’d reach the local prefecture, and she needed to understand the situation there better to avoid being a burden.

Zhong Yao wanted to focus on the official records and stop fooling around with Xie Chi.

She had just a few last words for him.

“Heir Xie, don’t ask me what kind of husband I want to take in anymore. I… I’m too embarrassed to say…”

Embarrassed to say?

What, did she actually like a flashy, flirtatious man?

Xie Chi’s eyes darkened. He was about to speak when Zhong Yao patted his arm and added, “And the mountain water is so cold, Heir Xie—aren’t you freezing?”

An irritating remark followed by a soft, caring question made Xie Chi hold back for now.

“I’m not cold,” he said.

“How can you not be?” Zhong Yao grabbed his hand and examined it, concerned. “Your skin isn’t that rough. Don’t be so obsessed with cleanliness in the future. What if you catch a chill?”

“…”

Xie Chi wanted to pin her down and spank her, but he was afraid that if he started, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from kissing her fiercely.

The former wasn’t allowed, but the latter was—only after marriage.

Since he’d done such things to Zhong Yao and had such dirty thoughts, whether she knew it or not, he had to take responsibility.

But with her silly, naive mind, it would be hard for her to fall for him.

Would he really have to seduce her in a flashy way?

Xie Chi came from a marquis’s household and was one of the capital’s most refined noble sons. Even when he was in trouble and tried to trick Zhong Yao into obedience with talk of marriage, he’d remained cold and aloof, never stooping to anything as vulgar as flirtation.

He would never do that.

He wouldn’t.