spoiled brat

Chapter 133 132. Empty Flowers (2)

So, she ended up in such a mess all because of a man she'd only met twice.

"Even if you fall in love at first sight, there's no need to be so affectionate."

Xiu Yi snatched the pipe from Zhao Zhao's hand, twirling it between his slender fingers, and said as he walked away:

"The moon is bright tonight, and the wind is gentle. Walk with me for a while to get rid of the fishy smell on you, and then think carefully about how to lie so that I won't investigate you in secret."

trouble.

Zhao Zhao didn't want to follow, but she had searched half the city before finally settling on this opium pipe, its ebony gleaming with silver, it was incredibly beautiful.

She was afraid that Xiu Yi wouldn't return it, so she chased after him to try and snatch it back. But Xiu Yi was tall, and with a single raised hand, she became like a cat that couldn't reach the fish, leaving her both angry and annoyed.

"Getting impatient?" Xiu Yi said calmly. "You must have something to hide."

Zhao Zhao pulled his arm hard, almost hanging herself on him, but he held his hand up and wouldn't budge.

"Give me back my things!" Zhao Zhao was really angry.

"Nothing material possessions are as important as your young master."

Xiu Yi, seemingly unfazed, continued walking forward: "Why don't you tell me first what kind of spell he cast on you, that you'd become so meddlesome after only meeting him twice?"

Zhao Zhao stopped following, then suddenly smiled: "Didn't you not believe me?"

"It's disbelief."

Xiu Yi stopped in his tracks, and without turning around, sarcastically remarked, "But you're all filthy and smelly, like a stray dog ​​on the street. To go to such lengths for a man—it doesn't seem like feigned affection, does it?"

Before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind came from behind.

He reacted quickly, but failed to dodge.

Zhao Zhao lunged forward intending to snatch something, but her movements were too hasty, and she ended up knocking Xiu Yi to the ground.

He fell but wouldn't let go. Zhao Zhao tried to grab him back, and the two of them got tangled up and rolled around in the grass a few times.

Finally, Zhao Zhao succeeded, pinning Xiu Yi down and looking down at him with unwavering superiority. Seeing the grass clippings on Xiu Yi's clothes and the blood on her own soiled garments, she felt a strange sense of joy and laughed, saying:
"You're filthy too."

She made no attempt to hide the smugness in her expression, as if the dignified and self-possessed person before her was her trophy, and that getting him dirty was a victory.

The atmosphere also conveyed that feeling.

The moonlight was cold and clear, the night was a deep blue, and Xiu Yi's fair and handsome face remained indifferent.

Despite being in a sorry state, his expression still carried an arrogant disdain for everyone.

Zhao Zhao liked this arrogance, as if it were tempting her to break.

Furthermore, with him pinned down, he was completely at her mercy.

Perhaps it was a sudden impulse, or perhaps she had wanted to do it all along, but Zhao Zhao raised her hand and touched his jade-like face with her fingertips.

Maliciously, cruelly, yet tenderly, she used her fingernails to pick at the exquisite red mole between his eyebrows, as if stealing a jewel from a crown, or scraping gold dust from a statue of a god.

Xiu Yi remained unperturbed, his expression indifferent, simply letting her be.

At the same time, I thought she was just like a cat, whose pupils would dilate and become as dark as a pool when she was excited and happy.

It's as if it'll bite down at any moment, gently tearing and chewing, devouring the person it loves bite by bite.

Her favorite thing is to eat.

"Is it fun?" Xiu Yi asked.

Zhao Zhao stopped what she was doing and stopped fooling around.

He pressed down on him, looked down at him for a moment, and shook his head with a smile: "Not fun, but I'm probably done for."

Xiu Yi thought she felt that there was a difference in their status and that she was being disrespectful and would be punished.

But then she leaned down, her voice slow and gentle, each word uttered tickling his ears:

"I'd kill for that student official who wasn't as good-looking as you. You're so beautiful, if anything were to happen to you, wouldn't I be willing to risk my life for you?"

"I'm interrogating you, and you're all clingy and affectionate with me?"

"I'm innocent." Zhao Zhao raised a finger and brushed it across his face, her expression a mixture of pity and sigh. "I was just telling the truth." "You're becoming more and more despicable," Xiu Yi sneered. "Get out of here."

“I pounce on you and you fall over. You could have easily pushed me away, but you let me bully you.” Zhao Zhao said, “I did what you wanted, and I still get scolded by you… I’m so miserable.”

As she spoke, she slowly stood up and brushed the grass clippings off her body.

As dawn approached, he yawned from sleepiness and was about to say goodbye when Xiu Yi grabbed his wrist.

Is there anything else?
Zhao Zhao turned her head and looked down at the web of his right hand.

A tooth mark, bright and conspicuous.

What she left behind.

"You've met him several times; you seem to have a deep connection with that official student."

Xiu Yi said in a calm tone: "If he makes you unhappy in the future, don't bite him."

Just then, the rising sun appeared on the horizon, its golden rays passing through Zhao Zhao's reddened ears and falling into Xiu Yi's light-colored eyes, his gaze burning as if with a gloomy fire.

Zhao Zhao pulled her hand away, somewhat angry, the kind of anger that comes from being bitten in return:
"What business is it of yours how deep my fate is with him? Why should I listen to you about how we get along? Do you think that just because I've become your maid, my words and actions are dictated by you?"

Xiu Yi stared at her intently, without saying a word, but his meaning was clear.

Zhao Zhao felt inexplicably uneasy, and said, "I don't need your help," before hurriedly leaving.

-

Spring is in full bloom, and the willows are lush and green.

Xie Xiaoqing leaned against the window, gazing thoughtfully at the raindrops in the bright sunlight.

His roommates laughed at him, "Brother Xie, you're thinking about girls again!"

Pang Xuan immediately retorted, "What nonsense are you talking about? It's true that he was thinking about the girl before, but he's been spacing out these past few days because he's been scared out of his wits."

He stepped forward and tapped Xie Xiaoqing on the head with the scroll in his hand:

"Old Xie, what lured you out that night, and why did you come back wearing tattered clothes? Tell us, don't keep it to yourself."

The other students in the room were also curious, but Xie Xiaoqing remained silent. One of them suddenly realized and said:

“Brother Xie, I know what happened. That night, a beautiful girl disguised as a fox must have come to seduce you, and you foolishly followed her, having your life force drained—”

Everyone laughed, but Xie Xiaoqing suddenly spoke up: "Um..." He thought for a moment, "I do have something I want to ask you."

"What is it?" Everyone immediately became serious.

There was a girl who thought I was stupid and incompetent.

Xie Xiaoqing displayed a meticulous and scholarly attitude throughout:

"What can I do to make her think I'm not a loser?"

His question stunned everyone: "So you've been lying by the window every day, thinking about that girl all along..."

"This thought is not that thought."

Xie Xiaoqing gave a wry smile.

Upon arriving in the capital, he was immediately embroiled in disputes and faced deadly dangers at every turn, yet he knew nothing of the reasons behind it.

He recently wrote home to inquire whether his uncle Xie Cheng had offended anyone in Beijing.

The results were vague, and even the clansmen in the far southwest were unaware of Xie Cheng's actions in the capital.

The only straw he could grasp was Zhao Zhao.

"Brother, this girl you're talking about..." Pang Xuan's eyes were a little strange, "...could she be the one from the Prince of Ning's mansion?"

Xie Xiaoqing quickly shook his head: "No, how could they possibly be interested in me?"

Pang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "That's good."

When it comes to love and romance, young people are the most lively. They all gather together to help Xie Xiaoqing come up with ideas, talking about nothing more than the five things: "Pan, Lu, Deng, Xiao, and Xian" (a Chinese idiom for men of letters, names, and titles), nothing new.