The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

Chapter 148 She wouldn't like me, would she?

I was so scared!

I thought something had happened to you, that someone had kidnapped you, but it turns out you just came to sleep at my place.

Thinking of the icy, heart-wrenching feeling he had just experienced, Shen An's expression grew increasingly grim.

But then he realized an even more serious problem.

Wait a minute—why is this girl sleeping in my room all of a sudden?

Could she—she possibly have some ulterior motive towards me?

No way, how old is she?

But then he felt a pang of guilt.

In recent days, I seem to have treated her—indeed, too inappropriately.

They ate and lived together, occasionally bickered, and never held back in their conversations, never treating her as a young girl experiencing first love.

At that time, I only thought of her as a little sister, and I never thought about these things.

Could it be that my unintentional actions caused her to misunderstand something?

Thinking of this, Shen An felt his head was about to explode.

He stiffly took half a step back, creating some distance between himself and Qu Feiyan.

"I----"

Upon hearing Shen An's words, Qu Feiyan subconsciously took a step back, her face flushing red instantly. Fortunately, the night was deep, so it wasn't too noticeable.

She stammered, her eyes darting around, not daring to look Shen An in the eye.

"I—I—um—your—your bed—is so big and soft, it's so comfortable to sleep in."

Her words were incoherent and her voice was barely audible.

Shen An was taken aback when he heard this. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that it made some sense.

In this inner courtyard, only his main room was originally used for living, and its furnishings were naturally complete. There was also a separate small room for getting up at night.

The room where Qu Feiyan lived was originally empty and was only hastily cleaned up later. Naturally, it couldn't compare to her own room, which was fully equipped and convenient.

His doubts lessened slightly, but his tone remained harsh: "It's not appropriate for a girl like you to do this. We—there's always a difference between men and women, it's inconvenient."

"I don't care, I want to sleep in the big bed!"

Seeing that Shen An believed her words, Qu Feiyan felt a little more at ease. Following the lead, she muttered in a low voice, half coquettish and half playful.

Seeing her pitiful yet self-righteous expression, Shen An couldn't muster any more anger.

He was still just a child, he said helplessly. "Fine, sleep! You can sleep here if you want, I'll sleep in the side room."

Seeing that his expression had eased slightly, Qu Feiyan quickly and hurriedly changed the subject, trying to divert his attention and turn the page on this matter.

"Oh, Brother An, you have no idea how amazing I was yesterday!"

She eagerly stepped forward, tilting her little face up, and proudly declared, "I even rescued a little nun from the Hengshan Sect yesterday! She was kidnapped by that Tian Boguang guy, but I found another guy and we devised a plan to get her out!"

As she spoke, she puffed out her chest, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, as if to say:

How about that? Aren't I amazing? Praise me! Brother An, I'm no longer some demonic witch, I'm a chivalrous heroine now!

If she had a tail, it would probably be spinning around by now.

Unexpectedly, after hearing her words, Shen An's expression, which had just calmed down, immediately turned grim again.

He stared at Qu Feiyan and said, enunciating each word clearly, "So, who is this 'Young Hero Shen An,' praised throughout the city? It turns out to be you, kid!"

"hey-hey----"

Qu Feiyan, however, did not notice the change in Shen An's expression and the strange tone. She took it as a prelude to praise and scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly, thinking to herself: Please praise me as much as you like, I can accept it!

Please praise me as much as you like, I deserve it!

"Nonsense!"

"what?"

Qu Feiyan's smile froze instantly. She looked up in astonishment and saw that An-gege's face, which used to be reassuring with just a glance, was now serious and somewhat frightening.

Shen An's voice suddenly rose, no longer able to suppress his anger: "Do you know who Tian Boguang is? In a life-or-death battle, I wouldn't dare say I could definitely defeat him. With your paltry skills and your pathetic little tricks, you dare to provoke such a desperate man?!"

He pointed to the tattered clothes in the yard and shouted angrily, "What happened to that piece of clothing?! Was that tear in the back inflicted by Tian Boguang's knife?! Were you almost injured?!"

He had never lost his temper with her, much less reprimanded her in such a harsh tone.

Qu Feiyan was so frightened by his sudden outburst of rage that she trembled all over, and her eyes immediately turned red.

She was a fearless person by nature, having grown up in a demonic cult since childhood and being accustomed to fighting and killing. She believed that her actions this time were perfect, as she not only saved people but also escaped unscathed.

At this moment, after being scolded so harshly by Shen An, the pride in his heart instantly turned into immense grievance.

"I—I did that to save someone! I used a pillow to shield myself! I wasn't injured at all!" she retorted defiantly, her voice already trembling with tears.

"Not injured?" Shen An laughed angrily. "You were just lucky! What if you were even slightly less lucky? Would you still be standing here unharmed, arguing with me?! Qu Feiyan, let me tell you, your life is your own! It's not a bargaining chip for you to use to play the hero or gamble with your luck!"

"I don't----"

Qu Feiyan's tears finally fell uncontrollably.

Crystalline tears, like beads from a broken string, slid down her smooth cheeks, making her look especially aggrieved and pitiful in the cold moonlight.

She initially felt wronged, thinking that Shen An was indiscriminately scolding her.

Why did I receive such a harsh reprimand instead of praise for doing a good deed?

But as she cried, she gradually began to taste something different.

She could hear the barely suppressed fear in his words.

She could hear the undisguised worry in his voice.

He wasn't angry that she was being unreasonable, nor was he angry that she impersonated him.

He was just—afraid.

I was afraid that if the knife had been even an inch off course, afraid that if the pillow had been even a fraction thinner, afraid that she would really—

She finally understood that behind his stern reprimand lay a heart that was pounding wildly and suffering greatly because of her.

So it turns out—he wasn't angry that I acted on my own initiative, but rather—he was worried about me, afraid something might happen to me—

An indescribable warmth slowly melted away all the grievances and coldness in her heart.

That heart, which had been aching with grievances, uncontrollably began to feel sweet, little by little.

She stopped arguing and just lowered her head, letting her tears fall silently.

But those small fists quietly loosened at her sides.

In the darkness, unnoticed by anyone, a small, subtle smile quietly curved upwards at the corners of her lips.