Chapter 101: Chapter 88 Heart-to-Heart Talk
Zhao Rong was sowhat caught off guard.
He stared at the pair of clear, distinctly black and white eyes in front of him, which now reflected his own motionless, calm face and the intense flickering of the firelight beside him.
Her narrow fox eyes, naturally charming, were at this mont wide open, and instead of being seductive, they seed more innocent and naive.
Not to ntion the stunning face that bore those eyes…
Why were there such beautiful curves?
Zhao Rong slightly shifted his gaze away, not daring to look any further, and not daring to look into her eyes anymore.
But her gaze was still on his face, he could feel it.
The crackling sound of the fire seed louder now, as if releasing even more heat, scorching the two who were silently “at an impasse” next to it.
Zhao Rong pursed his lips, feeling that ti was passing by very slowly, but the woman’s inquiry just now still echoed clearly beside his ear, lingering and not going away.
Zhao Rong savored it carefully, detecting a trace of teasing in the tone of her words.
It should… It shouldn’t be what I’m thinking, right?
He thought silently, his mind racing.
He had actually sensed this developnt early on, especially that night at the Lanxi Manor, under the moonlight by the window, when she said she didn’t want to be his sister anymore.
But after they agreed to beco good friends, he didn’t give it much more thought, fearing it was all wishful thinking on his part.
But what was the situation now? Was she serious, or just joking, or simply the ramblings of a young girl?
The stove?
Was the aning she conveyed really what I’m thinking it is?
After all, she must be too naive to understand what probing ans, considering she seed quite foolish before.
Zhao Rong secretly lanted in his heart, unsure how to reply, for fear of misunderstanding and then being embarrassed and shad.
At this mont, Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes were filled with him.
She scrutinized the face which she initially found extrely unpleasant at their first encounter, especially those “sleazy” eyes that had stealthily watched her through the gaps in the bookshelf, which she now observed with extra care.
She waited quietly, but at the mont when she saw his eyes flicker and his lips slightly part as he was about to speak,
she suddenly felt her heart skip a beat.
The little fox demon blurted out, “Hmph, Zhao Rong, I was just testing you to see if you were loyal enough, but you took so long to think, you’ve really disappointed Xiaoxiao.”
After speaking, she saw Zhao Rong let out a sigh of relief and glance her way, so she quickly averted her gaze, fixing her eyes on the flas that made her feel a bit stuffy and out of breath.
Her chest heaved slightly.
Then, as the fox demon heralded as the flower of the Qiantang Mountain’s Su clan, she raised her little head proudly and said:
“Xiaoxiao’s stove naturally has to be pleasing to Xiaoxiao’s eyes. Mm, it must be at least one-tenth as good-looking as Xiaoxiao to qualify. Hmph, Zhao Rong, you’re far from good enough. A hundred of you wouldn’t suffice, no, a thousand.”
Su Xiaoxiao glanced sideways at Zhao Rong.
The young Confucian scholar, who never wished to be outdone in terms of appearance, hurriedly nodded, “What Su Huxian says is most true.”
Senior mber of the Appearance Association, Su Xiaoxiao, humd twice. Her chin, pointed like a tender bamboo shoot, tilted slightly upwards, while her lips curled up into a fetching smile, displaying a royal disdain.
Zhao Rong coughed once, noticed that Liu Sanbian had left the fire and walked far ahead, and he looked up to ask, “Brother Sanbian, where are you going?”
“Fetching firewood.”
“Let’s go, I’ll co too.”
Zhao Rong stood up to catch up, and the two headed towards the dark mountains in the distance.
Su Xiaoxiao watched their retreating backs with a smile lingering on her lips.
When they were out of sight, Su Xiaoxiao stretched out her hand to rub her face, slightly tilted her head, and stared at the fire, quietly daydreaming as she murmured softly to herself.
“Xiaoxiao is so pretty…”
A quarter hour later, Zhao Rong and Liu Sanbian returned with enough firewood to last the entire night.
Zhao Rong looked at Su Xiaoxiao and found her sucking on the tip of her delicate jade finger with her left hand, while her right hand held an embroidery needle.
“Stop embroidering, the light is too dim.”
“Oh.”
Su Xiaoxiao gently responded, set aside her embroidery, hugged her knees, and, with her rosy lips, continued to suck on the fingertip that got pricked. She quietly watched the flickering flas.
The three sat beside the fire, silent for a mont,
seeing this, Zhao Rong pursed his lips, then his eyes lit up, “Why don’t we chat for a bit?”
The other two turned their gazes towards him.
Zhao Rong cleared his throat, “We can talk about anything, um, I’ll go first.”
“I was born in Qianjing, the capital of the Great Chu dynasty, and grew up in the Duke Mansion in Jingnan. However, my mother told that my hotown is in Southern Tranquility State; I don’t know if I’ll ever have the chance to go back and see it…”
Zhao Rong squinted, slowly recalling mories of this lifeti.
After the mories of his two lives rged, they had beco one, as though he had personally experienced them all, which, well, he had indeed personally experienced, only “separately.”
Zhao Rong chose so mories he suddenly felt like sharing and began to recount them.
“…I was crying loudly back then, holding my hand that Teacher Fang had whipped red with the ruler, squatting on the ground, refusing to get up. But Teacher Fang was unmoved, still insisting that I copy the ‘Thousand Family Poems’ a hundred tis. For every single character I got wrong, I’d have to add another ten tis to it. At the ti, I resented Teacher Fang’s strictness, but only after I grew up did I understand, mhm.”
The young Confucian scholar paused, a smile on his lips, and looked back towards the south, the direction from which they ca.
The night grew deeper, and moonlight flowed quietly.
Su Xiaoxiao propped her head with both hands, listening intently to his story, feeling sad for him at tis, and laughing with him at other tis.
After a long while, Zhao Rong stopped, fell silent for a mont, then smiled at Su Xiaoxiao,
“What about you? I rember the first ti I asked you for your na, you said you were Su Dahuang. Is that a friend of yours?”
The little fox demon hurriedly shook her head, “No, Dahuang is a mongrel dog. It was really fierce. Every ti I went down to the village, it would run out to chase . Once, it almost bit my tail.”
Thinking back, Su Xiaoxiao still felt frightened and puffed out her cheeks, “So, I had to figure out a way to sneak into Xiahe Village quietly without it noticing.”
“But later, after I transford, I often brought it food, and then it stopped biting …”
The little fox demon smiled, her voice carrying a touch of pride.
So you thought the na “Su Dahuang” would be quite intimidating?
Zhao Rong struggled to keep from laughing, nodded, and said, “Yes, and later on, it even helped you steal chickens, right?”
Su Xiaoxiao’s face turned fierce, “Xiaoxiao doesn’t steal chickens! Xiaoxiao was going to the private school to listen to the old Teacher instruct and learn characters.”
Zhao Rong nodded, smiling.
“Being in Xiahe Village felt much better than being at ho. It was lonely at ho without any friends to play with. Once I got inside, everyone was so kind, their words so pleasant to hear; I really loved being there…”
As Su Xiaoxiao reminisced, a joyful smile played across her face as she spoke of her childhood fun in Xiahe Village, before she had transford.
In the end, she even told Zhao Rong and the other about the initial ti she “chanced” upon the handso scholar in the dilapidated temple.
Of course, Su Xiaoxiao slightly embellished the ending.
She sighed, saying that after the scholar had seen her appearance, he felt so unworthy that he left in sha, even forgetting to take his book chest with him.
Afterwards, Su Xiaoxiao vividly portrayed the handso features of the scholar, expressing to Zhao Rong her amazent that the scholar was one-tenth as good-looking as her, a thousand tis more so than Zhao Rong, barely qualifying him to be her furnace.
Having finished, the little fox demon peeked at the young Confucian scholar to see him smiling quietly, listening without any response.
She pouted slightly and switched to another story.
The bright moon above hid behind the clouds, and the night grew darker.
Su Xiaoxiao felt a bit thirsty after talking so much and paused.
Zhao Rong considerately passed her a water flask.
After drinking, the little fox demon smacked her lips and nodded in satisfaction.
But then she fell silent and gave Zhao Rong a wink.
Zhao Rong nodded lightly and turned to look at Liu Sanbian.
The latter, upon seeing this, slightly lowered his head, picked up so firewood from the side and threw it into the fire, watching the flas for a while. The orange glow of the fire reflected off his sowhat fierce face.
The grim man kept his gaze steady and began to speak slowly.
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