Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Prince Longevity (24)
 

Yan Gui was being held by Chuzheng, and he somewhat frantically pulled her hand away, a bit of red showing on the back of her pale hand.

Yan Gui’s heart clenched slightly, “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.” She wasn’t so delicate. If she was hurt by this, could she even be considered a woman!

Yan Gui’s brows furrowed slightly as he gently blew on it.

Regret filled his heart. What was he avoiding just now? If he hadn’t dodged, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

“I’m sorry.” Yan Gui apologized.

“Why have you been avoiding me lately?” Chuzheng didn’t care about such a minor injury.

“I…” Yan Gui, holding her hand, applied a little pressure: “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

“Not avoiding me,” Chuzheng leaned in closer, “then how come you’re never there when I look for you?”

Once could be coincidence.

Twice could be coincidence.

What about three or four times?

Yan Gui fell silent.

Suddenly, Chuzheng kissed his lips: “Answer me.”

Yan Gui was so shocked that his eyes widened slightly, and he tried to lean back, only to realize he was being held by Chuzheng.

The young man’s lashes trembled lightly, his gaze drifting off into the void, not daring to meet Chuzheng’s eyes.

Chuzheng pretended to kiss him again.

“I haven’t.” Yan Gui could only say, “I haven’t, I’m not avoiding you, don’t… don’t kiss me anymore.”

His breathing was slightly disordered.

His voice was very low, with a hint of panic, like a startled deer.

Chuzheng thought it was comfortable to kiss him and wanted to do it more, but the Good Person Card said not to, so Chuzheng stopped.

Such a pity.

Chuzheng sat down beside him, forcibly holding Yan Gui in her embrace: “If you say you didn’t, then you didn’t.”

When we get back, I’ll lock you up!

Let’s see how you’ll avoid me then!

Yan Gui struggled a bit but couldn’t break free, his headache growing worse, so he could only lean in her embrace.

Listening to the girl’s calm and steady heartbeat.

The heart in his chest however, was starting to beat faster and faster.

“Where are we?” Yan Gui diverted his attention.

“I don’t know.” The girl’s voice was faint, especially clear in the night: “Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

Yan Gui: “…”

Where did he show any signs of fear?

The sounds of insects filled the air, and the night sky was dotted with stars.

Yan Gui slowly closed his eyes.

Her getting close to him was just for making him think of her as a good person, as she said…

If he said that, would she leave him?

He didn’t want her to leave.

Yan Gui didn’t remember when he began to have such a thought.

She barged into his life suddenly, planting a seed that quietly took root and sprouted, tendrils entwining around him.

By the time he realized it, it had grown into a towering tree, impossible to uproot anymore.

–

They had fallen off a cliff on Qi Mountain.

Yan Gui looked at the steep cliff. How had they landed safely on the ground?

Chuzheng handed him a few fruits: “Eat something, conserve your strength, we need to find a way out.”

The beautiful young man took the Green Fruits: “What if we can’t find a way out?”

“We will.” The girl’s tone was cool and certain.

“…”

The young man said no more, quietly biting into the Green Fruit.

Below the cliff, bizarre trees grew amidst the rugged rocks, making it difficult to navigate.

Chuzheng cleared a path ahead and turned back to lead the young man through.

“Be careful.” Chuzheng supported him: “Or shall I carry you?”

“…No need.” Yan Gui breathed in lightly, stepping firmly on the rocky ground and moving forward.

The forest seemed endless, Chuzheng and Yan Gui had walked for two days without seeing its edge.

At night, Chuzheng lay on a rock beside a stream.

Yan Gui sat nearby, sneaking a glance at Chuzheng before carefully getting up to move further away from her.

He took off his shoes and socks, reaching out to touch the bottom of his foot.

Even though he was often bullied by Prince Rong, he had never walked such roads as today, with blisters completely worn into his feet.

He placed his feet into the stream, the icy water easing some of the pain.

Yan Gui slightly relaxed his body, leaning against a rock, gazing at the myriad stars at the edge of the sky.

Splash…

The sound of water splashed up as someone grasped his ankle; the young girl was half-kneeling in the stream, examining his feet.

Yan Gui instinctively retracted his feet.

The girl lifted her eyes, her voice cold and fierce, “Don’t move.”

Yan Gui stiffened inexplicably.

The girl stood up, picked him up horizontally, and set him down by the fire.

She held onto his ankle, pinching a thorn she must have retrieved from somewhere, and pricked his blisters one by one.

Yan Gui pressed his lips together, his tranquil eyes quietly watching Chuzheng.

The firelight flickered across her face, brightening and dimming.

She meticulously pricked each blister; whenever Yan Gui felt pain and slightly drew in his leg, she would stop, waiting for him to recover before continuing.

After inspecting thoroughly to ensure nothing was missed, Chuzheng finally lifted her eyes, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Yan Gui loosened the corners of his lips that he had been pressing together and shifted his gaze to the leaping flames: “It’s nothing.”

“This is nothing to you? You only have a problem when your leg is broken?” Chuzheng’s tone was icy cold.

“…It’s not that serious.”

All through the journey, Chuzheng had never shown signs of tiredness; how could he permit himself to look weaker than a young girl?

Chuzheng’s gaze was expressionless as she looked at him.

Cold sweat leaked from the palm of Yan Gui’s hand, and he stressed: “I’m fine.”

“Oh.”

After Chuzheng responded, she stopped paying him any attention and lay back down on the rock she had been on before.

Yan Gui sat by the fire, staring into the dancing flames, his thoughts complex.

After a while, Yan Gui carefully stood up and staggered toward the rock.

As if she knew he was coming, Chuzheng reached out to catch him; Yan Gui paused, then climbed onto the rock and lay down beside her.

The rock was very large, able to fit several people with ease.

Chuzheng calmly extended her arm, inviting him to lie in her embrace.

Yan Gui: “…”

Yan Gui silently accepted.

“Are you angry?” he asked.

“Why would I be angry?” Chuzheng’s tone was as neutral as ever, indistinguishable from usual.

If the Good Person Card said it was fine, then it was; she truly didn’t have much to be angry about after all.

It was his own body, in any case.

Yan Gui propped himself up slightly.

Chuzheng’s gaze remained calm, directed at the void, but when Yan Gui’s face came into view, her eyes met his.

The youth gazed at her intently and asked in a soft voice, “Do you like me?”

If a kiss from the Good Person Card felt good, that probably meant she liked him.

Under the youth’s serene and focused gaze, Chuzheng nodded.

Suddenly, the youth’s face loomed closer.

In the night breeze, the youth’s warm lips met hers, sealing her lips in a gentle draw.

Moonlight fell, enveloping the two figures in its radiance, blending them into a single silhouette.

Shadows moved with the moon, insects chirped, and the brook murmured.

Chuzheng gently pushed the youth away as he still breathed raggedly against her lips, the air between them charged with intimacy.

Chuzheng’s hand caressed his back as she pulled him closer: “You kissed me first?”

“…Yes,” the youth nodded: “I like you too.”

Chuzheng blinked seriously and asked, “Does that mean I can kiss you whenever I want from now on?”

“…Ye-yes,” the youth’s ears turned red, adding, “But… not in front of other people.”

“As you wish.”

A kiss was all it took.

The Good Person Card was truly wonderful.

Chuzheng, eager to try again, asked: “Then do you think I’m a good person?”

“…”

Yan Gui shook his head cautiously.

Chuzheng: “…”

Even after liking me, how am I still not a good person?

Little! Liar!