Watching Qiang Jingyi sitting still with his eyes closed, Lin Xinglan was getting anxious. Back at the palace, she thought he would reprimand her, yell at her and maybe even punish her but, after she told him that she wasn't actually hurt, he only took off her shackle and wiped off the blood on her face and neck. The very fact that he was acting silent about it made her feel anxious. He stopped asking questions, he only held her hand as they quietly began to go back to his estate. They were currently on the running carriage, and even if it was comfortable to sit inside, she wasn't a bit relaxed.
After a lot of thinking, she was even more certain that Qiang Jingyi was upset because whenever he was upset, or even angry, he would stay silent and refused to talk to her. However, Lin Xinglan was having an internal battle of struggles; should she tell him about the 2nd prince? Should she tell him everything? How would he react? What would happen after she told him? Lin Xinglan wasn't quite a decisive person.
As she kept staring at him, she gradually threw all of her previous thoughts in the back of her mind replacing them with old memories. Eyeing Qiang Jingyi's face, Lin Xinglan spontaneously thought of the times she had pinched his adorable cheeks and how he would always complain but eventually let her continue as his cheeks would become red.
Suddenly, she came up with an idea and seriously contemplated on whether she should do it or dismiss it. However, when she continued to stare at his cheeks, she had the sudden impulse to touch them as she wondered how they felt now that he had grew up. Furthermore, if she truly did it, it would catch his attention and he would had no choice but to talk to her. She didn't care if he was going to yell at her, as long as he didn't ignore her, she didn't mind. To dispel his cold attitude towards her, she had to do it.
It was too bad she didn't know that what was hiding in both of his sleeves was his hands that slightly trembled with mixed emotions.
Lin Xinglan felt a large amount of courage fuelling inside her, she got up and kneeled down in front of Qiang Jingyi so that her face would be in the same level as his. Face to face. Her movements didn't alert him, he seemed to still ignore her presence which only made her become more determined to do it.
Both of her soft, slender hands slowly moved towards his face and looking closer at it, she could spot his youthful features. When she almost reached to each of his cheeks, Lin Xinglan stopped her hands midway, she gulped and a small smile crept across her face. Swiftly, she grabbed his cheeks with each of her hands and pinched them. She was shocked at how unexpectedly soft they were, enjoying the feeling, she gradually pinched harder and stretched them more as she wore a foolish grin, not knowing that she had gotten ahead of herself.
"What are you doing."
Hearing the familiar deep voice, Lin Xinglan froze, her smile disappeared, she didn't know when Qiang Jingyi had opened his eyes and watched her pinch his cheeks. She looked at him, his face was stoic, his dark phoenix eyes narrowed and she could feel his jaw clenching.
With the aftereffect of getting frozen, Lin Xinglan stuttered, "Yo.. Your che-cheeks.. Are soft."
"...."
Not detecting any changes in his face, she bit her lips and said, "Say, how can you still have soft cheeks? Your skin is like that of a baby's. Is that even possible? How didn't I notice this before? Look, all women would die to have skin like yours... Not that I'm saying you're a woman, really, some men would want it too. Say, would it be a big deal if you told me how you take care of your skin? Even I-"
Lin Xinglan wasn't able to continue as her lips was being lightly pressed together by Qiang Jingyi's index finger and thumb, her body tensed and relaxed. Knowing that she wasn't going to continue to talk, Qiang Jingyi retracted his hand, ignoring the feeling of wanting to keep touching her red soft lips. He closed his eyes and continued to stay silent.
Upon seeing this, Lin Xinglan frowned, "Jingyi, you are really going to still ignore me?"
Silence.
"I know you're upset, I know you want me to tell you what truly happened to me back there. But I really can't, it's hard to explain."
Silence once again.
Lin Xinglan sighed deeply, she didn't know how to handle Qiang Jingyi, he was being stubborn and even if she knew she was at fault, she did say to the 2nd prince that she wouldn't tell anybody about his condition but now...
Is it weird that I feel like a snitch? This is so tiresome. Fuck it.
"Alright, just because it's you, I'll spill it out!" She exclaimed.
Even though she said she would tell him, she didn't continue to talk, instead, she stayed quiet and after a moment, she uttered, "... When we get home. I promise I will tell you about it."
Who knew that she would suddenly back down? It wasn't her fault that she didn't prepare beforehand, even if she wanted to tell him straight away, she couldn't because she didn't know how she would tell him. She wasn't an eloquent person, nor was she good at explaining things.
Thinking that Qiang Jingyi would continue to ignore her, she put her arms on his laps as she placed her head against them, not noticing that the thighs under her arms had tensed.
Lin Xinglan hid her face in her arms, she took a couple of deep breaths before opening her mouth, "Jingyi, did you know? Sometimes, I'm really amazed at how you can deal with me. You are really patient and I am sorry for keep making you worry and upset, I truly am."
Although her voice was muffled, Qiang Jingyi could still hear her words clearly, he silently listened to her as she continued to talk.
She let out a ridiculed laugh, "I am really childish. I always keep apologizing to you yet, I haven't changed a bit like I said I would. You're such an amazing person, you have people who truly care about you..." At her last sentence, her mind drifted to the images of the hidden guards, especially Shu Ya.
She smiled as an image of a certain person flashed through her mind, "You have a cheerful person who follows you even though he's not someone you recruited. You have saved many people, you have gone through so much sufferings yet, you refuse to give up and always do your best." Pausing, her smile gradually showed sadness, "I admire you. Sometimes, I feel like I'm not good enough for you. I mean, look at me, I'm kinda usele-"
She stopped talking midway as she felt a large hand patting her head above, the movements of the hand was gentle and caring. Lin Xinglan felt like her tears would fall from her eyes anytime soon but she repressed them.
A deep, cold voice with a caring tone came from above her, "You are not allowed to say such things about yourself. You are not allowed to think such things about yourself. All you have to do is to enjoy your life while you are with me. Don't care about the small things."
Lin Xinglan felt his hand still patting her head, he didn't stop as he continued to talk, "Lan, knowing that you have such thoughts really hurts me. That is why, to refrain from getting both yourself and me hurt, you need to throw those bothersome thoughts away from your head. I have your back so you don't need to worry about anything."
Lin Xinglan didn't know whether to cry or laugh, his words made her seem like she was giving herself pointless struggles, as if everything she thought was a big deal was actually just small details she didn't have to worry about. Maybe it was like that. Suddenly, her heart felt light and she decided to listen his words, it was best for her to not waste her time on negative thoughts and enjoy her life while she could.
Lin Xinglan laughed freely, she raised her head to lock her eyes with his, "Thank you for the comfort, Jingyi. You are really good at this. As expected of the best person in the world!"
Her face, her smile, her eyes brightened up, Qiang Jingyi almost lost control while he looked at her as if she was sent from the heavens to make his life colorful and warm. He wanted to touch her, embrace her, feel her warmth, feel her heartbeat... And that was exactly what he did.
Qiang Jingyi spread his arms to lift up the young woman before him, because she was light, he effortlessly picked her up and placed her down on his laps. He didn't care if she was going to protest and straight off embraced her. Only he knew how much he wanted to place his lips against hers however, he also knew that he needed to wait a bit longer. He could never forget that one time he secretly kissed her, that feeling was glorious but even so, he couldn't kiss her again until she fully accepted him.
Inhaling her usual tea scent, Qiang Jingyi let out a contented sigh, he really liked her scent the most. Originally, he purposely ignored her as he stayed silent to make her explain to him about the blood on her face, he was quite angry when he saw it but he was also almost scared to death when the thought of her getting hurt flashed through his mind. He only left her for a short time and troubles had been handed to her on a silver platter. It was truly annoying, if he could, he would kill all the pests living on this world so that she could live a more peaceful life with him without worries. However, he was a prince, a powerful general too, he was bound to get annoyed by pests all over the places.
Cupping her small, tender face, Qiang Jingyi gave her a light peck on her forehead as he smiled gently, "You are indeed very adorable, Lan."
Lin Xinglan felt her body become numb as she was stunned, she could still feel the aftereffect of being pecked on her forehead. She had no words as she stupidly stared at him. Only when it felt like a half of a day had passed did she move her mouth.
"You... You... What do you think you are doing?!"
Smiling, Qiang Jingyi pinched her cheeks, "I think your cheeks are softer than mine."
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Sorry for the delay, watched Castle Rock and while writing this chapter, I thought I would get diabetes from Jin Jin so I had pauses in between to calm myself down.
No more special theaters because I don't want to die early.