"Your father is really talented, and his plan is indeed very creative!" Jun Mo Xie burst out in admiration, and sighed. Though, he inwardly criticized that tiny creature — [even if someone was willing to die and go to hell for this… it would still not do any good; even this iron winged panther's parents wouldn't be able to explain any of this…]
[After all, this little thing has already overstepped every iron winged panther in the history. Even the ancestors of the iron winged panthers… or even the most powerful iron winged panther in history wouldn't be able to explain this!]
He looked at that little girl once again.
[This little girl is also a first-class talent in her own merit. Moreover, she has a very unique personality. She was annoyed just a moment ago; annoyed enough to start shouting. In fact, it seemed as if her eyes would start tearing. But her tears quickly turned to laughter as soon as recalled a funny incident. Even that tension on her face disappeared. This transformation was really… very adorable.]
"I also believe that my father's idea is very clever. It may seem very ineffective at first, but if one follows his directions closely, then this idea could turn out to be very interesting indeed… ha ha," Dugu Xiao Yi seemed complacent, "In fact, I spent a lot of energy in fabricating a good lie to cover up for you. But I couldn't come up with anything ample. My father can practically read my mind… It's like my mother always says, 'the wise often appear stupid to most people; that's their true beauty'. "
[The wise often appear stupid to most people! True beauty?! Using such words to describe General Dugu Wudi… is an insult for these pitiful phrases.]
"So… how do we deal with this?" Jun Mo Xie was somewhat touched. This little girl was so pure that she had laid herself bare for other people's needs. She was the complete converse of Dugu Wudi, who was completely barbaric. He'd act without thinking instead of resolving the problem.
"Hmm, it'll pass for the time being," Dugu Xiao Yi's nodded her head. "It goes without saying that many people will try to spend a lot of money to purchase Little White. But I'll drive them all away. He is mine, and therefore they can all forget about their plans. Besides, he's the only eyewitness of our…" the volume of her sound kept reducing gradually. It eventually reached a point where only she could hear herself; Jun Mo Xie wasn't listening to her anyway.
After she was done speaking, Dugu Xiao Yi stopped for a while. She then turned her head and looked at Jun Mo Xie for a while before she spoke in a soft voice, "My family received an invitation from the Jun family yesterday…"
"Oh?" Jun Mo Xie raised his eyebrows.
"I didn't know that you and my father had agreed on a bet!" Dugu Xiao Yi seemed a bit anxious yet angry as she stared with eyes wide open, "You've actually dared to make a bet again my father… I really don't what you're thinking! Do you really think that a single bottle of wine could sell for over 10,000 silver taels? This is absolutely impossible; it simply cannot happen! However, you unexpectedly… humph! My father burst into laughter after receiving your invitation yesterday. He said that this bet would finally bring you under control. Ah… did my dad force you to make this bet…"
"Oh, he wants to bring me under control?! Hmm? I don't understand why you feel this bet is bad idea… when in reality I have carefully chosen this opportunity, and have sent the invitations as per my own wish. Besides, who could ever subjugate this unyielding young master…"
Jun Mo Xie stroked his chin, while his eyes shone brightly, [General Dugu certainly did not force me to make this bet. This was my own doing. As for bringing me under control through this wager is concerned…? It would be quite unpleasant to say who puts whom under check.]
The Young Master Jun hadn't forgotten that the Dugu Family would owe him an astronomical debt if his wine auction was successful. [However, when it comes to it, will General Dugu lower his head because of the debt?]
"Are you sure?" Dugu Xiao Yi asked with a look of concern in her eyes. It was obvious that she didn't want Jun Mo Xie to lose this bet. Therefore, she would rather that her father lost! "But it will be ugly… how can you possibly beat my dad in this unfair game of gambling?"
"It is difficult to say whether it is… fair… or unfair…" Jun Mo Xie stopped after he solemnly spoke these three phrases. He was confident of his plan. In fact, even if this game was going to be unfair to someone, it would most likely not be so to the Young Master Jun. However, if this world's gavel did not fall in his favor by chance… he would still have a one-in-a-million contingency in place.
"How about I accompany my dad tomorrow?" Dugu Xiao Yi's eyes suddenly brightened as her expression changed. She lowered her head, and bit her teeth as she made up her mind, "If he makes things difficult for you… I will start crying; and I will create a scene… I… I won't allow him to bully you! Please don't worry about it…"
The saying, 'A woman's heart is with the one she loves', is definitely not wrong. This little girl's mind was filled with concerns about Jun Mo Xie's wellbeing, and she was only contemplating means to prevent him from losing to her father. However, she had forgotten that if her old man lost, then her family would be burdened with a debt; and a very large one at that…
Jun Mo Xie had always been cool-headed, callous and cold-blooded in his approach. However, for the first time in his life — he softened up. This little girl was whole-heartedly thinking solely of his welfare. Jun Mo Xie was no fool; how could he not see it?
Men aren't made of stones; they can't be that heartless.
"Young woman, don't worry; I will not lose." Jun Mo Xie smiled warmly, and extended his hands towards Dugu Xiao Yi to caress her hair. But as soon as his hand came into contact with it — he felt like he was hit by an electric shock, and quickly withdrew his hands. He had subconsciously gotten close to this woman in a way which was completely in contravention to his identity as a hit-man. He had always carried himself as a hitman in both his lives. This, however, was the first time he had acted as such.
Though, he wasn't a hitman in this world…
Jun Mo Xie smiled as he stood up, and softly spoke, "I must leave."
Dugu Xiao Yi lowered her head, while her heart started to beat wildly. This was the first time he had spontaneously touched her on his own; even if it was just her hair. She felt as if her entire body was going weak, while her face started to feel feverish. Her mind, on the other hand, was racing… [what just happened? What am I doing? Why am I acting like this? Why am I behaving like a nit-wit… ]
However, she had a vague feeling that something had been different during this entire tryst. This behavior of his' was different from before. Earlier, the Young Master Jun was just a slippery-tongued debauchee who always feigned a frivolously flirtatious attitude of a spoilt brat. On the contrary, he seemed preoccupied this time, while every move he made seemed earnest.
"Oh," Dudu Xiao Yi's lips quivered as she answered softly. She stood up with her head drooping down, while her eyes seemed to be watching her own toes. Her voice was so soft when she spoke up again that Young Master Jun couldn't hear anything even though he stood in close proximity, "You're… leaving already? I… I… alright…"
Though, this young woman really wanted to say, "I could finally meet you with such difficulty." However, this sentence got stuck, and refused to come out of her mouth. She swallowed it, deliberated on it again-and-again, and eventually remained silent as she felt too embarrassed to say it out loud.
Dugu Xiao Yi's face shone like a transparent-white jade in the sunlight. The soft and smooth strands of hair seemed to be dancing in the wind. One strand fluttered along her temples and came to rest on her cheek, right next to her beautiful nose…
Her long eyelashes were calmly drooping down, and would only be disturbed momentarily when he would blink. Her bright-red and plump lips pursed because she was softly biting her white teeth. Her face was clearly showing her reluctance to part with him. Such was the scene of a young maiden-in-love who was trying her best to conceal her feelings. Though the more she tried to hide her feelings, the more adorable she looked…
This astonishingly beautiful appearance of hers left the Young Master Jun staring in awe. He had become accustomed to seeing celebrities in his previous life. In fact, he had seen all sorts of beautiful women. However, this was the first time he had seen a beauty as true and pure as hers. He found it difficult to suppress that feeling of tender-love and affection which was arising in his heart, and conceived this thought for the first time in his mind: [this girl is so pretty… even when compared to the most beautiful women; she still wouldn't seem inferior in any way… ]
For a moment, there was pin drop silence in the hall; their delicate breathing wasn't enough to break this silence…
Dugu Xiao Yi's beautiful face turned red, as if feeling his burning gaze on her. She couldn't help but continue to look down bashfully. She started drawing circles on the ground with her toes while stroking Little White's silky white fur with her hands. Dugu Xiao Yi felt as if they were floating amidst the clouds; as if they were the only two people left in this huge world…
Little White's sneeze broke the silence, and woke the two of them up. Dugu Xiao Yi bashfully raised her blushing face, and glanced at him timidly as she softly said, "Fool… you… weren't you going to leave? Why haven't you left?"
Jun Mo Xie suddenly realized that he had lost control over his mind, and was being rude. However, this was the first time that his conduct had faulted during his two incarnations. He quickly got his act together, and laughed as he said, "I almost don't want to leave after seeing such a beautiful girl. It seems like you have awoken a perverted embodiment of mine…"
Dugu Xiao Yi lightly glanced at him as she softly spoke, "Shut up! You think I am scared of your perverted manners? … Moreover, it seems that you have a matter to rush to; hurry up, and attend to it…" she turned away after saying this; Jun Mo Xie could clearly see that even the nape of Dugu Xiao Yi's neck had the turned red.
He had spoken these words rather seriously, so how had it embarrassed her?
Young Master Jun had enjoyed very little intimacy with women in his previously life, and hence couldn't understand Dugu Xiao Yi's current mindset. On the other hand, she had just realized that the tone of her speech resembled that of a wife speaking to her husband just before he leaves for work. Her tone had been lukewarm, almost as if she was gently cautioning him. She recalled that her mother also used to speak like this right before her father would go out for a battle. She became even shyer upon realizing all this, and couldn't help wondering; [are we like that?]
[What's he to me?] The more she thought about it, the redder her face became. Soon, it was almost as if her face resembled the brilliantly shining red clouds of dawn; she naturally couldn't gather the courage to lift her pretty little head again.
"Ha, ha, pretty! Very pretty!" Jun Mo Xie exclaimed in admiration. Then he suddenly reached out with his hands, and cupped her face. He then felt it for a while, before softly pinching it. He clicked his tongue and exclaimed, "Quite smooth… very fragrant… haha!" he laughed loudly; his clothes fluttered in the wind as the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away into the distance.
He had acted frivolously in order to cover-up for his flustered heart. Hitman Jun had nearly fallen from grace, and had fled for the first time in his life… only to find his heart beating wildly like a drum…