Chapter 202 - There is Time

Lei Xing burst out laughing again.

{...Who cares if she did? She has always been sketchy and I AM FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE!....hahahahahahaha...You're not saying anything? Hehehe~ Say something~...}

The Emperor blinked from his dazed state and watched Lei Xing, perplexed and baffled by her sudden change in mood. She was honestly behaving crazy. She went from whimpering in pain to suddenly laughing excitedly for no reason. Then she started frowning and now she's laughing again while staring at her dangling bracelet. 

He was honestly a little worried before, but that was quickly swept away by the happiness and warm feeling in his heart and now he also had a silly grin on his face.

{...She says she loves me...Very promising indeed...Truly promising. I never expected -... It's fine if she's behaving a little crazy in her excitement...Understandable, perfectly understandable. She's happy so I'm happy and so all is well...}

Xiao Ruo came in with the cold water and cloth and the Emperor immediately remembered Lei Xing's injury. He called her over to come to sit, but apparently her mind was not in the room and she did not hear him. She just continued laughing and shaking the bracelet around like a baby playing with a new toy. The Emperor knit his brows as he got up and went over to her.

{...Perhaps I should be a little worried...}

"Xing er'" He called to her, but she still seemed consumed with her bracelet and glee, so he held her arm and she immediately looked up at him questioningly and then beamed at him. He blinked at her, distracted for a second. He had never seen her looking so happy before so his heart skipped a beat. He cleared his throat and then informed, "The water's here."

"Oh, that." Lei Xing said in a cheery voice and then laughed lightly and obediently followed him as he pulled her back to the table and sat down. She did not protest when the Emperor put her injured hand on the table and went about cooling it down himself.

Lei Xing could not be bothered by anything at the moment and just sat there with a brilliant smile on her face, poking at the bracelet on the table.

{...Hey, you're really not going to say anything?... Tell me, did you give him permission to take it off? Huh? Why would you do?.... Hahahahahaha Oh, this is hilarious...Ignore me all you want but don't worry, I'm not going to torture, burn you or bury you. I'm going to have a heart and send you home, so be grateful...Hahahaha It's fine if you're not though because...I don't really care! Hahahahahahaha ╮(╯3╰)╭...}

Lei Xing started snickering quietly. The Emperor glanced up from her wrist, smiling himself. Her good mood was contagious, he finally couldn't help but ask, "What's making you so happy?" 

Lei Xing turned her smile to him and then simply said, "You." Which set his heart fluttering again. Then she chuckled and looked back down at the bracelet, oblivious to what that word had done to him.

The Emperor stared at her for a bit and then he looked back down at her wrist, incredibly happy but still somewhat baffled. He was not sure what he did to suddenly make her so happy but he was very glad that he did it.

Lei Xing looked up at him, she was so happy she really could kiss him again, but there were eyes watching and the high that gave her that courageous boost earlier had plateaued. She glanced at Ah Jin and her ears reddened and then she looked at the Emperor's face and then blinked.

{...Is he blushing? O_O)...Oh, ho-ho-ho, ohhh that's cute...and nice for a change...}

Lei Xing chuckled and resumed poking the bracelet. The two sat quietly for a while, and then Lei Xing suddenly asked, "Have you had dinner? I'm hungry..."

The Emperor looked up and shook his head. He honestly did not have much of an appetite so he had not eaten much since breakfast, "I'm alright...But you should eat."

Lei Xing knit her brows and admonished, "It's bad to skip meals..." Then she turned to the two maids and went, "Xiao Ruo, dinner for two...and Ah Jin, move that scroll somewhere safe..." The two maids promptly obeyed and went about their tasks.

Lei Xing felt the Emperor's fingers that had been stroking her fingers, probably in an attempt to soothe her wound, freeze when she mentioned the scroll and then they slowly resumed. She looked at him to find him intently staring at the cooled cloth on her wrist. She sighed and then said to Ah Jin, "Wait..." before she could leave with the scroll. Ah Jin stopped and waited, and Lei Xing stroked the bracelet and then let out a relieved sigh.

{...Hey? Are you really not going to say anything?... I thought we had become something like friends...}

{...*...}

{...No parting words? Oh well, sayonara then...It's been...interesting. Take care!... I shall try to remember you fondly hahahahaha (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ...}

And with her merry goodbye done, Lei Xing pushed the bracelet across the table towards Ah Jin and instructed, "Take this to Tung Mei immediately..."

Ah Jin picked it up and informed, "The palace gates are already closed...But I will be sure to get it done first thing in the morning." 

Lei Xing nodded, "That's fine then...Leave us." Ah Jin nodded and then quickly went to put the scroll aside in the storage area in Lei Xing's room.

Lei Xing turned her eyes to the Emperor and saw his eyebrows tightly knit. 

{...Is he angry? Angry about  -...Wait, is this nervous? O_O)...Blushing first and now nervous? Quite a day indeed hehehe~...} 

Lei Xing smiled to herself and thought it felt nice to see him nervous for a change...She also thought it was quite adorable too.

The words he said to her before she left the royal study came to mind and her smile diminished and she seriously studied him. They were heartfelt words and she had thought about those words quite a bit in the last few hours.

Lei Xing sighed and her fingers subconsciously tightened around his, and once Ah Jin left the room, Lei Xing let out a breath and said, "Let's talk..."

The Emperor's blinked and then removed the cloth from her wrist and put it back in the water and as he wrung it, he said, "You can take your time...There's no need to rush." He put the cold cloth back on her wrist and kept his eyes trained on it.

Lei Xing studied him for a while and then said, "You say that...but then you're not even looking at me."

The Emperor immediately turned his eyes to her face. He was not consciously avoiding her gaze, it was just that he was nervous. He had already concluded that no matter her answer, he would stay at her side. But still, he would rather she remained thinking than to hear a rejection.

And this was not like him, he liked answers.

But then he had never felt so hesitant or nervous about anything before. She still appeared to be in a great mood as she was warmly smiling at him. Seeing her smile, calmed his nerves a bit and he managed a smile back and reassured, "I'm not avoiding looking at you...I mean it, there is really no rush for an answer. I can wait."

"You said it's the one thing you want..." Lei Xing reminded.

"Still, I can wait." The Emperor reiterated. He would not let himself be misled by her jovial demeanor. Her being happy and smiling at him, did not mean he had gained her approval. This, he had learned this from his previous experience with her. 

Lei Xing was quiet for a while and just as she was about to say something, the doors opened and Xiao Ruo trotted in with the servants carrying in their dinner. It seemed the food was already prepared because that did not take long at all.

Lei Xing knit her brows, slightly irritated for the interruption but she smiled and pat the Emperor's hand and said, "We'll continue after dinner."

The Emperor knit his brows and then he sighed, "Alright..." It seemed there was no escaping this conversation. 

As they ate, Lei Xing ate with gusto while the Emperor picked at his meal as he tried to decipher the sort of conversation she wanted. If she wanted to say yes, he did not see why that would involve a conversation. Yes was simple.

But a rejection warranted a conversation. 

{...A conversation to make me understand why she is rejecting my proposal, to understand that she wants me but not in this way, to underst-...}

"Eat." Lei Xing cut through his thoughts, as she put some meat on his plate. The Emperor glanced at her and she smiled at him and motioned for him to eat. 

He gave her a half-smile and proceeded to eat what she gave him and Lei Xing promptly added more onto his plate and kept casting him glances his way as she ate. He did not want to worry her, and so he smiled and ate.

He needed to control himself. How could he already be sulking about a possible rejection? It was unbecoming. More importantly, it would only serve to make her feel pressured and unhappy...and that would make him unhappy.

{...A rejection is fine too...and understandable, it was really too soon...We would talk and come to an understanding and then sleep peacefully...We have time...}