"N-no one of importance..." Xiong Jingfei answered, eyeing Xu Song for some help. For some odd reason, it felt scarier that it was Yang Zheyan who caught them and not her father.
Xu Song seeing the signs of Xiong Jingfei's pleading eyes. She vigorously nodded her head in agreement. Although she had no idea who this person was beside the fact he was a male.
"Really?" Yang Zheyan asked with a hint of sullen. He took a step towards her to close the gap between them. Reaching out his hand, he plucked off the remaining evidence off her hair.
"Really," Xiong Jingfei replied with a sense of calmness and ease. She didn't hesitate to reaffirm her feelings for him. "You don't believe me?"
"I believe you," Yang Zheyan smiled, a real smile coming from his heart.
There was a lightness in his chest. Even if Xiong Jingfei doesn't realize it, his cheeks were warm on how straightforward she was when it comes to her feelings. He dusted off the dirt from her sleeves.
"Don't, your hands will get dirty." Xiong Jingfei immediately grabbed his hand, stopping him from touching her dirty clothes.
He has always been a clean and neat person. His outfits never showed any sign of wrinkle or tear, no matter the place or time. Including his hair, whether it was tied up or down. It was never messy. Comparing him to Xiong Jingfei, who was good at upholding her image in front of others. Still, she will never beat Yang Zheyan.
When Xiong Jingfei remembered her hands weren't clean. She let go of his hand at once. Nevertheless, Yang Zheyan tightly grasped onto her hands, unwilling to let go.
"Because it's you," Yang Zheyan brought her uncleaned hands to his lips. " I don't care at all."
Xiong Jingfei's ears burned before letting out a small giggle, "Even if I were to have feces all over my hands?"
"You," Yang Zheyan shook his head, stunned at the words coming out of someone like Xiong Jingfei. He returned her giggles with a chuckle, "Yes, even if you have feces all over your hands."
"Ahem!"
Startled, Xiong Jingfei removed her hands from his. She turned towards the direction where the third voice came from. After seeing who it belonged to, she sighed out in relief. She was afraid it someone else. If anyone walked in and saw this. It wouldn't be good for either side but more for her.
"Songsong, you're back..." Xiong Jingfei blushed, tucking the loose hair strands behind her ears.
"I-I brought warm water," Xu Song cheeks reddened, embarrassed she witnessed something she wasn't supposed to see. She placed the water bucket on one of the stone chairs. Using a clean bowl, she scooped out the warm water and dipped a clean cloth in it.
"Let me," Yang Zheyan rolled up his sleeves and took the bowl from Xu Song. "You can leave us."
Xu Song looked at her Miss on what to do next. Yang Zheyan is her Miss's future husband, but her real master is and will always be Xiong Jingfei.
Xiong Jingfei nodded, allowing her to leave and go do other things. They already sneaked out for almost a whole day, so there were a lot of things that needed to be done. Also, letting Yang Zheyan clean off his hands first is only proper. His hands did get dirty from touching hers.
"Sit," Yang Zheyan beckoned her over to sit down next to him.
She walked over and sat down. Without any warning, the warm cloth in Yang Zheyan's hands touched her face. Tenderly, he wiped away the rest of the dirt that wouldn't come off with his bare hands.
"B-brother Yang Zheyan, you shouldn't do this..." Xiong Jingfei stuttered, grabbing his hand with the cloth. She glanced up to meet his gaze to only shyly look back down. She thought he wanted her to merely sit down because they were standing for a while now. She didn't know he wanted to be the person who helped her get cleaned up. "It wouldn't look good if others saw you doing this."
"No one is here to see anything," Yang Zheyan took her hands into his and continued cleaning.
Xiong Jingfei looked around, and he was right. Xu Song was nowhere to be seen, nor was there any sign that anyone else was around.
"Also, it wouldn't matter even if someone saw us," Yang Zheyan teased, leaning his face close to hers to only back away.
Xiong Jingfei touched the side of her face, feeling rather warm when the weather was getting colder.
When he finished, he poured out the water over Xiong Jingfei's flower bed. However, he did not roughly toss out the water into the bushes. He actually evenly distributed the water. Making sure one side didn't have too much or accidentally killing the flowers with the sudden water pressure tossed on top of them. He knows how much Xiong Jingfei loved and cared for the flowers in her back courtyard.
"I am going to change out of these clothes, and you should leave for now." Xiong Jingfei gave him a light push towards the wall, telling him to jump over it. It was getting dark out, and she doesn't want anyone to accidentally catch them secretly meeting with one another.
"Let me walk with you to your room," Yang Zheyan extended out his left hand for her to take, causing her to giggle at him again. Xiong Jingfei's room was less than twenty feet away from where she was standing.
Still, Yang Zheyan only smiled and waited for her to take his hand. He doesn't care. Even if it was just one step away, he will still take her in his arms and walk that one step. He wanted to spend more time with her. Any chance he gets is every chance he'll take with her. He didn't have much time left once he turns eighteen. He will be leaving her soon.
Sadly, it was something he couldn't avoid. It was already set in stone for him the moment he was brought into this world. Within a month after their wedding day, he will be forced to leave his newly wedded bride behind. He doesn't know for how long he will have to be away before returning home.
To truly become the Right Prime Minister, he will have to go through a test set up by the Emperor to be recognized that he is the right person. It was a test set up for every person in line to take over the position. It was something he just couldn't evade. For their future, he must put in all his best effort so he can quickly and safely return back home to her. Fortunately, he was able to pushback the time to at least a month after their wedding. Or else, he would need to leave right away the next day.
Therefore, any time he has left, he will spend it all with the person standing next to him. The person who he will spend the rest of his life with. As of right now, Xiong Jingfei doesn't know that he will be leaving shortly after their wedding... Yet. When the time is right, he will tell her everything because the entire Lou Zemin Capital will come to know of this when the time comes.
Xiong Jingfei didn't hesitate to put her hand in his. She will never shy away from spending more time with Yang Zheyan. He held onto her small hand and took one step at a time with her. He could already see it, their future. They will grow old together and will hold each others hand until the end of time.
No matter what, he will make it up to her once he returns from his journey.
"You should go back now," Xiong Jingfei urged him to leave once again. Her mouth was telling lies, but her heart couldn't do it. She wanted him to stay even if it was only a second longer, and his heart was in sync with hers.
As if the devil heard the unspoken truth coming from their hearts. With a spin of his hand, he played with their fate and allowed good things to come to an end.
Suddenly, multiple voices were screaming and shouting. Those voices were coming from Xiong Jingfei's front courtyard. Among those screams, one of them belonged to Xu Song, who held those people back.