CH 50

Yan Mu slept in a daze.

She seemed to hear someone talking.

The teenager beside her was gently stroking her hair, lulling her to sleep.

As far back as Yan Mu could remember, when she was a child, her mother used to put her to sleep the same way.

I wonder how mum’s doing now.

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She was an only child, and her father had died of an illness when she was very young.

Her mother had gone through many hardships to raise her by herself1. 

If her mother knew she was missing, she would be going mad with worry.

R xkpp xwx ps xwnb.

R alyzzu oydv…… vs ts cynj.

Zyd Yw qasodle yde zlydle nzspla vs vbyv oyax lxcaynl.

G vlyaeasr qlzz qasx vbl nsadla sq bla lul yde bkv vbl cynj sq Zw Zwyd’p byde.

“Yyxy……” Zyd Yw psqvzu xwaxwale.

Tla osaep pnyvvlale2 kd vbl yka yp pssd yp vblu olal prsjld.

Mbl sdzu rlapsd obs blyae oyp Zw Zwyd.

Mbl vlldytla rywple, yde bl zssjle esod yv vbl uswdt tkaz kd bkp yaxp.

He understood that mama meant mother3.

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Yan Mu’s mother seemed to have died long ago.

Does a young girl with such a bright smile also cry while thinking of her mother at night?

Yu Yuan didn’t know what a normal mother-child relationship was like.

But he knew that feeling of longing.

He had no deep ties to his mother, but even he couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning in bed after her death. 

Let alone Yan Mu.

With such an innocent and honest4 personality, it was clear that she was a child who was loved by her parents.

Perhaps because her childhood was so different from his, she had such a fatal attraction for Yu Yuan. 

He was like a moth drawn to the flame, with Yan Mu as the only light in the darkness.

Yu Yuan looked down and gently patted the young girl’s back.

“Ah Mu, don’t be afraid, I’m here,” he said this sentence repeatedly.

The other three in the carriage watched and muttered secretly.

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“Your Highness, Yu Yuan cherishes Lady Yan too much.” Qi Er felt very bitter inside. “In our camp, if there’s a man having a nightmare, I’d just give him a slap to wake him up.”

“Qi Er, Lady Yan is Yu Yuan’s sweetheart, so naturally, it’s different,” Ah Bu said disapprovingly.

“Qi Er,” Chu Cong also patted Qi Er’s shoulder and sighed. “This is why you can’t get yourself a wife.”

“Qi Er, you’d better learn from Yu Yuan,” Ah Bu agreed.

“……” Qi Er was speechless.

The speed of the horse carriage was much faster than the ox cart’s.

When Yan Mu opened her eyes again, she could clearly feel that the oncoming wind was much drier.

Her head was groggy, and her neck was aching from staying in the same position.

Yan Mu straightened her back while Yu Yuan was reading a book.

Hearing the movement beside him, Yu Yuan hurriedly put down his book.

“Did Ah Mu sleep well?” The teenager cautiously poured her a cup of tea.

Then, he wrapped Yan Mu in his arms extremely naturally.

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Yan Mu had slept for too long and was thirsty.

She drank the tea in one go.

Looking at the other three people in the carriage, Yan Mu struggled a little uneasily.

“Don’t be like that, there are people here.” Yan Mu gently hit Yu Yuan.

“We didn’t see anything, Lady Yan doesn’t need to worry about us,” Chu Cong teased, covering his face with a book.

Although Qi Er still wanted to watch, because of Chu Cong and Ah Bu, he could only reluctantly pick up a book to cover his eyes too.

Yu Yuan looked at Yan Mu and nonchalantly said, “Ah Mu, no one is looking at us.”

The corner of Yan Mu’s mouth twitched.

She wanted to pull Yu Yuan’s hand away, but the teenager wouldn’t budge5.

Yan Mu looked up, and saw the teenager’s eyes filled with a frighteningly  scorching possessiveness.

Her body paused slightly, and just by meeting his gaze, she felt like her soul was almost burned by the heat in them.

Yan Mu sighed, then dropped her hand.

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*******************

Yan Mu slept, and time in the carriage seemed to pass by extremely fast.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon again. Everyone found a place to rest while they let the horses rest and graze.

This place was very different from Qingshui Village.

There were even several kinds of plants on the side of the road that Yan Mu hadn’t seen before.

When she was writing the general background of the story, she directly substituted in the real world because she was lazy.

But, she was afraid of being bothered by the literary critics with endless questions, so she wrote in some vegetation that was unique to this world.

For example, right now, a vendor’s stall was selling a strange fruit that looked a bit like a large strawberry, but it was yellow.

And it was even sold per fruit.

It was again a world-derived item.

Yan Mu found it quite interesting, so she bought one.

She just assumed it was some kind of fruit, so she used some water to wash it and wanted to taste.

“Ah Mu.”

Yu Yuan’s voice came from beside her. Yan Mu didn’t know if it was her imagination, but his voice sounded a little anxious.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Mu turned around and looked at Yu Yuan, puzzled.

“You…… Do you like spicy food?” Yu Yuan asked, as he stared at the ‘large strawberry’ in her hand.

Yan Mu was stunned for a moment, then said, “I don’t, I hate spicy food the most.”

She saw Yu Yuan continuing to stare at the chili in her hand, so she suddenly asked him, “Do you want to eat this?”

Yu Yuan looked at her silently.

Yan Mu looked back at him, confused.

They looked at each other, and even the air seemed to stagnate.

After a long time, Yu Yuan slowly said, “Yes, I want to eat this.”

“Then you eat it.” Yan Mu generously gave the ‘strawberry’ to Yu Yuan. “I’ve already washed it.”

“……Mmm.” Yu Yuan took the ‘strawberry’ and ate it in front of Yan Mu.

His face was expressionless, but a lot of sweat was seeping out of his forehead.

His exquisite lips were as red as fire, and soon, they became swollen.

“What’s wrong with you?” Yan Mu keenly noticed that something was wrong with Yu Yuan, “Are you allergic to it?”

She hurriedly snatched the ‘strawberry’ back from Yu Yuan’s hand.

Before Yan Mu could approach and carefully sniff, she smelled a spicy scent coming from the ‘strawberry’.

“This is a chili?” Yan Mu was stunned.

A chili that looks like strawberry? Who would’ve thought!

Yan Mu hurriedly went to fetch water.

“Keep it in your mouth. When this mouthful of water turns warm, spit it out and take another mouthful,” Yan Mu anxiously said,

Her eyes were as bright as stars, and there was only the reflected image of Yu Yuan imprinted in them.

How nice, right now, Yan Mu only has me in her eyes.

Yu Yuan felt overjoyed.

“Why are you still smiling!” Yan Mu was really worried.

Oh sh*t, did Yu Yuan become stupid from the spiciness?

With such a thought, Yan Mu suddenly felt even more anxious.

“It’s great that Ah Mu is only looking at me now.” Yu Yuan spat out the water that had turned warm.

The spiciness had clearly gone straight to his head, the burning sensation almost melted into his blood, practically burning away all of his rationality.

His stomach was churning like crazy, and he felt so unwell that he almost threw up.

But he still pulled out a heartfelt smile.

“……” Yan Mu was at a loss for words.

She pressed the back of her hand against the teenager’s burning face.

The face that was always so pale was now as red as a peach blossom.

His pitch-black eyes were also slightly glistening with tears from the spiciness.

“Ah Mu’s hand is so cold and comfortable.” Yu Yuan held her hand and lovingly nuzzled against it.

He closed his eyes, his face full of dependency.

Yan Mu sighed, “You obviously knew that it was chili, so why did you still eat it?”

“Because that’s what Ah Mu gave me.” The teenager opened his eyes and looked directly at Yan Mu.

“If it’s from Ah Mu, I’ll drink it even if it’s poison.” The teenager’s dark eyes flashed with certain emotions that Yan Mu couldn’t comprehend.

Yan Mu was suddenly terrified.

Before, she always felt like Yu Yuan was a fledgling imprinted on her6, so it was normal for him to be dependent.

It wasn’t until recently that she realized Yu Yuan seemed to have become too dependent on her.

This imprinting…… was already past a certain point.

The teenager in front of her seemed to harbor some unspeakable feelings.

It’s like.

It seems like, Yu Yuan likes me.

Yu Yuan is the main male lead in this no-cp novel, how can he like me?

He should stand on top of the court like a god, holding great power, and controlling the lives of all.

In the book, he was so persistent and determined in his pursuit of riches and honor, that rationally, he should let go of love.

If Yu Yuan liked her, wouldn’t the subsequent storyline be completely messed up?

If so, she would never be able to go home.

Never be able to go home, forever trapped in this unfamiliar yet familiar other world.

Yan Mu was suddenly scared.

She abruptly pulled back her hand.

Her mind started to think back to all the things that had happened in the past.

She remembered the teahouse lady boss who’d mistaken them for husband and wife, and the “coincidentally” large bedroom last night.

So, does everyone think that Yu Yuan and I are a couple?

Yan Mu froze in place, her brain was in a mess.

“Ah Mu?” Yu Yuan paused, and he subconsciously wanted to pull Yan Mu in.

But this time, Yan Mu didn’t hold his hand like she usually did.

Yu Yuan was stunned for a while, then silently retracted his hand.

Ah Mu is very strange.

Yu Yuan was inwardly flustered.

“You……” Yan Mu adjusted her mood and tried to squeeze out a smile, “Are you feeling better now?”

She couldn’t let Yu Yuan find anything unusual.

“Mmm, I’m feeling much better,” Yu Yuan lowered his gaze and said.

Actually, his stomach still hurt badly.

The burning sensation had spread throughout his body, and even his back had begun to sweat.

But he couldn’t say it.

He didn’t want Yan Mu to worry.

“Mmm,” Yan Mu nodded and quickly turned around. “The break is almost over, we should go back.”

After speaking, without waiting for Yu Yuan, she quickly turned around and headed back towards the horse carriage.

The sun was hanging high above, and the weather was terribly hot.

Yu Yuan covered his stomach and slowly walked behind Yan Mu.

His cheeks were slightly bulged, and his dark pupils seemed to burn with fire.

His gaze was firmly locked on Yan Mu, as if he wanted to imprint her figure onto his soul.

He followed Yan Mu to the carriage, then sat down next to her as usual.

However, Yan Mu suddenly moved to the side, keeping a full ten centimeters distance from Yu Yuan.

……

Yu Yuan didn’t speak, his eyes were as dark as condensed ink.

“Ah Mu?” Yu Yuan’s eyes were flickering with a dim light.

“We aren’t kids anymore. Before, being affectionate in the village was okay, but now that we’ve left the village, we need to keep the proper distance between men and women,” Yan Mu said with a straight face.

Yu Yuan had already walked out of the mountains, and left the villagers who had wantonly insulted and trampled on him. Once he came to the capital, someone with such ability like him would surely blossom into the brightest ray of light whenever he was given the opportunity.

Yu Yuan was naturally fit for a high position.   

When the time came, whether the gazes of others held good or bad intentions, they would all be focused on Yu Yuan.

Some people wanted to hold Yu Yuan7 up, and naturally, some wanted him to fall to the ground.

Whether it was for his sake or her own, she couldn’t be as close8 to Yu Yuan as she used to be.

Yu Yuan hung his head and dejectedly asked, “Why?”

Yan Mu forcibly suppressed the sadness in her heart, and expressionlessly said, “Because we’ve all grown up.”

She’d had her first period, and her body already had budding curves.

Yu Yuan’s body was no longer thin and weak, but he was gradually growing firm muscles, and his height was rapidly shooting up like spring bamboo shoots after rain9.

People will change when they grow up.

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The author has something to say:

There’s no construction without destruction10. There must be destruction in order to let Yan Mu realize her own feelings. (This is really a sweet story)