CH 16.1

“Are you going or not?”

Her tone was threatening. Her breaths fell on his lips, and her scent entered his nose.

Xie Shuo frowned.

In the next second, he felt the softness of her lips.

It was only a light peck and nothing else.

Xie Shuo’s usually indifferent expression finally showed a trace of surprise.

He couldn’t see but he was very sensitive to his surroundings. Her breaths were warm and light in the darkness.

Her fingers that were hooked on the back of his neck tightened slightly, applying some force. 

Their surroundings were silent.

As he returned to his senses and wanted to push her away, the softness had already left his lips.

Ye An drew herself closer to him and nuzzled her face against his neck. When she spoke again, she sounded as if she were about to cry.

“Couldn’t you try to coax me for once?”

Her long eyelashes swept against his skin, carrying some faint moisture. He was unclear on whether it was his own misperception or not.

Xie Shuo’s actions paused.

His heart seemed to have been slightly disturbed, making turbulent waves. 

After a long time, he relaxed his brows and replied faintly, “Get off.”

“No!” Ye An didn’t expect that he wouldn’t change his mind. Her temper rose again and remained obstinate to the end. “If you don’t agree today, then I won’t get off!”

Her slender arms hugged him tightly in a manner that wouldn’t let go even if she were to die. 

Xie Shuo couldn’t see her expression and didn’t know what she looked like. He could only imagine based on her arrogant and unreasonable tone.

A feeling of helplessness suddenly arose in his chest. He had to acknowledge her ability to annoy someone. From acting menacing to pitiful to cute… she could do it all seamlessly.

After a moment of silence, Xie Shuo suggested quietly, “If you’re not going to get off, should I carry you outside?”

……

Was she understanding him correctly?

The pleasant surprise caught her off guard, and Ye An was overwhelmed for a little while.

Xie Shuo suddenly raised his arms to wrap around her waist as if he wanted to hug her.

The man’s slender fingers fell on her waist, separated by a cloth barrier. Only then did Ye An realize how ambiguous their position was. She quickly removed his hands and got off of his body. 

When his thin lips came into her line of sight, the scene from just then flashed through her mind. Her face couldn’t help but feel a little warm.

Just now, when she was angered half to death, she only wanted to win against him. Now that the situation was calm, she felt uneasy.

This time, it appeared that it was her loss regardless.

She touched her lips and glanced at him again. The feeling wasn’t all that terrible?

At this thought, her face grew hotter.

Xie Shuo’s mind wasn’t racing like hers was. He slowly walked out with a calm expression.

Ye An followed and asked eagerly, “Do you want me to get you some sunglasses?”

Xie Shuo: “No need.”

—

As Ye An said, the weather was sunny and bright. Under the sunlight, Xie Shuo’s eyelids and fingers trembled, somewhat unused to the intense feeling and warmth.

Ye An was afraid of him regretting his decision, so she took his arm and guided him forward.

The two of them walked along the gravel path and sat at a table in the gardens.

With the high skies and light clouds, the flowers and grasses released their fragrances in the wind. Ye An propped her chin on her elbow and looked at the person in front of her. “How is it? Doesn’t coming out on a walk help you feel better?”

Xie Shuo’s expression was indifferent, and he didn’t reply.

Ye An wasn’t annoyed. Instead, she immersed herself in the joy of “finally luring him out.” She admired his beauty for a while before turning to observe the nature around her.

It was late spring. Many flowers had passed their blooming season, leaving only a small fraction of blossoming flowers.

Beautiful purples and brilliant reds laid in swaths of vivid greens.

Ye An suddenly turned to ask, “Do you want to know what the flowers in front of you look like?”

Without waiting for a reply, she started to describe it by herself–

“To your right is a red rose bush. A little bit farther ahead is a crabapple tree. On the left in the nook, there’s a blooming purple flower. It looks familiar, but I don’t know the name…”

Not far away from them, vines wrapped around the flower stands. A few small flowers appeared among the lush greenery, swaying lightly in the breeze.

As she spoke, Ye An felt that it was a little too calm. She suddenly thought of an idea and made two cat sounds.

“What a cute kitty!” She pretended to be surprised.

Xie Shuo didn’t respond. Not even his eyelids moved.

Ye An mimicked a bird’s call.

Xie Shuo still didn’t react.

Ye An couldn’t help but feel somewhat discouraged. “I worked so hard on those sounds; can’t you at least give me a reaction?”

Hearing this, Eldest Young Master Xie finally raised his eyes. “Do you think I’m a three-year-old child?”

“……”

Ye An was annoyed and followed up, saying, “You aren’t a three-year-old child; you’re an adult…” After a pause, she muttered, “But you don’t seem to have adult needs.”

She thought that her voice was quiet, but after losing his eyesight, Xie Shuo’s senses were very sensitive. Thus, he heard the sentence clearly.

He crossed his fingers and faced her, asking, “What needs?”

When he was expected to reply, he’d never answer. On the other hand, when he wasn’t expected to reply, he did so faster than anyone else.

“Nothing.” Ye An quickly changed the subject, “Were my imitations not good?”

Xie Shuo lowered his gaze and declined to comment.

…Sure enough, he ignored others instead of responding. 

Ye An supported her chin while complaining, “To be honest, it’s not easy for us voice actors. We have to learn and know everything. Dubbing people, animals… when we enter the recording studio, we frequently have to work overtime, and stay late into the night…”

Hearing her pitiful speech, Xie Shuo finally showed some compassion. “Since it’s so hard, why continue to do it?” 

Ye An replied without thinking, “To survive, of course. If I’m not going to work, are you going to raise me?”

Xie Shuo: “The Ye Family wasn’t able to raise you?”

As soon as Xie Shuo spoke, there was a sudden silence surrounding him.

The person in front of him that had been talking non-stop suddenly went silent. She didn’t speak for a long time.

The mood gradually turned awkward.

Only then did Xie Shuo remember one thing–she was the daughter of Ye Yuan Nian’s ex-wife and didn’t grow up in the Ye Family.

Xie Shuo had known about Ye An’s relevant history long ago, but he didn’t pay too much heed. Since the Ye Family was able to convince her to enter this political marriage, then it must have benefited her in some way.

However, looking at her reaction now, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Did the Ye family treat her badly?

There was a long silence, with the winds being the only surrounding sound.

The thought of “Is she crying?” even flashed through Xie Shuo’s mind, and his emotions fluctuated.

He frowned and was about to say something, but Ye An suddenly spoke, “Shouldn’t you say something supportive to soothe me?”

Her tone was nothing out of the ordinary, without choking or crying sounds.

“…” Xie Shuo felt that his worry just now was completely unnecessary.

“Without the slightest hint of social awareness, I might as well have married a piece of paper,” Ye An muttered.

Xie Shuo’s expression smoothed out, and he didn’t speak again.

After Ye An finished, she looked up at him and suddenly asked, “It’s boring to sit like this; how about we do something?”

She thought for a bit before picking up her phone from the table. She swiped the screen with her slender fingers. 

“Do you want to play a game?” she looked up and asked.

Xie Shuo faced her with no expression, resuming his indifferent manner. 

“Let’s not play MOBA games and play trivia games instead. You don’t need to see–just listen.”

She opened an app, and just as she was about to read a riddle, she thought of something and put down her phone.

“Do you want a drink? I’ll go grab some fruits and bring them over.”

She got up and left without waiting for his response.