353 Am I still her?
Jiang Huai hadn’t heard the knocking sound, but the door quietly opened.
He trembled all over, and then his eyes met those sorrowful eyes. Luo Yueguan, in a purple nightgown, with porcelain white collarbones bathed in moonlight, stood under the eaves, gazing at him as if she were a vengeful ghost.
“Didn’t you sleep with my Master?”
“I did something bad and annoyed her, so she kicked me out.” Luo Yueguan had her hands behind her back, her eyes fixed on him. Then she suddenly spoke, “You’re biased.”
“How am I biased?”
“Clearly, I jumped better.” Luo Yueguan tilted her head slightly to look at him.
“Chu Xianning was better.”
“You won’t even say a comforting word to me?” Luo Yueguan suddenly bit her lip, her eyes turning red in an instant. Just as she seemed about to turn and leave, Jiang Huai had already arrived beside her, gently pulling her hand.
Before Luo Yueguan could struggle, Jiang Huai had already dragged her back into the room. The door was shut tightly by Jiang Huai, and the next moment, Luo Yueguan was grabbed by the shoulders and pressed against the wall. Jiang Huai leaned in, his forehead almost touching hers, and slowly spoke, “You knew I would eventually choose Chu Xianning, yet you still insisted on competing with Master… Was it to tell Chu Xianning that something is going on between you and me, or was it to start acting spoiled now and ask for a hug?”
Luo Yueguan looked at him with innocent eyes, still appearing as if her eyes were misty and about to shed tears like small pearls. She spoke aggrievedly, “In your eyes, I am that despicable, that treacherous, and have so many petty thoughts…”
Before Luo Yueguan could finish speaking, her tightly closed, snowy white legs were forced apart by Jiang Huai’s knees. Jiang Huai leaned even closer, gazing at her tenderly, and said, “Haven’t you played enough?”
In an instant, the wronged expression on Luo Yueguan’s face disappeared. She extended a finger and poked Jiang Huai’s chest in dissatisfaction, “Can’t you just play along with me until the end?”
Jiang Huai grabbed her wrists and clasped them together, raising them high. This restrained posture made Luo Yueguan’s body go soft. Jiang Huai leaned even closer, looking into her eyes. Luo Yueguan spoke again, “Actually, you didn’t guess completely right.”
“Where did I guess wrong?”
“It’s not about asking for a hug.” Luo Yueguan’s lips pouted slightly, “It’s about a kiss.”
Her lips were delicate and moist, like clean flower petals. Jiang Huai looked at her hateful, intentionally spoiled appearance and leaned in, kissing her lips fiercely. Unfortunately, before he could pull back, Luo Yueguan had already slightly parted her lips, her delicate pink tongue enticing him further. Her hands were still held high by Jiang Huai, her body growing softer and softer, unable to catch her breath.
After the kiss, Luo Yueguan was still not satisfied. She turned around, her raised hands resting against the wall, her slender waist slumping slightly, her snow-white buttocks lifted a bit. She looked back at him and then blinked her eyes aggrievedly, “Are you angry?”
“No.”
“Knowing you’re angry, I’ll reluctantly give you a punishment.”
Jiang Huai couldn’t resist after all. He slapped Luo Yueguan’s snow-white buttocks. Luo Yueguan trembled all over, biting her lip, looking at him with a gaze that was both resentful and hazy, “You’re really willing to do it.”
Jiang Huai made a gesture as if to strike again. Luo Yueguan closed her eyes tightly, but the corners of her lips curled up, clearly full of anticipation.
So Jiang Huai didn’t bring his hand down again. Instead, he went to the bedside and sat down. Luo Yueguan turned her head back, leaning against the wall. Her legs crossed beneath her skirt hem, she slightly raised her chin, maintaining a moderate distance from him. The two began to gaze at each other in silence.
They looked at each other, saying nothing, yet wanting to say everything. But they didn’t know how to say what they wanted to say, and perhaps there would be no answer even if they did, so they said nothing.
Jiang Huai constantly pondered in his mind what their relationship was at this moment, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t find an answer. Perhaps sometimes two people don’t need a “title” to define their relationship, but anyway… he had kissed Luo Yueguan willingly, and Luo Yueguan had been well-behaved and obedient during the kiss, like a cat being fed.
“Go sit on the bed,” Luo Yueguan suddenly said.
Even though Jiang Huai didn’t understand, he obediently sat on the bed. Luo Yueguan walked towards him. Jiang Huai’s bed was large, and Luo Yueguan came onto the bed. Her hair was already loose, and now her head rested on Jiang Huai’s lap as she lay down horizontally.
Even in a lying position, her chest was still full and round, as if her nightgown could barely contain it. Her collarbone was slender and tender, rising and falling. As Jiang Huai looked down at her, she was also looking up at him.
“Let me lie down for a while. I’ll leave when I’m sleepy.”
Jiang Huai reached out and gently caressed her cheek, soft and smooth, like a baby’s. He didn’t speak, but instead scratched Luo Yueguan’s chin again, as if he were petting a kitten. This move was especially effective on Luo Yueguan. She narrowed her eyes like an obedient kitten and shifted her body, resting her cheek on his lap.
“I told your Master some things about you.”
“Mhmm, okay.”
“Why doesn’t your voice sound scared at all?”
“It had to be said sooner or later, so I prepared myself mentally.”
A trace of indescribable joy suddenly appeared in Luo Yueguan’s heart, and her smile became even sweeter. “Then do you know what your Master said?”
Jiang Huai thought for a moment, “Master probably ignored you, maybe advised you a couple of times at most.”
“You really understand Chu Xianning,” Luo Yueguan’s voice carried a hint of sourness.
Jiang Huai pinched Luo Yueguan’s cheek again, smiling helplessly.
He understood Chu Xianning, of course. Chu Xianning was never a woman who would be jealous over trivial matters. Perhaps it wasn’t because Chu Xianning was indifferent to him that she didn’t compete, but because Chu Xianning had always been indifferent to everything for these hundreds of years. Not desiring meant no troubles. She wouldn’t compete, and she would never tell Jiang Huai not to do something… Chu Xianning seemed to have no desire to control anyone.
This was Chu Xianning.
But Chu Xianning’s inner awkwardness would still exist, Jiang Huai could only sigh softly in his heart. Too many desires always lead to troubles. Most people’s troubles stem from their own greed; no one is an exception.
Jiang Huai gently massaged Luo Yueguan’s shoulders.
His movements were very gentle. He said nothing more, and Luo Yueguan asked nothing further. Time seemed to slow down, Luo Yueguan’s breathing gradually became even, her eyes closed, and sleepiness began to creep in.
Her insomnia stemmed from endless anxiety, but whenever she was close to Jiang Huai, those anxieties disappeared without a trace, leaving her as peaceful as a sleeping infant, until… a knocking sound echoed from outside the room.
Jiang Huai’s heart skipped a beat, and Luo Yueguan’s heart trembled.
“I’m coming in,” Chu Xianning’s clear voice rang out.
The door opened.
Chu Xianning, in a white dress, stood under the eaves. Jiang Huai was sitting on the bed, and Luo Yueguan, neatly dressed, had her head resting on his lap. Compared to Jiang Huai’s panic, Luo Yueguan could still maintain some composure, slowly opening her eyes and looking at Chu Xianning’s face, she calmly explained, “I couldn’t sleep because my head was aching from tossing and turning, so I asked him to give me a head massage. You…”
“I didn’t ask,” Chu Xianning said calmly, “and you don’t need to explain.”
The corners of Luo Yueguan’s lips curled up, and her guilt vanished without a trace. She snorted, “Then why are you here?”
Chu Xianning stared at her for several seconds, then suddenly said, “My head hurts, I can’t sleep, so I asked Jiang Huai to give me a head massage.”
Luo Yueguan’s eyes widened. “That’s what I just said!”
Chu Xianning just looked at her. “Have you massaged enough? Get up.”
“No, no, I haven’t massaged enough yet, let me have a little longer.” Luo Yueguan buried her face in Jiang Huai’s lap and began to swing her legs, acting like a spoiled little girl playing naughty. Chu Xianning leisurely sat down on a chair in the room, hugging her arms, her eyes quietly watching Luo Yueguan. “For the time it takes an incense stick to burn.”
Luo Yueguan looked at her discontentedly. “Are you jealous? I thought you’d never be jealous of anyone in this lifetime, Chu Xianning.”
Chu Xianning did not answer. She neither denied nor admitted, just stood with her arms crossed, staring at Luo Yueguan in silence. Jiang Huai’s fingertips gently pressed on Luo Yueguan’s head. His fingers trembled slightly, and his heart was flustered.
After a long while, Luo Yueguan finally agreed to get up. As she sat up, Chu Xianning stood up and passed by her. Chu Xianning moved to the spot where Luo Yueguan had been lying, and Luo Yueguan moved to where Chu Xianning had just sat. She hugged her arms like Chu Xianning. The difference was that her legs were crossed beneath her skirt hem, her snow-white toes slightly curled, shimmering.
Jiang Huai’s fingertips lightly touched Chu Xianning’s head. His movements were as gentle as possible. Chu Xianning’s body was initially slightly tense, then gradually relaxed. She closed her eyes, looking like a filial child… wait, that’s a strange description.
The atmosphere had become so strange that Jiang Huai didn’t know how to describe it, but he suddenly found it interesting. He suddenly realized that perhaps many of his thoughts about Chu Xianning were sometimes taken for granted. How could one person’s thoughts be so easily and clearly guessed? He hadn’t expected Chu Xianning to come, but he was happy that she did.
His fingertips lightly touched Chu Xianning’s delicate earlobe, and he whispered, “Was Master having trouble sleeping just now?”
“Mhmm.”
“Why?”
“Too much talk.” Chu Xianning’s voice was clear and cold. Jiang Huai playfully pinched her delicate earlobe. Chu Xianning trembled slightly but didn’t utter a word of rebuke, just closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
After pinching for a while longer, Chu Xianning softly said, “Okay.”
Luo Yueguan, sitting to the side, pouted. Resentment was clearly etched on her face, without any concealment. She suddenly lifted her fair, slender leg, her snow-white toes resting by Jiang Huai’s bed, and looked at Jiang Huai. “Massage mine.”
Chu Xianning glanced at Luo Yueguan’s eyes. The meaning of this look was easy to interpret.
Don’t push it, Luo Yueguan.
Luo Yueguan proudly lifted her chin. “What? Do you want one too?”
Chu Xianning gave her a cold look and sat on the chair next to Luo Yueguan. The slender, long legs beneath her white dress were raised and placed on the other side of Jiang Huai’s leg. She leaned slightly on the chair, arms crossed, her eyes cold, her pale toes slightly curled, her tone ice-cold.
“Me, or her?”
