Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 94

“Grilled fish.” Zi Jin, lost in thought, replied without looking up.

Actually, life with Xi Le wasn't all oppression. Although she was afraid of him, she never pretended in front of him. Just like back then, when she never spoke to anyone else, she was willing to talk to him. Coming here with Xi Le, although she lost her freedom just like before, and was even isolated, life was much more carefree. There was no need to worry, no need to guess, no need to pretend, no need to hide. Of course, if she could wear women's clothes again and freely enter and leave the palace, life would be even more perfect.

Where did it come from?

"Caught in the lake."

"Food?"

"Aren't you going to talk nonsense? What's the point of not eating it?" Zi Jin rolled her eyes helplessly, then looked up at the source of the voice. "You! You! You!...It's you again!"

Under the moonlight, the boy's silver hair and white robes fluttered in the wind, making him appear like an immortal who had strayed into the mortal world. He stood there timidly, his eyes slightly lowered, his long eyelashes trembling gently: "You...don't like it..."

Zi Jin suddenly felt guilty for bullying a child: "No, I was scared by you."

The boy looked up and smiled slightly, a hint of shyness in his eyes: "I came to see you."

"Oh." Zi Jin continued to flip the fish in her hands, seemingly uninterested in the boy's words.

"You...don't like it?" The boy lowered his head, fidgeting with the hem of his clothes.

"Uh... Oh, I like it, I like it, I like it." Zi Jin slurped her saliva, responding to the boy with little concern.

"Me too." The boy looked up at Zi Jin with a smile, but found that Zi Jin's eyes were only on the charred fish, and a look of disappointment flashed across her eyes.

Zi Jin was only focused on grilling fish, while the boy watched silently. The beauty of Liuran Pavilion under the moonlight was breathtaking, like a cup of sweet honey tea in winter, so warm it brought tears to one's eyes.

Zi Jin felt uneasy under the boy's unwavering gaze, and finally broke the silence, asking, "What's wrong, Xiao Bai?"

"Xiao Bai?" The boy's dark, jade-like eyes were full of doubt.

"Hehe..." Zi Jin chuckled dryly, "Not Xiaobai, not Xiaobai, it's Young Master, is there something you need, Young Master?"

"Little White, that sounds nice, may I call you that?" Under the moonlight, the boy smiled gently, the corners of his mouth turned up, his eyes sparkling, his beauty ethereal.

Zi Jin quickly lowered her head and focused intently on grilling the fish. Only when the fish was completely charred did she pick it up, take a big bite, and wince in pain from the heat.

The boy's pink lips moved slightly: "I haven't eaten dinner."

Zi Jin glanced at the three fish left on the shelf and felt a pang of heartache. She had intended to pretend she hadn't heard, but when she glanced at the boy out of the corner of her eye, she had to change her mind.

Under the moonlight, the boy's slightly aggrieved eyes were fixed on Zi Jin, like a white lotus that needed careful protection. He looked so helpless, full of accusation.

Zi Jin reached out and picked up one of the fish, closed her eyes, and quickly handed it over, as if afraid that she would change her mind in the next second.

The boy timidly took the charred fish, glanced at Zi Jin who had opened her eyes, and gave a shy, faint smile.

Zi Jin quickly turned her face away, angrily biting the fish in her hand: A honey trap! A honey trap! Another honey trap! Even an idiot can use a honey trap on me! Failed!

The boy's dark, jade-like eyes stared at the fish in his hand with a troubled expression, unsure of where to begin. He imitated Zi Jin's manner and gently took a small bite from the side: "Uh... it's hot."

The boy touched his scalded lips, his eyes filled with tears as he looked at Zi Jin, who was only focused on eating fish: "It's hot, it hurts."

Zi Jin screamed in her heart: Ignore him, ignore him, completely ignore him! But when she caught a glimpse of the boy's tearful face out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't bring herself to be cruel. Resigned, she turned her face away and looked at the boy's scalded lower lip, a pang of guilt rising within her. She took the boy's hand, and the two sat on the pavilion railing, examining the injury on his lip by the moonlight. She saw that the boy's pink lower lip was somewhat swollen and red, with a small blister on it.

"It hurts." The boy's red lips parted slightly, his eyes filled with grievance as he looked at Zi Jin.

Zi Jin was at a loss for what to do. She had never met someone so stupid that they burned their lips while eating: "Lick it."

The boy looked at Zi Jin with a helpless expression, his lips moving but he didn't know what to do. His eyes reddened slightly, and crystal tears welled up in them: "It hurts a lot."

Zi Jin cautiously reached out and gently touched the small bubble. The boy flinched slightly but didn't pull away. After being by the lake for so long, Zi Jin's hand was icy cold. Aside from a slight pain at first, the boy gradually felt comfortable and stretched his neck slightly, bringing his lips closer to Zi Jin's hand.

Under the moonlight, Zi Jin, as if bewitched, stroked the boy's lips again and again. The boy's eyes slowly became misty, large patches of water gathering in his eyes, and he groaned comfortably.

As if electrocuted, Zi Jin quickly withdrew her hand, grabbed the fish beside her, and began to bite into it.

The boy's eyes instantly regained their clarity, and his dark, jade-like eyes stared at Zi Jin, who was eating fish, with a look of grievance: "It hurts."

Zi Jin turned away without saying a word and continued eating.

"It hurts a lot."

He turned his head to the side and continued eating the fish.

"I'm hungry." The boy reached out and grabbed Zi Jin's clothes, shook them gently, gazed at Zi Jin with teary eyes, pressed his slightly reddened lips tightly together, and let out a choked sob.

Zi Jin lowered her head and sighed silently, like a defeated rooster. She turned around, picked up a small piece of boneless fish from the grilled fish in her hand, and put it to the boy's mouth.

The boy slightly opened his mouth, raised his eyes and smiled faintly, took the piece of fish into his mouth, and chewed. Slowly, his eyes narrowed into slits, and his signature faint smile appeared on his face: "Okay, more."

Zi Jin swallowed hard, resignedly picked out the fish bones, and fed the boy little by little.

The boy ate bite by bite, his satisfied expression enough to melt anyone's heart. As he ate the fish that Zi Jin handed him, he imitated Zi Jin's actions, peeling the bones off the fish in his hand, tearing off a small piece, and holding it to Zi Jin's mouth: "You eat."

Zi Jin stared blankly at the boy, then unconsciously opened her mouth and ate the fish from his hand.

Under the moonlight, his silver hair fluttered gently in the wind, and the boy tilted his head and smiled faintly: "I used to dislike eating it. Now, it's not bad."

Zi Jin dared not speak, slowly feeding the fish into the boy's mouth, afraid that speaking would shatter this dream as beautiful as a reflection in water or a flower in a mirror.

In no time at all, the two had finished all four fish. The boy's long, feathery eyelashes trembled slightly, and his dark eyes rippled with emotion. He leaned his head on Zi Jin's shoulder and said, "I missed you the other day and didn't sleep well."

"Um... Young Master, shouldn't you be going back?" Zi Jin glanced at Gao Sheng's crescent moon and asked softly.

The boy raised his face, his gentle eyes gazing silently at Zi Jin for a long time: "Xiao Bai."

Zi Jin thought about it for a while, then realized what the boy was talking about: "Oh, um... Xiao Bai, it's getting late, shouldn't you go back?"