Xiao Juyuan and Pei Junwu were both stunned again. He went to raise money? He had already predicted that those people would attack? And... how could he raise so much money in just a few days?
“Brother Wu…” She looked at him questioningly again, and Pei Junwu could only turn his eyes away. What else could he say?
"What if we fail?" Seeing that he didn't speak again, Xiao Juyuan sighed slightly and looked at Yi Chunjun.
"Then I'll just consider the money as a waste."
"Okay!" She nodded, everything... would wait until the storm passed.
"Juyuan, go find Nangong and Xiaohang now and try to get their support. With their help, we'll be more confident of winning."
Xiao Juyuan nodded, but did not go out.
"What's wrong?" Yi Chunjun raised an eyebrow.
"Would they help us for nothing?" she asked, looking at him.
"Of course not, let's find out the truth first." He smiled. "You're more suited to handle this than me."
Xiao Juyuan blushed, lowered her head, and left.
The Flower Smile, Chapter 41: A Failed Joke
Yi Chunjun turned around and found Pei Junwu looking at him with a deep, probing gaze. He smiled at him, and usually when he smiled at him like that, Pei Junwu would frown and look away, but this time he did not. Instead, he returned a lingering, calm smile.
“Senior Brother Pei—” He looked into his eyes, a hint of emotion in his expression, “This is the first time you’ve smiled at me.”
He walked over and sat on the edge of Pei Junwu's bed. Before he could continue speaking, Pei Junwu had already grasped his hand. He was startled, and his smile froze for a moment.
This time, Pei Junwu was looking into his eyes. For the first time, he saw a mischievous look in Pei Junwu's eyes that seemed to be both smiling and not smiling.
"You're becoming more and more confusing to me, Chunjun..." he said slowly and in a low voice, his face close to his, his breath lightly brushing against his cheek. When his melodious voice softly called his name, he actually trembled.
“Pei…” He let Pei Junwu hold his hand, his eyes fixed on him, trying to find clues in his eyes about this unusual behavior.
“You’re so beautiful…” Pei Junwu continued his teasing, getting even closer, their noses almost touching. Yi Chunjun even saw a hint of anger in his clear, teasing eyes.
Was he testing him? In this way?
Yi Chunjun composed himself and smiled. The hand that Yi Chunjun hadn't been holding gently rested on Yi Chunjun's shoulder, and he breathed softly on Yi Chunjun's face, mimicking Yi Chunjun's gesture. "What, you've changed your mind? You're planning to accept my feelings?"
Pei Junwu did not back down; in fact, he smiled and answered simply and directly, "Yes."
A silence fell over the room. Yi Chunjun smiled at him with pursed lips, his brows furrowing slightly.
"What's wrong, are you unhappy?" Pei Junwu squinted, savoring the fleeting embarrassment and annoyance in him.
"Happy, I'm so happy." He sneered. "What made you change your mind? Is being caught between two women too painful and tiring?"
Pei Junwu chuckled. "A little. Compared to you, they lack that mysterious charm." He released his hand, draped his arm over his shoulder, and looked up at him with a smile. "Why did you deliberately lose to the Palace Master of the Extinction Palace? Why did you stir up so much trouble in the martial world? Why did you treat Wang Guanghai like that? If you don't explain yourself clearly... I'll want to investigate you more, understand you more, and become even more fascinated by you."
"Are you crazy?!" Yi Chunjun finally couldn't help but shake off his arm and look at him coldly. This senior brother, who was always calm, steady and serious, had suddenly become a passionate and frivolous man, which really made him look at him in a new light.
Perhaps this is his true nature? After all, he is a man of the Pei family, with a father like that. What, then, is his true face a facade?
“I’m not crazy.” He looked at him with a smirk. “I just think your previous suggestions were excellent.” He moved closer, his long, thick eyelashes almost brushing against his cheekbones. “Want to move in with me?”
"Clang—" The sound of a porcelain vase shattering rang out at the doorway, a sudden sound that seemed to strike a nerve in everyone.
Xiao Yuan stood pale-faced at the door, her hand still in the position of holding the bottle. She stared at them in disbelief, and under her gaze, Pei Junwu and Yi Chunjun sat up, frowning in embarrassment and turning their faces away.
"Hmm..." She clearly calmed herself down and lowered her hand. "It's alright now." She awkwardly managed to say something to appease them, her beautiful eyes flickering. She even glanced at the two of them again and laughed. "I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything." After saying that, she turned and ran away with a look of suppressed laughter on her face.
The two men sitting on the bed sat stiffly, their faces ashen. She actually laughed? And then ran away with a gloating expression?
Yi Chunjun turned to look at Pei Junwu beside him. Pei Junwu was now sitting upright, having returned to normal. However, his eyes betrayed his secret, filled with a hint of annoyance and anger.
Yi Chunjun suddenly burst into laughter, looking at Pei Junwu with schadenfreude. "It doesn't matter that she saw me, but you're in trouble, Senior Brother Pei."
Pei Junwu glared at him angrily, then laughed at himself, realizing the joke had failed miserably.
Seeing his smile, Yi Chunjun narrowed his eyes slightly. "Pei Junwu, I've suddenly realized that you're quite a very interesting man."
He was smarter and more profound than he had imagined. Profound? Yi Chunjun couldn't help but glance at him again. What kind of man was he, really? He had to admit that he had underestimated him.
“Interesting?” Pei Junwu repeated the word with a slightly hesitant tone. It had been many years since anyone had said that to him.
“Now it seems,” Yi Chunjun looked at him, “that being chosen by your senior master might not have been a lucky thing for you.”
Pei Junwu was stunned. These words, these words buried in his heart, actually came out of his mouth.
"Being a calm, composed, and stern swordsman must be tiring, right?" Yi Chunjun looked at him sympathetically. He finally understood the repressed and strange emotions he had seen in Pei Junwu's eyes before. Perhaps, he also wanted to laugh out loud, wanted to curse in anger, and wanted to express his love directly. No wonder... he went to provoke Xiaoyuan, and looked at her with such intense eyes.
"It's alright." Pei Junwu gave a self-deprecating laugh. It had always been alright, because nothing had happened to stir his heart. He had once been quite satisfied with himself, intending to live his life numbly, silently bearing his responsibilities and fate.
However, Xiao Yuan and Yi Chunjun disturbed his heart, which had been at peace for countless years.
Yes, he confessed to himself that he envied Yi Chunjun. Perhaps Yi Chunjun had many secrets, many worries, and responsibilities he had to bear, but he lived freely and unrestrainedly. He didn't care about other people's opinions; he was cruel and violent, but he never hid it. He didn't care that others saw him as a devil.
Unlike him, who was caught in a dilemma, unable to take things on or let them go! With too many responsibilities on his shoulders and his hands and feet tied for too long, he was left with nothing but a cold breath.
He looked at Xiao Yuan with envy, but only that silly girl couldn't understand the meaning behind those eyes. Murong Xiao was right; other men could easily see the affection a man had for a woman.
He also hoped to cast aside everything fate had imposed upon him, to live honestly as himself, to say what he wanted to say, and to do what he wanted to do. At the very least, he wanted to confess his feelings to the girl he liked. Perhaps, like that scoundrel Murong Xiao, being able to act recklessly was not necessarily a bad thing.
Whether she liked him or not, he didn't want to delve into it, nor could he. His helplessness lay precisely in this: he couldn't! He couldn't! There were too many things he couldn't think about, much less do! Did this inability stifle his true nature or his life?