Intentionally or unintentionally, my eyes met Yunzhou's. He stood under the eaves, his face handsome and his dark eyes deep. I mustered my courage to look at him a few more times, but I still couldn't see a trace of affection for me in his eyes. It seemed that he really was just using me as a shield to appease the young princess.
I felt both disappointed and relieved, and in a daze, I followed everyone to bid farewell to Master Yuanzhao.
Several friends from the martial arts world were sitting in Master Yuanzhao's room. After my master greeted them, Master Yuanzhao smiled and gave me a gift: "Xiao Mo, this is your coming-of-age gift. Don't think it's too late."
I accepted it with gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Uncle." Out of respect for my master, he had always liked me very much, like a grandfather.
Jiang Chen looked at me and said with a smile, "Uncle, may I ask you to help me and Xiao Mozhu get married later?"
Master Yuanzhao exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, you and Xiaomo are engaged?"
Jiang Chen smiled and pursed his lips: "Mm."
Several friends from the martial arts world in Master Yuanzhao's house immediately congratulated my master. My master gave a forced smile, his expression seemingly filled with sorrow and reluctance.
"Very well, the Xiaoyao Sect hasn't had a happy occasion in twenty years. This time, your great-uncle will definitely give you a great gift."
Jiang Chen cupped his hands and smiled, "Thank you in advance, Uncle. Please come to Xiaoyao Sect for the wedding feast." Then he turned back to me and smiled sweetly, his eyes curving into crescent moons, looking completely willing and overjoyed.
I stared blankly at Jiang Chen. Was his joy genuine? I've never been able to understand him, never been able to see through him. Just thinking about the future, not only would I have to guess whether his words were true or false, but I'd also have to constantly be on his side, fending off unwanted suitors. It was truly a worry and an exhausting task. Just thinking about it gave me a headache.
Yunzhou stood right behind his master. My gaze fell on his shoulder several times, and I tried to move back, but I was frozen in place and couldn't move.
On the way home, my senior classmates deliberately created opportunities for Jiang Chen and me. During meals, they arranged our seats together, and when we slept, they placed our guest rooms next to each other. Everyone was chatting and laughing, and whenever Jiang Chen or I tried to join in, Senior Brother He Xiaole would immediately and sternly refuse us.
"You two go and have your private talk."
The word "couple" really startled me, and suddenly my face burned. My senior brothers valued friendship over romance, and had quickly changed my status from junior sister to sister-in-law or brother's wife. They kept their distance from me with a serious demeanor, clearly having already considered me Jiang Chen's wife, and no longer joked around with me.
I was quite disappointed and depressed for a day, but I came to terms with it a bit. The Xiaoyao Sect raised me for fifteen years, and I'll have to get married eventually. Marrying Jiang Chen is just sacrificing myself to protect the reputation of the Xiaoyao Sect. However, Jiang Chen is so handsome. If I'm with him, people will probably call me a "flower" (meaning someone who is overly beautiful but lacks substance). Thinking about this makes me a little depressed.
The door creaked open, and Jiang Chen walked in with a broad smile.
I was lounging on the inn's bed, lost in thought, when I saw him come in. I quickly sat up straight and straightened my clothes.
"Why didn't you knock before you came in?"
"A couple, do you still need to knock?" He smiled like a peony in the spring breeze, his voice as sweet as if it had been drawn from a honey pot.
My face started to burn again.
He sat down next to me, tilted his head, and said, "Didn't you say yesterday that if I held off the young princess for half an hour, you would thank me?"
I moved to the side and said resentfully, "You still say that it's all because of you that I offended her and ended up marrying you."
His smile froze at the corner of his lips, then gradually disappeared.
"You really don't want to marry me?"
"Of course it's true."
His dark eyes gleamed with a cold light: "Why?"
I sighed softly and said, "I don't want to be cuckolded."
While this isn't the whole reason, it is certainly a significant one. I've never liked to steal; I prefer things that fall from the sky, gifts from heaven. This personality is exactly like my master's.
His previously gloomy face suddenly broke into a bright and cheerful smile: "Xiao Mo, only men talk about being cuckolded, I've never heard a woman say that."
I glanced at him: "The principle is the same, the essence is the same. Anyway, with your personality, you're bound to cause a lot of trouble in the future, and I don't like it."
He asked in a serious tone, "What is it?"
I said bitterly, "A romantic affair." Why is this person pretending to be confused?
He laughed out loud, then stopped after a while, and said, "Xiao Mo, are you jealous?"
I sighed dejectedly, "Why are you jealous? It's just being prepared, you know?"
He moved closer and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, Xiao Mo, I'm only romantic with you."
My face flushed, I spat, and quickly stood up to get away from him.
He caught up and stood next to me. I quickly moved aside, but he took two more steps forward. I moved aside again, but my lower back hit the table, and I couldn't move any further.
He smiled with his eyes narrowed, and then actually took my hand.
I panicked and tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't let go like an iron clamp, using the third move of our school's small grappling technique, "Flying Eagle Pouncing on Rabbit."
I said sternly with a stern face, "Let go." Actually, I was completely blustering at this point, a typical paper tiger. My voice was trembling, and my heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would jump out of my chest. It was the first time a man had ever held my hand, and my hand immediately felt like it didn't belong to me anymore; it was burning hot.
He seemed not to hear, and said to himself with a grin, "Xiao Mo, everyone says we're a perfect match."
"Huh?" I frowned. This has nothing to do with me, right? Who said that!
He chuckled and said, "Actually, they don't understand you at all. Although you're not very romantic, you're incredibly fun and so cute that it makes people's hearts flutter."
"Fun"—is that a compliment? Am I an object, a toy?
Since you're so talented and beautiful, you can live your own life. I continued to pull my hand away, my face burning.
He changed his move, turning the eagle swooping down on the rabbit into a tiger pouncing on its prey, and grabbed my wrist as well. I struggled even harder to break free, and I was worried that if I struggled any further, he might take advantage of the situation and grab my arm as well.
"Xiao Mo, come home with me to see your mother."
"You have a mother?"
"Nonsense, of course I have it."