Her suspicious behavior seemed exactly like what some wealthy young men would do when trying to get close to someone they liked!
****
When Luo Cuiwei returned to the lantern shop with two boxes of mixed fruit cakes, the shop assistants had already packed the lanterns into boxes and sent them to the carriage outside the lantern market street.
Yun Lie was sitting at the tea table in the shop waiting for her. As soon as he saw her reappear at the entrance of the lantern shop, he immediately got up to greet her. "Do you need me to help you with this?"
He gestured with his gaze toward the pastry box in her hand.
“It’s not heavy…” Luo Cuiwei seemed to suddenly think of something and changed her mind. She handed him the two boxes of pastries to carry. “It’s fine. Anyway, it’s your share. It’s only right that you do your part.”
Yun Lie paused, then swallowed back the words he was about to say, "Only young ladies love sweet cakes."
Look, even when I go to buy a sweet cake, I remember to bring him one!
The two walked out of the lantern shop side by side, through the crowded main street of the lantern market, and got into the carriage parked under the big tree across the street.
After the two people in the carriage were seated, the driver shook the reins and gave a soft shout, and the carriage slowly headed towards the Prince Zhao's residence.
Here, your purse.
Seeing Yun Lie across from her extend his hand to hand her the money pouch, Luo Cui smiled and took it, then casually tied it back around her waist.
"Don't you need to check the amount?" Yun Lie pursed his lips and looked up at the roof of the car.
“Usually when I go out with my brother, if I steal his place when he pays the bill, he gets angry with me,” Luo Cuiwei replied with a smile, avoiding the main issue. “It’s just a habit, Your Highness, please don’t take offense.”
“I’m not your brother,” Yun Lie said in a low voice, still staring at the roof of the car, seemingly dissatisfied, but the corners of his lips couldn’t help but turn up. “I didn’t lose any money, I brought money with me.”
Given his noble status as a prince, even if he were to befriend Luo Cuiwei, who came from a common background, he should not refer to himself as "I".
But he not only referred to himself as "I", but his attitude in his words was also friendly and casual, without the slightest hint of condescension.
This truly treated her as one of their own, granting her the same treatment as Xiong Xiaoyi and the other guards from the Linchuan Army in the Prince Zhao's residence.
Feeling guilty and ashamed, Luo Cuiwei couldn't help but feel her eyes burning, her cheeks drooping, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Although she had just silently given up on the plan to "borrow a route through Linchuan," that was ultimately her original intention to get closer to him.
He and his comrades endured hunger and cold to guard the nation's borders in Linchuan, displaying unwavering integrity and a clear conscience. Yet, she wanted to drag him into a dangerous deal.
I originally thought that by stopping in time and not revealing that unethical deal, I could erase my initial impure thoughts without him noticing, and from then on, treat him as an upright and innocent person.
But at that moment she suddenly realized that it was too difficult.
If one day in the future, Yun Lie suddenly realizes the mystery behind it all and understands what her initial intentions were when she approached him, how will he look at her?
****
Luo Cuiwei became increasingly sad and uneasy as she thought about it; her eyes and nose stung with tears.
Afraid that she would burst into tears, and also afraid that Yun Lie would notice something was wrong if she looked up, she pretended to open a pastry box and casually took out a piece of mixed fruit cake.
Her red lips had just touched the edge of the sweet cake, and before she could even take a bite, her fingertips suddenly went numb, and the sweet cake vanished into thin air.
Luo Cuiwei looked up in shock and saw Yun Lie with puffed-out cheeks, staring at the roof of the car with a righteous expression, snorting, "Didn't you just say you bought it for me? How come you're eating it all by yourself in front of me?"
"The one I ate was the one for my sister..." Luo Cuiwei blinked in surprise and grievance, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes suddenly rolled down her cheeks.
These tears are for the heavy burden in my heart, and have absolutely nothing to do with the sweet cake.
But Yunlie had no idea about the complicated things in her heart. Hearing that her voice sounded a little strange, he quickly looked down at her.
Seeing the tears on her face, he panicked: "I was just kidding, I didn't really mean you'd eat it all by yourself... Don't cry! Um, the whole box, the whole box is yours, okay?"
Luo Cuiwei then realized that her tears had fallen, and awkwardly raised her sleeve to wipe them haphazardly across her face.
Perhaps because she was already preoccupied with her own worries, the tears that fell unintentionally were like a bucket full of pearls being overturned, rolling down one after another in an endless stream.
Yun Lie was at a loss, not knowing how to comfort him. After a long while, he helplessly pointed to his chubby cheek and said, "How about I give this back to you?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze, not understanding why he had said something so stupid.
The whole piece of cake was in his mouth, how was he supposed to repay it? Could he possibly...?
"What kind of nonsense are you thinking about?" Luo Cuiwei's voice was cold, with the nasal tone that comes with tears.
Yun Lie suspected that his face was so hot he could fry an egg on it.
However, faced with Luo Cuiwei's eyes, which were clearly filled with shame and anger yet seemed to be able to see into people's hearts, he still calmly shook his head and straightened his back with a sanctimonious air.
"No, I wasn't thinking about anything, just a clear and gentle breeze."
Absolutely, absolutely no image of "suppressing her little mouth" or "using the tip of the tongue to put the sweet cake back into her mouth" came to mind.
14. Chapter Fourteen
The Luo Cuiwei in front of me looks completely different from before.
Her eyes, still glistening with tears, were flushed with embarrassment and anger. Her cheeks, red with embarrassment and anger, were warm and beautiful like rouge. Although she was glaring at someone, she had no imposing manner at all. Instead, she was like a delicate flower blooming in the morning light, with dewdrops still glistening on her skin.
"Don't keep staring at me like that," Yun Lie said weakly, turning his head to face the carriage curtain.
He was genuinely worried that if she continued to glare at him like that, those "clear and bright" images would probably uncontrollably pop into his mind and become reality on the spot...
Stop, I can't keep thinking about this. I need to be an upright and good young man.