He looked at her and chuckled, "You and I are like teacher and friend to each other."
Xiao Yuan ignored him, laid out her bedding, and lay down with her back to him.
"Tell me... how did Pei Junwu and Xiao Juyuan sleep tonight?" he asked with a smirk, deliberately trying to provoke her.
Xiao Yuan closed her eyes tightly, still ignoring him. A slight unease stirred within her.
Looking at her slender back, he spoke leisurely again: "Don't worry, Pei Junwu isn't sleeping in the room."
Xiao Yuan couldn't help but turn over and glare at him, "How did you know?"
His half-closed, cold eyes made her heart skip a beat for no reason.
“I could feel his inner energy when I was meditating… It’s so strong!” He narrowed his eyes again, his beautiful eyes gazing at the vast night outside the window. “He’s in the mountains. It looks like he’ll be there practicing meditation all night.”
One night? Xiao Yuan couldn't help but feel better. Xiao Juyuan would definitely be disappointed, so she was happy!
"Is it necessary to laugh like that?" Yi Chunjun said with a sullen face, his lips pursed in displeasure.
She laughed? Xiao Yuan then realized that the corners of her mouth had unconsciously curled up. She turned her back to him again, "Mind your own business! Shouldn't you be happy that your Senior Brother Pei is safe?"
"Hmph." He gave a low hum.
She closed her eyes peacefully. She was really tired after walking all day, and even sleeping on the ground felt comfortable.
“If I were Xiao Juyuan, I wouldn’t just give myself to him like that either,” Yi Chunjun said in a strange tone, as if he were a little sour. “That’s a big deal involving 30% of Pei Junwu’s power. How could I just throw away my important bargaining chip like that?”
"Hmph!" This time it was Xiao Yuan's turn to hmph at him.
She didn't want to talk to him, but what he said wasn't entirely unreasonable. How annoying! He had just cheered her up with a few words, and now he was deliberately ruining her good mood.
"Ah!!" Xiao Yuan, who was sleeping soundly, was awakened by Tuoba Yuanxun's scream. The scream was so close to her ears that it made her head buzz and ache.
Then, she groggily opened her eyes and saw Tuoba Yuanxun's furious face and Yan Minyu's suspicious expression.
"What's wrong?" She was still in a daze.
"What happened?" Pei Junwu rushed over upon hearing the shouts, his clothes still damp with dew.
Everyone stared at her blankly with strange expressions. Xiao Yuan frowned and got up. Huh? How come she's in bed? She turned around in surprise. Yes, she was sleeping in bed, in Yi Chunjun's arms.
Yi Chunjun was lazily and sexy, frowning and squinting his eyes in annoyance. "So noisy."
The bedding was tidied up perfectly, as if it had never existed, as if she had always slept in his arms.
Xiao Yuan looked at him coldly, thinking that it must have been him who got up in the middle of the night to do something.
"With all of you standing here watching, how are Xiaoyuan and I supposed to get up and wash? Get out, all of you get out." He stretched out his long arm and pressed her back down onto the pillow. "It's so annoying, let's sleep a little longer."
Apart from Pei Junwu, who remained silent with a pale face, the other two were about to jump up.
"Get out!" Yi Chunjun was getting a little angry.
"Let's go," Pei Junwu said coldly, turning to leave first. Yan Minyu moved her lips unwillingly, as if she still had many questions to ask, but was pulled out by the furious Tuoba Yuanxun.
In an instant, only the two of them remained in the room. Xiao Yuan angrily shook off his arm that was pinning her down. "Yi Chunjun!" she growled in a low voice, somewhat annoyed.
Pei Junwu's indifferent reaction made her both angry and disappointed.
"I did it on purpose." He turned his head to look at her with a slight smile, his eyes deep.
She angrily raised her hand to hit him, but he grabbed it effortlessly. "Let go!" she said with deep resentment.
"You smell so good, I love this scent. I wonder if I could smell good too if I held you all night?" He ignored her anger and laughed to himself.
"Yi Chunjun!" She was really angry.
He stopped laughing and looked at her intently, as if bewitching her, "How could I bear to let you sleep on the floor?"
She looked into his eyes and sneered, "Do you think I'd believe you're that kind? If you couldn't bear it, you could have let me sleep in the bed from the start."
“Xiao Yuan…” he smiled and frowned, “You’re so boring. Girls aren’t cute if they act like you.”
"I'm not cute to begin with. What exactly do you want?" Although she didn't understand him, she knew all too well that he wouldn't do something inexplicable without a reason.
“Pei Junwu…” Sure enough, his face darkened and his smile vanished, even his eyes turned cold.
She was taken aback.
“His love is still too cold; it needs the fire of jealousy to warm it up. I'll be the one who starts that fire. Once his heart is warm, Xiao Yuan, it will be your turn.”
She looked at him coldly; sure enough, he wasn't someone who worked for free.
Chapter 19 of "The Smiling Flower": Understanding Men Very Well
The road to Pei Family Village was much busier than usual, with carriages carrying gifts, servants escorting the gifts, galloping cavalry, and all sorts of well-dressed martial arts figures... Because they were all martial artists, they seemed even more imposing and a mixed bag.
Pei Junwu sat in a roadside teahouse, coldly watching them pass by in their commotion, and expressionlessly took a sip of tea. They were all people with delusions of grandeur!
Yan Minyu and Tuoba Yuanxun, those two carefree men, were still as happy as ever, pointing and gossiping about the passing martial arts figures with great enthusiasm. They knew very little about the Central Plains martial arts world, and couldn't recognize who was who at all; they simply judged people by their appearance and demeanor.
"I've noticed, how come there are so many young gentlemen? And they're all quite good-looking!" Yan Minyu stared at the young men walking by with a blissful expression, as if she had struck gold.
Some rode tall horses, leading the way, while others strolled by with an elegant retinue of guards, all striking a pose. Still others walked by alone, weapons in hand, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.
Xiao Juyuan lowered her head, feeling both proud and shy.