Chen Tingfeng was dragged to a gathering and wouldn't be back for a while.
Fu Zhen and Xie Ruogu sat chatting idly for a moment. Seeing that it was about time, they got up and walked outside.
"Aren't you waiting for your cousin?" Xie Ruogu teased.
Fu Zhen couldn't wait to stay as far away from Chen Tingfeng as possible, but she couldn't show it on her face. She hesitated for a moment, seemingly a bit indecisive.
Xie Ruogu laughed and accompanied Fu Zhen downstairs. "Just joking. You don't need to wait for him. He probably won't be able to get away for a while."
When friends gather, they usually like to drink until they're tipsy. It seems that they won't have enough fun if they're not drunk.
There are also small groups in the academy. Chen Tingfeng, as the heir of the marquis's mansion and on good terms with the second prince, is the object that everyone tries to curry favor with. Xu Chongguang is one of the most attentive ones.
He is usually close to Chen Tingfeng and is very tactful. Although Chen Tingfeng doesn't pay much attention to him, he still has to give him some face.
Fu Zhen seemed to be fascinated as she listened to Xie Ruogu talking softly. She didn't notice a puddle of water that hadn't dried on the stairs and stepped right on it. Suddenly, her feet slipped.
"Ah!" She let out a cry of surprise. Her body instantly lost balance and she seemed about to roll down the stairs.
She closed her eyes in fear, preparing herself for a hard fall down the stairs. The next second, her waist tightened. She was like a kite with its string pulled and was pulled into someone's arms.
Before she could react, she heard a cold voice from above. "What are you doing?"
Fu Zhen opened her eyes in shock, her face as pale as paper. She looked up and met Chen Tingfeng's cold eyes.
For a moment, he seemed to overlap with the one in her dream.
The next moment, there was a force on her waist. He helped her stand steady and then let go.
"Are you okay?" Xie Ruogu asked her with a bit of concern.
Fu Zhen came to her senses and shook her head. She covered her chest with both hands. With her pale face and slightly red eyes, she looked extremely pitiful.
Xie Ruogu frowned and glanced at the water on the ground. Then he looked at Chen Tingfeng above the stairs, who looked like the King of Hell. He couldn't help but let out a soft "tsk".
"There's water on the ground. Your cousin didn't stand firmly. I just helped her." Xie Ruogu waved his folding fan, making it rattle. "It's an understandable situation. Stop pulling such a long face. Look at how scared your cousin is."
Chen Tingfeng's eyes were deep. He looked at the pitiful Fu Zhen as if he could see into her heart. Fu Zhen turned her head away and didn't meet his gaze anymore.
He slowly walked down the stairs. When he reached Fu Zhen's side, he stopped. Fu Zhen heard him say, "Let's go home."
After saying that, he left first.
Fu Zhen pursed her lips and thanked Xie Ruogu beside her. "Thank you, sir, for saving me."
Seeing Chen Tingfeng's cold attitude and Fu Zhen's frightened look at the moment, Xie Ruogu couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for her. He comforted her. "Don't be afraid. If your cousin blames you when you get back, just push it on me. He won't dare to do anything to me."
"Also, what should you call me? If you say it wrong, I won't let you go." He said deliberately.
Fu Zhen was amused by his teasing words. She called out softly, "Brother Xie."
Her voice was soft and hoarse. Xie Ruogu was stunned by this call. He felt as if a feather had brushed across his heart, leaving a slight itch.
He coughed to suppress the itch. Seeing that Fu Zhen was gradually relaxing, he smiled and said goodbye to her. "That's right. Well, go back quickly."
Fu Zhen bowed to him. The green earrings brushed across her long, fair neck, like a green lake in the snow, so beautiful that it was hard to look away.
After she left, Xie Ruogu suddenly woke up. He couldn't help but pat his forehead and murmured, "She's Shaochuan's sister. Wake up, will you?"
When Fu Zhen walked out of the door, she saw Chen Tingfeng sitting on his horse, looking down at her.
She hated being looked at like this.
She lowered her eyes and got into the carriage on her own.
The carriage started to sway. Chen Tingfeng rode his horse beside the carriage. Through the swaying curtain, his face was faintly visible.
The two of them were silent, as if engaged in an invisible contest. The atmosphere became a bit tense for a moment.
I don't know how long it had passed when Chen Tingfeng's cold voice came. "Stay away from him."
Fu Zhen knew right away who he was talking about. The stone that had been hanging in her heart finally fell to the ground. He had indeed noticed. He had noticed that she wanted to get close to Xie Ruogu.
She suddenly felt it was a bit ridiculous.
In the past few days, she hadn't failed to sense Chen Tingfeng's subtle hostility. She didn't know where it came from, but it seemed to start after that day when they talked about their sweethearts in the main courtyard.
She had felt it, but she didn't care.
After losing the obsession of marrying him, in her eyes, he was just a cousin she had known for a short time. If they could get along well, that would be great. If not, she would just keep her distance.
But he just had to provoke her!
"I don't understand what you mean, cousin." She said softly.
"Cousin is intelligent. Some things, why do I have to say them clearly?" Chen Tingfeng turned his head to look at her. His cold gaze was like slanting sunlight, light but stinging, as if it could penetrate the curtain and reach into her heart.
Fu Zhen lowered her eyes and looked at the dancing sunlight spots in the carriage. She replied indifferently, "Cousin is joking. I'm new here and ignorant. If I've done anything wrong, I hope cousin will forgive me. When we get back to the mansion, I'll go to aunt to plead guilty myself."
In other words, her affairs were not up to Chen Tingfeng to interfere with.
Chen Tingfeng's words were retorted by her neither too harshly nor too gently. He looked at her deeply. "Some people are not someone you can provoke, cousin."
"Some things are not up to you, cousin." Fu Zhen said.
Chen Tingfeng suddenly let out a laugh. He looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, with a bit of mockery in his tone. "Cousin is really bold."
It wasn't enough for her to seduce that hunter in the countryside. Now that she was in the capital, she even wanted to get close to the second prince.
Ridiculous.
He didn't look at her anymore. He spurred his horse slightly, and the horse galloped away, leaving only a distant back.
Fu Zhen suddenly clenched her fists tightly. Her neatly trimmed nails dug deeply into her palms, but she seemed not to feel the pain. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to suppress the anger surging in her chest.
After a while, she loosened her clenched hands and slowly opened her eyes.
Back then in the countryside, her mother died suddenly and her biological father was an alcoholic. At that time, everyone was laughing at her and pitying her, saying that she definitely wouldn't survive and might as well get married early because of her good looks.
But she refused!
She managed to survive on her own.
Pretending to be stupid, acting pitiful and innocent to gain sympathy. All these methods that others thought were unseemly had actually paved a way for her to survive.
She couldn't stop others from laughing at her, so she could only grit her teeth and live better, so that others would no longer dare to laugh at her but instead be jealous of her.
She, Fu Zhen, was never a weak person who complained about her fate!
She reached out to catch the a bit scorching sunlight. Looking at the floating dust in the air, a hint of determination flashed in her eyes.
If he didn't want her to do it, she would do it anyway.
She was determined to cling to the second prince, this powerful backer!