Wen Wuyou's half - tied blue hair cascaded down his back. His hair was like himself, tough yet gentle. As it fluttered in the wind, it exuded an air of laziness and nonchalance.
His upturned fox - like eyes squinted slightly. "Take a guess."
Qu Yue turned around and walked up to the three of them. Admiration shone in her peach - blossom eyes. "Actually, it was Mu Wang who discovered it."
Let's rewind to last night.
After Mu Wang leaned against the door and fell asleep, that strong fragrance lingered in his nose and refused to go away. It even made him feel faintly nauseous.
The excessive discomfort sparked his stubbornness. With a snort, he got up from the ground. He decided that he would stay awake all night if necessary to find out where the smell was coming from!
His efforts paid off. As he crouched down and searched along the door crack, a half - burnt incense stick came into his view.
The person who placed the incense was extremely clever. To hide the white smoke produced during the burning process, they had specially placed a filter.
It was precisely this detail that made Mu Wang sense something was amiss.
If Qu Yue had lit the incense herself, she would never have placed it from the outside, let alone at such a tricky angle.
His face set, he picked up the incense stick on the ground and slowly walked to Qu Yue's bedside.
The over - tired woman was in a deep sleep. A summer quilt embroidered with lovely patterns covered her abdomen. Her close - fitting corset was light pink, contrasting with her fair skin.
The corset straps hung on her slender collarbones, rising and falling with her breathing, as if a fragrance was wafting out.
This scene overlapped with what he had seen that night in the mourning hall. Every curve of the woman's graceful figure seemed to be carefully carved by the Goddess Nuwa. She was stunningly beautiful.
Mu Wang's mind went blank. His mouth went dry, and the summer heat was instantly ignited.
That fragrance tugged at his consciousness. He almost stepped forward uncontrollably, but then suddenly stepped back when he realized it was inappropriate.
He raised his voice. "Qu Yue!"
The sleeping woman was suddenly awakened. It was as if a heavy hammer had struck her heart. She let out a frightened moan.
She opened her eyes forcefully and saw Mu Wang standing a few meters away, holding a half - burnt incense stick with his back to her.
She was confused and tried hard to calm the fear that welled up from her chest.
After making sure she had regained her composure, she softly said, "Hm?"
"What's going on?"
Mu Wang's body was half - stiff. "I found this at your door."
His tone was harsh, and each word seemed to be forced out.
"I didn't light any incense," Qu Yue said as she threw off the quilt and got out of bed. She gently grabbed the outer robe hanging beside the bed and walked towards Mu Wang curiously.
She bent down and stared at the incense stick. "Did you find it at my door?"
Mu Wang could clearly smell Qu Yue's fragrance wafting towards him again. He replied hoarsely.
"Yes."
Qu Yue's attention was completely focused on the incense. She even ignored the fact that Mu Wang was in her room.
The incense stick was still emitting white smoke. The smell wasn't unpleasant, but it made one feel dizzy.
She said seriously, "I didn't light this."
"It seems your parents couldn't hold back anymore," Mu Wang said as he retracted his outstretched hand and took a few steps towards the door. He twirled the incense stick.
"But it doesn't seem to be poisonous," Qu Yue asked softly. "What's the purpose of them putting it here?"
Mu Wang frowned tightly. His young and heroic face showed a seriousness beyond his age.
Qu Yue stole several glances at him.
She inexplicably felt a sense of security from him.
But the next second, the young man who had given her a sense of security roared at her angrily. "What time is it? Why aren't you going to sleep yet?"
"?"
Qu Yue's cute cheeks were still flushed from sleep, looking like a lovely porcelain doll with a touch of rouge. "Didn't you wake me up?"
Confusion filled her watery eyes, and she was at a loss.
Mu Wang scolded angrily, "You wake up just because I tell you to? Why are you so obedient to me? I'm warning you, don't have any inappropriate thoughts about me!"
Qu Yue was so stunned by the scolding that she stood there motionless, breathing very shallowly.
She didn't have any other thoughts...
A sense of grievance welled up in her heart. Her eyes turned red, and she looked extremely pitiful.
Mu Wang only glanced back once and immediately panicked.
He almost broke the incense stick in his hand. Realizing his mistake, he quickly put it on the table.
He hesitated and reached out his hand to comfort Qu Yue, but she subconsciously dodged in fear.
Qu Yue sniffled. "I won't..."
Then she rushed back to the bed without even taking off her outer robe and buried herself under the quilt.
Mu Wang stared at the trembling lump on the bed. His hand, which was still in mid - air, didn't retract for a long time.
Had he said too much?
But who told Qu Yue to have such thoughts!
Mu Wang licked his lips and made dozens of excuses for himself, but none of them could ease the guilt in his heart.
His gaze stopped on the incense stick on the table.
Forget it!
He owed her this!
He would definitely find out the truth about this incense stick tonight!
Mu Wang rubbed his nose with his fingertips. "I'm going out to look for something."
Then he picked up the incense stick on the table and rushed out of the room.
Qu Yue listened to the sound of the door opening and closing. After making sure Mu Wang had left, she poked her head out from under the quilt.
The air in the summer quilt was stuffy. Her face was flushed, and her hair was wet and stuck to her fair skin. Drops of sweat dripped onto the bed curtain.
She was still angry but didn't dare to shout. She just kicked the quilt twice. "I hate you, Mu Wang!"
But when she looked for the incense stick on the table again, it was gone.
The next time she saw Mu Wang, he was carrying a big bag of herbs.
At that time, she was tossing and turning in bed. When the door creaked open, her eyes met Mu Wang's clean almond - shaped eyes.
At that moment of eye contact, she felt numb all over and froze in bed. Her heartbeats quickened with a hint of shyness.
Mu Wang wasn't any better.
The foot that hadn't fully stepped into the room hit the threshold because of that glance. He almost fell into the room with the herb bag in his arms.
He flailed his arms in the air and fell onto the table clumsily. The hard table corner hit his abdomen, and he grimaced in pain.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Qu Yue snickering on the bed. He gasped and ordered, "Stop looking. Come and give me a hand..."
"Okay."
Qu Yue stopped laughing, put on her shoes, and quickly walked towards Mu Wang.
She helped him sit on the stool and thoughtfully poured him a glass of water.
After doing all this, afraid that Mu Wang would misunderstand her again, she immediately took a step back.
Mu Wang, who thought they had just broken the ice: "..."
He clicked his tongue. "Do you have to be so stubborn with me? Why are you being so rude?"
Qu Yue's beautiful eyes widened in surprise. "I'm not..."
Why was she being scolded even though she was doing as he said?
After he recovered from the pain, he snorted and picked up the incense stick. "I even went around the streets to find out where this incense stick came from for you."
Qu Yue was shocked. She took a step forward. "You went to ask about this?"
"Otherwise?" Mu Wang slapped the herbs wrapped in paper on the table. "Do you think I'm going to eat these by myself?"
As he said, he untied the string on the herbs.
Qu Yue followed closely and leaned forward. The strong smell of the herbs rushed towards her, making her lungs itch. She sniffed uncomfortably and suddenly raised her head to sneeze.
Mu Wang also leaned in to smell. He didn't expect Qu Yue to raise her head. As she moved, their noses almost touched. They were only inches apart.
"Achoo—"