Without a second thought, Xiao Tian leaped out of the pool, grabbed the large towel from the nearby screen to wrap around himself, and ran out barefoot.
Yi Qing was lying on the ground, her right hand covering her right ankle and her left hand propping against the door. There was a pained look on her face.
But if Xiao Tian had looked closely, he would have noticed that her eyes were always on him.
Those well - defined muscles must feel so good to the touch, Yi Qing couldn't help thinking. But why, even after she had wailed so miserably, did he still remember to find a towel to cover his private parts?
She wanted to see his butt!
The scheme had failed. It was a bad start.
"Did you sprain your ankle?" Xiao Tian leaned over and asked, his hand tightly grasping the towel around his waist.
Yi Qing: "..."
She had an urge to reach out and pull the towel down, but she didn't, knowing that Xiao Tian would surely see through her.
"I'm fine," she said crossly. She stopped pretending, stood up quickly to tidy up the mess, and turned to leave.
Xiao Tian wondered: Was she still angry with him?
But was her foot really okay?
"Um..." He called out and suddenly realized that he was bare - chested. So he turned around and rushed in.
Yi Qing looked back and only saw his towel - wrapped butt facing her. It was a bit perky, which made her even more annoyed.
"Uncle Xiao, what's wrong with my mother?" Baozi had also climbed out of the pool and asked nervously.
"Nothing," Xiao Tian said with a slightly red face. Thinking that Yi Qing had seen him naked just now, he felt even hotter in the face. He mumbled, "Are you done washing? If so, let's go out. It's too hot in here."
"I'm done."
Meanwhile, Zi Su was asking Yi Qing, "You're back so soon? Have you confirmed it?"
"No, it failed," Yi Qing said crossly.
This Xiao Tian was so rigid!
She had cried out so miserably, but he had only focused on covering himself.
Would he lose a piece of flesh if she took a look?
Zi Su snorted, "I knew you underestimated the situation when you made it sound so easy."
Yi Qing: "..."
One should neither be conceited in victory nor discouraged in defeat. Another scheme was brewing after one had failed.
After Xiao Jinghan and Zi Su had a close - fought match with no clear winner, Yi Qing had begun to have some doubts about her speculation. But later, when Baozi mentioned Mrs. Fan and Xiao Tian's face turned ugly, Yi Qing's curiosity was piqued again.
She organized a barbecue.
Both Xiao Tian and Zi Su, being masters, were meat lovers, so they strongly supported this proposal.
Zi Su was cutting the meat with a dagger that could cut through iron like mud. The marbled deer meat flew out like snowflakes under her knife and landed precisely in the basin beside.
Yi Qing was skewering the meat with the prepared bamboo sticks, while Xiao Tian was squatting beside, starting the charcoal fire.
Baozi was sitting beside, chin in hand, watching. "Uncle Xiao, I think if we had a rack, you wouldn't be so tired," he said.
It looked tiring for Xiao Tian to be crouching like that.
Xiao Tian glanced at Yi Qing. "Someone insisted that this way of roasting was better," he said.
Yi Qing: "..."
If not this way, how could he "set himself on fire"?
No, no, no. It would be enough to set his pants on fire.
She planned to secretly flick a spark onto Xiao Tian's pants when he wasn't paying attention. Of course, she wouldn't let him get burned. She just wanted him to take off his pants...
But Xiao Tian was too cautious, and this operation was really technically difficult. In the end, everyone had a happy barbecue, and Xiao Tian still managed to keep his butt covered.
Zi Su, of course, mercilessly laughed at Yi Qing like the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves.
Yi Qing couldn't help but say, "When you were away, I always got my way with him. Obviously, you've been in the way since you came back."
Zi Su snorted. "I'll go visit Aunt Fan tomorrow. I'll give you a day. I'm waiting for the good news of your success."
Yi Qing: "Just you wait!"
She wracked her brains for a way. Remembering the sight of Xiao Tian's bare chest that day, the criss - crossing scars on his body, and the strong aura of masculinity, she quickly came up with a new idea.
"Where's Baozi?" Xiao Tian woke up early and found that Baozi was missing, so he came to ask Yi Qing.
Yi Qing was having breakfast. There was milky rice porridge, baked cakes, steamed buns, and half a dozen side dishes on the table. It was quite a sumptuous meal.
"He went out with Zi Su. Sit down and have breakfast with us?" she asked while stirring the milky rice porridge with a spoon.
Xiao Tian wasn't polite. He sat down opposite her, picked up a baked cake, and asked, "Where did they go?"
"I'm afraid you'll get angry if I tell you."
Xiao Tian: "..."
Wasn't this clearly telling him the answer?
Apart from going to Mrs. Fan's place, where else could make him angry?
"Xiao Tian," Yi Qing said slowly, "you once told me that your parents were both dead, right?"
Xiao Tian stared at her. His bright black eyes seemed to be trying to read something from hers. After a long while, he let out a soft "hmm" as an answer.
"Sigh, we're both poor kids without a mother's love."
Xiao Tian narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing. I'm just sighing. Look, we're both lacking love, and Mrs. Fan wants to love someone but can't find the right person. It's really the work of fate."
Xiao Tian obviously didn't want to talk about this topic, so he remained silent.
Yi Qing wasn't annoyed. Seeing that he had gulped down a bowl of porridge, she even stood up voluntarily to refill a bowl for him.
After breakfast, Xiao Tian returned to his room. But not long after, he felt something was wrong.
All over his body, especially the places with old injuries, itched unbearably. He really wanted to scratch.
It might happen on a cloudy or rainy day, but it had never been this obvious and even unbearable before.
He endured the itching and went to find Yi Qing.
Yi Qing was sunning the books. Seeing him come in as if there were ants crawling on his body, she secretly laughed but pretended to be surprised and concerned on the surface. "Xiao Tian, what's wrong with you?"
She casually pressed the books down with a long wooden ruler and patted the dust off her hands. "You don't look well."
"Yi Qing, I'm itching all over. Please help me find out what's going on."
As he spoke, Xiao Tian had already sat down at the stone table and rolled up his sleeves, revealing half of his strong and muscular forearms.
Yi Qing sat down beside him, pretending to feel his pulse. Then she said, "It's not a big deal. It's mainly because you've been injured too many times and haven't taken good care of yourself..."
Seeing that Xiao Tian didn't seem to believe her, she changed the subject. "It's mainly the stab wound you took for the emperor. Although it seemed to have healed on the surface, there are actually some after - effects."
"What after - effects?"
"It's not a very serious matter. This itching is one of the symptoms," Yi Qing said without any hesitation, making things up on the spot. "You know the dampness in the body, right? It's trying to get out, which causes the old wounds to itch."
"What should I do? Is there any medicine?" Xiao Tian squirmed uncomfortably, wishing he could take off his clothes and roll on the stone slab.
"Don't worry. You don't need medicine. I'll do acupuncture on you to drive out the dampness in your body," Yi Qing said. "Come on, follow me into the room."