Yi Qing was rendered speechless by Zi Su's retort. It was a while before she said, "You can't always take sides with others."
Zi Su snorted and replied, "To quote what you often say to Baozi, 'Spoiling you would only do you harm.'"
Yi Qing said, "… Thank you so much, Aunt Zi."
Zi Su said coquettishly, "You're no spring chicken and have a child to raise. It's rare for you to find such a kind - hearted hunk. If you're still so picky, why don't you just fly to the sky?"
Yi Qing argued, "This is a matter of respect and dignity. Do you understand?"
"When you weren't with Xiao Tian, I didn't see you being so concerned about your dignity. When you were trembling in front of the King of Qi, why didn't you talk about dignity?"
"The conversation is over," Yi Qing said coquettishly.
"Anyway, stop causing unnecessary trouble," Zi Su said. "Don't take advantage of an honest man. Know when to stop and don't go too far. Do you think Xiao Tian was exaggerating? If the news that you're in the medical clinic gets out, I can't say for sure, but there will definitely be three or five waves of assassins coming for you every day. Not to mention those who want to scheme against you and ruin the reputation of the General's Mansion. Once they hear you're there, they'll be like flies swarming around rotten meat…"
"Come up with a different analogy!" Yi Qing glared at her. She couldn't help but wonder if Xiao Tian's actions were not out of possessiveness but really for her safety.
If that was the case, the intention was acceptable, but his way of handling things still needed some adjustment.
Anyway, maybe she was a bit of a masochist. After being scolded by Zi Su, she actually thought that Xiao Tian was not completely hopeless.
Fine, she'd give him another chance and see how he behaved.
Of course, she also wanted to see how Xiao Tian would handle things next. A cold - war was definitely out of the question.
In short, thanks to Zi Su's unconventional persuasion, Yi Qing's anger had mostly subsided.
After Xiao Tian brought Baozi back, he didn't mention the thing that had made Yi Qing angry. He behaved as usual, calmly talking to her, having meals, and asking Baozi about what happened in the academy…
Yi Qing bit into a steamed bun and thought, fine, she'd just assume he was admitting his mistake out of guilt.
Although Yi Qing was sharp - tongued, she wasn't self - conceited. She could take other people's advice.
After putting Baozi to sleep, Xiao Tian gently knocked on Yi Qing's door.
Yi Qing was combing her hair in front of the mirror. When she heard his footsteps, the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up. At least he knew to come and admit his mistake. He wasn't completely hopeless.
But she quickly wiped the smile off her face and put on a cold expression in the mirror. "Come in," she said.
The dim yellow light cast Xiao Tian's slightly nervous figure onto the bronze mirror. Yi Qing saw it clearly and snickered to herself, but showed nothing on her face. Calmly, she asked, "It's so late. What do you want?"
To Xiao Tian, her long black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. The candlelight softened her cold and clear eyes and added a touch of charm to her.
Night was, by nature, an ambiguous time.
Yi Qing's fair hand held a peach - wood comb, moving it up and down, slowly combing her hair.
It was the most ordinary action, but somehow, she made it seem like a subtle tease.
Xiao Tian's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. Then he said, "Um, do you need me to help?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself. What had he just said!
To his surprise, Yi Qing just said "Mhm" and then turned around and held out the peach - wood comb to him.
Xiao Tian was stunned and didn't reach out to take it for a long time.
She said yes?
"If you don't want to help, forget it," Yi Qing shot him a sideways glance, half - coquettishly, half - angrily. She slowly pulled her hand back, looking extremely charming in the process.
Xiao Tian grabbed her wrist and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll do it."
"If you pull out a single hair, you'll pay for it," Yi Qing snorted and turned around, showing her back to him.
"Snapping" sound. The peach - wood comb in Xiao Tian's hand was accidentally broken into two pieces because of his nervousness.
He looked down at the broken comb in his hand, a bit dazed.
Yi Qing turned her head and glared at him. Disgruntled, she said, "You sure know how to get out of it. This way, you don't have to comb my hair, right?"
"No," Xiao Tian held the broken comb in his hand and sat down next to her. "I was too nervous. I was afraid you were still mad at me."
"I gave you a chance to make up for it, but you've made things worse."
"You're not mad anymore?" Xiao Tian was a straight - laced man, but not a fool. He could sense that Yi Qing was not as distant from him as when she was extremely angry before.
"I am mad," Yi Qing said. "I hate it when people make decisions on my behalf in the name of doing something good for me. Am I such an unreasonable and non - negotiable person?"
"You're not, but I'm still afraid of doing something wrong and making you mad. You never listen to my advice. In your heart, I'm probably not an indispensable part of your life. Like this afternoon, you were thinking about drawing a clear line from me, weren't you?"
At this point, Xiao Tian's voice became a bit solemn.
Yi Qing: "…"
Oh my! He's improved! He can even fight back!
Even if she did think so, she couldn't admit it.
If she didn't want to make up, it would be okay. But since she did, she would never admit that she had once considered backing out of this relationship.
No man could stand such contempt.
They couldn't bear it when women regarded them as dispensable. They liked it when women treated them as the most important person in the world.
The latter was beyond Yi Qing's ability, and she tried to avoid the former. At least she could pretend.
She didn't expect that after being with her for so long, Xiao Tian's skills had also improved.
"You'll definitely deny it, but that's what you were thinking," Xiao Tian said.
Yi Qing: "… You're just convicting me directly?"
"I don't want to hold you accountable, so it's not a conviction," Xiao Tian said. "You're just an ungrateful person. But there's nothing I can do. I've fallen into your trap and can't climb out."
Yi Qing laughed uncontrollably. "Really fallen in?"
"What do you think?" Xiao Tian said expressionlessly.
Yi Qing laughed and leaned on him.
Leaning on his shoulder, Yi Qing said, "Xiao Tian, let's be straightforward. We've both made mistakes, so let's call it even this time. But next time, if you want to do something like this, please discuss it with me first. Otherwise, I'll easily get mad."
And start to doubt life.
"I really didn't think this through," Xiao Tian admitted his mistake.
Fine, his attitude of admitting his mistake was okay. He passed.
However, Xiao Tian didn't seem to want to let her off easily. He said menacingly, "I know you always want to get out of this relationship unscathed. But let me tell you, Yi Qing, it's not going to be that easy. We can discuss right and wrong. I'll admit my mistakes and accept the punishment. But that doesn't mean I'll tolerate your fickleness. If you want to dump me, feel free to try."
By the end of his speech, his voice was full of harshness.
Yi Qing raised her eyebrows and looked at him. "Got stimulated?"
"Stop being so flippant. You can't get away with this easily, Yi Qing. You know what I'm talking about."