Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
The so-called banquet made Qin Yi very uncomfortable.
Because Mang Zhan kept staring at him with his protruding eyes, as though he was ready to swallow Qin Yi whole. No one could enjoy their meal when being stared at like that. To make things worse, Donghuazi glanced in Qin Yi’s direction every now and then, giving him the creeps.
Liusu smirked. “You’re such an idiot.”
Since Qin Yi couldn’t talk back, he could only tap the other end of the spiked club to express his discontent.
Liusu said, “Quit flicking me. Go flick that barbarian.”
Qin Yi rolled his eyes and thought, “I’d love to flick Donghuazi until his eyeballs fall out, but that’s not going to happen today!”
Liusu seemed to have read his mind and went on smirking. “The formalities of mortal men are so boring and hypocritical. If he’s staring at you, why don’t stare back? Even if you have to play by the rules, you can still try to take advantage of the rules. Everything in this world should be treated as a game—it’s not like you have family members to take care of like an ordinary human being. Nothing is holding you back, so what’s the point of living if you can’t live an unrestrained life?”
Something clicked in Qin Yi’s head. He thought he had responded to Donghuazi very appropriately, but after what Liusu said, he suddenly found his reply very boring.
Talk about different mindsets…
Anyone who could treat life on earth as a game was either in prison or was an immortal.
However, those were still some very provocative words. Qin Yi had to admit that something had woken up inside him. After all, who wouldn’t want to live a carefree and unrestrained life?
Just then, Li Qingjun leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I think something is wrong…”
“Huh?” Qin Yi was a little confused at first. “What’s wrong?”
“I think…” Li Qingjun’s cheeks slowly turned pink. “I think they’ve mistaken you for my, you know…”
Seriously? You just noticed that? Your savage suitor has probably killed me a thousand times in his head already! Qin Yi thought, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry. But he was also fully aware of the fact that the two of them weren’t that close yet, so it was only normal that Li Qingjun might be bothered by the idea. He didn’t want to lose her as his friend, so he replied in a whisper, “Let’s just fool Mang Zhan first. I’ll try to explain to the king later.”
Li Qingjun shifted away and looked displeased. “Aren’t you ashamed for being mistaken as my special friend?”
Huh? Did I say something wrong again? Qin Yi cried out inwardly and immediately tried to make it up. “To tell you the truth, I’m secretly happy… I just don’t want to ruin your reputation.”
“Secretly happy?” Li Qingjun moved farther away from him like she had just heard something highly inappropriate. “What indecent ideas are you forming in your head now?”
Qin Yi really wanted to scream now. The girl had seemed very reasonable a moment ago. Was it that time of the month for her now?
Li Qingjun didn’t keep her gaze on him for very long before she lost focus. She then whispered, “I know you’re indifferent to fame and don’t care for competition. I thought you could just live a casual life at my brother’s house and we could go to you when we needed your help, but because of me, you can’t have a quiet life anymore.”
Something clicked in Qin Yi’s head and he blurted out, “I do.”
Li Qingjun’s eyes seemed to become even more unfocused, and she only looked into his eyes without saying a word.
Maybe neither of them liked the other well enough to form a romantic relationship, but after what happened today, their relationship had changed and they could no longer remain simple friends who admired each other in a platonic way.
Liusu heaved a sigh.
Qin Yi heard it, and it reminded him of how his parents used to sigh when they watched the most cliche moments of a soap opera.
He then heard a crack which gave him the impression of a director who just shouted “cut”. Turning around, he saw that Mang Zhan had crushed a wine cup in his hand. His eyes were opened so wide that they were bloodshot.
Qin Yi was baffled. He had thought Mang Zhan only wanted to marry Li Qingjun for political needs. As it turned out, Mang Zhan’s affection was somewhat genuine.
Li Qingjun turned to look at Mang Zhan as well and sneered at him. Her eyes were filled with contempt and rage. She didn’t simply refuse to marry him; she considered Mang Zhan to be her brother’s murderer.
Recalling the speech Liusu gave him earlier, Qin Yi asked in a low voice, “Doesn’t it feel good to see him pissed?”
Li Qingjun looked at him and seemed to take the hint. With a half-smile on her face, she asked, “What do you have in mind?”
“Let me try this…” Qin Yi tentatively reached for her hand.
Pursing her lips, Li Qingjun obediently put her hand in his and gently held it.
Qin Yi had held her by the waist a few times already and the atmosphere was much more intimate when they were in that cave, but strangely, today was the first time the two of them were holding hands, and Li Qingjun felt as though an electric current was running through her body. The temperature of her cheeks rose rapidly, and she couldn’t meet him in the eye anymore. She had to look away, but she was already blushing profusely. Even her neck had turned pink.
Thump! Mang Zhan slammed his wine pot on the table.
The loud noise made all heads turn. The king had been making small talk with Mang Zhan’s entourage and his face darkened when he was startled by the noise and turned to see what it was about. “I see, this is how polite the people of Xihuang are.”
Mang Zhan was so furious that he was shaking from head to toe. Qin Yi wondered if a weaker man would die of a heart attack right on the spot.
“Keep my mind open. Got it.” Qin Yi felt very satisfied.
Li Qingjun was very happy as well and held Qin Yi’s hand tighter.
Only Liusu knew those words were intended for it, but it only chuckled without saying another word.
…
“Brother Qin.” At the end of the banquet, Li Qinglin stopped Li Qingjun and Qin Yi, who were trying to slip away through a side door.
Li Qingjun quickly drew back her hand, lowered her head, and rubbed the tip of her shoe against the floor.
Qin Yi rubbed his hands awkwardly and said, “We only did that to irritate Mang Zhan.”
But that wasn’t why Li Qinglin was there. Instead, he said solemnly, “You have to go back with me. If you wander the streets all by yourself or go off on a date with my sister, I’m afraid you won’t live to see another sunrise.”
Qin Yi was reminded of the danger he was facing and turned more serious. “Thank you for the reminder. I was being careless.”
Li Qinglin then beckoned a team of guards over and said, “Escort the princess back to her residence. If anything happens, shoot a signal arrow into the sky.”
Li Qingjun suddenly didn’t feel like leaving Qin Yi. She wondered why she felt that way, since they saw each other every day.
But she wasn’t the clingy type and didn’t let her emotions show. Instead, she only took a deep breath and said quietly, “See you tomorrow.” She promptly left after that.
After the guards and Li Qingjun left, Li Qinglin led a team of men himself and went back to his residence with Qin Yi.
“My father sleeps early now. If this were before, you would still be talking to him now.” Li Qinglin started talking after walking for a while. “He’s definitely going to summon you tomorrow morning, so be prepared.”
“I see.” Qin Yi then asked, “Is there anything I should pay special attention to?”
“Don’t try to talk him out of taking those pills directly, because that’ll only make him unhappy. You can decide the rest yourself. After all, I’m not the expert in cultivation here.” Li Qinglin suddenly chuckled. “Judging by how you handled Donghuazi today, I see you can think like a politician, so you won’t need any reminders from me.”
“I certainly can’t think like a politician…” Qin Yi said with resignation. “You’ve given me this task on short notice, and I had to face Donghuazi without any preparation. I was so careful and only spoke after I had rehearsed those words in my head repeatedly.”
Li Qinglinn smiled. “Thanks to my short notice, you and Qingjun are much closer now.”
“Well…” Qin Yi paused and sighed. “Brother Li, I think I do owe you a thank you, but I still have to tell you this: Qingjun had no idea what she was getting into when she led a man into that hall. If I’m not a suitable man for her, you’re going to ruin her life.”
“As long as she doesn’t marry a man of Xihuang, I’m fine with it. I don’t have any energy to spare to think about other things.”
“Meaning you’re not actually concerned about Qingjun’s happiness. Xihuang is your top priority.”
“To be more precise, Nanli is my top priority,” Li Qinglin said indifferently. “I think Brother Qin knows a lot of things, so don’t ask childish questions like Night Wing does.”
Qin Yi sighed. “It’s because of the things I know that I had to ask. I need to know if you really care about Qingjun, or if you’re the ‘frenemy’ kind of brother. I know the answer now, so everything is fine.”
Li Qinglin was bewildered. “What’s ‘frenemy’?”
“Well…” After some thought, Qin Yi said, “Just think of it like fake flowers made from silk.”
“Silk flowers?” Li Qinglin looked up at the sky and was lost in thought for a moment. He then chuckled. “That sounds nice, actually. Those flowers are as pretty as real ones, and they won’t wither.”