Chapter 19

“Sister……”

After Ye Rui said it, the roots of her teeth almost ached. Looking at the increasingly smug smile on Xie Tinglan’s face, she suddenly had the urge to bite her.

Ye Rui thought darkly to herself: I’m a grown woman in my thirties; how did I end up calling Xie Tinglan “sister”?! Don’t think having white hair makes you a sister. I’m so pissed!

Xie Tinglan was thoroughly satisfied. She took a sheet of white paper and lifted her brush, writing a single character on it. “Today, I’ll teach you this one.”

“What?”

Ye Rui was speaking through gritted teeth now. Looking at the elegant yet unfamiliar character on the paper, she just couldn’t focus.

“Good girl~”

Ye Rui: “……”

After practicing her writing, Ye Rui went back to her room to rest for a bit. But just as she closed the door, Ri Xi arrived.

“What is it, Ri Xi?”

Ye Rui was going to rest for a while before practicing fists again, and Ri Xi rarely came to disturb her during that time. Ri Xi was holding several sets of clothing and said with a smile, “I came to bring you a few hunting outfits for the expedition.”

Ye Rui froze for a moment and took them with a blank look. For some reason, a strange suspicion suddenly flashed through her mind. “She told you that this quickly?”

“Hm?”

Ri Xi looked puzzled. Ye Rui added, “That I’m going with her on the hunt.”

“The Lord told me three days ago. Is something wrong?”

As soon as Ri Xi finished speaking, Ye Rui forced out a smile. Her beautiful eyes blinked strangely; taking a deep breath, she said, “Nothing. Thank you, Ri Xi.”

After seeing Ri Xi off, Ye Rui closed the door and nearly couldn’t stop herself from shouting that Xie Tinglan was a bastard—!

She’d been played again!! Ye Rui slapped the hunting clothes onto the table and poured herself a cup of tea, gulping down several mouthfuls as if trying to douse the fire in her chest.

Hu Tu: 【You seem… like you can’t beat her!】

Ye Rui puffed out her cheeks and exhaled. 【I just don’t have as many twists and turns in my head as she does!】

Hu Tu: 【Then bring out the scheming you used to have at the company!】

Ye Rui wanted to, but all that old cunning had been used on competitors and that devil of a boss. Xie Tinglan wasn’t her competitor, and she didn’t acknowledge Xie Tinglan as her boss either; there was nowhere to use those tricks.

Hu Tu: 【Is there a possibility?】

Ye Rui: 【What?】

Hu Tu: 【That you can’t bear to be sneaky with her?】

Ye Rui: 【Bullshit!! What do you mean I can’t bear it?!】

Ye Rui felt wronged to death, and now Hu Tu was about to anger her to death too. She had even called that woman “sister” for nothing!

Yet after that, Xie Tinglan acted as if nothing had happened. She did what she needed to do, said what she needed to say, and that one “sister” seemed never to have existed. Still, Ye Rui knew Xie Tinglan remembered it; whenever Ye Rui was learning to write that character for “good,” Xie Tinglan would always look at her with a playful, teasing expression.

Bad woman!!

No, I’m going to curse her in a circle!

“How do you write your name?”

Ye Rui had already looked twice at the plaque hanging above the main gate, which read “Xie Residence.” She could write the character for “Xie,” but she didn’t know the two characters for Tinglan. Once she learned them, she was absolutely going to curse this woman in a circle!

Xie Tinglan closed the official documents in her hands, raised an eyebrow at Ye Rui, then stood and walked behind her. Ye Rui immediately realized what Xie Tinglan was about to do, and her heartbeat seemed to skip for a moment. …Again?!

“You… you can just write it for me to see. I’ll learn it very quickly.”

No need to teach me hand over hand!

Xie Tinglan ignored her. She had already leaned in, and her long, cool fingers came to rest on Ye Rui’s hand. Probably because her injuries had almost completely healed, her body was no longer restricted in any movement; this time, Ye Rui could feel that Xie Tinglan leaned in far more than before, almost pressing against her back.

Yes, almost; as if there was still a little distance left, like the inexplicable flirtation between them every time, always separated by something.

“My name is a little hard to write. If you make it ugly, I’ll be angry.”

Xie Tinglan’s voice sounded clearly, one syllable at a time, by Ye Rui’s ear, making Ye Rui’s own ear twitch.

To be fair, Xie Tinglan’s voice really was lovely.

But after hearing what Xie Tinglan said, Ye Rui nearly laughed out loud. If there really were such a good opportunity, she would definitely write Xie Tinglan’s name as ugly as possible and piss her off to death!

Ye Rui was still scheming wickedly when Xie Tinglan had already taken her hand and started writing. “What are you thinking about? So distracted.”

Xie Tinglan sounded faintly amused, as if she’d come with the answer and was only asking the question anyway, like she was teasing a little dog.

Ye Rui had that feeling too, but how could Xie Tinglan possibly know what she was thinking? Impossible!

“I’m not distracted at all; I’m paying full attention.”

Hearing that, Xie Tinglan gave two soft laughs. By then, the character for “ting” was already finished. “Could it be you’re thinking about how to write my name in the ugliest way possible, so you can anger me?”

Ye Rui drew in a small sharp breath. She hadn’t wanted her reaction to be too obvious, but Xie Tinglan was too close; every breath she took, every reaction of every muscle, felt like it was under this person’s control.

At that instant, Ye Rui felt like she had no privacy at all.

“Not saying anything?”

Xie Tinglan’s movements paused. Her lips slowly approached Ye Rui’s ear, and the breath carrying a smile brushed against Ye Rui’s ear shell. “Your thoughts are written all over your face. What am I to do about that?”

Ye Rui froze completely. Her ear went hot and tingly, as if she’d been kissed. In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind. If she pushed Xie Tinglan away now, wouldn’t that be the same as admitting she’d been right and getting flustered out of embarrassment?

“How I write it is none of your business.”

After she said that, she thought Xie Tinglan would say something more, but there was nothing. Xie Tinglan continued writing the character for “lan,” then murmured in a voice with a trace of lingering tenderness, “Listening to the waves devour the remnants of the moon for ten thousand li; the surging blue swells and long winds enter the throat of battle.”

Though her tone was lingering and soft, the words themselves sounded as if she wanted to draw her sword and gather the whole world into her hands. This person was truly contradictory!

“That version of you has a bit too much killing intent.”

Ye Rui listened and even felt a little chilled, as if the monstrous ambition wrapped beneath that frail exterior had been peeled back by just those two lines, revealing a corner of it; that alone was enough to make a person tremble.

“Then tell me, how should it be?”

Xie Tinglan’s lips were almost touching Ye Rui’s ear. Yes, almost; there was always a sliver of space between them.

And yet that sliver of space made it impossible to let go. So this was the hook of the demon’s scythe called flirtation.

“I’m not you; how could I just spout poetry on command?”

Ye Rui really didn’t have that ability. Give her some time and maybe she could think of something. Xie Tinglan gave a light laugh and let go. The moment she drew away, it felt as if even the sense of disappointment had been pulled taut to its fullest.

“In that case, you owe me.”

“Owe you what?”

Ye Rui thought: how can this woman be calculating me every single moment of the day?

“Two lines of verse.”

Ye Rui: “……”

Bad woman!!

Ye Rui was in the mood to explode. She stared fixedly at the words “Tinglan” on the rice paper and suddenly had an idea. She added an extra dot to the three-dot water radical in “lan.”

“What is that for?”

Xie Tinglan didn’t understand. She didn’t know whether this person was deliberately trying to anger her, but she still wasn’t mad; she was simply more curious about what Ye Rui was thinking.

“This is cunning.”

Ye Rui pointed at the extra dot and snorted. “You just have one more bit of scheming than everyone else.”

Xie Tinglan: “……”

**

Half a month later, Xie Tinglan led her elite guards, Ri Xi, Yin Yue, and Ye Rui to the hunting grounds in the northern part of Yushan. This was only a small hunt; the Emperor would not be attending, so the highest-ranking person present was naturally the Empress, Helian Shaohua. Before departure, Ri Xi had also taught Ye Rui how to perform the palace salutations so she wouldn’t lose etiquette.

Ye Rui was thankful this wasn’t a kneeling salute; otherwise, she didn’t know how much mental preparation she’d need before she could get her knees to bend.

In the carriage, Xie Tinglan and Ri Xi were both present. Watching them read with such composure made Ye Rui feel out of place, and she kept lifting the curtain to look at the scenery outside.

She looked just like some little dog eager for freedom, curious about everything.

“In a while, when I get to the hunting grounds, is there anything else I should pay attention to?”

Ye Rui asked. This was her first time attending such an occasion. Although she was aiming to win first place in the hunt, Ri Xi had said there were many high officials of the current court present. Should she be avoiding certain people?

“Just be yourself.”

Xie Tinglan answered lightly. Then her gaze lifted from the book, and Ye Rui instinctively looked at the book in her hands.

It wasn’t going to be Two Beauties Play at Love again, was it?

At the thought of that book, Ye Rui couldn’t help feeling her face warm up. It was truly too humiliating; how had she ended up so confused as to buy an obscene book? She really had suffered for lacking culture.

“Relax; it’s not that one.”

Xie Tinglan once again punctured Ye Rui’s thoughts. Ri Xi on the side also looked up at the two of them, though she didn’t understand what “not that one” meant. Why did Ye Rui’s face turn red every time it came up?

But the question never got an answer.

Half an hour later, the carriage finally arrived outside the hunting grounds. Many other carriages were parked outside as well; there were at least ten, and many guards with sabers stood watch at the entrance. Ri Xi helped Xie Tinglan down from the carriage. All the guards outside were looking this way; when they saw Xie Tinglan alight, they all half-knelt, placing their right hands over their left chests as they silently saluted her.

The spectacle really did open Ye Rui’s eyes a little. Their movements were so synchronized that, for anyone who didn’t know better, it would be easy to think Xie Tinglan had personally trained them.

Soon after, men and women came out from inside the hunting grounds and bowed to Xie Tinglan. Xie Tinglan still said nothing. Since she didn’t speak, everyone maintained their saluting posture.

What was this all about?

Xie Tinglan lightly brushed at her sleeve, as if removing nonexistent dust, before saying, “No need for such courtesy. Has Her Majesty arrived?”

She looked left and right, searching for that especially distinctive phoenix carriage.

“Her Majesty has arrived. She has ordered this minister and the others to welcome Prime Minister Xie inside.”

A middle-aged man at the front answered Xie Tinglan. Ye Rui guessed his official rank must be just below Xie Tinglan’s.

“In that case, I, this prime minister, have been discourteous and should punish myself with three cups.”

That was what Xie Tinglan said, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of shame on her face. The way she looked at those officials was different; it was like a blazing fire, like... yes, like a hunter looking at prey.

There was even a touch of arrogance to it.

So this was another side of Xie Tinglan?

After entering the hunting grounds, they passed through heavy layers of guards. Yet inside the tent where the dignified, luxurious woman sat, there was only one calm-looking palace maid standing beside her.

At a glance, Ye Rui had a strong feeling that this palace maid was absolutely not simple.

What followed was a round of greetings and pleasantries. Helian Shaohua and Xie Tinglan sat down and chatted continuously. On the surface, they seemed to have a good relationship, but in truth every sentence was formal and distant. At first, Ye Rui thought so.

Until she noticed that whenever Helian Shaohua and Xie Tinglan spoke, there was always some inexplicable tacit understanding in the way their eyes met. Then Ye Rui felt their relationship was not simple at all.

It was definitely not as plain as it looked. On the surface, they seemed measured and proper, but there was an unspoken accord between them.

What kind of tacit understanding was that? How was there a hidden undercurrent others couldn’t see?

“Why are you staring at me all the time?”

Xie Tinglan turned her head and asked Ye Rui in a low voice. At that moment, Helian Shaohua also looked over. Ye Rui had been a little flustered at first, but then she thought, everyone was just people; what was there to panic about?

“I was just spacing out. I wasn’t staring at you.”

After hearing that, Helian Shaohua even raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Spacing out while looking at me?”

Xie Tinglan gave a low laugh. Ye Rui drew in a breath; she didn’t even care that her ears were heating up and said through clenched teeth, “Is that not allowed?”

This time, Helian Shaohua’s lips curved too.

Xie Tinglan beckoned with her hand. Ye Rui could only reluctantly lean down. Xie Tinglan immediately came close to her ear and spoke in a voice only Ye Rui could hear.

“Of course it is. If you want to space out… that’s fine too.”

Ye Rui: “!!!”

Author’s Note:

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Here I come~ There’ll be more on Friday too~ [dog head][dog head][gold heart][gold heart]

Next chapter is Friday; it’ll be available for V on Friday. After discussing it with my editor, I’ll put up the announcement, and there’ll be a ten-thousand-character drop on the day it goes V!

Love you all [dog head][dog head][red heart][red heart][heart][heart]