Chapter Seventeen: You Look So Handsome

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Pei Zhouwu scanned the area anxiously for any sign of her, but as expected—disappointment filled his gaze.

That wave of panic surged up again.

He hurried ashore, praying she was still somewhere in the mountains. If so, there was still hope of finding her.

But if she had already descended… then there was nothing more he could do.

The forest stretched endlessly in all directions—so many paths, so many exits. Which one had she taken?

Just as he fretted, he caught a glimpse of a staggering figure in the woods.

That figure—especially that pale yellow color—was incredibly familiar. The clothes he had dried all night yesterday were that exact shade of yellow.

He quickly stepped forward, entering the forest.

When Liu Fuying saw him, her face was filled with shock.

Pei Zhouwu, striding toward her with fierce momentum, looked almost intimidating. She took a step back—then lost her balance and fell.

His expression shifted at once.

He sped up and crouched in front of her. “Where are you hurt?”

Her staggering steps just now had already revealed she was injured.

And as he’d suspected, she had gone to check the traps—he could tell just by the two wild rabbits in her hands.

“You… why are you…”

“You want to ask why I came out?” Pei Zhouwu’s face was stern, his gaze sharp. “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving? Didn’t it occur to you that I’d be worried? If I had known, I would rather have never saved you in the first place.”

Whether she’d thought so before didn’t matter—what mattered was that now she knew.

Pei Zhouwu’s concern had clearly exceeded what she expected.

He had actually left the pond to find her.

Last time had been different—he’d simply escorted her out and quickly returned.

But today, he had deliberately come to look for her. How could he have known where she went? If he stayed out too long, the guards would surely notice.

Pei Zhouwu was always calm—his words, his expression, even his actions were always steady and measured.

She never imagined that once he became passionate… he would be like this.

“I’m sorry… when I woke up and didn’t see you, I thought you were sleeping in the front hall. I didn’t dare go over or call out for fear the guards would hear me. It’s hot today—if I didn’t deal with the game quickly, it’d spoil and we couldn’t eat it, so…”

“I’m sorry.”

Her voice was soft as she lowered her head to apologize. The genuine remorse in her words washed away the anger that had built up in Pei Zhouwu’s chest.

He sighed and took the rabbits from her, sniffing to make sure they hadn’t gone bad.

“You set that trap two mountains over?” he asked teasingly, trying to ease the tension.

“No, I didn’t.”

Liu Fuying peeked up at him, then quickly lowered her eyes again.

She looked so pitiful—it tugged at his heart.

“It wasn’t far, just beyond the woods.”

“Then why were you gone so long?”

In a small voice, she explained, “The trap wasn’t far, but I went looking for wild onions and herbs to season the meat. They’re not easy to find… I slipped and twisted my ankle while searching.”

She tugged at her skirt to cover the swollen foot.

“It’s much better now. Earlier, it hurt so bad I couldn’t take a single step… I even cried out of frustration.”

Hearing she cried from anger at herself, even the last of Pei Zhouwu’s sternness melted away.

He wasn’t angry anymore—but he couldn’t quite smile either.

All that was left… was helplessness.

“I’m a grown man, yet somehow I’ve ended up relying on you to hunt and feed me.”

Though his tone was joking, Liu Fuying could tell—and deliberately pretended not to notice. She tugged gently at his sleeve, her voice soft and pleading, tears shimmering in her eyes.

“Don’t be mad anymore… I know I was wrong.”

With her acting like this, how could anyone stay mad?

Pei Zhouwu turned his back to her and said, “Enough. Let’s go home.”

His posture made it clear—he was going to carry her.

“Can you move?” he asked again.

“Yes, I can.”

Liu Fuying quickly sat up and lunged toward him. The twisted ankle was a lie—she had only come up with it when she heard the splash in the pond and guessed he had come looking for her.

She carefully and sweetly took the wild rabbits from his hands.

“You’ve got your hands full. Let me carry these.”

Then she climbed onto his back, one hand holding the rabbits, the other wrapping around his neck.

Pei Zhouwu’s wrists were bound with iron chains, but they were just long enough for him to support her legs.

He rose and began retracing their steps through the forest.

Liu Fuying’s attention, however, was all on his hair—or more specifically, the hairpin in it.

It was the firefly-wood hairpin she had given him.

He was actually wearing it. Last night, she had seen he was wearing a different one.

She smiled secretly to herself. Hairpins really did depend on the person. Even a simple wooden one looked extraordinary in Pei Zhouwu’s hair.

As they neared the pond, Liu Fuying’s gaze drifted from the hairpin to his neck.

She could see the steady rhythm of his pulsing veins—and her heart began to match that rhythm.

“You look really handsome,” she murmured.

Pei Zhouwu was puzzled. “What looks handsome?”

“The hairpin. And the person wearing it is even more handsome.”

He paused slightly, realizing she was referring to the wooden hairpin he had put on that morning after much hesitation.

Though she’d given it to him long ago, this was the first time he had worn it.

He had done it to comfort her—knowing she carried heavy worries in her heart. He hoped it would bring her a little joy.

From her cheerful tone now, it seemed he had succeeded.

He couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“If it was a gift from you, why didn’t you say so earlier? I thought you left it by accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident.” Liu Fuying smiled, breathing in the fresh scent of spring water from his body. “I made it especially for you. I just… I was afraid you’d dislike it and wouldn’t accept it, so I didn’t dare say anything.”

“I’m already in this state, and you haven’t rejected me. How could I possibly reject you?”

“That’s not how you should speak about yourself.”

Her arms tightened slightly around his neck—she was clearly moved, unwilling to let him belittle himself.

“You were once a brilliant and shining son of the heavens. Everything they said was slander—it doesn’t count. But me… I’m just low-born. A person like you, I never should’ve had the chance to meet in my whole life. I’m not worthy.”

Pei Zhouwu continued walking in silence for a while.

Clearly, he didn’t like hearing her say that.

“If you say such things again, then don’t bother coming back.”

“No!” Liu Fuying clung to him even tighter, hurriedly pleading, “I was wrong—I won’t say it again.”