Font Size:
Xu Zhiqiao had her period and wasn’t planning to ride the horse. She found a step in the sun and languidly gazed at the green grassland.
Ji Huailuo rode back after two laps, sitting high on his horse. “Are you coming or not? I’ll take you.”
Xu Zhiqiao shook her head.
“Your two friends are playing like mad,” Ji Huailuo clicked his tongue. “And here you are, acting like a cabbage with no father to love you or mother to care for you.”
Xu Zhiqiao raised her head. “I have my period.”
“…”
After a while, Ji Huailuo blinked a few times, looking both awkward and confused. “So… what does that have to do with riding?”
Xu Zhiqiao replied, “I might bleed heavily.”
“…” Ji Huailuo choked, “Is that for real?”
Xu Zhiqiao: “Why don’t you come and see?”
“…”
To be honest, when she said it so expressionlessly, without even blushing, Ji Huailuo, even with his thick skin, could sense her bad mood.
“A little girl, you still have some shame?” Ji Huailuo said dryly. “Fine, if you don’t want to play, I’ll catch you a rabbit. Is that good enough?”
Xu Zhiqiao replied, “Thank you, big brother.”
“…”
Ji Huailuo felt as though he had been scolded.
He thought that it might be because it was autumn, and even he was becoming a little more sensitive.
The horse galloped off again.
When it returned, it was Ji Huailuo and Hua Qingyang riding together.
Hua Qingyang’s horse still had Ye Shuanglu sitting on it.
Something seemed off, but Xu Zhiqiao couldn’t figure out what. She stood up and looked behind them, worried about Qu Xiuxiu and Wei Long.
“It’s fine,” Ji Huailuo tossed her a snow-white rabbit. “Miss Ye fell off the horse and sprained her ankle.”
Xu Zhiqiao didn’t hold the rabbit properly, and it kicked its legs and dashed off.
Ji Huailuo was speechless. “Your Zhou Cong’s effort to catch this rabbit, and you only got to pet it once before it’s gone.”
A servant arrived with a medical kit.
Hua Qingyang helped Ye Shuanglu sit on the steps, crouching down to check her ankle. “It’s not a big problem, just a sprain. Miss Ye, I’ll apply some medicine for you.”
Ye Shuanglu’s expression was unreadable. “Thank you.”
“It’s all Ah Cong’s fault,” Ji Huailuo grumbled, “I saw he could have pulled her back, Miss Ye wouldn’t have fallen off if he’d grabbed her.”
Hua Qingyang coughed but didn’t speak.
Ji Huailuo continued, “Thankfully, the grass is thick, or else it wouldn’t just be a sprain. I’ll see how he explains this to Grandpa.”
The faint smell of blood-moving medicine lingered in the crisp morning air.
“Miss Ye, don’t mind me,” Hua Qingyang couldn’t help but explain, “Ah Cong’s never really been around girls, so… maybe he just doesn’t handle physical contact with women well…”
Oh dear.
He should’ve kept quiet.
The Young Master of the Zhou Family was far from the type to avoid contact with girls.
Hua Qingyang shut up immediately.
Ye Shuanglu stared into the distance, a faint smirk on her lips.
“But Miss Ye, you too,” Ji Huailuo said bluntly, “You fell over on flat ground. If you fell next to me, I could’ve caught you, but you fell next to Ah Cong…”
He talked a lot but didn’t mean anything by it; it was just his way of expressing confusion.
Ye Shuanglu turned her gaze to him. “Are you implying I did it on purpose?”
“…” Ji Huailuo froze. “I didn’t mean that. Did I?”
Ye Shuanglu’s tone became sharper, “I did it on purpose.”
“…”
Hua Qingyang’s hand that had been applying medicine also froze.
The surroundings became quiet, only the sound of birds chirping from a persimmon tree.
“I thought he liked green tea,” Ye Shuanglu said. “So I tried going down that route, thinking he’d take me to his horse.”
“…”
Ye Shuanglu stood up. “It’s me who isn’t worthy.”
Her words were filled with raw resentment.
Ji Huailuo frowned and couldn’t listen any longer. “Miss Ye, I think you need to understand something—there’s no relationship between you and Ah Cong.”
Hua Qingyang coughed, signaling him to stop.
“Grandpa arranged for you to come here, and you agreed to it,” Ji Huailuo went on without care. “You saw how Ah Cong treated you. Then you’re going to complain about his attitude?”
Ye Shuanglu’s face grew darker.
Ji Huailuo added, “And what’s this about green tea? I don’t get it!”
Hua Qingyang: “…”
You don’t get it, but you still blurt it out so confidently?
Ye Shuanglu’s face was cold. “I’ll be leaving now. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Ji Huailuo quickly said, “I’ll see you out!”
Hua Qingyang: “…”
What’s it to you?
Who asked you to see her off?
This idiot.
Ye Shuanglu was picked up by the driver. Ji Huailuo felt a strange fire burn in his chest. He kicked over a chair. “Next time we go out, can we not bring strangers?”
“…” Hua Qingyang cleared his throat. “Let’s head back.”
Ji Huailuo turned around as instructed.
When he saw Xu Zhiqiao, it struck him like a sudden revelation. “Wait, I didn’t mean your… friend.”
Xu Zhiqiao didn’t want to talk to him and sat back down on the steps to sunbathe.
“Hey,” Ji Huailuo called coldly. “What’s this green tea thing about?”
Xu Zhiqiao answered, “It’s green tea.”
Ji Huailuo was stunned. “Ah Cong likes green tea? Then she should make tea, not pretend she’s the tea herself. She’s more like… meat bone tea!”
Xu Zhiqiao: “…”
Hua Qingyang: “…”
Ji Huailuo was becoming more and more annoyed. “I’ll call Ah Cong and tell him that I chased away the match his grandfather arranged for him.”
“…” Hua Qingyang patted his shoulder. “She’s back.”
From afar, the sound of hooves echoed as several horses leisurely returned.
Qu Xiuxiu and Wei Long waved excitedly.
Xu Zhiqiao waved her arm in return.
Ji Huailuo felt something was off. “I’m your big brother, shouldn’t I be the one helping you entertain your friends? Why does it feel like Ah Cong has stolen my identity?”
But that wasn’t the important thing now. What mattered was that he had chased away the person his grandfather introduced to him!
Ji Huailuo kept muttering, finally concluding, “I didn’t say anything, yet she got mad.”
Zhou Cong dismounted, his long legs drawing a graceful line in the air as he landed.
He spoke softly, “Where’s the rabbit?”
“…” Ji Huailuo felt choked up. “I’ve been talking all this time, and you only care about the rabbit?”
Qu Xiuxiu and Wei Long had picked a bunch of wildflowers and wild fruits, and Xu Zhiqiao was surrounded by them, talking.
Ji Huailuo didn’t want to take the blame. “Xu Zhiqiao! Where’s the rabbit?”
Xu Zhiqiao held two apples and looked at him. “Didn’t it run away?”
“Tell your Zhou Cong why it ran away.”
“…” Xu Zhiqiao pursed her lips, softly replying, “I didn’t hold it properly.”
“See,” Ji Huailuo spread his hands. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Zhou Cong didn’t respond. He looked at the girl’s face over the heads of the others. “Do you still want it?”
Xu Zhiqiao was stunned. “What?”
Zhou Cong’s gaze was calm. “Do you still want it?”
“…”
“Wait,” Zhou Cong took it as her answer. “I’ll catch you another one.”