Lu Zhao picked a horse and turned around to see Shen Qingyao still standing motionless, looking confused and lost.
“Yaoyao? What’s wrong?” Lu Zhao’s expression changed slightly as he walked over with the horse.
After a moment, he suddenly realized and sighed, “Right, you probably don’t remember these things anymore.”
Lu Zhao knew about Shen Qingyao forgetting many things after a serious illness.
He reached out and shook his hand in front of Shen Qingyao, bringing back the consciousness of the little girl who had disappeared somewhere, smiling and said, “It’s okay to forget. I remember for you. Come on.”
With a graceful movement, he mounted the horse and then reached out to Shen Qingyao.
Shen Qingyao looked quietly at him, his silhouette clear against the sunlight, his face gentle, but she couldn’t feel any joy. The things he remembered were not hers.
—What am I daydreaming about!
The little person in Shen Qingyao’s mind slapped herself and scolded herself for being too sentimental. After all, she occupied this body; she really had no right to demand anything from Lu Zhao.
—I’m just a player and he’s just the mission target! If I take it seriously, I lose! Don’t forget, this guy is acting just like me!!!
Shen Qingyao repeated these sentences silently three times and calmed down. She put aside those unnecessary thoughts and forced a smile on her face, saying, “Here I come.”
She placed her hand in Lu Zhao’s palm, stepped on the stirrup, and with the help of Lu Zhao’s strength, landed in front of him.
Although Shen Qingyao was not heavy, suddenly there was additional weight of an adult on its back, so the horse beneath them became restless. It was Shen Qingyao’s first time riding a horse, and she was nervous, her heart pounding. She didn’t know where to put her hands, fearing that the horse would throw her off if it got upset.
In the midst of the stalemate, the system, which had been missing all night, suddenly appeared, excitedly shouting, [Dang dang dang dang! I’m back, Host!!!]
You big ghost! Shen Qingyao’s nerves were already highly tense. She was startled by the system’s voice, couldn’t control her exclamation, and coincidentally, the horse beneath her raised its front hooves and neighed, causing Shen Qingyao to bump heavily into Lu Zhao’s chest, scaring her witless.
Lu Zhao behind her didn’t have much reaction. He held Shen Qingyao and the reins, quickly calming the horse, and anxiously asked, “Yaoyao? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
It wasn’t until he checked her up and down and confirmed that she wasn’t injured that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Scared?” he asked softly, finding Shen Qingyao’s startled reaction a bit cute.
Shen Qingyao still dared not open her eyes, leaning back in Lu Zhao’s arms. After a while, she nodded heavily a few times, then curled up, burying her head in his chest.
Lu Zhao smiled, feeling quite pleased with her proactive embrace. He freed one hand to hold her waist, gently comforting, “It’s okay, don’t be afraid.”
Shen Qingyao nodded again but still refused to open her eyes. This time, it wasn’t because she was scared but because she was too embarrassed. She had actually scared herself, successfully frightening herself… How embarrassing!
[Host…] seemingly realizing that it had caused trouble, the system now spoke cautiously, a bit hesitant.
Shen Qingyao gradually relaxed, feeling a bit mischievous towards the system. She said slowly and deliberately, “You. Knew. How. To. Come. Back. Huh?”
You weren’t there when you were needed, but you appeared unexpectedly when you shouldn’t have. You’re really an understanding system.
The system fell silent. It wanted to gossip about its Host’s wedding night, but it no longer dared to talk.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhao, seeing her looking so frightened, chuckled softly but didn’t force her. He tugged on the reins and urged the horse to move forward slowly.
The sunlight was just right at this moment, warm and gentle on their skin, with a hint of coolness brought by the breeze. Shen Qingyao’s body swayed with the horse’s movements, and she felt safe in Lu Zhao’s embrace. She relaxed a bit, and the embarrassment of self-scaring began to dissipate. She quietly opened her eyes just a crack.
Lu Zhao had already led her out of the residence area, and the two of them strolled on the hillside on horseback. The mountain flowers bloomed beautifully in May, and the air was sweet and fresh. Shen Qingyao was captivated by the beautiful scenery before her, sitting up straight in amazement. She belatedly found the joy of horseback riding and began to enjoy it.
“Elder Brother Lu Zhao, can you go faster?” After watching for a while, Shen Qingyao couldn’t sit still.
Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused. “Aren’t you afraid anymore?”
Shen Qingyao awkwardly coughed twice, then raised her chin arrogantly, denying her fear: “Who… who’s afraid? I’ve never been afraid at all!”
Lu Zhao pretended to understand suddenly and nodded, “Ah, never been afraid…”
His ‘say anything you want’ expression made Shen Qingyao blush. Before she could retort, Lu Zhao patted the horse’s back, and the horse immediately accelerated forward.
Following the inertia, Shen Qingyao once again fell into his arms, exclaimed in surprise, then heard Lu Zhao’s triumphant laughter. He teasingly said, “Never been afraid?”
“…” Hey! Why are you making me lose face?
Shen Qingyao pouted, turned her head away, and after a while, she laughed at herself. What kind of people are they… each one more childish than the other!
As Shen Qingyao gradually got used to it, Lu Zhao also controlled the horse to run faster and faster. It was already a fine horse, with full exertion, the speed naturally became extremely fast. Shen Qingyao felt the wind whistling past her ears, the scenery on both sides rapidly receding. Her heart beat fast due to nervousness and excitement, yet unexpectedly, she felt extremely relaxed. She somewhat understood the psychology of those who enjoyed racing cars; speed indeed could give people a different kind of thrill.
“So much fun,” Shen Qingyao smiled with narrowed eyes. Her lips were a bit pale due to the intense movement causing her heart to beat rapidly, triggering her heart condition. But her face was flushed, although tired, she felt particularly excited and exhilarated. All the worries before horseback riding were swept away by this mad gallop.
The two of them played for a long time, and when they returned, the sun was setting. Lu Zhao led the horse alone to tie it up, while Shen Qingyao waited for him in place.
After a while, his tall figure approached against the light. Shen Qingyao wiped the sweat from her forehead and saw that Lu Zhao still looked as calm and composed as ever, not even a crease in his clothes.
She suddenly felt a bit resentful, how come nothing seemed to affect his image? Like before, they took the same exam, but he always came out looking neat and handsome, while the others looked disheveled?
Shen Qingyao wrinkled her nose, feeling dissatisfied. She quietly harbored a mischievous idea.
As Lu Zhao approached, he reached out a hand towards Shen Qingyao. “Let’s go.”
However, Shen Qingyao didn’t immediately hand her hand to him as usual. She smiled cunningly, keeping her hand behind her back, shaking her head solemnly, and said, “I can walk by myself. We’re still outside; what’s with all the holding hands and tugging? You are the Young Master Lu, don’t you care about your reputation?”
Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow, looking at her. He thought they had held hands and tugged each other outside many times before, and his reputation was probably long gone. Seeing the smirk on the girl’s lips, Lu Zhao felt she was up to something.
He nodded, very easygoing, “Alright, then let’s go.” With that, he turned and walked away first.
Shen Qingyao looked satisfied at his retreating figure, her lips curved up. In her heart, she silently calculated the distance, and when she felt it was just right, she lifted her skirt and quickly ran up to him. She jumped onto Lu Zhao’s back in one go, wrapping her arms around his neck, and said with a mischievous smile, “I can’t walk anymore! Elder Brother Lu Zhao, carry me!”
Lu Zhao was pushed back a few steps by her force, but luckily, he quickly stabilized himself due to years of martial arts training. He reached out quickly and caught the girl who was about to slide down from his back, feeling amused and exasperated.
“Still outside, is it appropriate to carry someone? Don’t I, Young Master Lu, care about my reputation?” Lu Zhao laughed, returning her words to her.
It’s a pity that Shen Qingyao has a temperament that allows only the officials to set fires but not the common people to light lamps1. She pretended not to understand, tightened her hand around Lu Zhao’s neck, and leaned her small face close to his ear, whispering softly, “But I really can’t walk anymore… Elder Brother Lu Zhao…”
As her breath brushed against him, Lu Zhao’s ear tingled slightly, turning a little red. After teasing her so many times, he finally got teased back.
Seeing him silent for a while, Shen Qingyao thought he still disagreed. She blinked, gritted her teeth, leaned closer again, her face slightly flushed. So this time her voice was even softer as she quietly called out, “Husband…”
Lu Zhao’s footsteps paused, almost dropping her. He cleared his throat, not wanting her to see his panic. He tried to make his expression serious, but he couldn’t suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth. After a while, he somewhat resignedly said, “Alright, alright, I’ll carry you.”
Then, lifting her up, he reminded her, “Hold on tight and don’t move around.”
“Okay.” Shen Qingyao’s trickery succeeded as she laughed like a cat that stole cream while lying on Lu Zhao’s back.
She felt that the persona of being bold and charming was really great. In the past, she had to be self-conscious, sensitive, and paranoid, she couldn’t even properly carry out her strategy script. But now, wasn’t it just seduction? Seducing a straight man, isn’t it simple?
The system watched the whole process, feeling a sourness in its teeth. It clucked its tongue in Shen Qingyao’s mind for a long time, thinking that seducing a straight man wasn’t simple at all; it was just a matter of one willing to pursue and the other willing to accept…
Lu Zhao heard her giggling laughter. How could he not know that she was doing it on purpose? He sighed with a smile, but he enjoyed it. Shaking his head, he resignedly carried her towards the city.
The setting sun cast their shadows long. Shen Qingyao rested her chin on Lu Zhao’s shoulder, turning her face to admire his handsome profile. His high nose bridge, tightly pursed lips, and determined gaze gave an extra sense of security. She silently chuckled to herself and contentedly closed her eyes.
- basically, a proverb about double standards. ↩︎