Chapter 99 -
The night wind blowing through the deserted courtyards of the Governor’s estate was biting cold, but it did almost nothing to cool the raging fire in Wenzhe’s chest.
He stood near the edge of a small stone pond in the private garden, leaning his weight against a heavy wooden pillar. His right hand was tightly gripping his chest, feeling the wild, erratic thumping of his own heart.
What came over me? Wenzhe thought, closing his eyes tightly as a wave of deep shame washed over him. I am General Xi. A commander of thousands. I have maintained absolute discipline on the deadliest battlefields of the empire... so how did a single, foolish woman shatter my restraint in a matter of minutes?!
He touched his own lower lip, still feeling the faint, lingering warmth of her mouth, the sharp tang of raw ginger, and the delicate softness of her waist under his palm.
A dark, heavy groan escaped his throat. He had crossed a line. He had let her constant, chaotic provocation get under his skin so much that he had acted like an undisciplined brute. And worseshe had looked genuinely terrified and uncomfortable near the end.
She was trying to push me away, Wenzhe remembered, his stomach twisting into a tight, miserable knot. And I pinned her down.
He opened his eyes, staring blankly at the dark water of the lotus pond. For the first time since he had mysteriously gained the ability to read her mind, he felt utterly lost.
Meanwhile, inside the quiet guest chamber, Yueqing was still sitting frozen on the edge of the bed.
The room was completely silent. There were no point notifications ringing in her head, no loud arguments, and no sound of Wenzhe’s heavy breathing. Just her, the single flickering candle on the nightstand, and the heavy curtains hanging around her like a cage.
She slowly brought her fingers up, tracing her swollen lower lip where his teeth had lightly bitten her. It stung just a little, sending a strange, tingling shiver straight down her spine.
[Nine...] Yueqing whispered in her mind, her voice unusually small.
[I am here, Host,] the system responded smoothly.
[Is... is General Block-of-Wood crazy?] Yueqing asked, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. [Why did he look at me like that? That wasn’t how he usually looks at me. He looked like... like he wanted to eat me alive.]
[System analysis indicates General Xi experienced a severe surge of adrenaline, heightened heart rate, and emotional distress, leading to an impulsive breakdown of his stoic facade,] Nine explained dryly. [Furthermore, the system bug has registered a total gain of +50 Villain Points during the recent physical interaction.]
Normally, gaining over fifty points in few minutes would have sent Yueqing into a wild, victory-dance frenzy. She would have been rolling on the bed, laughing like a maniac and planning how to gain more.
But right now? She couldn’t even summon a tiny smirk.
"Fifty points..." Yueqing muttered aloud to the empty room, her light green eyes looking confusedly at the closed door. "Then why do I feel like I’m the one who just took massive emotional damage?"
[He said ’sorry’...] her thoughts drifted back to his breathless, panicked voice right before he fled. [He sounded so guilty. Did I push him too far with that stupid kissing scheme?]
She let out a long, heavy sigh, burying her red face into her knees.
[Ugh! This is all because of those stupid laxatives! If I hadn’t tried to poison the Governor, we wouldn’t have drunk the wine, we wouldn’t have taken the ginger juice, and he wouldn’t have turned into a feral wild animal!]
CREAK.
The heavy wooden door of the guest chamber slowly slid open.
Yueqing’s head snapped up instantly.
Wenzhe stood in the doorway, drenched in the dim moonlight. His dark hair was slightly damp as if he had just splashed his face with freezing water from the garden basin and his expression had returned to its rigid, stoic mask, though he refused to meet her gaze directly.
He stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him, keeping a very deliberate, five-foot distance between them as he walked over to the wooden screen near the corner.
The air in the room instantly became so thick with tension that you could cut it with a sword.
Yueqing cleared her throat nervously, her heart doing a strange little flip against her ribs. "You... you came back?"
Wenzhe paused, his back turned to her as he reached for a spare blanket from their luggage.
"It is late," Wenzhe said in a low, flat, entirely neutral voice. "We must sleep. We have to greet the Governor in the morning before returning to the mansion."
He didn’t look at her. He didn’t approach the bed. Instead, he folded the thick quilt, laid it neatly on the hard wooden daybed near the window, and sat down on it.
Yueqing blinked, watching him lie down on the narrow wooden couch, turning his back toward her completely.
[Wait...] Yueqing’s mind started running again, her inner voice sounding hesitant inside his head. [Is he really going to sleep on that hard wooden couch? He’s huge! His feet are literally dangling off the edge!]
Wenzhe stiffened as her thoughts echoed in his brain, but he forced himself not to react, closing his eyes tightly.
"Wenzhe," Yueqing called out softly, sitting up straighter on the soft silk bed. "The bed is huge. You can... you don’t have to sleep over there."
Wenzhe took a deep breath, keeping his eyes shut. "I am fine here, Yueqing. Sleep."
Yueqing bit her lower lip, feeling an odd, uncomfortable prickle in her chest.
[Fine! Be a stubborn, uncomfortable Block of Wood then! See if I care!] her brain huffed, though the usual sting in her thoughts was completely gone, replaced by a strange, lingering worry.
She pulled the thick blanket over her shoulders.
For a few long minutes, the only sound in the room was the soft whistling of the wind outside and the steady rhythm of Wenzhe’s breathing.
Yueqing stared across the dark room at his stiff, unmoving back.
[Ugh, he’s actually going to freeze his shoulders off on that hard piece of wood,] she grumbled in her head, kicking her blanket aside. [And if he catches a cold and coughs all night, I won’t get any sleep either! This is just so I can rest, that’s all!]
With a loud sigh, Yueqing swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. She walked across the smooth wooden floor into the small dressing room, quickly changing out of her heavy banquet dress and into a soft, simple cotton sleeping gown.
Before heading back out, she peeked inside Wenzhe’s travel bag. She searched through his clothes and pulled out a set of simple, comfortable cotton sleepwear much better than the stiff general’s robes he was currently wearing. Then, she opened the tall linen cupboard, pulling out a stack of soft, thick blankets.
Clutching the pile of clothes and heavy blankets in her arms, she marched straight back into the main bedroom.
Wenzhe, who was lying down with his eyes closed trying to ignore her, heard her steps coming closer. He kept his back turned, thinking she was just getting a drink of water.
Instead, a heavy pile of soft clothes and thick blankets suddenly hit him right in the chest!
"Oof—" Wenzhe grunted, sitting up quickly in surprise and catching the pile before it fell onto the floor.
He blinked down at the clothes in his lap, then slowly raised his dark eyes to look at her. Yueqing was standing right next to his small daybed, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring down at him with an angry scowl.
"I don’t want to have to take care of any sick, grown man tomorrow morning," Yueqing snapped, tilting her chin up. "You either change into those clothes and use the blankets, or you can go sleep somewhere else outside! Choose!"
Wenzhe stared at her. The distance he had tried so hard to build between them after the kiss completely broke down under her loud, bossy glare. A tiny, quiet smile almost pulled at the corner of his lips.
He looked down at the comfortable clothes she had picked out for him, then back up at her red face.
"...You talk way too much for someone who wants to go to sleep," Wenzhe muttered softly, his voice no longer cold or distant.
"Just put the clothes on and shut up, Block of Wood!" she shot back, turning around sharply and marching right back to the big bed, pulling the red silk curtains closed behind her with a loud snap.
Wenzhe sat in the quiet moonlight for a long moment, a strange, warm feeling filling his chest. Slowly, he changed into the soft clothes, wrapped the thick blankets around his broad shoulders, and let out a long, quiet breath.