Chapter 359: Will You Love Me? Don’t Say No
Zhao Mingyan prided himself on his strategic mind, yet he could never figure out what was going on in Ji Qingwu’s head.
And this moment was no exception.
She actually didn’t remember it.
The scene in the painting was from a tea shed in Ninghe Town, where she had knelt to treat an old man and a child with acupuncture.
No wonder she reacted so strongly. Zhao Mingyan tilted her chin up and asked, "Who did you think it was?"
Ji Qingwu was dazed.
She understood each word individually, but she couldn’t make sense of them together.
’The girl in the portrait... is me? How could it be me?’
She frowned, thinking for a long time before finally looking up at him to ask hesitantly.
"Could you be mistaken?"
Zhao Mingyan flicked her on the forehead. "Do you take me for some muddle-headed fool? I would never be mistaken."
Hearing the certainty in his voice, Ji Qingwu rubbed her temples and tried her best to recall the memory.
Finally, she found a faint trace of the event in the dusty corners of her memory.
Ji Qingwu subconsciously hid sad and painful memories.
It was not long after she had first arrived. After coming down from the mountain, she had made her way toward the border of Liang Country, passing through dozens of small towns and counties, if not fifty.
She discovered that the closer she got to the border between the two countries, the harder the lives of the common people were.
Ninghe Town, the closest to the Northern Border, was also the place hit hardest by natural disasters and human conflict. The streets were filled with refugees too weak to flee, most of them women, children, and the elderly.
Ji Qingwu had no time to notice her surroundings, whether she was in a tea shed or under an awning for a stage.
She had no time to worry about her posture as she saved people, either.
She only remembered the feeling: a land filled with wails of misery. Faced with the ceaseless loss of life, she felt so small, so powerless.
At that moment, Ji Qingwu turned her head, her gaze fixed on the painting spread across the table. Her eyes fell on the woman’s hair, tousled by the cold wind.
’So that’s what I looked like then. Someone recorded it all.’
In his eyes, in the painting, in his heart.
She met Zhao Mingyan’s eyes. "You were there too."
He added in a low voice, "Right behind you."
It was there that Zhao Mingyan saw the most brilliant, radiant pair of eyes, and the tears that fell were the purest treasures in the world.
What made her unforgettable was the aura of compassion she exuded, like a Goddess’s love for all humanity.
Ji Qingwu could never have imagined their first meeting had been a scene like that.
She completely dismissed the notion that Zhao Mingyan had fallen for her because of her looks.
Back then, she was far from beautiful. There wasn’t a clean spot on her, her grimy face was frostbitten, and her hands were frozen and swollen like pig’s trotters.
As Ji Qingwu’s thoughts wandered, her eyes darted about, captivatingly beautiful.
"What are you thinking about?"
Zhao Mingyan pecked the corner of her lips, wanting to share in her thoughts.
Ji Qingwu let out a soft laugh. "I was just wondering if you were thinking, ’How pitiful. She worked so hard for so long, yet she couldn’t save a single person.’"
His fingers wrapped around a strand of her hair. "You want to know what I was thinking?"
Ji Qingwu nodded.
Zhao Mingyan suddenly lifted her leg, hooking it around his waist as he easily hoisted her up by the hips.
With the sudden change in position, she was supported only by his hand and forearm. Ji Qingwu had to tense her entire body, clamping her legs tightly around his waist and wrapping her arms around his neck to keep from falling.
But he didn’t walk or even move.
His gaze swept over the "her" in the painting—the one kneeling to save lives—before returning to her face.
His gaze was so deep it was intimidating. It made Ji Qingwu’s body go weak, her legs barely able to hold onto his waist.
She pressed, "You still haven’t said what you were thinking back then."
Zhao Mingyan’s tone was casual, yet laced with a savage possessiveness. "A Goddess shouldn’t just love all of creation. She should love one person more."
Ji Qingwu stared at him, uncomprehending. ’What does he mean, Goddess...?’
Zhao Mingyan adored this look on her face—her eyes filled only with him, with no room for anything else.
"Look down."
Hearing his deep but gentle voice, Ji Qingwu bent her neck.
"Good girl."
He praised her.
Ji Qingwu gazed at his impossibly handsome features, her fingers slowly tracing the lines of his face.
"Are you alluding to the old tale of Prince Xiang and the heartless Goddess?"
Zhao Mingyan didn’t answer. His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times before he tilted his head up and kissed her.
At first, the kiss was reverent.
Like a supplicant in a temple, praying for the Goddess to bestow her divine blessing.
Ji Qingwu thoroughly enjoyed it. Bracing herself against his broad, solid shoulders, she felt an unquenchable heat surge through her body.
But soon, the kiss turned fierce and domineering, just as his style always was.
It was as if he tricked her into trusting him, only to back her into a corner, leaving her nowhere to hide and forcing her to surrender completely.
Ji Qingwu quickly realized the precariousness of this position. With him holding her aloft, she had nothing else to hold on to, nothing else to lean on.
Her hand grasped at the empty air before curling into a fist in frustration.
Ji Qingwu’s eyes lost focus. Some of her senses became dull, while others became more sensitive.
Zhao Mingyan gave her a chance to breathe, his lips pressing against her chin.
He asked, "Will you love me?"
Ji Qingwu lowered her eyes, her long lashes veiling half of their shimmering light.
Zhao Mingyan’s voice was a low, coaxing murmur that seemed to envelop her in warmth.
"Will you?"
Ji Qingwu felt like she was melting under the heat of his body and his gaze.
The corners of his upturned eyes were flushed red. The usually sharp lines of his eyes now held a look of captivated, lingering desire.
"Yes, or no?"
The moment he asked, Zhao Mingyan regretted giving her a choice.
"You’re not allowed to say no."
He asked her for a yes or a no, but only gave her one option.
Ji Qingwu caressed his face, her lips rosy as she said, "Then do I have a choice?"
Zhao Mingyan raised an eyebrow. "You do. You can only choose me."
Ji Qingwu’s lips curved into a smile, her eyes sparkling. "I choose you."
Unable to contain his excitement, Zhao Mingyan bounced her slightly, holding her a little higher. Ji Qingwu no longer needed to grip his waist tightly, and only then did she realize he had been holding her loosely on purpose before.
She intercepted his unruly, wandering hand.
"But not right now."
Displeasure, confusion, and dissatisfaction were all written in Zhao Mingyan’s eyes.
It made Ji Qingwu feel a pang of pity. She honestly confessed her thoughts.
"Doing this... it just feels strange. It doesn’t feel right. We don’t have the proper status for this."
Zhao Mingyan’s voice was muffled. "It’s not like we haven’t done it before."
Ji Qingwu was at a loss for words. She poked his chest to remind him, "Last time, you were on the verge of death."
And the time before that, *I* was on the verge of death and had no choice but to force my way into your campaign tent.
’What a coincidence,’ she thought. ’Both times we did... *this*, it was to save a life.’
He flexed his hips, pulling her in even tighter, wanting her to feel his torment.
"But I’m not doing so well right now, either."
Ji Qingwu’s gaze trembled. "No. At least, not right now. Put me down first."