Chapter 38: Me And The Ant
Silence descended upon the servants’ courtyard.
The cheerful laughter from moments ago had completely disappeared.
Every servant remained kneeling on the ground with their heads lowered, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
Only Wang Gege remained seated on the wooden stool. She blinked several times before slowly turning toward the entrance.
Under the dim lantern light, the familiar figure stood there quietly.
Black robes and black blindfold.
And the same calm expression that made it impossible to tell whether he was angry or not.
Wang Gege stared at him for several moments before slowly tilting her head. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as though she was trying very hard to recognize the person standing before her.
Then... A bright smile suddenly bloomed across her face.
She pointed at Xie Rong very seriously. "You..."
With a little effort, she pushed herself off the wooden stool before taking two unsteady steps toward him. "You look exactly like my husband."
The entire courtyard froze.
Qing’er’s face instantly turned as pale as paper and the other servants lowered their heads, wishing they could disappear into the ground.
Only Wang Gege seemed completely oblivious to everyone’s reactions. She circled around Xie Rong once, carefully studying him from head to toe.
"Don’t worry..." She slowly raised a hand. "It is not an insult."
"My husband..." She scrunched her nose before smiling proudly. "...is a good-looking man."
She beckoned with her fingers, signaling for him to come closer. Her intention was simple enough—to pat his shoulder as though complimenting a stranger she had just met.
Unfortunately...
Xie Rong was simply too tall.
Her fingertips barely brushed the air.
Wang Gege frowned.
She rose onto her tiptoes and stretched her arm even higher.
Still... She couldn’t reach him.
The courtyard remained deathly silent as everyone watched the Young Madam stubbornly wage war against the Young Master’s height.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Wang Gege let out a dissatisfied huff.
"Why are you so tall?" She glared at him as though it was entirely his fault. "Lower yourself a little."
The words left her mouth so naturally that the servants collectively held their breath.
No one in the entire Xie Residence had ever dared speak to Xie Rong in such a tone.
Yet Wang Gege remained completely oblivious. Seeing that he did not move, she puffed out her cheeks. "I only wanted to pat your shoulder. Why are you making it so difficult?"
Xie Rong lowered his head to the woman before him.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed from the wine, and her usually lively eyes had become slightly hazy.
When everyone expected him to ignore such an unreasonable request... He unexpectedly lowered himself, leaning toward her.
Wang Gege’s eyes immediately curved into crescents.
"Good..." She happily patted his shoulder twice. "There, there."
Satisfied, she nodded to herself as though she had just accomplished something remarkable.
However, before she could withdraw her hand, Xie Rong wrapped an arm around her slender waist.
The next instant, her feet left the ground.
"Eh?" By the time Wang Gege reacted, she was already slung over his shoulder.
She blinked several times before lightly poking his back, "What are you doing?"
Xie Rong’s expression remained as calm as ever, "The Young Madam has violated the residence’s curfew."
Without another word, he turned and calmly walked toward their courtyard, carrying her away as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
The servants remained kneeling where they were, too stunned to react.
Even Mo Yan quietly looked away. This was the first time in years... He found himself unable to understand what his Young Master was thinking.
"There is a curfew?" Wang Gege pouted. She let both hands sway absentmindedly behind Xie Rong’s back. "I’ve never heard about it..."
Xie Rong replied without the slightest change in expression. "There is now."
Wang Gege blinked, "You just made it up."
"It is now a residence rule." He replied nonchalantly.
She frowned deeply, clearly unconvinced. "You’re abusing your authority."
No reply came.
"You really are an Ancient Ninja Turtle. How can you keep making rules whenever you want?" She let out a dissatisfied huff before lightly thumping his back with her fist.
Xie Rong’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt. His brows furrowed slightly, "Ancient Ninja Turtle?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Wang Gege’s eyes widened. She immediately covered her mouth with both hands.
"Oh... Did I say that out loud?" She blinked innocently before carefully leaning forward over his shoulder, trying to peek at the side of his face.
After making sure he was looking ahead, she lowered her voice as though sharing a great secret.
"Never mind. You won’t understand." She bit her lower lip, struggling to suppress her laughter. "It’s a compliment... Probably."
Xie Rong glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Furen... You seem rather happy."
"Huh?" She blinked before staring blankly on the ground, as though seriously considering the question.
"Am I?" A moment later, she slowly shook her head. "I’m not."
She pouted, "Would you be happy, if your husband looked at you... like a tiny little ant?"
She held up her fingers, leaving only the tiniest gap between them. "This tiny..." She nodded solemnly, "An ant that wasn’t even worth bending down to look at."
Xie Rong frowned, "I never did such a thing."
She immediately huffed, "You did..."
She pointed at herself, "Me..." Then she lowered her hand toward the ground, "Ant..." She looked back at him with an aggrieved expression.
"To you... It’s the same." She blinked, "I’m not important."
The moment he understood the meaning behind her words, he opened his mouth.
"I..."
The words reached his lips before stopping there. He had intended to refute her. Instead, he found himself recalling his own words from earlier that day. His gaze lowered slightly.
Objectively speaking... He had merely spoken the truth but at the same time... He had also hurt her.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. "This one was thoughtless."
Another brief pause followed, "I apologize."