Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After that day, I realized that the image of the aloof, self-contained Little Young Master was entirely a facade.

Once tamed, the tiger turned into a beautiful calico cat, much like the one back in my hometown that would cling to one’s leg and refuse to let go.

All day long, he was either dressing up ostentatiously or acting out of jealousy.

When I brushed Xueyue’s coat, he would stand nearby, seething with anger.

“It lives such an extravagant life now that it’s grown thick and round. Does it still look anything like a Ferghana horse?”

“We should find a day to send it back to Tao Jiu for more training.”

At night, after he had eaten his chilled cakes and received his acupuncture, he still gripped my hand tightly.

“Hair.”

I didn’t quite understand.

“I brush my own hair every day,” he added.

I nodded, and after a moment’s thought, I quickly smiled and praised him. “That’s wonderful.”

Yun Jian laughed.

He was laughed out of sheer frustration.

After staring into his eyes for a long while, I finally caught on.

I picked up the silver comb from the table and began to brush his hair, stroke by stroke.

As I brushed, his tense shoulders and neck relaxed, and he leaned against my waist.

He was like a cat basking in the sun after a full meal.

I accompanied him while he went shopping, but I inadvertently wandered into a bookstore and stood before the collection for quite some time, engrossed in research.

When I snapped out of it and turned around, I saw him standing outside the door with a new shawl, his expression cold and grim.

“Jiang Rui, you abandoned me.”

I hurriedly racked my brain to compose a speech longer than a policy essay to praise his newly purchased jewelry and clothes before the matter was finally settled.

On the way back, he forcefully grabbed my hand and made me touch his face.

“Tell me, which is better looking-the books or me?”

As the metropolitan examinations drew near, I inevitably became immersed in my revision.

“Why are you fifteen minutes late again today?”

I tiptoed through the door, only to find the Little Young Master with a dark face, slamming the silver comb onto the desk.

Today, yesterday, the day before…

Ever since she had re-entered the path of the imperial examinations, he had begun an endless wait.

Waiting for her to come see him and coax him after she finished her various chores and priorities.

He meticulously groomed his hair, carefully chose his hair chains, and wore the Tiansi silk robes newly sent as tribute from Jiangnan, hoping she would be happy to see him and love him more.

Yet, he refused to lower his dignity to seek her out, while simultaneously being unable to suppress his longing and resentment for her.

He himself didn’t realize which particular spark of unseemly jealousy and bitterness was burning in those eyes that used to be so arrogant and cold.

“The metropolitan exam is coming up soon, so I stayed late today to read.”

I moved gently, guiltily offering him some pastries.

He kept a cold face and refused to eat. “Are books really that interesting? Interesting enough for you to forget our time together again and again?”

I patiently massaged his hand. “The exam is near. You fought to get me a second chance at the imperial examinations; how could I let it go to waste?”

“I’m working so hard now precisely so that I can become an official in the capital later and bring our Little Young Master there to enjoy a life of luxury, isn’t that right?”

In the past, such words would easily soothe him.

But today, he must have been waiting for far too long. He didn’t turn around, instead staring deeply at my face through the mirror.

A self-deprecating, cold smile played at the corners of his mouth.

“But from where I stand now, I fear your studies and career come first, while what we have is nothing more than a fleeting affair.”

“Jiang Rui, I only ask you this: in your plans for the future, is there truly a place for me?”

My heart chilled, and I softly stroked his cheek.

“A Jian, you’re overthinking things again.”

I had indeed neglected him lately, focusing entirely on my studies after coaxing him into recommending me for the exam eligibility.

I looked at the two figures pressed close together in the mirror.

Clothes brushed against clothes, palms pressed against skin, yet both were drenched in the desolate moonlight.

Even the slightest hint of warmth had turned cold.

Seeing that Yun Jian remained silent, I could only lean down and embrace him.

“A Jian…”

I bit my lip, my eyes reddening, but my tone remained firm.

“I won’t take the exam. I won’t go to the capital. I don’t want those damn ambitions and ideals anymore.”

My tears were warm, but as they dripped onto Yun Jian’s neck, they felt like molten iron.

His gaze froze.

I gently kissed the curve of his ear.

A pair of cold hands seized my wrists and pinned me against the mirror.

Yun Jian rubbed the skin at the corner of my eye with his thumb, his gaze like a stirred-up, deep pool.

“Jiang Rui, if you are using me as a pawn…”

He paused, his eyes as cold as ice tempered in freezing water. “…I will kill you.”

I met his gaze openly.

But he was the one who flinched.

Was he making a threat, or was he begging for a promise?

I smiled slightly and interlaced my fingers with his slightly trembling ones.

“How could you be my pawn? You are my most beloved…”

Before I could finish, a cold and surging kiss fell upon me, full of nips and bites.

Unable to voice the muddled words of craving love and affection, he could only vent all his resentment, love, and jealousy through his lips and tongue.

The cat had been bullied too much and gave a sharp slap.

Yet, he hadn’t even let out the tips of his claws.