“Han Yunxi, if I remember correctly, it’s time to change your dressing for today!”
Hearing the familiar tones, Han Yunxi turned around and saw Long Feiye had somehow appeared behind her with a cold and unhappy expression. She glanced at the door, then the window, but saw that both were shut tight. How did he get in?
After all, as her internal energy increased, her sensitivity was improving too. She wasn’t as blind to her surroundings as before. When Long Feiye channeled internal energy into her body, he had taught her to be aware of surrounding dangers. She learned very quickly, as it was a skill that focused on concentration.
“When did you come in?” Han Yunxi asked.
Long Feiye carried over a chair and some ointment to sit by the bathtub. He tugged on her beautiful white legs, cutting Han Yunxi’s further questions off as his coarse hands cupped her calves. She stiffened involuntarily as she felt a tremor from her toes to the top of her head. They’d had more intimate contact than this, but she still didn’t know how to deal with his careless touches.
Long Feiye is a poison, Han Yunxi thought to herself, A poison without a cure, like the Perplexing Butterfly Illusion. I have it, but I can’t break through it! Sucha poison had already seeped into her very bones and made her a lost cause!
Long sat with head and eyes lowered as he carefully cut away her bandages. Han Yunxi was reluctant to voice any of her questions before his quiet face. But soon enough, Long Feiye gave her a glance.
“If you’re tired, just close your eyes for a bit. I’ll wake you when I’m done.”
But Han Yunxi’s sleepiness had long been banished by his presence. She looked at him doubtfully. “Have you been waiting for me long?”
The doors and windows were shut tight and she hadn’t heard any sound when she entered: the only explanation was that this guy had slipped in ages ago and only shown himself now.
“Mhm,” Long Feiye admitted openly.
“You...just then, you…” Han Yunxi huffed. “Why didn’t you come out earlier?!” In other words, if he had revealed himself earlier, she wouldn’t have gone to take a bath and exposed everything to him.
Despite her veiled meaning, Long Feiye’s answer was blunt. “I’ve seen it all ages ago.”
Han Yunxi had no idea what Long Feiye truly meant by “long ago,” because the earliest time in her memory was their time at the hot springs outside of the battlefields. She didn’t want to discuss that with him now and immediately changed the subject. “Weren’t you going to see Chu Tianyin? Why haven’t you left yet?”
“I’ll leave tomorrow, but I came to see you after remembering about your leg dressing,” Long Feiye replied.
“Oh,” Han Yunxi glanced at him, a little delighted.
“I heard you’ve already received the East Valley Private Bank?” Long Feiye asked.
“News sure travels fast,” Han Yunxi smiled helplessly. Most people in Myriad Merchant Hall still had no idea themselves. “Do you know what Golden Wing Hall’s up to?”
“Do you want me to help you?” Long Feiye asked back. He knew that for Han Yunxi to control the Di Clan, she’d have to start with Myriad Merchant Hall first.
Han Yunxi nodded without hesitation. Why would she refuse when someone was here who could help her? Her so called pride and tsundere[1] tendencies were unnecessary in front of Long Feiye.
Long Feiye couldn’t help but laugh. He had assumed that this woman would refuse all aid from him without hesitation. Despite this, he still rejected her request mercilessly. “I won’t help you within these next 10 days.”
He had already yielded enough on this matter, so why would he do more to push Han Yunxi towards the West Qin faction? Impossible!
“Stingy!” Han Yunxi grinned back.
“I can help you with other things?” Long Feiye offered.
“Other things?” Han Yunxi asked quickly. “Like what?”
Long Feiye couldn’t help laughing out loud again. “Like picking you up.”
Han Yunxi gave a start before her face flushed. She couldn’t speak for the next few moments as Long Feiye continued to laugh. Although she graciously declined, he still picked her up princess style. Fortunately, she managed to grab a towel to cover herself--and her face at the same time.
Long Feiye placed her on the bed, where Han Yunxi quickly dried herself off and wrapped herself under the covers. He was quite well-behaved and didn’t tease her beyond grinning at her from the edge of the bed. Compared to her ever elegant self, he much preferred her lost and confused, shy and bashful like a young girl. It was a sight reserved for his eyes alone.
Han Yunxi looked askance at him and felt a little sorry. She scooted in side and left him some room. “It’s almost daylight, you should sleep a bit before you go.”
How was she to know that he had no plans to leave the black markets at all? She added, “You’ll be running about tomorrow again, so hurry up and take this time to rest.”
Long Feiye laid down and Han Yunxi scooted over to grasp his arm as she snuggled up against him. Even she didn’t know when she’d started to depend on this man. She thought she’d only see him again after 10 days, but here he was after one. That’s so nice.
Long Feiye’s original plan was to come and channel more internal energy into Han Yunxi’s body, then tutor her a bit in her needle attack methods. But seeing her act like a little chick reluctant to part, he set aside the martial arts lessons.
“Sleep,” he said. “I’ll leave after it gets light.”
Han Yunxi rubbed against him and felt his familiar warmth, feeling very satisfied. But right before she fell asleep, she suddenly remembered something. Her head snapped up as she said, “Long Feiye, why do you think Tang Li hates Ning Jing so much?”
“Perhaps he does,” Long Feiye said simply. At Medical City, Tang Li had mentioned this to him. But according to him, it was Ning Jing that hated Tang Li.
“You can tell, too?” Han Yunxi was so excited she sat upright.
How could Long Feiye ever notice such things, much less pay attention to them? If not for meeting Han Yunxi, he would be hopeless with his own feelings, too. Emotions were a kind of skill. When you met the right person, the skills appeared by instinct. Otherwise, one would remain ignorant for the rest of one’s life.
Before Long Feiye replied, Han Yunxi began to analyze the situation in earnest. “Tang Li doesn’t hate me a bit, so he has no reason to hate Ning Jing, ah!”
“Who wouldn’t feel resentful after being drugged like that?” Long Feiye challenged back. It was clear that he hadn’t quite grasped the concept of “hate” that Han Yunxi meant.
Meanwhile, Han Yunxi misunderstood him as well. “That incident...it is rather hateful.” She muttered to herself for a bit, then added, “Long Feiye, I’ve always felt that Tang Li has....a certain desire for Ning Jing!”
“He has,” Long Feiye replied simply.
“You think so too?” Han Yunxi was a bit moved.
“It’s not what I think, but what Tang Li told me himself,” Long Feiye answered.
Han Yunxi was alarmed. “What did you say?”
“Tang Li said before, he likes Ning Jing. Unfortunately, Ning Jing still doesn’t want to bear any children, even now,” Long Feiye was repeating Tang Li’s exact words at Medical City.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?!” Han Yunxi was both surprised and indignant.
“What are you doing? If you move about like that, it’ll injure your legs,” Long Feiye scolded.
“I’ll go find Ning Jing...no, no, I’ll go find Tang Li, I have something very important to tell him!” Han Yunxi said as she spread open her arms, indicating that Long Feiye should carry her off the bed.
Long Feiye only gave her a cold look, unhappy. Han Yunxi panicked and grabbed him by the collar. “Long Feiye, this concerns the marriage of your own brother! Hurry up!”
Long Feiye almost fell on top of her, but in the end he princess-carried her back into the wheelchair and tossed her some clothes to wear.
“Long Feiye, Ning Jing likes Tang Li! She likes him!” Han Yunxi completely ignored Long Feiye’s black expression as she finished changing and wheeled herself towards the door. He was left stunned at her departure. After waiting in her rooms for an entire night, this woman left him just like that? Still, he had to go along with her whims since this was for Tang Li’s sake.
Han Yunxi had no idea why she was so excited, but she ordered the servant girl to all but run with her wheelchair down the halls. Under the dim moonlight, their shadows were left behind like the wind. By the time Han Yunxi reached the jail cell, Tang LI was lying on his thatch mat while staring blankly out the window. This wasn’t his first bout of insomnia, but Han Yunxi’s questions had left him even less able to sleep. He heard her coming from a long ways off and only assumed she was an elder here to secretly torture him. That was why he refused to turn around even when Han Yunxi had already ordered someone to unlock the doors and push her inside.
When she saw his thin form, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Aiyo, are you so lonely that you’ve turned wan and sallow?”
Tang Li’s head whipped back, surprised. “It’s you?”
“Tang Li, is this how you want to be alone with your ‘peace and quiet?’” Han Yunxi grinned.
Tang Li rolled his eyes at her before turning back to face the walls with his eyes shut.
“How does it feel, missing ‘peace and quiet’ by yourself?” Han Yunxi asked as she wheeled herself over.
Tang Li was never one for provocations, much less Han Yunxi using “jing jing, jing jing” (peace and quiet) all over again. He immediately rose to his feet. “I’ll say it one last time, I just want to be alone with my ‘peace and quiet!’ Not ‘I miss my Jing Jing!’” he explained impatiently.
“Explaining too much is a cover up,” Han Yunxi stated simply. Before Tang Li could retort, she grew serious, “And covering up means you do have desires!”
“Han Yunxi, just what are you planning? It’s not even daylight yet, aren’t you bored? If you are, go find my big brother!” Tang Li couldn’t take it.
As Han Yunxi continued to smile, he added, “I’m telling you, Han Yunxi, if it wasn’t because of my big brother, I would have exploded on you ages ago! Just what do you want? Say what you have to say, or scram if there’s nothing!”
He had once agreed to Long Feiye that if Han Yunxi didn’t hate her husband, he would control forces back at the Tang Clan too. He never thought Han Yunxi was so free and skilled enough to fool around with Long Feiye while still hanging out at the Di Clan’s turf at Myriad Merchant Hall.
Why was everything so simple in this woman’s eyes?
Why were things so difficult between him and Ning Jing?
Han Yunxi cleared her throat and got to business. “Alright, since you’re already chasing me away, then I’ll get straight to the point! Tang Li, I’m here to tell you a secret. Wanna hear?”
Tang Li’s eyes flashed with doubt, but he feigned indifference. “Whatever you want!”
“It’s a secret about Ning Jing, you know,” Han Yunxi teased.
1. The exact Chinese word used here is 傲娇 aojiao, which is a loanword from the Japanese “tsundere.” It’s exact definition is “presenting as unfriendly and blunt, but warm and tender inside.” If you ask me, LFY’s always been the tsundere one…