Chapter 624 - But You“re the One By My Side
Tang Si could only stare blankly at him. She worried at her lips as she thought for a moment, then leaned towards Ji Yunshu and asked in a whisper, “Ah Ji, I ask you, has that dolt been hurt by a woman before?”
With her habitual loud tones, as much as she tried to keep her voice down, she still wasn’t able to reduce its volume by much. Her question was overheard by Jing Rong who was standing at the stern of the boat. He spared her a glance and answered it before Ji Yunshu could open her mouth. “He hasn’t only been hurt by a woman, but also by a man.”
“Huh?” Tang Si put a hand to her mouth in surprise as her eyes grew wide in disbelief, “Hurt by a man? By who?”
“This prince.” He casually tossed out those two wards as he stared at the crystal-clear and calm lake surface. He deliberately raised his voice as he said, “Back then, this prince also had the face of a genteel scholar. First, Young Master Mo chased after this prince for such a long time, but this prince was a rather oblivious fellow that simply dismissed his efforts. That’s why he started drowning himself in alcohol all day long, drinking to forget his woes. That’s how he formed his terrible drinking habit. I wager that if this prince doesn’t agree soon, he’ll die in his wine one day, sooner or later.” This truly was a childhood friend! Completely merciless once they started dissing the other. [1]
The next moment, a wine pot came flying towards Jing Rong from the bow to the stern of the boat, but he easily caught it. Mo Ruo clenched his teeth and barked, “Nonsense!”
“Everything this prince said was nothing but the truth. Young Master Mo, do you deny that you’ve always been chasing after this prince?”
Fine, asshole, you’re always right! Happy? Mo Ruo had no way of rebutting him; after all, what he said was really true.
From young, he had always been running after Jing Rong. Wherever Jing Rong went, he would follow; whatever he did, he would copy. They were as inseparable as a person and their shadow. One day, Jing Rong finally could not tolerate it and scolded him harshly. Mo Ruo was deeply hurt and disconsolate; from that day onwards, he never ever stuck to Jing Rong as closely, but instead often sought companionship in wine instead, drinking like a fish.
There was a particularly memorable incident where Mo Ruo had gotten completely wasted and insisted on taking off all his clothes to hug Jing Rong as he slept. This had infuriated Jing Rong so badly that he immediately threw a few punches at him. That was also why Jing Rong hated it so much whenever Mo Ruo drank.
That their friendship that could last till now definitely deserved the label of a ‘life-changing’ friendship.
With that, the two of them ended their verbal spar and peace was restored.
However, Tang Si continued to pester Ji Yunshu. “Ah Ji, tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
She jerked her chin towards Mo Ruo. “Has he ever liked anyone?”
Sigh… how should she explain it? No one dared to mention Kong Yu in front of him. “If you’d like to know, you can ask him yourself.”
“He surely wouldn't tell me either.”
“If he refused to tell you, what can an outsider like me say?” Ji Yunshu shrugged.
Tang Si could only give up, having failed in her quest for more information. She continued to kick her bare feet in the water, idly splashing to amuse herself.
At the end of their boat ride, some of them had caught a few fish, so they started a small fire by the lake and started roasting the fish. Without noticing, the sky had also gradually darkened. Tang Si, Mo Ruo, and Ji Yunshu sat around the fire as the fish roasted, the fragrance of the cooking fish spreading in all directions. The sight and smell of this scene was particularly enticing under the pitch-black night sky.
In the shadows, Jing Rong’s guards had already been starving; with the added torment of the roasting fish, their hunger became increasingly difficult to bear. “How fragrant!” One of them licked their lips.
“Yeah, if only we could get a bite as well.”
“I really envy Guard Lang.”
Eh? One of them was puzzled. “What is there to envy? Right now, Guard Lang has to take care of His Highness’s chickens everyday. His entire body stinks of bird shit.”
Another one scoffed at him, “That’s where you’re wrong. Think about it, at least he has food to eat. Compared to us who have to run around with His Highness and we don’t even get to eat. In comparison, I’d rather go farm chickens any day.”
Everyone nodded in agreement with his reasoning. “That’s true.” However, they had no choice but to lick their lips and stare impotently as Jing Rong passed a freshly roasted fish to Ji Yunshu.
She brought the fish up to her nose for a sniff, it’s rather fragrant!
“This was roasted according to this prince’s secret recipe. Try it.”
After a long day of boating, she was so hungry that she thought she would just bear it and eat the fish even if it tasted awful. Unexpectedly, it was delicious! “Mn, it’s not bad.”
“This time, do you really mean that it’s not bad?” Jing Rong looked at her, as eager as a child waiting for affirmation.
“This is the best roasted fish I’ve ever tasted.”
“Does that mean that you’ve eaten other roasted fish before?”
She nodded and answered frankly, “Ji Pei has brought me to the riverside before and roasted a fish just like this.”
Ji Pei! There always seemed to be a faint smile on her lips whenever she mentioned Ji Pei. The years she spent with him were the happiest part of her life.
Jing Rong felt a little uncomfortable as he looked at Ji Yunshu’s expression when she mentioned Ji Pei. He was even a little upset as he looked at the brightly burning fire. After a long pause, he commented bitterly, “this prince just can’t compare to Ji Pei and Wei Yi in your heart. Every time you mention them, you would always smile so happily.”
Eh? He’s jealous? Ji Yunshu sneaked a peek at his expression. Just a moment ago, that face was so smug over how tasty his roasted fish was, but now, he pulled such a long face that his chin was practically touching the ground! “Why would you think that?”
“It’s not what I think, it’s fact. Whether it be Ji Pei or Wei Yi, your memories with them are always good and happy. But when you’re together with this prince, the things you encounter are either the turmoil of the Imperial Court, or fighting and killing.” He wasn’t really being jealous, but just felt rather helpless and sad.
Now that she thought about it, there was some truth to what he said. Ever since Ji Yunshu had met him, what they had experienced together was either solving cases or dealing with political intrigue within the Imperial Court. It wasn’t as leisurely as the time she had spent with Ji Pei, nor as carefree as when she was with Wei Yi. However… she quirked up a corner of her lips, “But you’re the one by my side. Whether it be now or in the future, it’s something that no other person can replace.”
Jing Rong’s heart tingled with affection. At first, he thought that this woman was as emotionless as a block of wood that was brilliant at examining corpses and solving cases, but hopeless with feelings. Who knew that she could be a smoother flirt than him when she tried?
In a flash, the depressing ‘fog’ clouding his heart was swept clean away. Jing Rong looked at her in surprise. “Really?”
“Of course.”
It felt as if someone had suddenly shoved a gulp of sugar water into Jing Rong’s mouth. The sweetness spread from his mouth, down his throat, into his heart, and throughout his body. Like a child, he held Ji Yunshu’s icy-cold hands as he gazed at her soulfully. [2]
By coincidence, Tang Si who sat on the other side of the wood fire, happened to look over at them the moment they held their hands. She was dumbfounded. A barrage of curses flew through her mind. [3] Damn! Are you two cutsleeves?!
It startled her so badly that the skewer of roasted fish in her hand fell to the ground as she nervously swallowed.
[1] +1 JR being a little shit AND a good bro at the same time +1 the BL agenda. clap clap well played
[2] Urgh! Enough of this barrage of dog-food already! I have goosebumps just writing it >.<
[3] The very literal TL that I was tempted to write instead: A thousand grass mud horses galloped across the plains of her heart. Ya know what i mean? ;)