In his entire life, Jun Buli had truly never encountered a woman so unreasonable. His eyes went cold, and his grip suddenly tightened.
Situ Jing’er’s wrist ached fiercely from the pull, burning hot, as if it might snap at any moment.
But she refused to let go, stubborn to the end.
This man had no business insulting her like this—she’d never once said she wanted to marry him. How could he just baselessly insist she had?
And on top of that, to reject her like this! She was a girl, after all—where was she supposed to put her face? Thank goodness no one else had heard, or she’d have to go bash her head against a wall.
“Are you going to let go or not?!” Jun Buli snapped, losing his temper.
Situ Jing’er was even angrier than he was, reaching over with her other hand and, of all things, grabbing hold of Jun Buli’s ear, shouting, “If you don’t explain yourself properly today, I’m not letting go!”
Jun Buli sucked in a sharp breath, completely unprepared for Situ Jing’er to actually grab his ear. For a moment, he was simply stunned.
In his entire life, had even his own mother ever pulled his ear like this?
But just as Jun Buli stood there frozen, Situ Jing’er abruptly wrenched her hand free, swinging her elbow hard toward him. Jun Buli dodged by pure reflex, grabbing at Situ Jing’er’s hand in response—and somehow, in the chaos, Situ Jing’er lost her footing, and Jun Buli leaned in to catch her, and so…
Thud.
The back of Situ Jing’er’s head hit the ground first—but it landed soft, as if it hadn’t actually struck the floor at all.
Jun Buli’s hand had cushioned her head. In the split second she’d fallen, without even realizing it himself, his hand had shot out to catch her.
Well, if this girl had actually gotten hurt, he really would have had to take full responsibility after all.
Somehow, Situ Jing’er’s arm had ended up wrapped around Jun Buli’s waist. Both of them froze, staring at each other, neither noticing quite how close they’d ended up.
Time seemed to stop in that very instant.
Situ Jing’er stared at him, dazed. This man—once her emperor brother, and now… well, though he was no longer young, and could certainly be counted a man, he still carried only about thirty percent grown-man about him, with seventy percent still boyish and childlike.
Jun Buli, too, gazed coldly at Situ Jing’er—this girl, once his little sister, and now… well, though she wasn’t particularly old either, she’d grown into a striking, beautiful young woman, utterly unlike that scrawny little troublemaker from before, as if she’d become an entirely different person.
A girl changes eighteen times as she grows up—that old saying was clearly true.
The two of them simply stared at each other, each lost in their own tangled thoughts.
But just then, Meng Duo’er happened to be walking over, chatting with Baili Xiaosheng and Guxi.
The moment the sound of approaching voices reached them, both Jun Buli and Situ Jing’er panicked, glancing down at each other, only now realizing just how compromising their position looked!
Flustered, Situ Jing’er tried to scramble up at once—but as she did, lifting her head and pushing herself up, somehow, somehow…
Her mouth landed squarely against Jun Buli’s!
“Ahh…”
Baili Xiaosheng’s shocked cry rang out. Heavens, what was she looking at? She’d barely set foot in the courtyard, and there before her were Jun Buli and Situ Jing’er, lying on the ground, kissing!
Absolutely terrifying!
It had all happened in an instant—really, it was nothing more than a brief brush of contact. Situ Jing’er pulled back immediately.
She spun around sharply to look at Baili Xiaosheng, so startled she squeezed her eyes shut, mouth wide open in horror. “Ahh…” Meanwhile, Jun Buli was still leaning over her, too stunned to even think about getting up, staring at her in shock.
She… she had just…
What had she just done?!
“Ahh… I didn’t see anything, carry on!”
Baili Xiaosheng announced loudly, spinning around at once to flee—only to find that Meng Duo’er and Guxi, right behind her, were equally dumbstruck.
At this, Guxi immediately spoke up. “Young Master, please, carry on. We didn’t see anything.”
With that, he grabbed Baili Xiaosheng and hurried off in a blur, while Meng Duo’er, equally spooked, turned and vanished in an instant.
But Situ Jing’er’s shrieking continued unabated. “Ahh… ahh… ahh…”
Jun Buli had no choice but to clap a hand over her mouth, snapping, “Enough! Do you want to bring everyone running?”
At this, Situ Jing’er abruptly stopped, eyes wide, cheeks flushed crimson, glaring up at Jun Buli.
Jun Buli hovered over her, hand still clamped over her mouth, his heart still pounding wildly from the moment her lips had brushed his.
“Stop shouting!” he said sternly.
Situ Jing’er nodded frantically, and only then did Jun Buli release her mouth, immediately standing and stepping away—though he did reach down to pull Situ Jing’er up as well.
It took Situ Jing’er a good moment to steady herself. She pressed her lips together tightly, looking up at Jun Buli as if she wanted to say something—but in the end, she said nothing at all, turning and dashing away.
Jun Buli watched her retreating figure until it disappeared from sight, and only then did he slowly raise a hand, fingertips brushing gently over his own lips, standing frozen for a long moment. Whatever he was thinking, no one could say—but a good while later, he suddenly smiled, a faint, quiet smile, and finally turned to leave.
In the days that followed, none of them—not Baili Xiaosheng, not Guxi, not Meng Duo’er—ever brought up what had happened. It was as if that day had simply been a dream.
Situ Jing’er, meanwhile, was remarkably well-behaved, spending every day cooped up in her own chambers, not even visiting Meng Duo’er, leaving Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian convinced their daughter had been badly traumatized. They brought in physician after physician, none of whom could diagnose anything at all.
Ziqing brought Yaotiao to visit several times, and Situ Jing’er seemed perfectly cheerful and normal, chatting and laughing with them.
Of course, Baili Xiaosheng, Guxi, and Meng Duo’er all stayed well away. As for Jun Buli, needless to say, he spent his days entirely with the wretched scholar, barely seen at all.
Naturally, over these past few days, Situ Jing’er had also asked her father, Situ Haonan, about everything that had happened in the bloodline clan’s tomb.
Situ Haonan recounted everything to his daughter in meticulous detail, including, of course, her own earth-shattering declaration: “I want to marry Jun Buli.”
“I really said that?” Situ Jing’er exclaimed, utterly stunned.
“Girl, are you telling me… you, a proper young lady… you… you really do have feelings for Jun Buli?” Situ Haonan had been puzzled about this the entire time—his daughter was proud to a fault; how could she possibly have said something like that?
“Father, did I really say that?” Situ Jing’er couldn’t believe it.
“Everyone heard it. If you don’t believe me, go ask anyone else,” Situ Haonan said seriously, then added, “What on earth got into you? If you were going to say something like that, you should have said it privately! Why announce it to the whole room?”
Situ Jing’er truly had no idea—she didn’t even know such a thing had happened at all. Seeing her father’s suspicious expression, she said nothing further, claiming exhaustion and excusing herself to sleep.
Situ Haonan had no choice but to leave, though he turned back at the door to add, “Jing’er, your Aunt Qing and the others are leaving tomorrow. If you’re feeling up to it, go spend some time with them—tomorrow at noon your mother and I are holding a farewell banquet for them.”
At this, Situ Jing’er bolted upright. “So soon?!”
“You think everyone else has as little to do as you? They need to head back to Da Zhou eventually,” Situ Haonan said seriously.
Situ Jing’er said nothing more, watching her father leave. After mulling it over for a long while, she decided she really ought to go find Jun Buli and explain herself—after all, looking at the situation now, it seemed she’d been the unreasonable one after all.