Beautiful, she certainly was. Tea water trickled down Ji Cheng’s chin and into her collar. Her lips, moistened from drinking, glistened with a watery sheen, carrying the scent of fresh tea that Shen Che so adored.
“Don’t doubt it. I just want to look at you,” Shen Che said.
Sometimes, the most unbelievable answers are the truest. Shen Che had sat by Ji Cheng’s bedside for a long time. She was like a living painting, too captivating to look away from.
The air was suffused with Ji Cheng’s sweet fragrance, a scent that should only be detectable up close. Yet, whenever Shen Che was near her, his nose was always filled with that faint peach-like aroma – a scent that made him shiver uncontrollably.
Ji Cheng sensed danger in Shen Che’s eyes. His gaze was reminiscent of that morning at Sanhao Residence, full of predatory intent.
Ji Cheng covered her mouth with the back of her hand, yawning. “I’m so tired. Do as you please.” She turned towards the bed, moving unhurriedly, afraid that walking too quickly might provoke Shen Che.
However, Shen Che made no further moves. After Ji Cheng buried herself under the covers, he returned to the chair by the wall and sat cross-legged.
Ji Cheng began to suffer from insomnia. Anyone would likely lose sleep with a hungry wolf crouched nearby, staring with glowing green eyes. Although Shen Che’s eyes weren’t green, Ji Cheng felt that black was even more terrifying.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Ji Cheng was awakened from her hazy state by Shen Che. “Let’s go. We need to reach the mountaintop before sunrise.”
Ji Cheng, having just fallen asleep after her bout of insomnia, didn’t want to open her eyes. Taking advantage of her drowsy state, she merely grunted twice in protest.
In the end, Shen Che wrapped Ji Cheng up in her blanket and carried her to the horse.
The gentle rocking of the horse’s back was conducive to sleep. When Ji Cheng was awakened by Shen Che pinching her nose, the sun had just begun to peek over the horizon. A boundless, brilliant orange-red filled her eyes. Leaning in Shen Che’s arms, facing such a beautiful scene, it would have been a shame to continue sulking.
Ji Cheng found a more comfortable position in Shen Che’s embrace. The mountain breeze was particularly biting in the early morning. She pulled Shen Che’s hand around her waist, which made her much warmer.
Throughout the sunrise, neither of them spoke. The magnificent scenery had filled their hearts. The sky was awash with red clouds in gold, orange, and red hues, like a celestial maiden’s spilled rouge box. Ji Cheng couldn’t help but wonder what the palaces of the immortals hidden deep in the sea of clouds might look like.
But the life of celestial maidens wasn’t to be envied either. Otherwise, the Jade Maiden wouldn’t have needed to descend to Earth to wash her hair.
Tea picking had many rules. It had to be done in the early morning when it was most humid and cool. Moreover, it had to be done by women, as their slender fingers could pluck the most tender leaves from the tea trees.
Ji Cheng was now dressed like a genuine tea picker, with a small bamboo basket on her back, half-sprawled on the steep rock face. She didn’t dare look down. That damned Shen Che – if she were to accidentally fall, she wouldn’t let him off even as a ghost.
On this desolate cliff where even birds didn’t rest, who knew when a few tea tree seeds had been dropped from a bird’s beak, taken root, and sprouted in the sheer rock face? Now Shen Che had his eye on them, coming every year to pluck a handful. Those poor little tea trees.
Shen Che’s breath lingered by Ji Cheng’s ear. “The most particular tea-picking families only use virgins. Their hands are the most delicate and won’t damage the tea buds.”
She used to be one too, you know! In response to Shen Che’s malicious habit of stepping on people’s sore spots, Ji Cheng answered with a flying kick.
But she had forgotten they were on a cliff. As Ji Cheng’s foot flew out, Shen Che lost his footing and fell straight down. Ji Cheng’s face turned pale with fright, and she screamed, “Shen Che! Shen Che!”
But Shen Che’s figure had already disappeared below the clouds, no longer visible. Ji Cheng’s whole body shook with cold, tears streaming down her face. That scourge Shen Che might be dead, but she feared she wouldn’t survive either.
Ji Cheng looked up. Although they weren’t far from the top of the cliff, the rock face was almost vertical. She estimated she couldn’t climb up. Even if she could, this was an isolated cliff with no paths around – she would starve to death. Going down was even more impossible. Now she was truly in a situation where heaven and earth wouldn’t respond to her calls.
Ji Cheng peered towards the clouds. Should she jump down and end it all?
“Are you planning to die with me?” Shen Che’s amused voice suddenly came from above Ji Cheng’s head.
Startled by the sudden sound, Ji Cheng swayed. If Shen Che hadn’t quickly embraced her, she might have fallen by now.
At this moment, tears were still in Ji Cheng’s eyes. She wanted to beat Shen Che severely but feared kicking him down again. She could only say resentfully, “This kind of joke isn’t funny at all. It’s childish and boring!”
Her eyes were like washed water, rippling and reflecting starlight. Shen Che leaned close to Ji Cheng and sighed softly, “You’d be very sad if I died?”
Sad might not be the right word. In a different place, Ji Cheng might have even clapped and celebrated. But at this moment, Ji Cheng didn’t speak. There were still unshed tears in her eyes, and tear tracks on her face.
Shen Che lowered his head and licked away the tear at the corner of Ji Cheng’s eye. Then he began to trace the shape of her lips with his tongue – small and full, irresistible.
Ji Cheng tightly hugged Shen Che’s waist, afraid of falling. Her heart was pounding, truly not understanding why Shen Che wanted to kiss her in such a dangerous place. He was indeed a beast.
“Let’s pick tea. Otherwise, if we miss the right time, we’ll have to come back tomorrow,” Shen Che said, reluctantly pecking Ji Cheng’s lips. Although he told her to pick tea, he showed no intention of letting her go.
When they flew down from the sheer cliff to level ground, Ji Cheng’s legs went weak, and she nearly fell. This elicited another light chuckle from Shen Che.
The rouge on Ji Cheng’s lips had been completely eaten away by Shen Che, but her lip color had turned a gorgeous cherry red from being sucked too hard. She turned and glared at Shen Che who was holding her, but in his eyes, she saw her current appearance – every part of her glowing with a pink radiance. It was truly embarrassing.
Ji Cheng tidied her hair by the mountain stream. Without Liu Ye and the others to help her, she could only arrange it casually, using a pair of white jade butterfly hairpins to secure the hair on both sides. The tails of the butterfly hairpins were adorned with jade bells the size of cherries, making crisp, melodious “ding-a-ling” sounds as she moved her head. Shen Che couldn’t resist reaching out to shake them.
Ji Cheng pushed Shen Che’s hand away, pouting coquettishly, “Don’t mess with my hair.”
Shen Che reached out and touched the bells on Ji Cheng’s head again.
Ji Cheng felt that sometimes Shen Che was really like a child. The more you forbade him from doing something, the more he wanted to do it. After doing it, he would look at you with a smiling face, waiting to see your helpless expression.
After picking the new tea leaves, they still had to go through the tea-processing steps. Old Zhang not only helped Shen Che process the tea but also provided breakfast.
Having set out in the middle of the night, experiencing a morning of shock and fear, and then having to pick tea for Shen Che, Ji Cheng was now famished. But when she sat at the table, she still maintained graceful dining etiquette.
Old Zhang’s apprentice looked at Ji Cheng as if he had seen a fairy. Her clothes fluttered elegantly in the mountain breeze, and he truly feared a stronger gust might blow her away.
So, to get a few more glances, Da Shan passed by the guest hall several times. Each time, he would steal a few looks as he passed the doorway, then quickly walk away, afraid of being noticed by Ji Cheng.
Shen Che glanced sideways at the doorway, smiling at Ji Cheng, his teasing intent obvious.
After the meal, Shen Che disappeared to who knows where, while Ji Cheng wandered around. She had never been to a place like this and was quite curious.
Old Zhang was leading Da Shan in drying the tea leaves Ji Cheng had picked in the morning.
“Da Shan, why have you been so absent-minded all morning? I told you not to use force, these tea buds are all very delicate,” Old Zhang was scolding Da Shan.
Ji Cheng slowed her steps, not turning past the bamboo fence. Eavesdropping on someone being scolded was always embarrassing. Just as Ji Cheng was about to turn away, she heard Old Zhang say, “You country bumpkin, has seen a pretty girl made your eyes stick? You can’t even turn them away?”
Da Shan chuckled sheepishly.
“They’re not proper women anyway, what’s there to look at?” Old Zhang said disdainfully. “Focus on your work. When you’ve saved enough money, I’ll find you a proper wife. No need to be envious.”
Tears suddenly rolled from Ji Cheng’s eyes, catching even herself off guard. It was just like how she had been caught off guard by becoming an “improper woman.”
Ji Cheng’s heart ached as if pricked by needles. The consequences she had once tried so hard to avoid seemed even worse now than they had been initially. At least Zhu Jijun had talked about taking her as a concubine.
Ji Cheng took a deep breath, not allowing the remaining tears to fall. She wiped her tears with her fingertips, straightened her back, and was about to walk forward when Da Shan’s somewhat anxious voice came from behind, “Miss Ah Cheng.”
“Did… did you hear what my master said just now?” Da Shan stuttered anxiously.
Ji Cheng turned and smiled, though her eyes still held a hint of moisture from crying.
Looking into Ji Cheng’s eyes, Da Shan hurriedly said, “I, I know you’re not that kind of woman. You’re not.”
Although she had gone out alone with a man without being married and had held hands intimately – even Ji Cheng herself felt she wasn’t a proper woman – Da Shan could say with the most sincere eyes that she wasn’t.
Ji Cheng smiled again, her eyes reddening once more. “Yes, I’m not,” Ji Cheng nodded, repeating, “I’m not.”
When Shen Che returned, he took Ji Cheng down the mountain. Ji Cheng noticed that the road didn’t seem to be heading back to the capital. She asked, “Aren’t we going back to the capital?”
“We have one more place to go,” Shen Che said mysteriously.
After descending the mountain, they took a boat for a short stretch of water and then climbed another mountain. Fortunately, they didn’t have to climb for too long this time, but the sky had already darkened.
Shen Che blindfolded Ji Cheng, held her as they dismounted, and led her forward.
Ji Cheng suppressed her unease and said, “What are you doing? Afraid I’ll remember the way and come back here next time?”
“You’re overthinking,” Shen Che replied.
“It’s already dark anyway. Even if you don’t blindfold me, I won’t be able to see anything,” Ji Cheng said. She hated walking in darkness, having to rely entirely on Shen Che.
“Patience. We’re almost there.” Shen Che simply picked Ji Cheng up by the waist.