"Let whoever wants to laugh go ahead and laugh! You're good, you're just good, you're the best..."
"Alright, alright..." Xiao Jin Yu looked down at the small head buried against his chest. "Chu Chu... if one day I end up like Xiao Jue, lying in bed unable to move, what would you do?"
Chu Chu jolted at his words, hurriedly lifting her head to look at him. "Wang Ye, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Chu Chu nearly cried from anxiety. "Are you hiding some illness from me again?"
"No... I'm just asking if you know what you should do?"
Chu Chu pressed tightly against his embrace. "I'd stay with you in bed every day! I'd take good care of you, not like that embroideress..."
"Silly girl..." Xiao Jin Yu cupped her face, his fingers gently tracing her delicate features, his eyes filled with tenderness. "If that day really comes, you should go home and live well with your family..."
"No..."
Before she could finish her refusal, Xiao Jin Yu's cool lips silenced her.
Feeling both frightened and wronged, unable to speak while being kissed by Xiao Jin Yu, Chu Chu couldn't hold back her tears.
Xiao Jin Yu had to stop. "Don't cry... I was just speaking casually..."
Chu Chu burst into sobs. "I won't marry you anymore!"
"Chu Chu..."
Chu Chu struggled free from Xiao Jin Yu's embrace. "Go marry someone else!"
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, I shouldn't have said that..."
Listening to Xiao Jin Yu's stream of apologies, watching until his face flushed crimson with panic, Chu Chu finally wiped her tears, pouted her lips, and said with satisfaction, "I was just speaking casually too."
"..."
☆ Chapter 54: Four Happiness Meatballs (Part 13)
After being tormented by Chu Chu like this, fine beads of sweat had formed on Xiao Jin Yu's forehead, his heart racing chaotically for quite some time. When Chu Chu, with tear-streaked face and pouting lips, demanded he go to sleep, he didn't dare say another word, immediately lying down obediently and closing his eyes.
After this emotional turmoil, his mind finally relaxed, and overwhelming fatigue swept over him. He fell into a deep sleep as soon as his eyes closed.
He slept soundly and peacefully, only vaguely remembering that the soft, warm little body had tried to slip away from his embrace at some point, but he had instinctively pulled her back in his drowsy state.
He didn't wake because he had slept enough, but because the outer room door was being pounded thunderously. Someone outside was shouting as if their pants were on fire, "Something's happened to Lord Jing! Lord Jing is in trouble!"
Chu Chu had woken up long ago, but since Xiao Jin Yu held her tightly without letting go, she had been lying with him. Hearing the commotion, she quickly shook Xiao Jin Yu. "Wang Ye, something's happened to Brother Jing!"
Xiao Jin Yu was too lazy to open his eyes. "Impossible..."
He had just sent instructions last night for him to handle another matter - it would take at least two or three days to return. Any trouble couldn't possibly happen here...
The shouting outside continued, "Something's happened to Lord Jing!"Chu Chu scrambled up, hurriedly pulling on her clothes while anxiously saying, "It's Zheng County Magistrate.".. something must have happened!"
Xiao Jin Yu frowned, reluctantly opening his eyes. "Zheng County Magistrate?"
"It's Zheng County Magistrate's voice, I recognize it!"
Zheng Youde...Chu Chu hastily threw on her outer garment and leaped out of bed, rushing to the outer room's door. Suddenly swinging it open, she caught Zheng Youde—who had been knocking while anxiously pressing his ear against the door—completely off guard. Losing his balance, he stumbled forward and rolled directly inside, his head striking the large blue-and-white fishbowl placed squarely in the center of the room with a loud "clang" before he came to a halt.
"Good heavens, my Guanyin Imperial Concubine..."
Chu Chu hurried over to help the dazed Zheng Youde up, but he was too disoriented and far too heavy for her to lift. Instead, she crouched down to speak with him. "County Magistrate Zheng, what happened to Brother Jing?"
"How should I know..." Rubbing his spinning head, it took Zheng Youde a long moment to realize something was amiss. Clutching his skull, he stared wide-eyed at Chu Chu's disheveled hair and untidy attire. "Girl Chu, why... why are you here?"
"I arrived late last night and didn't leave, so I stayed here..."
Zheng Youde gaped at her in disbelief. This was the guest room he had specifically arranged for Jing Yi, who had explicitly warned against letting anyone else inside. Yet, on the very first night, he had witnessed Jing Yi bringing back a flashily dressed young woman.
Now this girl had come last night and stayed...
Wasn't she supposed to be getting married?
"County Magistrate Zheng, hurry up and tell me, what exactly happened?"
While Zheng Youde was still struggling to make sense of the situation through his throbbing, dizzy head, a calm voice sounded from nearby. "Which Lord Jing is in trouble?"
The voice was cool, carrying a faint undertone of irritation—clearly not Jing Yi's. Zheng Youde whipped his head around too quickly, forgetting he was leaning against the fishbowl. His face collided solidly with the bowl in a loud "thud," numbing half his face and filling his ears with a ringing buzz. His dizziness intensified.
Amid the swirling vertigo, he glimpsed a figure in white robes seated not far away. With great effort, he discerned the outline of a man—a rather handsome one at that.
Seeing Xiao Jin Yu emerge, Chu Chu quickly stood and moved to his side.
Zheng Youde hugged his head and sighed. First a woman, and now a man... Lord Jing truly was a high-ranking official from the capital...
"You two... please summon Lord Jing!"
Xiao Jin Yu's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Didn't you say Lord Jing was in trouble?"
"Nonsense!"
In his agitation, Zheng Youde tried to stand by gripping the fishbowl. The sudden movement worsened his dizziness, and as he shifted his full weight onto one side of the bowl, it couldn't bear the pressure. The center of gravity tilted, and the bowl toppled over onto Zheng Youde, drenching his upper body with most of its water, which then spread across the floor.
Xiao Jin Yu's heart had initially leapt into his throat, but upon seeing that only water—and no fish—had spilled from the bowl, it settled back into a steady rhythm.
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