Fortunately, his young wife hasn’t given up her true nature after all these years! Otherwise, if she were married into a rigid and dogmatic family, how could they possibly live together!
However, one thing is one thing—the matter of running away from the wedding still needs to be settled. When this little woman is firmly in his grasp… Young Master Li revealed a twisted smile.
In the middle of the night, the little woman, unaware of the impending doom, finally woke up groggily. She rolled over in bed, pouted, and said aggrievedly, “I’m so hungry…”
Li Hao, who was sleeping on the floor, was awakened by the little woman’s whimpering. He picked up the pastries prepared on the table and handed them to the little woman who was still half asleep on the bed: “Now you know you’re hungry? What were you thinking about this afternoon when you were only focused on drinking?”
Hua Qianqian was startled by the man’s voice and stared wide-eyed at the man who appeared in front of her: “How did you get into my room?”
Li Hao was grateful that she didn’t make any alarming screams in the middle of the night, but he was indeed very sleepy, so he kept it short: “You drank too much at the tavern this afternoon. I saw that you had nowhere to go, so I took the servants to settle you in. It’s inconvenient for a woman to be out alone, so I used the excuse that we are husband and wife to book a room for you.”
After saying that, he looked at the dazed little woman and said, “Alright, go to sleep now after you finish eating. It’s the middle of the night and others need to sleep too.”
Hua Qianqian was now fully sober. She had drunk too much, and the person who took care of her had gone to so much trouble, worried that she, a woman alone, might be taken advantage of, so they booked a room for her and even prepared pastries in case she woke up hungry in the middle of the night…
It makes perfect sense, but she just finds it strange. Just like at the wine shop before, if this man has no feelings for her, why is he taking such good care of her? But if he does have feelings for her, why is his attitude so different from his actions?
Li Hao didn’t care what she was thinking. After all, before he revealed his identity, they were essentially alone together in a room. To prevent his little wife from feeling awkward, he lay on the floor with his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, but his ears were perked up, afraid that his little wife might disappear again and he would have to go through the trouble of looking for her again!
After all, she was still a little tipsy. She ate a few pastries to soothe her rumbling stomach, then hugged her blanket and fell asleep again. She decided to leave even the most important matters for tomorrow!
The next morning, as soon as Li Hao stepped out the door, he received a note from Xiao Jiu: “Young Master, a letter from Young Master Si.” Li Hao hummed in response, knowing that the guy must have been waiting anxiously.
But when he unfolded the document, he found that it was not the case at all. Although Young Master Si was in a hurry to urge him to go back, it was because he had taken a fancy to the substitute girl Hua Yaoyao and was urging Li Hao to go back quickly so that he could take his wife and get away!
With a sneer in his heart, Li Hao casually instructed Xiao Jiu, “Prepare hot water for the young mistress to wash up.” He hadn’t even settled things with his own wife yet, and that guy Si Yiyuan not only had his eye on that substitute, but actually wanted to elope with her? Dream on!
The extremely unbalanced man brought hot water back to the house and woke Hua Qianqian up, intending to have a good talk with her. Everyone got married on the same day, so why is it that Si Yiyuan and his wife are so loving, while his little wife doesn’t even recognize him!
What’s even more outrageous is that while those two imposters were all lovey-dovey and inseparable, the real couple had to sleep on the floor and one of them had to sleep on the bed! So, after breakfast, Li Hao took Hua Qianqian to his carriage. Hua Qianqian knew from last night’s events that he wouldn’t harm her, so she got in without worry and let the carriage go wherever it wanted.
Li Hao wanted to reveal his identity directly, but he was worried that Hua Qianqian would misunderstand him or be afraid of him, so he didn’t know where to start. Hua Qianqian, on the other hand, didn’t have so many concerns. She got into the car only to ask one thing: “Hey, are you interested in me?”
Li Hao never expected her to ask him this question so directly, and he was taken aback for a moment before a smile appeared on his lips: “What if I said yes? What are you going to do then, young lady?”
Hua Qianqian said, “I can only advise you to stop liking me.”
Li Hao was taken aback again: “Why is that?”
The young woman’s voice was clear and crisp: “Because of my fiancé, even though I ran away from the wedding, and perhaps my fiancé has married another girl by now, I cannot ignore my mistake. I want to go back and make it up to him and my parents.”
The girl’s large, clear eyes shone with unwavering determination: “I’m not wrong to pursue my freedom, but what’s wrong with him? He wasn’t the one who arranged the marriage when we were children. I shouldn’t have run away from the wedding and dumped all the difficulties on him, leaving him to face the ridicule of the world alone.”
Li Hao’s eyes softened, and he asked gently, “But what if he makes things difficult for you when you go back? What if he tries to embarrass you in public, or even ruin your reputation?”
To his surprise, the girl seemed completely unprepared for this, staring at him with wide eyes: “Really? Someone as outstanding as you, would you really argue with me like a shrew?”
Li Hao’s expression stiffened, and he silently added another mark to his list of disapproving comments about this outspoken woman. He said calmly, “What if he insists on taking it to heart?” She dared to call him a shrew, but now it’s impossible for him not to take it to heart!
The young woman pouted, “If he insists on holding a grudge, I can only accept it. I made him lose face in front of the whole world, so it’s fair that he wants me to suffer the same fate! I can’t have all the benefits!”
A knowing smile flashed across Li Hao’s eyes as he smiled slightly and said, “How could I not like a girl as bold and responsible as you? Miss, you are putting me in a difficult position.”
Hua Qianqian was surprised that he was so persistent after only meeting him once. She couldn’t help but say, “Didn’t you understand what I said? If I run away from the wedding, I might harm my family and my fiancé, and even damage the friendship between our two families. Don’t you want to stay away from such a hot potato?”
Li Hao chuckled softly, his words carrying a hidden meaning: “Perhaps, this hot potato is just waiting for me to deal with it!”
Hua Qianqian fell silent. He was so devoted to her; she felt bad about being too cold to him. But after much thought, the young woman decided to let him die knowing the truth.
“Since you insist on liking me, I must make it clear to you beforehand that although I have some feelings for you, my fiancé still holds a place in my heart. Although I haven’t seen him in all these years, he has long left an imprint on my heart. Even so, do you still want to like me?”
Li Hao felt his heart skip a beat and asked nervously, “You mean, you’ve never really let go of your fiancé?”
Hua Qianqian felt a little guilty: “I’m sorry, I ran away from the wedding just to get rid of that kind of proper and pretentious life, not because I hated him that much.”
“Moreover, I have heard many people mention him. He is outstanding, accomplished at a young age, very talented, and handsome. These words of praise have been used on him countless times by different people. Knowing that I am his fiancée, I naturally pay more attention. So, over the years, although I have never met him, I have his image in my heart.”
…Xiao Jiu, who was driving the carriage outside, really wanted to jump down. He had praised his husband so much in front of him. He wondered if the young mistress would kill him to silence him after she found out the truth!
After expressing her feelings in one breath, Hua Qianqian looked up at Li Hao. The man was looking at her tenderly, his eyes shining with a light she couldn’t understand, seemingly with some joy. But she had clearly rejected him, so was there anything to be happy about?
The bewildered wife was suddenly pulled into the man’s arms. Her instinctive struggle stopped abruptly when she heard his gentle question: “If that’s the case, Qianqian, why don’t you tell me all this?”
Hua Qianqian was startled and couldn’t help but immediately break free from the man’s embrace, staring at him with wide eyes: “You know I’m Hua Qianqian, and you’re Li Hao?”
Li Hao smiled and nodded at his wife, “Yes, Qianqian, I’ve come to take you home.”
Hua Qianqian recalled everything from yesterday and asked curiously, “Then why did you pretend not to know me yesterday?”
Li Hao’s eyes were filled with tenderness: “Qianqian, actually, ever since you ran away from the Hua family that night, I have been following you. I want to know why you are unwilling to marry me. Is it because I am not good enough?”
“These past few days, I’ve watched you go to the teahouse to listen to opera and cheer loudly; I’ve also watched you haggle over a few coins like a common woman; I’ve followed you to see acrobatic performances; I’ve followed you to buy steamed buns from street vendors; and finally, I’ve followed you here.”
“When I saw you walk into the liquor store, I couldn’t resist. Although I don’t mind marrying a little drunkard, I don’t want my wife to be seen drunk by other men. So, I appeared in front of you.”
“But I was afraid that you would disappear again if you heard my name, so I didn’t dare to mention it. I only wanted to protect you. But I never imagined that you cared about me so much. I never imagined that you would reject other men for me so directly and decisively.”
“In the past four days, I have met a completely new Hua Qianqian, who is completely different from the dignified and elegant lady I had heard about before. But Qianqian, I have never said that I want to marry a lady from a prominent family.”
Hua Qianqian was caught off guard by his tender offensive and didn’t know how to deal with it. When he was a stranger, she dared to admit that she had feelings for him, but when he spoke so gently, she felt her whole body go numb and she didn’t even have the strength to speak.
Seeing her blushing face, and remembering Xiao Jiu sitting outside the car, Li Hao coughed lightly and changed the subject, saying, “Qianqian, how about we drive slowly on our way home? After you’ve seen enough of the outside world, we’ll go back and get married.”
Hua Qianqian was already so distracted by his gentle advances that she had no time to make any decisions, and naturally, she did whatever he said.
Poor Xiao Jiu outside the carriage. He had already thought his life was in danger when he heard the young mistress’s confession to the young master. Who would have thought that he would hear the young master’s tender confession? The poor boy was stunned. Was it too late for him to jump out of the carriage now?