“Are you done reading?”
Liu Yueti felt a little embarrassed and reached out to take the lotus lantern back, but Ling Buzhan hid it behind his back.
“Since Miss Liu doesn’t want anyone else to see it,” Ling Buzhan said with a smile, “I’ll keep it hidden for you.”
“I can hide it myself…”
Ling Buzhan took another step back, refusing to let go.
Liu Yueti looked suspiciously at him. “Don’t tell me… you actually like it?”
“Like what?” Ling Buzhan countered. “The chicken legs?”
Liu Yueti: “…”
Come to think of it, that was impossible.
Fine.
She pouted. “Then what about your poem…”
Suddenly, there was a loud splash, and the boat rocked violently. Liu Yueti’s body tilted to one side, and Ling Buzhan quickly caught her.
“What happened?” Liu Yueti grabbed him nervously. As expected of the male lead, his life was simply full of unexpected incidents.
“The boatman jumped into the water!” Ling Buzhan frowned, suspicion flashing in his eyes. “Wasn’t this your arrangement?”
“Of course not!” Liu Yueti shook her head like a rattle drum. “Why would I arrange something like this? Are we supposed to row ourselves back afterward?”
“We can’t row.” Ling Buzhan raised an eyebrow. “He threw the oars away too.”
“What?” Liu Yueti stared at him in shock.
Were they supposed to paddle back with their arms?
She couldn’t do manual labor!
“This trouble definitely looks like something you brought upon yourself.” Liu Yueti immediately pointed at him, distancing herself from the problem. “Who did you offend this time?”
Ling Buzhan looked slightly guilty.
“…Too many people. Who knows which one it was.”
Liu Yueti: “Wow.”
He really was a trouble magnet.
“But what are they trying to do?” Liu Yueti lifted the curtain and looked outside. “Trap us out here on the lake so we can’t get back?”
Hadn’t Shen Hanzhi said that everyone on the lake was his man?
So what was going on?
“Careful!”
The moment Liu Yueti poked her head out, Ling Buzhan pulled her back into the cabin.
A dart embedded itself exactly where she’d been standing.
“Ahhh!” Liu Yueti immediately hid behind Ling Buzhan. “What’s happening?”
A series of sounds like clay jars smashing came from outside the cabin.
Ling Buzhan’s expression changed.
“Not good. It’s oil.”
“They’re trying to burn the boat!”
“What?” Liu Yueti panicked.
Were they trying to kill them?
“Jump into the river.” Ling Buzhan made the decision immediately and grabbed her. “Can you swim?”
“A little.” Liu Yueti answered without thinking. “But I’ve only swum in pools. I’ve never swum in a wild river! And wearing all these clothes will affect how well I swim. I don’t even know if ancient cosmetics are waterproof…”
“Don’t be afraid. Stay with me.”
Ling Buzhan pulled her out of the cabin. Across from them, flaming arrows were already being lit.
“Go!”
Ling Buzhan grabbed Liu Yueti and jumped into the river with her.
“I wasn’t mentally prepared yet—”
Glug, glug!
It was difficult to see underwater. Liu Yueti’s mind was in chaos, and all she could do was force herself to move her limbs with the determination not to die.
—These clothes were seriously getting in the way underwater. She couldn’t exactly swim naked!
A hand caught hold of her.
Ling Buzhan swam ahead, guiding her through the water.
Liu Yueti suddenly had an idea.
This was the perfect opportunity…
for a kissing scene!
It seemed that no one had followed them into the water.
Why not…
She blew out a string of bubbles and pointed at herself, tugging at Ling Buzhan as if asking him for help.
At first, she was only acting.
But after actually exhaling her breath, she really was about to run out of air.
Ling Buzhan either couldn’t understand her gestures or was too embarrassed to act.
Liu Yueti finally lost patience.
She grabbed him by the collar and kissed him directly.
Open your mouth!
Give me some air!
Ling Buzhan’s eyes widened.
He immediately breathed air into her, not daring to think about anything else, and quickly pulled her away from the danger.
With a loud splash, they broke through the surface.
Liu Yueti collapsed against the riverbank, coughing violently.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Ling Buzhan had already sent up a signal. Feiying and Wei Zhao would find them soon.
His mind, however, was still filled with the underwater kiss.
He struggled to compose himself and asked, “Are you… all right?”
Liu Yueti had choked badly enough to bring tears to her eyes. Her face was covered in water, and her eyes were red, making her look even more pitiful and vulnerable.
Ling Buzhan didn’t dare look at her.
He quickly took off his outer robe and draped it over her.
Liu Yueti was puzzled. “Your clothes are wet too. Why are you giving it to me?”
Ling Buzhan answered stiffly, “Just… keep it on.”
Liu Yueti looked down at herself.
Her clothes weren’t exactly transparent…
At most, they were clinging to her body and revealing her figure a little.
But perhaps to an ancient man, that was already a little too stimulating.
Liu Yueti said nothing and wrapped herself in his outer robe.
Ling Buzhan turned to look toward the lake.
The river led outside the city, so they should be somewhere on the outskirts now.
“Are you feeling all right?” he asked softly.
“I’ll find something to make a fire. Warm yourself up by it.”
His tone was unusually gentle, so gentle that Liu Yueti wasn’t quite used to it.
She obediently nodded and watched him busy himself before sitting down beside the fire.
After warming her hands for a while, perhaps because the water in her brain had finally evaporated, Liu Yueti suddenly realized something.
“Wait.”
She tilted her head and looked at him.
“Those people didn’t seem like they were trying to kill us.”
“Mm.”
Ling Buzhan had clearly thought of it too. He gently stirred the fire.
“They were probably just warning me.”
“Meaning… if I keep investigating, they’ll kill me.”
Liu Yueti stared at him.
“Then why did we swim all the way over here? Couldn’t we have gotten out of the water closer to the boat?”
Ling Buzhan met her gaze, then smoothly looked away.
“Oh…”
Liu Yueti suddenly understood.
She pointed at him.
“I know!”
“If we had gotten out of the water in full view of everyone, and I came ashore soaking wet with you, you’d have to marry me, right?”
She turned away regretfully.
“Should’ve stayed closer to shore!”
Ling Buzhan muttered, “Falling into the water like that wouldn’t have been good for Miss Liu’s reputation either.”
Liu Yueti snorted.
“Do I look like someone who cares about that?”
Ling Buzhan lowered his eyes.
“I care.”
Liu Yueti moved closer to him.
“Do you care about my reputation, or are you just trying to avoid marrying me?”
“You…”
Ling Buzhan glared at her in exasperation.
“Do you really want to marry me that badly?”
“Yes.”
Liu Yueti raised her chin and stared him down.
“So what?”
Ling Buzhan’s gaze involuntarily dropped to her lips.
The soft sensation from their kiss moments ago suddenly returned to his mind.
He abruptly reached out and covered her mouth, scattering sand over the fire and extinguishing it. Then he pulled her behind a tree.
“Quiet. Don’t make a sound.”
Liu Yueti was pressed against the tree trunk, one hand braced against his chest.
He had taken off his outer robe, and through the thin inner garment, the contours of his young body were almost visible.
His lean waist was covered with a thin layer of muscle, droplets of water still clinging to his skin.
Liu Yueti closed her eyes.
Girl, you didn’t lie to me.
This really is exactly my type.
“We should be right here!”
Feiying and Wei Zhao had indeed found them.
But there was a huge crowd following behind them.
Not only had Bai Zhen’er and the Regent brought people along, but Pei Yu and even Lin Qingwan were there too.
Liu Yueti gloated quietly.
“Oh dear…”
“What are we going to do now?”
“Looks like you’re going to have to marry me after all, huh?”
Ling Buzhan: “…”