Bai Ruoyao had assumed that with Wusu’s abilities, he would return quickly, but by the time the sky was nearly dark, Chu Wusu still hadn’t come back. She was growing anxious, and just as she could wait no longer and was about to go out and look for him—the inn’s door swung open.
Before she even saw anyone, she heard a woman’s sweet, soft voice.
“Sir, hurry up!” Ji Shu turned her head back, the delight in her eyes impossible to hide. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Bai Ruoyao’s face.
“Tch, what’s the rush?” Chu Wusu shot her a sidelong glance. Seeing that little face practically written over with impatience, he unhurriedly looked away and continued strolling along at his leisurely pace, without the slightest hint of urgency.
“Ugh!” Ji Shu was just about to urge him on again when she saw Bai Ruoyao rushing out.
Bai Ruoyao’s heart gave a sudden jolt. Who was this woman, and why had she come back together with Wusu?
“Wusu! Why are you only back now? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you!” Bai Ruoyao felt somewhat embarrassed and resentful. She had been so worried about him, and yet he—he had brought back some wild woman…
When Bai Ruoyao saw Ji Shu’s alluring, seductive face, her irritation grew even stronger, and she couldn’t quite hold back the accusation in her voice: “Wusu, who is this young lady?”
Hearing her slightly interrogative tone, Chu Wusu’s brow furrowed faintly, but his voice remained as languid as ever: “Ruoyao, she is my maidservant.”
After a pause, he added, “She came out specially to find me. From now on, she will stay by my side.”
Bai Ruoyao’s eyes widened in disbelief: “What? How come I’ve never heard of you having such a maidservant?”
“I’m just a humble little maidservant—why would the young master ever bring me up?” Ji Shu said with a beaming smile, stepping in to explain herself. “If anything, it’s Miss Bai whom the young master kept mentioning on the road.”
Chu Wusu still needed to use Bai Ruoyao to find his father’s killer. As a sensible maidservant, Ji Shu naturally couldn’t ruin his plans or expose any cracks in his facade.
Bai Ruoyao: “Mentioning me?”
“That’s right. The young master kept praising you on the road, Miss Bai—how gentle and kind you are, how you possess both beauty and virtue.” Ji Shu nodded earnestly.
“Really?” Bai Ruoyao wavered, and the disgust in her gaze toward Ji Shu faded somewhat.
Seeing Bai Ruoyao’s expression soften, Ji Shu smiled sweetly and continued, “Of course! The young master even said that Miss Bai is the most wonderful woman he has ever met~”
Bai Ruoyao’s eyes widened slightly—so this was how Wusu saw her?
She naturally knew that Chu Wusu held some affection for her—after all, she had worked so painstakingly to earn it.
But she had never imagined that, in his heart, she occupied such a flawless, perfect place.
A faint blush rose to her cheeks as she secretly glanced at the handsome, powerful man before her.
“I thought the young master might be exaggerating, but now that I’ve seen Miss Bai for myself, I know he didn’t speak a single word of falsehood~” As she spoke, Ji Shu also looked toward Chu Wusu, and while Bai Ruoyao wasn’t paying attention, she secretly winked at him.
Chu Wusu suppressed the flicker of amusement in his eyes. This girl was quite the brazen liar—when had he ever said any of those things?
Seeing that Chu Wusu said nothing, Bai Ruoyao took it as tacit agreement. Her shyness deepened, and her earlier dislike of Ji Shu gradually faded away.
Although she was still displeased that a maidservant had appeared at Chu Wusu’s side, when she considered how flawless she was in Wusu’s heart—and how sensible that maidservant seemed—her expression toward Ji Shu grew friendlier.
“Wusu, how did you and this…” Realizing she didn’t know the maidservant’s name, Bai Ruoyao faltered for a moment.
“My name is Ji Shu.” Ji Shu smiled at Bai Ruoyao.
“How did you and Miss Ji come to be talking about such things?” Bai Ruoyao gave Ji Shu a satisfied glance, then continued, “I’m not all that wonderful—oh, you flatter me~”
Chu Wusu felt discomfort all over at the sound of Bai Ruoyao’s voice, his expression indescribable. But he didn’t expose Ji Shu’s nonsense either; he only shot Ji Shu a warning glance to stop her from making things up any further.
“Ruoyao, you…” Chu Wusu paused, as if preparing himself psychologically. “Ahem, no need to be so modest.”
“By the way, Wusu, didn’t you go after that black-clothed woman who attacked me? How did you end up meeting Miss Ji?”
After accepting Ji Shu’s existence, Bai Ruoyao remembered the woman who had tried to harm her, and a bit of confusion rose in her heart, suppressing her bashful feelings.
Chu Wusu lowered his eyes, his face utterly composed. “That woman was already beaten to death by me. I ran into Ji Shu while disposing of the body, so I brought her back.”
Ji Shu: …
“What?” Bai Ruoyao’s eyes went wide. “Wusu, I know you were standing up for me, but there was no need to beat her to death!”
Bai Ruoyao couldn’t care less that the woman was dead; she was actually somewhat touched.
So Wusu already cared about her this much? For her sake, he was even willing to stain his hands with blood…
Chu Wusu nodded naturally. “Offending those who shouldn’t be offended leads to exactly this end.”
Watching Chu Wusu act so solemnly earnest from the side, Ji Shu nearly burst out laughing.
Chu Wusu was pretty good at making things up, wasn’t he?
“Then…”
Seeing that Bai Ruoyao wanted to say more, Chu Wusu cut her off. “Enough. This matter is settled. Let’s not speak of it again.”
A trace of weariness appeared in his peach-blossom eyes at just the right moment. “It’s getting late. I’m rather tired, so I’ll go rest first.”
Bai Ruoyao could only swallow her words. Seeing him already heading up to the inn’s second floor, she lifted her skirts and followed. “Wusu, wait for me—I’m going to rest too.”
Watching the two departing figures, Ji Shu didn’t follow along. Instead, she turned to the innkeeper and asked for a room next to Chu Wusu’s.
She lowered her eyes, her long, thick lashes casting a faint shadow beneath them that perfectly concealed the emotions flickering in those eyes.
So Bai Ruoyao’s place in Chu Wusu’s heart was even shallower than she had imagined.
The night was as thick and dark as ink, and all was silent. Chu Wusu had just finished washing up and was about to rest when someone knocked softly on his door.
Feeling lazy, he wondered which blind fool would come disturb him at this hour. He opened the door, ready to lose his temper—but the moment he saw who it was, he froze.
Ji Shu wore a plain white sleeping robe, so thin it barely concealed her graceful figure. A few strands of hair at her temples were slightly damp, and warm vapor lingered around her—she had clearly just bathed as well.
Before Chu Wusu could recover his senses, Ji Shu took advantage of his daze and nimbly slipped past him into the room.
“Young Master, Shu’er has come to warm your bed~” Ji Shu sat on his bed, tilting her head as she looked at him.
“Young Master, come quickly!” Seeing him standing motionless, Ji Shu patted the spot beside her, signaling for Chu Wusu to hurry over.
“Ji Shu, do you have a death wish?” Chu Wusu closed the door and slowly turned around, the air around him turning abruptly cold, his dark gaze settling on her with a barely concealed hint of danger.
“Young Master, don’t be angry yet—let Shu’er explain.” Ji Shu flashed him an ingratiating smile.
Chu Wusu looked down at her from above. “Speak.”
“Shu’er was only joking with you just now.” Ji Shu blinked her eyes, looking impossibly well-behaved. “Shu’er actually came to apologize.”
“Apologize for what?”
“First, for nearly injuring Miss Bai today; second, for making you deceive Miss Bai in order to cover for Shu’er.” Ji Shu stammered as she straightened up, then slowly knelt down beside Chu Wusu’s legs, lifting a pair of tear-filled eyes to gaze at him pitifully.
From this angle, her collar hung slightly open, the fair, full curve of her chest appearing and disappearing from view, striking him squarely in the eyes.
Chu Wusu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice tightening. “So you dressed like this… to apologize to me?”
Ji Shu widened her fox-like eyes innocently. “Young Master, is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?”
Pretending.
Keep pretending.
Chu Wusu sneered. “What’s wrong with it? You don’t know yourself?”
He suddenly gripped her chin and bent down, his dark gaze locking onto those bewitching eyes, enunciating each word with excruciating slowness: “Dressed like this… running into a man’s room in the middle of the night, insisting you’ve come to apologize—do you know what might happen?”