Ji Shu could only wish something would happen—but of course she couldn’t say that. She tilted her face up, hiding that careful anticipation behind docile eyes, and said timidly, “Young Master, I trust you.”
“Hah.”
Chu Wusu flung her hand away, his gaze sweeping over her chin, which he had pinched red—yet his thumb couldn’t help giving it one last rub. Suppressing the restlessness surging in his chest, his voice carried a warning: “Get out.”
Ji Shu didn’t listen. Carefully, she tugged at his sleeve.
Chu Wusu’s expression darkened. ”You truly want to make amends?”
Ji Shu’s eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly. ”Of course it’s true. However you treat Shu’er, Shu’er will never complain.”
—Could there really be an unexpected delight today? This kid Chu Wusu—so easy to hook, after all?
Ji Shu subtly adjusted her posture, softening her waist in a way that left no trace, lending her already graceful figure an added touch of allure.
Chu Wusu’s gaze slid slowly downward, lingering on her for a moment before withdrawing.
Tch.
“You said it yourself.”
Chu Wusu sat down on the edge of the bed, then yanked her over.
“Ah!” It’s starting?! Ji Shu let out a feigned cry of alarm, though she couldn’t hide the flash of brightness in her eyes.
However—
Nothing she expected happened.
She felt her body flip lightly through the air as he turned her over, leaving her draped across his knee.
Then a crisp smack landed behind her, strikingly distinct in the small space.
…
Ji Shu froze for several seconds before it finally registered.
Chu! Wusu! You! Bastard!
Shame and fury flooded her. She struggled to rise, but he held her firmly in place, unable to move.
Chu Wusu had only meant to administer a light punishment, a token gesture. But the sensation was utterly unexpected—with just one slap, she trembled all over, exquisitely sensitive.
His mouth suddenly went dry. And Ji Shu, the troublemaker, wouldn’t stay still—she squirmed wildly, rubbing against him until his blood burned. Since she’d thrown herself at him—
Another crisp smack, harder than the last.
“Weren’t you here to make amends? Stop squirming!”
“Young Master, please don’t do this… I’m scared…” Unable to break free, Ji Shu could only lie across his knee, her eyes welling with moisture, her long thick lashes dampened, the tip of her nose and corners of her eyes flushed red as she pleaded pitifully.
Far from softening, Chu Wusu found himself growing secretly addicted—this feeling of having her every thought and sensation in the palm of his hand.
“What are you crying for? Wasn’t this what you wanted?” His voice was low, his features cold and stern, and his hand never paused.
For a while, the only sound in the room was the girl’s soft, delicate sobbing.
After a long while, Chu Wusu was finally satisfied, and the force of his palm gradually eased.
“Young Master…” Ji Shu’s voice was hoarse, thick with tears, like a kitten drenched by rain—curled up there, trembling, soft.
She no longer had the strength even to lift her hand. Yet at some point, her fingers had quietly, tentatively hooked onto his cuff, gripping so lightly, as if afraid of being shaken off.
Chu Wusu looked down at that hand, something shifting in his eyes.
—How could she still foolishly cling to him after he’d bullied her to tears?
“There, no more crying.”
Chu Wusu lifted her tear-streaked little face, and at last a trace of guilt rose in his heart. With his thumb, he gently wiped away the tears at the corner of her eye, his movements carrying a tenderness even he himself hadn’t noticed.
“Shu’er, you were the one who insisted on making amends—I did confirm it with you.”
“But you still shouldn’t have hit there!” Having received his tenderness, Ji Shu’s eyes lit up.
“It hurts…” she mumbled, feeling wronged, her voice soft and sweet. It was clearly a complaint, yet the ends of her words lifted slightly, carrying an unwitting hint of coquettishness.
“All right, it was my fault.” Chu Wusu coaxed her in a low voice.
Ji Shu gradually stopped fussing, simply curling up there like a kitten being petted, impossibly docile. Moonlight streamed in through the gauze curtains, stretching their shadows long until they overlapped, impossible to tell whose was whose.
“That’s enough for today.” Only when his mind had settled somewhat did he speak, his voice returned to normal. “Remember to apply the medicine when you go back. In a couple of days it’ll be fine.” With that, he raised a hand and patted her shoulder lightly, signaling her to get up.
Ji Shu hadn’t yet come back to her senses. Suddenly deprived of his warmth, she wriggled her body in dissatisfaction, her eyes glistening as she silently accused him.
Chu Wusu remained unmoved. His brow arched slightly as he gazed back calmly, not a trace of softness in his eyes.
The two simply stared at each other like that.
After a long standoff, Ji Shu was the first to give in. She blinked aggrievedly and said in a low voice, “I can’t get up… You’ll have to carry me back, my lord.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she turned her little face away, chin tilted up slightly, looking stubbornly defiant—as if to say, “If you won’t carry me, then we’ll just stay like this all night.”
Chu Wusu was so exasperated by the sight of her that he laughed, his back teeth itching. Without another word, he reached out, scooped her up in his arms, and headed straight for her room.
After gently laying her on the bed, he took a bottle of medicine from his sleeve and set it by her pillow.
“Apply the medicine yourself, and stay in your room and rest these next couple of days.”
Ji Shu picked up the bottle and examined it, recognizing it as a top-grade healing salve. She looked up at him with a sweet smile. “My lord, then remember to come see me every day, okay~”
Chu Wusu was somewhat speechless. “Am I your maidservant? I’m supposed to come see you every day?”
Even so, he had never intended to leave her unattended.
But Ji Shu wouldn’t let it go. She clutched his sleeve and swung it back and forth, her voice trailing off in a coquettish lilt. “You beat me up this badly, my lord, and you’re thinking of shirking responsibility?”
She paused, her eyes darting about, then suddenly lifted her chin and declared righteously, “I don’t care! You have to come see me—otherwise I won’t eat, and I’ll starve myself to death!”
Chu Wusu pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly. If you don’t eat, who’s the one starving in the end?
“Fine, I’ll come see you.” After all, he was the one who had struck her—she really was pitiful. She only wanted him to come see her, which was hardly an unreasonable request.
Ji Shu let out a whoop of joy. Perhaps overjoyed beyond all sense of propriety, she suddenly threw her arms around his waist. Tilting her little face up, eyes curved into crescents with her smile, her voice soft as melting honey: “I knew my lord was the best~”
Chu Wusu did not push her away.
Moonlight flowed quietly through the window, gilding their silhouettes with a gentle silver-white. The night breeze stirred, the gauze curtains swayed, and a faint, sweet fragrance lingered in the air.
He simply stood there in silence, letting her hold him, letting the line that should have stood clearly between them blur into nothing in this moment.
The candle flame flickered, casting their intertwined shadows on the wall.
Neither of them spoke.
Something, it seemed, had quietly changed in this moment.