Volume 1 Chapter 12: Learning to Meow
Entering Gu Huaizhou’s sleeping quarters once again, Yan Qing felt nothing but discomfort.
Especially when her eyes fell upon the bed in the corner.
It was as if her gaze had been scalded—she dared not look again after a hurried glance.
Her eyes wandered aimlessly around the room, and she noticed Yang Xuan still unconscious in the same spot as yesterday. Had Gu Huaizhou truly not touched her?
She wondered just how much medicine Madam Zhen had given Yang Xuan. Having been unconscious all night, she still hadn’t woken up.
“Young Master, Madam sent this old servant to check on you.”
Nanny Li’s voice rang out in the courtyard, and Yan Qing slammed the door shut with a start.
Bang!
Yan Qing’s face paled.
It was over—she had lost her composure again!
Nanny Li must have heard.
Sure enough, Nanny Li called out loudly, “Oh? There’s someone in the young master’s room. Who is it?”
As she spoke, the sound of footsteps drew closer.
Yan Qing’s heart leaped into her throat.
“Nanny Li!”
Fortunately, Gu Huaizhou stopped Nanny Li just in time. “It’s just a stray kitten.”
Nanny Li, of course, didn’t believe him.
She knew better than anyone why Madam had sent her here. Just as she was about to push past Gu Huaizhou and barge in, he suddenly spoke up, “On my way back earlier, I thought I saw Xiang Lan, the maid from Third Miss’s side, searching everywhere. Is Third Miss not in the residence?”
Nanny Li’s expression changed dramatically upon hearing this.
Had the little troublemaker snuck out again? She couldn’t possibly let her come here now!
But there were clearly sounds coming from this shabby room. If she didn’t take a look, she wouldn’t be able to report back to Madam.
“Meow—”
Just as Nanny Li hesitated, a cat’s cry came from inside Gu Huaizhou’s room, and the side window frame suddenly shifted. In the dim evening light, something seemed to slip out through the window and vanish.
Gu Huaizhou glanced over, then turned back. “It must have been startled by you and ran off.”
Nanny Li was instantly disappointed. “So it really was just a stray cat.”
But then again, Madam had originally planned to catch them in the act last night. Unfortunately, something unexpected happened with the eldest miss, and she forgot about the young master in the West Courtyard.
She had missed the perfect opportunity.
Even if something had happened here last night, he had likely taken advantage of the household’s busyness today to send the person away.
It was precisely because Madam had considered this that she hadn’t come herself.
“In that case, young master, you should rest well.”
Without lingering any longer, Nanny Li turned and hurried off toward Third Miss Yan Yue’s courtyard.
Inside the room, Yan Qing finally let out a sigh of relief.
Suppressing her panic, she quickly stepped forward and grabbed the ropes binding Yang Xuan, dragging her toward the rear window of the room.
Originally, she had planned to drag her out through the main door.
But after the encounter with Nanny Li, Yan Qing worried about running into others, so she decided to simply toss Yang Xuan out through the rear window. She would then return to Qingyi Courtyard to fetch Qing Luan and Lu Zhi and have them carry the woman out of the residence.
Fortunately, Yang Xuan remained unconscious, so there wouldn’t be any trouble.
However, Yan Qing had overestimated her own strength.
Standing on a low stool, she gripped Yang Xuan’s arms with both hands and exerted all her strength to pull her up.
But there was no reaction at all.
Huff…
She let out a soft, weary breath.
Yan Qing steeled herself inwardly: For the sake of the Ye Family, for her mother and younger brother, and for herself, she had to help Gu Huaizhou resolve this trouble.
No matter how difficult or exhausting, she had to get Yang Xuan out of here!
After giving herself this strong mental push, Yan Qing lifted her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her forehead and placed her hands once more on Yang Xuan’s arms.
Just as she was gathering all her strength to exert force, a figure suddenly appeared beside her.
“Cousin, you can even imitate a cat’s meow?”
A teasing voice sounded by her ear.
Yan Qing was startled, nearly falling off the low stool.
“Careful.”
The man’s left hand pressed against her slender waist, while his right hand reached out to cover the back of her hand, almost as if he were half-embracing Yan Qing. He whispered in her ear, “Let me help you.”
His clear, gentle voice, low and intimate, inexplicably made her blush and her heart race.
Yan Qing’s face instantly flushed crimson.
“C-cousin?”
“Hmm.”
A powerful force transmitted from the back of her hand, and Yang Xuan, whom she had struggled to move for so long, was suddenly lifted up and thrown out the rear window with a loud thud.
Yan Qing was completely stunned.
And Gu Huaizhou’s hand still rested on the back of hers, their skin touching.
The man’s fingers were long and slender, his knuckles strong, covering her hand in a way that felt surprisingly fitting.
It looked quite pleasing to the eye…
Wait!
What was she thinking!
Yan Qing was frightened by her own thoughts. She abruptly shook off Gu Huaizhou’s large hand and hastily retreated backward as if stung by a scorpion.
But she forgot she was still standing on the low stool.
“Crash!”
The stool was knocked over, and Yan Qing’s body uncontrollably tilted toward the window.
“Ah—”
Just as her cry escaped, a large hand wrapped around her waist.
It turned out that, at the critical moment, Gu Huaizhou had reached out to hold her.
Under the moonlight, the man held her waist with one hand and gripped her arm with the other, leaving her half inside and half outside the window.
The two were extremely close.
So close that Yan Qing could clearly feel the vigorous, fierce strength within the man’s body, just like when he had restrained her the night before.
Yan Qing’s entire body went weak.
She trembled slightly all over.
Gu Huaizhou’s voice was hoarse: “Cousin, what’s wrong with you?”
He stood inside the room, his face hidden in shadow, making his expression unclear, but the flicker of crimson in his eyes nearly made Yan Qing moan aloud.
Had Gu Huaizhou been drugged again?
Why did he look exactly like he did last night?
Yan Qing’s heart pounded with fear, and her mind raced with chaotic images from the previous night, making her feel utterly ashamed. She stammered, “Y-you… pull me up first.”
This position was truly not very safe.
Gu Huaizhou chuckled softly and pulled her up: “Cousin, are you alright? Why is your face so red? Are you ill?”
As he spoke, the man reached out to touch her forehead.
But Yan Qing recoiled like a startled bird: “Don’t touch me!”
Gu Huaizhou looked at her in confusion.
Yan Qing steadied herself and then said calmly, “Cousin Gu, I’m fine.”
That moment… was truly too dangerous!
She secretly glanced up at Gu Huaizhou.
But the man’s eyes were clear, gentle, and filled with concern as he looked at her, without any trace of ambiguous or improper intent.
As if that fleeting moment had merely been her imagination.
Had she really misseen it?
Yan Qing felt her mind was in disarray.
But regardless, she could no longer stay here.
It was too dangerous.
Pressing her lips together, Yan Qing suddenly took a step back and bowed slightly: “Cousin, it’s getting late. I should return now. As for the one outside… I’ll have Qing Luan and Lu Zhi come to take her away. Cousin need not worry.”
Gu Huaizhou looked at her: “Then I thank you, cousin.”
Yan Qing lowered her head: “Yan Qing takes her leave.”
With that, she turned and hurried away.
Watching the woman flee in panic, Gu Huaizhou smiled, and the gentle, serene expression that had been hanging on his face suddenly vanished.
Replacing it was a deep—
and an obsessive, manic determination that was bound to succeed.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the room, respectfully saying, "Master, should we… regarding that daughter of the Yang family…"
The shadow made a gesture of silencing someone.
Gu Huaizhou glanced coldly at him: "Didn't you hear Qingqing say she wants to help me?"
The shadow was puzzled. Before last night, the master already knew that Madam Zhen intended to harm him, and his orders were to kill anyone who came.
Why not kill now?
"Step back."
Gu Huaizhou issued the command without allowing any dissent.
When only he remained in the room, and the moon had also hidden behind the clouds, he murmured softly, "Qingqing, you've also returned… That's wonderful…"