“Mm.” Xie Jingchen nodded in agreement. “Then… that’s it.”
Then he saw Ying Xu blink her beautiful phoenix-like eyes again. Suddenly, as if she had finally realized something, she raised her voice and scolded him angrily:
“Worthless!”
“Just for one sentence from me, you gave up the throne, the woman you love, everything—chose to be exiled instead of fighting or competing. Xie Jingchen, could you possibly be even more useless?”
Just imagining it, Ying Xu—who had the ability to claim the throne herself—felt her blood boil. She could have been emperor, yet for a single man’s words, the throne was gone, everything was gone. She felt like she could die from frustration.
Xie Jingchen really was going to die of stupidity!
Seeing Ying Xu look as if her throne had been stolen, the system—still muted by her order—couldn’t help but think inwardly, *Xie Jingchen is such a rare talent, yet the host is this angry? From her perspective, this is literally the most over-the-top, perfect plot! A man willing to give up the throne for her?*
*The throne!*
The system could only tremble inside in awe, unable to bombard Ying Xu with thoughts.
Looking at Ying Xu’s angry expression, Xie Jingchen panicked a little. “A-Xu, don’t be angry…”
He raised his hand, then dropped it, glancing at her with the corner of his eyes, flustered, “I… you…”
Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly walked toward the door, calling down the corridor for a servant. When the servant approached respectfully, ready to obey, Xie Jingchen said, “Please bring me a few washboards.”
“Yes, sir—”
But just as the servant replied, a loud voice rang from inside the room:
“Do NOT bring him any!”
The tone was extremely domineering, instantly scaring the servant into cracking his voice.
Once he realized what the young lady had said, he quickly retreated.
It was clear that in the Ying household, Ying Xu was the one with the most weight and authority. Everything in the mansion followed her word.
Hearing the servant’s footsteps fade outside, the beautiful young lady turned her gaze to the door. From her current angle, she could only see a long ponytail of a young man. She shouted again, “Xie Jingchen! Get in here!”
Almost immediately, Xie Jingchen, who had just gone out, returned to the room and stood obediently in front of Ying Xu.
But Ying Xu was not fooled by his obedient, harmless little-white-rabbit appearance. Her phoenix eyes scanned him from head to toe as she asked, “Why did you have someone bring washboards?”
Xie Jingchen blinked.
Her gaze was sharp, and her tone, though cute, carried a hint of ferocity. “The Ying family’s washboards… don’t tell me you don’t know what that means.”
Xie Jingchen’s puppy-like eyes were full of innocence, almost overflowing, yet mixed with tiny sparkling points of hope.
Of course, he knew what the Ying family washboard represented.
It was a family rule.
Back when they played together, Ying Zhao had once told him: in the Ying family, men must be resolute and upright outside, never bowing to anyone. But at home… a real man must kneel decisively when told to. If the wife orders him to kneel on a few washboards, he must do so without hesitation.
So…
*Sigh…*
Seeing Xie Jingchen cautiously testing her, eyes full of anticipation, Ying Xu let out a sudden sigh.
Then she suddenly called his name seriously: “Xie Jingchen.”
Hearing her voice, he straightened even more, like a child punished to face the wall.
Seeing him like this, Ying Xu rubbed her forehead in a headache and calmed her slightly wavering emotions. She raised her eyes and delivered an unrelenting verdict:
“Even if you tell me you like me, I am still recalling what you overheard four years ago. I don’t like you.”
“Xie Jingchen.” She looked at the wet, perpetually soft puppy eyes before her and called his name again, clearly enunciating each syllable: “I don’t feel any affection for you.”
Each word, each syllable, felt like the final straw crushing the camel’s back.
Yet just as Xie Jingchen felt the expected sting of that answer, the scene took a surprising turn. Ying Xu asked:
“Then… Do you still want to marry me?”
She tilted her head, her phoenix eyes only curious, clear and pure.
Although four years ago, when she agreed to marry Xie Liu, she hadn’t exactly felt deep affection for him, Ying Xu knew that theoretically, saying yes to Xie Jingchen now would be no different. After all, he had professed his love, promised to care for her, always follow her wishes, and never take concubines.
—Granted, now Xie Jingchen had only confessed he liked her, without any other promises, but Ying Xu instinctively knew he could fulfill all the promises Xie Liu had made. She didn’t need him to say it.
Yet, for Ying Xu, Xie Jingchen was different from Xie Liu.
Exactly how they were different, she couldn’t say, but they simply were.
At least in this matter, she felt she couldn’t treat Xie Jingchen as casually as she had Xie Liu.
Hearing Ying Xu’s question, even though she didn’t like him, Xie Jingchen didn’t immediately answer. Ying Xu didn’t push him either, understanding this question required thought.
After a brief silence, Xie Jingchen seemed to have made up his mind.
He didn’t answer directly but asked a seemingly unrelated question:
“If I’m with you… would you be happy, A-Xu?”
“Of course,” she replied instantly, without hesitation.
This question was obvious. If she wasn’t happy with him, how could she have tolerated his foolish presence by her side all these years?
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingchen lowered his head, shy and bashful. “I want to marry you, A-Xu.”
“Oh.” Ying Xu’s response was extremely flat. Truly, she *didn’t like him*—just calmly said, “Then marry me. No one’s stopping you.”
She added, “But for now, we can’t. I have to wait for my older brother to return.”
Hearing this, Xie Jingchen quickly agreed, “No rush, no rush.”
After all, he had waited all these years; what was a little longer?
But realizing his words sounded a bit unenthusiastic, he hurriedly patched it: “I didn’t mean I’m not eager to marry A-Xu, it’s just—”
Whenever it came to Ying Xu, Xie Jingchen became tongue-tied. Seeing him, the beautiful young lady rolled her eyes, annoyed: “Shut up, you idiot.”
Yet even as he was scolded, Xie Jingchen’s lips curved into a silly smile, revealing a row of neat white teeth—a perfect display of what Ying Xu often called his “stupid” look.
His sparkling puppy eyes twinkled like stars, whispering excitedly about their eventual wedding when Ying Zhao returned, imagining the grandeur of the celebration, the gentle spring breeze and sunny skies…
But unlike his full-of-expectation expression, Ying Xu’s face remained cold, finding him incredibly annoying.
She voiced exactly what she was thinking, telling the dog that had just been rescued by its master:
“Xie Jingchen, you’re really annoying.”
Even Ying Xu herself didn’t realize that though she said this, she had been tolerating his incessant chatter by her side, only scolding him once he nearly finished—a subtle intimacy no one else could understand.
Just as his rambling was interrupted, Xie Jingchen, still wearing his silly grin, suddenly remembered something and asked timidly, under her phoenix eyes,
“In these four years… A-Xu… did you ever think of me?”
“Many times,” Ying Xu replied frankly, much more direct than his stammering hesitation.
But before his little puppy eyes could shine, the beautiful young lady added coldly, cutting him off:
“Many times, I wondered if you had died in the northwest.”
After all, she hadn’t heard a single word about Xie Jingchen in four whole years. To assume someone with no news might be dead seemed entirely reasonable.
“Then…” Xie Jingchen seemed about to ask something else, but having tolerated this silly dog for so long, Ying Xu had grown impatient. She raised her eyes, looking at the pitiful puppy-like gaze fixed on her, silently asking, *How many questions can you ask?*
Sensing her exhaustion, Xie Jingchen obediently stopped and said, “I won’t ask anymore.”
Ying Xu gave him a look that let him understand her completely.
“Then… shall I go?”
Watching him take a step, then glance back thrice as he left, Ying Xu simply muttered:
“Go, go, go, go, go!”
It wasn’t as if he wouldn’t see her tomorrow—no need to act as if it were some life-and-death farewell!
Xie Jingchen really was an idiot!