Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 48: What's So Great About Jin Yanwan Anyway?

 

　　“An Jiu?” 

　　Seeing she didn't answer, Jin Yanwan walked to An Jiu's door and knocked lightly twice. 

　　There was only a thin door between the three of them, and the knock on the door seemed to echo in the hearts of the two people. 

　　A faint murmur came through the crack, “Strange, am I dreaming?” 

　　Suddenly, An Jiu's earlobe was lightly brushed, a hot breath washing over it. She trembled uncontrollably, a jolt of electricity shooting down her spine, making her legs go weak. 

　　A man's low voice, almost inaudible unless right next to her ear, whispered, “Why aren’t you talking?” 

　　An Jiu’s breath hitched, and she silently gritted her teeth. 

　　“You…” 

　　As soon as she spoke, her earlobe was enveloped in warm, moist heat. A soft touch teased and tugged, making her knees buckle. If he hadn't been supporting her, she would have slid straight to the floor.

　　At the same time, the man's low, muffled voice came, “Tell her what you're doing.” 

　　An Jiu stubbornly bit her lip, remaining silent. 

　　The man, buried in her shoulder, chuckled softly, his teeth pressing lightly. He heard the girl's short gasp. 

　　After a moment of silence, the girl raised her voice slightly, trying to keep her tone steady, but her trembling voice betrayed her. She replied, “Yanwan, I just got up to use the restroom. Everything's fine.” 

　　Through the door, Jin Yanwan's reply was somewhat muffled, “Okay, get some rest. Just call me if you need anything.”

　　“Okay.” 

　　As soon as An Jiu finished speaking, the footsteps outside slowly faded away, returning to their own room. 

　　Only when the outside was quiet again did An Jiu finally breathe a sigh of relief, her tense body relaxing. 

　　The room was silent. An Jiu silently raised her hand and slowly pushed away the man holding her. 

　　Her touch was light, almost without strength, but the man seemed to sense something and obediently let go.

　　In the darkness, neither could see the other, only two dark silhouettes standing opposite each other. 

　　“It's your turn to answer me, Fei Yi. Why were you here in the middle of the night?” An Jiu's voice was surprisingly calm. 

　　After a pause, she added, “You weren't here for me. I saw you; you went to Jin Yanwan's room.” 

　　The girl who usually threw a tantrum at the slightest inconvenience was speaking to him in such a calm tone. Pei Ji instantly sensed something was wrong. 

　　He hadn't given this little incident much thought. So what if she saw him? 

　　An Jiu loved him so much; she would only cover for him, not betray him. 

　　And indeed, she hadn't told Jin Yanwan anything. 

　　So why was she questioning him? 

　　Pei Ji pondered for a moment, unable to figure it out, so he casually offered an excuse, “I had a mission.” 

　　“What kind of mission?” the girl pressed, “What kind of mission requires you to enter a woman's bedroom in the dead of night?” 

　　Pei Ji suddenly felt relieved. 

　　It turned out that she was jealous.

　　He chuckled inwardly and whispered, “Don't worry, I'm not interested in Jin Yanwan.” To avoid misunderstandings, he decided to simply tell her the truth, “I came to find the secret martial arts manual.” 

　　Letting her know wouldn't hurt. Even if she let it slip to others, the identity of ‘Fei Yi’ was fake and wouldn't affect anything. 

　　The girl fell silent. After a long while, she softly asked, “How did you know she had that manual?” 

　　Pei Ji hadn't known initially. He'd had people secretly watching Jin Yanwan, waiting for her to steal the manual. But for several days, she hadn't left her courtyard. 

　　With only two days left until the manual was supposed to be revealed, Pei Ji sensed that something unexpected had happened again. 

　　Earlier that day, he'd taken the opportunity to observe Jin Yanwan and confirmed that she showed signs of having cultivated martial arts. 

　　In other words, Jin Yanwan had already obtained the manual without his knowledge. 

　　Rebirth had a ripple effect, changing too many things.　　 

　　Though unexpected, Pei Ji reacted quickly. Tonight, he came here, intending to steal the manual again, just as he had in his past life. 

　　In Pei Ji's mind, that secret martial arts manual was already his, and he wouldn't allow it to fall into anyone else's hands.

　　He didn’t let the assassin from Qiānshā Pavilion do it because he didn’t trust anyone.

　　But that part—there was no need to tell her.

　　“I’m with the Xuan Yi Wei Guards. I have my sources.”

　　“You really are…” The girl didn’t finish her sentence. She abruptly went quiet and didn’t press further.

　　She fell into silence again. After a long pause, she finally asked him softly, “If you took something from Jin Yanwan. What’s going to happen to her?”

　　Pei Ji was momentarily stunned.

　　It was the first time anyone had asked him that question.

　　His first reaction was—what happens to Jin Yanwan has nothing to do with him.

　　What, was he supposed to take care of someone’s affairs after killing them?

　　He was a cold-blooded, heartless monster. How could he possibly have the kind of ridiculous sympathy that normal people did?

　　His silence said it all. The girl suddenly spoke, “I understand now.”

　　Pei Ji was just about to ask what exactly she understood when An Jiu continued, “I know the contents of that manual. Don’t steal it from Yanwan—I’ll copy it out for you. I memorized it all.”

　　Pei Ji: “???”

　　Without waiting for his reply, An Jiu moved away from his side and began feeling her way toward the table.

　　She had barely taken two steps when something tightened around her waist—he scooped her up from behind in a bridal carry.

　　“Why aren’t you wearing shoes?” he asked, sounding almost concerned.

　　“I forgot,” An Jiu answered softly.

　　Even though they were both in the dark, Pei Ji moved with uncanny precision. He carried her over to the table and set her down, then walked to the bed and picked up the embroidered shoes from the floor.

　　When he returned, An Jiu had already lit the lamp.

　　The dim candlelight cast a warm glow, wrapping the girl in a soft halo.

　　She sat sideways, one arm resting on the table, turning her face to look at him.

　　In the stillness of the night, her delicate features seemed to take on the quiet of the darkness itself.

　　Pei Ji crouched in front of her, reached out, and took her bare foot into his hand—it was ice cold to the touch. His long, jade-like fingers gently slipped her dainty foot into the tiny embroidered shoe.

　　“Remember to wear shoes. Don’t catch a cold,” he said in a low voice.

　　An Jiu’s gaze trembled slightly. She lowered her eyes and stared at him for a moment, then suddenly began speaking about how she met Jin Yanwan.

　　She didn’t embellish much—just told him how they had met in the hot spring pool, how Jin Yanwan had confided in her about her marriage troubles, and how they quickly bonded over shared sentiments.

　　After Jin Yanwan got the manual, she had excitedly come to share it with her friend, which was how An Jiu got to read it.

　　“I don’t really need it anyway. With this gu poison still in me, I can’t practice martial arts. It’s useless to me.”

　　As she spoke, a faint, helpless smile tugged at the corners of her eyes and brows. She straightened her expression and said seriously, “I know you want the manual. I’ll give it to you. Just… don’t take Yanwan’s. She really needs it. She’s the first friend I made outside—I don’t want to let her down.”

　　As if afraid he’d refuse, she lightly pressed her lips together, her tone carrying a trace of pleading.

　　Someone like An Jiu—so proud, so willful—when had she ever spoken to anyone like this, let alone lowered herself to ask for a favor?

　　At least, Pei Ji had never seen her like this before.

　　A surge of complicated emotion rose in his chest. He had never once taken Jin Yanwan seriously—until this moment, when she finally entered his line of sight.

　　That Jin Yanwan… what right did she have?

　　“And if I refuse?” the man asked, voice deep and heavy.

　　He was still crouched on the floor, raising his eyes. In the darkness, the ink-black depths of his gaze were impossible to read.

　　Pei Ji didn’t want to agree to her request. In fact, he felt an impulse to go next door and kill the sleeping woman right now.

　　It felt like something that belonged to him was being taken away.

　　She was supposed to care only about him. Why did she have to care about someone else?

　　The murderous urge surged higher and higher, on the verge of boiling over—until the girl suddenly lifted her foot and softly brushed her toes against his palm.

　　Her foot, like her hands, was pale and flawless—soft and boneless to the touch.

　　Held in his palm, it was so small, perfectly shaped, like a delicate, snowy cloud.

　　Pei Ji’s thoughts abruptly short-circuited. His gaze was drawn to the playful motion of her foot.

　　“What are you doing?” His voice came out low and hoarse, like a storm about to break.

　　She rubbed against his hand again.

　　Pei Ji suddenly reached out and caught her foot in his grip, as if seizing a sleek, silver fish.

　　“Fei Yi, say yes, okay? Pretty please?” The girl sat on the chair with her head lowered, candlelight flickering in her wide eyes, making them glisten like stars. “I’m begging you now, just do it for me, yeah?”

　　Her voice turned soft and sweet, murmuring over and over like a spoiled child throwing a fit—relying only on persistence to wear the adult down.

　　The hostility that had been simmering in Pei Ji’s chest was doused in an instant, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it—fsshh—and it was gone.

　　He held that pale little foot a bit tighter, fingers absently rubbing it, then gently slipped it back into her shoe.

　　Then he rose with a swish of his robe, sat down at the table, and said lightly, “Start writing.”

　　The girl’s eyes lit up, immediately catching on, and her little face broke into a beaming smile like a blooming flower.

　　“Mm!” She nodded eagerly, her joy impossible to hide.

　　Pei Ji cast her a sidelong glance. The corner of his lips lifted almost imperceptibly.

　　That night, no one noticed the light in An Jiu’s room stayed on for a very long time.

　　Naturally, Jin Yanwan had no idea her martial arts manual had narrowly escaped being stolen.

　　The next morning, she came to An Jiu’s door.

　　She knocked for quite a while before the door finally opened. A stunningly beautiful girl appeared in her innerwear, clearly just out of bed. Her long, dark hair was a messy tumble, and she rubbed her bleary eyes with a drowsy expression, a mist of sleep still lingering in her gaze.

　　Jin Yanwan said, “An Jiu, why are you still sleeping? The sun’s already roasting your backside.”

　　An Jiu let out a big yawn, the corners of her eyes misty with reflexive tears. Still sleepy, she greeted her, “Morning, Yanwan.”

　　Jin Yanwan chuckled. “It’s not early anymore. Did you not sleep well last night? Why are you still so sleepy after a full night’s rest?”

　　An Jiu gave a lazy grin and teased, “I went out thieving last night.”

　　Jin Yanwan played along. “Oh? And what did little thief An manage to steal?”

　　An Jiu thought for a moment, then shrugged helplessly and spread her hands. “Didn’t manage to steal a thing. I even got robbed by another thief—lost everything, came back empty-handed.”

　　Jin Yanwan assumed she was just being silly and burst out laughing at the girl's exaggeratedly miserable tone.

　　Watching her laugh, An Jiu couldn't help but join in too.

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