Heart-to-Heart

Dai Yao had staked his life on this gamble, but he had a certain degree of confidence.

First, his reactions were fast enough. As long as he noticed Zhu Zhuqing making a move to draw her blade, he could use Explosive Step to leave her attack range.

Second, even if he did not react in time, he still had the Chaos Cyan Lotus as his trump card. As long as his injuries were not too serious, he could survive.

Most importantly, the fact that Zhu Zhuqing had returned and explained why she had tried to assassinate him most likely meant she had already given up on the idea.

Zhu Zhuqing slowly stepped forward, gradually walking to his side.

Dai Yao's heart pounded like thunder. This distance had already exceeded the limit at which he could react.

She drew closer and closer. As long as Zhu Zhuqing stabbed down, even the Chaos Cyan Lotus might not be able to save him then.

But thinking of his own judgment, he gritted his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut, and waited for fate's verdict.

Hm? Time dragged on like years, but his skin felt no pain, only a faint chill.

Dai Yao opened his eyes. Zhu Zhuqing was using her cold little hands to close his open clothes.

Moonlight streamed through the window and fell on the side of her face, her long eyelashes casting a gentle silhouette.

Dai Yao could not help smiling. He knew the girl before him had chosen him.

He admitted that his methods were somewhat shameful. When he had made enough preparations, he had given Zhu Zhuqing two choices. In reality, no matter what Zhu Zhuqing chose, he would not lose out.

And once Zhu Zhuqing chose the second option, he would have won the girl's heart.

From now on, there would be a girl by his side. Whether in prosperity or adversity, she would never leave him, never abandon him, forever.

After transmigrating to Douluo Continent and being bullied by eunuchs, Dai Yao had sworn that in this life, he would no longer be an honest man. Achieving his goals by any means necessary was his style.

What did deceiving a girl's body and heart matter?

He took Zhu Zhuqing's hand, walked outside, leaped lightly, and sat down on the roof.

There were no clouds in the sky, and a full moon hung high above.

A breeze brushed past, carrying a slight chill, but to soul masters, it did not amount to much.

Dai Yao wiped the snow off the roof ridge for Zhu Zhuqing, found a clean piece of cloth to use as a cushion, then beckoned Zhu Zhuqing to sit down.

He explained to Zhu Zhuqing, "Actually, the Empress would never give you freedom."

"Why?" Zhu Zhuqing was somewhat surprised.

"I am the Fourth Prince, after all. The consequences of killing a Crown Prince are far too serious, so the Empress has some misgivings too and doesn't dare make a move against me directly. But you are different. You have just made an engagement with me. In name, you are my Imperial Concubine."

"If you kill me, it can be explained as a conflict between husband and wife. It can be said that you resisted this engagement, and the Empress can then extricate herself from the matter." Dai Yao sneered.

"And the one truly responsible for killing a Crown Prince would be you. Murdering a Crown Prince is certain to be a capital crime. What else could you do except pay with your life?"

Zhu Zhuqing's red lips parted slightly, her eyes filled with disbelief. Only now did she realize there were so many twists behind what the Empress wanted her to do.

After all, she was still only a six-year-old girl. Though somewhat precocious, compared with people like the Empress, she was still far too inexperienced.

But in truth, all of these words were complete nonsense Dai Yao had made up. His purpose was to smear the Empress, drive a wedge between Zhu Zhuqing and the Empress, and make Zhu Zhuqing draw closer to him.

"Empress Aunt wants to harm me?"

"That's right." When Dai Yao heard those words, he was wild with joy inside. He knew Zhu Zhuqing had already begun to believe him. But he continued to put on a heavy expression, as if he felt Zhu Zhuqing's pain, and kept smearing the Empress. "You're actually just a tool for her to use. As long as she achieves her goal, she'll deal with you next."

Zhu Zhuqing felt a lingering wave of fear and said gratefully, "Thanks to you, otherwise I would have been deceived by Empress Aunt." Then she glanced at Dai Yao a little awkwardly, lowered her head, and said shyly, "Before, I even wanted to kill you. I'm really sorry."

Dai Yao stood up and said with righteous solemnity, "Hey, what are you saying? You were kept in the dark too. This isn't your fault."

Looking at Dai Yao's affected manner under the moonlight, Zhu Zhuqing burst out laughing with a pfft, then hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.

Dai Yao chuckled and said, "The two of us do have an engagement, after all. Even real husbands and wives have conflicts, let alone two people like us who have only just met!"

"Now, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Dai Yao. I'm six years old."

"Zhu Zhuqing. Also six years old."

"Then call me Brother."

Having a girl behind him calling him Brother was a very pleasant thing. Besides, in his previous life, he had already been in his twenties. Asking him to call a six-year-old girl Older Sister was truly a bit beyond him.

"Ah, we're clearly the same age, so why should I call you Brother?" Zhu Zhuqing was somewhat unwilling.

"Because I'm older than you." Dai Yao started making things up again. "Actually, my birthday is a few days earlier than what the clan records say, so logically speaking, I'm older than you."

"Is that so?" Zhu Zhuqing was somewhat unconvinced.

"Then it's settled. From now on, you'll call me Brother, and I'll call you Little Sister or Zhuqing."

"Fine." Zhu Zhuqing's lips lifted slightly as she agreed unwillingly.

A gust of wind blew past, lifting some of the accumulated snow. The chill drove straight into their lungs, but neither of them felt cold at all.

Dai Yao's gaze gradually softened as he tidied Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful hair, which had been blown up by the wind.

He remembered his experiences in his previous life and said to Zhu Zhuqing with some emotion, "I'm not as handsome and distinguished as Dai Mubai, nor can I give you a comfortable life. My personality is also somewhat lacking in romance."

But the words he spoke next were incomparably firm, ringing with conviction. "But I will definitely work hard to become someone you can rely on. If you are ever in danger, I will definitely stand in front of you."

"If anyone wants to hurt you, then he will have to step over my corpse first!"

Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at the man speaking before her, and stormy waves had already surged through her heart. In the original work, why was her personality cold? It was not only because Dai Mubai had abandoned her in the cruel struggle for the throne, but also because of the environment in which she had grown up.

Did the Dai Family have no familial affection? Did the Zhu Family have any?

The Zhu Family was also full of scheming and deceit. From childhood to adulthood, she had never felt familial affection; several of her older sisters, all smiles hiding knives, had bullied her constantly.

Her mother's attention had always been on Zhu Zhuyun, the First Prince's wife, the older sister with the greatest hope of inheriting the position of Empress.

Growing up in an environment like that, Zhu Zhuqing had no choice but to protect herself with a cold exterior.

Looking at Dai Yao as he solemnly made his promise beneath the moonlight, Zhu Zhuqing unknowingly began to cry.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Zhu Zhuqing suddenly cry for no reason, Dai Yao thought he had done something wrong and spoke in a fluster.

"It's nothing." Although tears still lingered, Zhu Zhuqing smiled, smiling very happily, with none of that icy feeling left at all.

At the same time, she made a promise in her heart: I won't let you down either.

What a headache. Making me, a Single Dog, write this stuff...