Would He Marry Me?

In the courtyard, Xiao Qing let out a burp.

Just a moment ago, Xiao Qing had thoroughly indulged her appetite.

All the dozen or so mice nearby had been swallowed whole by Xiao Qing.

Just as Xiao Qing had eaten her fill and was comfortably thinking of going to sleep,

she suddenly saw her sister running back through the night.

"Sis, you—"

"Xiao Qing, I'm going to bed!"

Before Xiao Qing could finish, Bai Ruxue dashed into the room as if fleeing, leaving Xiao Qing standing dazed in the night.

What was wrong with her sister?

And where was Brother Xiao?

Hadn't he gone to find her?

Xiao Qing waited in the courtyard. About the time it took half an incense stick to burn, Xiao Mo finally returned.

Xiao Qing hurried over. "Brother Xiao, what's wrong with my sister? Did something happen between you two?"

"Emmm." Xiao Mo thought for a moment. "Something did happen between your sister and me, but it's nothing to worry about. Ruxue is perfectly fine, so don't worry."

"Okay."

Since Brother Xiao said so, her sister should be all right.

"Get some rest. I'll head back to my room first," Xiao Mo said to Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing nodded. "You should get some rest too, Brother Xiao."

"I said it. I really said it."

Bai Ruxue lay on the bed, her ankles stretched taut as her shapely calves repeatedly kicked against the mattress.

She pulled the pillow tightly over her head, leaving only her bright, peach-blossom eyes visible.

"I think I've fallen for you."

Remembering what she had just said to Xiao Mo, Bai Ruxue turned unbearably shy again, her fair calves kicking even faster against the quilt.

After a long while, the shyness in her heart gradually faded, and Bai Ruxue finally began to calm down.

"Wait. Why am I so embarrassed? And why did I run away on the mountain?"

Once she had calmed down a little, Bai Ruxue realized she might have done something wrong.

After saying those words, she had felt so embarrassed that she'd wanted to hurry down the mountain.

But really, she had no reason to be embarrassed.

If you like someone, you like them. If you don't, you don't.

I do like Xiao Mo.

All I did was say what I felt.

I didn't even wait for Xiao Mo to answer before running straight down the mountain.

"Seriously, why did I run?"

Bai Ruxue buried her head in the pillow again, feeling a little vexed.

After a while, she turned over and lay on her back.

She stared at the ceiling, hugging her pillow as thoughts swirled through her mind.

Does Xiao Mo like me?

He must like me, right?

Last time, he said he would marry me once I understood what true love was.

This must be true love, right?

Would he marry me?

Did he still mean what he said back then?

The more Bai Ruxue thought about it, the more uneasy she became.

She wanted to go find Xiao Mo, but she didn't dare ask him.

In her heart, she longed for an answer, yet was afraid of it too.

"This is so frustrating, so frustrating!" Bai Ruxue rolled back and forth on the bed like a rolling pin. "I wasn't like this before!"

"Sis, what's wrong?"

When Xiao Qing entered the room, she saw her sister rolling around on the bed.

"Xiao Qing."

Hugging her pillow, Bai Ruxue sat on the bed like a duck, her peach-blossom eyes darting about.

"I feel like I'm not myself anymore. What should I do?"

In his room, Xiao Mo lit a candle and read.

In the past, he'd needed moonlight to read at night. When the moonlight was poor, he couldn't read at all.

But after passing the imperial examination and becoming a Jieyuan, he no longer needed to do that.

Now, even if Ruxue stopped raising silkworms and catching pheasants and rabbits, Xiao Mo wouldn't be short of money.

But Ruxue still raised silkworms and occasionally caught pheasants and rabbits to sell, saying that every little bit of extra money helped.

A quarter of an hour later, Xiao Mo put down the book in his hands.

He felt he couldn't concentrate on reading.

All he could think about was Ruxue.

Xiao Mo truly hadn't expected Ruxue to say something like that.

Although Ruxue had said, "I like you," before,

Xiao Mo knew this time was completely different.

Ruxue's feelings for him were genuine romantic love.

Xiao Mo had been stunned at the time and hadn't managed to answer her before she ran away.

"That girl." Xiao Mo shook his head with a smile and gently blew out the candle.

It seemed he'd have to go to town tomorrow.

He couldn't keep her waiting too long.

The next morning, Xiao Mo woke up and went out into the courtyard.

Bai Ruxue had been wiping the table, but when she saw Xiao Mo, she flitted into the kitchen like a startled bird.

At breakfast, Bai Ruxue didn't say a word or dare look at Xiao Mo.

Whenever Xiao Mo came even a little closer, she would get embarrassed and hurry away.

Xiao Qing felt that something must have happened between her sister and Brother Xiao. There was an indescribably strange atmosphere between them.

"No! I can't keep being like this!"

In the afternoon, Bai Ruxue patted her cheeks.

She didn't think she could keep hiding from Xiao Mo. Besides, deep down, she wanted to know his answer.

But Bai Ruxue was far too embarrassed to ask him directly.

So that afternoon, she summoned her courage, tidied the courtyard, and went out of her way to get close to Xiao Mo.

But Xiao Mo acted as though nothing had happened. He simply kept reading the book in his hands.

Seeing how calm he was, Bai Ruxue puffed out her soft cheeks, feeling a little annoyed.

She kept walking back and forth beside Xiao Mo, trying to catch his attention.

But Xiao Mo still didn't react. Bai Ruxue even wondered whether he'd lost his memory of last night.

"Stupid Xiao Mo, stupid Xiao Mo! I said something like that last night, and today you're acting as if nothing happened. Sure, I ran away last night, but you can still answer me now!

"Stupid Xiao Mo! You said you'd marry me, but now you won't say a word! You big egg, you big egg! I'm never speaking to you again! You big stinker!"

In the room, Bai Ruxue squeezed the pillow between her plump, rounded thighs, then raised her pink fists and pounded it again and again, as if she were pounding Xiao Mo's chest.

"Sis, are you okay?" Xiao Qing walked into the room and saw her sister beating up the pillow. It looked like the stuffing was about to burst out.

"I'm fine!" Bai Ruxue pouted angrily, her chest heaving. "Is that stupid Xiao Mo still reading?"

"No." Xiao Qing shook her head. "Brother Xiao went out."

"Huh? He went out?" Bai Ruxue blinked. "Where did that stupid Xiao Mo go?"

"To Qingshan Town," Xiao Qing said.

"Brother Xiao said he was going to have something made. He told you not to worry and said he'd be back in a couple of days."