Two People Fooling Around

"After leaving the mountain?" Her brows furrowed even more. "When did you learn that? Who taught you?"

Lu Jiuyuan watched her question him with such a serious expression and couldn't help laughing. "Are you interrogating me?"

"I'm concerned about you," Lu Xueqi corrected him, her tone earnest. "You used up too much energy today. What would you do if the enemy didn't retreat on the battlefield?"

"Don't I still have you?"

Lu Xueqi froze for a moment.

Lu Jiuyuan smiled and reached out, lightly flicking her forehead. "With you by my side, what do I have to fear?"

Lu Xueqi didn't dodge when he flicked her. She didn't get angry, either.

She lowered her head, tracing circles on her knee with one finger. After a long silence, she finally spoke softly. "Senior Brother, do you think I'm too controlling?"

"No."

"Then why did you laugh just now?"

"Because you're adorable."

Lu Xueqi looked up at him.

Her eyes held the haze of wine, confusion, and a hint of unease hidden deep within.

"Adorable?" She repeated the word, as if savoring its meaning. "What's adorable about me?"

"Everything." Lu Jiuyuan leaned against the wall, smiling. "You're adorable when you're all fierce, when you're jealous, and when you earnestly lecture me."

Lu Xueqi stared at him for several seconds, then suddenly turned her face away, the tips of her ears reddening. "You've had too much to drink."

"I've only had a few sips. How could I be drunk?"

"Then you're talking nonsense."

"Everything I said was sincere."

Lu Xueqi didn't respond.

She took the wine flask and drank another mouthful, more than before. Her throat bobbed several times before she managed to swallow it.

The wine went to her head, making her face even redder.

She set down the flask and turned to face him.

"Senior Brother."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I'm fierce?"

Lu Jiuyuan blinked. "Sometimes."

"When?"

"Like when we first met—you glared at me. Or when Jin Ping'er showed up last time."

"That doesn't count," Lu Xueqi said, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Lu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow.

"Because..." Lu Xueqi hesitated, her voice dropping. "Because that was Jin Ping'er."

Lu Jiuyuan looked at her slightly puffed cheeks and suddenly felt that Xueqi was different tonight.

Usually, she was like a deep pool—cool and still, her emotions hidden from view.

But tonight, it was as if the wine had melted away a corner of her icy shell, revealing the soft, genuine person beneath.

She could press him for answers, argue her case, and get sulky over another woman.

She could be adorable.

"Xueqi," he suddenly said, his voice softer than before.

"Hmm?"

"Come a little closer."

Lu Xueqi looked at him but didn't ask why. She scooted closer to his side.

The distance between them shrank from a fist's width to half that. Her shoulder touched his arm, and her long hair fell over the back of his hand.

"Closer."

She moved nearer again, this time almost leaning her whole body against him. She tilted her head up to look at him, her gaze hazy yet open, as if waiting for him to say something—or as if nothing needed to be said.

"Senior Brother."

"Hmm."

"That spell you used today was really powerful."

"..."

"But next time, don't bear it all alone." Her voice was soft, but her resolve left no room for argument. "You still have me."

Lu Jiuyuan looked down at her, a warmth he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him.

"All right."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

Lu Xueqi saw how serious he was and smiled faintly, seeming satisfied.

She leaned against his shoulder, absently tracing circles on the back of his hand. After a while, she suddenly spoke.

"Senior Brother."

"Hmm?"

"You said I was adorable when I got jealous."

"Hmm, I did."

"Do you like it?"

Lu Jiuyuan turned his head to look at her.

Lu Xueqi didn't look up. Her finger was still tracing circles on his hand, but her touch had grown noticeably lighter, as if she were trying to hide something.

"I do."

Lu Xueqi's finger stopped.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly lifted her head from his shoulder and turned to face him.

They were close enough to feel each other's breath.

The wine had veiled her eyes with a watery haze, making them look dreamy and soft, with an unconscious allure.

"Senior Brother."

"Hmm."

"Do you know, whenever you say things like that, I really want to..."

She didn't finish. Lu Jiuyuan had already lowered his head and kissed her.

This time was different from the night before.

The previous night, it had been a fleeting touch, over in an instant.

Tonight, Lu Xueqi hadn't needed wine to summon her courage, nor was she dazed and half-drunk. She responded to him consciously, earnestly, and of her own accord.

Her hand climbed onto his shoulder, her fingertips threading through his hair.

Lu Jiuyuan tightened his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.

The sweet fragrance of osmanthus wine lingered between their lips and teeth; neither could tell whose it was.

After a long while, they finally parted.

Lu Xueqi rested in his arms, her cheeks flushed and her breathing unsteady.

Her fingers were still tangled in his hair; she hadn't let go.

"Senior Brother."

"Hmm."

"You said I was adorable when I was fierce."

"Hmm, I did."

"And when I got jealous, too."

"That's right."

"What about now?" She looked up, her gaze hazy yet earnest. "Am I adorable like this?"

Lu Jiuyuan looked at her for a long time.

Lu Xueqi's eyes shone as if filled with starlight, or perhaps with a certain hope. Her lips were slightly swollen from their kiss, glistening in the moonlight.

He lowered his head until his forehead rested against hers.

"Not adorable."

Lu Xueqi's expression stiffened for an instant.

"You're beautiful," he said. "Especially beautiful."

Her expression shifted from stiff to surprised, then from surprised to indignant. She lightly punched his chest. "You did that on purpose."

Lu Jiuyuan smiled and caught her hand, placing it against his heart.

"Feel how fast it's beating."

Lu Xueqi's palm rested against his chest, where she could clearly feel his heart beating strongly.

She didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she pressed it lightly, as if confirming something.

"Senior Brother."

"Hmm."

"Your heart is beating so fast."

"Because of you."

Lu Xueqi's eyes flickered, and the corners of her lips lifted in the faintest of smiles.

She buried her face against his chest, her voice muffled. "Mine too."

Lu Jiuyuan lowered his head, resting his chin on her crown. He caught the faint fragrance of osmanthus in her hair.

Lu Xueqi found a comfortable position in his arms and fell silent, leaning against him quietly.

Moonlight slowly drifted through the crack in the door, crossing the straw bedding, the half flask of osmanthus wine, and their hands resting together.

Lu Jiuyuan looked down at the person in his arms. Her breathing had grown long and even, and her eyelashes cast a faint shadow in the moonlight.

He gently pulled over a thin blanket and draped it across her shoulders.