Gu Jianli’s injured fingernail ached faintly again, as she had clenched it.
A sense of inescapable panic swept over her, as if the protective shell around her had suddenly been peeled away, leaving her completely exposed with no cover.
Gu Jianli blurted out in a panic, “Fifth Master’s health might not be good.”
Ji Wujing’s expression turned cold in an instant. His lips and the corners of his eyes still held a trace of a smile, but a chilling aura emanated from him, making one’s spine tingle.
Realizing her slip, Gu Jianli wanted to make amends. She took a step forward but was forced back by the coldness emanating from Ji Wujing, retreating two steps in fright instead. Her eyes, as if lying in a clear pool, were filled with panic. She bit her lip, turned, and ran out of the room. The snow that day fell intermittently, and now it started to flutter down again. She lifted her skirt and ran through the snow, the ground crunching under her feet.
Ji Wujing tilted his head, looking out the window at her slender, delicate figure in the snow, the fluttering light red skirt, and the fine small footprints in the snow.
It wasn’t long before Gu Jianli returned, carrying a plate of fish.
She stole a glance at Ji Wujing’s expression but couldn’t discern anything from it. Gritting her teeth, she placed the plate of fish on the table and lifted the lid. Then, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing her snow-white wrists, picked up the chopsticks beside her, and stood bent over the table, carefully picking out the fish bones.
She was very meticulous, removing all the bones from each piece of fish and placing them on another small plate. The cold winter weather worried her that the fish might get cold if she took too long, so she tried to be as quick as possible. Her movements became increasingly urgent, and she worked for nearly half an hour before finally putting down the chopsticks. After a moment of psychological preparation, Gu Jianli, steeling herself, picked up the plate of deboned fish and walked towards Ji Wujing. She kept her eyes downcast as she approached the bed, focusing on the plate of fish in her hands, thinking that the fish, now without bones, didn’t look very appealing.
Gu Jianli stood in front of the bed and placed the plate of fish on the small table beside it, whispering, “Fifth Master, you should eat it quickly. Otherwise, it will get cold…”
Ji Wujing said nothing.
Gu Jianli clasped her hands together nervously, standing there without daring to speak again.
Ji Wujing’s gaze was fixed on Gu Jianli’s hands. Her thumbnail was broken, and the tender flesh at the tip was injured, leaving a red mark. Although it had been three or four days, it still hadn’t healed.
Ji Wujing’s cold hand grasped Gu Jianli’s wrist and brought her thumb to his mouth, his tongue lightly licking her wound.
A cold and tingling sensation spread from the tip of Gu Jianli’s finger, quickly spreading throughout her body and finally exploding in her head. Her body trembled in response.
Ji Wujing noticed this and paused for a moment before licking back along the same path, back and forth.
The remaining bit of rationality prevented Gu Jianli from pulling her hand away. She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling with the motion. The breath she inhaled slowly escaped her chest, causing it to heave.
She slowly squatted down, slightly raising her chin to look at Ji Wujing, her voice soft and small, “Fifth Master, I misspoke just now…”
Ji Wujing looked at her face through half-lidded eyes, his expression unreadable. He let go of her hand, and Gu Jianli withdrew her hand, tucking her fingertips back into her sleeve and placing them obediently on her knees.
The warmth on her fingertips lingered, the only sensation Ji Wujing didn’t leave cold.
The overly silent atmosphere gradually became oppressive.
Gu Jianli parted her lips slightly, feeling she had no choice but to speak again, her voice soft and tender, “Fifth Master, Jianli is young, you wouldn’t hold a grudge against me. I didn’t mean it that way…”
She tried to make her voice carry a coquettish, playful tone, but her excessive nervousness left a slight tremble in her voice.
Ji Wujing gradually leaned forward, bringing his face closer to Gu Jianli’s. He got so close their noses almost touched.
His nose was very cold, but being so close made Gu Jianli’s cheeks heat up. The mix of cold and heat was inexplicably unbearable, making her heart race. As she gazed into Ji Wujing’s dark eyes, she felt as if they were a bottomless trap, pulling her in. She kept falling, unable to see light or find a way out.
Ji Wujing chuckled softly.
In the midst of her endless, panic-stricken descent, the mole under Ji Wujing’s eye was like the only glimmer of light in the darkness. Suddenly feeling dizzy, Gu Jianli’s body swayed, and she instinctively reached out, placing her hand on Ji Wujing’s shoulder.
She panted slightly, her long lashes quivering, brushing against Ji Wujing’s cheek.
Ji Wujing let out a sound of curiosity and looked at her eyes again, intrigued as he used his finger to play with her lashes.
Gu Jianli wanted to retreat, but Ji Wujing grabbed her chin, lifting her face up and asked seriously, “Tell me, who is better looking, you or me?”
“F-Fifth Master is better looking…” Gu Jianli heard her own trembling voice.
Ji Wujing repeatedly stroked Gu Jianli’s face, his cold hand sliding down her smooth neck. His hand stopped at her collarbone, his fingers tracing its outline.
He looked at himself in her eyes, seeing his sunken, thin cheeks, and his expression suddenly became dull.
“Liar.” He released Gu Jianli, lazily leaning against the bedhead, and picked up the plate of fish, leisurely eating.
Gu Jianli closed her eyes, quietly exhaling a breath of relief. It was truly… torture like purgatory!
Despite her inner turmoil and fear, Gu Jianli continued to maintain a composed appearance, standing by to wait for Ji Wujing to finish eating so she could clean up.
Once she stepped outside, away from Ji Wujing’s presence, Gu Jianli felt her breathing become much easier.
She stood at the doorway, looking at the vast white snow, thinking of home. In such cold weather, she wondered if her father could withstand it. Her sister was still in her postpartum recovery and couldn’t be exposed to the cold either.
The more she thought, the more her eyes welled up with tears.
She gazed at the swirling snow, hoping for her father’s speedy recovery, for him to clear his name of all false charges, and for the family to be reunited. She also longed to leave the Marquis of Guangping’s manor as soon as possible.
Later, Gu Jianli asked Lizi to bring hot water. Though Lizi was somewhat slow-witted, she was efficient in her tasks. In no time, she had filled the bathtub in the west room with hot water. Because of her fear of Ji Wujing, she carried the two buckets of hot water quickly and silently.
Gu Jianli secretly checked on Ji Wujing, who was already asleep on the bed, and only then did she turn and go to the west room to bathe. Once inside, she noticed that the door to the west room had no latch. She hesitated for a moment, believing that Ji Wujing, being perpetually sleepy, wouldn’t wake up. Nervously, she undressed and stepped into the bathtub.
The warm water enveloped her, spreading a comforting sensation throughout her body. Gu Jianli, exhausted from the past few days, finally felt some relief and completely relaxed.
Suddenly, Ji Wujing pushed the door open and entered. Startled, Gu Jianli quickly sank lower into the water, submerging her mouth and nose, leaving only her eyes above the surface, timidly watching Ji Wujing.
Hearing the splash, Ji Wujing was momentarily taken aback. He didn’t know Gu Jianli was there. However, he quickly recovered, a smirk forming on his lips as he approached the bathtub.
“Fifth…” Gu Jianli tried to stop Ji Wujing, but she only managed to utter one word before choking on water, coughing violently. She raised her mouth and nose above the water, hands gripping the edge of the tub, pressing her chest tightly against it, and coughing with a pained expression. Tears streamed down as she coughed.
Ji Wujing paused, thinking this little girl was truly easily frightened.
Her eyes always held a guarded look, as if he could kill her at any moment. Indeed, most people in this world viewed him that way.
Never mind.
Finding it uninteresting, Ji Wujing turned towards the wardrobe, took out a set of nightwear, and left the room slowly.
Ji Wujing had been gone for a long time, yet Gu Jianli remained motionless in the water, her expression tense, fearing Ji Wujing might burst in again. Only when the water in the tub gradually cooled did she relax her shoulders. She exhaled quietly, stood up in the tub, and the water’s surface rippled gently.
After drying off, Gu Jianli hesitated, her fingers touching the nightwear she had taken off and placed on the table.
She had only brought two sets of nightwear, and the other set had been thrown away because it was stained with blood.
As the moisture on her body dissipated, she shivered from the cold. After a brief moment of hesitation, she resolutely took out a set of Ji Wujing’s nightwear from the wardrobe and reluctantly put it on.
Ji Wujing lounged lazily in a round chair, a long box containing fishing gear on his lap. Dissatisfied with the fish he had eaten today, he decided he would catch his own tomorrow.
When Gu Jianli emerged from the west room, Ji Wujing barely paid her any attention, glancing casually in her direction. However, that one glance made him freeze in surprise.
Ji Wujing was slender but very tall. His snow-colored nightwear hung loosely on Gu Jianli, with the pant legs pooling over her small shoes and the wide sleeves flapping. She looked like a child wearing an adult’s clothes. Feeling Ji Wujing’s gaze, Gu Jianli’s face and neck turned embarrassingly red. The neckline was too wide, and she worried about exposing too much of her chest, so she pressed her hands against it.
Gu Jianli’s feverish face was filled with embarrassment and shame. Since birth, she had been pampered and adored, living a life of luxury. The situation of having no proper clothes to wear had insulted her fifteen years of pride.
The pants were too long, and as she walked forward in her flustered state, she accidentally stepped on them, stumbling and barely catching herself on the wall to avoid falling. She glanced down at the pooled pant legs and suddenly felt a surge of reckless determination. Biting her lip, she marched over to the cabinet, found a pair of scissors, and sat on the Luohan bed. She kicked off her shoes, knelt on the bed, and her small feet peeked out from beneath the snow-white pant legs.
“Snip, snip.”
Gu Jianli held the scissors and cut the pants shorter, one circle after another, the white fabric falling to the floor. She kept cutting until her slender ankles and jade-like feet were fully exposed.
Next, she began cutting the sleeves. After finishing the left sleeve, she switched the scissors to her left hand to cut the right sleeve. Unaccustomed to using her left hand, she struggled, and in her attempts, she accidentally nicked the delicate skin on her wrist with the scissors’ tip.
She winced in pain, letting out a soft “ouch,” her brows knitting together.
Ji Wujing finally couldn’t stand watching any longer. He casually set aside his fishing rod and spoke up, “Gu Jianli.”
Gu Jianli’s shoulders trembled with guilt as she said, “I’ll count it as my purchase. I’ll repay you with another one!”
A mischievous glint ignited in Ji Wujing’s eyes, and he smirked with schadenfreude, “Gu Jianli, how did you end up in such a sorry state?”