My Husband's Lover (12)
I asked one of the servants to bring paper and ink to my room. I spent my whole afternoon planning out how to apologize to Liqin. I could not believe how hard I worked to apologize to someone I just met when I could not even lower down my pride when I butted heads with my long-time friends.
"What are you writing?" It was the old man.
"I'm starting a new mission - Operation: Sorry Liqin."
"You are indeed very creative in naming your missions. But what about the other one, the Operation: QinWei Forever?"
"This is more urgent. Liqin is very angry at me and he isn't even hiding it anymore. At first, he just ignored me. But ever since lunch, he used every means he could just to show he was angry with me. He would glare at me every now and then. He's very childish."
"Just avoid him. You do not need to work this hard."
"Can't do that. We're going hunting later."
"Then do not go."
"Guowei forced me. He said that as his wife, I should go with them. But I know he's forcing me to go so that I could spend more time with Guoliang. Then maybe fall in love with him so he could pursue Liqin freely. Now isn't h hardworking?"
"Why not give him a reason?"
"It's too sudden. I need at least a whole day to plan out a valid reason." I showed him my plan. "Look at this. It's been three hours since I started and I've only written three ways to apologize: I am sorry, I apologize, and Please forgive me. Remember when Guowei was about to leave for the capital? All I did was shameless begging and he didn't listen to me. If I do shameless begging again, it still won't work."
***
I was okay with being forced to go with them. But walking a long distance was nowhere near okay. Where were the horses? It did not help that the heat was scorching. My dress made it even harder.
It seemed that Guowei had forgotten about his original agenda - bringing Guoliang and I closer. The two brothers were having too much fun. They did not notice that Liqin and I were lagging behind. They were walking too fast, and we could not catch up to them.
"Let's rest for awhile," I said while taking a seat on a rock.
Liqin did not say anything but he stopped.
I sighed and said, "Liqin, please forgive me already. I didn't do those things."
Liqin remained silent.
"Liqin, please talk. Just talk about anything. The silence is killing me."
"Guoliang," he said without looking at me.
"Hmm?"
"Guoliang." His voice was louder.
"What about him?" I asked while massaging my legs.
"During lunch, he said something about marrying you. Why did you not say anything?"
"Maybe it's true. Maybe we did promise marrying each other when we were young."
"Yanyu, you are married. Your husband was there and you did nothing about it. Did you not think about how Guowei felt at that moment?"
"Guowei is my husband but his heart belongs to you so it doesn't really affect him. Also, you know I'm his wife but you flirt with him right in front of me. Do you think about how I feel?" I joked.
"Let us go," he said and turned to walk.
Operation: Sorry Liqin had not even officially started but it was already down the drain.
"Liqin, that was just a joke. Let's rest for a few more minutes."
But he continued walking. Even though I was tired, I had no choice but to resume walking. I could not afford being left behind by myself. I did not know the place.
"Wait," I said while I staggered.
Walking for hours was tiring so when my legs gave in, it was no surprise.
"Ah!"
Upon hearing the sound I made, Liqin stopped and turned around. His face was still the same - expressionless. So I had no idea what he was thinking. I had to assume and I assumed that he was annoyed that he was stuck with someone who was high maintenance.
"Sorry," I said while trying to get up but I fell down again. "Sorry."
When I tried to stand up again, Liqin grabbed me and put me on his back.
"I'm sorry," I said under my breath.
Liqin was silent the whole time, but I knew he was already tired of carrying me. His breath was louder, his pace slower, and his head sweating profusely.
"It's okay. You can put me down now. I can walk," I said.
He did not say anything.
"You can stop carrying me now, Liqin."
"If Guoliang was the one carrying you, would you tell him to stop?"
"No."
Of course not. I did not care about him. Even if he was injured, I would still force him to carry me.
His grip tightened. But why in the world did Guoliang become a part of the conversation? This must be one of the reasons why Guowei would accuse him. Liqin would always bring Guoliang into the conversation. And with Guoliang's tendency to touch others, Guowei was bound to suspect them.
"You need to stop mentioning Guoliang."
"Why? Are you not happy when he is mentioned? You looked so close."
"Liqin, why are you acting this way? Are you perhaps jealous?" I teased.
He froze. "Why would I be jealous? It is Guowei whom I like, not you."
"Maybe you like Guoliang."
"It is Guowei."
I laughed and said, "Fine. Fine. Don't worry. You and Guowei will end up together. And for me, I'm not really sure. But I guess Guoliang is okay. He's a kind man."
"So any man is okay for you as long as he is kind?"
"Yes, yes. But don't worry. I don't think of Guowei as a kind man."
"How about me?"
I was taken aback so I did not know how to answer it.
"Forget it," he abruptly said.
"You are a kind man, Liqin. But you are not one of the choices."
"Why?"
"Because you belong to Guowei."
Saying it made me feel something. It seemed to be a feeling that I was all too familiar with but I could not point out what it was. But one thing was for sure. I did not like it.
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