章 31: "It's not random."
Currently, Yan Qiu Heng was sitting on Yan Qiu Yue's left. When she turned, she saw that the person who had sat down to the right of her was none other than Wei Hong Sheng. Naturally, she was utterly flabbergasted. Looking at him from such close proximity made her heart race. They had never been this close. Looking directly at his face, she was able to notice that underneath his left eye was a small mole. This placement was the so-called "tear mole" that meant that the person was either sentimental and emotional...or was doomed to a sad life that would cause them to shed many tears. Looking at his face which was currently so smug that it made one want to slap him, Yan Qiu Yue somehow could not believe it.
"What do you think you are doing!?" Yan Qiu Heng hissed. His voice was low enough that not everyone in the room could hear, but loud enough that Wei Hong Sheng would have no issues hearing. His tone and form of address were not very polite, but who was Wei Hong Sheng nowadays? Was he in a position to be demanding others' respect? Besides, even when he was Prince Rui-shizi, he was never the sort that arrogantly pushed for others to kowtow to him. Like a lazy cat, he basked in the glory and enjoyed his privileges, but never sought more.
"Oh? If it isn't the Fourth Miss and Fifth Young Master from the Yan Family!" Wei Hong Sheng exclaimed in fake-surprise. He didn't even make a half-hearted attempt at a convincing tone.
"......" The twins were speechless.
...All right, it was their mistake for forgetting just how shameless this man was!
Behind them, Yan Chang Yuan had an ingratiating yet firm tone as he said, "Sir Wei, I was about to sit next to my younger cousin. Our Yue'er is rather shy and afraid of strange men, you see."
...And here was yet another shameless one!
The young scholars and noblemen around them took in a sharp breath of air. What "shy"? What "afraid of strange men"? Everyone remembered how she had acted in the past during that time when she'd purposely been trying to scare Wei Hong Sheng off. They were unaware of her ulterior motives and so could only think that that was how Duke Ning's daughter truly was. Who could forget that arrogance, that valiant look as she slapped her fiancee in the arm with her fan? She was truly beautiful, but so was a tiger! Who would want such a woman to share their bed?
Wei Hong Sheng grinned. "Although our relationship is not what it was before, I am hardly a stranger." He bent his neck to crane his head down, putting his face directly in front of Yan Qiu Yue's. "Right? Do you consider this one a strange man?"
In her impulsive desire to escape, Yan Qiu Yue jerked backward with such force that she tipped her chair over. Time seemed to slow down for a few moments as she fell back, but before she landed in an unsightly heap on the ground, Wei Hong Sheng had grabbed the back of her chair with one hand and grasped her arm with the other. He then righted the chair slowly into place, his other hand sliding down her forearm to lightly grip her hand. The chair's legs were back on the ground and Yan Qiu Yue was safe, yet his hand still did not leave hers. The touch of their connected hands felt tingly and Yan Qiu Yue increasingly felt that it was too warm here.
"I did not mean to scare you, Yan Fourth Miss." His voice carried the hint of a smile.
"I was not scared, only a little startled." She frowned. Then, she finally remembered that her hand was still in his and she pulled away.
Others were now watching them and even the hosts of the discussion had frozen in awkwardness. Left with little choice, Yan Chang Yuan sat across from the trio instead. Yan Qiu Heng smiled apologetically and bowed his head at the hosts, who finally started up the discussion. Yet despite the talk revolving around her beloved Inspector Yu, Yan Qiu Yue could not focus. Wei Hong Sheng was leaning forward, his chin resting in the palm of his hand. From an angle that others could not see, he had taken a lock of her hair and was slowly twirling it around his index finger. Yan Qiu Yue's hair was soft as silk and he couldn't resist the feel of it. Irritated, she tilted her chin up in an attempt to pull her hair out of his hands. It worked, but her hair was too long to stay out of his reach. Wei Hong Sheng instead began to comb through the ends of her hair with his fingers, gently brushing out whatever few tangles were there.
The intimacy of these actions scared her. The randomness of these actions made her feel suspicious and cornered. She did not want to look at him nor think about him. Yan Qiu Yue finally began to participate in the discussion, putting forth her ideas about the series' recent developments. She was worried about not being taken seriously, but the scholars were actually quite interested in hearing about the book from the perspective of the fairer sex. They were surprised to hear that while she admired Inspector Yu, Yan Qiu Yue had some rather insightful thoughts about the plot, as well.
When the discussion turned to the infamous Wu Meiren, Yan Qiu Yue could not keep a frown off of her face. A scholar further down the table laughed. "Does Miss Yan not approve of Lady Wu? Is she not good enough for Inspector Yu in your eyes?"
She tilted her head and considered for a moment. "It's not that. I merely do not want to read about romance."
"That is surprising, considering..." His words trailed off, but everyone understood his meaning.
Yan Qiu Yue smiled. "I suppose all men think that we ladies are prone to flights of fancy and gush about romance and marriage all day. I'm sure many women are like that, but certainly not all. I read Inspector of the Whistling Pines because I enjoy the mystery. I have no issue with Wu Meiren, I merely do not want the inspector to change for love, nor do I want to read about his romantic escapades."
"It seems that in the latest installment, Wu Meiren might be getting engaged to Assistant Minister Gao. Perhaps that will be the end to it and Inspector Yu won't be involved with her anymore. After all, no one really believes that she stole that vase."
At this juncture, Wei Hong Sheng unexpectedly spoke up. "I believe that it has been made abundantly clear in the books that Inspector Yu is a persistent man. If he believes someone to be a criminal, he will pursue the evidence with utter conviction. He won't rest until they are tried in court. I am sure that it is the same with his love life--" He smiled here. "--even if Miss Yan does not wish to read about it."
"If a man is in love with a woman, he will not stop until she becomes his. There are so many stories written with this as the core theme that one can become utterly sick of hearing it." Yi Cheng Rui drawled, yawning as he did so. "But how can that be so in the real world? When met with opposition at every turn, a man must accept reality." Realizing that his words had come out rather sharply, Yi Cheng Rui lightly coughed before adding, "Inspector of the Whistling Pines has always been grounded in reality. I don't believe that Jade Laughing Dove will turn this story into a romance."
Everyone at the table nodded and several hit the table while saying, "Hear, hear!" The topic was considered closed and the discussion moved on.
No one noticed that glint in Wei Hong Sheng's eyes at Yi Cheng Rui's insistence that "a man must accept reality". He was not resigned.
After the discussion ended, many came up to Yan Qiu Yue to chat some more. She was invited to join their next discussion after the next installment was released, which she heartily accepted. Though there had been many frustrating moments, those had all been connected with Wei Hong Sheng. When thinking purely of the discussion and the chance to talk about Inspector Yu with other fans, she had thoroughly enjoyed herself.
Everyone slowly descended the stairs and walked out of Tiankong Tower. Yan Qiu Yue was somewhat lost in her thoughts and trailed behind her brother and cousin, who were some paces ahead and locked in discussion over some matter.
Suddenly, someone pulled her by the hand. Her first instinct was that it was Wei Hong Sheng. She was beginning to think that he was not very calm at all! It turned out that she was right and he pulled her around the side of the tower to a wooded area where no one else was around. Yan Qiu Yue resisted somewhat, but the grip on her hand was fierce. She did not want to cause a scene and so she decided to see just what this man wanted. Finally, once they were surrounded by trees, Wei Hong Sheng let her go, but he was but 4 or 5 paces away from her. He scanned the surroundings, probably looking to see if anyone had followed them.
"Have you gone mad?" she demanded in a low voice. Last time he had done something like this, it was apparently to protect her from being discovered by Hua Yan Ting. What was the excuse now? She couldn't even imagine how worried and furious Yan Qiu Heng would be once he discovered she was missing.
"Do I seem mad?" He was not looking at her and his voice sounded somewhat tense.
Yan Qiu Yue rolled her eyes. "Would a sane man randomly abduct someone like this?"
Wei Hong Sheng finally turned his gaze to her. "It's not random. It's because it's you and I have words that I would speak to you."
"......" Yan Qiu Yue could not hold his ardent gaze. She turned her eyes downward, her brows furrowing.
"You didn't answer my question from earlier," he said after several moments had passed.
"Hmm?"
"When I asked if you consider me a strange man." Now that they were alone, he had dropped the humble "this one" pronoun and was being quite casual with her.
"We have...no relationship anymore." The last time they'd met, while things were still up in the air, they were still technically engaged. But now... "I'm engaged to your brother." she managed to force the words out.
"Is this what you wish?"
"It doesn't matter what I wish." she laughed. "We women have never been in charge of our own destinies, least of all when the emperor decides to stick his hand into our marriage."
"It does matter." Wei Hong Sheng tilted her chin up with his index and middle fingers, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Is this what you wish?"
"I will do as the emperor decrees." she stubbornly persisted. This was all she could do.
There was presently the sound of twigs snapping. It was still somewhat far away, but someone was obviously approaching.
Wei Hong Sheng grinned, but the smile did not reach his eyes. Those black eyes were filled with loneliness. "You certainly do not make things easy for me." Without another word, he turned and began to walk away.
Yan Qiu Yue balled her hands into fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. "Wei Hong Sheng!" she called after him. He stopped in place but did not turn back. "What are you trying to do? Why do you insist on causing trouble for me? I... I don't understand you." Her last sentence was more of a whisper, but it was so quiet here. The wind carried her words to him.
"Don't worry, Yan Qiu Yue." At the sound of her name coming from his lips, she froze. A chill ran down her spine, her heartbeat quickened, and she could not tell if she was happy or in fear. It was alarming how often those two feelings combined around him. "I will make you understand."
There was nothing else she could say to keep him here even if she wanted to, so Yan Qiu Yue let him go and mulled over those last words of his. She was soon collected by a worried-looking Yan Chang Yuan, as he and Yan Qiu Heng had split up to find her. The whole way home, however, neither of them could get her to speak a word of what had transpired.
クリエイターの想い 
LanLan
LanLan Another late update, I'm so sorry!! My internet is down; they are doing construction outside and I think they hit a cable they weren't supposed to. I'm updating from my phone right now! >_< I made this one extra long to make up for it.
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