No one expected, not even Bai Xiangxiu, would have thought she would be knocked out for two days.
She questioned herself when she woke up. When had she become so weak that she couldn’t even take a little hit? She’d only been rejected. Couldn’t she have just dealt with it by eating and drinking more? As a modern woman, she had obviously gone through a breakup before!
After she calmed her emotional self, she took the bowl of medicine from Xiao Shi and gulped it down in sorrow. The moment she lifted her head, she noticed the male lead sitting on a chair in her room. His hair was undone and he only had an undercoat draped over his shoulders.
What the f*ck? Is he trying to tease me? She ended up spitting out the medicine that hadn’t been swallowed yet. Then, she coughed so vigorously that tears and medicine all came out. Long Heng crinkled his brows but didn’t move. All he did was say, “What are you doing? Get water.” Xiao Shi rushed to bring water over after he gave his command.
Bai Xiangxiu drank it all in one go. She felt like she had just came back to life. She took the handkerchief from Xiao Shi and wiped her mouth. Then, she struggled to straighten her clothes as she weakly said, “Y-your Highness…” She was about to get off the bed to greet him.
“You’re excused. You’ve just woken up. I don’t want you to over exhaust yourself again.” Long Heng didn’t expect her to be so frightened by his presence. He didn’t dare to move until after she had calmed down. Then, he went to her bedside and asked, “Are you feeling a bit better?”
Bai Xiangxiu couldn’t really adapt to the situation. Long Heng’s loose hair and clothes meant for lounging at home gave him an otherworldly beauty. His peach blossom eyes appeared less icy. Could this mean he had remained in Winter Garden all along while she was unconscious? How is that possible? Yet, the truth was in front of her. To her surprise, he said, “Since you’re awake, eat. Prepare the food!”
Xiao Shi anxiously rushed out to give orders. As for Bai Xiangxiu, she snapped out of her startled state and trembled a little, “Y-your Highness, you…..you haven’t eaten yet?”
“No. Mother was worried you were overly exhausted. She specifically told me to remain here to watch you. If anything happened, I would have called the imperial physician.”
Was he implying that he’d been here the entire night? Bai Xiangxiu knew Winter Garden wasn’t very big. The only room that could host a guest was the room beside hers. But the bed was small. He was so big, how could he have slept in it?
At the same time, she thought about how much the old madame cared about her. She should try to create a closer relationship with her. Perhaps then, she could last until next year and not die. Or maybe, she would be able to return back to the modern world by next year.
But right now, she had to deal with the person who was in front of her. Honestly, the prince was a pretty decent man. He wasn’t extremely cold towards her. Perhaps he was a good thigh to hug? However, her status was special. If she wanted to hug his leg, she would have to have sex with him or something.
As a woman with a normal view of the world, values, and life, she believed sex should come after love and marriage. It was a bit unacceptable for her if she had sex before love and marriage. Plus, she had just gone through a heartbreak. There was no way she could immediately accept another man.
It was true. Although she was just trying to seduce the second male lead, but who wouldn’t fall for such a gentle and good looking man? She hadn’t chosen him for no reason. Whether it was reading the novel or their first real life encounter, Bai Xiangxiu had had a good impression Song Jiaoyue. But the sad reality was that she had been rejected.
He’d made a clear statement when he returned the snacks without any filling on the inside. It meant that although she had the heart to start something with him, he didn’t return her feelings. The two of them were impossible. Since he didn’t want to be with her, there was no point of insisting. Yet, her heart couldn’t help but ache. Originally, she would have commemorated this inconceivable relationship after she woke up. But since Prince Li was here, his presence didn’t allow her to think about anything else.
They didn’t eat together. She ate while sitting on the bed while he ate at the table. The food was nicely set up in front of her from the main table onto the small table next to her. She wasn’t far from Long Heng. They were close enough that they could see each other’s facial expressions. Although they didn’t talk, the atmosphere was extremely strange.
For reasons unknown, Bai Xiangxiu kept feeling that she was being secretly watched. But whenever she looked up, she sees Prince Li eating very properly. Am I imagining things? No. My intuition is very good, ok? What kind of man was Prince Li? He wasn’t into her type of beauty. His type was the female lead! She was gutsy, conscientious, and harmlessly cute as a white lotus flower.
“He’s sweating. The man is sweating. The air is no good….” Huo’er suddenly spoke up. It didn’t seem to like the smell of sweat.
Bai Xiangxiu almost choked and coughed out loud. The temperature of the room wasn’t very high. Why was Prince Li sweating? She secretly took a peek at him and noticed his cheeks were a bit flushed. However, he didn’t appear to be sweating.
Assuming Huo’er was making things up, she glared at it. But Huo’er was persistent in its words, “He is sweating! And his heartbeat is very fast. Huo’er can feel it!” Since Long Heng wasn’t sitting too far from Huo’er, it was normal for him to be able to sense it.
Bai Xiangxiu didn’t think it was a big deal. Men tend to sweat a lot. It was normal. Perhaps he ate a spicy dish or something. There were spicy dishes on the table, but they didn’t look that spicy. Maybe Long Heng wasn’t used to it? Or he might be sensitive to spices? She noted this in her heart and decided she needed to know what she had to do in order to please this superior. After all, she didn’t want to cause trouble for herself.
Little did she know that Long Heng wasn’t affected by the spices. He was sweating like crazy because he was nervous. His back was almost entirely soaked.
Bai Xiangxiu was sitting on the opposite side from him. Her lapel was open and the string that was holding up her verdant undergarment was extremely evident. In addition, her skin was as pure and white as jade, and from time to time, her eyes would drift to him. All of this was enough to cause his heart to flare with emotion and made it impossible for him to calmly eat his meal.
He’d been quite calm originally when she was unconscious. But the moment she opened his eyes, he felt like he couldn’t stay here anymore. There was no way he could peacefully sleep outside. So after dinner, he quickly changed his clothes and left. He was much calmer after taking a shower, but still concerned about Bai Xiangxiu’s health. He ordered another physician to go check on her and only felt relieved after the physician told him she was fine.
He went to see her again afterwards. But somehow, he couldn’t remain calm around her. So after sitting for a little bit, he would leave again. Yet, he’d want to see her again in less than an hour. This extraordinary feeling was tormenting him. So, he ended up asking Song Jiaoyue to go hunting with him earlier. Maybe being away for a few days would help.
As for Bai Xiangxiu, she was feeling much better. So she brought Xiao Shi with her to call upon the old madame. After the old madame inquired about her health, she personally chose another three maids for her. The names were Biaoyue, Biaoqin, and Biaoyu.
They weren’t considered young anymore, and the old madame had personally trained them. In the future, they would be helping Bai Xiangxiu manage the affairs around the household. At the same time, she could tell her son was falling for Bai Xiangxiu. He seemed to be sleeping at her place these days. But from what she heard, he was probably concerned about her injuries. Therefore, he was holding back because he wasn’t sure if she could handle him.
As his mother, she knew her son well. Since he was into Bai Xiangxiu, it meant that he probably wouldn’t be giving any of his other mistresses any attention. So now, she was placing all her hopes on Bai Xiangxiu.
So today, the old madame asked her about her injuries and summoned a knowledgeable old female servant to look over her. The mama said Bai Xiangxiu was healing quite well, and although it would scar, it wouldn’t be too hideous to look at.