RWWAI 32

Chapter 32: I'm Only Helping You Out!

Back when I was a kid, my mom was far too busy taking care of my grandmother to ever have time to take me out to look at night views.

Later on, after growing up and working like a dog, I never possessed the leisurely peace of mind to go seeking out night views either.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the first time I'd ever witness a city night view would be back in ancient history.

A sudden, unexplainable wave of heat welled up behind my eyes.

Right on cue, Luo Fan completely shattered the emotional atmosphere by blurting out:

"Hold on, you aren't actually exhausted to the point of crying, are you? Aren't you being a bit too dramatic?"

I sniffled, whipped my head around, and snapped with utter disdain:

"I am not!"

"Then what are you crying for?" Luo Fan asked with a puzzled look.

Lowering my gaze, I mumbled softly:

"This is the first time I've ever... looked at a night view..."

Luo Fan froze for a second.

Then, grabbing hold of my shoulders, he abruptly spun me right back around to face the capital spread out below and said:

"Well, then you better stare at it a few more times, otherwise climbing all the way up here for nothing would be a total waste."

I studied the sparkling expanse earnestly for a few minutes, before turning back to face Luo Fan once more:

"Thank you..."

Still gazing out at the capital's glowing lights, Luo Fan offered a soft, absent-minded acknowledgement:

"Hm?"

"I'm not thanking you for bringing me out to see a night view," I explained.

"I know you've been racking your brains trying to figure out how to help me clear my mission."

Finally, he lowered his gaze to lock eyes with me.

"How did you figure that out?" he asked, clearly having no recollection of his own drunken rambling from the night before.

I clarified:

"The night you got hammered, you asked me why Liang Jingjing specifically chose to respawn the exact day Qi Lu returned from the Xiazi Pass. If you hadn't been obsessively turning it over in your head, knowing your limited brainpower, I'd never believe you'd suddenly experience a flash of divine inspiration and blurt out something like that."

Luo Fan blinked in surprise:

"I only said that one thing?"

I gave a curt nod:

"That was the only part that mattered."

Luo Fan let out a self-deprecating laugh:

"Well, doesn't sound like it was of much use anyway."

Yet the point was that he did do it—he actually thought about it.

I am not someone whose head is filled with naive, rose-tinted fantasies.

Never once in my life did I believe some corporate overlord would magically drop out of the sky waving a black credit card to solve all my problems.

I have zero need for a savior like that.

Which is precisely why I felt so endlessly grateful that the person standing right in front of me was this thoroughly useless Luo Fan.

Even if it happened under a state of utter, pathetic panic when he clumsily drew a sword to block an assassin's blade that nearly cost us our lives.

Even if the boat ride he treated me to wasn't even funded by his own money.

Even if bringing me out to see a night view required first breaking both my legs climbing a million stairs.

Even if his attempts to help me clear my mission invariably came packaged with dragging me along to clear his own.

The lights of the capital might have burned brilliantly, but standing up on that high pagoda, we were far too distant from the city below.

No matter how many millions of lamps flickered, they could never illuminate the face belonging to Qi Lu right in front of me.

So the only thing my eyes could truly capture was Luo Fan.

Driven by some inexplicable, reckless impulse, I stepped a fraction closer, rose up onto my tiptoes, and pressed a light kiss straight to his lips.

His eyes widened to comically visible proportions.

Yet he didn't push me away, so I leaned in and kissed him a second time.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking completely dumbfounded.

I arched an eyebrow and replied:

"Didn't you say my mission is all about doing whatever makes me feel most satisfied?"

Staring blankly at me, he remained entirely paralyzed without offering a single reaction.

"Then I'm not going to stand on ceremony anymore." I stated.

If the events that followed were going to be written up matching the format of a typical backstory background drop, it could probably be described as "half-forced, half-willing" as well.

Though the person doing the forcing was entirely yours truly.

Too bad it was pitch-black out, meaning I still didn't get a clear look at what the region Luo Fan had fought so hard to keep hidden actually looked like, forcing me to rely entirely on tactile feedback for mental reconstruction.

All in all, once I was thoroughly satisfied, I casually buttoned up my garments while reminding the dazed, utterly bewildered Luo Fan lying on the floor:

"Hurry up and get dressed, the sun's going to be coming up soon."

Staring at me in a state of catatonic shock, Luo Fan stammered:

"I... I only brought you out to look at the night view..."

I let out a cold snort:

"I warned you ages ago that pretty boys need to protect their virtue, why on earth would you take a girl out to look at night views for no reason?"

"When did you ever warn me?" Luo Fan demanded in utter shock.

I flashed a wicked, devilish grin and replied:

"When you were drunk."

"That doesn't count!" he shrieked.

"I don't care, you're taking responsibility for this!"

I took a couple of steps closer, reached out a single finger to hook right under his chin, and purred:

"Take responsibility for what? Didn't your mission require a legitimate heir? I'm only helping you out!"

"What?!" he yelled, sounding even more thunderstruck.

"Besides, aren't we still technically undivorced? Responsibility? What you're experiencing right now is simply fulfilling your marital duties." I tossed his clothes straight onto his chest and added leisurely.

He shrieked right back at the top of his lungs:

"Things have gotten to this point and you're still seriously bringing up a divorce?!"

Too lazy to entertain his stingy, penny-pinching dramatics, I urged once more:

"Hurry up and get your clothes on, or the sun really is going to rise."

On our horseback ride back to the inn, I once again anchored my entire body tightly against Luo Fan's chest.

Only this time, there wasn't a single shred of terror left in my heart.

Just a deep, quiet, smug thrill.

Naturally, Luo Fan's mouth wouldn't stop nagging the entire way:

"Didn't you claim your legs turned to jelly and you couldn't even walk after climbing those stairs? How did things suddenly turn out like this?"

Complaining aside, his arms still instinctively tightened their hold around my waist a fraction more.

The next day, we finally returned to Yangshan.

Stuffing the pastries I'd bought along the road straight into Qin Miaomiao's arms, I strolled toward my bedchamber feeling lighter than air.

Right behind me, however, came Qin Miaomiao's thoroughly bewildered voice:

"My Lord... whatever is the matter? Why on earth are you crying?"

As if having finally found the ultimate person to lodge a complaint with, Luo Fan wailed and poured his heart out to Qin Miaomiao:

"Your Madam is bullying me!!"

Hearing that, Qin Miaomiao hurriedly asked:

"What did Madam do?"

I turned my head back, flashed a bright smile, and offered a gentle reminder:

"Miaomiao dear, never forget who the actual outsider is here!"

Qin Miaomiao cast a quick glance down at the pastries in her hands, hesitated for all of two seconds, and sensibly concluded:

"The Commandant must have upset Madam somehow, which is why she's punishing you. It's fine, once Madam's anger blows over, everything will be back to normal."

Nodding with profound satisfaction, I turned back to bark an order at Luo Fan:

"What are you standing around for? Aren't you coming back to the room?"

"You still want more?!" Luo Fan roared in outrage, before scurrying along right behind me like an obedient, grumbling puppy all over again.

 

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