Chapter 37: Questioning the Heart

The crisp breeze shifted, and the crescent moon hung bright and delicate. Moonlight spilled across the earth, tracing the silhouette of a beauty’s gown.

Luo Yunyao lay quietly for a moment, and Qin Jinghao watched her with equal stillness.

Noticing her eyelashes trembling more violently, he, who understood her temperament all too well, spoke up. His tone was light and breezy, as if discussing the stars and the moon, yet the subject he chose was, fittingly, the weather.

"The air has turned cold. If you must wait for me, you should wait inside."

Luo Yunyao had waited so long for him to speak, only to be met with such an irrelevant remark. Irritated, she could no longer maintain her composure and snapped her eyes open to look at him.

Her gaze fell straight into a pair of smiling eyes. She found herself lost in them, unable to pull away for a moment, completely forgetting the reprimands she had prepared. By the time she finally regained her senses, drawn back by this jade-like man, she felt a bit more clear-headed and reminded herself that she shouldn't be giving him such a pleasant look just yet.

She set aside her usual flirtatious style, tilted her head to break free from Qin Jinghao’s shadow, and parted her crimson lips: "The autumn wind is bleak and the weather is cold; the grass and trees wither, and the dew turns to frost." It was an equally irrelevant reply.

Neither of them mentioned the events of the day, yet neither could stop thinking about them for a single moment.

"The weather has indeed turned cold," Luo Yunyao said, raising an eyebrow. Though her expression and tone remained indifferent, her words carried a hint of provocation. "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Qin. However, I believe your concern is misplaced. After today, I likely won't be waiting for you anymore—not in the pavilion, and certainly not indoors."

Qin Jinghao listened silently as she delivered this final, cutting statement. His expression did not shift in the slightest, though what he truly thought remained a mystery to her.

Luo Yunyao worried that she had been too harsh, but seeing his impassive face, she gritted her teeth, thinking she should have been even sharper. A man who had seen the brutalities of the battlefield was clearly not one to be wounded by mere words.

Qin Jinghao leaned down, drawing closer to her. He continued to watch her face intently. Luo Yunyao dared not meet his gaze, though his look was gentle and tender—entirely different from the supposedly soft but secretly aggressive, kingly glare of Xiao Limo.

Luo Yunyao flickered her eyes away, avoiding his stare, only to hear Qin Jinghao, who seemed to have finally deduced something, curve his lips slightly. "That was well said, Yunyao. Dew turns to frost, and breath turns to mist."

Luo Yunyao paused, suddenly realizing his meaning. Because of the cold, their breath had formed tiny white clouds the moment it escaped their lips. It had only lasted for a fleeting second, but under the gaze of the great General Qin, nothing could remain hidden.

The thought that their breaths had been entwined, and that Qin Jinghao had been observing her so closely, made her so shy she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

They weren't even married yet, and she was already completely under the thumb of this man who was supposedly so bad with words. How could this be? Abandoning the urge to bury herself in his arms to hide her embarrassment, she forced a stubborn tone: "Brother Qin is too kind with his praise..."

"It is no praise," Qin Jinghao interrupted, ruthlessly exposing her. "In any case, those were not your words to begin with."

Luo Yunyao’s face stiffened. She recalled her previous arguments with him regarding the folk customs of Biluo, once again lamenting that this man was a freak who remembered every trivial detail. Yet, she suddenly wondered if she could tell this man—her beloved—that she was not of this world.

What if, as in the novels and dramas, he forgave her? Understood her, believed her, and looked at her without prejudice?

The thought of telling Qin Jinghao the truth was a fantasy. A pang of bitterness struck her heart. Knowing her expression must have changed, she quickly feigned a look of wounded grievance, pouting as she met his gaze, turning the day’s sorrow into a single complaint: "I have been wronged by others, and you still speak to me this way."

Qin Jinghao’s heart softened. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, feeling how cold her body had become from waiting in the pavilion’s draft. "My fault. Yunyao did very well today." This jade-like gentleman, this general who lacked eloquence, thought that coaxing her like a child was enough. He changed the subject: "If you dare to wait for me in the cold wind again, see how I punish you."

Luo Yunyao was amused by his clumsy attempt at comfort, and she couldn't be bothered to argue about his strange way of consoling her. She took up his thread: "There won't be a next time. Did the great General not hear what I said just now? I said I would never wait for you again." She spoke with a touch of irony, and as she said the words "never wait for you again," she leaned up and pressed her lips against his ear, breathing softly as she spoke each word with deliberate slowness.

Qin Jinghao was accustomed to his lady’s whimsical nature and her tendency to think of strange things—or, more accurately, her occasional lapses in common sense.

He felt no anger, nor did he feel the need to pretend to be angry to discipline the girl who dared to provoke him so openly. He was likely still worried about her chilled body, and his voice became deeply affectionate: "Very well. Yunyao need never wait for me again. I do not want you to wait." He tilted his head slightly, as if by accident, bringing his ear right against her lips. In this intimate position, he continued, his voice heavy with devotion: "From now on, let me wait for you."

Luo Yunyao’s breath hitched at this sudden declaration. She held her breath, waiting for him to continue, waiting for him to say, "I will wait for you until our hair turns white, until the end of time, until the end of our days."

She waited until she was nearly breathless, on the verge of suffocating, yet no further words came. She gasped for air and glared at him, dissatisfied. "Do you even know how to woo a woman?"

Seeing her expression, Qin Jinghao, though unaware of the grand romantic script she had imagined, realized she was disappointed by something absurd.

He knew this wasn't the time to speak; if he said the wrong thing, he would only disappoint her further. So, he simply smiled at her.

Luo Yunyao, who had felt so righteous and fierce a moment ago, felt her anger vanish under his gentle gaze. She reflected on herself.

General Qin was never a man of many words, let alone one skilled in romance. The fact that she had heard him speak so tenderly today was something she should be grateful for—she should thank the heavens that her beloved had finally had a moment of insight. How could she blame him for his lack of eloquence? Moreover, he had said those words even after she had baited him with such sarcasm.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt she was in the wrong. She pecked his earlobe affectionately and whispered, "Was I being unreasonable just now?" She licked his earlobe gently, adding in a low voice, "You know I’m usually not like this. I’m a very reasonable person. This was an exception; you should ignore it."

Qin Jinghao suddenly gripped her head, forcing her to face him.

In her startled gaze, his usually expressionless face softened. "Yes, I know."

Luo Yunyao noticed his breathing had grown heavy, his voice turning hoarse. Just as she was wondering why, she realized what she had just done.

Whenever Luo Yunyao successfully teased someone instead of being teased herself, her confidence would soar, and her skin would thicken, leaving no room for shyness or a blushing face.

Qin Jinghao watched as she feigned confusion and "Eh?"d at him, leaning in until their lips were barely a centimeter apart—a dangerous distance that invited a kiss.

Luo Yunyao maliciously paused her advance, looking at him with a mischievous smile. "It seems the great General Qin is quite fond of such a reasonable person as me." She pinched his earlobe, which had turned crimson from her earlier teasing, and continued with the air of a libertine: "How much does the great General like me? Are you unable to tear yourself away?"

Few men could remain patient when openly provoked and teased by the woman they loved.

The General proved with his actions that he was not only a real man but a hero who had conquered battlefields—not someone a little woman like Luo Yunyao could easily toy with.

Luo Yunyao was kissed until she was breathless, her attempts to push him away ignored entirely. In the end, she couldn't help but use her fists, though she could never truly use force, and even if she did, it meant nothing to him. Thus, the great General simply assumed her feeble resistance was part of their flirtatious game.

Truly, the ancients were wise: if you don't court death, you won't die.

As she lay limp in his arms, kissed into submission, she muttered a warning to herself: "Don't die, why do you try? Am I a fool? Honestly."