When Jiang Xiaoxiao arrived home, Xie Xun had already finished classes.
He was standing at the entrance, with the evening sun casting its glow on his jade-like profile, making his deep, dark eyes appear even more captivating.
Jiang Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, looking up at him, "Why are you standing at the entrance?"
As Xie Xun was about to speak, he suddenly scrunched his nose, as if detecting a certain scent. His gaze slowly shifted downward, eventually fixating on Jiang Xiaoxiao's wrist.
Jiang Xiaoxiao glanced down, but didn't notice anything amiss.
Xie Xun grabbed her hand and led her into the courtyard.
To Jiang Xiaoxiao's bewilderment, he drew water from the well and brought some soap nuts, repeatedly washing her hands.
Jiang Xiaoxiao recalled the previous time when her hands were stained with Zhu Yan's blood, and Xie Xun had washed them for her, over and over again.
He remained silent, very quiet.
His actions were gentle, yet there was a hint of suppressed frenzy within that gentleness.
Jiang Xiaoxiao tried to retract her hands, "Xie Xun, they're clean now, no need to wash anymore..."
Dean Gu witnessed the entire scene.
He remembered that Jiang Xiaoxiao's wrist had been touched by Qin Fengmian.
Leaving aside how the Third Royal Highness discovered this, his current reaction was truly alarming.
Dean Gu was an insightful observer of human nature. In fact, he had long realized that the Third Royal Highness had some psychological abnormalities, though they rarely surfaced.
Fearing that Yang Ershun might suffer misfortune if he stayed any longer, Dean Gu went inside and dragged him to his own residence.
Su Hai had visited earlier but had already returned home at this hour.
With Yang Ershun gone, only Jiang Xiaoxiao and Xie Xun remained in the small courtyard.
Jiang Xiaoxiao stood outside the kitchen.
Inside, Xie Xun was cutting vegetables, his long, slender fingers gripping the knife as he moved with focused precision.
An oil lamp hung on the wall, casting a gentle glow on his features.
Cooking was usually a smoky, fiery task, but he made it look graceful and pleasing to the eye.
Dinner was served, and Xie Xun portioned rice and her favorite soup for her.
Apart from his silence, everything else seemed normal.
Yet Jiang Xiaoxiao still felt that something was amiss.
She didn't touch her chopsticks, tilting her head as she looked at him, "Xie Xun, did I upset you again?"
Xie Xun placed the deboned fish onto her small bowl, simply saying, "When I'm not around, don't drink alcohol, and... don't let others touch you."
Jiang Xiaoxiao was somewhat surprised.
Earlier, Qin Fengmian had touched her wrist briefly to stop her from drinking alcohol.
It was just that one touch, and afterward, nothing else happened. She hadn't even given it much thought.
How did Xie Xun find out?
Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't think she possessed such keen senses herself.
Then there was only one explanation: Xie Xun's sense of smell was extraordinary.
Rumor had it that even as a child, his memory was astonishing. Now it seemed his sense of smell was equally sharp.
Jiang Xiaoxiao felt a little self-conscious and lowered her head, "Okay."
Initially, she had intended to tell him about the little attendant she had found for him.
However, it seemed that Xie Xun didn't particularly like Qin Fengmian.
After some thought, Jiang Xiaoxiao ultimately decided not to mention it.
That night, Jiang Xiaoxiao went to bed early.
She usually had a good quality of sleep and rarely dreamed.
However, she was awakened in the middle of the night by a commotion.
Outside, there was a loud croaking of frogs.
Jiang Xiaoxiao had an inkling of what was happening, her eyelids twitched, and she quickly got up to dress and open the door.
Sure enough, she found Xie Xun carrying a cage full of frogs he had caught from somewhere.
He was standing outside, holding a wine jar.
The autumn night was cool, and the moonlight was crisp and clear, while the scent of wine carried faintly on the breeze. Yet Jiang Xiaoxiao could still smell it.
Xie Xun had been drinking, and he was drunk again!
Jiang Xiaoxiao never quite understood his peculiar hobby of catching frogs when he was intoxicated.
But she couldn't simply ignore someone who was drunk.
She turned to fetch a fire striker to light the courtyard's lanterns.
Her wrist was gently grasped by him.
"Xiaoxiao..."
When drunk, Xie Xun appeared entirely different from his usual self. He was particularly obedient, like a child afraid of being abandoned, making every effort to appear compliant and devoid of any aggression.
He said, "I'll drink with you. From now on, don't find anyone else, okay?"
After a pause, he added, "You like catching frogs, don't you? I've caught them all for you."
Jiang Xiaoxiao thought, 'No, I don't like it at all!'
Jiang Xiaoxiao reached for the wine jar and realized that more than half of it had already been consumed.
"You have a poor alcohol tolerance, yet you still drank..." Jiang Xiaoxiao muttered.
Xie Xun pulled her close, his gaze intense, "From now on, don't find anyone else, okay?"
Jiang Xiaoxiao had experienced Xie Xun's drunken habit of repeatedly asking the same question before.
If she didn't respond well, he could keep repeating the question endlessly.
"Mmhmm..." Jiang Xiaoxiao nodded, "I won't find anyone else, just you."
Xie Xun tightened his grip on her hand slightly, as if afraid of hurting her by using too much force, yet also afraid that letting go would make her disappear.
His usual cool demeanor and cunning nature had melted away, replaced by cautious tenderness.
Jiang Xiaoxiao crouched down to place the wine jar on the ground. As she stood up, she was unexpectedly pulled into his embrace.
They were so close, their heartbeats intermingled, making it impossible to discern whose was racing.
Jiang Xiaoxiao had never experienced such a feeling before.
A tingling, numb sensation, unfamiliar and strange.
He suddenly leaned closer, his tone tinged with complaint, "I don't believe you."
Jiang Xiaoxiao grew flustered, "I'm not lying. From now on, I definitely won't find anyone else."
Xie Xun said, "Unless you kiss me."
Kiss?
Jiang Xiaoxiao pondered for a moment, then said with a troubled expression, "I don't know how. Teach me."
Xie Xun fell silent for a while.
It seemed he didn't know how either.
To Jiang Xiaoxiao, Xie Xun's reaction appeared to be the result of his drunken state and lack of clarity.
She carefully recalled how her third senior brother used to charm those beauties from the mountains.
...After recalling, she still didn't quite know how, but she could give it a try.
The room was unlit, making it difficult to see clearly.
Jiang Xiaoxiao reached out, felt his lips, and once she had located them, she stood on her tiptoes and "chomp!" bit down.
Xie Xun: "..."
