She pulled at the corners of his quilt again, and exited the room. Before leaving, she said to the two guards at the entrance. “Keep an eye on him, make sure that he won’t wander off again.”
“Please rest assured Miss Ji, we will make sure of his safety.”
Ji Yunshu nodded in gratitude, but she felt someone grab her wrist before she could finish, and she was forcefully dragged into a room on the side. Ji Yunshu frowned from the clawing pain on her wrist, and she turned her head — it was Jing Rong. “What are you doing?”
Thud-
The door was sealed shut right after they entered the room. The moment she heard the thud, her back was shoved against the door; it was a tobira-don.
Ji Yunshu looked at the face, barely a fist’s distance away from her, on which a quiet fire burned beneath its composure. She could see the creases in the skin, and the pores which were about to burst from anger.
‘What did I do to make this guy so angry?’ She bent her own neck to the side to dodge his eyes and asked, “What do you seek, your highness?”
“What do you think?”
“Please respect yourself.”
“You have yet to give me an answer to last night’s question.”
“Uh?” Ji Yunshu was taken unaware. She tried to remember what happened. ‘Oh, he’s talking about that question. Whether I care for him or not.’ Last night, Ke Cha interrupted her before she could answer.
“No one will disturb us now. I want a truthful answer from you. Even if it’s just a sliver, don’t hide it.”
‘Yes, even if it’s just a sliver of affection, I’d have a chance, wouldn’t I?’ Jing Rong stared at the tips of Ji Yunshu’s brows, emboldened by a burning hope.
Ji Yunshu clenched her own fists tightly. Her breath lightened, and she showed determination on her expression as she made ready to answer him. She met his eyes and said with conviction, “I’ve never had…ugh!”
Before she could finish, her lips, which hid beneath her veil, were caught by Jing Rong’s in a hot kiss. It was not the first time Jing Rong had done something like this, but she was still dumbstruck each time.
The fine threads of silk on the veil sank into the fissures of her lips, caught tightly between Jing Rong’s lips and hers. They warmed up as the kiss went on, and they had little use as a barrier. When she finally came back to her senses and was about to push him away, Jing Rong retracted on his own.
He threw a deep look with a tint of melancholy and said, “Bah, you can answer this later.”
“…”
“What are you so surprised about, it’s not the first time.” Jing Rong seemed rather spiritless. He called out, “Lang Po.”
Lang Po, who was outside of the room, answered his call.
“Bring the dishes in.”
“Yes.”
Jing Rong released Ji Yunshu, and sat straight down at the table. He bent his fingers and knocked on the top of it with his knuckles. “Go wash your hands and get ready to eat.”
‘Hey, how can you pretend that nothing happened.’ Ji Yunshu’s heart raced still, and there was no way she could simply sit down and eat. She bit her lips and said, “There’s no need,” turned around, flung the door open and ran out of the room.
Jing Rong looked at her silhouette, which suggested at an obvious bewilderment, and he started hoping again. However, no matter what, he could not become happy in the slightest, for he had understood what Ji Yunshu intimated at: he had no place inside her heart, and that, was an undesirable truth.
1. I’ll coin the term Tobira-Don for this, since the original term, Kabe-don (壁ドン), comes from Japanese and Kabe means wall. So replace Kabe by Tobira (扉), which means a traditional door, and there you go! ?
2. True fact about orchids, they will die if you water them too much…