Seeing that she lowered her head and remained silent, Helian Duo thought he had spoken too harshly. Immediately, he softened his expression, his eyebrows unfurrowed, and his gaze became much gentler. As if explaining, he said, "It's not necessarily a bad thing that this matter has escalated. We can just take it to court. I'd like to see who is pulling the strings behind them."
Cheng Xiran tried to move as gently as possible, and even her tone of voice sounded soft, like a whisper: "Actually, at the banquet in the Cheng Mansion yesterday, Gu Yuanqing approached me and said some strange things."
Even with her head bowed, she could feel Helian Duo turning his head to look at her. Since they were quite close to each other, his breath lingered in her hair. Cheng Xiran only felt a strange weakness in her body.
It must be because she hadn't been alone with a man for a long time... She tried hard to calm her chaotic emotions. Pretending to be calm, she repeated what Gu Yuanqing had threatened her with that day. Then, full of speculation, she said, "I guess he's behind this incident too. But as you heard just now, those people are all quacks from the Jianghu. Why would they listen to Gu Yuanqing's orders?"
It wasn't until she noticed that Helian Duo's breathing had stopped that she dared to lift her eyes slightly. She saw him looking at her contemptuously and saying, "Are you stupid? Why can't quacks from the Jianghu and a local magistrate be in cahoots? It's clearly for the same interests. Can't you even figure this out?"
Cheng Xiran glared back at him and said, "Don't be so fierce. You don't even have a chest..."
As soon as she said this, Helian Duo was obviously stunned for a moment. By the time he understood, Cheng Xiran had already finished bandaging his wound and was about to run away. Naturally, he grabbed her back with his long arm. She noticed that there was a slight ripple in his once dull eyes, and his tone even became inexplicably ambiguous: "Cheng Xiran, why are you getting more and more naughty?"
Surrounded by him, Cheng Xiran's face blushed again. The unique sandalwood scent emanating from his body gradually filled her nostrils. Mixed with the indescribable feelings in her heart, she suddenly felt a bit hot. So she quickly broke free and said, "I was just joking. Don't take it seriously. Your wound isn't serious. I'll go out first and see how the investigation in the yamen is going."
Helian Duo had caught a glimpse of her shyness. Now, on a whim, he wanted to tease her. So he gave a hard tug, causing Cheng Xiran, who was completely off guard, to fall into his arms.
He had intended to play around, but this time, he happened to touch a softness.
Both of them were stunned at the same time, not knowing what to do next.
Cheng Xiran could hear the pounding of a heartbeat in her ear. She couldn't even tell if it was hers or Helian Duo's. Anyway, in her heart, she began to hope that this moment would never end, never end. Even if it lasted for just a moment longer, it would be good.
But when the approaching footsteps came from outside, she realized that she was crazy, crazy for a man.
She suddenly jumped up. Due to her sudden movement and emotional excitement, her elbow accidentally hit Helian Duo's chin, making him hiss in pain.
"I wonder how it is. Is the injury serious? The Feiyu Villa is quite far from here. And I've been at home with my father all day. I didn't even know such a big thing had happened to the newspaper office..."
As the voices of Xue Lian and Jizei came from outside, Cheng Xiran could only cast an apologetic look at Helian Duo.