Free Web NovelChapter 413: Chapter 343: Entrusting a Lifetime
To make it easier to move around, Ying Rushi tied up her long hair and pinned it to the right side. Due to the recent breaking of her defense barrier and resulting serious injury, her hair was a bit messy, and her cheeks still had traces of blood. However, her eyes were as clear and bright as the sun, moon, and stars, and her lips were red and glistening like lychee flesh.
She stubbornly stared at Yan Qing, her face full of fragility and a feeling of vulnerability inviting his care.
At this moment, Yan Qing was actually a bit bewildered.
Although admitting this makes him seem like those oblivious, gentle male protagonists in classic anime, Yan Qing truly hadn’t noticed that Ying Rushi liked him.
Firstly, the time they spent together was too short. Even though Pharmacist’s Wish and Shang Xinlei hadn’t spent much more time, it had only been two days since Yan Qing and Ying Rushi officially revealed their identities. And during these two days, they were mostly fighting, running, eating, and sleeping — where was the time for romance?
Secondly, even in their scarce downtime interactions over these two days, they mostly argued and quarreled. Ying Rushi would pretend to leave and then talk about repaying gratitude with a stubborn attitude of ’I don’t owe you anything.’ Yan Qing doubted if she even saw him as a teammate; how could he think she liked him? That would be overly narcissistic.
Thirdly, and most importantly—
Ying Rushi knew about the ambiguous relationships between him and Pharmacist’s Wish, Shang Xinlei!
Although he didn’t know how she found out, it was either a lucky guess or she had sneakily spied on them from a hiding spot in his room.
As the saying goes, one cannot hide love for one person, and can only try hard to conceal love for two. However, Yan Qing didn’t have the environment for hiding anything. The only shared space was the hall of the Thief’s House, akin to roommates dating in a dormitory — how could it be hidden?
Being discovered was inevitable.
Furthermore, Ying Rushi not only knew but would occasionally tease him, her demeanor calm like a bystander savoring the spectacle, without a hint of jealousy or sadness. How could Yan Qing ever think she wanted to be part of it too?
Yan Qing felt a flash of insight, recalling how, when she blocked a blade for him, she lay on top of him, looking both pitiful and sad, gazing at him with an uncertain hope, yet refraining from drawing out the Heaven-Swaying Sword to activate the [Dominance]. Yan Qing thought she hesitated due to concerns, so he handed her the Bingzi Pepper Forest. Looking back now...could she have forgotten this, genuinely believing he might die?
Still, for someone who had been in Ying Le’s organization for over a decade but managed to emerge with an aura of righteousness, such occasional lapses in judgment were quite reasonable.
Yet she clearly liked someone, stubbornly hiding it in her heart, chatting voluntarily about the person he liked, inflicting self-inflicted wounds with each cut at her heart, but never voicing her grievances, soaking in self-sacrifice... damn it, this type of tragic story is precisely her taste... damn it, it seems she really does like me.
If she read online novels, she’d probably like the "Chasing Wife in the Crematorium" or "Memory Public" genres. Yan Qing’s thoughts wandered but were quickly reined in, as Ying Rushi moved forward again, the armor on her chest nudging against Yan Qing’s.
So, do I like her?
For the first time, Yan Qing questioned himself like this; he never had such doubts with Pharmacist’s Wish and Shang Xinlei. It’s not that he had no feelings for Ying Rushi—last night his eyes were almost glued to her, making her, who normally had a good temper, about to lose her cool, nearly unable to hold back her sword.
But finding her attractive was one thing, liking her was another. Yan Qing believed that ’like’ ought to be woven interchangingly, like knitting, with one’s feelings interlacing with the other’s. A one-sided liking is no different from lust. His feelings for Black Wolf and Red Snake were never in doubt, simply due to their reciprocal testing and weaving of their relationship.
Moreover, he was still a bit skeptical about whether these were his illusions. To avoid being scolded by Ying Rushi, Yan Qing decided to test the waters first.
He touched Ying Rushi’s hand, which she instinctively pulled back until he grasped one of her fingers, at which point she stopped. This wasn’t a rejection; Ying Rushi’s face didn’t show dissatisfaction, only shyness and insecurity. She, a Third-Turn Messenger with the Divine Martial Bloodline, whose looks didn’t lose to those of Ying Le, solely feared her scar-riddled hands being despised.
Yan Qing lifted her hand, finger to finger, palm to palm, their hands merging together, drawing Ying Rushi’s eyes toward them. As Yan Qing’s forefinger slipped into the spaces between her fingers, her hand quivered slightly, then resolutely intertwined her forefinger with his.
With this rhythmic interplay, like knitting wool into a tight pattern, their fingers finally interlocked, their eyes meeting as well. Feeling her hand being tightly held, Ying Rushi took a deep breath, emitting a slight sobbing sound, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned indicating a smile, yet her squinted eyes brimmed with tears as if she were about to die content.
Despite demanding proof from him just now, her satisfaction was already complete without a word.
Yan Qing couldn’t help but sigh. A complicated woman, such heavy emotions — if left unchecked, she’d surely live out her life burdened by her own dramatic stories. Such a minuscule amount of tenderness, and just like that, she’s fallen.
Even now, Yan Qing remained unsure whether it was mere attraction or genuine affection, but he knew he surely wouldn’t let go.
Seeing Yan Qing lift his left hand, Ying Rushi blushed, wondering if this was her cue to initiate? Despite just holding hands, it felt as if their hearts connected, and as they tightened their grip on each other, it was as if they instantly grew old together.
She hesitated briefly, then raised her hand as well.
Then, Yan Qing’s hand slid from the side into the soft armor on her chest.
Five seconds later, Ying Rushi, with both hands tightly gripping Yan Qing’s throat, lifted him entirely against the bookshelf.
"Can’t... breathe," Yan Qing stuck out his tongue, "didn’t you want me to prove it?"
"But you should do it step by step!" Ying Rushi exclaimed in exasperation.
She was genuinely angry; she had been moved to tears just by holding hands with Yan Qing, feeling she hadn’t fallen for the wrong person, because even she didn’t know what she truly desired, yet Yan Qing had offered the intimacy she subconsciously craved. She had fantasized about taking the initiative to grasp Yan Qing’s hand next and them holding each other, feeling each other’s heartbeat. Yet Yan Qing turned this into a lewd situation in an instant!
"I was progressing step by step! I held your hand first before taking the next step!"
"That’s what you call overstepping boundaries!" Ying Rushi said, looking aggrieved, "I glared at you so furiously, yet you pinched!"
"I thought you wanted me to prove it more firmly..." Yan Qing looked innocent.
"Aren’t you supposed to say something to me knowing you were wrong?"
"Th-thank you for the hospitality?"
Ying Rushi was grinding her teeth in anger, "You inherently evil perverted dog, keeping you around only endangers Black Wolf and Red Snake, I will now—"
