The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, illuminating the entire House of Chen. It was brighter than usual.
Under the same moon,
On one side of the House of Chen,
It was a reunion between siblings,
It was warm and joyous;
On the other side, it was cold and lonely.
Chen Jue ate dinner alone, eating much less than usual.
When A Liu put down the bowl and chopsticks, he looked at the food that was mostly left,
He wanted to say something but hesitated.
Lord Chen's expression was not good,
He had also learned to keep himself clean and mind his own business at this time.
It was the entire Dali Monastery,
And the 'cleanliness' of everyone in the residence,
It made Chen Jue seem to be isolated.
Everyone was afraid of him,
No one would take the risk of being scolded by him at this time,
To persuade him,
Or to care about him.
It seemed that he had long been used to this. His temper was like this,
He also liked peace and quiet.
In the past, he had always insisted on getting along with those who had different ideals and paths,
Drinking,
Socializing and making friends... he would rather be a friendless person,
But a sober person.
But at this moment,
Chen Jue sat at the square table in the middle of his courtyard,
But suddenly, he felt a little empty in his heart.
He couldn't help but start to think, at this time, who could sit opposite him and have a deep conversation with him without looking stupid?
When facing him, who could treat him as an equal? Moreover, the other party wasn't conceited and arrogant?
The capital was so big, but there was no one who could drink with him at this moment.
No one.
He raised his head and let out a long sigh.
Under the bright sky, he was also a layman, and he would suddenly feel lonely.
A layman with no friends.
The power of habit was terrifying. It had only been a month, and there was a little girl by his side eating slowly..
He didn't feel it before, but now that it was gone, he felt so empty.
His anger had turned into sadness.
He thought faintly in his heart that he should still be alone in the future. He had to guard against everyone's approach and influence.
He hated this kind of thing. Because of others, he let himself lose control of his anger, or even..
He frowned and didn't want to make those words clear.
He was still Chen Jue, because he had no attachments, was alone, and was exceptionally strong.
Under the moonlight, there was no one to confide in, so he resolved everything on his own.
He was a person who knew how to adjust his guilty conscience and handle his emotions better. He was also a more solitary person …
…
When she parted with her brother, it was already midnight.
She had been separated from her brother for too long. During this period of time, she had accumulated too many emotions and worries.
He needed to confide in her and ask her questions.
After leaving her brother's courtyard, Li Xiao let out a long sigh of relief. After chatting with her brother for so long, her throat was a little hoarse.
But in his heart, he was happy.
With her brother by her side, she immediately felt at ease.
That kind of cowardice had also been restrained and receded a lot.
After entering her own courtyard, Li Xiao stopped and looked at the wall between her small courtyard and Lord Chen's main courtyard.
It was already so late. Lord Chen was probably already asleep.
Thinking of this, she took another two steps forward.
However, he paused again and hesitated.
If I don't apologize today, will Lord Chen's anger not be appeased?
Moreover, would it be ingrained in his mind that she was a liar?
Or even deliberately deceive her …
He treated her so well. If he really broke his heart, after the night, this emotion would settle …
She was a little worried.
She turned around and looked at the courtyard door. She took another deep breath.
She looked up at the sky. The moon was almost above her head.
In the middle of the night, if she ran to apologize, what if she disturbed Lord Chen's rest?
But …
What if Lord Chen felt that she didn't care whether he was angry or not?
What if Lord Chen's emotions settled and froze? Everything would be too late …
She couldn't take that kind of risk!!!
She thought about how Lord Chen might always be cold to her in the future.
He would never take her to eat delicious food, to work on cases, to buy her gifts, or …
When she thought of the way Lord Chen looked at her today, she felt a little suffocated.
No!
No!!
She couldn't do this!!!
Fear made Li Xiao dizzy.
She didn't care about disturbing his rest in the middle of the night!
She strode out of the door and walked towards Lord Chen's courtyard.
On the way, she was still worried about what if Lord Chen's courtyard was locked …
Fortunately, Lord Chen didn't have the habit of locking his residence, probably because this was his own residence and he wasn't afraid of people breaking in.
She entered Chen Jue's courtyard very smoothly.
A Liu was already asleep in the small room next to Chen Jue's.
Lord Chen didn't like people to be within a few meters of his room at night, so unless Lord Chen shouted, they wouldn't go near him.
Li Xiao sneaked to Chen Jue's bedroom like a thief.
However, when she stood at the door of Lord Chen's bedroom, she hesitated … Lord Chen's bedroom was dark. It was obvious that he was already asleep.
Thus, she walked around Lord Chen's bedroom and paced back and forth under the door and the window.
She tugged at the hem of her clothes and frowned.
She almost tore the hem of her clothes.
After walking a few rounds, she couldn't help but stand under the window and secretly poke her head inside.
She only wanted to know if Lord Chen was asleep because she was conflicted. She didn't think about what her behavior meant at all …
She also didn't think about what an adult man might be doing in his bedroom at night if he wasn't asleep.
She couldn't see anything. The dark table and chairs, the dark treasure pavilion, the dark outline of the ink, paper, and inkstone, and the dark screen …
She couldn't help but sigh softly.
Why don't … I go back?
Or, if she were to stand guard at the door and beg for forgiveness … would it appear more sincere?
For example, the next morning, Lord Chen woke up and went out, only to find that she had waited at his door for an entire night to beg for forgiveness. Then, he would feel softhearted and something like that.
The trick of injuring oneself to gain sympathy …
But … the early summer nights were a little cold.
There were mosquitoes at night. Moreover, the shadows in the courtyard at night were very scary.
When she walked in just now, she felt that the shadows around her were very scary. It was as if someone or something was hiding in every shadow …
She couldn't help but hug herself. Facing Lord Chen's window, she sighed again.
Suddenly, the hair on Li Xiao's body stood on end. It was the kind of fear that danger was approaching.
Her sixth sense had always been very accurate. This feeling of uneasiness —
She turned her head abruptly —
"Gah —" A tall and strong figure was standing behind her at some point.
It was only a step away!
She was about to scream, but her mouth was covered by that person.
Li Xiao's eyes widened and she trembled in fear.
"You're not sleeping at night. Are you out for a night stroll or are you trying to assassinate me?" Chen Jue's cold voice sounded in the dark night.
He deliberately lowered his voice, not wanting to wake others up. His mellow voice was a little hoarse, and there was a hint of drunkenness in it.
Li Xiao's hanging heart finally fell back into her chest.
So it was Lord Chen. She was scared to death …
Chen Jue had been drinking alone at the square table in the courtyard all night. Just now, he was enjoying the cool breeze and sighing at the moon when he saw a small figure sneaking in.
She went around the small corridor and went directly to his bedroom.
She looked so wretched and peeked at him!!
What the hell is she doing now?
"…" Li Xiao.
"Speak!" Chen Jue reprimanded impatiently.
"Mm … mmm …" Li Xiao reached out and held Lord Chen's hand, the hand that he used to cover her mouth.
"…" Chen Jue.
He withdrew his hand awkwardly. The anger that he had suppressed was showing signs of rekindling.
His heart, which had already turned cold, was stirred up.
"Go back to your own courtyard!" He shouted angrily, then turned and walked towards his bedroom door.
Under the moonlight, he looked very pale. His eyes and cheekbones were slightly red, indicating that he had drunk a lot of wine just now.
Li Xiao watched as he stepped into the room. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she suddenly rushed over.
Before Lord Chen closed the door, she nimbly slipped through the door.
"…" Chen Jue turned around and looked at the little girl who was already standing in the room. With the help of the moonlight outside the window, he could see the outline of her face.
He had already closed the door due to inertia.
He frowned and glared at Li Xiao. "Do you know that you are an unmarried girl?"
His voice unconsciously rose a few octaves, and his anger grew.
"Sir, I … I didn't mean to lie to you.
At that time, I didn't know you yet. I was afraid that you were a bad person, so I didn't tell you the truth.
After that … I forgot to explain it to you … "She was afraid that Chen Jue would chase her away, so she spoke many times faster.
Chen Jue pursed his lips and didn't say anything. He reached out, grabbed the little girl by the back of her collar, and pulled her out.
He wanted to throw her out.
Li Xiao saw through his intentions and grabbed his arm with a backhand.
When Chen Jue retracted his hand and was about to grab her again, Li Xiao was too afraid of being thrown out. She was afraid that he wouldn't forgive her, and that he wouldn't let her finish her words and express her feelings clearly. She suddenly took a step forward and hugged Chen Jue.
The little girl's height only reached Chen Jue's collarbone. She hugged his waist and spread her arms before hugging him tightly.
"…" Chen Jue suddenly froze and widened his eyes in disbelief.
He lowered his head and could only see a round, dark head with the help of the moonlight.
She … Did she know what she was doing??
He felt a headache.
His head was throbbing with pain and dizziness.
He held his arms and felt an inexplicable surge in his heart. His head and face were hot, and his whole body was hot …
He didn't know where to put his arms and hands.
"Let go!" Chen Jue whispered with a guilty conscience and reached out to grab her.
Li Xiao didn't stop and hugged Chen Jue so tightly that he couldn't pull her arms away.
"Sir, I was wrong …" The little girl buried her face in Chen Jue's chest and waist and anxiously admitted her mistake. Her voice was muffled.
As she spoke, a gust of hot air suffocated his chest. It was hot.
Chen Jue looked up, speechless and a little confused.
"Let go of me first." His voice was slightly hoarse, but his tone unconsciously softened a lot.
"Sir, please forgive me. I really didn't do it on purpose.
I … I won't take your salary anymore. I'll help you investigate, pour tea, and massage your shoulders, okay? "
"…" Chen Jue's heart softened. His ears were constantly echoing with the soft pleading voice, and his heart itched.
"Sir, I was wrong …" Li Xiao repeated again when she didn't hear Chen Jue's response.
Chen Jue felt his chest vibrate slightly with her voice, and the temperature continued to rise.
He pursed his lips and suddenly felt his body slowly change. He frowned, and the embarrassment made him feel a little suffocated.
"Okay …" He said in a hoarse voice.
"Ah?" Li Xiao finally raised her head and asked with some uncertainty.