Chapter 238: Chapter 238: What Should I Do...
Qu Fulan had insomnia.
She didn’t know what feelings or reactions other girls would have upon being confessed to.
She... felt many unfamiliar sensations aside from panic and helplessness.
Even lying in bed at this moment, she felt a floating sense of unreality.
She was actually confessed to.
Confessed by the illustrious Heir Pei.
Just thinking about those straightforward words made her blush and her heart race.
After all, she was just an ordinary person.
No girl could really remain indifferent in the face of a handsome guy’s confession, right?
Even if they don’t like him, it’s inevitable they’ll be shy.
Moreover, she couldn’t figure out her feelings towards Heir Pei.
Because she had never thought in that direction before.
This feeling, it’s like in school, where the rich and handsome school idol liked by so many girls suddenly confesses to a poor and hardworking girl.
This girl also wouldn’t be able to remain calm, and she would have to endure the envy and jealousy of other female classmates.
In this situation, could this female classmate remain as indifferent as before?
Definitely not, because her heart was already in turmoil.
Every young person has a period of youthful emotions, unless they are plants.
This was how Qu Fulan felt now.
Her heart was stirred.
A quiet atmosphere easily leads one to think deeply.
After a long period of turmoil, Qu Fulan began to gradually calm down, and reason returned.
Being liked by someone is actually a fortunate matter.
Especially being liked by someone outstanding.
She was lucky to encounter this.
Only, she couldn’t give a response.
At least, she couldn’t do so currently.
She was too young. Regardless of what the ancients thought, that a woman who was fifteen could marry, she couldn’t do it. In her opinion, women should talk about marriage in their twenties; this was one reason.
Secondly, she had many things yet unfinished: dreams of becoming wealthy, overturning the case for the Li Family, and so forth. Just these matters alone, who knows how many years they would take?
Just these two points, she couldn’t afford to hold anyone back.
As for other miscellaneous things, such as family background and matching of social status, those are things to consider when deciding to be together.
Currently, love and family weren’t part of her plan. As for whether they would be in the future, she wouldn’t know until then.
After thinking things through clearly, Qu Fulan decided that she would find a chance to make it clear to him, so as not to hold him back.
Regarding the asunto of the house, Qu Fulan had two considerations.
One was that after she rejected him, the two couldn’t maintain their previous cooperation, and she’d promptly find a place and move out.
The other was that after rejecting him, he would be gracious and not mind anything—after all, with his status, what kind of woman couldn’t he have? If this was the case, she’d buy the house in installments and continue their business cooperation as before.
Why be so attached to this house?
Firstly, finding another place outside would be troublesome and difficult to find a price and location that were reasonable. Her living alone meant that the place might not be safe, even with some servants, and she’d become a target for some dissolute young nobles—very dangerous.
Second, she’d buy it in installments herself, and living in a house she bought with her own money, she’d feel at ease.
Lastly, she’d made Heir Pei so much money before and would continue to make him money. Would it be excessive to purchase a house through his connections?
Of course, all this depended on whether they could resume cooperation as it was before.
So the main issue now was how she should reject Heir Pei so as not to damage their relationship and return to how things were.
This problem was too difficult to solve.
Qu Fulan thought back and forth about it, but couldn’t come up with a perfect solution after a whole night.
So, when she got up the next day, she had two dark circles under her eyes. To avoid being seen, she had to use makeup to cover them up.
Today’s winter hunt was at the royal hunting grounds; ordinarily, commoners couldn’t go.
Qu Fulan was only able to go along because she was favored.
She rode in a carriage with Madam Pei, and due to not sleeping well last night, she was yawning and sleepy as soon as she got in the carriage.
Knowing that Madam Pei had a good temper, she dared act this way. Sure enough, Madam Pei saw her and called for her assistant to cover her with a blanket, very considerate.
She had no choice but to be taken care of, because her stomach was already captured by this girl. Without looking after her, should she get ill, who would make her delicious food?
Today, however, Madam Pei was more concerned about not being able to ride and hunt, lamenting all the way to the destination.
Qu Fulan was startled awake by a soft laugh, having been half-asleep, not daring to sleep too soundly.
Upon opening her eyes, she was faced with a handsome face. Who else could it be but Pei Ji’an?
"Why so sleepy? What were you doing last night?" he teased.
Qu Fulan felt embarrassed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Where’s Madam Pei?"
"Went out. Seeing you were sleeping so soundly, she didn’t call you, only told the assistant to guard outside."
Qu Fulan felt awkward. With Madam Pei not around, why was he here? It was inconvenient to drive him away, so she indirectly asked, "Why isn’t Heir going hunting, what are you doing here?"
"I’m here to ask for an answer." He was quite straightforward.
Qu Fulan had thought about it all night, but hadn’t come up with a good way to respond.
Moreover, today he needed to compete against Xiao Shiqing; if she embarrassed him now, she wondered what might happen later, and crucially, she didn’t want Xiao Shiqing to win either.
"What—what answer?" Qu Fulan could only feign ignorance.
How could Pei Ji’an not know she was pretending? He didn’t force her, only saying, "Who do you want to win?"
Qu Fulan bit her lip. This question didn’t require much thought. She said, "Of course, I hope Heir Pei wins."
"Good, I’ll remember that," Pei Ji’an said, smiling brightly as he got up and left.
Qu Fulan was stunned for a moment before she realized why he rubbed her head like stroking a small dog? Wasn’t this action a bit too intimate? Had they confirmed any relationship?
A thousand wildebeests raced through her mind.
Qu Fulan, guided by the assistant, arrived at the camp. Madam Pei saw her flushed cheeks and said, "Was the charcoal fire in the carriage burning too intensely? Your face is all flushed."
Upon hearing this, Qu Fulan not only blushed but her ears turned red as well.
She felt a sense of guilt she couldn’t quite articulate, almost afraid to face Madam Pei, feeling as though she’d done something with her son behind her back.
This camp was very large; as far as the eye could see, there were nobles, surrounded by embroidered flags, with the Imperial Army in armor standing firmly.
At the head, quite a distance away, sat the Emperor. It was her first time seeing the Emperor, yet she seemed to find him familiar, as if she’d met him somewhere?
The Emperor had already started speaking, "Today, whoever collects the most game will be rewarded with a good item by Us. Go ahead."
Everyone rode off into the mountains.
But just before Pei Ji’an departed, he glanced in Qu Fulan’s direction. Qu Fulan happened to meet his gaze, and quickly looked away, unnaturally shifting her eyes.