"That won't do, you're not young anymore, people will laugh,"
"Grandmother, please choose again. I will surely find you a good husband." Old Madam Bai said, scanning the room and asking tenderly, "Are you getting used to staying here?"
Ye Luo felt nervous, but kept a calm expression, smiling faintly, "I'm used to it." After a pause, she added, "Grandmother, I'm hungry. Shall we go to the dining hall to eat first?"
"Alright, alright, let's eat first. You few, tidy up the room for Miss."
Ye Luo was startled and quickly stopped the maids.
"No, no need. I feel a bit dizzy. I want to sleep a little more when I get back."
Seeing this, Old Madam Bai grew suspicious. She glanced around, her gaze landing on the bed curtains, which were tightly drawn.
Ye Luo swallowed and walked over, wrapping her arm around Old Madam Bai's arm, her voice soft.
"Grandmother, my cousin said the steamed buns made by the chef in your small kitchen are delicious. May I go and eat some?"
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Bai's eyes crinkled with a smile.
"You girl, just like your mother, you have a weakness for this. Come, Grandmother will take you to Songxiang Garden for breakfast."
'Alright.'
Ye Luo smiled obediently and followed.
As they left, she saw Fu Dai in the garden and immediately called out, "Fu Dai, guard the door well!"
"Yes, Miss."
After Ye Luo finished eating and had kept Old Madam Bai happy and chatting for a long time, she returned to Moon Pavilion.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw the scoundrel hadn't left yet and was sitting on a stool.
The portraits on the table were in a mess, some torn, some crumpled, utterly unsightly.
She was furious, "Why are you still here, you lunatic?!"
He ignored her, his face cold as he tore at the portraits on the table, his brow pressing down on his eyes, making him look extremely menacing.
Ye Luo gritted her teeth, closed the door, and walked over to push him.
"Stop!"
This crazy idiot, tearing them up like this, how was she supposed to return them?
"Are you out of your mind?"
Ye Luo quickly crouched down, picking up the crumpled portraits from the floor. They were all torn.
She casually flipped through a few more; some had their faces slashed with a knife, others had their eyes gouged out, leaving several large holes.
She was so angry she felt dizzy, "You've ruined them like this, how can I return them to Grandmother?"
"They were too ugly, I couldn't help myself."
He looked down at her self-righteously. Seeing her pick up a portrait, he snatched it away, cruelly threw it to the ground, and stomped on it several times.
"You—"
Ye Luo stood up in anger.
Xiao Chi Zhan glanced at her indifferently, his voice calm, "I will kill them!"
"----"
He spread out the last portrait and tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Start with this one."
Ye Luo felt a chill run down her spine at the playful killing intent in his eyes.
She had merely looked at a few portraits of men, and he wanted to kill them!
"If you dare to kill innocents indiscriminately like this, then don't ever appear before me again."
Upon hearing her words, Xiao Chi Zhan's crimson eyes blazed with ferocity.
"For these disgusting things, you don't want me."
Ye Luo rolled her eyes inwardly but explained outwardly, "It's not for them, I just don't want to be stained with the blood of sinners."
He fell silent.
Ye Luo ignored him, kicked his foot away, picked up all the portraits on the floor, and then gathered the shredded paper on the table. She brought a brazier and burned them all.
Since they were torn beyond recognition, they couldn't be returned anyway, so she might as well consider them discarded.
"You should leave now."
Xiao Chi Zhan said, "I'm hungry."
Ye Luo, "---"
"If you're hungry, go back to your manor and eat."
Xiao Chi Zhan reached out and pulled her, saying, "I want to eat the steamed buns you mentioned."
Ye Luo, "---"
"Whatever you eat, I want to eat too."
"---"
Seeing his childish persistence, Ye Luo rubbed her forehead.
This madman was too much when he clung to someone.
She took a deep breath and quietly went out to instruct Granny Fang outside to get some breakfast from the small kitchen.
"Get it secretly, say Xue Qiu wants to eat it."
"Understood, Miss."
Ye Luo returned to the inner room and saw that he had already gone into the washroom to wash up.
She was too tired to say anything and went to open the window for ventilation.
"Luan Luan—"
Ye Luo was startled and hurried to the washroom, shouting angrily, "What are you shouting for? You'll attract people!"
Xiao Chi Zhan turned back, "I have no clothes to wear."
"---"
"Stop being crazy. Put on your clothes and change when you get back to your manor after eating. I don't have any clothes for you here."
"Oh."
Seeing that he wasn't causing any more trouble, Ye Luo breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave.
After he came out, she pointed to the steamed buns on the table and said, "Leave quickly after you finish eating."
"You only ate steamed buns, nothing else?"
Of course, she had eaten other things, and was drinking lotus porridge.
"No, I don't have much of an appetite."
Xiao Chi Zhan pulled her, "I don't believe you, let me smell."
Ye Luo was annoyed, "You're sick, get away."
"You're lying to me."
Ye Luo really didn't want to deal with this moody lunatic, so she pushed him away and went into the washroom to wash up.
When she came out, she saw him standing by the window, looking out at the scenery with a cold expression.
She glanced at the untouched food on the table, took a deep breath, and said, "If you're not going to eat, then leave quickly."
"Luan Luan, how about I propose to your grandmother?"
Suddenly, he turned back, a cold smile curving his lips.
"She's afraid you won't get married, right? I'll marry you!"
Seeing her silence and indifferent expression, Xiao Chi Zhan coughed lightly and continued, "We can get engaged first, and I'll marry you when you're ready!"
He wanted to announce to everyone in the world that Ye Luo was his, Xiao Chi Zhan's, princess, and no one could covet her!
Ye Luo didn't want to listen to him talk about this, and she was too lazy to argue with him.
'You should leave quickly. Soon, more people will be moving around the manor, and you won't be able to leave.'
Xiao Chi Zhan remained silent, looking at her for a few moments. Suddenly, he strode over, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into his embrace.
Ye Luo's eyes turned cold, and she stomped on his shoe.
"Let go."
"No."
He held her waist, lowered his head, and went to kiss her lips.
A surge of wicked fire rose within Ye Luo, and she immediately raised her hand to block his lips, pushing him back.
"Xiao Chi Zhan! Get out!"
He didn't speak, but lifted her waist higher, his eyes filled with a kind of frantic obsession.
Ye Luo pushed him, trying to retreat.
He didn't resist. She took a step back, and he advanced another step.
Suddenly, her lower back was pressed hard against the table.
Ye Luo was startled and braced herself with her hands on the table.
He swiftly lifted her waist, pinned her against the table behind them, and lowered his head, his lips pressing hard against hers.
"Mmm~"
This madman.
She tried to roll away, but his long arm caught her and held her within his embrace, pinning her to the table.
Ye Luo struggled, and as they pulled and tugged, Xiao Chi Zhan simply unfastened her clasp and pushed her onto the table, kissing her neck.
The summer clothes were already thin, and with his tugging, her clothes were all torn open, scattering across the table.
Languid, disheveled.