Chapter 41 That One Fleeting Moment of Romance

  Nian Yao's body trembled involuntarily after hearing this.

  Qin Lei felt a movement beneath him and opened his eyes to find that he had actually slept on top of the girl, pinning her down.

  He jumped up like a rabbit and then checked his clothes.

  He was finally at ease when he saw that Qin Lei still had it on him, neatly intact.

  His actions deeply hurt the girl's heart. The little girl, who had not cried out despite being tormented in every way just now, began to have red eyes and was on the verge of tears.

  Qin Lei only then reacted and realized he had gone a bit too far, who would pin someone's daughter under him for one night, wake up without apologizing first, but instead check if he himself was taken advantage of. This is also too self-loving.

  Qin Lei hastily stepped forward, sitting on the edge of the bed to comfort this innocent girl. But once again he was at a loss for words. In his two lifetimes as a human being, his mouth had always been extremely articulate, and opportunities for him to be speechless were rare. Yet today, within just a few short hours, he had been left speechless twice.

  Qin Lei let out a sigh in his heart, Ah, women, nemesis, no matter how old they are.

  The girl saw Qin Lei sitting on the edge of the bed, first looking embarrassed, then starting to show a sighing expression. She thought he was savoring the scene just now, and tears finally overflowed from his big eyes like Mirror Lake, unable to stop anymore.

  Qin Lei saw the girl's tears flowing down her cheeks, and in an instant, they had wetted the yellow collar of her clothes. Qin Lei hurriedly stretched out his hand to wipe away the girl's tears. However, those tears were like a string of pearls that had been cut off, and they couldn't be stopped.

  Nian Yao is a strong little girl who never cries.

  But when such a person bursts into tears, they will pour out all the tears they have been holding back in the past.

  The past scenes flashed through Nian Yao's mind like a lantern slide. The little girl cried miserably, her tears already wetting her shoulders.

  Qin Lei saw the little girl's cute nose twitching, seemingly enduring great pain. He had already discovered that the girl's hands and feet seemed to be unable to move, and he hurriedly searched around for something to replace a handkerchief.

  He reached into the bundle beside the bed, pulled out a piece of pale pink satin cloth, and without even looking at it, covered the girl's head with it. Through the satin cloth, he felt for the position of her little nose, and with his thumb and index finger, pressed down on her nasal wing, and only then did the girl let out a satisfying snort.

  Qin Lei only then had a chance to take a look at what he was holding in his hand, and when he did, he found that it was unexpectedly the young lady's undergarment.

  Pale pink silk bellyband, embroidered with twin lotus flowers. Only stained with nasal mucus and tears, like the residual lotus in September, no longer radiant.

  Qin Lei snapped his hand open like an electric shock and laughed: "I thought it was a handkerchief."

  The girl on the bed had a quilt covering her face, silently shedding tears.

  Qin Lei also felt that the scene looked too stimulating. He stretched out two fingers, carefully lifted up a corner of the belly band, gently opened it, and threw it aside.

  The little girl's face was covered with tears and snot, her eyes tightly closed, almost fainting.

  Qin Lei let out a sigh, grasped the girl's sleeve and carefully wiped her face. Seeing that she had been made to look so pitiful by his own doing, he indeed felt somewhat guilty.

  The last candle in the house went out, and moonlight poured through the green gauze window into the room, shining on the head of the bed. The quiet moonlight made Qin Lei fall silent, and there was only the girl's intermittent sobbing sound in the room.

  Time slipped away with the moonlight, and after a while, the girl's sobbing stopped. Qin Lei saw under the moonlight that she had fallen asleep. In her sleep, her eyebrows were still slightly furrowed, her long eyelashes twitching slightly, and the corners of her mouth drooping, looking utterly wronged.

  The snow-white moonlight drapes a layer of silver gauze over the pure girl.

  Qin Lei picked up the quilt that had just fallen to the ground and covered the girl with it. He retreated back to the chair by the bed, quietly watching the sleeping girl. Gradually, his eyelids grew heavy again, and he also fell fast asleep.

  The little bird that rises early to find insects, flits back and forth between trees, chirping away.

  Nian Yao's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she opened her beautiful big eyes. Since entering the palace, she hadn't slept so soundly before. The little girl stretched contentedly and moved her numb neck, suddenly seeing a handsome young man sitting on the chair opposite her, smiling at herself.

  Seeing that detestable smiling face, yesterday's memories came flooding back to her mind. The girl closed her eyes, trying to stop the memories from coming back to her heart.

  A smile froze on his face, Qin Lei knew he was in the wrong and scratched his head with a wry smile, making a bow and apologizing: "Last night I was really exhausted and did something foolish. Although it was unintentional, I am guilty and cannot shirk responsibility. I will leave it to you to decide my punishment, I won't say another word."

  Listening to Qin Lei's words, the girl also knew that Qin Lei was actually unintentional.

  Moreover, with the dignity of His Highness, it's almost a fantasy to lower one's voice and apologize to oneself. If not for these five nobles being new and inexperienced, they would have been dragged out and whipped by now.

  The girl slowly opened her eyes, unintentionally touching something with her hand, picked it up and took a look, and it was actually her own camisole. Her face suddenly turned bright red, and she covered her face with both hands and turned around.

  Qin Lei saw the girl moving freely and knew she was fine, so he had a mind to retreat. He smiled at the girl: "I'll go see if breakfast is ready, you sleep for a while." After finishing speaking, he didn't wait for the girl's response and turned around to push the door out.

  The girl got up and turned her head to stare blankly at Qin Lei, who was fleeing in a hurry. She let out a light sigh, buried her head between her knees, and didn't lift it for a long time.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  Qin Lei arrived at the courtyard and saw Shen Qing staring at him with a strange expression. He rolled his eyes and ignored Shen Qing, starting to tour the garden on his own.

  This is Qin Lei's second residence, of course, it can't be compared with the Eastern Qi prince's mansion. Although it's only a part of the Crown Prince's East Palace, it's also an independent courtyard, covering dozens of acres.

  In this yard, there is a not-so-small lake, in which lotus flowers are planted. At this time, the blooming period is approaching, and among the lush green lotus leaves, many pink flower buds are dotted about. A gentle breeze blows by, causing the lotus leaves to gently undulate, bringing with them the tender flower buds that sway back and forth, as if butterflies dancing on the grass, lively and lovely.

  There is a small pavilion in the middle of the lake, standing alone, with the lake's light shining all around. It is connected to the shore by a winding bridge over the lotus pond and a small path.

  ~~~~~~~~~