Chapter 4 The Thief

  The black shadow flashed into the house, saw Umanya trying to scream in terror, and hurriedly covered her mouth with his hand, whispering in her ear, "Xiao Ya, shh, don't cry out, it's me."

  This time it's my turn to be dizzy, who are you? Where did this daring thief come from, actually running onto Lao Niangzi's plate and committing a crime. If I don't catch you, I'll really be letting down the teachings of justice and bravery since childhood. I struggled hard, using the weapon in my hand to point at his lower body, he first froze, moved away from my ear, faced me, and blinked hard, as if scolding me for going crazy.

  This glance at him, and she stopped struggling instantly. What a beautiful pair of eyes, thick and bold eyebrows, slightly furrowed, yet full of tender emotions. A high nose, like a Renaissance sculpture, smooth white skin, thin lips, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, that spring-like smile was intoxicating to behold.

  I think if Yang Guo really existed objectively, it would be nothing more than this. A handsome guy, I'm not afraid of heaven or earth, but most afraid of meeting a handsome guy.

  Alas, to encounter such a handsome thief is truly my honor. As it turns out, there are quite a few valuable things in this mansion, and I suppose this dashing young man also has brains, haha, I wonder if he'd be interested in taking advantage of the situation and stealing something else too? This young lady would be more than happy to oblige, for a moment I was staring at him blankly, thinking that my companion was still stuck in such an awkward place, it's truly embarrassing.

  He saw that I was no longer furious, so he let go of his hand and sat down in the chair to eat pastry. He's really arrogant, it turns out that ancient thieves are so capable, but as they say, "the higher the skill, the bolder the person", and what's more, he looks so handsome.

  Although I don't know what his purpose is, I'm not afraid of being robbed or seduced. Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, trying to calm down my overly active little heart, touching my scorching face, adjusting my clothes, tidying up my hair, and walking steadily to sit in the chair closest to him.

  He raised his eyes and looked at me, casually asking, "How come the summer heat hasn't passed yet? Looking at your face, do you need to call a doctor to take a look?"

  As he spoke, without waiting for my response, he used those perfect artistic hands to gently touch my forehead, checking the temperature, and muttered, "No fever, no problem." I don't know if this sentence was meant for me or himself. I wasn't having a fever anyway, just a flushed face, so of course, he couldn't tell anything. But in that one second, time seemed to stand still.

  My god, the bandit leader actually touched my forehead. What heroic deed did I do in my past life to have such good fortune? From now on, I won't wash my face again... err, that's a bit of an exaggeration, at least not tonight.

  He was playing with the cup in his hand, staring at me, and that gaze was so hot. I reckon if an egg were cracked on his gaze and my face, a perfect poached egg would be instantly made.

  "Xiao Ya, what are you thinking?" He stared at me and asked seriously.

  I've been asked this question so many times today, if only I had brought a recorder, I could have recorded my official answer and played it for each of them, no need for me to think about this absurd question again and again.

  But thinking again, his identity doesn't seem to be as tense and exciting as a thief leader's. He knows my name and calls me so intimately, maybe our relationship is not ordinary?

  Haha, thinking of this I really couldn't hold it in, hehe, burst out laughing, didn't expect my behavior to scare him so much, his eyes wide with shock, no expression of doubt, originally leaning back on the backrest suddenly sat up straight, sitting upright and proper, that's right, just like that.

  "Xiao Ya, you?" He opened his mouth several times, but couldn't get out the rest of the words.

  I didn't want him to think I was a crazy woman, so I quickly suppressed my laughter and replaced it with a standard customer service smile, softly saying "I don't know."

  When he saw me not smiling foolishly, he relaxed instantly, his eyes filled with melancholy. After thinking for a while, he said word by word, "Xiao Ya, you go to the palace."

  What the...! This son of a bitch, it turns out that this pretty boy is really unreliable. I was deceived by you and performed as a virtuous young lady for half a day, wasting tea and refreshments, and even forced a smile. You actually want me, an underage maiden, to enter the palace and accompany that emperor who's older than Colonel Sanders? Damn it, I'm so angry! I don't have the mood to play out the tragic love story "From now on, Xiao Lang is just a passerby" with you.

  I slammed the pastry in my hand and rushed to the window, opening the one he came from. I pointed outside and shouted, "Would you please return through the same window you came from? Mind your own business, it's late at night. If you don't leave, I'll have to ask the house servants to escort you out."

  After finishing speaking, I turned around and busied myself with other things, no longer paying attention to him.

  He got up and walked towards the window, but didn't leave or make a sound.

  This bastard, it seems I have to show my power. You think I'm Hello Kitty? If you don't leave, I'll send you off. I walked up to him and tried to push him out with my hand, but unfortunately, I wasn't strong enough. After trying a few times, he was still standing there.

  This move doesn't work, change to another one. I converted all my anger into a glare and stared at him fiercely. After the repeated pushing and shoving earlier, he seemed to be annoyed too. His face turned pale and then red again as he glared back at me. This lasted for quite a while before he finally spoke up.

  I thought he would scold me severely, but his words were still as gentle as when we first met, soft like water, yet warm to my ears like fire.

  "Xiao Ya, you're annoying me. Do you think I'd let you enter the palace? Back when Xiao Yan got married, you could still go to Qingxiu Temple for spiritual cultivation. But now, do you plan on being trapped in this Zhou household for a lifetime? I wasn't willing to part with you back then, so how could I be willing now? Don't you understand me at all? From the day you entered the household at 12 years old, I wanted to be with you. We used to read together, play together, get scolded together, and receive punishment together. I truly thought we could always be like that. Later when you went to Qingxiu Temple, I thought about you every day. But when you came back, you didn't care about me anymore, keeping your distance from me everywhere. Why can you be so heartless towards me? Yet I still held onto the hope that one day we'd go back to how things were before. But now it's different. Leave quickly, don't stay here for another moment."

  My god, I really can't believe my ears. Is this an illusion? I pinched the back of my hand and it hurt a lot, so it's not a dream.

  This handsome guy likes me, no, he likes Umanya, and has liked her since childhood. Is he playing the ancient version of Li Daren? Unfortunately, I am not Cheng Youqing. Although I'm happy, I'm also jealous because that confession was for Umanya, not for me personally. Moreover, without my consent, I don't have the qualifications to help her answer.

  After his passionate confession, both hands somehow tightly grasped me, a handsome face was slightly red, eyebrows twisted together, and fiery eyes stared at me, I felt like being roasted.

  At this time, according to the usual plot, shouldn't he give me a passionate kiss? Why is he staring at me foolishly? Should I wait for it to happen magnificently or take the initiative?

  The night wind was a bit cool, and it suddenly woke me up, this confused and infatuated little slut. I struggled free from his hands, pretending to be calm, saying "I understand, since things have come to this, there's no need to dwell on it, you can go back."

  A soft "hmm" was followed by the sound of a window being closed.

  It was a sleepless night, I think that guy didn't sleep well either. I was confused by these complicated relationships and thought about asking my colleague tomorrow, then fell asleep drowsily.

  When I woke up again, the sky was already bright and sunny. Yuer had prepared breakfast and pulled me out of bed. As I ate these unfamiliar mountain delicacies, I didn't forget to ask about the inside story of the mansion.