Volume 1: This Heart's Inclination Chapter 46: Strong Embrace

  The voice was also very familiar, but it came from a somewhat strange place - Taishi Lan and Li Fu Zhou were sitting in the pavilion, with nothing but empty valleys behind them.

  The tone of that voice was strange and seemed to be mocking, indifferent, and slightly annoyed. Taishi Lan felt as if he had suddenly smelled the air turn sour.

  She turned around, and there was no one behind her in the empty valley, but Li Fu Zhou raised his head.

  Tai Shi Lan looked up.

  A pale jade-colored ribbon hangs down from the dark brown eaves, the thin silk fluttering in the pale white mist between the mountains, and if you don't look closely, it seems like a strand of light mist.

  There is also a corner of the same color robe, flying in the wind on the top of the pavilion, with people's voices, condensed but not scattered in the strong wind above their heads.

  He seems to be talking to people.

  "Jing Tai blue." He said, "I told you to come back to Beijing with me, but you didn't listen. Now look, this woman has abandoned you halfway and is out having fun with a man, being affectionate and intimate, without even worrying that you might be taken away by wild beasts."

  Li Fu Zhou's expression was momentarily stunned, then he smiled and shook his head, picking up the cloth socks beside him.

  Tai Shi Lan pursed her lips and didn't speak, thinking that Jing Tai Lan was now being held by this beast.

  A faint, delicate sound echoed above her head, and the pale jade-colored robe fluttered gently in the wind, like a cloud drifting across the mountain peak... The hem of the robe was embroidered with intricate patterns... Her waist was cinched by a belt made of dark green jade... Her chin was smooth and luminous... Her lips were pursed into an enigmatic smile... And finally, her eyes, which sparkled with delight and shone like stars, tilted downwards in a captivating gaze.

  The noble Duke of Jin, Southern Qi, held the blue porcelain vase, descended to the top of the pavilion, and smiled with a hint of obscure meaning, looking down at Tai Shi Lan and Li Fu Zhou.

  He looked at Tai Shi first, and Tai Shi looked back at him with a straight face that said "what are you doing here".

  He looked at Li Fu Zhou again, and Li Fu Zhou smiled, his hands moving continuously as he said, "You've come too."

  "Row a boat." Rong Chu was also smiling, drawing out her tone, "Have you heard this phrase before?"

  "Huh?" Hearing something off in his tone, Li Fu Zhou stopped and looked at him.

  "A friend's wife is not to be trifled with."

  Li Fu Zhou fell silent, and then his complexion changed slightly. The change in color didn't seem like shame, but rather a hint of anger. "Wife?"

  Rong Chu didn't respond, her face slightly sinking.

  Tai Shi Lan suddenly felt something was amiss.

  It's strange that these two people don't seem like master and servant, it's even stranger how Li Fu Zhou reacted when he heard the word "wife".

  Li Fu Zhou didn't say anything, slightly silent for a moment, then let go and stepped back, "Sorry, I was rude."

  Tai Shi Lan sat still with her head tilted, gazing at Rong Chu.

  Rong Chu was stared at by her straight gaze and slightly furrowed his brow, "What are you looking at me for?"

  "Since you're in a hurry to assert your authority as my fiancé," Taishi said calmly, "then you should continue to fulfill the duties of being one." She lifted her foot, indicating for him to put on her shoes.

  He gazed at her with a stern expression and after a while said: "Has anyone ever told you that as a woman, you're being too arrogant?"

  "It's the first time I've heard it." Tai Shi Lan gazed down at the sea of clouds below, "But it's just nonsense."

  "Don't be so stubborn, you'll find it hard to move forward." Rong Chu's lips curled up in a strange smile as he raised his chin and pointed at her shoes, "Like wearing shoes that don't fit forever."

  "That's my business." Tai Shi Lan leaned comfortably against the railing of the pavilion, "If you don't accept it, then leave."

  "What if I don't want to leave?"

  Li Fu Zhou didn't say a word at this moment, standing on one side, watching Rong Chu and Tai Shi Lan argue, with a smile growing more and more interesting on the corner of his lips. Although Rong Chu was still smiling, it seemed unnatural, to be honest, in all these years, he had never seen Rong Chu being forced to laugh unnaturally, but now he was being forced to laugh unnaturally for the first time.

  Li Fu Zhou looked at Tai Shi Lan with great interest.

  "Then I'll leave." Tai Shi Lan replied succinctly, and immediately lifted her foot to look at Jing Tai Lan in the distance, "Jing Tai Lan, help me put on my shoes. My feet hurt."

  Jing Tai Lan immediately came out of Chu Hui's arms, ran to Ta Shi Lan's side, and laughed as he picked up the socks and hastily put them on Ta Shi Lan's feet. Ta Shi Lan cooperated by putting on his shoes and socks, occasionally praising him, "Right! Just like that! Jing Tai Lan is so clever! Capable!"

  Jingtai blue laughed even more, showing only his teeth and not his eyes. Zhao Thirteen, who had just climbed up the mountain, saw this scene and started clutching his chest again. Tai Shi Lan looked at him and thought to himself that this guy's heart disease was really severe.

  A mother and son sat and squatted halfway, answering each other. The older one's eyes were warm, the younger one's smile was like a flower. Li Fu Zhou quietly watched, his eyes complex, but Rong Chu suddenly walked over.

  He picked up the blue porcelain and handed it to Zhao Thirteen, then grabbed Tai Shi's two boots, took a look at them, and threw them into the valley.

  "How can I leave?" he asked with a smile.

  Tai Shi Lan gave him a glance, sat up, and put on his socks. He got up and walked away.

  Li Fu Zhou immediately followed up and asked in a warm voice, "Can I lend you my boots?"

  "Good." Tai Shi Lan never acted recklessly.

  Li Fu Zhou was about to take off his boots. Suddenly, Rong Chu floated over. He glanced at Li Fu Zhou and then looked at Tai Shi Lan again. The two of them responded warmly, their attitude ordinary, but Rong Chu, who somewhat understood Tai Shi Lan's personality, knew that it wasn't easy for her to have such a warm gaze and be willing to accept help from others.

  She had only met Li Fu Zhou a few times?

  She recalled the only time she had asked for his help was when looking for Li Fu Zhou's whereabouts, and at that time they had just met.

  Rong Chu took a slight breath, suddenly feeling somewhat annoyed, but didn't know where the annoyance came from. Immediately after, he smiled.

  "I wasn't finished speaking," he said, "You can only leave like this."

  Before his words had fallen, he single-handedly picked her up from Taishi's thigh and quickly walked down the mountain.

  Li Fu Zhou stopped suddenly.

  Zhao Thirteen's eyes widened in shock, and he almost dropped the Jing Tai blue porcelain, but quickly reached out to grab it.

  Tai Shi Lan suddenly appeared in Rong Chuhuai's arms, and even though she was as still as a mountain, she couldn't help but pause for a moment.

  At this moment, she was in his arms, the fragrance of her hair and skin wafted up, clearer and more pleasant than ever before. The side of her face rested on his chest, and even through the silk fabric, she could feel the strange elasticity, firm yet soft, full of vitality. From her angle, she saw his chin, which didn't seem as pale and beardless as she had imagined, but instead sported a faint stubble, evoking the sensuality of a man. That kind of sensuality was present in the fragrance, in the muscles, in every detail of his face, and in the strong arms that held her.

  From a distance, he was enchantingly beautiful, but up close, it felt like that was a man whose soul was full of power.

  Tai Shi Lan sat in his arms, thinking seriously - should she struggle or hit him or not move? According to her temperament, if she was still wearing shoes, she would naturally take a big step and leave immediately. But now that she had no shoes, the sharp stones all over the ground made walking as difficult as crossing a bed of nails. Did she have to be so stupid?

  She also imagined the possible actions of her three dead party members at this time. Hmm, Dawei must be taking advantage of the situation with shining eyes, Junke must be recklessly fleeing with a red face even if she has to step on sharp rocks, and Wen Zhen will see the situation, if she likes it, she'll pretend to be shy, if not, she'll kick Zi Sun's root.

  She is Tai Shi Lan.

  So, just hold on then, probably doesn't look like much anyway, no different from hugging a tree trunk.

  She lay quietly, her hands clasped over her chest, expressionless as she gazed at the scenery.

  ……

  Rong Chu didn't feel like she was hugging a wooden pole.

  That woman who looked so tough, her body... is actually so soft!

  At that moment when he held her in his arms, he was suddenly shocked and couldn't help but exclaim, "The wonder of the Creator!"

  Her skin seemed to have a more pronounced elasticity than others, soft and powerful, so the parts that came into contact with her had a strange feeling, every inch of skin touching, micro-colliding, lightly bouncing off, colliding again, bouncing again... all undulating like waves surging, like starlight shooting out, each rotation, stirring up the soul.

  It's hard to imagine that even touching through clothes can make one's heart flutter with excitement.

  Was she truly gifted, or was her inner world abnormal, making her overly sensitive? He didn't know, he just indulged in this wonderful feeling - the ripples of calmness, the meteor's fleeting brilliance across the sky.

  The road down the mountain thus seemed to pass very quickly, very quickly...

  Arriving at the foot of the mountain, Tai Shi Lan remembered that the area near the back hill in the camp was usually deserted. Unexpectedly, this time it was a sea of black heads, with eighty percent being women, each with piercing eyes and a blue gaze.

  It's no wonder they have blue eyes and green faces, the 25th camp is such a backward camp. Although they didn't have the good fortune to see Rong Chu, everyone saw that when Taishi Lan went up the mountain with the number one beauty of the 25th camp, but coming down the mountain was even more exaggerated, he was actually in another beauty's arms, it's really heartbreaking.

  Shen Mei Hua stood in the front, stroking her chest with one hand, and said painfully: "What's wrong with this era? Any man with a normal face and head, their eyes are not good. A beauty like me is ignored, and they all go for those ugly men."

  He maintained a calm and collected demeanor, holding the "crooked gourd split melon" even tighter, slightly lowering his head to gaze at her with a playful smile, hoping to see a hint of shyness or unease on her paralyzed face. However, the woman didn't even glance at him, instead raising her hand to beckon someone in the distance, "Shen Meihua, lend me a pair of shoes! A new one."

  "I just bought a new pair of shoes!"

  "Bring him here," Tai Shi Lan said calmly, "and let this person touch him."

  "Did you say something useful?" Shen Meihua was delighted but also half-doubtful.

  "He's after you." Tai Shi Lan nodded, "Very obedient."

  "Bang." Rong Chu's arms relaxed.

  Tai Shi Lan was well-prepared and landed steadily, anyway there were no stones on the ground.

  Shen Meihua rushed out and back in an instant, carrying a pair of exquisite new shoes. Ta Shi Lan didn't like luxurious things and frowned, but still put them on. He raised his head to meet Shen Meihua's eager gaze, only then remembering his promise. He pointed at Rong Chu, "Go touch."

  "......"

  A smile that was not a smile, with an ominous gaze, Chu's expression was cold and stern as he stood there. Zhao Thirteen, the loyal dog, pressed his knife with one hand, looking at him with a gaze that seemed to say that even Shen Meihua would be cut down if she touched him, let alone Tai Shilan, who was also within his killing range.

  Shen Mei Hua turned her head again, and Tai Shi Lan had already pulled off the embroidered balls she had carefully embroidered on her shoes for several days.

  "Taishi Lan!" Shen Meihua's shrill cry pierced through the clouds, "I'll never coexist with you under the same sky——"

  ……

  Tai Shi walked back to the dormitory with a calm expression, bearing various complex gazes, and invited Li Fu Zhou along the way, "You didn't tell me earlier, which course is better to choose."

  Li Fu Zhou smiled and nodded his head.

  Rong Chu stood with his chin down, standing there as if waiting for something. Tai Shi Lan glanced past him without seeming to notice.

  The Duke of Jin's eyes were slightly gloomy, and Zhao Thirteen felt a chill - the last time he saw such eyes, someone died soon...

  Zhao Thirteen prayed a million times in his heart that Tai Shi Lan would understand the hint, such as inviting him to sit in the house with Guo Gong and others, even if it was just a polite phrase. As a result, Tai Shi Lan seemed to have only Li Fu Chou in his eyes, and he passed by like a gust of wind.

  Zhao Thirteen was pondering whether to pretend not to know or go comfort the Duke, when he saw the Duke beckoning him over. He followed calmly, and a tear welled up in Zhao Thirteen's eyes - what magnanimity, what a real man!

  "Thirteen." The real man walked ahead, saying calmly, "Notify the Institute and the dormitory supervisor that from now on, all the disciples of the Cold Gate will move out of Mei Xin Yuan, which is too old and dilapidated. They will be relocated to a new residence." He seemed to have just thought of it, and said casually, "Oh, lock up Ta Shi Lan's room directly. Their belongings will be moved to my Jing She first."

  Zhao Thirteen

  He was wrong just now!