Chapter 124

124 Was this the red string that had eluded her? Part I

Bai Yu felt that she was being an easy woman...

Not only did she let him touch her easily, but she also nodded and promised to him as easily as well. On top of that, the frustration that had made her treat him differently was suddenly blown away by the words ‘Good girl’ from him.

Good girl?! Where did that foul-mouthed man go?!

A knock was heard from the door. This time, Xu Luanle did not barge in since now he knew Bai Yu was not alone. Still, despite his manner, Ouyang Feilong was no more forgiving of him interrupting while he was with Bai Yu, especially now that he did not have much time.

“Come in.” There was no need to find something to cover Bai Yu’s head anymore. This time, he moved away from Bai Yu in order to talk to the anonymous master. He had acted out of character by sending his men to investigate the master’s identity. If it had been before, the identity of a tailor shop owner would never have concerned him in the slightest.

“A message, Your Highness.” Xu Luanle’s usual dainty gestures were kept under wraps when facing the formidable aura of the Black Dragon.

“Go on.” Said message must be from one of the informants he had planted throughout the capital. Possibly, they had heard that he was here and had passed the message to Xu Luanle.

“The travel caravan is ready. They are waiting for Wangye in the forest outside the city.”

Ouyang Feilong nodded. He acknowledged it but said nothing and showed no hurry to meet up with his men.

.....

Xu Luanle glanced at his friend, Miss Bai’s calm face. Feeling pity for both of them, he excused himself in order to let them have some more time together alone. The relationship between the two was known to very few people. He himself only discovered it because he was playing a prank to create a misunderstanding between Bai Yu and Rui Wang at the time. What had happened at that time was confirmation for him that Bai Yu no longer loved Qin Wang. However, no matter how much he wanted to pair them together, fate kept pulling them apart.

“Will Your Highness be leaving now?” Bai Yu said after Xu Luanle had left the room.

Their hearts were pounding only mere moments ago. But now they were reminded by the reality that Ouyang Feilong would have to leave no matter what. Bai Yu had to accept it as her heartbeat slowed to a normal rate again.

Ouyang Feilong did not answer. He calmly stared at her while she slightly lowered her head to avoid meeting his gaze. Seeing how she became quiet, he then started to understand the reason behind her acting out of character a little while ago. And now that he knew, he wanted to act selfishly for once.

“Benwang has never cared about anything that doesn’t concern benwang.”

“Yes?” Bai Yu looked at him, confused. She was waiting for a farewell from him, yet he suddenly said something that all in Da Yang already knew.

“This war might concern benwang, but it’s not everything.” Those were such selfish words.

“Benwang is going to forget about it for several shichens.”

“Yes?” Bai Yu knitted her brows.

Could a commander general say something like this?

Ouyang Feilong knocked on the wrinkle between her brows with his knuckle. Bai Yu rubbed the part that was touched, and a frown disappeared before she could realize herself.

“Let’s go...” He stood up. His enchanting face that could put women to shame turned toward the woman who was equally captivating. “Could you give benwang a tour around the Meihua Festival, Lady Meihua?”

He extended his hand toward the ‘Lady Meihua’ with a smile on the corner of his mouth. Bai Yu’s eyes were blinded by a dazzling light for a second. Why did Ouyang Feilong brandish his smile around so much today?!

“Shouldn’t Wangye head to the bor-” She softly asked.

“Forget about it.”

“But...”

“Don’t think about anything. Let the time right now be of only us.”

Bai Yu said nothing. She put her hand on his gentle palm, as the answer from every feeling within her chest.

——————

“What kind of general are you?!”

“I’m a general, not a god. I can’t know everything.”

“But you can’t be unaware of this.”

“Is that so?”

“You don’t even know the routes in the capital?!”

“You don’t either.”

“That’s because I usually ride in a carriage.”

“And I usually ride a horse.”

“Feilong!”

“Xiao Yu!”

She called his name out of frustration from being ‘lost’, but then the other person responded the same in turn. She stomped her feet, walking ahead of him again. Even though she was the one who had been leading from the start, she turned to blame him when they ended up being lost.

“You’ll get lost again.” He grabbed her wrist. This time, he was much more gentle than usual, and so Bai Yu did not complain about being hurt. She only gave him a glare before pulling her arm away.

“If I don’t continue, then how am I going to find the way? We’ve already wasted so much time, and you still have to go and meet up with-”

Ouyang Feilong sighed. “I’ll lead the way.”

“You know the way?”

“I know.”

“Then why don’t you do this in the first place?”

“You said you wanted to lead.”

“But at least you should tell me.”

“How am I going to know that the young lady who has lived in the capital her whole life doesn’t know its streets?”

Bai Yu pressed her lips together. She just transmigrated here. Obviously, some parts of her memory would be missing. So how could she know?!

Ouyang Feilong smiled as he recalled them changing their clothes and disguising themselves before going out to the festival. It seemed that Miss Bai was still hung up on the result of the competition. It was tradition that the winner of the Lady Meihua competition would be announced at Zhaocaijinbao, and so Bai Yu insisted that she would go and check the result with her own eyes.

Though his men had reported that the title was hers for another year, she did not seem convinced, still demanding to go there herself. Her smaller frame in dark blue walked ahead without waiting for him. A thin veil covered the lower half of her face to hide the identity of the current Lady Meihua from the crowd. Ouyang Feilong himself wore a half-mask that was similar to his usual one, only it was white and did not have a dragon design.

Amidst the throng, they both walked along the streets. They walked and walked, and still could not see the roof of the most famous inn in the capital. Ouyang Feilong knew that she was going the wrong way but remained silent. It was impossible for a Wangye like him to not know the streets of the capital. The reason he let her keep on was that he enjoyed seeing her frown.

They walked for almost two ke. There were a considerable number of people in the streets, so he allowed her to call him by name and did not use formal speech, while he called her ‘Xiao Yu’.

The first time he called her that, she went still. Her face was strangely emotionless before returning to normal, and then there was no longer any unusual reaction to the name.

A foolish child who was lost but still acted tough. It was until she lost her patience that she turned to him to complain.

“Be careful.”

She had been following him with a sulky face that was visible through the veil, not looking at her surroundings much. The taller figure in the same color of clothes turned around to take hold of her hand, then slightly pulled Bai Yu out of the way of the children that were running past and almost collided with her.

Bai Yu ignored the scolding gaze of him. She glanced at the food stalls on the side of the road, which she had previously overlooked due to her preoccupation with finding the inn. “Feilong.”

“Hm?” He responded before tightening his grip on her hand and continuing to walk forward.

“Do you have any money on you?”

“No.”