After Breaking Off the Engagement, I Started Pursuing My Master - Chapter 247

Chapter 247: Sticky Candy

A fine drizzle filled the air.

Jiang Huai and Luo Yueguan had boarded the spirit boat and were on their way back to Tianxuan Sect.

The two sat in the room, the window wide open, the rain outside not drifting in, and a moist breeze blowing in. A Goboard was placed between them, and Jiang Huai had already lost twelve games in a row.

Even though Luo Yueguan wasn’t playing seriously, her Go skills were the accumulation of hundreds of years. Even with Jiang Huai wracking his brains and scratching his head, he couldn’t win a single game against her.

“Let’s take a break.” Jiang Huai leaned back in his chair, giving up.

Luo Yueguan gathered the Goboard to one side, then lifted her delicate legs from under the table, crossing over it to rest her fair feet on Jiang Huai’s lap.

Jiang Huai looked down slightly.

A pair of beautiful feet, in addition to having fair, smooth skin and perfect shape, must also have slender ankles, and Luo Yueguan’s feet met all these criteria perfectly. When Jiang Huai’s fingertips touched her silky instep, they naturally slid off unless he gripped a little harder.

“We’re about to return to Tianxuan Sect, and once we’re there with your master around, we won’t be able to be so unrestrained,” Luo Yueguan said playfully, while Jiang Huai kept a straight face and whispered, “So you’re aware.”

“I could also choose not to be aware,” Luo Yueguan tilted her chin up, “I’m not afraid of your master. Do you want me to be aware or not?”

“Of course, I want you to be aware.”

“Heartless man,” Luo Yueguan couldn’t help but lift her leg higher, poking his chest with her tender toes, but then she set it down again after a moment. She moved her chair closer.

“Once we’re back, we can’t be so unrestrained, so should we take the chance to be unrestrained one more time on the spirit boat? Should Aunt Luo serve you with lips and tongue?”

“No,” Jiang Huai refused decisively.

Luo Yueguan’s eyes showed a mix of reproach and disappointment, but just then, Jiang Huai suddenly thought of something and looked up at Luo Yueguan’s face, silently invoking the favorability check in his mind.

He hadn’t planned to use it, but after thinking seriously all morning, he suddenly wanted to verify a suspicion, and he couldn’t resist checking. The favorability check confirmed his guess was correct, but he couldn’t decide whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

【Luo Yueguan’s current favorability: 90.】

Jiang Huai had thought before that Luo Yueguan’s favorability towards him must be at least 93 or 94, maybe even 95. But this morning, when Luo Yueguan asked him to bite her finger, Jiang Huai suddenly realized that maybe her favorability towards him wasn’t as high as he thought. She loved someone who would treat her well unconditionally, without wanting anything from her in return, and maybe that person could be anyone… and he just happened to appear at the right time.

No one is destined for anyone; everything just happens to come together at the right moment.

Even if he could tell Luo Yueguan he loved her now, what would it change? If Luo Yueguan pinned her hopes on him, it would be like walking from one abyss into another. If she truly understood everything, even if he didn’t love her, she could still live well.

“Do you dislike what I just said?” Luo Yueguan’s toes gently slid against his chest, her eyes filled with seductive charm, her perfect facade, her seamless performance, but Jiang Huai just shook his head, “I quite like it.”

“Then why don’t you agree?”

Jiang Huai thought seriously for a moment, “Many things, once they start, they lead to a second time, and then it becomes uncontrollable. To avoid such an outcome, you have to avoid starting.”

“What are you afraid of? I won’t tell your master.”

“It’s not that I’m afraid of what you’ll say to my master… it just doesn’t feel right.”

Jiang Huai grabbed her slender ankle and placed her restless fair foot back down, “I’ve always thought you’re very beautiful, and indeed, I have many naughty thoughts about you in my head, so you don’t need to test me or prove your charm to me, nor do you need to do this to reassure yourself.”

“Are you going to lecture me again?” Luo Yueguan’s eyes showed a hint of amusement, seemingly looking forward to convincing Jiang Huai soon, but Jiang Huai shook his head, “No, not lecturing, just… telling you that’s all.”

“Do you think I’m seducing you just to prove my charm to you? Then you’re really too…”

“Vain?” Jiang Huai finished her sentence for her.

“Isn’t it?” Luo Yueguan tilted her head slightly.

Jiang Huai stood up, “So what are you going to say next, that you do this just because it’s fun? You like to see me being played by you at the clap of your hands?”

“Do you really have such shameless confidence that you’ve guessed my thoughts?”

“Yep.” Jiang Huai walked towards the deck. “If I guessed wrong, just pretend I never said anything.”

…

Jiang Huai arrived on the deck, where a shielding formation prevented rain from falling onto it, as if it were a rainy day. He quietly leaned back in a lounge chair and began to brew himself some tea. It took Luo Yueguan a good while to follow him out, sitting opposite him, her expression turning cold again.

“Conceited!”

“Yep.” Jiang Huai nodded, casually preparing a cup for her as well, then fell silent, simply blowing on the steaming tea to cool it before gently sipping from the cup.

In fact, he felt a tiny bit of disappointment deep down.

The source of his disappointment was indeed a blow to his vanity. These past days, he really thought Luo Yueguan’s fondness for him had grown significantly. He had even started to seriously consider how he should treat Luo Yueguan for a long, long time. Only now did he suddenly realize that he had thought too much.

He had been fooled by Luo Yueguan; this woman only acted like she was very fond of him, making him actually have such an illusion as if he truly was her destined one, as if no one else but him would do.

“The thought of returning to the Tianxuan Sect makes you deliberately cold to me, just because you’re afraid Chu Xianning will notice something,” Luo Yueguan said with a sour tone.

“How have I deliberately been cold to you?” Jiang Huai helplessly looked into her eyes.

“Then why do you reject me? I took the initiative to please you… and you dare to reject me…”

“It’s as if I’ve never rejected you before.”

“What about when you kissed me on your own? What about when you slept with me? What about when you spanked me? Why didn’t you reject me then, but now you do?”

“I won’t argue with you.”

“Because you’re guilty, you’re despicable, you can’t outtalk me!”

“Right, I’m guilty, I’m despicable, I can’t outtalk you.” Jiang Huai curled his lips but just continued to drink his tea. He didn’t want to argue with Luo Yueguan anymore.

Luo Yueguan had her own set of logic in her world, as if Jiang Huai not being seduced by her was the same as being cold to her… What did she really want? Was it his love, or was it his complete obedience, to become her loyal subject, wagging his tail at her beck and call?

What kind of love did she recognize? Jiang Huai no longer wanted to guess. It was a tangled mess he couldn’t unravel. Whenever he felt he was getting a hint of something, Luo Yueguan would hide herself again. To this day, Jiang Huai had never truly seen her heart. Whenever he felt he was getting closer to Luo Yueguan, unraveling a part of the tangled mess, it would soon entangle itself again.

It seemed like everything he did was in vain.

Jiang Huai silently invoked a check on the favorability level, and soon received a response.

【Luo Yueguan’s current favorability: 89.】

Is it that the favorability level drops whenever I don’t go along with her thoughts? Jiang Huai suddenly felt an inexplicable frustration. The void in Luo Yueguan’s heart was not something he could fill; no one ever could. The only person who could fill that void was herself… but she would never admit it. Whenever she felt insecure, she would start to fear, and fear would make her want to control everything, to have him obey her, to force him to acknowledge her in every way.

It seems that Luo Qingyu had inherited her views. The tears in the bathhouse were also a testament to her strange logic that if Jiang Huai was unwilling to dual cultivate with her now, it meant he didn’t love her. Fortunately, Luo Qingyu was still young, and Jiang Huai could accompany her to gradually understand each other.

Luo Yueguan’s eyes were fixed on him, gradually reddening.

Jiang Huai checked repeatedly, hearing the prompt in his ear over and over again.

【Luo Yueguan’s current favorability: 88.】

【Luo Yueguan’s current favorability: 87.】

The number kept dropping until it stopped at 85, and Jiang Huai didn’t check anymore. He only had thirty percent trust in this vague number. He believed that people’s feelings should not be measured by numbers. It was his own fault for wanting to check the fondness level just now. Now that he saw it and felt disappointed, it was all self-inflicted.

“You’re just afraid that Chu Xianning will get jealous, you’re afraid that Chu Xianning will find out about your relationship with me, afraid that Chu Xianning will dislike you… That’s why you’re cold to me…”

“You’re right.”

“You don’t even dare to explain to me?”

“Would you listen if I explained?”

Jiang Huai’s voice carried a hint of helplessness, “If you’re angry, then go tell Chu Xianning. Tell her everything that’s happened, in as much detail as you like. As long as you don’t exaggerate, I’ll accept it. It’s my own actions, and I’ll admit to them.”

“You think I wouldn’t dare to tell? You’re betting that after you say this, I won’t tell… You think I’ll fall for your trick? I won’t…”

“Then go ahead and tell. If you don’t want to, I can take the initiative to talk to Chu Xianning myself.”

Jiang Huai looked down at the tea on the table, unwilling to look up, guessing that Luo Yueguan’s cheeks were tear-stained.

“You’re the one who thinks that now that we’re going back to the Tianxuan Sect, I’m sure to start deliberately distancing myself from you. You had this idea, so you wanted to tempt me into doing something bad to reassure yourself. But what I’ve been trying to explain to you all along is that you never needed to do that to feel secure. I told you just last night that I could always be by your side… but you didn’t listen to a single word.”

“Is my meaning really that hard to understand? Have you really tried to understand me? Do you really think I’m some kind of hypocrite? If I were, I would have been single-mindedly pursuing Chu Xianning from the start, there wouldn’t be Luo Qingyu, there wouldn’t be Wen Wanwan. I’ve never been that kind of guy, because I’m equally greedy and selfish. Yet, when you tempt me, I can occasionally put on the appearance of a gentleman, which even surprises me.”

“What do you hope for? Do you hope that I agree, so you can feel secure? Then every time you feel insecure, you think like this, and after repeating it over and over, you can finally feel completely secure? Is there any downside to this for me? Never… But why do I insist on refusing you? You don’t want to think about it, you just get angry when I refuse you, when I don’t go along with your thoughts and ideas.”

“You say you love me, but do you really love me, or the shadow you’ve fantasized about? Have you really seen me clearly? Or do you just want to try to turn me into the image you’ve fantasized about when your fantasy is torn apart?”

“People’s patience can be worn down.” Jiang Huai finally looked up, seeing the tears sliding down Luo Yueguan’s cheeks.

He could only say those words when he wasn’t looking into Luo Yueguan’s eyes. But seeing her cry, he fell silent for a moment, still took out a handkerchief, and approached Luo Yueguan’s cheek.

Luo Yueguan turned her face away.

Jiang Huai approached again, and she turned away once more.

After this happened twice, Jiang Huai’s handkerchief still gently touched Luo Yueguan’s face, wiping away her tears. But her tears flowed like floodgates had opened, and Jiang Huai watched the damp handkerchief, reaching out to gently hold her face.

“I…” He paused for a moment, then said softly, “I didn’t mean to blame you. It’s not your fault for thinking that way because you’re used to it. Habit is a scary thing; it makes you choose the most comforting option when you’re panicked and insecure, whether it’s right or wrong.”

“But if you’re in pain with the status quo, even the most habitual things need to be slowly changed. Of course, if you think your ideas have never been wrong, then you don’t need to change anything… I can’t decide everything for you.”

Jiang Huai finished speaking.

He knew he would soften at the sight of Luo Yueguan’s tears, but he couldn’t be sure whether he would still have the same patience after one, two, three times.

“I… was wrong.”

Luo Yueguan’s voice was choked, her chest heaving as she spoke.

“I didn’t say you were wrong. You can do whatever you want. I don’t need you to change into what I expect just to suit my ideas. But… you can’t force me to do the same, can you?”

“I really know I was wrong…”

“You don’t sound like you know at all.”

“I do know.”

“Alright, alright, you know.”

“Can you not be angry…”

“I’m not angry.”

“Your tone was so harsh just now… I was scared…”

“Then I apologize, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t… don’t apologize…”

Luo Yueguan raised her head, the tears in her eyes no longer falling, she bit her lip lightly, “I won’t cry anymore.”

“If you feel wronged, it’s okay to cry… why hold it in?”

“I’m afraid you’ll find me annoying.”

“No, if you want to cry, then cry.”

Jiang Huai helplessly spread his hands, and after a moment of stunned silence, Luo Yueguan threw herself into his arms, burying her face in his chest and sobbing loudly. Jiang Huai gently patted her back, softly comforting her for a long, long time, until his shirt was completely wet with tears. Finally, Luo Yueguan stopped crying, she lifted her head, her eyes still red.

Jiang Huai looked down, quietly meeting her gaze.

After a while, Luo Yueguan asked softly, “If I had said in the room just now that I wanted you to kiss me, would you have refused?”

Jiang Huai thought seriously, “Probably not.”

“Then I want you to kiss me.”

“No, you missed the chance, so no kiss.”

Luo Yueguan’s small fists pounded on his chest, “You just said you weren’t angry, you liar.”

“I was a little, but it’ll pass in a while, so let’s talk about kissing another time.”

Luo Yueguan got up from Jiang Huai, but this time she cleared the tea on the table to one side. Then she lay down on the table, her beautiful, full hips visible beneath her purple dress. She looked back at Jiang Huai, “Then hit me, let out your anger…”

“I certainly won’t reward you.”

Luo Yueguan’s eyes became increasingly aggrieved.

Children who have done wrong often seek some form of punishment to ease their conscience. Jiang Huai looked into her tearful eyes, picked up a soft ruler, and Luo Yueguan closed her eyes in panic. But in the moment before her eyes shut, the turmoil in her gaze seemed to vanish entirely.

Jiang Huai tapped her very lightly with the ruler.

Luo Yueguan’s body trembled slightly.

In the past, she always sought pleasure through pain, having tried all sorts of pain, but now, the soft ruler merely tapped her once, and her body melted like spring mud.

“I want more.” She gently bit her finger, her voice sweet and satisfied.

“Dream on.” Jiang Huai put away the ruler and stood up to return to his room. “I’m going to take a nap. Call me when it’s time.”

“I want to sleep too.”

“Go back to your room.”

“Then you sleep with my leg as your pillow… okay?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll cling to you and not let you sleep.” Luo Yueguan moved closer again, wrapping his arm, her soft chest pressing hard against his hand, her lips pouting.

Like a piece of sticky candy that just won’t come off.