Xiao Yi put his hands behind his head, squinted at her and replied coldly: "Xu Zhaopei, don't steal the show." His voice was cold, as if carrying some hidden annoyance. Zhaopei didn't dare to struggle anymore, and stammered: "Oh, then, then I'll go sleep somewhere else." Then he moved to the edge of the couch, and suddenly dragged the brocade quilt and ran away: "But the quilt belongs to me."
Before her feet touched the ground, a strong arm stretched out from behind her, hooked her waist and pulled her back into the couch. "You sleep here. If it gets out that the princess dragged the quilt to find a place to sleep in the middle of the night, do you want everyone to laugh at you?"
Zhao Pei cleared her throat and lay down on the couch, leaning against the wall without moving. Well, let's just stay like this for half a night.
Xiao Yi forgot to extinguish the candle. The flickering candlelight woke her up from sleepiness. She glanced at Xiao Yi sideways. He opened his eyes and looked at the purple tassels of the curtain without saying a word.
Zhao Pei remembered an incident. It was one such night when she threw wax tears into his eyes in order to escape, causing him to lose an eye. And now, wasn't she lying beside him obediently? Zhao Pei stared at him thoughtfully, and suddenly had an illusion. It wouldn't be difficult to stay with him with a warm face.
Youyou thought of the words of the sixth brother, which were full of sadness and hope: "Be happy." In fact, it was not a bad idea to stay with the seventh brother.
Her heartstrings moved slightly, and she moved closer to Xiao Yi, calling out cautiously and tentatively: "Seventh Brother?"
Xiao Yi turned his head to look at him, one eye was dull and the other was sparkling. Zhao Pei suppressed the guilt that was rising in her chest again and asked for something to talk about: "Seventh brother, are you asleep?" After saying that, she wanted to bite her tongue.
A sarcastic smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "If you have nothing to say, just go to sleep." Xiao Yi turned his eyes away and stopped looking at her.
After a long silence, Zhao Pei asked softly, "Seventh Brother, there is something I have always wanted to ask you."
"Ask." He answered, then closed his eyes as if he was a little tired.
"Why do you want to marry me?" Zhao Pei hesitated and asked. Xiao Yi replied without thinking, "Of course it was my father's will."
"Then... have you... ever... liked me?" He spoke each word slowly, in a trance, actually hoping that he would say he liked me.
A faint inquiry, an inquiry with unclear meaning. He heard it clearly, suddenly opened his eyes and stared at her with a little doubt: "Why do you ask this suddenly?"
"I just want to know." Zhao Pei bit her lip, a little nervous. I just want to know whether the path I chose is worth letting go and forgetting.
He froze for a moment, then slowly turned his head and stared at a certain place without focus, his thin lips parted as he said calmly, "This is none of your business."
None of my business? What kind of answer is that? Why is it none of my business... A thought flashed through his mind, and he felt a palpitation. But after thinking about it again and again, he was still not sure. Zhao Pei was determined to know the answer, and was interrupted by Xiao Yi when she was about to ask him something. "It's late, don't think about these messy things, go to sleep." After saying that, he turned over and carried her on his back without making any sound. (To be continued)