Then her body froze, and the forced smile on her face gradually disappeared. Because she saw the man not far behind them, silently watching them. He was dressed in black, hidden in the shadows, and his expression was hard to tell. But she could clearly feel the coldness coming from his body and the extremely cold gaze.
Zhao Pei didn't react for a moment and just stood there stupidly in the distance without moving.
Xiao Tong followed her and turned around. When he saw the person in front of him clearly, his expression froze. Some incomprehensible emotions flashed in his eyes, but he immediately smiled and called out, "Seventh Brother."
The man moved slightly, and walked out of the shadows slowly into the moonlight. His face was extremely cold, and his eyes were shining with sharp light, staring straight at the two of them. He raised a sneer at the corner of his mouth and said, "Why is Big Brother here?"
Xiao Tong smiled lightly: "I just heard about my father's matter and rushed here in a hurry."
He chuckled, "Then why doesn't Big Brother go to Father's bedroom?"
Xiao Tong was a little embarrassed, and felt a little awkward under his burning gaze. Before he could say anything, Zhao Pei said, "Father has gone to bed."
Hearing this, Xiao Yi turned his gaze towards her. It was the first time she had seen his eyes like this. They were very calm and deep, yet they had a magic that could draw people in. You would feel that they could see through your eyes and directly into your heart. It seemed that nothing could be hidden or deceived from him. Zhao Pei swallowed her saliva and suddenly became a little flustered.
Zhao Pei smiled awkwardly, avoiding his undisguised gaze and asked, "Why are you here?"
Xiao Yi's expression eased a little, his brows relaxed slightly, but he still said coldly: "I'll take you back."
"But father..." Zhao Pei frowned. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Xiao Yi say angrily, "Brother will be fine when father is around. You should take care of yourself first. You didn't even know you were pregnant? You are such a stupid girl."
Zhao Pei's face suddenly turned red, all the way to her ears. She raised her head and looked into Xiao Yi's eyes, which seemed to have a lot of warmth and a hint of smile.
He pursed his lips and lowered his head again to touch his belly. The moment he touched it, all the disappointment and embarrassment suddenly disappeared. Perhaps, it was a kind of innate strength and emotion.
A smile slowly appeared on her lips, and her shyness dimmed the moonlight. Every woman may be happy when she knows that she is about to become a mother. If she can share this happiness with her husband, she will be even happier.
However, at this moment, she caught a glimpse of a man standing there with his hands behind his back, gazing at the moonlight as if nothing had happened, and her heart suddenly ached.
Zhao Pei and Xiao Yi entered the room together. She went to the table, took out a tinder and lit the candle. The flame suddenly jumped up and illuminated the room.
She felt the burning gaze behind her, but didn't dare to look back. She sat down at the table, took the teacup and poured water: "Well, the emperor will be back tomorrow morning. How about we go back with him tomorrow?"
"It's up to you." Xiao Yi stood at the table and stared at her.
Zhao Pei felt that the atmosphere was very depressing. She hid half of her face in the cup and stared at his gloomy face. "Why... don't you speak?"
"What?" His voice was cold.
"Are you angry?" Zhao Pei asked weakly.
He suddenly raised his eyebrows and asked back: "What do you think?"
"No..." She smiled awkwardly, feeling uneasy. If Xiao Yi knew about her and Xiao Tong, wouldn't it be a big mess? She nervously looked at Xiao Yi's eyes that could see through people's hearts, and stammered, "I, I was just about to come back. I didn't expect to meet Big Brother, so we chatted for a few words. I, I really..." She ran out of words halfway through, looking at him eagerly, "It's not what you think."
"What do you think I'm thinking about?" Xiao Yi asked her again, and walked slowly towards her.
Every step she took was an invisible pressure on her. Zhao Pei stammered, "How would I know?" As she spoke, Xiao Yi leaned down, half-closed his eyes and looked at her thoughtfully, smiling and saying, "You seem very nervous?"
“No, no…”
His face was so close to her that she could even see the slightly panicked self in his eyes. She leaned back calmly, blinking and forcing a smile at him.
Xiao Yi laughed sarcastically: "I am angry, but not because of this. Tongtai Temple is so small, it is inevitable to be polite."
Zhao Pei let out a breath and asked again, "Then what are you angry about?"
"I heard that you went to the pool to soak in the water today?" Xiao Yi frowned at her and sat on the chair beside her, looking like he was interrogating her. "And then, you fainted?"
Zhao Pei nodded and stammered, "Yes, if it weren't for this, would the emperor come back?" As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a pain on her forehead as he flicked her head. Then she heard him angrily say, "You stupid girl, even if your father is not here, he won't stay for long. He knows it well, and you shouldn't have joined in the fun. And you're going to soak in the cold water? What a stupid girl, what if something happens?"
Zhao Pei heard the worry in his words and said apologetically, "It's not like I don't know that..." Her voice gradually became smaller, and there was a hint of shyness and anger that she herself was not aware of.
He stopped talking, and his stern expression gradually faded. He rubbed his temples and half-closed his eyes and said, "It's getting late, go to bed." Zhao Pei saw his tired look and realized that it was not easy for Xiao Yi to drop what he was doing and come all the way here.
"Yeah." He responded softly and got up to make the bedding.
There was a pattern of four-sided Ruyi embroidered on the quilt. Strangely enough, she hadn't looked at it so carefully before going to bed yesterday.
Suddenly there was a sound behind her, and then her body fell into a warm embrace. His hands passed through her from behind and hugged her tightly, and he gently rested his head on her shoulders and rubbed his chin.
Zhao Pei was startled by the sudden embrace, but she did not struggle. She did not know when she suddenly became craving for such a warm embrace.
"Thank you." After a long time, she heard him say this in her ear. Zhao Pei was stunned. His voice was low but infinitely gentle, and contained an unknown emotion. Her heartstrings were touched, and she suddenly had a strange feeling.
I once heard someone say that if a person hugs you from behind, he must love you very much.
At this moment, Zhao Pei believed that he loved her. (To be continued)