The window of a guest room next door was wide open, and wind blew in with snow. The man sitting on the windowsill let his clothes flutter, standing still, as if he didn't feel the cold at all.
Gu Yanxi didn't know what she was thinking, but no matter what she was thinking, what would be fixed in the end was definitely those eyes, which might be calm or doubtful, sharp or firm, revealing the true nature of the owner who wanted to hide.
He has seen too many women, most of whom are full of calculations, and the kind ones never survive to the end. They either passively or actively blacken themselves, wanting to be the final winner.
He couldn't help but wonder, what would Hua Zhi do if she were in that situation? Would she assimilate to protect herself, or be smarter than those people and become the one standing at the top
But the time they had spent together made him feel that he was wrong. If it was Hua Zhi, she probably would not care about those things at all, and would have thought of a way to escape long ago. Even high walls and large courtyards could not trap her, unless she was willing, just like she was willing to live in the Hua family's inner house before.
He never knew that there would be a day when he would appreciate a woman, and this appreciation was growing day by day.
He also knew very well what it meant to be so interested in a woman. This feeling was so fresh. In his twenty-four years of life, it was the first time that he felt that a woman could be so admirable and pleasing to the eye no matter how he looked at her. If he missed this one, who knows if he would be lucky enough to meet the next one in his life. His luck has always been bad.
Gu Yanxi smiled and caught a snowflake on his fingertips, watching it turn into snow water and wet his fingers. It seemed that his luck had improved a little. It was not easy to meet a woman who was not afraid of him, not to mention that she could get along so well with Shaoyao.
There was a knock on the door. Just by listening to the rhythm, she knew who it was. Gu Yanxi said without turning her head, "Come in."
Shaoyao first poked her head in, looked around, found the person, then closed the door and moved over, scratching here and touching there, with a look on her face as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"What did Hua Zhi say?"
Shaoyao was shocked, "Brother Yan, you are eavesdropping!"
"I don't need to ask you what she said since I eavesdropped." Gu Yanxi looked at Shaoyao, who had gained some weight, with a cold look in his eyes.
Shaoyao felt at ease facing such a prince. She knew that the prince was never as gentle and easy to talk to as he appeared in front of Huahua.
Thinking of Huahua, Shaoyao's heart sank, and she sat down along the wall, "Brother Yan, it's not like I don't remember the past at all."
Gu Yanxi looked down at her.
"Sometimes I dream about things at night. I know that they happened many years ago when I was very young. I was only this tall." Shaoyao gestured, "I had my hair tied up in a bun and liked to run after a little brother. The little brother was very nice to me. He would hug me and give me delicious food. There was often an extremely beautiful woman in my dreams. She smiled at me, combed my hair, and said that she would marry me closer when I grew up. If my husband's family dared to bully me, I would let my little brother go to their house to fight them."
Shaoyao raised her head and met Gu Yanxi's gaze with a pure smile, "I know that little brother is Brother Yan, and that woman is our mother, right?"
Gu Yanxi neither nodded nor shook his head. The past was too heavy, and it was enough for him to remember it. Since Shaoyao chose to forget, it would be better for her to never know it.
Shaoyao didn't care. She was convinced in her heart anyway. Chen Qing had followed Brother Yan for many years, and she could see that his attitude towards her was different from that towards other people.
She didn't want to know what happened in the past. It must have been unpleasant. You could tell from her face. She just wanted to know that Brother Yan was her brother.
"I want Huahua to be my sister-in-law more than anyone else. She is so nice, she must not be able to listen to anyone saying anything bad about me. But Brother Yan, that is not the life Huahua wants. For her, being a prince's consort is not as good as living a free life."
Shaoyao leaned against the wall and looked up at this not-so-good inn. "Just now Huahua asked me if you had a wife. I thought she had feelings for you, but she was just worried that if you already had a wife, it would be inappropriate to take her on a horse with you. She said she had given up the idea of getting married, and when the time was right, she would find a nice little house to live in, watch the sunrise and sunset, and live a leisurely life. Brother Yan, she was telling you this."
Gu Yanxi listened and was not surprised at all. He had gone too far, and such a smart woman could not fail to see it. She neither pretended to be confused nor thought of finding a backer for herself. She was confident that she could take care of the Hua family on her own.
Just like this trip to the north, even without him, she would still be able to go, at most she would be a little more tired and suffer a little more.
No one knew how resilient she could be.
Without waiting for the prince's reaction, Shaoyao couldn't help but ask, "Brother Yan, do you like flowers?"
Gu Yanxi looked at Shaoyao with an expression as if to say, "Are you talking nonsense?"
Shaoyao also felt that she had said nonsense. Not to mention a woman, the prince had never been so attentive even to the emperor. What else could it be if not love? Then, "To what extent does he like you?"
Gu Yanxi thought about it seriously, "How far do you want to bring the Hua family back and stop them from running to the north in the cold winter and hot summer?"
Shaoyao thought about it for a while but couldn't figure out how serious this was, so she simply asked, "Do you want to marry her?"
"The Hua family is worried. Do you think she will get married? What do you think will happen if the Hua family leaves her?"
The world is falling apart! Shaoyao nodded in understanding, but from her understanding of Huahua, Huahua was definitely not just talking when she said she would not get married.
"Brother Yan, you won't force her, right?"
"I want to marry a wife, not make an enemy." Gu Yanxi thought of that rainy night again, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "If I really force her, can I still sleep peacefully?"
Shaoyao agreed, "Huahua will definitely die with you."
Gu Yanxi looked out the window. The wind was whistling and dancing with snow. What he admired was Hua Zhi, who was so unyielding and responsible that she dared to run to the far north with a few people. He even thought the ferocity she occasionally displayed was cute, but that didn't mean he was willing to be the object of her ferocity.
How much do you like it
I want to worry about what she worries about, do what she does, think what she thinks, protect her, stand shoulder to shoulder with her, see her smile at me, protect her from the wind and rain, and hope to be the first person she thinks of when she encounters difficulties...
What extent is this
Probably, he wanted to be the only one in her heart.
"You take her with you on my horse today."
Shaoyao blinked, "Brother Yan, have you forgotten that I was kicked by your horse and fell flat on my face?"
"Not today."
Shaoyao understood that the reason why he kicked her before was because Brother Yan allowed him to do so!
PS: There are two updates.