After I traveled through the book, I fought back in the Hou Mansion

Chapter 446

Chun Xing slowly withdrew her hand from the air and silently stepped out of the carriage. She glanced at the carriage and unconsciously took a few steps back.

The guard who was boiling water saw her like this and, since they had become familiar with each other over the past few days, asked, "The water will be ready soon. Have you told the young lady?"

Chun Xing sat down not far from the fire, without saying anything. She just picked up a wooden stick and absentmindedly fiddled with the surrounding soil.

The guard was a little curious: "Did the young lady say something about you?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt something was wrong—the young lady had always been kind, especially towards Miss Chun Xing, and had never said a word to her. But if it weren't for this, Miss Chun Xing had always been lively, so when had she ever been so silent?

He scratched his head, unable to figure out the reason.

Chun Xing finally raised her head, her eyes a little blurry, and answered irrelevantly: "What do you think it means that a woman would be inexplicably nice to a man and even... be close to him?"

The guard blinked. He was only in his early twenties and rarely interacted with women. How could he understand such a question? But he didn't want to show his weakness in front of a woman. He scratched his head and said, "In my opinion, this woman probably likes the man and wants to be close to him."

Chun Xing stared at him with wide eyes, making the guard feel even more uncomfortable. He reached out and touched his nose: "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"What if the woman meets the man for the first time?" Chun Xing answered the question irrelevantly again.

The guard was frightened by her stare and subconsciously took two steps back. Seeing that she was still staring at him, waiting for an answer, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and test it: "Could it be love at first sight?"

"impossible!"

Chun Xing immediately retorted, "The man is plain-looking and not a good match for the woman. How could they fall in love at first sight?"

The guard was somewhat displeased when he heard this, stiffening his neck and saying, "So what if he's just plain-looking? Men and women shouldn't judge on appearance alone. Many girls love men with good personalities and down-to-earth demeanors. Miss Chun Xing, you usually seem insightful, so how come you're also guilty of judging people by appearances?"

He was born in an ordinary family and had an ordinary appearance. Because of his average family background and older age, he had not yet married. When he heard this, he felt that the words were directed at him and couldn't help but get angry.

Unexpectedly, Chun Xingli ignored him, squatted down, pinched the branch and poked the ground hard, and soon dug a small hole.

The guard waited for a long time but received no rebuttal. He felt discouraged as if he had punched in the air. He turned around with a pout and continued to light the fire.

In the carriage, Luo Shuiyao heard Chun Xing's call and silently pushed Ye Yunzhou away. She lowered her head to tidy up her messy clothes, took out a bronze mirror from her dressing table, and carefully combed her loose hair. She deliberately avoided Ye Yunzhou's gaze the whole time. When she was done, she reached out to push the carriage door and prepared to get out.

Seeing this, Ye Yunzhou moved even faster than her. Before she could stand up, he had already jumped off the carriage and stretched out his hand as if to carry her down.

Luo Shuiyao glanced at him coldly and turned sideways to avoid him.

Ye Yunzhou didn't care. He stretched out his long arms, firmly grasped her waist, and gently put her on the ground.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Luo Shuiyao quickly took two steps back, putting some distance between herself and Ye Yunzhou. She lowered her eyes, said nothing, and turned to walk in the direction of Chun Xing.

Chun Xing had been staring blankly at the pit on the ground when she heard the noise and hurriedly stood up. She looked back and forth between Luo Shuiyao and Ye Yunzhou, and when she saw her young lady's slightly awkward gait, she swallowed the question that was on the tip of her tongue.

Ye Yunzhou remained calm, his expression unfazed. After all, he was wearing a mask, making it difficult for others to discern his true emotions. He simply followed Luo Shuiyao at a leisurely pace, his eyes fixed on her slightly erratic gait due to her knee pain, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up slightly.

The moment Luo Shuiyao and Chun Xing locked eyes, Ye Yunzhou took it all in. He easily caught the complex emotions and vague misunderstanding in Chun Xing's eyes. Clearly, what had transpired in the carriage wasn't what Chun Xing imagined, but this seemingly plausible misunderstanding inexplicably gave him a secret sense of satisfaction.

"Miss..." Chun Xing murmured.

Luo Shuiyao met Chun Xing, still feeling a bit uneasy because of what happened in the carriage. But she couldn't hide forever, so she suppressed her feelings and pretended to be calm as she approached Chun Xing. "Is the water hot?"

Chun Xing followed her gaze and saw wisps of steam rising from the mouth of the earthenware pot. "Hmm, it seems to be boiling. Please wait a moment, I'll go get a bowl."

Before she finished her words, she rushed towards the carriage. When she passed Ye Yunzhou, she deliberately bumped into him sideways, thinking that she could embarrass him, but he didn't move at all. Instead, she stumbled and fell to the ground.

A cry of surprise rang out.

Luo Shuiyao turned her head suddenly and saw Chun Xing sitting a few steps away from Ye Yunzhou, staring at him with wide eyes.

Luo Shuiyao frowned slightly, quickly stepped forward to help Chun Xing up, glanced at Ye Yunzhou suspiciously, then lowered her head and asked softly, "What's going on?"

Chun Xing was helped to stand up by Luo Shuiyao. She pointed at Ye Yunzhou and blurted out, "How come he is so strong?"

Luo Shuiyao's expression instantly turned cold, and she turned to question Ye Yunzhou: "Did you push Chun Xing?"

Ye Yunzhou raised his eyebrows, but his face showed no trace of annoyance. He simply shook his head. His tone remained calm and composed, as if he didn't care at all about being misunderstood. "No. Perhaps the girl lost her balance and bumped into something."

Luo Shuiyao's eyes moved back and forth between Ye Yunzhou and Chun Xing. Listening to their conversation, and glancing at the disbelief written on Chun Xing's face, she had already guessed what was going on.

She sighed helplessly, bent down, and gently brushed off the grass and dirt on Chun Xing's body. Her voice softened unconsciously: "Be more careful when you walk next time. Are you hurt?"

As Luo Shuiyao lowered her head to brush the dust off Chun Xing's skirt, Chun Xing took the opportunity to glare at Ye Yunzhou fiercely, her eyes reddening. She felt a surge of resentment, but she swallowed the words back. After all, she had deliberately bumped into him first, and he had merely taken advantage of the situation. What could she say about this?

She held it in for a long time before she said in a muffled voice, "No, I just twisted it a little."

She forced a smile, but her voice was still nasal, "Go sit down and rest for a while. I'll go get the bowl."

Luo Shuiyao naturally saw that she was not sincere, but she did not expose her. She just nodded lightly: "Okay."

She watched Chun Xing limping towards the carriage, and glanced at Ye Yunzhou. She saw him standing aside with a calm expression, as if what had just happened had nothing to do with him. She couldn't help but laugh in her heart.

"Why are you fussing over a little girl?" she finally spoke, with a hint of helplessness in her tone.

Ye Yunzhou chuckled softly, "Of course I won't argue with that little girl. She was the one who wanted to argue with me first."

He rubbed his numb shoulders and said with a hint of teasing, "But you're quite strong, girl. That collision you just gave me can truly be called a natural strength."

Luo Shuiyao glanced at the way he rubbed her shoulders and nodded calmly: "You praised her for her natural strength, which makes it seem like I've buried her talent by keeping her around."

Ye Yunzhou shook his head: "She is able to stay by your side and protect you. That means her talent is used in the right place. It's not like it's being buried."

"It's been a while since we last met. Although you haven't made any progress in other aspects, your ability to speak smoothly has become even more powerful." Luo Shuiyao glanced at him, with a hint of anger in her tone.

Ye Yunzhou raised his eyebrows and chuckled, a glint in his eyes. "If you're still as rigid as before, I'm afraid you'll be lonely for the rest of your life. How can you not improve yourself? You must be able to speak sweet words and flatter girls to please them."