CHAPTER 262: 0174 THE WAY MISS YUN’S HEART IS MOVED (TWO-IN-ONE)

Seeing Yun Qian’s immense joy in sharing an umbrella with him, Xu Chang’an shook his head gently, the last remnants of his tender feelings dissolved into the puddles with her footsteps.

Xu Chang’an turned his gaze to Yun Qian’s body, completely drenched by the wind and rain, and a smile tugged at his lips.

"Miss, how does it feel to share an umbrella with me?" he said. "Isn’t it... better when I help keep the rain off you?"

"Very good," Yun Qian quickly replied.

At that time, since a single umbrella was properly held above their heads, each of them had only half of their body still dry, with their faces adorned with many water droplets.

Xu Chang’an stopped in his tracks, looking at Yun Qian’s makeup, ruined by the rain, and he brushed away the water droplets on her brow, saying helplessly, "Are you really that eager to share the wind and rain with me?"

Yun Qian remained motionless, waiting for Xu Chang’an to wipe her face, her breath gently falling on his wrist, softly saying, "Isn’t that how it should be?"

For special reasons, she didn’t want to interfere too much in Xu Chang’an’s affairs.

So sharing the wind and rain with him was the only chance to become involved in matters close to him.

"Supposed to be... I guess." Xu Chang’an glanced at the main building not far away, offering a wry smile, "Just like this time, making it possible for the teacher to help us, you also had your part."

Yun Qian had "charmed" Li Zhibai, so naturally, she deserved credit too.

"What do you mean?"

"Ahem, nothing much."

Xu Chang’an, watching Yun Qian’s "innocent" look, smiled and said, "Unlike Miss, I’m actually hoping that when you start cultivating later... you can shelter me from the wind and rain."

"In the future?"

Yun Qian listened to the rain falling on the umbrella, showing a puzzled expression.

"A hopeless man like me is naturally willing to be kept," Xu Chang’an’s smile grew even brighter, "Once Miss’s cultivation succeeds, I’d love to be a kept man."

After all, his current reputation in the Chaoyun Sect is just that of a concubine to the ladies.

"Kept... relying on me..." Yun Qian understood, but she didn’t continue along with Xu Chang’an’s words. Instead, she became much more serious and released his arm, stepping back.

With that step, she retreated into the rain. Xu Chang’an, no longer intending to amuse her by sharing the rain, immediately moved the umbrella over her head, exposing himself to the rain.

"What’s wrong?" Xu Chang’an looked at the seriousness on Yun Qian’s face, puzzled.

"Talking about relying on me... You wouldn’t really like that, so why say such things." Yun Qian replied, gently biting her lip.

If she didn’t understand her husband well, she might actually believe he wanted her protection, really wanted to be a good-for-nothing kept man.

If she truly believed Xu Chang’an and exposed her cultivation abilities to let him sponge off her... the outcome would certainly be far worse than now.

"Huh?" Xu Chang’an noticed Miss Yun’s slight lip bite, his heart skipping a beat, and he quickly moved closer to her, "Miss, what’s wrong? I... I was just joking."

He had always been striving, never really thinking about being kept.

He said it mainly to motivate Yun Qian’s "upward spirit," hoping to encourage her to cultivate well while joking around... Never thought Yun Qian would suddenly become unhappy.

"I know it was a joke." Yun Qian remained silent for a while, thinking she really disliked him saying things that would lead to her misunderstandings.

If she were a bit dumber, a bit more naïve, and actually believed he wanted to be kept, and she meddled in his affairs and got resented... what would happen then?

To her, this is the most important thing under the heavens, so naturally, she would take it extremely seriously.

"Miss... are you okay?"

Yun Qian: "..."

"You’re okay, right?"

Yun Qian: "..."

Yun Qian, thinking about very important matters, did not respond to him.

The rain intensified.

"..." Xu Chang’an blinked rapidly.

He was bewildered.

Why was she not responding to him?

Did he say something irredeemable, unforgivable?

Probably not.

But then...

Xu Chang’an watched as the young lady bit her lips slightly, his heart surprisingly stirred and filled with joy.

Because being sulky meant Yun Qian had made progress.

She truly had a bit of the taste of an ordinary girl now... If this continued, perhaps one day, she could divert her focus from him and find the "treasure" she truly wished to pursue.

The joy brought about by the young lady’s significant progress shattered Xu Chang’an’s inner unease almost instantly.

Watching Yun Qian’s calm but unmistakably sulking expression, Xu Chang’an chuckled and said, "Miss, what happened?"

"..."

Yun Qian still did not respond, still unable to figure out how she should handle this crucial matter.

"Ignoring me?" Xu Chang’an’s eyes narrowed a bit, and then, with a sudden inspiration, he looked down at the young lady’s embroidered shoes soaked by the shallow rain and spoke gently in her ear.

"Ah... Ah Qian?"

——

"?"

In her deep thoughts, Yun Qian’s body jolted as if electrified, and everything in her mind was shattered by those two words and then filled up. She dazedly lifted her head, her dewy eyes fixed on Xu Chang’an, "What did you call me just now?"

Those simple words had flushed her earlobes and heated her face.

"So she does respond," Xu Chang’an coughed and, observing the remaining makeup on the young lady’s face, said, "Alright, Miss, really, what happened?"