Chai Xiaomi woke up feeling completely refreshed and full of energy.
Last night was probably the most comfortable and peaceful sleep she had had since transmigrating into this book.
When she first went to bed, it was as hot as being trapped in a steamer, but as she slept, a gentle, cool breeze seemed to blow through her dreams, relaxing her entire body.
It was as if someone had brought in an electric fan, yet the breeze it blew was completely natural.
The only downside was the constant feeling of an annoying little bug crawling on her face one moment and landing on her hand the next.
And she just couldn't shoo it away.
She was originally in a beautiful mood, but it was ruined by a certain someone acting up bright and early in the morning.
Wu Li pointed at the Qiankun pouch at her waist. Take that thing out and throw it away.
That thing he was referring to was the dangling hairpin Ouyang Rui had given her last night, which she had currently tucked away in her Qiankun pouch.
She didn't know if this guy had eyes in the back of his head; he had clearly been facing away from her, wiping his bow, yet he suddenly turned around and spotted it at a glance.
Chai Xiaomi shook her head. The reason she carried it with her in the Qiankun pouch was so it would be convenient to return to Ouyang Rui next time. She said seriously, I can't throw it away. This isn't mine, and I have no right to just dispose of it. Once Old Ji finishes his business and Ouyang Rui pays the ten thousand taels of gold, I still have to give this hairpin back to him.
Hearing this, Wu Li's expression softened a bit, though he was still half-doubtful. Really? Isn't this a gift he gave you?
No, it's a deposit, Chai Xiaomi said in a serious tone. Besides, a girl shouldn't casually accept jewelry from a man. Jewelry is different from other things; it has a deeper meaning. I only accept it from someone I like, so how could I possibly accept his?
Upon hearing these words, the aggressive aura surrounding the young man instantly dissipated.
He bent down to look at her.
Chai Xiaomi noticed he always had this habit.
When he was pretending to be angry, he would rely on his height to look down at her condescendingly. But once he was in a good mood, he liked to lean in close, bringing his gaze to the same level as hers. Sometimes, he would even deliberately go a bit lower and look up at her.
That posture was just like he was teasing someone.
Chai Xiaomi just wanted to ask, didn't his waist ache? His core strength was seriously impressive.
Right now, he was tilting his face up slightly just like that, a half-smile shining in his eyes as he asked with keen interest:
Oh? Then whose jewelry do you like to accept?
Chai Xiaomi shook her head and lightly wiggled her foot.
The silver ornaments in her hair and on her ankle jingled with a clear, crisp sound at the same time, overlapping into a light and cheerful melody.
She widened her eyes, deliberately putting on a somewhat arrogant front, but a trace of slyness flashed in her eyes. Her lips curved into a smile, but she refused to answer:
Guess.
She wasn't the type to let the other person walk all over her just because she liked them.
Saying a love confession once was enough.
Moreover, why should she be the only one saying it? He hadn't said it at all.
She had her pride, too.
The young girl's cheeks were as pink as peach blossoms, and her bright eyes were like a dream. Her domineering appearance was actually incredibly moving and playful.
Because she deliberately refused to speak clearly, Wu Li felt as if countless little claws were gently scratching at the tip of his heart, making it unbearably itchy.
He lowered his body a bit more, adopting an almost vulnerable posture, and said earnestly:
The sun has already risen.
The underlying meaning couldn't be clearer—you should continue to like me now.
Mhm. Chai Xiaomi just shrugged, deliberately playing dumb. Then we really need to protect ourselves from the sun today. Do you need me to borrow a veil for you too?
What was going on?
Wu Li glanced at the dark, almost black venomous scorpion mark on the back of her hand. Now that the Love Gu was fully planted, was its effect really this weak?
Was it this hard to trick her into saying she liked him?
I don't need it.
The young man was thoroughly angry.
There were no emotional fluctuations, nor was there any tendency to turn dark and twisted.
He was purely angry.
This was the first time Chai Xiaomi had seen him genuinely angry.
In the past, he always had a faint, almost imperceptible cold smirk on his lips, carrying a bit of teasing. When they bickered, he would say he was getting mad, but it was all an act.
This time, it was real.
The most obvious change in his attitude was that he no longer let her slack off.
Before, when practicing archery, he would turn a blind eye, but today, both of his eyes were firmly fixed on her.
Although he still let her stand in the shade of the trees to practice gripping the bow and nocking the arrow in place, Wu Li gave her a strict order: she had to complete the motions of raising and drawing the bow a full one hundred times before she could rest for half an hour.
Following the posture he taught, Chai Xiaomi raised her arms parallel to the ground, holding the bow perpendicular to the earth.
It wasn't long before her arms ached and trembled. Taking advantage of the moment Wu Li was tossing pebbles as targets for Song Yueyao, she secretly tried to lower her arms. But the moment the bow moved, he flashed to her side in the very next second.
What on earth are you practicing? Did you not eat breakfast?
Whoa.
The head coach was scolding people.
Damn it, why does his tone sound exactly like a military training instructor?!
Chai Xiaomi was actually unexpectedly intimidated for a moment.
While she was dazed, Wu Li was already standing behind her. He clasped his hands over hers, guiding her arms to raise steadily. The string should touch your jaw; this is your anchor point. Use your back to draw the bow, don't use the brute strength of your arms.
Although Wu Li's tone revealed an unapproachable coldness, when the bowstring was pulled to her lips, he lowered the corners of his eyes and his wrist shifted almost imperceptibly.
He avoided the tiny wound on her lip.
Chai Xiaomi froze for a second, thinking his hand had shaken, and was just about to look up at him.
No getting distracted.
His voice came right next to her ear again, calm and unquestionable:
Remember three steps: relax your fingers, steady your body, and fix your eyes.
Archery isn't about pulling the bow with your hands; it's about drawing the arrow with your back. The moment you release, your will must reach the bullseye before the arrow does.
But the problem was, there was no arrow nocked on her string at all.
She couldn't imagine it, and just blindly practicing dry firing was incredibly boring.
As soon as the head coach left, she immediately showed her true colors. While mechanically raising and drawing the bow, she counted out loud: One, two, five, seven, ten...
Skipping numbers as she counted.
In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, she waved the bow in her hand and shouted to Wu Li in the distance, Coach! I've finished my one hundred reps! I'm going to rest now!
Without waiting for Wu Li to respond, she darted off like a wisp of smoke toward Hongxiao's residence.
She had found a good place to slack off.
Hearing the noise, Song Yueyao turned her head, a hint of confusion in her eyes. How did Wu Li get a new nickname again?
What are you looking at? Keep going, Wu Li gritted his back teeth and tossed a handful of crushed stones into the air. This time, he had switched to small pebbles, which was quite unreasonable. For a beginner like Song Yueyao, the difficulty was borderline deliberate harassment.
But she didn't utter a single sound, continuing to bury herself in bitter practice.
Ever since Wu Li's attitude toward her had noticeably cooled, his teaching had also become increasingly strict.
But Song Yueyao needed exactly this kind of almost cruel discipline. Only by placing herself in the most difficult predicaments could she truly forge a tenacious will.
The Shuoyue Archery Duel was imminent, and she absolutely could not lose to the barbarians.
She raised her bow and cleanly, decisively hit the target.
At this moment, the young man behind her silently released the snake from his sleeve.
Hongjiao understood his intention and once again chased in the direction Chai Xiaomi had run off to.
It slithered along, huffing and puffing, its heart quite unsettled. Day in and day out, they never gave a snake any peace of mind.
To think that back in the day, it could transform into countless forms, strangling evil spirits and demonic beasts in all its majestic glory. Now, it had been reduced to a mere bodyguard, spending its days chasing after this little girl.
Wait, not a little girl—a little tyrant.
Truly... a snake's life was not easy.
