Chai Xiaomi's mouth twitched slightly.
Based on the innkeeper's description, she immediately thought of her dad: greedy for the cool air in summer, he slept facing the air conditioner vent for half the night, and woke up the next day with facial paralysis.
This was probably the cognitive gap between ancient and modern people, right?
It was just a simple case of facial nerve damage, yet it had been spun into a supernatural ghost story.
But then again, there was no science to speak of in this bizarre world anyway. After all, she had encountered an SS-level great demon right after arriving.
What was a mere ghost story about facial paralysis in comparison?
She pulled the quilt down a bit, revealing half of her hidden small face, and the little bit of fear in her heart suddenly dissipated.
Song Yueyao was even less afraid. In her opinion, people were sometimes much more terrifying than demons and ghosts.
After sending the innkeeper away, she looked back to see Chai Xiaomi curled up in the quilt hugging her knees, her eyelashes lowered, not knowing what she was thinking. Two soft braided pigtails hung over her chest, like a rabbit's drooping long ears. Song Yueyao's heart softened, and she said gently, "Don't overthink it, we're only staying here for one night, and we'll continue our journey tomorrow morning."
"If there's any real danger, I'll protect you!" Before her voice died away, Song Yueyao drew the crescent blade from her waist. With a flick of her wrist, the blade's gleam traced a smooth arc in the air, bringing a rustling wind.
From head to toe, she exuded just one word: badass!
"Wow—" Chai Xiaomi immediately got starry-eyed and clapped supportively, instantly maxing out the emotional value: "In all the world, no one as pretty as you can wield a blade so well, and no one who can wield a blade is as pretty as you!"
"It's so unfair. It would be enough for you to be just a little bit pretty, you didn't have to be a perfect ten. I announce, Sister Yao, you are my one and only sister!"
This wave of flattery was obviously very effective on Song Yueyao. She seemed to enjoy the feeling of protecting Chai Xiaomi. When she put away the crescent blade, her eyes still carried a smile: "Xiaomi is also very pretty. If you changed into the clothes of a Central Plains woman, you would definitely be as beautiful as a fairy!"
Song Yueyao had strong execution skills; once the idea arose, she didn't delay.
Leaving the Chishan territory, the Central Plains were not far away, so it was time to change their outfits. Even Wu Li had changed his clothes. If you just looked at his back, he looked exactly like a bright-clothed, horse-riding young man of the Central Plains.
Only when he turned his face would those heterochromatic eyes and the unique ornaments in his hair reveal that he was from a foreign tribe.
Thinking of his bright and flamboyant appearance, Chai Xiaomi couldn't help but zone out.
She obediently untied her long braids as Song Yueyao told her, letting her fuss over them, while she picked up a pastry and quietly chewed it in small bites.
When Wu Li pushed the door open and came in, this was the scene he saw—
The young girl sat quietly at the table, holding a pastry in her hand, her cheeks bulging as she chewed. On her palm-sized face, her mouth was stuffed round and chubby.
Inside, she wore a moon-white pleated ruqun, and outside, a pale pink outer robe with chrysanthemum patterns, making her shoulders look thin, delicate, and rounded.
Her ink-black long hair fell down like satin, clinging to her cheeks, making her eyebrows look dark and her skin white, far surpassing the winter snow.
It was just that... the half-combed hair bun on top of her head looked like a bird's nest messed up by the wind.
Song Yueyao pulled up a lock on the left, but another lock slipped down on the right, making her sweat profusely from the effort.
Wu Li walked straight to the table, picked up the steamed dumpling right in the center of the plate, casually popped it into his mouth, swallowed it, and then gave a faint glance: "You shouldn't be called Xiaomi, you should be called a rice weevil. All you do is eat and sleep. You're so lazy, you can't even comb your own hair?"
Chai Xiaomi choked, staring resentfully at the center of the plate.
She had a habit when eating: she liked to save her favorite thing for the last bite.
So she had specially saved this steamed dumpling. Song Yueyao said they had already eaten downstairs while she was asleep, and this plate was specially ordered for her.
But as soon as Wu Li came, he ruined her most precious steamed dumpling.
Why say "ruined"? Because after eating it, this guy deliberately and wickedly curled the corners of his mouth at her and commented, "It tastes terrible."
If it tastes terrible, why did you eat it! Spit it out!
Chai Xiaomi suspected he did it on purpose. Connecting it with what he just said, she tilted her face up and happened to see the beads of sweat on Song Yueyao's forehead, and suddenly understood.
He couldn't bear to see his sweetheart getting stressed out just to comb her hair, right?
Feeling sorry for her?
"Sister Yao," Chai Xiaomi said softly, "how about I just do it myself."
Although she didn't know how to comb it either, she could barely manage to twist it into a bun.
"No, no!" Song Yueyao gripped the strands of hair stubbornly, "I don't believe it today! How can a mere head of hair stump me? It's just a flowing cloud bun. I saw the palace maids do it so easily, just a few quick motions."
Song Yueyao hadn't expected to be defeated by such a trivial matter. Give her any weapon from the armory and she could wield it masterfully, so why couldn't she style a decent hair bun?
Since childhood, she had no interest in needlework, embroidery, music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, but she didn't want to lose face in front of her newly acknowledged sister.
If worse came to worst, she could just tie it up into a neat bun like her own, but looking left and right, she still felt that Chai Xiaomi was more suited for a flowing cloud bun. Unwilling to give up, she was determined to get it right!
"Xiaomi, don't move!" Seeing a lock of hair about to slip, Song Yueyao grabbed it abruptly and shouted urgently.
The hair roots suddenly tightened, causing a pain in her scalp.
Chai Xiaomi's chewing motion instantly froze. In order not to dampen Song Yueyao's enthusiasm, she pursed her lips and held back from making a sound.
But that subtle moment of pursing her lips didn't escape Wu Li's eyes.
He lazily swept his gaze over the few hairpins on the table, casually picked up a peach wood comb, and playfully twirled it between his fingertips, "Sister, take a rest."
"I'll comb it for her."
Song Yueyao's fingers paused, feeling the relief of meeting a savior: "You know how to do women's hair buns?"
"I do. I've always been the one to comb my wife's hair." Wu Li deliberately enunciated the word "wife" clearly.
His tone revealed a natural familiarity, sounding very confident.
Song Yueyao was stunned for a moment. She almost forgot, having heard Jiang Zhiyu mention it, that Chai Xiaomi was originally from Lingyu Province, so she must have been accustomed to dressing in the clothes and hairstyles of Central Plains women in the past.
Seeing her always with Wu Li these days, she had subconsciously treated her as a Miaojiang woman.
Since she didn't have the right tools for the job, Song Yueyao simply let go: "Then I'll leave it to you."
No! He doesn't know how!
Female lead, stop, don't hand my hair over to him, ahhh!
She treasured her long hair very much. Ever since her awareness of beauty sprouted, she had maintained a routine of applying hair masks three times a week all year round. Her hair was smooth, shiny, and fell like satin.
At this moment, she only hated that she couldn't expose Wu Li's lie on the spot. She could only watch helplessly as he walked closer step by step, the corners of his mouth slowly pulling into a teasing arc.
That smile clearly said "up to no good."
Chai Xiaomi's inner thought: Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
But in the end, her long hair still fell into the young man's palm.
"It's really not an issue with my skills," Song Yueyao tried to save face from the side, "Xiaomi, your hair is just too smooth, smoother than a loach."
She looked at the steady way Wu Li held the strands of hair and breathed a sigh of relief. "Wu Li is still the one who knows your hair best. Look, it doesn't even fall out when he holds it."
Chai Xiaomi's face turned bitter.
It did not fall out because he was gripping it so tightly to vent his anger!
Song Yueyao was a noble princess, after all. How could she condescend to help her comb her hair? It was no wonder Wu Li was angry.
"Thank you for your trouble, Husband." She prayed that Wu Li still had a shred of conscience left and understood just how precious a woman's hair was to her.
