“Shi Huai, the way you ran over just now was really beautiful.”
Zhao Huan took the water pouch and drank a sip. His gaze lingered on Shi Huai’s face, and his voice sounded a little dreamy.
Shi Huai was caught off guard by the random remark. “Your leg is hurt that badly, and you still have the mind to notice that?”
Zhao Huan grinned, revealing two little canine teeth. “Looking at you doesn’t make my leg hurt any less.”
“Since it doesn’t interfere with your pain, you can walk back to the hunting grounds yourself.” Shi Huai stood up and brushed the dust from his robe, making as if to leave.
“Wait, wait, wait! I was wrong!” Zhao Huan hurriedly reached out and grabbed the hem of Shi Huai’s robe. He pulled so hard that Shi Huai staggered.
Shi Huai steadied himself and looked down at Zhao Huan’s pitiful expression. With a sigh, he said, “Let go. I’m not leaving. I’ll have someone bring a horse over and lift you onto it.”
Zhao Huan obediently let go, but his eyes remained unruly, fixed on Shi Huai’s face and refusing to move.
He had never seen anyone like this before.
Shi Huai was so handsome he hardly seemed real. His voice was as pleasant as the sound of a zither, and even his breathing carried a captivating sweetness that made one’s heart itch.
The more Zhao Huan thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. His heart beat so fast it felt as though it might leap out of his throat, and his face grew hotter and hotter.
“Shi Huai, am I sick?” Zhao Huan suddenly blurted out, his voice muffled.
Shi Huai was untying the ropes from the saddle, preparing to make a stretcher. Hearing this, he turned and glanced at him.
“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
“My heart is beating really fast, my face feels hot, and I’m a little dizzy.”
Zhao Huan honestly listed his symptoms, staring at Shi Huai without blinking.
Shi Huai walked over and placed a hand against his forehead.
Zhao Huan’s forehead was indeed somewhat warm, but it was not the heat of a fever.
“You were probably just startled. Go back and drink a bowl of calming soup. You’ll be fine.”
Zhao Huan nodded without saying a word.
Because he had discovered that the instant Shi Huai’s hand touched his forehead, his heart began racing even faster, his face grew hotter, and his dizziness worsened.
Xie Zhaolin arrived with several people in tow. When he saw Zhao Huan sitting on the ground with Shi Huai crouching before him, he paused for a moment.
“What happened? Where did you fall?” Xie Zhaolin hurried over and crouched down to examine Zhao Huan’s leg.
“He strained his left leg. The bone isn’t broken.” Shi Huai stood up and told him what he had found.
Xie Zhaolin examined the injury and nodded. “You’re right. He’s pulled a muscle. A few days of rest should do it. Come on, give me a hand. Let’s get him onto the horse.”
Several people worked together to lift Zhao Huan onto the horse’s back. Zhao Huan lay facedown across the horse, still muttering under his breath.
“This is so embarrassing. I’m the first one to fall off a horse on a hunting trip. My father is definitely going to scold me when we get back.”
Shi Huai led the horse slowly toward home. At some point, the pear-blossom cat poked its head out of his robes again and rubbed its damp nose against Shi Huai’s chin.
A gray rabbit poked half its body out of the grass, raised its ears, and glanced in Shi Huai’s direction.
A squirrel leaped down from a pine tree and crouched on a rock by the roadside. It held a pinecone between its front paws and tilted its head as it watched Shi Huai.
Shi Huai caught sight of the squirrel from the corner of his eye, and his mood improved.
The branches of the old, crooked pine tree by the roadside swayed gently in the wind. Its needles rustled softly, as though it, too, were greeting him.
“Shi Huai, will you come again?” Zhao Huan asked weakly from where he lay across the horse’s back.
“Of course. I can come out once the Imperial Academy is on holiday,” Shi Huai replied casually.
Zhao Huan’s eyes lit up, and dimples appeared on his cheeks again. “Then it’s a promise. Next time, I’ll take you rabbit hunting.”
“You should learn how to ride without falling off first,” Xie Zhaolin said coolly from the side, delivering another cutting remark.
Zhao Huan angrily kicked Xie Zhaolin’s horse with his uninjured leg. The horse startled and nearly threw Xie Zhaolin from its back.
“Zhao Huan, are you looking for a beating?” Xie Zhaolin steadied himself and glared back at him.
Zhao Huan stuck out his tongue, then turned back to continue talking to Shi Huai, changing moods as quickly as one turned a page.
By the time they returned to the Marquis’s residence, dusk had fallen.
Qinghe had been waiting anxiously at the gate. When she saw Shi Huai riding toward her from a distance, she lifted her skirts and ran over.
“Young Master! You’re finally back! You scared me half to death!”
Qinghe seized Shi Huai’s reins and looked him up and down. Only after confirming that he was unhurt did she let out a sigh of relief.
“Sister Qinghe, I’m fine. I just went out for a ride and stretched my legs.”
Shi Huai jumped down from the horse and handed the reins to the servant who came forward to receive them.
Qinghe followed behind him, chattering about everything that had happened in the residence that day.
“Eldest Miss came back today. She had dinner with the Marquis in the main courtyard and brought Second Miss some pastries. Second Miss was overjoyed and held Eldest Miss’s hand while they talked for ages.”
Shi Huai did not slow his steps, and his expression did not change. “What else?”
“Eldest Miss also went to Madam’s Qingzhi Court and stayed for more than half an hour. When she left, Madam’s eyes were red. I don’t know what they talked about.”
“I see.”
Shi Huai pushed open the door to Shou’an Hall. Nanny Zhou was coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of hot porridge. When she saw him return, the wrinkles on her face relaxed into a smile.
“Young Master is back? You must be hungry. Come sit down and eat.”
Shi Huai sat down, took the bowl, and drank a mouthful. Warmth flowed from his throat all the way down into his stomach.
Nanny Zhou sat nearby with needle and thread in hand, stitching as she spoke. “Young Master, someone came to the residence today. He said he works for Second Master’s estate and brought over a basket of fresh cherries.”
“Second Uncle?” Shi Huai set down his bowl. “What did he say?”
“Nothing much. He only said you should enjoy them, and that this year’s cherries are sweeter than last year’s.”
Something stirred faintly in Shi Huai’s heart. He took the basket of cherries, picked out one, and put it in his mouth.
It was indeed very sweet.
Before long, the day came for enrollment at the Imperial Academy.
Qinghe was even more nervous than Shi Huai.
She had packed and repacked everything he needed three or four times the night before.
Before dawn the next morning, she dragged Shi Huai out of bed and pulled one outfit after another onto him, changing his clothes again and again.
In the end, they settled on a moon-white cross-collared robe, tied at the waist with a silver-gray sash, with a matching sleeveless jacket worn over it.
“Sister Qinghe, if you don’t let me leave soon, I won’t be able to go at all today.”
Shi Huai stood before the bronze mirror and sighed helplessly.
Qinghe poked her head out from behind him and glanced at the mirror. Then she quickly looked away, the tips of her ears red as cooked shrimp.
“Young Master, please be careful at the Imperial Academy. Don’t get into arguments with those sons of noble families. If anyone gives you trouble, come home and tell me. I’ll go ask the Marquis for help.”
Shi Huai turned around and lightly flicked her forehead, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.
“I’m going there to study, not to fight. Why are you worrying about all this?”
Qinghe covered her forehead, her lips pressed tightly together, as though countless words were stuck in her throat, leaving her unable to say any of them.
