Chapter 83 - What To Do if You’re the Villain and the Heroine Likes You

After sensing that something was amiss, She hastily withdrew her hand. She could hardly believe that she had initiated physical contact with another man and lingered for such a long time, shamelessly. She felt the blood rushing to her face and her forehead and cheeks were burning, as if she had a fever. "I'll be back in a moment." Without waiting for He Yunxiao's response, she rushed to open the door and went outside. The slightly cool air outside the room helped her calm down. She was embarrassed about the physical contact with a man, even if it was under the guise of martial arts training. Thankfully, her good friend, Du Yinyun, had been at the residence since childhood. Her younger sister's temperament was aloof; she never spoke to men on ordinary days. If someone else had encountered this, she would have looked down on them, and probably would not have been willing to meddle. Thankfully, our relationship runs deep from childhood; she would definitely not abandon me. Moreover, my sister observes things clearly and her advice is surely more sensible than what I can come up with. … Du Yinyun brought a chair and sat in the small courtyard of the Fan residence. The afternoon sun was warm and bright, and the scenery in the courtyard was filled with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers. She sat in the courtyard, basking in the sun, and kept threading the delicate needle with colorful threads through the silk fabric. The threads became shorter, but the patterns on the fabric grew larger. "Yinyun!" "Sister?" "You come with me." Normally, Du Yinyun did not see Fan Ziruo so flustered. She knew that something major must have happened and placed her embroidery on the chair, following her sister hastily. Surprisingly, instead of taking her somewhere else, Fan Ziruo led her back to her own chamber. Upon entering the room, Fan Ziruo closed the door behind her, and also shut all the windows that had been opened. Mysterious. Du Yinyun couldn't help but ask with concern, "Sister, has something major happened?" Respectful of Du Yinyun's visit to the Fan residence, Fan Ziruo had arranged an excellent room for her. So, despite closing the windows, the room was still well-lit due to its sunny and well-lit location. Both could clearly see each other's expressions. Du Yinyun looked at Fan Ziruo's serious and slightly flustered face, and couldn't help but worry for her. "I hope the Fan residence isn't like my own house." "Yinyun, listen to me. He and I were practicing martial arts, and then we sparred..." As soon as He Yunxiao was mentioned, Du Yinyun's attitude immediately changed. She immediately asked in concern, "Sister, you didn't injure him, did you?" Fan Ziruo: ? Injure him? Du Yinyun quickly realized her slip of the tongue and corrected, "He didn't injure you, did he?" Fan Ziruo shook her head, "No. It's just... when we were sparring, our hands touched." Du Yinyun: Is that all? The young lady of the Fan residence did not have as much experience as Du Yinyun. Before Du Yinyun's arrival, she didn't even interact with other women, let alone men. Now not only had she made contact, but also with a man. The crucial point wasn't that someone had offended her, but that she had initiated it herself... The sudden leap in intimacy was too much for Fan Ziruo to accept. Previously, her hand had been pulled by He, and she had even accidentally touched his chest, and now she had voluntarily made contact with him... Fan Ziruo asked with a bit of distress, "Yinyun, have I gone too far? If I had not been teaching him literature as a teacher, logically speaking, He and I should not be alone in the same room." Du Yinyun: Is that all? "Yinyun, what do you think I should do?" Du Yinyun found it somewhat laughable. This sister, appearing older than her but so immature in matters of the heart. Just because of a light touch during martial arts practice, she had become so tangled up? Du Yinyun held Fan Ziruo's hand and smiled, "Sister, you have ever been the calm and composed Fan Ziruo in front of others" Fan Ziruo frowned, "When was I not like that?" Du Yinyun said, "Yes, not towards me. But towards others, you have always maintained the same expression." Fan Ziruo fell silent, seemingly acknowledging Du Yinyun's assessment. After some thought, Du Yinyun said, "Actually, practicing martial arts is very simple. You just have to stop overthinking it." "I shouldn't overthink it?" "Yes. For example, if it were me and He practicing martial arts, and we accidentally touched hands, because of martial arts, it's inevitable, and no one thinks much of it. But if you were to see this, start overthinking it, and even ask me if I liked He, that would be unreasonable." Fan Ziruo thought carefully and realized... that made sense. "Yinyun, I just feel strange." Du Yinyun said, "If you don't believe it, just observe the other person. If, after a hand touch, you blush and the other person remains unchanged, it means you're overthinking. With your looks, if the other person had any impure thoughts, how could they not show it at all?" "As long as the other person remains composed, it means you're overthinking. And if the other person looks different, it means he is also making advances towards you. At that point, you should just usher him out of the house. The Fan residence won't allow him to return." After careful consideration, Fan Ziruo realized that what Du Yinyun said made a lot of sense. Whether a relationship is clean or not depends on the mutual decisions of two people. If He is genuinely trying to help her, and she is overthinking it, she would be undeserving of his kindness. If He isn't overthinking it, and neither is she, then even if there is an unavoidable touch during martial arts practice, their relationship would remain pure and clean. Moreover, Yinyun has been her close friend for so many years; if she says that, could she still deceive herself? After pondering for a while, Fan Ziruo indeed felt better. She said, "Thank you, Yinyun." At this moment, Du Yinyun realized something and asked, "By the way, sister, why did you suddenly want to learn martial arts?" Fan Ziruo said, "To write martial arts novels, one must have some martial arts knowledge to write well." Du Yinyun thought to herself: In that case, when you write about the relationship between the male and female protagonists, wouldn't you also have to... Thinking of this, Du Yinyun suddenly became a little curious about how her usually dignified, stable, and reserved sister would react when embarrassed... Hmm. She would have to embroider a few handkerchiefs for her sister. ... Not only the Fan residence in the remote corner, but also in the secluded house in the garden of the Deer Horn Academy, the intense confrontation between the Meng and Han families continued. Meng Qingqian again left the palace in men's clothing, but unlike the last time, she didn't deliberately apply makeup or wear a chest binder, simply wearing men's clothes and leaving everything else natural. Even during the day, the small house remained illuminated. Meng Qingqian leaned back in the chair, holding countless documents in her hand and a pile of documents on the table and a plate of candied fruits. She had arrived in the afternoon. She couldn't use the tactic of having palace maids attend the morning court session for her too often, or else it would be easy to reveal the truth. Fan Changshu dared not let the formidable Princess Lang wait for too long. As soon as Jian Ling passed by him, he knew that the troublesome Princess Lang had come again. Upon entering the small house, Fan Changshu immediately knelt down and said, "Minister Fan Changshu greets Your Highness Princess Lang." Meng Qingqian put down the documents and hurried to help him up. "General need not be so formal!" "Your Highness, I am no longer a general." Ignoring this, she had a smile on her face as she said, "I have good news to tell you." "What is it?" "Yesterday, after I returned, I discussed with the Queen Mother about His Majesty's marriage." Fan Changshu's heart tightened. "After considering various options, I think only the daughters of the Fan and Prime Minister are suitable." Meng Qingqian put her hands behind her back, clasping them, leaning slightly forward, with a beautiful yet dangerous smile. "General, I think Miss Ziruo is very suitable to lead the harem. Let's make a deal, if you help me, I'll help you, how about it?"