There was silence in the air after He Chunhua's departure. Neither party knew what to say to the other.
He An finally couldn't take it any longer and chose to speak first.
"Don't misunderstand my relationship with her. Imperial sister is a bit creative in the head." He An clarified carefully, looking to see how Qi Xiu would react. He was relieved when the cub showed a smile.
Wait. Relieved?
Why was the air around them so weird? It was as if he was a husband that got caught cheating on his wife.
"I won't." Qi Xiu confirmed. He didn't care about He An's affairs—besides, he was already aware of the weird relationship between the two siblings. Princess Chunhua was adopted and the two grew up together, which led to He An developing feelings for her.
In his previous life, He An became crazy because of his obsession with He Chunhua and seeked others for comfort.
Qi Xiu was one of them.
Because of the fact He An was the only person who didn't force him, he truly did like the Emperor in his previous life, and it was heartbreaking to find out the object of his affections was in love with another.
Add that with the betrayal of abandonment and...
It was no use reminiscing about the past anymore. He had resolved himself to let go of all grudges he held against He An last night, so his opinions were only neutral now.
He An could sense that his cub didn't truly believe him, so he said once more, "I really don't have any feelings for her."
"En." Qi Xiu tilt his head. Why was He An so eager about this matter? He wondered if he really was being treated as a concubine. He didn't care about what was going on between He An and He Chunhua, but he did want to know what their (He An and Qi Xiu's) relationship was at the moment.
He decided now would be the best time to ask.
As he turned around to face the Emperor, he felt something soft brush against his lips. His eyes widened.
It took a few minutes before he realized the two of them both had their faces close to the other and had shared a light kiss by accident.
Although he had many passionate kisses with the other in his previous life, Qi Xiu still felt his head go numb. His brain completely shut down.
He An was the only one who felt nothing strange about it and just shrugged, thinking 'oh, our lips just brushed past each other on accident.'
He was disappointed when Qi Xiu quickly stood and excused himself, making an effort to run as far as he could from him. As He An watched his back disappear from sight, he complained to Six.
He An: [How could my cub be so shy? I wanted to talk to him more.]
Six: [Stop feeding me dog food!!!]
*
Back in his room, Qi Xiu straightened himself against the wall and finally calmed down. His face was flushed red and there was a pounding in his heart that he could hear no matter how much he wanted to ignore it.
He sat in front of the mirror next to the bed and looked at himself. His cheeks were red and he looked like a newly born chick who had just fallen in love.
A disgusting sight.
He scolded himself in his heart.
It wasn't even a kiss.
Let go of the past, Qi Xiu. You've decided to forgive that Emperor for abandoning you, but you aren't allowed to like him again. What if he leaves again? Leaves you alone to fend off against the people who want to bring you harm? You'll only cause yourself more pain.
Qi Xiu bit his lip. He didn't notice the amount of force he put and his teeth sunk into the delicate flesh, causing the tender lips to bleed slightly. He quickly rubbed the blood off with his sleeves and looked away from the mirror.
He hated this.
He hated feeling powerless.
He hated how while his brain would say one thing, his heart wouldn't follow suit. Why was his will so weak? Why wasn't he a decisive and confident person?
It was just like before. He hadn't changed at all. The chance he had so desperately wanted to grasp was wasted by himself.
He laid on the bed and allowed the tears to fall with the comfort of the silence around him.