Ren Yupei was Gone 4

She had sat on his shoulder and hugged his head tightly, plastering him everywhere like glue.

Alas, that adorable little puppy was gone. She had now transformed into an exquisite and alluring woman that could capture men's heart with just a soft sigh of her breath.

Sigh…time really flew away so fast.

Ling Xiaochen noticed that An Zhengnan was distracted yet again. Damn it, she was sulking here, but he seemed to not care and even daydreaming?!

"What are you thinking about?"

After the question landed, Ling Xiaochen suddenly didn't felt like hearing his answer as she knew that it might saddened her more. Yet the words just float into her ears and squeezed her heart painfully.

"I was thinking back then when The Princess was five, she was sulking the exact way as you are right now." He chuckled as he reminisced.

It was that handsome and genuine smile again…as he thought of The Princess.

The carriage halted as they arrived at the Royal Palace. An Zhengnan got off first and then offered his hand politely to help her stepping down. It used to be one of Ling Xiaochen's favorite moment where she could feel their skin touching directly without her having to use any inappropriate means.

But now, holding his hand was proving to be so difficult. Especially when the person that she was touching didn't even notice her and even talked happily about another.

Their hand met for a few second and Ling Xiaochen retracted it as if she was burnt. It really felt hot though, the warm temperature seemed to trail up from her skin up to her head.

Ling Xiaochen felt her eyes getting hotter and they welled up in tears. She bit her lips to refrain herself from sobbing out loud. "Really?" Her voice was trembling slightly and she could only replied with small sentences.

"Hmm." An Zhengnan smiled softly and sighed. "But she had become so different…"

Don't look. Don't glance at him. Don't…he will break your heart again.

But her eyes seemed like they had their own will as they glanced at him sideways. His side profile was as dashing as always, but now, there was a very, very soft smile on his face and his eyes were very full of tenderness as he spoke.

He seemed to have thought of something when his gaze darkened slightly. His eyes were flashing with a myriad of emotions that Ling Xiaochen understood very well. She understood it so much that it hurts for she too had felt the same way as him.

It was affection, sentiment, endearment with a hint of bewilderment.

An Zhengnan blinked when he found himself thinking of Ouyang Xueqing in her golden robes again for the nth times. He shook his head lightly and grinned. "She was more adorable back then, now she was so cheeky that I want to slap her ass and teach her some lessons."

Ling Xiaochen felt like something snapped within her.

She grasped the hem of her dress tightly until her knuckles whitened and mumbled under her breath. "The Princess have always…always been the only one you could ever see, huh?"

It was a faint whisper, so soft as it carried along with the wind.

Yet as a fully groomed beast, An Zhengnan had an extraordinary hearing thus he could hear the question clearly.

He jerked a little as he was clearly taken aback by the sudden and unexpected question. His mouth gaped open as he was struggling to find the words that seemed stuck inside his stomach.

Ling Xiaochen didn't know where she had found the injection of courage as she braved herself to grasp his collar and caught him off guard. An Zhengnan was stunned when he found the girl's face so close to him.

Her eyes were reddened and glistening with unshed tears as they stared at him unblinkingly.

At that moment, An Zhengnan realized that he had never really looked at Ling Xiaochen. He had never known that her eyes could speak so much volume that it made him slightly dumbfounded by what he found in them.

There were sadness, frustration and overwhelming passion, laid bare for him to see.

Those pair of almond pupils shone so bright that An Zhengnan couldn't react even when Ling Xiaochen's face drew closer, until he felt something soft and light on his lips…

An Zhengnan jolted in shock as he reflexively pushed the girl away. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he covered his mouth in disbelief. "Y—You…"

A drop of tears trailed down her cheeks as she bit her lips so hard that they almost bled. Yet, her eyes kept on staring at him, fearlessly and domineeringly.

Ling Xiaochen spoke with a trembling voice, but her tone was firm and decisive. "Look at me. The one standing in front of you is Ling Xiaochen, not Ouyang Xueqing. Look at me clearly! I love you! I love you." She choked in sobs. "I love you so much…"

She repeatedly said her confession until they ended in a whisper and vanished into the thin air.

Before An Zhengnan could say anything, Ling Xiaochen had turned and run away, leaving him hanging and frozen.

An Zhengnan stared at the girl's diminishing back speechlessly for some moment before he regained his clarity. His back was soaked in cold sweat and he felt his temples throbbed in slight pain.

He fell crouching on the ground and held his head in frustration. "Damn it!" He cursed in a low voice.

***

Ling Xiaochen told the Princess of how she was frustrated that An Zhengnan never seemed to notice her. She didn't disclose even one bit of An Zhengnan's feelings toward Ouyang Xueqing.

Because she felt like it was not her place to say anything…

She glanced at the half-masked girl that was walking by her side. Her soft jet black hair was framing her head and her round black eye was blinking as she listened eagerly. When she spoke of how she caught An Zhengnan off guard and stole his lips, Ouyang Xueqing's cheeks blush in a pretty pink hue.

It made her look more exquisite and charming.

Ling Xiaochen couldn't hold herself back and pinch both her soft and mushy cheeks and began to stretch them.

This dense and stupid girl! Hmph! How can I, the great Ling Xiaochen, be so envious of this little brat?! She didn't even realize anything around her. Such a pity for An Zhengnan to like this kind of girl!

Ouyang Xueqing let out a yelp and flailed her arms around. "Heyy…let go!"

Ling Xiaochen harrumphed and fold her arms across her chest with pouting lips.

Ouyang Xueqing grimaced as she caressed her reddened cheeks. "What did I do wrong? Why did you suddenly attack me?!" She was feeling really wronged ah!

"Humph!" The annoying and arrogant girl turned her head away and whispered under her breath. "You didn't do anything wrong, and that's what makes me mad."

"What?" Ouyang Xueqing asked. "Could you repeat that?"

"No!" She rebuked and changed the topic quickly. "Come on! Daddy is waiting for you!"

"Oh!" Ouyang Xueqing was so consumed in Ling Xiaochen's story that she had almost forgotten her original target! She would receive a report of Mo Yujian today! "What are you waiting for then? Hurry up!" She exclaimed in excitement and make her way inside hurriedly.

Her heart was thumping wildly in anticipation.

Mo Yujian…Mo Yujian…

Am I considered one step closer to you now?