Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 513 - Three Hundred and Thirty-Three: Pursuit_2

Chapter 513: Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-Three: Pursuit_2

"...." Xu Yuan didn’t speak.

If looks could kill, Tianyan’s last glance before leaving would have killed him a thousand times over.

Li Qingyan seemed to be able to guess what he was thinking:

"I can understand you, but that little girl obviously cannot. You just let her run away like that?"

"What else?"

"Chase after her." Her voice carried a smile.

"..."

Xu Yuan turned his gaze back to the slim and graceful figure with her back to him.

Li Qingyan casually sat back in the main seat, leaning against the backrest, her long, flawless legs crossed elegantly as she threw back her head and laughed:

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Xu Yuan’s gaze flickered for a moment, then he said helplessly:

"Tianyan is like this, you are too. When did you become so childish?"

"Childish?"

Li Qingyan sat up slightly, the corners of her lips curling slightly: "Are you saying that it wouldn’t be childish of me to let that woman trample all over me?"

"The world isn’t binary." Xu Yuan was completely unaffected by her rhetoric: "You should be able to see Tianyan’s nature. Perhaps a softer approach could be used."

There was a moment of silence, and then Li Qingyan’s beautiful eyes lowered gently, her voice low:

"Just now... I was indeed impulsive at the end."

"You’re joking, right?"

Standing below the hall, Xu Yuan looked at her with clear disbelief: "Even our commander of the Qingyan Hall can act rashly?"

Li Qingyan’s brows furrowed slightly:

"You don’t believe me?"

"I believe you."

"...."

Their gazes intertwined for a few breaths,

"I know you don’t believe me."

Li Qingyan shook her head and chuckled lightly: "I can’t blame you. For a woman like me, it’s normal for you not to believe."

With that,

She lifted her eyes to look at him, her gaze bending as her lips pursed: "Whether you believe me or not, Changtian, I was indeed impulsive just now. I can’t stand her condescending attitude towards me, and even less her familiarity with you, so..."

"So you’re jealous?" Xu Yuan laughed.

Li Qingyan lifted her eyes, her gaze clear and tranquil, without any tension, her voice composed:

"You could say that. Watching her communicating with you in secret made me feel very uncomfortable."

As she spoke, she slowly extended a hand to her chest, pausing for a few breaths, and whispered in a rustling tone: "I felt a bit breathless, like a sense of crisis, or perhaps something else... I’m not sure."

"..."

Xu Yuan opened his mouth but said nothing.

There were no twists or turns; it was a straightforward pitch.

He felt he should be moved, after all, this was the first time she had spoken of her feelings.

But his experiences with her over the years had trained Xu Yuan’s first reaction not to be moved but to anticipate the Wrapped Chest Princess starting another scheme.

His gaze swept over her; her expression was calm, but her fluttering lashes seemed a bit uneasy about the current stage of the conversation.

Even minor gestures like this made Xu Yuan feel she was performing for him.

He couldn’t help it; there were too many precedents.

This couldn’t be blamed on Li Qingyan, nor on him. If anything were to be blamed, it should be the similarities between them.

Intelligent, rational, nearly perfect in appearance, and encased with an aloof distance, as if they were as far as the ends of the earth yet as near as a whisper away.

For others, these traits might be as attractive as poppies, and any other person might have long since succumbed, but when the two collide, it seems somewhat unreal.

Because you never know if the other person is setting a trap for you or if their words match their thoughts.

"Huff..."

She sighed softly, watching him lost in thought, a quiet sigh in her heart as a smile returned to her face: "Forget what I just said."

Xu Yuan composed himself, stepped forward to the table, and leaned over:

"Why? You finally open up, and now you want me to forget?"

Looking at him closely, his eyes as clear as spring rain, Li Qingyan did not waver:

"You wouldn’t believe it anyway."

"I believe you," Xu Yuan smiled: "Of course, I believe you."

"How virtuous."

Li Qingyan rolled her eyes upward: "With all this time, you should chase after Tianyan instead."

Xu Yuan glanced toward the direction of the curtains:

"Chase? Could I even catch up?"

"Do you need me to teach you how?"

Li Qingyan’s eyes half-closed: "As a once Mortal Transcendence powerhouse, you, Changtian, should be crystal clear that if you chase after her, she would see it. It’s a matter of attitude."

Of course, Xu Yuan knew this. He hesitated for a moment and then asked with a smile:

"You were just jealous, and now you want me to go after her? Qingyan, your attitude change is just too abrupt."

Li Qingyan huffed coldly, her slender forefinger pressing directly into the mahogany table before her:

"Do you think the Saintess will come back on her own?"

"....." Xu Yuan.

How did he feel that she understood Tianyan better than he did? But then again, he didn’t understand much, to begin with.

Of course, Li Qingyan didn’t ask him to go because she suddenly had a change of heart or out of sympathy for Tianyan’s pitiable state; rather, it was because Tianyan was also run off, and now serious matters couldn’t be discussed.

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan said in a low voice:

"You were the one who drove her away, so why should I....."

"If you don’t go after her, should this palace go and coax her back?"

Li Qingyan’s eyebrows shot up, a dangerous look in her eyes, "But that could work. Since you don’t want to go, then this palace might as well go check on....."

"Cough."

Xu Yuan’s eyes twitched.

Li Qingyan going over? To continue humiliating the weak?

Clearing his throat, Xu Yan decisively said, "I’ll go."

"You have a quarter of an hour."

"Ah?"

"Too much time?" Li Qingyan tilted her head.

Xu Yuan clicked his tongue:

"No, I mean, why the time limit, are we in a hurry or something?"

Li Qingyan’s fingertips lightly caressed the indent she had pressed into the table:

"We’re not exactly pressed for time, but if it’s too long, I can’t be sure you won’t do something impolite to the Saintess. Ordinary women tend to be quite vulnerable at such times, with your methods....."

As she spoke, she raised her eyes to glance at the man before her, then suddenly frowned as something occurred to her, slowly rising:

"Forget it, this palace will go...."

"...."

Xu Yuan quickly pressed down on her shoulder as she stood: "A quarter of an hour is enough."

Li Qingyan frowned, suspicion in her eyes.

"Cough, I mean, to persuade her."

...

...

...

Wrapped up in a coat, he ran out of the tent, the weather in Northern Border City as bitterly cold as ever, just like Xu Yuan’s current state of mind.

The Princess acts, and the Prince Consort pays the bill.

Even having promised a quarter of an hour, Xu Yuan had no confidence that Tianyan would give him the time of day in such a short span.

But as a military man abroad, not all orders may apply, and there are always exceptions. If he were later than expected, Li Qingyan should be able to understand.

However, the situation differed from what Xu Yuan had pictured in his mind. Almost the instant he ran out of the camp, a familiar surge of Origin Qi enveloped him completely.

Then,

Feeling dizzy for a moment, his vision blurred, and the ruins outside the camp had transformed into the vast expanse of Northern Border City, the sky whitened by the heavy snowfall.

Was he on top of the city gatehouse?

Thinking this, Xu Yuan planned to look around for that figure when a voice with a heavy undertone of resentment rang out behind him:

"You.. didn’t you say you had forgotten? So what are you doing here looking for me?"

Relieved at heart, Xu Yuan turned his gaze to her.

There she sat on the rubble of the gatehouse, barefoot and hugging her knees, though her gaze was not on him but instead fixed on the world beyond the city.

Pitiable, helpless, but not weak.

Xu Yuan didn’t immediately speak; instead, he walked slowly over and sat beside her, shoulder to shoulder.

Through their clothes, there was a slight but not intimate physical contact.

Watching this familiar action, Tianyan clenched the hem of her dress a bit tighter:

"Speak."

Xu Yuan chose his words with care:

"Well... what do you think I’m here to do?"

At these words, Tianyan’s eyes reddened, and she sniffled:

"Hmph, with your character, you probably came to ask me why I had your aunt’s token."

Xu Yuan turned his head and looked at her sad profile, softly laughing:

"Heh... not for that. With my cultivation level, I wouldn’t have been able to come out here."

"You’re lying again."

"When have I lied?"

"...."

Tianyan turned her gaze to him, staring for a few moments before revealing a tearful smile:

"Xu Yuan... you’ve forgotten, but I remember, so I know."