Chapter 23: Deciding to Be a Rogue

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Deciding to Be a Rogue

Zhao Nuanyue jerked her head up, forcing herself to remain calm.

"You’re overthinking it," Zhao Nuanyue explained. "The first time I ever saw you was on the train."

"Is that so?" Hua Yusen sounded unconvinced. "From your accent, you’re from Jincheng City. I am too. Are you sure you’ve never seen me in Jincheng City? Or maybe we have mutual relatives or friends?"

’I can’t believe the young Hua Yusen is so talkative! In my past life, when we met, he was serious, cold, and tight-lipped!’

"Yes, I’m absolutely, positively sure I’ve never seen you before," Zhao Nuanyue said earnestly. "If I’ve done or said anything to give you the wrong impression, please, considering my youth, don’t hold it against me."

"Your youth?" Hua Yusen gave a half-smile, his eyes sweeping up and down her figure. "You’re not that young, actually."

Zhao Nuanyue fumed inwardly. ’That bastard, where does he think he’s looking?’

’I’m not even an adult yet!’

"You’re being improper, so I’m not talking to you anymore." Zhao Nuanyue quickened her pace to catch up with her brother up ahead. She didn’t want to face Hua Yusen, afraid she would give herself away.

Stared at by those eyes, so full of sunshine and youth, Zhao Nuanyue’s heart sped up, and she could barely keep her expression under control.

’So this is what the young Hua Yusen was like—so dashing and suave.’

Seeing his sister catch up, Zhao Nuanyang turned his head and smiled.

Back home, Zhao Nuanyue skillfully cleaned the fish, removed the bones, then minced it with pork to make dumpling filling.

Once the dumpling filling was ready, the dough that Yang Guanghui had kneaded was also done proofing. Everyone gathered around and started making the dumplings.

Zhao Nuanyue rolled out the wrappers while the others filled them. To her surprise, everyone knew how to make dumplings. Hua Yusen’s, in particular, were nearly identical in shape and size.

"Hua, you’re pretty good at making dumplings!" Yang Guanghui praised him. "You must have learned in the army, right?"

"At home, I’d never get a turn to do this. But at the garrison, you have to do everything yourself. When we have dumplings for holidays, everyone pitches in. If you make them poorly, they’re set aside for you to cook and eat yourself. To avoid eating tasteless, broken wrappers, you have no choice but to work hard at it." Hua Yusen explained with a laugh. His attitude was so friendly and pleasant, like a spring breeze, completely unlike the "frivolous" way he acted when he was alone with Zhao Nuanyue.

The others asked Hua Yusen about his unit, and he carefully shared what he could, not saying a single word more about what was confidential. Over a single lunch, he had already gotten familiar with the group of volunteers.

After eating the delicious fish dumplings, Hua Yusen was full of praise.

However, he had been out for quite a while and it was time for him to head back.

"Thank you for your hospitality. I’m on duty nearby, so I’ll come hang out when I have time," Hua Yusen said with a smile. "It’s getting late, I should be going."

"Hua, you should come visit often." Yang Guanghui was a little disappointed. In Nianqiao Village, he and Zhao Nuanyang were the only men from the city, and Zhao Nuanyang was a quiet person. So, among their group, Yang Guanghui was the loneliest, with no one to really talk to.

"Of course." Hua Yusen had just stood up when he looked at Zhao Nuanyue again. "Zhao Nuanyue, come outside for a moment. I have something to ask you."

Zhao Nuanyue froze, then asked, "Whatever it is, you can just say it here. We’re all friends, there’s nothing that can’t be said."

After what had just happened, Zhao Nuanyue didn’t want to be alone with Hua Yusen, afraid he would see through her.

Hua Yusen hadn’t even spoken when Li Yuan was already pushing Zhao Nuanyue out, saying, "Nuanyue, go see Hua off. It’s rare to make a new friend, you should get to know each other better."

And just like that, before she knew it, Zhao Nuanyue was pushed out by Li Qiong.

Zhao Nuanyang looked concerned and started to follow, but Li Qiong stopped him. "Nuanyang, your sister and Hua have something to talk about. She’ll be right back."

Hearing Wang Yuan’s words, and seeing that Hua Yusen didn’t seem like a bad person, Zhao Nuanyang’s handsome brows knitted together in a conflicted and troubled expression.

Worried about her brother, Zhao Nuanyue nodded at him and said, "Nuanyang, wait for me at home. Don’t go anywhere!"

"Okay," Zhao Nuanyang agreed, watching his sister and Hua leave.

Once outside, Zhao Nuanyue tilted her head furtively and asked cautiously, "Hua Yusen, what... what did you want to ask me?"

"Heh." Hua Yusen chuckled, seeing Zhao Nuanyue’s nervousness. "That was just an excuse, actually. I wanted to ask you... that day in the water, I still had some awareness, I wasn’t completely out of it. For some reason, while I was submerged, I saw an image of you in the water. Can you explain that to me?"

Zhao Nuanyue’s heart lurched in shock. ’Oh god, he saw the conscious projection I made in the water that day.’

’That was so careless. I can’t be so reckless in the future. I must never reveal such a fantastical ability to anyone.’

’If anyone found out about an ability like mine, even if I weren’t burned at the stake as a monster, I’d be locked up in a lab to be dissected and studied. I’d never be free again.’

"What are you talking about?" Zhao Nuanyue feigned confusion. "You’re saying you saw me in the middle of the night before you passed out?"

"Mhm, yes. I’m sure it was you I saw." Hua Yusen nodded, his expression serious. This was the real reason he had come today; it wasn’t just to thank her.

"But I found you in the morning when I was out digging for wild vegetables with my brother. It’s impossible for you to have seen me in the middle of the night. You must have been seeing things," Zhao Nuanyue argued. "I’ve heard that when people are very weak, they can have hallucinations. Maybe that’s what it was."

Hua Yusen held firm to his belief. "I have a strong will. I can tell the difference between a hallucination and reality!"

’This man is so persistent,’ Zhao Nuanyue thought, starting to panic.

She had to come up with a reasonable explanation for what happened that night to convince this sharp, eagle-like man. And so, Zhao Nuanyue decided to play dirty and flirt with Hua Yusen.

"Well... it could also be..." Zhao Nuanyue’s face flushed red. She lowered her head and said shyly, "It could also be that you dream at night of what you think about by day!"

After saying her piece, Zhao Nuanyue turned and ran off, feigning shyness.

The blush on her face was one she had forced.

As for the shyness, it was all an act.

Hua Yusen, who was usually as stoic as iron, was taken aback by her words.

"’You dream at night of what you think about by day?’" Hua Yusen muttered to himself. "’Is that really it? Did I really fall for a little slip of a girl?’"

Hua Yusen knew he had a fiancée arranged for him back home, but because of his work, they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. He couldn’t even correspond with her while on missions. It had been a long time since he’d even thought about the match his family had arranged.

Instead, images of Zhao Nuanyue, who had just run off, had been flashing through his mind constantly of late.