Chapter 61: Wanting to be Unreasonable for Once

Luo Wushuang, who was still trying to figure out why her sister had suddenly grown angry, froze in place, her expression stunned.

When she finally looked up, her gaze met Shangguan Liqian’s dead-serious eyes.

In the next moment, tears welled up and filled Wushuang’s eyes.

Shangguan Liqian hadn’t expected this kind of reaction and immediately panicked.

“Don’t cry! It was just a hypothetical, Wushuang…”

Before Liqian could finish her sentence, she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She looked down to see a teary-eyed Luo Wushuang looking up at her from her chest, her expression a mix of ferocity and pitiful vulnerability.

“Sister said you would never run away again. Have you been lying to me this whole time?”

Those shimmering, tear-filled eyes were streaked with a blood-red intensity. Liqian didn’t doubt for a second that if she dared to nod right now, Luo Wushuang would eat her alive.

Sighing deeply in her heart, Liqian spoke softly, ” I’m not lying to you. Didn’t I just say? It was only a hypothetical.”

I just want to know if the current you would still be willing to grind my self-esteem and dignity into the dirt.

Whether you would still be willing to make me feel such terror and grief…

Liqian’s eyes flickered. She tried to brush away the tears at the corners of her eyes, but she failed.

The sight of a beauty in tears struck Luo Wushuang right in the heart. Most of the ferocity faded from her face as she kissed Liqian’s damp eyelashes, murmuring softly, “Even a hypothetical isn’t allowed. Sister promised me that you would stay with me forever.”

Meeting Wushuang’s stubborn, insecure gaze, Liqian responded earnestly, “Sister didn’t lie. I won’t run away in the future. I will be with Wushuang forever.”

Before Wushuang’s frantic heart could fully settle, Liqian continued, “But I want you to think about it. If I did run, how would you punish me? How would you treat me?”

Luo Wushuang looked up, puzzled. “Since Sister won’t run, why do I have to think about it?”

Liqian buried her head in the crook of Wushuang’s neck and said muffledly, “I just want to know.”

Today, she simply wanted to be unreasonable on behalf of her past self—just this once!

She wanted to hear Luo Wushuang say with her own lips that she would never treat her that way again. Never!

Luo Wushuang gave a soft “Oh” and began to think along the lines Liqian suggested. The more she thought, the more wronged she felt.

Sister clearly said she would try to fall in love with me and stay with me forever.

Is she… going back on her word now?

When Wushuang remained silent for a long time, Liqian couldn’t help but look up.

Seeing Wushuang’s eyes grow redder and her expression more aggrieved, Liqian finally couldn’t bear to press her any further.

“Forget it. If you don’t want to think about it, then don’t.”

Liqian’s compromise seemed to give Wushuang a spark of courage to speak her mind.

Wushuang glanced at Liqian’s expression, then lowered her head and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. “In the past, I would have locked Sister up and… but now, I would…”

As those few words—alternately feather-light and heavy as lead—echoed in her ears, Liqian suppressed her shyness and asked, “Then, would you disregard my wishes and… outside…”

Liqian didn’t finish the sentence, but Luo Wushuang understood the unspoken words from the flush on her cheeks.

She blurted out almost instantly, “How could I? Unless I’ve gone completely mad.”

Liqian lowered her gaze, repeatedly chewing over Wushuang’s instinctive answer in her mind.

So, in my past life, I really did drive her to madness.

So, even in that life, Wushuang was already that obsessed with me.

She couldn’t say if she felt sad or something else entirely. Liqian leaned down and kissed those pale lips. She said nothing, yet it felt as if everything had been said.

The resentment of her past life drifted away with the wind. At this moment, only the person before her remained in her eyes.

When the kiss ended, Luo Wushuang suddenly added, “If things really happened as Sister said, I would definitely regret it afterward. Even stabbing myself several times wouldn’t be enough to vent my self-hatred.”

Liqian’s mind instinctively conjured images of the mysterious scars that had appeared on Wushuang’s body in their past life. Her hand moved toward Wushuang’s lower abdomen, wanting to trace the scars she remembered, but her hand was stopped by Wushuang.

“Sister, your body hasn’t recovered yet. You can’t.”

Wushuang’s voice carried a hint of strained endurance. Liqian’s brow twitched uncontrollably.

I was just lost in memories of the past. Where on earth is this girl’s mind wandering?

Giving Wushuang an annoyed glare, Liqian slapped her hand away and gave her waist a sharp pinch before withdrawing her hand in a huff.

Mistaking Liqian’s reaction for… dissatisfaction, Wushuang spoke hesitantly, “If Sister really wants to, once we return to the palace, I can ask the Imperial Physician…”

Her brow twitched even harder. Liqian glared at the cautious Luo Wushuang and squeezed two words through her teeth: “Shut up!”

“Oh,” Luo Wushuang responded pitifully, not daring to make another sound.

Knowing Wushuang had misunderstood but unable to explain herself for the moment, Liqian simply turned her attention outside the carriage.

It was mid-summer. The Kyoto suburbs were lush with greenery, and a hundred flowers were in full bloom.

Groups of men and women were gathered together, horse racing, playing Cuju, or competing at Pitch-pot.

Beyond that, there were scholars and refined gentlemen gathered to compose poetry and couplets. It was truly a bustling, lively scene.

Liqian’s gaze swept casually across the field and finally settled on a row of fine horses not far away. Her vermilion lips parted as she spoke softly.

“I want that Black Jade.”

Every competition on the field had a corresponding prize for the winner. That high-quality piece of Black Jade was the prize for the horse racing champion.

Luo Wushuang was startled for a moment, then said, “I’ll have someone go get it.”

Liqian shook her head. “I want you to get it personally.”

Wushuang’s brow furrowed slightly and then relaxed. Does Sister want to see me participate in the competition? Or does she just want to see me ride?

Seeing that Wushuang mostly understood her meaning, Liqian said no more.

Wushuang used a sound transmission to instruct the nearby Personal Guards to keep a close eye on her sister and ensure not a single thing went wrong. Only then did she raise her head and speak confidently.

“A mere first place? Sister, just wait for me.”

Just as Luo Wushuang turned to leave, Liqian suddenly called out, “Wait!”

Wushuang turned back in confusion, only to feel a coolness on her face. Her hand instinctively went to the mask now covering her features.

The mask was only about the size of a palm, just enough to conceal half of her face.

She knew her sister was worried about her identity being exposed and causing unnecessary trouble.

Luo Wushuang smiled, took a few pieces of silver from Ling Yun, and went to register.

The prizes didn’t appear out of thin air; they were sponsored by the participants’ entry fees.

But since her sister wanted it, she had to win that prize back!

Dressed in men’s clothing, Luo Wushuang casually picked a horse and took to the field with absolute confidence.

Her horsemanship had been forged through slaughter on the battlefield. How could these pampered young masters even compare?

Slighting the “show-offs” beside her with a disdainful glance, Luo Wushuang waited quietly for the race to begin.