When Shi Qingxue straightforwardly spoke out her doubts, Mo Junyang stiffened, like a statue.
For a long time, Mo Junyang didn’t move or reply.
But Qingxue got the affirmative answer from his ghastly pale face.
Right, without that memory, she was not Shi Qingxue anymore.
At least, it was true in Mo Junyang’s opinion.
Shi Qingxue was still doubtful, but another kind of pain spread over her chest.
She didn’t even understand why she was in pain, but the pain was severe.
However, Shi Qingxue was strong enough. The more pain she felt, the stronger she pretended to be. Facing Mo Junyang, she was more fearless and asked coldly, “Mo Junyang, I want to know how you feel about it.”
She confronted him directly. Even if there were immense dangers and difficulties ahead and she would bleed, she would keep going.
This was Shi Qingxue at this age.
After going through everything in the previous life, Shi Qingxue became smart and calm, but she was not as decisive and brave as before.
Mo Junyang was stunned and looked blankly at Shi Qingxue’s face.
He suddenly remembered that in the previous life, he was attracted by Shi Qingxue who was so dazzling. Even though they were enemies then, with one respected and one lowly, and as a girl everybody doted on, she had never shown any warmness to Mo Junyang, a hostage, she was always sparkling and forthright.
She was his light!
Shi Qingxue didn’t know what was on Mo Junyang’s mind. Seeing that he looked at her in a daze, she was more resentful and poked his shoulder, asking the question once more. Then she glared at him and insisted on getting an answer.
Why was she not “her”?
Mo Junyang was speechless, or rather there was no answer.
One was the girl he cared for all the time, and the other was the girl he had a crush on in the first place.
Why was there any difference?
After a long time, he smiled again and looked more relaxed than before. Even his eyes and brows were not that cold.
He answered frankly, “I don’t know, either. Maybe you will get the answer only when you can remember.”
Shi Qingxue was stunned for a while and then accepted this reason, but she still looked gloomy. “In fact, I asked my father. He told me that you helped me a lot in the past one year, probably more than all that I can remember.
“But it was just one year. If you really mind, can’t you just tell me?”
Mo Junyang replied in his heart, “It was not just one year but a lifetime.”
However, he just responded casually with a smile, “Nobody can tell you what happened in your memory. Only what you can remember is true.”
“But if you don’t give me a clue, how can I recall?” Shi Qingxue softened.
Mo Junyang stared at her for a minute and then looked away, saying distantly, “I am sorry.”
Shi Qingxue was angry and anxious to rush to him to bite on his neck.
In fact, these days, there were strange but familiar pictures flashing in Qingxue’s brain occasionally, which made her respond by instinct.
Or rather it made her express her feelings.
For example, with the memory of the last fifteen years, she should be close to Mo Shujun, but now she was only alert to and disappointed at her grandmother, so as soon as she returned home, she went to see Mo Shujun first to prevent anybody from gossiping.
Another example, she should be on intimate terms with Dong Hui, but as for the doubts about Mo Junyang, she subconsciously knew that she couldn’t get an answer from Dong Hui, so she asked Shi Junhe.
…
It was difficult to describe everything that happened during the period, but she was clear about one point that the memory belonged to her.
It seemed to be covered with a gauze and was there but couldn’t be seen clearly.
So she was angry at Mo Junyang’s distance because she lost her memory, but she had never been angry with him.
However…
Shi Qingxue slyly rolled her eyes when Mo Junyang couldn’t see her, and she had an idea.
She didn’t yell at Mo Junyang but even smiled joyfully. “In that case, I think we shouldn’t see each other before I can remember what I have forgotten.”
“What?” Mo Junyang looked back suddenly and thought he must have misheard.
Shi Qingxue nodded boldly and replied casually, “Right, you hear me. I am dependent on you now. If you are too close to me, I won’t be willing to recall what happened in the past because…”
“Because perhaps I don’t want that memory, I have forgotten it easily, right?” Shi Qingxue said as if by the way, in a relaxed and unconcerned tone as if she talked about the weather today.
Then as expected, she saw that Mo Junyang’s face stiffened, and he seemed to be in pain, helplessness, anxiety…with complex feelings.
Shi Qingxue knew that Mo Junyang didn’t feel happy, but she said that intentionally.
Huh, he made her sad, so she would get back at him.
That was fair.
Qingxue pretended not to see that. She twisted her ankle and had a try, but she didn’t feel the pain.
Perhaps Mo Junyang had massaged for her when she was asleep.
She felt happy in secret but meanwhile was guilty. Seeing Mo Junyang’s gloomy face, she couldn’t help but suggest, “It’s dawn now. We didn’t go back home last night, and they must be worried. Let’s go back first.”
Mo Junyang stared at Qingxue and wanted to say something but refrained himself. He opened and shut his mouth several times but just nodded at last. “I will send you back home.”
Because Qingxue’s clothes were dried after being wet in the rain and they were wrinkled, as Mo Junyang insisted, she went to King Rui’s mansion to get changed first. But Mo Junyu urgently summoned Mo Junyang, and the latter had to enter the imperial palace at once.
Then she was sent back to Duke Shi’s mansion by Qu Yuebai.
It was reasonable, but as people spread the news, Dong Hui heard that Shi Qingxue still pestered Mo Junyang after being abandoned by him and came to him. She slept with him and even changed her clothes after spending one night with him. But she couldn’t win his heart back. At last, she was sent back home by Mo Junyang’s subordinate, with a miserable ending.
Dong Hui burst into anger after hearing that. Even though she knew that most of Zhou Ruyu’s words might be false, it was true that Shi Qingxue had stayed outside last night and changed her clothes before she was sent back by a servant from King Rui’s mansion…
And facing Zhou Ruyu’s ridicule with a faint smile, Dong Hui exploded and hurriedly told someone to call for Shi Qingxue.
Zhou Ruyu felt happy secretly but pretended to be worried. “Hui, don’t be anxious. It’s normal that a child is ignorant and wouldn’t think twice before doing anything. Moreover, Qingxue is just a sixteen-year-old girl and it’s understandable that she couldn’t resist the temptation…”
“Ruyu, speak with caution. You just heard the gossip and we haven’t found the truth. Don’t say anything randomly to ruin Qingxue’s fame.” Dong Hui coldly interrupted Zhou Ruyu’s sarcasm and looked at her with warning.
Zhou Ruyu was rebuked directly and didn’t get angry but raised her handkerchief to wipe her lips, concealing the disdain on her face.
She had thought she would win, so she wouldn’t care about Dong Hui’s last struggle.
Shi Qingxue couldn’t get rid of her bad name this time as she ruined the family’s reputation since she was impure.
Qingxue was brought to the East House and saw the room full of women, even including Zhou Ruyu. She couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Dong Hui displayed a stiff expression and gazed at Shi Qingxue, asking, “Qingxue, where did you go yesterday?”
“I went to the training ground to compete on shooting,” Shi Qingxue answered and still didn’t understand why Dong Hui suddenly cared so much about her whereabouts.
Zhou Ruyu then cut in coldly, “Is that true? Why did I hear from the servants that the carriage went to King Rui’s mansion? Qingxue, you can’t lie to the elders because of shame.”
Shi Qingxue was confused. She told the truth, and why did she lie? And she answered Dong Hui. Why was Zhou Ruyu so bold as to claim to be an elder and reproach her?
But at the moment, she finally realized what they wanted to ask.
Qingxue looked calm and responded unhurriedly, “I met Prince Haoran at the gate of King Rui’s mansion. He invited me to the training ground to compete on shooting. Then…”
She thought for a while and glimpsed at Shi Baoyan who kept silent from the beginning, adding all of a sudden, “Baoyan was also there then.”
Zhou Ruyu didn’t expect that Shi Qingxue would get Shi Baoyan involved in the fight. She was surprised and had to look at Shi Baoyan as she asked, “Baoyan, what did you see? Tell your mother frankly.”
Shi Baoyan didn’t dare to look at Dong Hui and seemed to be scared, explaining in a hurry, “I insisted on asking Qingxue to take me to King Rui’s mansion to have a look, but then the servant said that His Excellency was not at home and couldn’t see us. Then Qingxue met Prince Haoran at the gate. He asked her to go to the training ground. Probably they thought I would disturb them, so they told the servants to send me back home first.”
Most of her words were true, but Shi Baoyan said that anxiously, which made people confirm Shi Qingxue’s “crime”.
She “pestered” His Excellency first, and after being refused, she hooked up with the prince from the Zhao Country, but at last, she still “slept” with His Excellency…
Gee, the plot was a good example of a “slut”.
Zhou Ruyu smiled with satisfaction and didn’t speak but turned to Dong Hui. She wanted to see how Dong Hui could help Shi Qingxue clarify herself.
Dong Hui became anxious and quickly walked to Shi Qingxue, grabbing her hand. “What happened? Did Baoyan tell a lie?”
At this hour, as Dong Hui almost couldn’t protect her daughter, she wouldn’t care that her words would make people comment that she was partial to Shi Qingxue.
Shi Qingxue stared at Shi Baoyan all the time. Hearing the “truth” told by her half-sister, she was depressed.
As expected, the disloyal would never become loyal, and the bad would never become good, right?
“Qingxue, answer me!” Dong Hui almost shed tears as she saw Qingxue in a trance.
Shi Qingxue then turned to Dong Hui and nodded with a smile, saying honestly, “What Baoyan said is true.”
Zhou Ruyu finally couldn’t help but show a sinister smile as she was going to win.