1259 He Must Love You Very Much

“Weiwei has already returned to the capital and my mother isn’t the type of person to go around talking about others. Don’t worry, she won’t say anything.” Lu Tingchen rubbed her head and consoled her.

Chu Jiu did not like him touching her in such an intimate manner. It gave the impression that there was really something between them.

“I’d still like to explain the situation,” she insisted.

Lu Tingchen could not talk her out of it and gave this some thought. He said, “Then let me take you there.” With that, he held her hand as though it was the most natural thing to do, and began to walk out of the tent.

Chu Jiu quickly pulled away from him. “Don’t touch me.”

Giving her a helpless glance, Lu Tingchen had no choice but to let go of her hand.

They walked out of the tent one after the other.

Chu Jiu noticed her hair falling down her front and was suddenly reminded of how messy her hair looked. She ran up ahead and grabbed Lu Tingchen’s arms. “Give me back my hair stick.”

Lu Tingchen looked at her long hair, which was falling around her, and seemed to remember something. He took out her hair stick from his pocket and returned it to her.

Right then, Chu Jiu noticed that his right arm was hurt. There was still blood on his sleeve that had not dried yet.

She paused for a moment before reaching out to take the hair stick from him. Then she turned her back on him and tied up her hair in one swift movement.

As he watched the woman tidy up her hair, Lu Tingchen suddenly asked, “Is there a story behind this hair stick of yours?”

Chu Jiu stopped mid-action, but quickly resumed tying up her hair.

Lu Tingchen did not continue asking, thinking that it was a subject she did not enjoy discussing.

Even though the hair stick was made out of wood, the carvings on it were detailed and intricate. It was easy to tell that whoever made it had put in a lot of effort.

Lu Tingchen continued thinking about this.

Right then, Chu Jiu was done tending to her hair and turned to look at the man’s handsome face. She reached up and touched her hair stick, then said, “This wooden hair stick was made by my late father.”

Lu Tingchen was slightly surprised.

He had guessed that the hair stick must mean a lot to Chu Jiu, but it had never crossed his mind that it was made by her father.

“Your father must love you very much.” His voice softened at the end of the sentence.

Chu Jiu’s expression fell slightly. She turned her face away from him and fell silent.

“The words ‘Ruoxue’ are carved onto the wooden hair stick. Is that your real name?” Lu Tingchen suddenly asked.

Chu Jiu clenched her fingers and only released them after a long moment. She nodded gently. “Yes.”

“Your…”

“My surname is ‘Lan’.” Chu Jiu knew what he wanted to ask and interrupted him.

Lu Tingchen looked at the top of her hair. He had not expected her to tell him this so graciously. When he realized she had answered him, delight crossed his face. “Lan Ruoxue?”

Chu Jiu was a little startled when she heard the name spoken out loud.

After she came back to her senses, she closed her eyes slightly and lowered her head. She did not want Lu Tingchen to see her in such a fragile state.

It had never occurred to her that she would one day tell him her birth name so easily.

She was supposed to detest this man.

However, when she heard him say her name out loud, she detected a hint of intimacy in it. This led to the memories of her childhood being unsealed.

“Are you named Chu Jiu because your birthdate is on the ninth day of the Lunar month?” Lu Tingchen continued asking. He knew His Majesty’s covert guards were named after the date of their births.

Chu Yi, for example, was born on the first day of some unknown month. It was the same case for Chu Qi, which was why Lu Tingchen asked the question1.

Chu Jiu looked at the setting sun in the distant sky. It took her a while before eventually nodding.

“Which month were you born in?”

Chu Jiu stopped walking and cocked her head to look at him. “You’re really talkative today.”

A smile appeared on Lu Tingchen’s lips as he replied good-naturedly. “You don’t really talk that lot, so I’m forced to do all the talking. Having one silent, boring person among us is more than enough.”

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