Chapter 10: Oh! My Sweet Liar! (Wang Fei Bu Kao Pu)
FlamingoBees
Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)
Chapter Ten:
Do You Still Want to Sleep With Me?
Xiong Xiruo hurried back to her quarters and instinctively checked under the bed.
“Do you think I’m a mouse, hiding under the bed all the time?” Huangfu Jixun’s voice came from behind her.
Xiong Xiruo stood up. “Why are you still awake so late?”
“If you’re not asleep, how could I be?” Huangfu Jixun was sitting by the table, taking a sip of tea.
Xiong Xiruo sat down beside him. “Sorry, I forgot to bring you something to eat.” She had been so focused on eating herself that she had forgotten there was another person in the room.
Feeling guilty for making him hungry, she apologized.
“I’ve already eaten. There’s no need to feel sorry,” Huangfu Jixun said casually.
“Really? You’ve eaten?” Xiong Xiruo was surprised. “Where did you get the food? Didn’t anyone see you?”
Her first reaction was that he had snuck food.
Huangfu Jixun lightly tapped her forehead. “Do you think everyone is as greedy as you? The palace maids brought food for you earlier. When they didn’t see you, they went out looking for you.”
“Oh, I see. So, did you save any food for me?” Xiong Xiruo looked around for any leftover food.
“Don’t bother looking. It’s all gone,” Huangfu Jixun said matter-of-factly as he put down his teacup.
“You’re so ungrateful!” Xiong Xiruo said, looking hurt as she pointed at Huangfu Jixun. “I’ve been so good to you, and you ate all my food without leaving any for me. And you said you have a small appetite—what a lie!”
She felt like she was living with a mouse that stole her food all the time.
“Aren’t you already full?” Huangfu Jixun was speechless at her overreaction.
He had never seen someone so obsessed with food.
“Oh, right, I am full,” Xiong Xiruo suddenly remembered. Since she had already eaten, Huangfu Jixun hadn't really taken her dinner.
“By the way, didn’t you get discovered by the maids?” Xiong Xiruo asked in a panic, worried that if he had been found, she might get in trouble too.
“Of course not,” Huangfu Jixun said, shaking his head. He wasn’t stupid. When the maids came in, he hid, and when they left, he came out. This was a minor issue he could handle.
“You’re smart. I’m going to sleep now,” Xiong Xiruo said, getting up to leave.
“Where are you going to sleep?” Huangfu Jixun asked.
Xiong Xiruo stopped in her tracks, thinking for a moment. Right, this was her room. Where else would she go?
She turned back, walked to the bed, and collapsed onto it with a sigh. “Ah, finally going to sleep.”
Seeing her sprawled on the bed with her legs spread apart, Huangfu Jixun couldn’t help but blush. She was a lady, after all.
He quickly turned away. “Could you at least let me know before you go to sleep? I had no chance to avoid it.”
“Why would I tell you before I sleep? Do you want to sleep with me?” Xiong Xiruo found his question strange.
“You…” Huangfu Jixun, unable to match her shamelessness, could only leave shyly.
Xiong Xiruo slept in until the sun was high in the sky, waking up because she was hungry. If she hadn’t been so hungry, she could have slept longer.
Stretching, she came out and saw Huangfu Jixun sitting at the dining table eating.
Xiong Xiruo instantly lost her sleepiness, and with renewed energy, she dashed to Huangfu Jixun, snatched a plate of steamed buns from in front of him, and stuffed one into her mouth. “You’re really not considerate. I saved you, and you still steal my food. I said I wouldn’t keep you!”
Huangfu Jixun looked innocent. “I waited for you for a while. When you didn’t wake up, I couldn’t just wait forever.”
“If I’m not awake, you shouldn’t eat alone. Anyway, all this food is mine now,” Xiong Xiruo said, stuffing more buns into her mouth.
It seemed she was a true foodie, Huangfu Jixun thought with a helpless shake of his head.
“What’s this you’re drawing? I don’t understand any of it,” Huangfu Jixun suddenly said.
Xiong Xiruo turned around to see him holding the comic she had drawn the day before. Her heart raced with anxiety, and she quickly offered the plate of buns to Huangfu Jixun. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have eaten alone. Take the buns and give me back my drawings, okay?”
Xiong Xiruo forced a sweet smile while inwardly cursing.
She silently ground her teeth, realizing this pretty boy was not only handsome but also scheming.
If she didn’t give him the buns, he might destroy her comics.
Those were her creations from a whole night’s effort.
Seeing Huangfu Jixun holding her comics, Xiong Xiruo’s heart dripped with sweat from nervousness.
Huangfu Jixun was taken aback by her sudden change in attitude. She had just treated the buns like life and now was so devoted to these odd drawings?
This woman was truly unusual, with behaviors that were anything but ordinary.
Huangfu Jixun set the comic down. As soon as he let go, Xiong Xiruo grabbed it. “You’re so ungrateful. I’ve been good to you, and now you want to destroy my drawings,” she said, fuming.
“You misunderstood. I had no intention of destroying them; I just don’t understand them,” Huangfu Jixun explained, feeling a bit of sympathy for her seeing how anxious she was.
“This is a comic. It’s... never mind, you wouldn’t understand. Just eat, I need to get back to drawing,” Xiong Xiruo said, hugging her unfinished work as she left.
She couldn’t forget to draw. She had a bet with Dong Yuan, and if she didn’t finish it, she would be in trouble again.
Huangfu Jixun watched as Xiong Xiruo left and glanced at the steamed buns she had left behind, feeling a bit thoughtful.
To his surprise, Xiong Xiruo suddenly returned, grabbed a bun, and quickly left.
Her sudden actions were quite surprising. This girl was truly perplexing.
It was strange that Aunt Jingyi hadn't come to call Xiong Xiruo for work. Perhaps Aunt Jingyi believed that Xiong Xiruo was carrying the heir of the heir apparent and, given that she thought Xiong Xiruo had been "dating" the heir apparent yesterday, she might have refrained from treating her like a servant due to the heir apparent’s status, offering her special treatment instead.
Xiong Xiruo decided to focus on her comic, ignoring other matters. She locked herself in her room and started drawing seriously.
In daily life, Xiong Xiruo was often scatterbrained and disorganized, but when she was drawing, she was the most focused. If one wanted to see a serious side of Xiong Xiruo, they would have to watch her while she was drawing.
She worked efficiently and completed her drawing after a day and night of hard work.
Putting down her brush, Xiong Xiruo laughed joyfully. “Haha, my masterpiece is finally done! Hahaha, Dong Yuan, just you wait and see. I’ll show you, hmph, whether you accept me as your apprentice or not…” She spoke to herself, grinning from ear to ear.
She had combined modern high technology with ancient etiquette in her comic, creating a funny and quirky story that she was sure would appeal to anyone.
Huangfu Jixun, hearing her strange laughter, felt a bit troubled. How could she produce such laughter? Had she really gone mad?
But seeing her so absorbed in her work, he hesitated to disturb her.
Once Xiong Xiruo had finished and put away her comic, she realized she was extremely hungry. She needed to find something to eat quickly, or she would be starving soon.
She opened the door to find Huangfu Jixun standing there with a tray of food.
“Wow, how did you know I was hungry?” Xiong Xiruo exclaimed in surprise.
Huangfu Jixun brought the food in, and Xiong Xiruo's gaze, like her body, followed the food as it was set down.
Without a word, Huangfu Jixun placed the food on the table. After Xiong Xiruo finished eating hastily and wiped her mouth, she picked up her comic and was about to leave.
Huangfu Jixun called out, “Where are you going?”
This girl had been up all night and was already heading out so early in the morning.
“To the studio. I’ll be right back,” Xiong Xiruo said quickly before leaving.
She felt a bit strange having this conversation with Huangfu Jixun—it felt oddly familiar, almost like talking to her parents.
Arriving at the studio, she found Dong Yuan and the two artists from before already waiting. They were quite punctual.
Dong Yuan was stroking his beard with an expectant look as she entered.
Xiong Xiruo placed her completed comic on the table in front of Dong Yuan. “My masterpiece is finished. You can take a look and then send it to the palace to see the reaction.”
Dong Yuan picked up the comic and flipped through the pages. As he did, his expression shifted from concern to amusement, and he tried to hide his smile, looking at Xiong Xiruo with a serious face. “Is this what you drew? What kind of chaotic nonsense is this? It lacks any technique.”
Dong Yuan would never admit that the comic made him laugh. It was the first time he had seen someone draw like this.
“This is called a comic. Well, I know you might not know what a comic is,” Xiong Xiruo said with a hint of pride.
Even though your artwork is historically renowned, you’re old-fashioned and unaware of modern developments.
The two other artists, intrigued by Dong Yuan’s reaction, came over to examine the comic.
They were astonished and puzzled by the drawings, particularly by the machine cat. “What is this? Is it a cat? No, it looks like a person, but people don’t have cat heads, and cats don’t talk or stand upright.”
The two artists studied the comic with increasing curiosity and amusement, finding the strange illustrations both fascinating and funny.
Seeing the smiles on their faces, Xiong Xiruo felt reassured. She was confident she would win this bet. After all, anyone who saw her comic—whether ancient or modern—couldn't help but laugh.
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