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Chu Jiu arched an eyebrow at his reaction. “Why are you so concerned?”

Lu Tingchen replied frankly, “I’m just worried she’d affect our relationship with her drivel. We had to go through a lot to make it happen, you know.”

Chu Jiu’s face grew hot.

Lu Tingchen was so shameless!

How could he sound so certain when they had just gotten together?

A smile tugged at her lips. “She did tell me a lot of things.”

Lu Tingchen frowned. “Like what?”

“She said she has feelings for you, she came to the frontier just for you, and you saved her once when you were children. Oh, she also said something about her being too late.” Chu Jiu shrugged and informed him of everything Ji Lingxiu had said to her the night before.

Lu Tingchen was exasperated. “She’s presumptuous as always.” After a pause, he smoothed his expression and looked at her intently. “Jiu, I’ve never fallen for any girl other than you. Because our home’s close to the Duke Ji Mansion, I think Ji Lingxiu used to follow me around when we were children, but I’ve never had feelings for her. To me, she’s just like a little sister next door. In fact, I dislike her because she’s always butting heads with Weiwei. She doesn’t mean anything to me, Jiu.”

Chu Jiu had actually long been aware of Lu Tingchen’s attitude toward Ji Lingxiu, but hearing him personally explain himself finally dispelled the last trace of resentment in her heart.

“All right.” A smile ghosted around the corners of her mouth, and she gazed at him bright-eyed.

Exhaling in relief, Lu Tingchen ruffled her hair. “Good. But remember this, Jiu—no matter what happens in the future, you have to be honest with me. Don’t shut me out and sulk on your own because sometimes, I might not be able to notice your feelings and cheer you up or explain things to you right away.”

“I don’t need you to cheer me up.” Chu Jiu rolled her eyes at him, but she could not stop a feeling of warmth from blooming within her.

She realized that she, too, was but an ordinary woman—a woman who would be pleased when a man was willing to cheer her up, even though she had never cared about male attention.

“Really? Who was the one taking their anger out on me just now?” Lu Tingchen thrust the back of his hand—still slightly red—in her face.

Chu Jiu was a little sheepish.

“You used so much force too! What if you crippled me?” Lu Tingchen took advantage of her mortification to exaggerate his condition.

“I’m sorry, I won’t hit you again next time…”

“So you’re saying there’ll be a next time?”

“Well, what’s done is done! What else do you want?” Chu Jiu snapped, her feeling of guilt vanishing in the face of his assertive behavior.

“Jiu, you really hit me too hard. If you do that a few more times, I seriously believe you’ll cripple my hand.” Lu Tingchen wrinkled his brow in feigned distress.

“Then what do you want? Just say it!” Chu Jiu frowned, annoyed by how he was dramatizing such a small matter.

“I can forget about this if you give me a… kiss.”

Lu Tingchen’s voice dropped when Chu Jiu suddenly pulled him down by the neck and sealed his mouth with her rosy lips.

Lu Tingchen’s long lashes fluttered as he blinked—first in surprise, then delight.

After ending the kiss, Chu Jiu stepped back and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

Snapping out of his stupor, Lu Tingchen frowned at her actions. “You’re disgusted by me?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then why did you wipe your mouth?”

“I’m just not used to it.”

“Then let’s do it a few more times to help you get used to it.” With that, Lu Tingchen wrapped his long arms around her and trapped her in his embrace.