Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 134

by Little Panda

Bestowing Upon You the Realm (16)

“Do you like the person who brought you the gift?”

Xu Jiao looked again at the row of feathers.

She wasn’t particularly fond of these colorful things, and the Eastern Palace where she currently resided was quite nice. If all went well, she would be the successor by the year’s end. At that point, the private treasury of the Emperor of Da Yan would be hers, along with all the treasures collected by previous emperors. However, she had heard that the Emperor of the Xu family stored mostly things like 《Research on the Ten Major Tortures》, 《108 Methods of Skinning》, and 《How to Make Someone Die in the Most Painful Way》—none of which interested her, as they were insights of deranged murderers.

But, after all, it was a place where treasures were kept.

No matter how precious these feathers were, there wasn’t really a place for them.

She had no choice but to choose now, yet Xu Jiao knew well that Yu Ye had a knack for setting traps when providing choices. So she looked from left to right and right to left three or four times, but still didn’t reach out. Instead, she cautiously asked:

“What happens if I choose one?”

Yu Ye’s eyes slightly curved with a smile. In the candlelight, her black hair by the temples gleamed like fine silk, adding warmth to her complexion. For a moment, it was hard to associate her with the ruthless Regent.

She waved the palace attendants away, but Xu Jiao wasn’t deceived by her gentle facade, becoming even more alert. She was originally sitting on the edge of the bed but now instinctively shrank back, even moving her hand near the pillow.

Yu Ye noticed her movements and recalled how, due to the numerous assassins in the Eastern Palace, Xu Jiao didn’t trust the guards outside at night and had hidden an ordinary short blade under her pillow. Yu Ye raised an eyebrow:

“It’s merely a birthday gift for Your Highness. If you don’t like it, you can reject it. There’s no need to brandish weapons on this happy occasion.”

Xu Jiao nonchalantly withdrew her hand, her deep brown eyes looking at Yu Ye. Though she couldn’t discern anything from Yu Ye’s sharp features, she didn’t forget to say:

“Lord Yu’s gifts don’t seem easy to refuse.”

Yu Ye observed her sitting upright unintentionally. Her expression hadn’t changed, but her body clearly showed she was guarded. Yu Ye felt a bit of a twinge inside.

Xu Jiao, sensing Yu Ye’s silence, realized she was displeased.

Perhaps the slight closeness they’d developed would revert to its original state due to this stalemate.

A subtle regret surfaced in her heart, unnoticed by herself, as she momentarily ignored the past. Her breathing paused, and then she thought, it’s not her being childish. If Yu Ye hadn’t insisted on giving such a gift, she could have happily accepted it, sparing them both this awkwardness.

It was all because Yu Ye was petty.

A flicker from the lamp in the corner made a ‘bip-bo’ sound, casting ripples in the quiet night.

Yu Ye’s smile briefly faltered. Xu Jiao held her breath, her gaze fixed on Yu Ye’s lips, listening as Yu Ye slowly spoke:

“Lord Yu’s gift is indeed hard for the Crown Prince to refuse—”

Just as Xu Jiao was about to smile in understanding, Yu Ye added the second half: “But if Sister Yu’s gift to you doesn’t please you, it means she didn’t choose well. If you don’t like it, then just leave it.”

With that, Yu Ye picked up the tray of feathers the attendants had placed on the table earlier and moved toward the window. Xu Jiao could already guess her decision just from those two moves.

Yu Ye was actually planning to discard all these carefully selected gifts.

In that moment, Xu Jiao’s stubbornness and resentment faded significantly because Yu Ye was the first to relent.

When Yu Ye reached the window, Xu Jiao called out: “Wait.”

Yu Ye turned back, seemingly puzzled as to why she had changed her mind after saying she didn’t like them.

Xu Jiao took a breath and quickly spoke: “I initially thought Lord Yu gave me this gift to remind me of some past… ‘rude’ behavior. Since that’s not the case, I was overthinking. The gift is wonderful. I grew up in the palace and have never seen so many rare bird feathers. I’ll keep them and have the palace attendants take good care of them.”

Yu Ye squinted slightly, her mood unreadable.

Dressed in black, standing by the window, even her gaze blended into the night outside. Only the reflection of the firelight in her pupils brought a touch of warmth to her, and that warmth was solely focused on Xu Jiao.

After a while, she spoke, posing a question: “What rude behavior?”

Xu Jiao: “…”

Feigning ignorance.

She raised her hand to touch her nose, showing a bit of helplessness: “I once found a white cat. Later, the cat disappeared without reason, and my attendants missed it for days. Back then, I didn’t know where the cat came from, but after seeing the birthday gifts Lord Yu has given me over the years, even the dullest person can guess—”

“Lord Yu wouldn’t think I’m a fool, would she?”

Hearing this, Yu Ye’s smile widened, and she lowered her gaze. It was the first time Xu Jiao saw her look away during a conversation, her usual commanding presence softened.

Yu Ye said: “I haven’t received a toy in years, especially one made just for me.”

“I thought these special memories could be shared, but I didn’t realize that not everyone, like me, finds them precious.”

Xu Jiao opened her mouth, momentarily unsure of what to say.

In truth, she had thought Yu Ye was retaliating against her.

After all, both were of noble status and skilled in scheming. The gifts they gave were always meaningful, with the implied meaning more significant than the actual gift. So she always felt Yu Ye was reminding her that she hadn’t forgotten the grudge from being tormented when she was a cat.

But now.

For the first time, she felt she had misjudged Yu Ye.

Xu Jiao, feeling a bit guilty, averted her gaze to the carvings on the wooden side of the bed, and awkwardly said: “Sorry.”

Yu Ye looked at her with a smile: “But my heart is already hurt.”

Xu Jiao: “…?”

She turned to look at Yu Ye, as if seeing someone possessed.

Is the person saying such cheesy words really the Regent?

Yu Ye casually placed the wooden tray by the window. Xu Jiao watched as some feathers fluttered in the wind from the window and quickly acted. She stepped forward, pinned the feathers down, and then took the tray back to her bed.

Yu Ye reached over and embraced her from behind, resting her chin on Xu Jiao’s shoulder, and softly asked:

“Let me ask the Crown Prince again, do you like these gifts?”

Xu Jiao nodded, ignoring the ambiguous breath on her neck, and answered seriously: “Lord Yu’s gifts are the most special. I will cherish them.”

Yu Ye chuckled lightly, her laugh trailing off into the air, leaving a lingering echo in Xu Jiao’s ears.

“There’s no need to cherish them, as they’re not very durable…”

Her voice grew softer, the final words swallowed up.

Xu Jiao slightly tilted her head: “What?”

What’s not durable?

Could these feathers be used for something else? Like a feather duster? But there aren’t enough for that.

Yu Ye caressed the back of her neck, her thumb gently massaging the area, creating an indescribable closeness that made Xu Jiao shrink her neck.

The person behind paused her movements and quickly responded: “Nothing.”

She added: “I meant, what about the person who gave you these gifts?”

Xu Jiao repeated: “The person who gave the gifts?”

Yu Ye looked down at the person obediently nestled in her arms, her smile widening: “Does the Crown Prince like the person who gave the gifts?”

Xu Jiao’s breath caught.

Is this the start of a romance line?

When Yu Ye was always a person, there wasn’t a problem, but after turning into a cat once, how did love blossom? Is this implying that love is only possible when not being human?

Yu Ye, hearing no response for a while, tightened her embrace and urged: “Hmm?”

Xu Jiao pondered for a moment and calmly replied: “I already have someone I like.”

Yu Ye’s demeanor changed slightly: “Who?”

Xu Jiao calmly pulled her hand away: “Someone you don’t know.”

Yu Ye wouldn’t let her escape. Though her mood was visibly off, the amusement remained in her voice: “Tell me, and then I’ll know, won’t I?”

Xu Jiao: “And then? Kill her?”

Yu Ye lightly brushed Xu Jiao’s cheek with her fingertip: “Smart guess.”

Xu Jiao, understanding, resisted the urge to roll her eyes, thinking that these heroines are truly unchangeable, from… Xia Jingzhe onwards, always like this.

She was ready to be pushed onto the table the next second by Yu Ye.

Unexpectedly, Yu Ye released her waist.

Then stepped back two steps.

Xu Jiao: “?”

She turned to look at Yu Ye, seeing her avert her gaze, her profile cold and unfeeling. Then, without a word, Yu Ye walked toward the hall’s exit. Xu Jiao watched her back, surprised, and asked:

“Is Lord Yu… giving up?”

Yu Ye paused but didn’t turn back: “Of course not.”

Xu Jiao waited, hearing her say: “I’ll wait for you. I’m skilled in martial arts and physically strong. I should live many more years. I can afford to wait.”

These words were unexpected to Xu Jiao and made her want to laugh.

If the person she liked also had strong martial arts, was Yu Ye planning to outlive them?

But it seemed Yu Ye knew how infuriating Xu Jiao’s words could be. After saying this, she quickly left, not wanting to hear more hurtful words from Xu Jiao.

Watching the empty hall, Xu Jiao quietly stood there—

This is good; this is the most normal plot development, she thought.

Midnight.

Xu Jiao turned over once more on her bed.

She was suffering from insomnia.

The cause was unknown.

Having tossed and turned for three or four hours, she found it unbearable to face the long, lonely night alone, so she called out to her system: “Tell me, is she genuinely acting like a gentleman, or is she putting on a show? Won’t she start pulling those forceful stunts again?”

The system was puzzled: “Why are you thinking so much? Whether she comes or not, there’s nothing happening tonight. Are you that eager?”

Xu Jiao: “…”

She slowly uttered a word: “Get lost.”

The system calmly went silent.

But after a while, Xu Jiao called it back: “I just feel that as an outsider, you see things more clearly. You’ve followed me through so many books, take a look from an outsider’s perspective. Is Yu Ye… different from the previous heroines?”

The system thought, how would I know that?

But if Xu Jiao kept talking, she’d tell it to get lost again. Not wanting to go back and forth, the system randomly searched for ‘reasons why my lover suddenly loses interest in me.’

The first entry suggested:

a) They’re definitely cheating!

The system dismissed this option. After all, for Yu Ye, Xu Jiao was likely her first love, so cheating was unlikely. It switched to searching ‘why a first love doesn’t want to be intimate.’

The result came up—

So, as Xu Jiao was dozing off, she finally heard the system’s flat voice: “It’s simple, two possibilities.”

Xu Jiao: “Proceed.”

System: “First, she’s incapable.”

Xu Jiao: “???”

She thought about it. Between girls, at most, they’d use their hands. Yu Ye was skilled and not disabled, her hands were intact, so she couldn’t be incapable.

So she asked: “You mean Yu Ye is asexual?”

System: “You wrote the heroine, why ask me?”

Xu Jiao: “…”

She took a deep breath: “Impossible. Novel protagonists can lack everything but are always exceptionally gifted in this aspect.”

The system “oh”-ed and quickly replied: “Then it’s the second possibility.”

Xu Jiao, without much hope, asked: “What?”

System: “You’re incapable.”

Xu Jiao: “…”

Now she thought consulting AI on emotional issues was too demanding! Perhaps this is why AI isn’t allowed emotional modules; their responses are too infuriating!

She laughed bitterly, her last bit of drowsiness gone, and immediately said: “Fine, tell me how I’m incapable?”

The system thought, why are you asking me even this?

Yet, it patiently searched for “signs of a girl being incapable.”

Then, Xu Jiao, half-asleep, heard the system announce with utmost calm: “You’re loose.”

Xu Jiao: “…”

Xu Jiao: “……”

Xu Jiao: “………”