Chapter 109 - 3.5

"...Are you not one?" Xu Jiaqi questioned, troubled at the current situation. She didn't remember this man because he was behind a veil last time she encountered him, but he recognized her very easily. Someone who captured his interest.

"You weren't wrong. You can indeed consider me a prince.. My name is Xie Yongrui. Little kitten, I have taken a fancy on you, do you want to come home with me?" Xie Yongrui introduced himself with a smile that Xu Jiaqi had a hard time reading.

But with her skills, she was able to know one thing.

This man did not treat her as a person, but rather just an object of interest. She was being treated as not a human being, but something that this man wanted to pick up on a whim.

It irked her immensely, but she restrained herself before making any foolish moves.

"I'm sorry but- I will have to refuse. I'm not someone who can bear your attention." Xu Jiaqi refused without batting an eye, as she felt uncomfortable at the sudden invitation. "First of all, we have never met. I don't think I have done anything that deserves your gaze.. Do you not see what kind of state I am in right now? Go look for a better pet elsewhere. I don't dare receive your grace."

"Why do I have to look for another when the one I am interested in is you? If I tell you that we have met before, then what would you say in return?" Xie Yongrui questioned.

"...It must have been a mistake. I don't recognize you in the slightest."

Xu Jiaqi started to become suspicious, so she asked the System to run a scan on who on Earth this dazzling stranger was.

"I am... the person whose conversation you intruded yesterday. Your memories, have they been wiped out over the course of such a short time?" Xie Yongrui asked.

At the same time, the System responded with a report on who exactly Xie Yongrui was.

He was, in short, a hidden prince. Someone who wasn't recognized for his imperial bloodline. The only one left from the Xie imperial lineage, a dangerous person that she absolutely couldn't get involved with right now.

To begin with, how do you think a remnant from the past lineage could survive now that the imperial legacy had been swapped? The  survivor had to be an extremely tenacious and scary person, to be able to escape the clutches of doom like that.

"Ah!" Xu Jiaqi exclaimed, finally realizing what was going on. That's right. She thought that since they didn't chase after her anymore, it was safe to progress without minding yesterday's incident. She didn't except for him to take notice of her and even want to take her in.

To think that her luck was this trash! She knew she didn't have the best luck, but must it be this bad? Who gave it to her? What bad karmic relationship did she possess?!

"Did you recall our fateful encounter, little kitten?"

"First of all, stop calling me little kitten! It sends shivers down by back. Second, please refrain from mentioning that case any longer.. It was a mistake on my part. If you want me to compensate for it.. Well, I can't do much, I don't have anything good to offer you. But I didn't catch a single word of what you guys were discussing anyway, so you shouldn't need to chase me down like this!"

"Oh? It seems like you are sorely mistaken. I am not interested in you because I fear that you overheard our conversation.. If you were truly a spy, then your head wouldn't be intact right now. My guards would've turned you to a little angel by now." Xie Yongrui chuckled.

"Not the information.. Then, what exactly do you find in me that piques your mind?"

"..Many things. Some straightforward, and some unexplainable. Just call it a human's instinctual call."

Xu Jiaqi felt like the man was bad news. She took the chance to read the System's report inside her head, and still couldn't figure out exactly why he planned to take her in. According to the rough details the System gave her, this man didn't seem to possess a previous record of taking in a person out of a whim.

Those who were taken in by him were talented individuals that he managed to discover and wanted to add into his own power. As for her, she just displayed a bit of strength and craftiness yesterday, ti wasn't anything worthy of receiving his invite to the team protecting him, so exactly what... is he thinking about? 

"Then? What is your answer? I have little patience. It is better for you to follow me anyway, right? You look like you could die any second now. A strong gust of wind will certainly be enough to take you out at this point, am I wrong?"

"You are terribly wrong, my good sir. I am able to-" Xu Jiaqi was about to rebuke the other party, but her stomach suddenly rang out. It cried out of hunger, letting out a rather loud sound. She was famished. All that she had were two pieces of bread! How could she not be hungry?

"...See? If you come with me, then I will assure you that your life complications will be swiftly taken care of. You just need to sit and act as you must. Isn't it a good deal?"

"There's nothing in this world that isn't out there to get you. Your offer sounds too good, it makes me think that you are a scammer. Dearest prince, I believe that we shouldn't keep this farce going for any longer. Please, just tell me why you are trying so hard to pester me like this. Is there anything that I can help you with? If it's between my reach, then I shall.. complete your requests." Xu Jiaqi clasped her hands, trying to suck up to him to not get in any trouble.

Xu Jiaqi: At least let me keep my lifee~ I don't want my life to be cut short without achieving anything~

Responding to Xu Jiaqi's antics, the prince just broke into a fit of laughter and pointed at Xu Jiaqi after regaining his calm back.

"I just wondered why I felt like you were a pleasing surprise to encounter. To satiate my curiosity, I want to look at you closer. Is that not enough of a reason? Let's see... The way you talk is way too refined for a kid hailing from the slums. It's too polite, and if you didn't slip crude words here and there, I would've thought that you were taught using noble means of education."

To be honest, Xie Yongrui truly felt like something within him changed. It all began with a spark passed onto him by the little girl in front of him. It wasn't love at first sight, that would be too disgusting even for someone of his caliber. It was more like.. His soul was being tugged, and his mind were led to a distant memory all of a sudden.

As Xie Yongrui was raving about his discovery, Xu Jiaqi was having a hard time on how she should escape this predicament.

'..Shit.' Xu Jiaqi forgot. In a setting like this, the disparity between the knowledge possessed by a high ranking aristocrat and those below that status will be much more significantly larger than the disparity in her previous worlds. The education provided to people were lacking, but the nobles naturally were taught with the highest quality.

They also loved to be pretentious, so you best bet that they put brainless new rules to the fray, things that they wouldn't even use in a lifetime. Well, it was basically the same with every language, there is bound to be some parts that don't make sense, but you are still made to learn about it!

Her automatic way of speech must have came on from her past as a successful entrepreneur and a literal Ezra Lancaster who was extremely polite 75% of the time.

"Ah... Hahah. Surely you jest. How can I be compared to the likes of nobles..." Xu Jiaqi shrugged awkwardly. In her mind, she had already committed the mistake of not  talking like how a commoner should, so it would be no use to try and cover it up now. She continued to talk the way she was comfortable with.

"Hmm.. Is that so? Or perhaps.. You are hiding a secret that will shock me to the core... I've been looking for stimulations, you see? The world seems so dry nowadays, do you think you can make a change happen to that dynamic?"

"That.. Ah, whatever! Alright, alright, I will accept your offer. Please give me food, first of all." Xu Jiaqi gave up. If this man keeps insisting, then there was nothing else she could do. Although she aimed for a much bigger goal than being someone else's pet, hugging this person's golden thigh didn't seem too bad for the beginning. She should just consider it a stroke of luck.

After all, there is nothing you could do on an empty stomach!