Chapter 126 - 3.22

Xie Yongrui debated inside his head on how to respond.

Within the month, Xie Yongrui actually just kept his presence at the bare minimum. He left her to do whatever she wanted, but her personal maid would always come to report to him about Xu Jiaqi's whereabouts and what she did. He also frequently checked up on her from a far distance.

He just wanted to have some time to sort out his brewing thoughts, and at the same time take a look at how this brave girl showcased her prowess. However, from Xu Jiaqi's perspective, it really might have looked like he abandoned her right after giving hope to the innocent little girl.

Of course, Xu Jiaqi was nothing but innocent. The complete opposite.

"How could someone forget about a person like you, Qiqi?" Xie Yongrui took a deep breath. The first line that came out of her mouth was already in this sort of tone, clearly nudging at his unbecoming behavior.

Wlll he survive this battle? He didn't want to bicker with her, to be honest.

He thought that he was a master orator, that no one would be able to beat him if it was about playing with words. But Xu Jiaqi was clearly an anomaly, someone who existed to break the world's views and standards.

"Well, not that I am complaining. I am still diligently carrying out my duty as your one and only trusted consultant, your honor." Xu Jiaqi shrugged.

"Bickering with my subordinates is part of your duties?" Wishing to be a tease, Xie Yongrui probed. Xu Jiaqi was the first one who tried to start a fight. He wanted to respond to the sentiment.

However, how could he have forgotten?

The Xu Jiaqi in front of him was a master teaser. Anybody who dared to challenge her would be defeated in an instant.

The bait was cast by her in the first place. The pitiful Xie Yongrui who bit into the hook... his fate was uncertain.

"Mmh? After much thinking, I concluded that a consultant should stay close to their master at all times, right? To consult him on everything... Let's see, for example, her master's needs?" Xu Jiaqi slowly crawled to Xie Yongrui's side, nuzzling on his body.

"What.. on Earth are you doing? A daring invite like this should be saved for.. later on." Xie Yongrui swallowed his saliva, feeling shaken.

"Ahahah! I too was only joking. It was fun seeing you get flustered. I really wonder, why is it that you are this innocent? I have looked into your matters, and saw many incidents that doesn't scream innocence. The opposite of innocence, in fact."

"Are you jealous? Is this your way of complaining? Trying to tease me was because you got irritated by how you were treated?" Xie Yongrui composed himself and asked, trying to find out a moment of weakness within Xu Jiaqi's facade.

"Not at all, lord. I was just trying to say that.. Hm, I dislike men who aren't as reserved as me."

"..But you aren't reserved at all. I just saw you bathe under the fountain with the others-" Xie Yongrui slipped with his words. He had revealed that he did oversee her within the period of time he was absent from direct contact.

Xu Jiaqi burst into laughter as she waved her index finger, shaking her head at the mishap.

"By the others.. do you perhaps mean the children that you yourself picked up, and left them with little care? Really, I find them very adorable, you know? How are you able to neglect them like that? To lay out the foundations of a perfect servant?"

"I didn't know that taking care of children was part of a consultant's duties."

"Am I not one of those children? Your honor, I still have years before I turn into an adult. Besides, I assure you that a consultant is a very harsh position, and it takes a toll on anybody with the job~" Xu Jiaqi nonchalantly gave an answer.

"If you are truly a child, you wouldn't have acted or thought the way you are right now. Inside your head.. it doesn't seem like it's a child who is working behind the moves at all." Xie Yongrui uttered his truthful thoughts.

He wasn't wrong, but he wouldn't know. If she stacked all of her ages while she took over the bodies, Xu Jiaqi would've been an old lady.

"..All jokes aside, I really am preparing for our moves, my lord. Please have trust in me and wait for the results. How could you... do such a thing, I wonder. I know what I signed up for when I came to this estate, but even for the lord, this is.." Xu Jiaqi broke down into tears and sobbed, covering her face up with both her palms as she wept.

Xie Yongrui's eyes instantly widened, and he got up to come to her side and offer comfort.

"I.. I do trust you. I was just trying to mess with you. I'm sorry." Xie Yongrui grew worried as Xu Jiaqi's expression truly looked real, as if she was filled with anguish that nobody could dispel.

Xu Jiaqi waited for a few seconds before detaching her face away from her palms, which were now stained with tears. Of course, those tears were ones that she had secreted using tricks. It wouldn't be genuine.

She stuck out her tongue as she put up an innocent expression.

Xie Yongrui, who just realized what had happened instantly palmed his face and sighed. "You... Haah." He had no words left to say.

"Ao? Is the lord finally giving up on testing me? But I don't feel like I'm getting messed with enough... My lord, I reckon you ought to be more cruel... Perhaps use some violence on me, who knows what kind of forbidden door we will open together? We will only discover it as we try." Xu Jiaqi teased the man.

Hearing the implications, Xie Yongrui instantly flushed up and became as red as a tomato. "You are nothing but a child, stop saying such things."

"Awww~ But lord was the one who dared to say that I can't possibly be a child with how I act, right?" Xu Jiaqi giggled as she found Xie Yongrui's appearance very delectable.

Whoever dared to challenge her in teasing shall fall down. It was an unspoken fact. Xie Yongrui, who was still painfully unaware of how high the heights Xu Jiaqi was able to touch when she truly wanted to tease another, shall suffer defeat for today as well.

Best of luck to him on the next try!