“Lala, you’re not a child anymore. You shouldn’t act like a child anymore.”
Hearing this unfamiliar statement from William, who always treated her like a child, Larisa felt a strange sensation.
“I heard from the princess. Did you line up partners for dances and receive them in order? Ha, I should have come with you.”
William said as if he couldn’t believe it. Larisa asked curiously,
“William, you don’t dance?”
To this, William expressed annoyance,
“You told me to request a dance from the princess.”
As his voice raised, he felt the attention around. Larisa, who was checking the surroundings, grabbed William and took him to the garden.
“For now, it’s time to close the doors, so let’s talk outside.”
In no time, the night had deepened, and there was nothing to rely on but the moonlight. Larisa, looking colder under the moonlight, spoke to William with a sulky face.
“What’s wrong with receiving them in order? There were so many people who wanted to dance with me, so I couldn’t help it.”
“You should reject appropriately. Do you accept all of them?”
Larisa said with a mischievous smile,
“Everyone rejects and accepts someone, don’t they?”
William sighed.
“You don’t need to accept even those you don’t like. You should reject people you don’t know, and at least your dance partner should be someone I know.”
William was genuinely worried that the innocent Larisa might encounter a bad person.
Larisa didn’t know how to choose her acquaintances. It occurred to her that she needed to educate her thoroughly.
“You still don’t know much. Usually, an engagement partner is decided before graduating from the academy. People typically debut and get married within three years. So, the men approaching you all have some purpose…”
“I know.”
“What?”
“Do you think I’m a fool?”
William furrowed his brow, and Larisa felt a sudden rebellious mood for no reason. Unaware that Larisa’s mood was off, William nudged her.
“You should be even more careful if you know. Be cautious about meeting people.”
Larisa replied bluntly,
“Meet this person and that person and then decide. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”
“What?”
“Since our family won’t choose my marriage partner like other houses, I have to find one myself. I’ll meet various men and decide whom to marry.”
William was shocked. Larisa shook her hand in front of William’s white, stiffened eyes.
“William?”
Although Larisa appeared in different forms in each new life, she was always a delicate and fragile existence to him. But the Larisa in the current life was too bold and courageous.
Too courageous…
“William!”
William suddenly snapped out of it because Larisa, who was grinning, started to dance.
“Huh?”
“Let’s waltz.”
Huh? When William regained his composure, the dance music began to play inside the closed ballroom. Larisa pulled William along and said,
“It seems like it’s not over yet.”
“Wait, Larisa. We shouldn’t go now.”
“Why?”
“It’s probably the servants’ ball. After the main ball ends, the servants get to enjoy their own ball. Upper-class people shouldn’t interfere.”
For Larisa, who seemed completely unaware, William explained,
“After the ball ends, the hardworking servants get to enjoy the ball. We shouldn’t disturb them.”
Larisa blinked silently for a moment and then smiled brightly, saying,
“Then shall we dance here?”
“What?”
“For a change, music is playing. It would be a waste, right? William, let’s dance. Hm?”
Larisa pulled William’s hand. William, without hesitation, was led by that small hand to the center of the garden.
“William, what are you thinking?”
Surrounded by spring flowers, Larisa was still young and small, almost like a fairy. William smiled to conceal his inner thoughts, hoping to appear playful.
William kneeled and extended his hand.
“Would you like to dance a song?”
Perhaps because of the magic of moonlight, Larisa felt a strange sense of enchantment. Although she had practiced dancing with William many times, for some reason…
“Willingly.”
William embraced Larisa’s waist. Looking at his face backlit by the moonlight, Larisa thought,
“It feels like there was a time like this.”
But that couldn’t be true. It felt like there was a memory of dancing with a man, as if they had danced before. William called her name.
“Larisa.”
Without responding, Larisa moved away from William’s fingertips. With each twirl of her lilac-colored skirt, there seemed to be a scent of lilac in the air. As Larisa approached, she whispered like a murmur.
“Why?”
Larisa swallowed nervously. She wondered what William, without using any nicknames and being so serious, was trying to say. William whispered.
“Do we have to go through something like marriage?”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
