Eek, what a surprise!!
“Kyaa!”
Startled by the sudden, unfamiliar voice of a boy, I stumbled over my own feet.
Tripping over a protruding stone and almost falling, the boy behind me quickly caught me by the waist.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
What’s this? When did the invisibility spell wear off?
‘What a disaster.’
I must have been too focused on picking the flowers.
Just as I thought that and lifted my head,
A sparkling, platinumhaired pretty boy looked at me intently, then flashed a faint smile.
“I seem to have startled you quite a bit. Sorry.”
Once again surprised, but for a different reason, I was at a loss for words.
‘Wow, he’s such a handsome boy.’
He looked to be about 12 in human years.
With elegant platinum hair tinged slightly blonde and kind violet eyes,
His clear facial features and kind, gentle demeanor, despite still being a boy, fully radiated his charm.
As I stood there, my eyes wide in astonishment, the boy tilted his head and asked,
“What’s wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?”
“……I’m not hurt.”
I couldn’t possibly say that his face was so dazzling that I couldn’t look directly at it!
Just as I was trying hard to avoid his gaze,
The boy came a little closer and picked me up in his arms.
“WWhat! Put me down!”
“The ground here is weak, it’s dangerous. Let’s get to a safe place first.”
Suddenly being treated like a princess, my face turned bright red as I flailed my arms and legs.
But the boy showed no intention of putting me down.
“It’s dangerous if you move too much, little one.”
To be called little by someone much younger than me!
Somehow, a sense of humiliation and defiance surged, but outwardly, I looked no older than a threeyearold child.
Once I was back on the ground, I puffed out my cheeks. The boy knelt down on one knee to meet my eye level.
“It’s rare to see such a young child alone in a place like this. What were you doing here?”
“……Just came to look at the lake?”
“Hmm, not because you wanted that?”
The boy gently smiled and pointed somewhere.
At the tip of his finger, a beautiful purple flower fluttered in the wind.
“Were you trying to pick that flower? Shall I get it for you?”
“No need. I can do it myself.”
“But, it would hurt my heart to see a cute little lady like you get dirty.”
Who are you calling little all the time!
Just as I was about to snap back, I checked myself and was aghast.
My almost new shoes and socks, the hem of my skirt, all were caked in mud.
‘Ugh, it’s dirty. How will I explain when I get home?’
I had been so focused that I hadn’t noticed my clothes were in such a mess.
‘Sione just bought me these shoes….’
Sniffling.
With a teary face, I looked at the spot where the purple flowers grew in clusters, and the boy gently stroked my cheek.
“You’ve been trying hard by yourself. Good job. Let big brother help you now.”
“……Really?”
“Yes. Just wait here for a moment, will you?”
Without giving me a chance to respond, the boy quickly ran down to the lakeside.
And a moment later, he came back with a bundle of flowers.
“This is what you wanted, right? Little one.”
“……Yes.”
The gentle purple eyes and the brightcolored flowers of the same hue captured my eyes.
It was so pretty that it was somewhat embarrassing to look directly at them.
‘His clothes are dirty too.’
The white trousers and shoes that seemed to be made of expensive material were stained with mud and in a mess.
It was not unreasonable, given that he had gone into the mud twice because of me.
“Cough, hmm. Thanks. And, uh, I’ll make up for the dirtied clothes later.”
“Make up for it…… Usually, people say thank you at times like this.”
As the boy leaned toward me, as if demanding a response, my lips remained sealed.
‘How can I say that when it makes my skin crawl!’
While staying in the Rose Palace, I had become quite accustomed to expressing emotions, but that only applied to a very small number of close people, including Sione.
No matter how kindly I was treated, it was still difficult for me to reveal my honest emotions to a stranger, a boy I had never met before.
‘I should practice anyway… right?’
The exchange of gratitude and apologies, those trivial sincerities.
It may be a very simple word for someone, but for me, it required a lot of practice.
After hesitating for a long time, I fiddled with my skirt and spat out the first word with difficulty.
“Th, thank….”
“Huh? What? I can’t hear you.”
As the boy urged me, putting his hand to his ear, I gathered my courage and shouted with all my might.
“…Thank you!!”
Is it done now?
Hiding my face, which had turned bright red, I bowed my head, and the boy came up and roughly stroked my head.
“Ah! What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?”
“Hehe, you’re too cute. You remind me of my sibling.”
I glared at him as if I wanted to kill him while fixing my messedup hair, but the boy only looked at me contentedly, as if finding me lovely.
“Where did this cute little lady come from? What family are you from?”
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.”
