The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

110. The Dirty Mind

Translator: Iris Guo

“Let me help you out and enjoy the sun. You surely can’t stay here. People will traipse in and out, and the dust will be blowing.” said A’Chou.

“Okay.” Zhong Mingwei nodded and moved his legs off the bed. When he was about to bend and put on the shoes, A’Chou already squatted and picked up his shoes. He didn’t refuse or straighten up but watched her help him.

“Zhong Mingwei, your toenails are too long. I’ll manicure them tonight.” said A’Chou while pinching his toes. Then, she pinched them harder, looked up, and was about to ask how he felt today. However, his face was quite close, almost face-to-face. She was so startled that she plopped down on the floor. “Why…Why are you so close? You scared me to death!”

“Get up.” Zhong Mingwei stretched out his hand, pulled A’Chou up, and laughed embarrassedly: “Am I that hideous to scare you to death?”

“No…” said A’Chou haltingly. She lowered her head and dared not look at Zhong Mingwei.

No, he wasn’t hideous but…very adorable.

When he was close to her, her heart was going to pop.

Zhong Mingwei saw A’Chou in depression, felt his heart seemed to melt, and rubbed her ponytail.

“Stop. You just tied it up, so don’t mess with it.” whispered A’Chou affectedly in a spoiled manner. There was no trace of complaint in her tone.

“I’ll tie it again if it gets messy.” said Zhong Mingwei. Somehow, his voice was a little hoarse.

“Miss! Where’s the bucket? I want to draw some water from the well!” shouted Uncle Chen outside.

“Coming!” A’Chou hastened to pushed Zhong Mingwei away and ran out without looking back.

“Ah!” A’Chou pushed so hard that Zhong Mingwei was shoved on the bed. He didn’t hasten to get up but shook his head with a smile. Then, he caught a glimpse of the corner of a book sticking out from under the pillow and suddenly stopped smiling. He tucked the book in again awkwardly and looked around in a sneaky way.

Zhong Mingwei thought of A’Chou’s rosy cheeks, trembling eyelashes, and dark eyes, and felt terribly hot inside. He suddenly pulled over the quilt to cover his face, and laughed at his dirty mind under the half-dead body while thinking that he shouldn’t have read such indecent books so that he wouldn’t be like this.

…

Uncle Chen and his apprentices were in the chamber, Zhong Mingwei was outside enjoying the sun, and A’Chou was sitting by the well doing laundry. She did laundry almost every day, but today she felt awkward and always sensed that someone was looking at her. After a while of silence, she couldn’t help turning her head and glaring at Zhong Mingwei: “Why you keep looking at me?”

“Am I?” Zhong Mingwei also felt awkward and hastened to turn his head and look around the shabby courtyard. His gaze successively settled on the big locust tree by the wall, the dark stones near his feet, and A’Chou next to the well.

A’Chou was so skinny that her sphenoid bone was clearly visible. While she was doing laundry, the bone trembled apparently with her scrub, and Zhong Mingwei’s heart twitched in pain with her moves. The eager he had disappeared and turned into deep affection and guilt.

“Liar!” A’Chou suddenly turned around and glared at Zhong Mingwei, “Busted! What else do you have to say?”

“Girl, I was wrong. I’m sorry.” said Zhong Mingwei in a low voice slowly and seriously while looking at A’Chou.