Chapter 38: Dangerously Cute
Wanqing felt heat rush up her neck at Anning’s words. Her fingers curled slightly at her side as she lowered her eyes to the drunk girl currently clinging to her. Anning’s face had gone slightly pink from the alcohol and with the way she buried herself against her neck while muttering nonsense, she somehow looked... cute.
Dangerously cute.
Wanqing bit lightly on the inside of her cheek, forcing herself to keep the expression on her face unchanged. Even if her heart had skipped at those ridiculous words, she refused to show it.
Slowly, she raised her head and looked toward Han Luo.
The poor guard still stood frozen where he was, staring at them with an expression that looked as though his soul had quietly left his body. Wanqing had no idea what exactly was going through his mind and frankly, she didn’t care. She wrapped an arm around Anning’s waist, pulling her slightly closer before speaking coldly.
"Bring the carriage around. We don’t have all day."
Han Luo blinked twice before finally snapping back to reality. He lowered his head in a hurried bow and immediately turned around.
"Y-Yes, young miss."
The moment he disappeared, the Lady of the Yun family smiled softly at the sight before her. She had been observing Wanqing for quite some time now and during the entire evening, the girl had looked distracted and unusually impatient.
At first, she thought Wanqing simply disliked social gatherings as usual, but after witnessing this scene, a few suspicions had quietly formed in her mind.
Without hesitation, she walked toward them.
"Wanqing, dear." Her smile widened slightly. "Your servant doesn’t look like she’s in any state to return home."
Wanqing lifted her eyes toward her but remained silent.
Lady Yun continued gently, "Why not let her stay the night here? By tomorrow morning, I’ll have someone escort her back safely."
For a moment, Wanqing said nothing.
Then her brows slowly furrowed.
Her arm around Anning’s waist tightened unconsciously for only a second, but that single moment was enough.
Anning suddenly jerked upright.
"Are you trying to break my waist?!" she half-yelled while pushing herself off Wanqing.
She stumbled backward immediately after and nearly bumped straight into Lady Yun.
"Tiger."
Wanqing’s voice instantly dropped.
Anning, however, seemed not to hear a single thing.
Or perhaps she simply didn’t care.
A few feet away, Lady Yun stared at her with visible shock written across her face. It wasn’t difficult to understand why. An intoxicated servant causing trouble at the entrance while nobles and guests moved around nearby wasn’t exactly something pleasant to watch.
Anning turned abruptly and then, she frowned.
Because she hated that look.
That look people gave when they stared at her as though she had crawled out of some dirty corner.
Her eyes narrowed immediately.
"What are you staring at?" she demanded, placing both hands on her hips. "Huh?"
Lady Yun froze briefly before quickly looking toward Wanqing and saying,
"Wanqing, she truly shouldn’t be behaving like this outside."
Wanqing didn’t answer immediately.
She knew the older woman wasn’t wrong. Too many people were still around and even now, she could feel curious gazes drifting toward them. Under normal circumstances, Wanqing would’ve ignored every single person here.
Unfortunately, Anning had somehow become exceptionally good at creating disasters.
As though the heavens finally pitied her, the sound of approaching wheels reached her ears.
Wanqing turned her head and thankfully, the carriage had arrived.
She let out a slow breath before lifting her eyes toward Anning, who had now started swaying slightly where she stood.
Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
So much for leaving quietly.
The carriage eventually came to a stop and Han Luo quickly climbed down before walking toward them.
"My lady..." he started carefully, his eyes flickering toward Anning for a brief moment. "Should I help her into the carriage?"
Even without looking directly at him, Wanqing could hear the hesitation hidden in his voice.
She didn’t blame him.
Anning currently looked like a walking disaster. No, she is a walking disaster.
"Get her into the carriage," Wanqing replied coldly. "Now."
Without sparing Anning another glance, she turned around and stepped inside.
Han Luo stood there for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
Then he looked toward Anning and immediately regretted it.
Because Anning had narrowed her eyes at him.
Han Luo suddenly had a terrible feeling about this.
"Luo, tell me something..." Anning suddenly drawled, her words slurring together as she swayed where she stood. "Between me and your young miss... who do you consider a friend?"
She was already taking small unsteady steps toward him, her eyes half-lidded and unfocused. A faint blush had spread across her cheeks while her lips remained parted slightly. In her current state, Anning looked as though she had completely forgotten where they were but at least she remembered who she was speaking to.
Han Luo stared at her for a moment, utterly caught off guard.
What kind of question was that?
And more importantly... Why was she asking him now?
Unfortunately for him, this was hardly the time to stand around thinking. Anning looked one breath away from tripping over her own two feet and falling to the floor.
Without another word, Han Luo quickly closed the distance between them before she could wander elsewhere. Before Anning even realized what was happening, he slipped one arm beneath her knees and the other around her lower back before lifting her smoothly into his arms.
Anning immediately let out a startled squeal.
Her hand shot out instinctively and grabbed at the front of his clothing to steady herself. But the second her fingers brushed against cold metal instead of cloth, her brows slowly pulled together.
She stared.
Then frowned.
"Han Luooo..." she whispered softly, blinking up at him. "Why are you so hard?"
Han Luo nearly missed a step, his entire body going stiff. Slowly, he lowered his eyes toward the girl in his arms.
Anning had reached up again.
And unfortunately for him, her hand was moving higher.
Han Luo forgot how to breathe and for one disastrous second, his feet stopped moving.
A grave mistake.
Because the moment he paused, Anning’s eyes suddenly lit up. Without hesitation, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and gave it a hard tug.
"Softtt..." she said happily before breaking into quiet giggles.
Pain shot through Han Luo’s scalp immediately.
"Fuck—"
He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth and continued walking, his face darkening slightly. Several times he tried prying her hand away, but every attempt somehow made Anning hold on tighter, as though she had suddenly decided his hair belonged to her.
By the time Han Luo reached the carriage, his expression had already become one of complete defeat.
He pulled the carriage door open and immediately bent down to place Anning onto the seat across from Wanqing.
Unfortunately, Anning suddenly let out a small whine.
"No." She said firmly, making Han Luo freeze before staring down at her.
Anning had wrapped both arms around his neck at some point and was now glaring at the empty seat like it was something irritating.
"No?" Han Luo repeated carefully.
Anning shook her head and then turned in a very dramatic way. Her half-lidded eyes landed directly on Wanqing.
And before anyone could react, she pointed lazily toward her and mumbled,
"...I want her to carry me."
