Pester: 

Did old man Jiang pester her? Or was he only half-way there?

Haocheng grit his teeth, resisting the tingling of his legs, and the aching of his bones. Even though his feet had long been sore, he continued to follow, step by step.

Ahead of him, her red clad figure floated like a flounder, so different from his laboured steps. Her pace was light and sure but she maintained a distance not far from him. She ignored him, but she did not shake him off. She allowed him to follow her. She did not reply when he spoke. This was why he was only half-way.

He knew if Xiaojiu had wanted to lose him, he would have not been able to keep up. Just from the display in the alley, he knew she was extraordinary. He had never imagined he would run into a high level grandmaster martial arts hero, and she was a high powered woman who was mixed!

He licked his dry lips. He had been following her for two days. They had long since left the city, and the people of the brothel had not caught him. Were they dead, or lost?

The second reason was more likely. In the past two days, he had seen no one. Xiaojiu had chosen remote paths to travel. They were now in a deserted wood. She had picked an unused path to walk, avoiding the main roads; was it because of how she looked?

He remembered the body guards had looked at her in fear. It seems that mixed ethnic children were rare in this place. While he thought her green eyes were beautiful like gems, he realised that it might be shocking for people who were not exposed. 

Being called a ghost, Xiaojiu had looked unperturbed. But when he told her he was not afraid of her, she looked doubtful; he could imagine what she had experienced before.

That being said with her skill, if Xiaojiu went somewhere there were lots of people, it would not be difficult for her to hide in the crowd. So this path there were taking was because of him. 

Because he was being chased, she accompanied him slowly. Though she did not interact with him, but she did not get rid of him.

His Xiaojiu was really good, but...could she be a bit kinder? He could not walk any longer.

He bowed his head and willed his heavy feet onward; they felt like lead. As he walked his legs trembled, not to mention his painful feet.

Every step was heavy.

At the start, he had the strength to speak, even though she did not acknowledge him, he could still enjoy himself. But now, he could not speak, barely had the strength to swallow. And...he was so hungry, he wailed inwardly as he touched his stomach. He had not eaten for two days.

So hungry, so tired…wasn't she tired? Didn't she have to eat?

Haocheng's vision started to darken from the edges, he felt dizzy…

She suddenly stopped ahead of him, and Haocheng heard the sound of running water. He looked up to see just ahead of her was a clear stream.

Danning stepped aside and sat on a boulder. Her expression was still cold; she did not spare him a glance, but sat quietly.

Although, she did not speak to him, Haocheng suspected that she stopped because of him. She would not look at him because she was so shy; oh...his Xiaojiu was so cute!

He was so moved; he blinked his watery phoenix eyes at her. If he wasn't afraid of being kicked, he would have rushed up to kiss her. He really did not have the strength to withstand a kick at this moment. He was hungry, thirsty and his legs hurt so much.

He went up to the stream, not caring if the water was clean or not, he drank a few mouthfuls of water, washed his face. He sat down on the ground to relax and took off his shoes and socks.

Sure enough, there were blisters.

Haocheng sighed. He had to say this Hao Yue was really spoiled, it was no wonder the old hen did not want to let him go. Look at this while flawless skin, you could tell the old hen spent a lot of money on him.

He washed his feet causing the blisters to sting. His lets were so tired. He straightened his legs and lay on the gra.s.s. He had no strength, and he was starving. Holding his flat belly, he turned to look at the stream wondering if he could drink the water until he was full.

While he looked at the water, there was a flash. He sat up and looked closer, ‘Fish? There are fis.h.!.+' G.o.d, did he read it wrong? He crept closer to the stream, hoping he wasn't seeing mirages in his hunger. He looked into the water, to make sure. There were! They were not big, but there were really fish in the stream.

He was moved to tears, ‘Xiaojiu, there are fis.h.!.+' he shouted excitedly, fixated on the small fish swimming around.

Danning looked at him indifferently. While her face was expressionless, inside, she was puzzled by him.

She had let him follow her when she could have easily shaken him off, but she did not. She could not say why she allowed him to follow her.

The past two days, she had not stopped except to sleep at night. An ordinary person could not bear it, let alone a weak person like him. But he did not stop following her. He did not protest, he did not plead, and he did not give up. She noticed that his physical strength had reached the limit, but he still followed without complaint.

He surprised her.

She did not know why he followed her persistently. She thought this person was strange; not only was he not afraid of her, he talked a lot. Although, later he became too tired to speak. But now he took a little break, he was talking again.

She watched as he rolled up his oversize trousers, and took off his outer s.h.i.+rt and inner s.h.i.+rt, leaving his upper body naked. His skin was very white, his limbs were slender, and the sun fell on his soft chest. His male beauty was gentle. 

‘Xiaojiu,' he said to her, ‘just wait, I will catch fish for you to eat.' He gave her a dazzling smile. He looked handsome and charming.

Danning was taken aback by the unguarded smile. It was the first time someone had smiled at her, she could not help herself.

Even though his legs were weak, seeing the fish Haocheng got a second wind, and entered the water. He bent over, aimed for the swimming fish, readied himself-

Did not catch one.

The fish slipped out of his hands.

He could not believe it. He tried again and again, the result was the same. After a few tries, Haocheng was furious, ‘d.a.m.ned fish, this laozi will fight with you!' He opened the palm of his hand, aligned it with the fish closest to him. He closed his hands fast around the fish, and caught its slippery body in his hands,

‘Haha! I don't believe it...wow!'

The fish in his hand wriggled and fought free of his hand. Haocheng rushed to grab it, but he stepped on slippery moss and fell into the water.

‘s.h.i.+t!' he cursed as he got out of the water and wiped his face. His trousers were wet, and the fish got away.

d.a.m.n, was there such luck?!

He blinked at the water, he saw a few fish still swimming about; he felt like they were laughing at him. He was very annoyed, ‘Laozi does not believe it…'

As he spoke, a flash of red fell into the stream and jumped out just as quickly. Several fish flew in the air and slammed onto the gra.s.s.

Danning stood on the sh.o.r.e, the right sleeve of her robes were wet dripping over the fish on the gra.s.s. She looked at him expressionlessly.

Haocheng stared at the fish in the gra.s.s, then at her. He held his hand to his chest, and his handsome face was tangled in dismay.

What to do? He felt a little upset…

He'd been trying for half a day, did not catch one. He even became a wet dog. In the end, all she did was use her sleeve and all the fish came to sh.o.r.e.

His manly heart...His self esteem…How come they were totally broken by this place?

‘Aren't you happy?' she asked. Didn't he want to eat fish, now there were fish on the sh.o.r.e, why was he unhappy? Danning did not understand, she had thought he would smile at her.

Looking down at the fish, since he was not happy, they were not needed! She raised her sleeve about to sweep the fish back into the stream, when he called out,

‘No, how could I be upset?'

It was rare for Xiaojiu to speak, he had been stunned, but he quickly got over his injured heart and smiled at her.

Really? She looked at him with her gem like green eyes. Her gaze was without a trace of impurities. 

As she looked at him, Haocheng could not help but feel a little guilty. He touched his nose, and admitted shyly, ‘I was just a little frustrated.'

His manly self respect had been trampled on.

Frustrated? Why? She wondered. She did not ask, but Haocheng saw the doubt in her eyes. He could not help but smile, the frustration leaving him.

‘Xiaojiu, you are so cute!' He said. She gave off a forbidding and cold countenance, but his Xiaojiu was a simple cute girl.

Cute? Her green eyes glimmered. It was the first time someone had said that to her. Staring at his smiling face, Danning felt he was strange.

But...she did not refute him.

Haocheng came back ash.o.r.e, and bent over to wring out his wet trousers.

‘Are you hungry?' he asked, ‘I'll look for some wood to make a fire, so we can roast the fish.'

Looking at his trembling legs, he clearly could barely move, but he still wanted to find firewood? She did not understand what he was thinking at all, and she was not hungry. She rarely felt hungry. If she was by herself, going without a meal for one or two days was normal. But she knew he was very hungry. As they walked, she had heard the groaning of his belly, but her dried food was finished, and the next city was still a day away. She didn't think that he could be so weak. He just needed to hold one for another day.

But still, she remembered there was a stream in the woods, so she pushed them to it before sundown. Sure enough, there were fish in the river.

If he had some fish, would he recover his strength?

‘Jiang Haocheng?'

‘Huh?' he answered as he looked up at her, the clear water droplets were flowing down his hair and face. Under it, he had a dazzling smile.

He was exhausted, but he was still smiled; strange person.

But his smile...was very nice.

‘What's the matter?' he asked. She had called his name, but she didn't say anything. It was the first time in the last two days that she had called his name. Hearing his name on her lips, he felt really satisfied.

His smile was even more charming.

Danning's eyes sparkled.

Then they shuttered again, she said, ‘You will wait here.'

‘Ah?' he replied, watched her walk away, ‘Where are you going?'

‘Going to get firewood.' She didn't stop but replied him gently. Then, she leapt into the woods in a flash of red.

Watching her go, Haocheng's heart leapt in his chest. He gave a crooked smile.

His Xioajiu was really too cute!

Danning not only brought back the firewood, she also caught two hares, fearing that Haocheng would not dare kill an animal; she had also killed them in advance.

Staring at the hares, Haocheng's mood was complicated; while he felt that Xiaojiu was being good to him, he also felt his masculinity was hurt. Did he really seem so weak that he could not kill a hare?

Fortunately, at his request, she let him make the fire or she would have done that too.

How was this to work? He had to have little bit of a role!

Fortunately, back in his own world, he used to go camping with his friends. He was no stranger to the wilderness. He quickly lit the fire, and began to grill the fish and roast the hare meat. He finally could do something; his injured masculinity was satisfied.

After the fish was done, although he was hungry, he offered the fish to Danning first.

‘Here, have the fish, you eat and see.'

Danning stared at the grilled fish pierced by a twig. It was crisp and golden with fat dripping from it, it looked delicious.

‘I am not hungry,' she said, and she stared at him, ‘aren't you very hungry?'

While he had been grilling the fish, he had been swallowing. He wanted to eat all the food, who could he offer it to her first?

‘You're not hungry?' He asked incredulously, ‘But you haven't eaten this last two days!'

He had been hungry up to his chest and back, how could she not be hungry?!

‘Are you afraid of eating it? Be a.s.sured! My skill in grilling fish is first cla.s.s.' He said bas.h.i.+ng his chest and smiled.

Staring at his smile, Danning relented and took the fish.

‘Come now…' Haocheng and picked up a grilled fish, and blew on it a few times. He was so touched that he finally got her to acquiesce.

When his fish cooled, he began to eat. He finished it in a few bites and picked up another. Just as he was about to eat, he looked up at Danning to find her staring at him, not eating the fish.

He was hurt, ‘Xiaojiu, do you want to eat my grilled fish?' It was delicious!

‘Or would you prefer to eat the meat? You have to wait a little, it's not done yet. Eat the fish first, it's good.'

He stared at her, watching like this, no one could refuse.

Danning narrowed her eyes, and bit into her fish. Seeing her eat, his handsome face broke out in another bright smile, ‘Is it tasty?' Although there was no salt, it was still rather delicious

She didn't respond, to her food was just for filling up the stomach. It didn't matter if it was delicious.

Haocheng was now accustomed to her taciturn manner, as long as she was willing to eat; he continued to enjoy his own meal. When he saw she had finished her fish, he handed her a hare leg.

She was too thin, she needed to eat more.

She did not refuse, and took the meat from him. He smiled at her, she ate quietly. Haocheng continued to fill his belly. Occasionally, she would look up at him, her green eyes glimmering.

She found his every action strange; he liked to talk a lot and smile a lot. It was the first time she had ever come across someone like him, the first time she was curious about a person, she found herself observing him unconsciously and consciously.

Haocheng did not mind her stare, he only cared about eating. The beautiful face had a rather crude way of eating that was completely out of sync.

After eating, he started talking again, ‘Xiaojiu, where are you going?' He took a big bite of the meat, his eyes were happy, he was looking satisfied. Was the meat really delicious? She took another bite, she did not taste anything; it was just meat. But watching him eat happily with relish, she ended up eating most of the rabbit leg in her hand.

‘How long are you going to follow me?' she asked him not understanding why he was following her.

‘How about a lifetime?' He replied with a cheeky smile. He had treacherously found that Xiaojiu liked his smile.

Anytime he smiled or laughed, she would stare at him, then quickly look away. So shy, so cute!

Although, Hao Yue was a useless weak chicken, his face was very useful. Though he was not tall, the way he looked when he laughed was very pleasing, even he himself found his new face pleasing ah!

Danning stared blankly, her small face cold. But his smile made her calm heart ripple, ‘What do you want with me?' She asked. Was someone using him to hunt her down?

Haocheng looked at her shyly and said directly, ‘I want to marry you! I fell in love with you at first sight!'

Truthfully, he was fascinated by her handsome heroic manner. This was similar to love at first sight, right?!

Either way, he liked Xiaojiu! Like is like, this was his personality, he went for what he liked, stalked it without thinking of the consequences.

Just as he liked to help people style themselves - this was probably his mother's influence. Their mother had been a hairstylist while she was alive. When he was young, he watched as his mother worked, and he saw the happy smile of the customers when she was finished. He had thought that feeling was good, so when he graduated from high school, he decided to be a stylist apprentice.

He had chosen not to go to university, causing his old sister to beat him up. But when he insisted and remained firm on his decision, she had relented and told him to be responsible for his decision.

The life of an apprentice was a bitter one, but it was the price he had to pay; he worked his way up from shampooing to a junior stylist and eventually became the leading stylist. He did not complain to his sister, he never gave up; persevering till he achieved his goal. This was the path he chose; what was the hards.h.i.+p?

While he was an apprentice, his followers who wors.h.i.+pped him did not understand his dream. They wondered how he could do such a thing. They felt he should be his own boss, do something sensational, run a big money making enterprise.

What was so good about cutting someone's hair? It was beneath him.

But for Haocheng, he found joy in styling his customers and his customers were always happy. It was fun.

This was his personality; things that were determined already could not change. His heart was decided on Ji Danning, and he would haunt her till death.

‘Love at first sight?' Danning repeated, disbelieving. Not understanding.

Seeing her doubt, ‘I just like you,' with his eyes filled with deep affection, he repeated, ‘Xiaojiu, I like you.'

“Like” - strange word, that.

She did not respond just kept staring at him.

Um...he confessed, how could she not respond to him?

Haocheng felt hurt, and looked at Danning's cold face. He stroked his nose and asked,

‘Xiaojiu, do you know what you like?'

 She did not understand love at first sight. She did not react to him telling her he liked her. He wondered, had his Xiaojiu never been in love?

‘I don't know.'

Haocheng blinked at her incredulously, wondering where Ji Danning grew up. She did not talk much, she showed little expression, even her mood was quiet and cold; she was not like a normal person. How could she not know what she liked? She had no likes or dislikes, just like blank white paper. But it would not take long for this pure white paper to get his colour - hehe! (Zuben: Urgh!)

He gave a perverted chuckle.

There was a flash of silver, and a cold touch against his neck. The smile on his face froze, he was still and a cold sweat seeped out of his forehead, as he looked down at the thin blade held against his neck. (Zuben: Quite right)

He didn't think before he said, ‘Sorry, I was wrong.'

Danning gave him a puzzled look, her instincts had spelled danger and she attacked unconsciously, but she stopped just in time before the thin blade slit his throat. She felt it was rather strange that a dangerous aura could come from him when he was so weak and non-threatening.

‘Um...Xiaojiu,' he called carefully, seeing that she was not moving, he poked her hand with his finger, ‘Could this be taken away?'

This blade sticking to his neck was making him rather nervous.

Danning relaxed and took back the blade.

Haocheng breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Yushou! That was terrifying; he just had an obscene thought and he nearly died.

After calming down, he asked her, ‘Xiaojiu, why did you suddenly put a knife against my neck?' Could she read minds?

‘I don't know.' Danning replied vaguely clenching a piece of hare meat. She looked at him thoughtfully, then replied, ‘I just had a sense of danger and my hand moved.'

‘...' He burst in a cold sweat.

He suddenly felt as though that the road of his pursuit looked dangerous...

  ? Chapter 3