Late at night, her heavy footsteps hesitated by the window.
Foolishly, she came without knowing if he was here or not. There was no sign of someone inside. The lights were turned off and there wasn't a sound. All the guards and servants had been dismissed.
Li Wei silently scolded herself for being swayed by a little kid's words. Don't tell her the child was already a master liar? He really deserved a harsh scolding from her. She would go back and find him tomorrow to give punishment.
Her foot moved away when she realized she had stepped on something thick and sticky. Was she so unlucky as to step on sh*t in a time like this? The heavens were literally praying for her to be caught!
Don't be here, don't be here. Be anywhere but here.
Her pupils moved left and right nervously. If Khan Bojing saw her, how should she explain? Oh heavens, she was done for...
The windows opened.
Perfect, the heaven's hatred was overflowing generously.
"Xiao Wei? Why is it you?" His familiar voice broke the silence.
"I..." Her cold face looked up helplessly. Nothing came to mind to save her life. There was no excuse to use.
The two people stared at each other. Three days ago, they acted as nothing more than strangers. Could he pretend not to know her in this situation?
Li Wei bit her lips and closed her eyes pitifully. She started counting inside her head to make the silence more bearable. If she kept this up, he would soon excuse her himself. She wouldn't need to say a thing. He wouldn't question it either. She was sure--
"Luckily, it's just mud."
Her eyes popped open. Thank goodness, it was mud instead of sh*t.
By the time she realized it, he had already came by her side. Without a word, he lifted her in his arms. "Stay still."
"Khan Bojing!" She scolded.
He sighed. "You don't want to get dirty, do you?"
"Oh." Li Wei no longer struggled.
Inside, he placed her on a chair. She stared at him, "Why was there a pile of mud? What do the servants do all day?"
Khan Bojing took off her shoes promptly, "Little Bo was playing there earlier. He must've forgotten."
Li Wei's eyes narrowed suspiciously. The child told her of his father's sadness, then came over and coincidentally played with mud under the windows? He must've forgotten?
What a sly boy!
"He's just four, don't be mad. I'll wash your shoes for you."
She didn't respond as Khan Bojing left to clean her shoes. For sure, Khan Bohai was the culprit. It seemed her opinion of him was very wrong. Behind that innocent cute face was a fox in the making.
He was not at all like his father!
"Khan Bohai, you've messed with the wrong person," Li Wei swore under her breath. Child or not, he was going to get it.
"You can return now. It'll be wet on your way, but it'll dry by tomorrow." Khan Bojing held her shoes up by the door.
Li Wei walked over and put them on. Half of herself was out the door when she remembered why she snuck here in the first place. She turned back to him.
He had been crying? There was no sign of it on his face. Over the years, he had become better and better at masking his feelings. What a swindler... just like his son.
"Afraid to walk back in the dark?" His question was thrown in a mocking manner.
She almost laughed. He was colder to her than usual. Did he finally hold a grudge against her? Good. Very good, let him be mad.
Li Wei didn't bother to reply and he didn't wait to hear it. He was gone before she left. The loud sound of the door closing cut their encounter to an end.
The candles were soon blown out, almost at once. Darkness once again filled the building. She was in a hurry to go back, but her feet came to a stop. It was as if there was a piece of stone lodged in my chest uncomfortably.
Tonight, she didn't feel like herself. Without thinking about it, she did something unimaginable.
She deliberately stepped on a shiny spot on the ground and fell with a loud thud. "Ah...?"
Her yelp was so fake she would never believe it herself, but it worked. Khan Bojing's figure flew out the door.
"Xiao Wei!"
She knew he wouldn't question it if her health was questioned. The thing was, she actually fell harder than she anticipated...
Li Wei grimaced, looking up with her large teary eyes. That fall actually hurt. "Khan Bojing..."
"It's alright, don't cry," He gently coaxed.
Khan Bojing carried her inside to the bathing room. She stood aside silently, waiting for him to fill the tub with hot water. Her gaze followed him strangely.
Where had his newly formed grudge gone? His weak mask was breaking in front of her.
"Why are you so clumsy? How could you be so careless? What if you hurt yourself? What if I wasn't here?" Khan Bojing continuously scolded her.
"But you were here," She pointed out as a matter of fact.
He stopped himself. "Right."
"Someone else would help me anyway." Her reasonable statement didn't make him happy as she thought. He directly closed the door.
One could say she was more shameless than most. After her scheming act, she could still enjoy the bath. She blew bubbles with the soap and popped them. Her head submerged under the water. A comforting warmth enveloped her being. It felt similar to how he used to embrace her.
Khan Bojing... He wasn't the type to cry easily. If he did, he would rather others don't know. On one note, it was concerning and on another, it wasn't her business. So what if he cried? It had nothing to do with her. He could cry until his eyes run dry for all she cares!
A sudden crazy thought came to mind. She came back onto the surface and a shudder passed through her body. No way. She didn't care. She didn't.
Li Wei quickly finished her bath. A string of curses was spoken in one breath. Her dress was dirtied. Logically, Khan Bojing wouldn't have female clothing around here. She never left her things here either.
In the end, she thanked him quietly for keeping the habit of having a wardrobe in the bathing room. She chose one of his shirt and pants. The shirt wasn't bad, but the pants were so long they bundled up to her knees.
Her lips pursed in annoyance. Why was Khan Bojing so tall? Moreover, why was she so short?
She pulled the pants off and finished it with a strong kick, sending the poor pants flying across the room. The shirt would have to do.
Li Wei tied his belt around her waist and sat by the opened window in the bedroom with her hair down. The method proved to work efficiently as her hair were almost dried by the time she yawned.
When they first married, they lived here. Khan Bojing chose to live by Hundreds Garden because he loved to be surrounded by nature. The garden expanded vastly from the small two story building which was neither nor huge. Their home was simple and humbly built.
He kept the second floor and she moved into the first floor. Since Khan Bojing ascended the throne and they moved out, she hadn't returned. It's been three years, why were all her things still in the same place? All these things she asked to be thrown out, why had he kept them?
She wandered into the study at the end of the hallway. Khan Bojing sat by his desk, writing on a book. He was so focused he didn't notice her.
Her head poked into the room. "Khan Bojing?"
"What's wrong? Does it hurts?" He put away his book and stood up.
Li Wei entered the room. Everything had been the same. All these years, he still kept things the way they were...
Khan Bojing stared at her, stuck in a daze that she was walking around like she used to. His chest squeezed painfully and he couldn't make a sound.
"Today the child came to me. You sent him?" She asked.
He sighed hopelessly, "The boy begged to see you."
Li Wei had guessed it as much. "I'll head to bed."
"What did he said to you?" He hesitantly asked.
From the doorway, she rolled her eyes. "That little boy said a squished clump of cloud looked like me."
She purposely left the detail of him. He didn't need to know.
Khan Bojing's lips almost slipped into a smile. Luckily, he caught himself in time. "Don't take it to heart."
"Such nonsense doesn't deserve a place." Why would she remember that her own son thought his parents looked like a pair of ugly ducks?
"Little Bo left something for you." He handed her a folded letter.
The paper was filled with five clumsily written big words. She looked up in horror. "D-did you read it?"
His jaws clenched. "Did Little Bo say something mean? I'll scold him tomorrow. He should never say such a thing to his mother--"
Li Wei didn't listen to him finish. She dashed out the door back downstairs. Laying on the bed, she covered herself with the blanket. The words on the letter replayed in her head.
Mommy liar. Mommy miss daddy.