Help! The Frosty Noble's Son Is in Love With Me!-Chapter 396: Pretending Is Exhausting

When they arrived at the department store, Li Hua’s shop was already in the renovation stage.

"I heard you weren’t feeling well lately, are you better now?" Qu Fulan asked.

"The maid and aunt were making a big deal out of nothing. I just had some dizziness and palpitations, nothing serious. But thank you for your concern," Li Hua replied with a gentle smile.

Qu Fulan chatted with her for a while. You must admit, when someone is determined to learn, they can acquire a lot of knowledge.

Li Hua gained many new insights into shop management, which Qu Fulan found very reasonable.

After discussing a few more things, Qu Fulan took her leave. Pei Ji’an was still waiting outside for her, and she couldn’t stay too long.

Seeing how attentive Heir Pei was, Li Hua now understood many things she couldn’t see clearly before.

It turns out that when a man cares about you, regardless of his position, he will always put your matters first.

Being busy or having no time are just excuses.

Only after seeing how good others can be, did she realize how embarrassing her past self had been.

Things that don’t belong to her weren’t meant to be forced.

Never mind, it’s all in the past, thinking about it is meaningless.

Li Hua composed herself and continued focusing on the shop’s matters—the workers continued with the renovation while she worked on the budget.

She found this work quite meaningful, even though it was a bit mentally taxing, but she felt very motivated and enjoyed the process.

It seemed as if the meaning of life was being fulfilled, living not for others but for herself, wholeheartedly for herself.

This feeling was very comforting.

But one can’t work all the time. When fatigued, Li Hua left the manager in charge and took her two maids home to rest.

The palpitations she experienced before taught her a lesson not to overwork herself, or else it would cause more delays if she fell ill.

On the way back, she unexpectedly encountered Xiao Shiqing again.

Perhaps he was conducting some inquiry, as a checkpoint was set up on the road to inspect suspicious passers-by.

Li Hua lowered the curtain, pretending not to see.

However, her carriage was stopped. Li Hua first sent a maid out to ask what was going on. If it was a routine check, she would cooperate; if not, there was no need for her to alight.

Before the maid could speak, Xiao Shiqing walked over to the carriage and spoke softly through the window, "Routine inspection, please cooperate by stepping out, Miss Li."

Li Hua’s fingers trembled slightly; he actually knew it was her sitting inside the carriage... but she quickly regained composure. It was natural for someone in his line of work to remember things they had seen.

Li Hua cooperatively stepped down from the carriage, eyes lowered, standing beside it, neither looking at him nor speaking voluntarily.

Since it was to cooperate with an inspection, she’d only respond if he asked.

Xiao Shiqing didn’t ask her anything, instead, he walked over and lifted the curtain of the carriage with his sword, checking if anyone else was inside, then looked down at her.

Today she looked much better than the other day; though not exactly rosy, she wasn’t deathly pale either.

"Are you feeling better?"

Though there were onlookers around, they stood relatively far due to the guards, and couldn’t hear what was being said, likely assuming it was official business.

Li Hua was somewhat surprised, didn’t expect him to ask so, instinctively looked up at him, only to see his eyes calm, as if he was just asking casually.

Perhaps because he had seen her that way before, hence the question.

Li Hua lowered her eyes, "I’m fine, thank you, Prince Xiao, for your concern." Then she added, "If there’s nothing else, Prince Xiao, I’ll proceed to leave."

Xiao Shiqing said nothing. Li Hua turned around and got back into the carriage without hesitation.

She had once always wanted to follow in his footsteps, just hoping he’d turn around and look at her more. But now, she just wanted to stay far away from this person.

This time, no one stopped their carriage.

Xiao Shiqing, however, looked in the direction of the departing carriage, lost in thought for a moment, then returned to his work.

Inside the carriage, Li Hua secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

In truth, every time she encountered Xiao Shiqing, she had to put on an act, which was exhausting.

Afraid of revealing any flaws.

Even though she herself found such matters implausible, others would think it even more so, so to be safe, she remained cautious.

After all, now that she finally had this opportunity, she just wanted to live her own life well.

The Jade Pendant on her neck felt a little warm, as she held it in her palm.

Sometimes, she even felt it was all a dream, waking up to find it all gone.

Meanwhile, on Qu Fulan’s side, now that the department store issue had stabilized, the matter of having children, which she and Pei Ji’an had previously discussed, was moved up on the agenda.

Also, the emperor wanted his daughter to be happy, so he encouraged Pei Ji’an to stay home with his wife more often, which seemed more conducive to starting a family.

As expected of young couples, there was a certain eagerness regarding some things; usually constrained by work, now they could do as they pleased.

The first night off birth control, they were more indulgent than usual.

At first, Qu Fulan had the strength to take the lead, but later, she couldn’t even lift a hand.

At midnight, Heir Pei didn’t show any signs of fatigue; he first called for water, tidied both himself and her, then had some food brought in. After working most of the night, he was also a bit hungry.

However, he made sure to tidy up the bed before the servants brought in the food. Normally this was done by the maids, but she was too shy to let others see the disarray. The mess was one thing, but the subtle traces were another...

If she’d had the energy, she would have cleaned it up herself, but lacking the strength, she had to ask him to do it.

Heir Pei, being quite satisfied, didn’t mind tidying up the bed, even changed the bedding.

By the time the maids brought the food, the room was presentable, though the freshly arranged bed spoke for itself. They were used to serving them, nothing slipped by them, but they pretended not to notice, respecting their Young Madam’s modesty.

Qu Fulan was a bit hungry too, so she joined in for a light midnight snack. After all, with both of them busy, it made no sense for only him to be hungry; she wasn’t exceptionally fit.

After eating, she fell into a deep sleep, and when Qu Fulan opened her eyes again, it was already bright outside. She moved slightly, only to feel sore all over, evident of the intense activity last night.

The instigator wasn’t by her side; likely off practicing swordsmanship, his daily routine unshakable.

Sure enough, soon Pei Ji’an returned to bathe, seeing her lazily lying on the bed, didn’t come near due to his sweat. He quickly washed up and came out refreshed, then climbed onto the bed to tease her into waking up.

Such is the sweet and sticky life of a young couple.

Meanwhile, single men and women have to rise early to start their day’s work.

But some people and things have a destiny that cannot be avoided, no matter how hard one tries. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

This was what Li Hua felt when she saw Xiao Shiqing again.