The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night-Chapter 122: My Cousin Hides So Well

"Cousin, I’m much better now."

Zhi Wan’s voice pulled Lu Zhan back from his thoughts.

He paused. He lifted his gaze to the charming and lovely cousin before him, the emotions in his eyes complex and unreadable.

’His cousin was the very girl from his dreams he had been searching so desperately for!’

All this time, his cousin had acted weak and timid. He had always believed her to be shy, and even more so, pure. Yet in his dreams, she was so bold and fiery.

If not for the mole on her hand, he would have never connected her with the girl from his dreams.

Their personalities were poles apart, completely different.

’Who would have thought his cousin was the girl from his dreams?’

To think he had searched for the girl from his dreams for so long, only to find that she had been by his side all along!

Lu Zhan suddenly smiled.

’His cousin had hidden herself so well, he hadn’t noticed it was her at all.’

If he hadn’t followed them to Red Leaf Village this time, and if Shuang’er hadn’t happened to mention the wound on his cousin’s back, he could have searched every Brothel in the world and never found her.

Because he had been wrong from the very beginning.

She wasn’t a Courtesan at all, but a proper young lady from a good family, and right under his nose at that.

Seeing him suddenly start to laugh, Zhi Wan felt a little unsettled. She gently shook his hand and called out cautiously, "Cousin?"

Lu Zhan stifled his smile and looked down at her.

The young woman’s beautiful, almond-shaped eyes watched him timidly, filled with what seemed to be doubt and confusion...

Looking at this version of his cousin, Lu Zhan almost thought he had made a mistake.

After all, her personality was a world away from the girl in his dreams.

But there was clearly a small mole between his cousin’s fingers. There was no doubt she was the girl from his dreams.

At this thought, Lu Zhan stared deeply at Zhi Wan.

’To think this was what his cousin was really like!’

’No one would ever imagine that his cousin was so bold and fiery in private.’

’If his cousin knew that the man she met with in her dreams was him, how would she react?’

In an instant, a thousand thoughts raced through Lu Zhan’s mind.

But in the end, he calmed himself.

’Now isn’t the time to reveal the truth.’

Although his cousin acted outrageously and boldly in the dream, he could feel that she was quite guarded around him and didn’t want him to know her identity.

Besides, his cousin was only focused on recruiting a live-in husband.

’If she knew he was the man who shared her dreams, how would she face the situation?’

’She would probably run away.’

Thinking of this, Lu Zhan’s dark eyes narrowed. At the same time, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside him.

His cousin had always appeared pure and flawless, weak and innocent. He had always seen her as a sister, doting on her, protecting her, and never allowing anyone to bully her. He’d never had a single profane thought about her. Yet in his dreams, he had thoroughly taken advantage of her, engaging in the most intimate of acts.

’Her lips, her body...’

Lu Zhan’s dark eyes darkened a few shades. He suddenly felt a sense of self-loathing.

When he first started having those dreams, he thought his life was just too dull and boring, so he had conjured up such a girl in his dreams to relieve the tedium. In those dreams, he acted without restraint, doing all sorts of intimate things with the girl without any sense of burden.

Later, when he discovered the girl actually existed, he wanted to take responsibility for her, but she refused. So, he decided he wanted nothing more to do with her. The dreams, however, were not under his control, and he still dreamt of her.

Not long ago, he had come to terms with it. A fleeting affair was just a fleeting affair. But he still hadn’t given up on the idea of finding her.

But he never, ever expected that the girl was his always-weak, timid, pure, and innocent cousin.

This discovery today completely overturned all his impressions of his cousin, leaving him profoundly shaken.

In his dreams, he could act without restraint because he didn’t know who the girl was or what her name was.

Now that he knew the girl from his dreams was his cousin, he suddenly found it hard to look at her the same way.

"Cousin?" Seeing him remain silent for so long while still holding her hand, Zhi Wan couldn’t help but call out to him again.

Meeting his cousin’s pure, untainted eyes, the myriad emotions in Lu Zhan’s heart settled into calm.

"Hm?"

"I’m all right now," Zhi Wan said, trying to pull her hand away slightly.

Only then did Lu Zhan seem to remember, but he didn’t immediately let go of her hand.

He lowered his head and once again examined his cousin’s hand.

The mole was clearly visible in the water.

He paused, his thin lips pressing together slightly. A moment later, he helped Zhi Wan up, then took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the water from her hand.

Watching the man who had lowered his head to wipe her hand, Zhi Wan’s brow twitched. She quickly pulled her hand away and stammered, "C-Cousin, I can do it myself."

Lu Zhan raised his eyes to look at her, saying nothing for a long moment.

Zhi Wan felt her scalp tingle under his gaze. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the way her cousin was looking at her was rather puzzling.

She subconsciously glanced down at her clothes but found nothing amiss, and she finally let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Zhan concealed the thoughts in his eyes, returning to his usual demeanor.

He silently handed the handkerchief to her. "It’s still wet. Wipe it some more."

Zhi Wan wanted to say that she had her own handkerchief, but seeing as he had already wiped most of the water off for her and the handkerchief was already wet, refusing now would seem a bit pretentious. So, she took it silently, planning to wash it and return it to her cousin later.

She lowered her head to wipe her hand, but she could feel her cousin’s gaze fixed upon her, making her feel completely uncomfortable.

’Why is Cousin looking at me like that?’

Thinking about how her cousin had just pulled her away by the hand in front of everyone, she couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

Her cousin was so hard to figure out tonight.

At this thought, she lifted her eyelids and stole a glance at her cousin.

But she saw that he had already looked away and was gazing at the moon in the distance, his hands clasped behind his back.

Seeing this, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

’Maybe I’m just overthinking things.’

She comforted herself.

"Wanwan, how are you?"

Just then, Ouyang Zhenzhu’s worried voice rang out.

Zhi Wan turned her head and saw Ouyang Zhenzhu bustling over, with Duan Ling following behind her.

"Cousin Zhi Wan, are you all right?" Duan Ling also asked with concern.

"I’m fine," Zhi Wan said hurriedly, folding the handkerchief and tucking it into her sleeve.

But Ouyang Zhenzhu was still worried. She grabbed her hand and inspected it carefully. "That tea was so hot, and your skin is so delicate. You must have burned yourself. Why don’t we go to a clinic to have it looked at?"

"It’s fine. I already soaked it in well water. It doesn’t burn anymore," Zhi Wan said.

"Are you really sure?" Ouyang Zhenzhu was extremely worried.

"I’m really fine," Zhi Wan said with a firm nod.

Ouyang Zhenzhu finally relaxed and rubbed her stomach. "I’m so hungry. Are you hungry? After all that commotion, we still haven’t had dinner."

Zhi Wan hadn’t felt it before, but hearing her mention it now, she too realized she was starving and couldn’t help but secretly rub her stomach.

Lu Zhan noticed her small movement. He paused for a moment, then said, "Let’s go. Time to go up and eat."