The Powerful Minister I Forcefully Married Won't Warm Up; After Rebirth, I Give Up the Chase - Chapter 4

Pei Jian  also possessed exceptionally handsome looks.

When Nianxi  was with him in her previous life, she was always nervous and shy.

She dared not look up, afraid her smile wouldn’t be demure; she dared not speak, afraid her knowledge was shallow. Even sipping tea in front of him required repeated thought, lest her manners weren’t elegant enough.

She was always afraid he would see her flaws and worried that he wouldn’t like her.

Her brother had mentioned that Pei Jian liked refreshing drinks. Nianxi, who had always been pampered, spent the sweltering summer months buried in the kitchen just to make various soups and juices with different textures for him.

She would meticulously analyze every word Pei Jian spoke.

She would carefully ponder his meanings, and then she would transform herself into the person he liked.

Chasing a person is truly exhausting.

The fifteen-year-old Nianxi might have grit her teeth and endured, but the twenty-eight-year-old Nianxi would absolutely refuse to compromise herself again.

“This kite is probably broken,” Nianxi said, her expression relaxed, giving the answer as a matter of course.

If the kite wouldn’t fly, it must be the kite’s fault.

Gu Ci  was amused by her words.

He saw the blush from her recent running still on her delicate, snow-white face. Her chin was small and pointed, her eyes were alluring and bright, and her dimples were shallow, smiling as if rippling with spring water.

She was utterly captivating and lovable.

Gu Ci looked away awkwardly. “The kite is too big; it needs a horse to run and pull it up to fly.”

“I don’t know how to ride a horse. Could you help me?”

She looked up at him slightly, her voice soft and tender, her almond eyes innocent.

Who could refuse such a request?

At least Gu Ci could not.

He had noticed her from the moment she stepped out of her carriage.

It was impossible not to notice her; she seemed to monopolize the springtime of Qushui, leaving only her bright figure in the colorful world.

And so, Gu Ci personally rode his horse, helping Nianxi fly the kite highest and farthest.

Wang Muyi looked at the kite in the sky, incredulous. “How did you do that? The little General Gu, who looks down on everyone, personally flew a kite for you.”

The noon sun was a bit strong. Nianxi pulled her cousin to the shade of a tree and answered without turning her head, “I don’t know how to ride a horse.”

“…Is this about riding a horse?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Nianxi turned, her bright face beaming with willful confidence. “We couldn’t get it to fly ourselves.”

“Didn’t you see the ladies over there practically glaring their eyes out?”

Nianxi was truly amused by her cousin’s words and burst out laughing. The sky was clear and blue, illuminating her delicate features with dazzling radiance.

“I don’t care,” she said softly.

When she was young, due to a sense of propriety and concern for appearances, she only dared to show three parts of her ten parts of joy, often being insincere, indirect, and hesitant.

Now, she was mature enough to express her likes and dislikes and no longer cared about the opinions of others.

Gu Ci was prominent and outstanding, with a clean temperament. Being around him made Nianxi feel happy.

That was enough.

Reborn, she only wanted to please herself.

“As long as I’m happy.”

Wang Muyi opened her mouth, unsure what to say.

She turned to see the vibrant, lively look in her cousin’s eyes and on her face, like a blazing, burning flame filled with infinite vitality, yet within that brilliance seemed to lie a desolate, indifferent loneliness.

Such a combination of lush beauty and deep desolation.

She suddenly felt that Gu Ci being captivated by Nianxi was a perfectly normal, small matter.

While she was lost in thought, Nianxi had already stepped forward, taken the kite string Gu Ci handed over, and looked up to thank him in a soft voice.

Gu Ci’s face flushed from the young woman’s straightforward praise, and a thin layer of sweat broke out on his palm.

Watching Nianxi carefully hold the kite string, he said, seemingly nonchalantly, “Horse riding isn’t difficult, actually. You just need to choose a gentle horse, and most importantly, find a reliable teacher to guide you.”

Nianxi agreed casually. “Is that so?”

Gu Ci continued, as if speaking offhandedly, “I’ve been practicing riding and archery since I was five, so my riding skills are pretty good.”

Nianxi handed the string to the maidservant Xingyue  and turned to look straight at him.

Gu Ci felt his throat tighten under her gaze, embarrassed as if his intentions had been exposed on the spot.

Just as he was about to say something, Nianxi suddenly leaned closer, lifting her hand to brush a fallen flower petal from his shoulder.

Gu Ci had not yet come of age (jiaguan), and his long hair was tied high at the back of his head. He was extremely tall, and as he spoke to her, bending slightly, the end of his hair trailed down.

A spring breeze blew, lightly scattering petals onto Nianxi’s chest.

Only then did he realize how close they were.

His breath was filled with the sweet, fresh scent of the young woman.

Gu Ci couldn’t name the fragrance, only that it made his heart beat faster and faster.

“It was a fallen flower,” Nianxi quickly stepped back, smiling as she asked him, “I’d like to learn to ride a horse, but I wonder if it’s difficult?”

Even though Gu Ci had never before been so eager to please any other lady, this felt like a man’s instinct, reacting before his brain could process:

“It’s not difficult. I’ll teach you.”

Nianxi smiled and agreed. Then, pointing to Wang Muyi under the tree, she said, “I was so busy talking to you that I neglected my cousin.”

“I should go now. Thank you again for helping me fly the kite today.”

She was not feigning modesty, and she left with easy, unburdened grace. Not waiting for him to say anything more, she walked away, taking that hazy spring aura with her.

Gu Ci had never felt this way before.

His heart felt clenched.

Beside her, he couldn’t even think; he was only captivated by her every glance and smile. He was clearly not an introverted person—he had many friends and knew many noblewomen from families with whom his family had generational ties. Yet, no one had ever been as irresistible to him as Nianxi.

Gazing at her retreating, graceful figure, Gu Ci couldn’t help but call out, drawing many watchful eyes:

“Next time I have a break from my studies, I’ll teach you how to ride!”

“I’d love that!”