The Yandere Queen's Manual for Training Her Wife - Chapter 8

Convinced by Qin Yan, Xia Mingtang finally gave up her plan to acquire the Cat-Noodle Restaurant. Although she said she had given up, she was still not reconciled.

While shopping at the market later, she bought many things in a retaliatory manner, successfully decorating Qin Yan like a Christmas tree.

Now, back at the inn, Xia Mingtang sat in a chair in the lobby, her mouth pouting so much you could hang an oil pot from it.

Qin Yan saw this, and her voice was soft and teasing. “Whose little girl is so angry?”

Xia Mingtang, knowing she was being childish, pursed her lips and tried to look serious, but the sulky expression on her face remained.

She really was a little girl with a temper.

Qin Yan found it amusing and deliberately prodded her. “Still thinking about acquiring that noodle restaurant?”

Xia Mingtang looked at Qin Yan with a genuinely puzzled and slightly wronged expression. “Sister, you obviously liked that noodle restaurant a lot. Why did you stop me from buying it?”

Qin Yan hadn’t expected that the absurd idea from the little girl was born out of her own fondness for the place.

Her eyelashes drooped, the glint of darkness in her eyes disappearing in an instant. She lowered her head and gave a smile that could be called gentle.

“Because people must learn to restrain their desires. If you must have everything you like, it could lead to severe consequences that are difficult to bear.”

As she said this, her middle finger’s nail dug into her palm until a trace of blood oozed out, yet she felt no pain.

Xia Mingtang didn’t notice this detail. She just felt that Qin Yan was a little strange at that moment. It was just about acquiring a noodle restaurant; was it necessary to be so dramatic and talk about severe consequences?

However, Xia Mingtang didn’t dare to talk back. She had a gut feeling that Qin Yan was not happy, and as a “suitor of Qin Yan,” she had to try her best to cheer her up.

She reached out to hook Qin Yan’s pinky finger, causing the several packages on her arm to sway precariously.

“Don’t be unhappy, Sister. I won’t buy that noodle restaurant. Even though we don’t have the noodle restaurant now, I bought osmanthus cakes, chestnut cakes, a wood carving, a knitted scarf… I’ll give all of these to you.”

As she spoke, she used one hand to pull all the packages off her body, piling them up in front of Qin Yan like she was offering treasures.

Her movements were hasty, and the Christmas tree that was once fully decorated was suddenly swept by a gust of wind, quickly becoming bare with only its branches left.

Qin Yan stared at the various packages that clattered to the floor in front of her for a second. “You bought so many things, and you’re giving all of them to me?”

“I bought them for you from the start. Are you happy, Sister?” Xia Mingtang looked up at Qin Yan, her face screaming “praise me,” her beautiful big eyes blinking.

Qin Yan’s slender fingers swept over the packages of all sizes, most of which were childish trinkets.

As a child, she had indeed liked these things very much, but no one had bought them for her.

Later, she became very rich and never lacked gifts, but those gifts were all expensive and came with a clearly priced purpose.

However, no one was like the little girl in front of her, who had decorated herself like a Christmas tree, with the sole purpose of making her happy.

Although this little girl’s intentions had been glaringly obvious since she first entered the inn… it was different. People who wear their hearts on their sleeves are the easiest to get along with.

“I like them very much.” Qin Yan’s smile was very gentle as she reached out and stroked Xia Mingtang’s head. Her hair, which had been cleaned that morning, still had a faint fragrance, like spring daisies, which was a bit of a contrast to her bright and pretty face.

“As long as you’re happy, Sister.” Xia Mingtang, delighted to receive her approval, bounced off the chair like a little fox cub. “I’ll take all these things to your room then.”

As she said this, she picked up the packages again, hanging them on herself one by one. Tying so many knots was quite a hassle.

She was halfway through when she suddenly came to her senses: ‘Wait a minute, these things were supposed to go to Qin Yan’s room anyway, why did I take them off just now?’

This was the third time Xia Mingtang had been to Qin Yan’s room. Unlike the previous two times, when she only sat on the sofa for a short while, this time she had more time to look around properly.

She categorized the gifts she had bought for Qin Yan and placed them in different spots, all while taking the opportunity to look around.

The room occupied the best location in the entire inn, but… how should one put it? Qin Yan’s room looked more like a guest room than a regular guest room.

Xia Mingtang scanned the spacious and somewhat empty room, her gaze finally landing on the smooth, jade abacus on the cabinet in the living room—the very one Qin Yan had been fiddling with on the day she entered the inn.

She instantly remembered her mission and, pretending to be a country bumpkin, exclaimed, “Wow, Sister, the craftsmanship on this jade abacus is so exquisite!”

After saying this, she secretly praised herself in her mind for her progress. This time, she didn’t ask directly where the abacus was from but instead knew how to beat around the bush.

Qin Yan just smiled without saying a word.

Had no one ever told this little girl that every time she was up to something, a pair of fluffy fox ears seemed to pop out of her head?

Seeing that Qin Yan didn’t say anything, Xia Mingtang thought her hint was too subtle and the other party didn’t get it, so she took it a step further.

“Sister, did you have this abacus custom-made, or was it a gift from someone? If it was a gift, your relationship must be very good.”

Pfft!

Some people just can’t be subtle for more than a minute. Even if others don’t respond, she can fill in the blanks herself.

Qin Yan looked at the eager little girl, and since she was in a good mood, she replied, “This abacus was indeed given to me by someone else, but if we’re talking about a good relationship, the friend who gave me these kneepads has an even better one.”

As she spoke, she picked up the knight’s kneepads hanging on a rack and carefully brushed off nonexistent dust. “Xiao Hua, it’s New Year’s Day tomorrow. Let’s go horseback riding.”

“Huh?”

The topic changed so quickly that Xia Mingtang didn’t react for a moment and instinctively nodded in agreement. “Okay.”

Yunzhen is like spring all year round. Even in the middle of winter, the area around the horse farm is covered in continuous greenery.

Xia Mingtang stood in front of the wooden stable, holding a handful of fresh hay, and wiggled it at the nose of a small gray horse.

But the horse was not as docile as she had imagined and didn’t enjoy the treat. Instead, it turned its head and snorted twice in disdain.

Xia Mingtang chased the little gray horse with the hay for a long time, but all she ever saw was its hindquarters.

She began to have doubts about the horse. “Sister, does this horse have an eating disorder?”

Qin Yan’s thin lips curled up. She had been watching silently from the side. Now, meeting the little girl’s genuinely puzzled eyes, she patiently explained.

“Xiao Wuzei is the most unique horse in the entire stable. You have to pet its mane and calm it down before feeding it, otherwise, it would rather go hungry than eat.”

As she spoke, she took a horse brush and began to brush the hair on Wuzei’s head. The horse had been cleaned not long ago, so her actions were purely for comfort.

Soon, Wuzei stopped trying to play hide-and-seek and voluntarily approached Qin Yan, gently rubbing its head against her arm.

Xia Mingtang watched with fascination and took the brush, imitating Qin Yan’s movements to brush the horse.

Wuzei felt the change in the scent beside it and shot Xia Mingtang a displeased look, but after a few seconds of hesitation, it didn’t move away.

“It really is a horse with a strange temper. Have you fed it before, Sister?”

Qin Yan’s smile was light. “Yes, I quite like this little guy with a personality.”

‘Sigh, it seems Qin Yan’s preferences are also a bit strange,’ Xia Mingtang thought to herself.

After some “flattering” on Xia Mingtang’s part, Wuzei finally deigned to eat the hay from her hand.

Qin Yan watched Xia Mingtang clumsily feeding the horse, her thin lips opening slightly. “Have you ridden a horse before, Xiao Hua?”

“I rode when I was a kid, but those horses were too clumsy and couldn’t keep up with me, so I stopped liking it.” Xia Mingtang seized the opportunity while Wuzei was eating to rub its ears, successfully earning a kick of mud from its hoof.

“Then we’ve come to the right place. The horses here are all very smart.”

Hearing this, Xia Mingtang, who had been on the losing end of the struggle with Wuzei,’s eyes lit up. She grabbed a handful of Wuzei’s mane. “Okay, then I want to ride Wuzei later!”

“That’s right, just hold the reins and let the horse run on its own. It knows the way. Don’t touch its ears and don’t pull its hair.”

Qin Yan had been a little worried about Xia Mingtang’s riding skills, but now that she saw her nimbly getting on the horse and holding the reins, she felt she had worried too much.

The girl who looked a little delicate actually had some riding skills, but her hands just couldn’t stay still.

Although Wuzei was initially unhappy with the person on its back, once the saddle was on, it became more of a “horse,” and its four hooves started to trot.

Xia Mingtang followed Qin Yan’s instructions, holding the reins with both hands and riding against the wind.

She was wearing a bright little vest with jeans, and her thick wavy hair was tied in a fluffy ponytail. With the agile horse beneath her, the person and the horse were free and unrestrained in the sunshine, looking young and spirited.

Qin Yan was wearing a silver and white fitted riding suit, looking more handsome and vibrant than usual. The large white horse with dark hooves beneath her seemed to have a great rapport with her, following not too far behind.

The horse galloped for a thousand meters. Not far ahead was a small alley leading to a residential area. Seeing the fence, Xia Mingtang pulled the reins to signal Wuzei to turn back.

But Wuzei had been here before and had its own route.

A stubborn person met a stubborn horse, and neither was willing to compromise, so they circled the fence, deadlocked.

Xia Mingtang, mentally complaining about the horse’s low intelligence, took out her whip and smacked the horse’s butt.

Wuzei let out two heavy snorts from its nostrils, reared up its front hooves, and forcefully stomped back and forth along the edge of the grass.

Up to this point, it was just a childish person and a childish horse throwing a tantrum, which was harmless.

Although Xia Mingtang was bounced around on the horse’s back a few times, she still held onto the reins tightly.

Suddenly, however, a “crackle” came from in front of the horse, and sparks seemed to fly from its hooves as they were lifted.

Wuzei, already agitated, was startled. It let out a long neigh, suddenly stood up at a 75-degree angle, and then began to run wildly along the edge of the horse farm.

At this point, Xia Mingtang had completely lost control of the horse’s direction. With a strong will to survive, she leaned over and held onto the horse’s neck tightly to keep from falling off.

The horse, feeling restricted, bucked even more violently.

As it ran, it stepped on more of the same things, which crackled and produced smoke under its hooves.

All of this happened in a flash. Qin Yan, who was a short distance away, saw something was wrong and spurred her horse to chase after them.

Xia Mingtang, who was now being shaken like popcorn on the horse’s back, no longer dared to be reckless. She just shrieked for the horse to stop, but the horse wasn’t listening to her at all.

“Xiao Hua, grip the horse’s belly with your legs, don’t strangle its neck!” Qin Yan, riding her big white horse, gradually closed the distance between them, but Wuzei was out of control now, and she couldn’t get too close.

Xia Mingtang couldn’t hear anyone talking to her at this point. She was hugging the horse’s neck, crying loudly.

Hearing the shaky and broken sobs, Qin Yan rode her horse, Bai Xue, right behind them.

Seeing that the distance between the two horses was less than a meter, Qin Yan seized the opportunity, flipped from Bai Xue’s back, used the stirrup for leverage, and landed quickly on the back of the frantic Wuzei.

Xia Mingtang, who was now bouncing on the horse’s back like a spring, and whose tears had soaked a large area of the horse’s neck, suddenly felt an extra person behind her and momentarily forgot to cry.

Qin Yan squeezed the horse’s belly with her legs, grabbed the reins with one hand, and with the other, she yanked Xia Mingtang up from the horse’s neck.

Xia Mingtang, who had been scared out of her wits, felt a soft curve against her back and was inexplicably filled with a sense of security, even though she was still shaking underneath like she was on a roller coaster.

She was now holding onto Qin Yan much tighter than she had been holding onto the horse’s neck, as if this would prevent her from falling off.

Wuzei was still trying its best to throw the people off its back, but under the pull of the reins, it was forced to run toward the center of the horse farm. However, with the current situation, it couldn’t be stopped right away.

“I’ll count to three, then we’ll jump off the horse together. Hold on tight.” Qin Yan, while controlling the horse, leaned in and instructed Xia Mingtang’s ear.

Xia Mingtang nodded groggily, not even understanding what was happening, when she heard a clear and firm voice next to her ear.

“Three”

“Two”

“One”

“Hold on tight!”

Xia Mingtang instinctively wrapped her arms around Qin Yan’s waist. She only felt her body suddenly lighten, and the next second, she was spinning.

The horse was running so fast that even though Qin Yan had used her agility to offset some of the momentum when she jumped off, they still couldn’t avoid rolling a few times after they landed.

Fortunately, this was the central, flat area of the horse farm, so a few tumbles wouldn’t be a problem.

Xia Mingtang squeezed her eyes shut. In her ears were the sound of the wind, the neighing of the horse as it galloped away, the smell of grass mixed with dirt in the air, and an indescribably pleasant, subtle fragrance.

Perhaps it was a few seconds, or maybe longer, but the world around her gradually became quiet.

Xia Mingtang’s eyelashes fluttered, and she hesitantly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the familiar and gentle face of the person directly above her.

“Waaa~ Qin Yan!”

Xia Mingtang hugged her savior without a care for her image. How had she never realized before that Qin Yan was glowing!

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