My Wife Came From A Thousand Years Ago

Chapter 71: Be Clear

Jiang He returned to her room.

She closed the door, sat on the bed, and didn't hold a hand warmer. She just sat at the edge of the bed, looking out the window, lost in thought.

Caught off guard.

She had already sensed that something was off with Xu Qing. She had secretly observed him, wondering if she had misunderstood. Later, when she saw him trying to bridge the gap in information between them and genuinely helping her understand this place, she pushed those thoughts aside.

And then, he suddenly confessed today?

The reversal was too quick.

If you like someone, just like them openly. If you don't, then leave openly… it has nothing to do with gratitude.

The key was, she hadn’t even thought about these things.

She didn't even know why she wanted to leave.

Thinking about it now, it seemed it was because he was her benefactor, always helping her?

At this thought, Jiang He felt a little ashamed. Having thoughts she shouldn't have toward her benefactor was just wrong.

...Wait a minute, wasn't this exactly what Xu Qing just said?

She reached up to touch the strands of hair by her ear, her expression growing serious.

So this is what felt off.

...

...

In the living room.

Xu Qing was still sitting there, his hands crossed behind his head, leaning back on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

Feelings like this, sure, you could fake them. But that wouldn't do.

He had originally planned to take things slow, waiting until she got used to everything here before considering anything else.

But why couldn’t he just keep his hands to himself?!

Jiang He had already considered sneaking away once. If he didn’t clarify things now, she’d probably figure things out and definitely run off. So he had no choice but to lay it all out for her.

Spelling everything out, whether she stayed or left, was better than letting her slowly realize his feelings and then sneak away on some dark, windy night with her little bag and long sword to wander the world.

Even if she insisted on leaving, he could at least arrange a place for her to stay. Otherwise, she’d have nowhere to go, and might end up scaling walls and sleeping on rooftops wrapped in a coat to stay warm.

Nowadays, everything was made of concrete and steel. She wouldn’t get far before starving.

So he just went for it.

He had to make Jiang He understand the difference between gratitude and affection. The two couldn’t be lumped together. If he didn't make this clear, she’d keep mixing the two up, and things would get weird.

Was he lying?

No.

It's just that liking someone doesn't follow logic. Trying to rationalize it is the biggest joke of all.

But Jiang He needed logic. Her little head was hung up on this idea of gratitude. So he had to explain it to her; otherwise, she’d always have this thorn in her heart.

Liking is liking. Not liking is not liking—if she doesn’t like him, he’d just have to stick around until she did. If he couldn’t even do that, how could he call it liking?

Pfft!

Of course, that was only after she figured things out and set aside her sense of obligation. Otherwise, convincing her now would be deceitful, not genuine pursuit.

What needed to be repaid should be repaid. What needed to be thanked should be thanked. Liking should be liking. And not liking should be not liking.

If, in the end, she truly didn’t like him, so be it. His feelings didn’t need logic, and her lack of feelings didn’t need it either. Xu Qing was clear on that.

If it really turned out that way, having once liked her would still be a nice memory. But letting gratitude get in the way? No way.

These past few months of living together had been pretty happy.

The afternoon sunlight slanted into the living room, lighting up half of Xu Qing’s face. He tilted his head and glanced at Jiang He’s door, which remained closed.

Leave? Stay?

Who knew what she was thinking. She’d probably choose to leave…

He sighed softly, feeling a sense of loss.

Winter Melon paced around the table, then jumped up beside him on the couch, curling up in a patch of sunlight filtering through the window. Lazily closing its eyes, its tail brushed across Xu Qing's leg.

It wasn’t until dusk that Jiang He’s door finally creaked open. She walked out with a serious expression, stealing a glance at Xu Qing before heading straight to the kitchen.

??

Hearing the noise, Xu Qing turned his head, stunned for a moment. Watching her shuffle into the kitchen in her slippers, the room suddenly felt brighter.

“Figured things out?” he asked, leaning against the kitchen doorway, watching her tie on an apron.

“Figured… figured what out?” Jiang He turned her head, avoiding his gaze.

“What were you thinking about in there for so long?”

“I took a nap.”

“...”

Xu Qing froze. “You were napping all afternoon?”

“Yeah… that’s right.”

She tied her apron, paused, then looked up at him seriously. “You made a good point. Gratitude is gratitude, and li... those two things are different. So you can… you can like me, but you can’t chase after me.”

“Okay, I won’t chase you.” Xu Qing resisted the urge to pinch her cheek.

She looked kind of cute like this.

“And no crossing boundaries, like what you just did.” Jiang He gestured by brushing her hair back.

“Okay, no crossing boundaries.”

“You told me to leave before, and I didn’t. If I left now, I’d be betraying your kindness. I’ll work hard to repay you, and then… then…”

Jiang He hesitated, her ears turning red. “Then… we’ll talk about it later.”

“Talk about it later?” Xu Qing’s expression turned strange.

“Talk about it later,” Jiang He affirmed with a firm nod.

“Alright, we’ll talk about it later.”

Xu Qing leaned against the doorway, not moving. Then he said, “If I ever do that thing again, you can hit me… just don’t kill me. I’m weak, so go easy. Just don’t talk about leaving…”

“I can’t hit you,” Jiang He shook her head.

“Then what was with the clenched fists earlier?”

“I was just thinking about it.”

“...”

Great, she still wanted to hit him. This girl’s go-to response was always violence.

The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board echoed. Jiang He chopped half a head of vegetables, then glanced back at Xu Qing, still standing there. “Why are you still here?”

“Watching.”

“Don’t distract me from cooking.”

“Standing here distracts you?” Xu Qing shrugged but didn’t move, continuing to lean against the door frame. He asked, “Can you tell the difference between gratitude and affection?”

“Huh?”

“When I help you and you feel grateful, that’s normal. But gratitude and affection are two different things. I’m worried you’ll mix them up.” He explained, “If you mistake gratitude for affection, it’s no different from me lying to you.”

“I don’t like you!” Jiang He’s voice was loud.

“Okay, okay, I’m just asking if you can tell the difference. No need to shout…”

Xu Qing wanted to laugh. Classic guilty conscience.

“I wasn’t shouting,” Jiang He denied. After hesitating, she asked, “How do you tell the difference?”

“Want me to teach you?”

“Okay.”

“Then promise you won’t hit me or talk about leaving. This is just a normal demonstration, to see if you like me or not.”

“I don’t like you,” Jiang He refuted, then added, “Go ahead with the demonstration.”

“Alright, don’t move. Just stay still… it’s just a test.”

Xu Qing stepped into the kitchen, stood behind her, and gently hugged her. The warmth of her sweater seeped through to him.

The faint scent of her shampoo filled his nose, and he cautiously took a whiff.

“How does it feel?”

“N-Nothing.”

Jiang He froze in front of the cutting board, flustered, her heart beating faster against her will.

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