Blind and Bereft

Chapter 59 | Family

Jingrui stepped away from him and cleared her throat. "I-I don't understand what you are saying." She scratched her head, pondering over his words.

To be frank, she had thought of Prince Zhanying first, but she knew that he wouldn't teach her. He may be strong, but he seemed too dignified to have the patience to teach.

How different he was from her master.

She looked up at him, realising that he was her master's son. She messaged her temple as her head began to spin. He did not look one bit like her master. The youth in him was radiant, despite having lived for millennia. She stared at him as his pale skin glistened in the moonlight, and his eyes, as deep as an abyss, carved out her soul.

His brows arched up. "Do you love looking at me that much?"

Jingrui gulped and quickly glanced away. "I-I was just thinking that at times, I found that you are quite like my master. But when I look closely, you don't look like him at all. You are cold and scary. . ." She trailed off when she caught his cutting gaze. She closed her eyes and hit her head, realising she may have insulted him. "No, no, I didn't mean you are cold and scary, I just meant that—"

"So, it is." He took a step forward, his eyes dancing with amusement. "So, it is because I am not like your master, therefore I do not deserve to teach you."

Jingrui blinked. "No, that's not it."

"You are scared of me, so you go off asking Yuansong to train you instead." He came so close to her that her breathing began to quicken. "But, Bao Bao, if you really want to improve your cultivation, shouldn't you have come to me?"

Jingrui's voice was lost at that moment. She fixed her jaw and cleared her throat. "Your Highness . . . Your Highness can't possibly be in a bad mood all this time because I have asked Yuansong to train me and not you, right?"

He took a deep breath and turned away to leave. "Precisely. But I guess, to Bao Bao, I am . . . cold and scary." He chuckled softly. "I don't blame you for not asking me to teach you. I have always been the one the world fears."

Jingrui's heart thumped, and before he could leave, she clamped her hand onto his sleeve. "Teach me." Desperation filled her voice. "I just didn't know you'd be so willing. Who doesn't want the God of War to teach them? I just didn't want to bother you. You're a busy man, and I barely see you in the palace. . ." she lowered her gaze, and her voice softened. "I just thought you'd never have time for me."

When he didn't speak, she nudged his sleeve, a frown etching over her face. "I really did think of you first, Your Highness. I always knew you'd be the best at teaching me just as your father was."

He looked at her hand on his sleeve and scoffed. "Which father?"

"My master, of course. He has been the one who cared for me and taught me to cultivate. He was also the one who loved me most. I think he would want you, as his son, to treat me the same as well."

There was no understanding within his eyes. "Treat you the same?" He tilted his head to the side. "Are you saying that you want me to . . . care for you like my father?"

She nodded.

He brought his hand up to his forehead and took a deep breath, "You want me to love you most?"

She nodded again, but then her body instantly went rigid when his words cut through her thick skull. Judging from his expression, he must have misinterpreted her words. Heat came over her face, and she shook her head. "N-No, not in that way." She cleared her throat. Shaking off the strange discomfort, a smile plastered over her face. "I mean that you are my master's son, and I am Master's disciple. In a sense, we are family. You are my family now."

His body tensed and he looked up at her as if he could not comprehend a single word she had said. He tried to form the word, and it took him a long time before it rolled from his tongue, "Family?" There was a bitterness in the way it came out of him.

She gulped. "Yes, family."

A tense chuckle escaped his lips. "I don't know what that is." He turned to her and took heavy steps forward. "The person I thought was my father all this time, turned out to be a sinner. The one who's supposed to be my father, I have never seen. My mother had died since I was in my youth. My brother attempted assassinations on me every chance he gets. What is 'family'?"

Jingrui felt her heart drop to her stomach, and her grip on his sleeve tightened. "Love," she said and the warm word brought a smile back to her face, but it only made the question in his eyes grow.

"There is no such thing as love in a family, Bao Bao. You are too young to figure." He looked up towards the sky, and his eyes became filled with bitterness. "Just like how your father had hurt you, do you think there was ever love?"

Jingrui shook her head and clenched her fists. She took a step forward, feeling a shadow cast upon her heart at the hate and grief that pervaded every inch of his voice. "Family is not just about blood, you know. You see, you can search for it without yielding. But all that you have to do is look up and turn around. There, they will be when the lights are low, waiting for you to see them."

His jaw clenched. "I don't understand."

Jingrui gave a loud sigh. "Well, for example . . . Yuansong. He's always there for Your Highness like a family. Or, the Third Uncle Yunru who helps you through all calamities." She smiled at him with a smile that could fill any void with light. "And now, I will be your family. You should know that within the Heavenly Palace, the person I trust and love most is you."

Every inch of him went rigid. He tilted his head her way, his chest rose and fell in a harsh rhythm. A substantial amount of bafflement was imbued in his cool eyes. The thick silence clung over them as he made no movements.

After what seemed like an eternity of stillness, he let out a soft chuckle. "I don't think . . . I quite understand Bao Bao's definition of love."

She smiled as she took a deep breath, letting the intoxicating fragrance of peach blossoms drug her soul. "Since you are my young master, will you teach me now?"

He tensed up again and brought his hand to his temple. "I am not your young master. I am your Prince." He snapped his gaze at her. "Just because my biological father is your master, doesn't mean you can drop the formality, Bao Bao. Besides, if you were to ever become my family, it won't be in that sense."

Jingrui placed her hands on her waist, and her smile dropped. "Fine, Prince." She crossed her arms. "Just pretend like I had never said all that. Will you teach me now?"

He ran his hand into his hair and a sigh parted his lips. "Did you say all those flattering words just to coax me into teaching you?"

"No. I really meant those words, but since Prince doesn't like it, I won't say them again." She crossed her arms and grumbled under her breath, "And you were the one who wanted to teach me first. Clearly, playing hard to get."

He looked straight at her, his face was blank. "I am hard to get."

A line appeared between her brows as she didn't know how she was ought to reply. She cleared her throat. "So, will you teach me?"

Prince Zhanying grimaced and eyed her with a certain warmth that flushed a strange feeling over her. She gulped it down, feeling her chest tighten, and her breathing heavy. "W-Why are you looking at me like that?"

He drew his brows together as he turned away. "Why am I lenient on you, Bao Bao? Why is that even the fruit says it's you?" he muttered so quietly, Jingrui was sure he was talking to himself. He looked heavenward. "Forget it. I am not a kind and patient teacher, but since Bao Bao has asked, I shall teach."

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