Chapter 348: Chapter 326, Not Happening_1
“Childhood friends…I suppose that’s one way to put it. Otherwise, why would the Little Prince be so patient with Jiang Wanying, even stopping several times to wait for her? It seems their relationship is quite good.”
As Dong Yuanyao spoke, she carefully observed Daohua’s facial expression, noticing a slight frown, she touched her and asked, “Are you really okay?”
Daohua looked at Dong Yuanyao with confusion, “Why do you keep asking that? What could be wrong with me?”
Dong Yuanyao knitted her brows, “Are you genuinely clueless, or are you just playing dumb with me?”
Daohua turned to face Dong Yuanyao directly, “I really don’t understand what you mean. Tell me, what’s wrong with me?”
Dong Yuanyao glanced around to see everyone’s attention focused on the dragon boat race, then nodded towards Xiao Yeyang and Jiang Wanying and whispered, “Doesn’t it bother you to see the Little Prince walking with another girl?”
Upon hearing this, Daohua finally understood Dong Yuanyao’s meaning and scoffed, “Why should I feel uncomfortable? Who Xiao Yeyang is with is his business, and what does it have to do with me?”
Dong Yuanyao scrutinized Daohua closely, her gaze evaluative.
Daohua met her gaze squarely, allowing her to probe.
After a moment, Dong Yuanyao, seeing no change in Daohua’s expression, exaggeratedly breathed a sigh of relief, “Don’t take it the wrong way, I’m really just concerned for your sake, worried you might…”
Daohua cut her off, “Worried I might have feelings for Xiao Yeyang?”
Dong Yuanyao nodded, “Don’t be mad at me for thinking that. It’s just that you and the Little Prince seem too close.”
Daohua smiled, “Let me ask you, your relationship with my fourth brother is also good, and you get along well, do you like him?”
Dong Yuanyao was initially taken aback, then vigorously shook her head, “Fourth Brother Yan is very nice, and we have fun together, but I only see him as a brother, don’t misunderstand.”
Daohua laughed, “I haven’t misunderstood, I also know you’re not interested in my fourth brother. He is forthright and probably has never thought about it that way. The reason I’m saying this is to get you to put yourself in my shoes. I get along with Xiao Yeyang, but he’s just a friend to me.”
Still skeptical, Dong Yuanyao said, “Then why do I feel like you seemed a little upset to see the Little Prince with Jiang Wanying?”
Daohua ‘hmph’ed, “I’m annoyed because he chose a girl over a friend. He had promised to come to meet me but broke his word. If he was truly held up by something important, I’d let it go, but looking at how he is now, I’m guessing he spent these days courting a beauty. Of course, I’m angry.”
Dong Yuanyao, seeing Daohua’s indignant manner, wasn’t sure what to make of her feelings.
It seemed Yiyi cared about the Little Prince, but when talking about whether she liked him or not, she didn’t show a hint of shyness or restraint, with an open and confident demeanor, nothing like the bashful appearance of girls described in stories and dramas.
If she didn’t care, then why did she appear genuinely angry when she saw the Little Prince with Jiang Wanying?
Dong Yuanyao was confused.
Seeing her like this, Daohua was somewhat speechless, “Rest assured, I do have some self-awareness. I’m used to being free-spirited; the Imperial Family’s place is definitely not where I belong. Besides, my family background doesn’t match up with Xiao Yeyang at all.”
Hearing her say this, Dong Yuanyao finally nodded in agreement, “It’s best that you think this way. The imperial descendants seem quite impressive from the outside, but they have much to bear.”
“You haven’t lived in Beijing, so you might not fully understand the difficulties of being an imperial daughter-in-law. You and I are similar in temperament, I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to endure the intricate rules of the Imperial Family.”
Daohua smiled, taking her hand, “I know, you’re looking out for me.”
Dong Yuanyao also smiled, “As long as you understand,” she paused, “The Little Prince is really quite nice to you…”
Daohua quickly interrupted her, “I know what you’re going to say. Are you thinking that Xiao Yeyang is interested in me? Put your heart back into your stomach. I’ve asked, and there’s nothing between us.”
Dong Yuanyao was so surprised that she opened her mouth wide and stammered, “You… you asked him?”
Daohua smiled and nodded, “Of course, if there’s a doubt, you should ask.”
Seeing her like this, Dong Yuanyao was completely relieved. If Yiyi really had any feelings for the Little Prince, she would never have been so straight-forward to ask.
Then, Daohua continued, “I know, you all think that Xiao Yeyang is especially attentive to me, but, have you ever thought about it? I am his life saver.”
“It’s only right for him to be a little nicer to me, isn’t it? Besides, I’ve been quite good to him as well, right? Even if it’s just an exchange of favors, he should treat me a little better.”
Dong Yuanyao nodded in agreement, “That’s right!”
Daohua: “Of course it is. My fourth brother just spent a bit more time practicing swordsmanship with you. Whenever you have something good, don’t you also think of him first? That’s just making distinctions based on our closeness. Whoever is good to us, naturally we will be better to them. That’s the principle, isn’t it?”
After thinking for a moment, Dong Yuanyao nodded again, “That makes sense.”
Daohua patted her on the shoulder, “Human emotions are still very pure. Don’t always think about romantic love. There’s friendship too.”
Dong Yuanyao immediately laughed, “It was supposed to be me giving you advice, how come it seems like it’s the other way around now?”
Daohua laughed as well.
Meanwhile, Yan Wenxiu and Dong Yuanxuan, who appeared to be watching the dragon boats on the river attentively, each let out a sigh of relief when they heard the two young girls laughing.
Even though Daohua and Dong Yuanyao kept their voices low, due to their proximity, the men still heard the gist of it.
Yan Wenxiu: It’s good that the big sister isn’t setting her sights on the Little Prince. With his high status, he doesn’t want her to be sad and regretful over a doomed relationship.
Dong Yuanxuan: Yan sister has no interest in the Little Prince! He felt a slight thrill of joy inside.
…
At the same time, on the other side, Xiao Yeyang, accompanied by Jiang Wanying, was making his way through the crowd towards the observation platform.
From afar, he caught a glimpse of Daohua pointing and laughing at the dragon boats in the river.
Seeing her bright smile, all the displeasure he had accumulated from dealing with the Jiang family dissolved in an instant.
Almost without thinking, Xiao Yeyang changed direction, intending to walk over to her.
Just then, Jiang Wanying spoke up, “Brother Yang, my father and Advisor Dong are watching you. You should go over and greet them.”
Xiao Yeyang took a quick glance over there, and though he was immensely impatient, he still restrained himself and walked over.
Jiang Wanying smiled as she followed, but she went to the ladies’ side.
Watching the noble and elegant Xiao Yeyang, Advisor Jiang nodded almost imperceptibly, and Madam Jiang also looked very pleased.
They had originally thought that, once away from Beijing and the constraints of upbringing, the rebellious Xiao Yeyang would become increasingly unruly. Surprisingly, upon this meeting, he seemed to have matured much more than before.