Time Is Slow - Chapter 55

To call him an old acquaintance would be an exaggeration—they merely knew each other. Getting involved with a Jinlin Guard was trouble enough to make Qiao Zhao turn and leave immediately.

Watching her quickly walking away, Jiang Yuanchao suddenly had the urge to take out a mirror and check his face. Was he that scary-looking to the point of frightening someone?

He was tall with long legs, and in just a few steps, he caught up with the young girl who had yet to grow to her full height.

Seeing the man blocking her path again, Qiao Zhao asked calmly, “Uncle, is something the matter?”

Hearing her call him “uncle,” Jiang Yuanchao couldn’t help but tremble a little, and protested.

“Little girl, if you’re willing, you can call me Brother Jiang.”

Facing the girl who had a calm and indifferent expression, he added, “Just now when you were speaking to Champion Marquis, I didn’t hear you call him uncle.”

He and the Champion Marquis were clearly about the same age—was this not blatant discrimination?

Call Shao Mingyuan uncle?

The very thought made Qiao Zhao uncomfortable.

Whether it was Chi Can or this Jiang Yuanchao before her, they were, in her past life, no more than passing acquaintances. But Shao Mingyuan—he was different. He…

Qiao Zhao paused mid-thought, then let out a silent laugh.

She and Shao Mingyuan didn’t even qualify as acquaintances. Their first meeting had ended with him shooting her dead with an arrow…

And yet, that man was, in name, her husband. She had been his wife for more than two years. How could she bring herself to call him “uncle”?

Images of that man flashed through her mind.

Weary and travel-worn, stubble darkening his chin and making his pale face seem even whiter—like snow-polished jade. Cold and aloof on the outside, but his eyes carried a quiet warmth that, if you looked too long, could stir something tender deep inside you.

A general whose hands were stained with blood, yet still carried such a contradictory gentleness…

“You’re not the same,” Qiao Zhao said honestly.

“Oh?” Jiang Yuanchao smiled, intrigued.

“How are we different?”

So what if that brat was a little paler and more handsome? Did that really warrant such different treatment?

The world is in decline; people have no shame anymore!

Maybe because he had been watching this girl for a while, and now was finally speaking to her face to face, Jiang Yuanchao found himself talking far more than usual—without even realizing it.

Qiao Zhao blinked.

Was he… pouting? What did her opinion have to do with him? Indeed, Jinlin Guards are really hard to deal with.

She took a step back and replied, “Too many girls look at him. If I call him ‘uncle,’ I might get killed by a flying embroidered shoe.”

Jiang Yuanchao froze, then let out a low chuckle.

Just like his voice, he laughed softly, and his entire face softened. For a moment, he truly smiled with his eyes. But even that smile, which is as warm as spring rain, still held the chill of early spring. People who are careless would easily catch a cold.

Qiao Zhao instinctively disliked people like him.

She admired men like her grandfather. Those who drank freely, laughed heartily, lived boldly and honestly.

“So, uncle, may I go now?” she asked politely.

“Call me Brother Jiang.”

“Brother Jiang, may I go now?” Qiao Zhao repeated smoothly.

He looked to be eight or nine years older than her. Calling him “uncle” wasn’t disrespectful by any means. What was with his fixation on being called “brother”?

“We really haven’t met before?” Jiang Yuanchao’s face still carried that teasing smile.

Miss Qiao replied with a deadly serious expression.

“Brother Jiang, you really love to joke. A respectable young lady like me, who doesn’t even step outside the inner courtyard… how could I have ever seen you before?”

Doesn’t step outside the inner courtyard? Then who was that girl who got abducted before?

This girl had real potential to be a Jinlin Guard herself. She’s capable of lying without batting an eye or skipping a beat.

Qiao Zhao simply smiled at him, calm as ever.

If he had the nerve to expose her lies, then she would just ask him directly.

What was his purpose in paying attention to a little girl like her during his journey to the north?

At that thought, Qiao Zhao’s heart gave a sudden jolt.

Wait a minute!

Chi Can and the others went to the south purely out of boredom. In theory, they shouldn’t have attracted the attention of the Jinlin Guards. It could only mean one thing: Jiang Yuanchao wasn’t paying attention to them but her.

So what was it about the four of them that had caught his notice in the first place?

Qiao Zhao thought deeper and arrived at a chilling conclusion.

Apricot Grove. The Qiao family.

Could it be… the Jinlin Guards had been watching her family all along?

She couldn’t help lifting her gaze toward Jiang Yuanchao.

Then, did this man know something about the fire?

Her heartbeat quickened, but just as she noticed Jiang Yuanchao studying her closely, she suddenly broke into a smile.

“Still, we can get to know each other.”

Perhaps she could test the waters.

Jiang Yuanchao: “…”

Were all young girls these days so unpredictable? He was completely unable to read her anymore!

As he stood there stunned, Qiao Zhao had already taken the initiative.

“My surname is Li. I’m the daughter of Li Guangwen, the third child in the family. We live in Apricot Alley on West Street.”

After all, this man likely already knew all that. There was no use hiding it.

Jiang Yuanchao immediately took a step back, alarm bells ringing in his mind.

Why was this girl giving him all these personal details? It’s not like he was planning to propose marriage!

“And where does Brother Jiang live?” Qiao Zhao asked sweetly.

His face twitched, and with a cough, he said, “Ahem, I suddenly remembered I have something urgent to do. I’ll take my leave now.”

With a quick clasp of his fists in farewell, he turned and strode off. With his long legs striding forward, he quickly disappeared from her sight.

Qiao Zhao, who was left behind, smiled faintly.

Did… did she just scare him off?

She shook her head and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, under a tree nearby, Jiang Yuanchao returned to where his two subordinates had been waiting, his expression serious.

“Let’s go.”

The two men looked at each other with odd expressions.

“What?” he asked, sensing something.

“Sir, just now—”

“What happened just now must not be mentioned to anyone else!” Jiang Yuanchao’s voice turned cold.

Back in the capital, things weren’t as free as in Jiafeng. It was better to act with caution. That girl… he wasn’t ready for certain people to notice her just yet.

But… where had she seen him before?

Jiang Yuanchao was deep in thought as he walked forward.

The two subordinates exchanged glances.

The one who had spoken earlier muttered, “Did I imagine it, or… did our lord just got scared off by that girl?”

The other nodded, full of agreement.

Suddenly, Jiang Yuanchao stopped and turned, glaring coldly at them.

The first one flinched and rushed forward.

“Sir, forgive me! I was talking nonsense!”

The second scrambled after him, relieved that he hadn’t said anything earlier. In a panic, he tried to redeem himself.

“Exactly! Talking nonsense… speaking the truth like that. What was he thinking?”

Jiang Yuanchao: “…”

He must’ve been blind to have picked these two as his trusted men!

“Get lost!”

With a face full of rage and humiliation, Lord Jiang flung his sleeves and stormed off.

—

Meanwhile, Qiao Zhao had returned to the carriage.

Old Madam Deng asked with a kind smile, “You’re back already?”

“There were too many people. I was afraid I’d lose you and never find you again,” Qiao Zhao replied sincerely.

If she got kidnapped again, she might not be lucky enough to escape this time.

Old Madam Deng, a widow who had been tough and guarded for most of her life, was momentarily softened by those words.

Ah, how could she, as a grandmother, have been so upset when this child was abducted, thinking she had brought misfortune to the family?

She hadn’t known how warmhearted the girl really was!

With a sudden ache in her heart, Madam Deng pulled Qiao Zhao into a hug, patting her gently as she said, “Zhao Zhao, don’t be afraid. It’s all in the past now.”