Lei Xing looked at the Emperor's frowning face as he flipped through the book, then cleared her throat and pat his back, then awkwardly said, "Well, it's not like it's your fault, you didn't even exist then" Then she knit her brows, calculating the math, but quickly gave up, "At most you were fetus...Um, Life itself is a struggle...Just being alive is already wonderful. Either way, it had nothing to do with you...Although you're the Emperor now so you can't exactly exclude yourself from the picture, but that's up to you...Anyway, in the end, it all worked out well for you so..." She stopped again thinking of what else to say.

The Emperor looked at her with a raised eyebrow a bit confused, then he asked, "Is this you trying to cheer me up?"

Lei Xing raised her eyebrows and blinked, "I guess so."

The Emperor snorted, then smilingly said, "Quite the poor attempt."

Lei Xing's expression fell, she pursed her lips and looked off to the side, annoyed.

{...And this right here is why I don't bother with people, ungrateful brat -_-)...}

The Emperor looked at Lei Xing's disgruntled expression and smiled, dropped the book then hugged her. Lei Xing froze and the Emperor said, "This is a much better attempt."

Lei Xing lightly scoffed and rolled her eyes. She glanced at the back of his head, then sighed.

{...I'll allow it, I'm just repaying the favor...}

Lei Xing awkwardly put her hands on his back and he hugged her tighter. Lei Xing glanced around and then awkwardly started patting his back and awkwardly said, "Ahh...You've done well enough."

{...I'm not exactly into babying, especially big babies...but I guess everyone needs a hug now and then. This is a humanitarian service. Karma I hope you're paying attention, I better get credited for this -_-)...}

The Emperor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he sighed and thought that she smelled of flowers, although it was different from usual because of the medicinal bath. But she always smelled of flowers, and whenever he bathed here the servants always used the same scents in his water. It was always subtle, calming scents and he had come to like it quite a lot. He sighed again and quietly said into her ear,? "It's very soothing." Lei Xing felt a shiver run down her spine and froze again.

The Emperor saw her ear turning red, then smiled and kissed it, once, twice...then he kissed her earlobe and then lightly sucked on it. Lei Xing immediately shoved him and scurried back, covering her ears and glared at him, "Wh-wh-wh-what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

The Emperor was stunned by her sudden outburst. Before he could respond, Lei Xing added, "If you're feeling touchy, go somewhere else! I'm sick!"

The Emperor looked at her red face and then chuckled, which caused Lei Xing's glare to intensify.

{...Ah, she's openly glaring at me now...This is much better...}

The Emperor smirked at Lei Xing, who was still glaring at him with her blushing face. The Emperor then smiled brightly at her, which put Lei Xing more on edge, and she covertly shifted herself even further away and looked away.

"How much longer until your full recovery?" The Emperor suddenly asked.

"Who knows, maybe forever." Lei Xing responded casting him a quick side glare and then pouting off to the side.

{...Either way, it's nothing to do with you -_-)...}

The Emperor chuckled and then said, "I'll just ask the Imperial doctors then." Lei Xing frowned and continued ignoring him. The Emperor snorted then got up, he looked at Lei Xing who was still looking away then pat her head, "I'll be back."

"Don't come back." Lei Xing quietly mumbled. The Emperor snorted and left the room in a very good mood. He was very happy that she was now less cautious around him and more open with him. Despite the fact that she made a lot of snarky comments, he could tell she held no malice and it was simply because she was nervous. He liked that she was nervous around him and always blushing cutely whenever he touched her, it made him feel very happy.

The Emperor went to take a bath and as he soaked in her bath surrounded by her flowery scent, he relaxed and sighed.

{...It would be much nicer if she were here with me...Haha but she would probably pass out if I brought her here right now...}

The Emperor kept laughing to himself as he thought of Lei Xing's nervousness and jumpiness. He quickly finished his bath and went back to the room to see her but found it empty. After inquiring about her whereabouts from the servants, he went to her study to find her standing in front of a bookshelf flipping through a book. Lei Xing glanced up at him, then sighed and mumbled, "Still here."

{...In his pajamas too, might as well just move in -_-)...}

The Emperor came up beside her and asked, "You're not planning on sleeping here again, are you?"

Lei Xing knit her brows at the reminder, "No...I'm just looking for something else to read."

The Emperor nodded and then randomly picked through the books on the shelf, "Did you buy these yourself?"

"En." Lei Xing simply responded as she wondered what he was up to now.

"Hmm...It seems you don't like military books as much as I thought." The Emperor commented as he browsed through the books, which contained adventure stories, folklore and the like.

"It's good to have variety...I already have plenty of military books." Lei Xing offhandedly responded, then remembered how she got said books and turned to him and lightly bowed, "Thank you for the books...I'll definitely read them...It's just that I'm sick right now so such high-level books might be too tasking so that's why I -..."

"You don't have to explain, it's fine not to read them." The Emperor cut her off, "You can have whatever books you like."

Lei Xing knit her brows, a bit unnerved but said, "Thank you." The Emperor smiled at her and she looked back down at the book.

The Emperor then sighed, it seemed like she was closing herself off again. He glanced around the room, then turned to her, took the book from her hand and put it back on the shelf, "I think you've read enough for today. Let's do something else."

Lei Xing knit her brows and slightly withdrew, looking at him with caution. The Emperor looked at her guarded expression, took a step towards her and smirked and slyly asked, "What are you thinking?"

Lei Xing took a step back and pursed her lips, "I-I'm sick...N-n-not functional."

The Emperor grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, "You seem functional enough."

Lei Xing looked down, took a deep breath then resolutely said, "I don't want to."

The Emperor lowered his head and whispered, "Don't want to?...You don't want to what?"

Lei Xing's frown deepened.

{...Are you kidding me?! You couldn't possibly be that dense!...}

While Lei Xing was debating how to answer the question to get him off her case, he burst into laughter and she realized that she was the dense one here. She glared at him and was so irritated that she threw his hand off and barked, "Stop messing with me, it's annoying!"

The Emperor immediately stopped laughing and blankly stared at her. Lei Xing blinked at him and then realized what she just did. She thought to apologize but then was feeling so aggrieved that the thought was quickly tossed out of her mind. He kept messing with her and it was annoying, she was finally at her wit's end and so stared the Emperor down, ready to fight.

{...I'm not your freaking toy, freaking as***le! If you want to punish me go ahead! But if I die, I will haunt you to your grave!...}

"I'm sorry." The Emperor seriously apologized which surprised Lei Xing, she was not expecting an apology. She blinked and then knit her brows.

He then took her hand and pulled her to the table on the side, where the qin was and said, "I was thinking we could play instead."

When Lei Xing just looked down at the qin and did not speak, the Emperor then pulled her hand a little and coaxed her, "I'll be more mindful in the future, so don't be angry anymore."

Lei Xing looked at him and nodded, still feeling at a loss.

{...Apologizing? That's the wrong script...He's being reasonable? Well, who would have thought? ...Well, he hasn't ever really been unreasonable...He's been annoying but never really unreasonable...}

The Emperor smiled then said, "Sit." and Lei Xing absentmindedly sat down. He sat beside her then said, "Why don't you play something? That way I can gauge your progress and give you some pointers too."

Lei Xing blinked, "Hehe~ I honestly haven't improved at all...I do more listening than playing...Ahh, so why don't you play instead? I'm a much better listener." She suggested with a smile.

The Emperor nodded then put his hands on the qin and asked, "Any requests?"

Lei Xing thought for a bit and quickly responded, "How about the one from last time?" She really liked it and since he was offering, she might as well take advantage of it. The Emperor smiled, pleased that she remembered and then happily went on to play the tune for her.

As she listened to the music, Lei Xing rested her elbow on the table, and rested her head on a hand and watched the calm and focused?expression on his face as he concentrated on the qin and its music.?He glanced at her and smiled, and Lei Xing blinked as she felt her heart skip a beat.

His eyes went back to the qin and he continued to play with a slight smile on his face while Lei Xing closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

{...It's too bad he has all these irritating attachments, otherwise, he's really not that bad...}