Chapter 58: Get Out of My Sight! (Thanks for the rewards and recommendation votes)

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the room was tinged with ambiguity, though more than anything, it carried a peculiar hint of strangeness. Qiu Chuqian sat atop the bed, clutching the quilt tightly to herself, while Fang Xu, dressed only in plain underclothes, sat cross-legged on the floor, head bowed in confusion and uncertainty.

After all, Qiu Chuqian’s current appearance would surely lead anyone who happened upon the scene to believe Fang Xu had perpetrated some unspeakable act against her. Even Fang Xu himself was bewildered—bewildered not only by the situation, but by the question gnawing at him: had he truly done something to Qiu Chuqian last night? If he had, wouldn’t he be obliged to take responsibility for her?

With this sense of responsibility weighing upon him, Fang Xu could only adopt the demeanor of a guilty man, awaiting Qiu Chuqian’s righteous judgment.

Qiu Chuqian, seeing Fang Xu’s demeanor, was equally stunned. She felt nothing amiss with herself, so why did Fang Xu look so guilty? Could it be he actually had done something to her last night? The thought made her cheeks flush so red she nearly wept—Fang Xu saw this as the brink of her emotional outburst.

“Speak! What did you do last night?!” Qiu Chuqian finally couldn’t hold back, confronting Fang Xu. His current appearance was simply too suspicious.

Even Qiu Chuqian herself began to wonder—had something happened last night, but she failed to notice it? Yet, this shouldn't be possible, should it? The truth was, her knowledge in this regard was woefully lacking.

But she could hardly be blamed; after all, Qiu Chuqian was the only female novice in the entire Quanzhen Monastery, surrounded only by men. The abbot and her fellow disciples knew nothing of women’s matters. In fact, when Qiu Chuqian first had her monthly cycle, the whole monastery was thrown into turmoil.

Why? Because everyone believed Qiu Chuqian was hemorrhaging dangerously; her pale face suggested a life-threatening condition. Had they known even a little about normal physiology, they would have realized it was nothing serious.

Within the monastery, however, it was a major event. Even the abbot was at a loss, dispatching disciples to fetch a doctor from the village. The doctor, after examining Qiu Chuqian, recommended she spend time with girls her own age from the village, for her own sake. The abbot agreed, and thus Qiu Chuqian made many close friends among the village girls.

Most of Qiu Chuqian’s knowledge about female matters came from these friends; she herself had little experience. That explained why she was entirely uncertain whether Fang Xu had done anything to her last night. If nothing happened, Fang Xu should have no reason to feel guilty.

So why did he look so self-reproachful? This only reinforced Qiu Chuqian’s suspicion that Fang Xu had indeed done something.

What she didn’t know was that Fang Xu truly felt guilty—not for any act, but because he realized he had developed feelings for a man. To him, this was an unnatural inclination, and if the world learned of it, he wasn’t worried about his own reputation (he already bore the nickname “Lady Who Dives into Wells,” so another scandal hardly mattered), but feared those who disliked Qin Suwen would use him as a weapon against her.

If such a thing happened, Fang Xu would rather die than bring harm to Qin Suwen. But now, he chose to stay alive, needing to clarify whether anything had truly happened.

If nothing had, dying now would waste the extraordinary opportunity fate had granted him. Thus, Fang Xu waited devoutly for Qiu Chuqian’s judgment, but for reasons unknown, Qiu Chuqian found herself unable to blame him.

In her mind, Fang Xu was simply ignorant and blameless, and besides, she herself wasn’t certain that anything had transpired between them.

Thus, Qiu Chuqian had no intention of letting the matter spiral out of control, for she still needed Fang Xu’s assistance.

“All right! There’s nothing wrong. Go on, get out!” Fang Xu, still anxious, was taken aback by Qiu Chuqian’s words, unable to believe what he heard.

“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?” Qiu Chuqian noticed Fang Xu’s expression, nervously clutching the edge of her clothing, unable to meet his eyes.

“Are you sure nothing happened?” Fang Xu asked seriously, which made Qiu Chuqian both exasperated and amused.

She had made it clear she wasn’t asking Fang Xu to take responsibility, so why was he still so hung up about it?

“Do you actually wish something had happened?” Qiu Chuqian asked, her gaze odd, still unsure if Fang Xu knew her true identity.

“Ahem, do you feel any discomfort anywhere?” Fang Xu inquired instinctively. The question left both of them in embarrassed silence, neither daring to look at the other.

“Ahem! Where do you think I should be uncomfortable?” Qiu Chuqian managed to retort, though she was so shy she couldn’t lift her head. Still, she refused to back down.

“Well… for example, here?” Fang Xu pointed to his own hips, then anxiously watched Qiu Chuqian.

The moment she saw his gesture, Qiu Chuqian’s face flushed red and hot. She had tried to endure, but Fang Xu’s question finally defeated her.

“Get out… now!” Qiu Chuqian roared, her voice resonating from deep within. Fang Xu, panicked and flustered, hastily gathered his clothes and rushed out of the room.

Outside, he found himself in an awkward predicament—for Old Wu and the others were already standing in front of the door, and his disheveled state was plain for all to see.