Chapter 4173 — The Five-Day Pact
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Dazed, Huang Xiaotao took the mirror from Wei Zhao's hand, and only then did she finally snap out of her wild imaginings. At the thought of what she might see, her hands began to tremble, and she held the mirror for a long while without daring to lift it to her face.
"Don't be afraid. Go on, take a good look at yourself now," Wei Zhao encouraged her with a smile.
"Mm." Huang Xiaotao nodded, drew a deep breath, and at last summoned the courage to look at herself in the mirror—and in that instant she froze, utterly disbelieving.
Skin as white as jade, soft and luminous as a newborn infant's, and a face of pure, flawless beauty—after so many years of torment, Huang Xiaotao was finally seeing her former self again, a sight that had visited her only in dreams!
Surely this was another dream? Huang Xiaotao instinctively pinched her own arm, and a real stab of pain answered her. Joy surged through her heart—it was true!
Smack! In a sudden rush of emotion Huang Xiaotao threw her arms around Wei Zhao, rose on tiptoe, and planted a kiss on his cheek, babbling in her excitement, "You knew all along you could restore my looks, is that why you liked me... you really are amazing..."
"Huh?" Wei Zhao was speechless. What he had meant was that once Huang Xiaotao had her looks back, she would naturally regain her confidence as well, and would no longer need to cling to him.
In beauty, now that her face was restored, Huang Xiaotao was in no way inferior to Shangguan Lan'er. Even a wretch like Su Zhaohe had once been infatuated with her, stooping even to despicable tricks—so now she would surely draw countless young talents to bow at her feet.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected that Huang Xiaotao's first reaction after her joyful surprise would be this, and Wei Zhao was struck dumb for a good while, quite at a loss.
"Xiaotao, the truth is I only ever thought of you as a good friend. I truly meant nothing more..." With no other choice, Wei Zhao steeled himself and chose to speak plainly.
In any case, she had now regained both her looks and her confidence, and once she returned she would surely be the center of all attention. Wei Zhao reckoned that even if he said it outright, she would not be too heartbroken...
At these sudden words, however, Huang Xiaotao froze, her pure, lovely eyes fixed on Wei Zhao's face in astonishment. Her lips moved, but no words came.
"Xiaotao, I know you're a good girl, but I already have far too many women in my life..." Since he had said this much, Wei Zhao decided to lay everything bare at once and leave no room for misunderstanding. "And not only the ones you've heard about or seen—I have close female confidantes on the Middle Island as well, and more than one of them, so..."
"Since you already have so many, what difference does one more make?" Huang Xiaotao cut him off. There was not the slightest retreat in her eyes—instead they had grown only more resolute, more unwavering.
"Pff..." Wei Zhao nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. For a moment he had no idea what to say. How on earth was this girl's mind put together? What sort of thinking, what sort of logic was this?!
"Oh, I understand now!" Huang Xiaotao suddenly clapped a hand to her head as enlightenment struck. "You're afraid they'd find out, that's why you don't dare accept me, right? Of course—a lofty little princess like Shangguan Lan'er, how could she ever accept a lowly Qingyun Pavilion disciple like me..."
"That... you've hit the mark..." Wei Zhao was now utterly defeated by the girl's logic, and could only go along with the lie. It hardly mattered what reason he gave, so long as it made her give up—the means were unimportant; only the result counted.
"Then I understand... thank you..." Huang Xiaotao seemed to have finally worked something out. She gave Wei Zhao a sweet smile, put her veil back on, said nothing further, and simply ran off.