Chu Lian was taken aback when he heard this, his brows furrowing even more tightly. Who was this person who knew of Xiaoxiao’s business?
Whoever it was, he had to hurry on now and couldn’t stay any longer, "I’ve just learned about it, so I’m rushing over there and can’t delay any further."
"Get on the carriage!"
"..." Chu Lian looked at the woman on the carriage. Was she offering him a ride?
Seeing that Chu Lian remained silent and did not get on the carriage, Wang Xiangxiang felt this man was dilly-dallying, "Aren’t you in a hurry to get to the Academy? Then get on quickly, we’re going the same way."
With that, Chu Lian no longer hesitated. Since time was of the essence, he had to get moving, and a carriage would be faster, so he accepted Wang Xiangxiang’s kindness and got directly onto the carriage.
"Let’s go," Wang Xiangxiang said to the coachman.
Following the coachman’s command, "Giddy up!" the carriage set off.
Once on the carriage, both Chu Lian and Wang Xiangxiang remained silent, with only the creaking sound of the carriage moving along the road.
Their states of mind were entirely different.
Wang Xiangxiang: If it weren’t for the fact that he was an acquaintance of Xiaoxiao, she wouldn’t bother giving this shameless man a lift.
Chu Lian: If it weren’t for the urgency of time, he wouldn’t have boarded this willful woman’s carriage.
Once on the carriage, Chu Lian noticed that this willful woman kept staring at him from time to time, which made him regret getting on the carriage. He hoped she hadn’t taken a fancy to him.
The thought of being fancied by another strange woman made him feel as if he had seen something disgusting, and with an expression of disdain, he said, "Stop staring at me. We don’t know each other."
"..." Wang Xiangxiang was infuriated by his words to the point where she felt like she might cough blood. This shameless man spoke so rudely; how could Xiaoxiao even know someone like him?
What’s the use of a handsome appearance when one’s heart is beastly?
To claim they didn’t know each other—although they didn’t speak at the Silver Pavilion that day, she had been by Xiaoxiao’s side the whole time. Any fool could see that she was Xiaoxiao’s friend, yet he treated her so poorly. It seemed his character was truly lacking.
Wang Xiangxiang, suppressing the anger about to erupt within her, said with a cold laugh, "You board my carriage and this is your attitude?"
Chu Lian clenched his fists, this willful woman was so insufferable in her speech; he regretted getting on the carriage more and more and stood up to open the carriage door, shouting to the coachman, "Stop the carriage, I want to get off."
The coachman at the front acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing; without his mistress’s order, he wasn’t going to stop the carriage.
"..." This young master really had a foul temper, "Without my command, he won’t stop the carriage. What, are you planning to jump from the moving carriage?"
"You..." Enraged by Wang Xiangxiang, Chu Lian truly didn’t care anymore and went to open the carriage door, preparing to jump out.
Wang Xiangxiang immediately stood up to stop him. Since the carriage was already unsteady from its quick pace, the excessive jostling from their tussle made it sway even more violently.
Just at that moment, whether by chance or due to a bump in the road, a jolt caused the two struggling individuals to topple over onto the seat.
Wang Xiangxiang fell right on top of Chu Lian, and their lips pressed tightly together.
The two, caught off guard, instantly widened their eyes. Chu Lian pushed Wang Xiangxiang off him and then vigorously rubbed his own lips as if they had been sullied.
"You impudent woman, have you no shame."
Wang Xiangxiang herself hadn’t expected things to turn out this way, and just when she was feeling embarrassed, she heard the other’s biting words and could no longer contain her temper.
"You despicable man, taking advantage of me."