My Heart Is Drawn to Jade - Chapter 6
At sunset, Vansern changed into one of his usual fitted black velvet shirts and loosely tied his silver-white hair behind his head. A little of his formidable presence fell away, leaving him softer, more relaxed.
He fetched a roomy gray cashmere cloak and carefully wrapped it around me, covering every patch of bare skin.
“All sorts of races have stalls at the night market,” he told me. “Stay close. Don’t wander off on your own.”
“Okay,” I said obediently.
Then he took me to the night market of this world.
It was bustling.
Warm yellow lights glowed at the roadside stalls. The sweet scent of sugar-roasted chestnuts mingled with fresh bread and mellow fruit wine. There were also all kinds of odd snacks and ornaments I couldn’t begin to name.
Better still, the market wasn’t populated only by ordinary-looking humans. There were pointed-eared elves, dwarves, witches shaking staffs and bottles of potions, half-orcs, and bards plucking strings and singing.
I looked around, wide-eyed and astonished.
It felt like a scene you could only find in a fairy tale.
People strolled past talking and laughing. Vendors called out their wares. The whole place was loud and alive.
Vansern bought me a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts, peeled one carefully, and held it to my lips.
I looked up. Lamplight caught in his violet-and-gold eyes, spreading a soft glow.
“Try it.”
I took the chestnut gently between my teeth and chewed. My eyes lit up at once.
Warm, fragrant, soft, and sweet. So good!
Vansern measured my waist and back with his hands and said solemnly, “Huo Xiangjin, you’re far too thin. You need feeding up.”
I touched my firm, supple abdominal muscles and considered this in baffled silence.
Oh well. If Vansern said I was thin, I was thin.
Like a kitten that had stumbled into a new world, I darted excitedly from one thing to another, inspecting everything. I tried plenty of strange specialties, too: moonlight pudding, flowing-flame candy, unicorn-milk cream puffs, snowcap slush…
Vansern stayed beside me and paid.
Whenever I looked up, he was watching me with complete, besotted attention.
Embarrassed, I lifted my cup of slush to hide my eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re beautiful,” he said, perfectly matter-of-fact. “Besides, you’re my wife. Who else would I look at?”
I pressed my lips together shyly, then gave him a very serious look.
“You should call me husband.”
“Does husband mean partner, too?”
“Yes,” I declared firmly.
Vansern lowered his head and took a bite from the peak of slush in my cup, his violet-and-gold eyes smiling.
“All right, little husband.”
His voice rose softly on the last word, indulgent and affectionate.
Then he added, “Little husband, I like you so much.”
A tiny burst of fireworks went off inside my head.
Oh my GOD.
I hereby declared myself the happiest person in the world today.
