Just then, she spotted Zhou Chaofang’s figure. Pushing aside the chaotic thoughts in her mind, she forced herself to focus and put on her usual smile as she approached, about to speak. However, her steps halted when she noticed the woman beside Zhou Chaofang, her head lowered, eyes red.
“This is…”
She paused, momentarily stunned.
Zhou Chaofang saw her stop and called out, “Miss Gu,” her voice low and somewhat heavy with emotion. Sweeping a glance past the figures outside the screen and then looking at Xu Rou beside her, her expression turned grim, her tone laced with difficulty.
“I must trouble you with one more thing. I need to help my sister-in-law freshen up.”
Otherwise, if Xu Rou walked out looking like this, who knew what kind of gossip would spread?
Lanyin understood immediately. She instructed Shopkeeper Sun to continue attending to the customers while she led the two women toward a private room. Along the way, she asked Shi Yu to fetch the rouge and powder she had used earlier so Xu Rou could redo her makeup.
She handled the matter with such consideration that Zhou Chaofang couldn’t help but feel grateful.
In the past, her dealings with Lanyin had always been driven by mutual interest. But now… she found that she genuinely liked her.
Once Shi Yu led Xu Rou away to freshen up, Zhou Chaofang grasped Lanyin’s hand, her voice brimming with gratitude. “I truly owe you today. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known how to take her out of here.”
“It’s just a small matter.”
Lanyin shook her head. After a brief hesitation, she glanced in Xu Rou’s direction. Seeing her dejected expression, all the shyness from before completely gone, she withdrew her gaze and lowered her voice to ask Zhou Chaofang, “What exactly happened?”
“It’s just that our Xu family lacks the fortune.” Zhou Chaofang sighed heavily. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say more, but remembering Elder Madam Qi’s instructions, she swallowed her words. After a moment of thought, she instead asked Lanyin, “Sister, since you have dealings with the Qi family, do you know if Lord Qi has been close with any particular young lady?”
Lanyin’s heart skipped a beat.
She had already guessed the reason behind Xu Rou’s red-rimmed eyes, but she hadn’t expected that Qi Yubai actually…
“Sister?” Zhou Chaofang called again, pulling Lanyin back to her senses. She clenched her hands tightly and barely managed to steady herself as she replied, “I… I don’t know either.”
“Not sure if it’s really…” Zhou Chaofang muttered half a sentence but stopped herself. Just then, she noticed Xu Rou emerging from the room, so she rose and bid farewell.
“I won’t trouble you any longer today. As for the orders from the Xu and Zhou families, I’ll have our steward come discuss them with you later.”
As she spoke, she stood up, held Lanyin’s hand, and once again expressed her gratitude. She then promised to treat Lanyin to a meal sometime before reaching out toward Xu Rou.
Xu Rou’s complexion was still not great, but the worst of it had passed. She approached and thanked Lanyin before following Zhou Chaofang out.
Shi Yu went to see the sisters-in-law off.
Lanyin, however, remained standing in the room, her mind swirling with images of Xu Rou’s tear-filled eyes, Zhou Chaofang’s words, and her own suspicions…
Suddenly, the door swung open.
Startled, Lanyin thought Shi Yu had returned too quickly. But before she could turn, she saw a familiar silhouette in the doorway.
Her eyelids twitched sharply, and as she raised her gaze, she indeed saw Qi Yubai.
He stood at the entrance.
Gone was the gentle smile he had worn before when facing her. Now, he seemed to have returned to the version of himself from when they were strangers—or even colder than before, like a fire burning in the darkness, an abyss of blackness with flames flickering at its depths.
Lanyin watched as Qi Yubai stepped inside and saw the door close behind him.
Her heart pounded wildly. Watching him approach step by step, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, yet under the weight of his dark and intense gaze, she instinctively retreated.
She stepped back again and again—until her back pressed against the window. Only then did she abruptly snap out of her trance.
This private room’s window faced the Bian River, with a narrow, untraveled path outside lined with lush willow trees. In midsummer, the branches were even fuller than in spring. As the wind blew, the trailing willow leaves brushed against her ear, tickling her, making her want to move away.
But Qi Yubai was already standing in front of her.
Though there were still a few steps between them, she dared not move any farther. It felt as if something gripped her heart, tightening around her throat. The open window behind her left her upper body slightly suspended. With her pulse thundering in her ears, she looked at the man who was now dangerously close and stammered, “You—what are you doing?”
“What am I doing?”
Qi Yubai finally spoke, his voice deep, laced with barely concealed displeasure.
Before Lanyin could react, a strong arm suddenly encircled her waist. In one swift motion, he lifted her onto the windowsill.
Lanyin’s breath caught in shock.
With one arm wrapped around her waist and the other braced against the window frame, Qi Yubai leaned in slightly, his dark eyes narrowing as he asked, “Gu Lanyin, have I not made myself clear enough? Is that why you keep hesitating like this?”
“Qi Yubai!”
The sudden sensation of being suspended in midair sent a jolt of panic through her. She couldn’t help but cry out in alarm. The window was high—if she fell, she would surely get hurt.
Her hands instinctively reached forward, wanting to grab onto his arm for support.
But the moment her palms pressed against the warmth and strength of his muscles, her expression changed.
As if scalded, she immediately withdrew her hands.
Her face alternated between pale and crimson. Staring at the man so close to her, Lanyin refused to reach for him again. Instead, she gripped the wooden window frame behind her.
Being held like this, with such little distance between them, even their breaths tangled together. Her heart was in turmoil—half flustered, half embarrassed.
She had thought Qi Yubai had already been reckless upstairs. But she hadn’t expected him to be so bold—to charge into her private room like this, despite the people outside…
The fear of being discovered, the fear of someone passing by at any moment—her nerves were stretched taut.
“Let go.”
“It’s just a small matter.”
Lanyin kept her voice low, eyes downcast, still not daring to look directly at him.
But Qi Yubai didn’t let go. His hand remained on her slender waist, though he made no further movements. He only looked at her and said, “You knew Xu Rou had feelings for me, yet you still sent her to me. Gu Lanyin, have I been too easy to talk to?”
His voice was calm, not a trace of anger visible. But Lanyin could feel it—he was truly upset.
This realization made her heart grow even more flustered. Only now did she understand just how much she feared Qi Yubai’s anger. More than their current situation, more than his reckless boldness—his displeasure unsettled her the most.
Her mind was a mess, so chaotic that she momentarily forgot to be bothered by how audacious he was being. She lifted her gaze to Qi Yubai, only to see that the once tender, spring-like warmth in his dark eyes had turned into an icy chill. Her heart clenched, and without thinking, she reached out and grasped his sleeve.
“I…”
She opened her mouth, but couldn’t even form a full sentence.
What could she say? He was right. She had known that Xu Rou liked him, yet she still sent her over.
She had no answer.
After a long silence, she lowered her head in dejection.
“…I’m sorry.”
Her voice was hoarse as she finally forced out the words.
Lanyin thought, Now Qi Yubai must see the cowardice I hide beneath my rationality and gentleness. Now that he knows, he should stop liking me.
That was good.
Better to see her clearly now and walk away before they both got hurt.
But the moment she thought of this outcome, her heart ached unbearably.
How could it not?
To have once been loved by someone like Qi Yubai—just the thought that such a wonderful man would belong to someone else in the future, that he would smile at another woman—made her feel a bitter ache in her chest.
A shameful, selfish thought crept in. She wanted to cling to him desperately, to keep him from ever liking anyone else.
“Why are you crying?”
A helpless male voice sounded in front of her. “Did I scold you?”
Before Lanyin could react, a warm hand lifted her face with gentle care. A rough fingertip brushed against the corner of her eye, and when she saw the tiny glistening tear on his fingertip, she belatedly realized—she had started crying again.
She had never been this weak before.
Yet, time and again, she had shed tears in front of him.
She didn’t even know what to say anymore. In the end, she could only mumble in a muffled voice, “…No.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Qi Yubai refused to let it go. One arm remained wrapped around her waist, while the other was braced against the windowsill. He half-lowered his head, voice calm as he asked, “Do you dislike me treating you like this?”
Lanyin pressed her lips together.
She thought she disliked it.
She had always lived an orderly, well-regulated life—how could she possibly enjoy being treated so boldly?
But a voice inside her whispered, “Gu Lanyin, you do like it. Can’t you hear how fast your heart is beating?”
That voice made her unable to lie to Qi Yubai.
But she also didn’t dare to admit it.
Wouldn’t admitting it be the same as confessing?
Was she ready to be with him?
She could only lower her head again, pretending to be an ostrich.
Her fingers clenched slightly against the windowsill.
It was only then that she realized—she was still clutching his sleeve.
The memory of why she had grabbed it in the first place resurfaced, and her face flushed crimson again. She instinctively tried to let go, but before she could pull away, he caught her hand.
“You grab my sleeve and then try to run? Gu Lanyin, what do you take me for?”
His domineering nature left her no room to escape.
Her hand was trapped—not just her wrist, but her fingers, pressed into the heat of his palm.
Strangely, for someone who always appeared cold and distant, his body was incredibly warm. So warm it felt like he could melt ice… let alone melt her.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
She couldn’t break free, nor did she know how to argue with him.
All she could do was whisper softly, “You said you wouldn’t force me.”
She had thought that saying this would make him considerate, like he had been upstairs earlier. But instead, the man before her let out a low chuckle.
“I also told you to get used to it—why won’t you listen?”
Not only did Qi Yubai refuse to let go, but he slowly pulled her hand completely into his own. Then, finger by finger, he interlaced their hands, threading his fingers through the spaces between hers—ten fingers tightly entwined.
Lanyin’s pupils trembled.
Her eyes widened in shock.
This was an intimacy she had never experienced before.
Logic told her she should pull away immediately—not just for the sake of propriety, but because she feared she would completely fall.
But under Qi Yubai’s overwhelming presence, her entire body weakened, utterly devoid of strength.
And besides…
She didn’t seem willing to let go.
Qi Yubai had intended to make his feelings crystal clear. But when he saw her delicate shoulders tremble and her little face turn pale, he found that he couldn’t bear to keep up the cold facade and punish her any longer.
With a swift motion, he pulled her soft body into his embrace.
His palm gently patted her back in a comforting gesture.
“I wasn’t scolding you. I just wanted to make it clear—don’t ever send anyone to me again. Even if you sent me a goddess, I wouldn’t like her.”
He paused, then glanced down at her flushed cheeks and couldn’t suppress a low chuckle.
“Besides, no goddess is as beautiful as you.”
As far as the eye could see, the delicate face resting against his shoulder blushed an even deeper shade of red.
Qi Yubai suddenly felt very pleased.
His voice was low and husky, tinged with undeniable amusement as he asked, “Did you understand this time?”
Warm air brushed against Lanyin’s ear.
Outside the window, the summer breeze was just right. Beyond the door, the sounds of a bustling world continued. And yet, she could only hear the deep, unconcealed joy in his voice.
Her face was still buried against his shoulder.
Upon hearing his words, she tilted her head up slightly, her face fairer than the moonlight, her cheeks tinged with a rosy hue.
Looking at the man before her, with his smiling eyes and lips curved in amusement, she suddenly thought of his usual untouchable, cold, and abstinent reputation outside.
For some reason, she blurted out what was in her heart.
“Shameless and smooth-tongued.”