Although this kiss was initiated by Lanyin, it quickly turned into one where Qi Yubai took the lead. Under his assertive yet gentle kisses, Lanyin retreated step by step, utterly defenseless. By the time the kiss ended, she could only bury her face in Qi Yubai’s shoulder, gasping for breath, her eyes completely unfocused.
She had no idea how much time had passed before she finally regained her senses.
Lanyin’s face was flushed red, and she didn’t have the courage to lift her head at this moment. She could hardly believe that she had been the one to make the first move.
Qi Yubai wasn’t much better off than she was. A man’s instincts drove him to possess and claim, but in reality, he was just as inexperienced. If Lanyin had been in a clear state of mind, she would have noticed the underlying nervousness hidden beneath his dominance.
“Shall we go for a walk?”
His voice, low and hoarse, brushed against her ear, while his palm still rested around her waist.
Lanyin could hear the distinct roughness in his voice compared to usual. She knew the reason behind it, and the warmth that had just faded from her face crept back up again. Yet, she didn’t refuse. Burying her face in his shoulder, she softly hummed in response.
In this kind of situation, if they stayed here any longer, something was bound to happen.
She withdrew the hands she had wrapped around his neck and was just about to get off his lap when she was lifted and placed steadily on the ground. Immediately after, Qi Yubai naturally helped her smooth out her disheveled clothing and hair. Only after finishing with hers did he adjust his own attire. Compared to her flustered state, he seemed much more composed—he simply straightened his clothes with a few movements before extending a hand toward her. “Let’s go.”
Lanyin neither hesitated nor refused; she placed her hand in his.
Yuanbao was still fast asleep. Upon hearing movement, it only opened one eye in the dim light but didn’t react otherwise. Looking at her childhood companion, Lanyin smiled and said, “I’ll bring you some crispy fish tomorrow.”
It seemed to understand but still maintained its aloof demeanor, as if too lazy to respond.
Lanyin thought about how, when it was little, its eyes were barely open, and it would bury its whole face in its milk bowl, drinking until its face was covered in milk. Now, seeing its proud and majestic appearance, she couldn’t help but turn to Qi Yubai and say, “It’s just like you.”
“Hmm?”
Qi Yubai lowered his gaze, first looking at Yuanbao, then back at Lanyin. He gently scraped his fingers against the soft skin of her palm and, rather than getting annoyed, merely smiled at her. “You’re comparing me to a cat?”
Lanyin was ticklish—even her palms were sensitive. She instinctively tried to retract her hand, but he held it firmly. Qi Yubai must have noticed her reaction because he raised an eyebrow and lightly scratched her palm a few more times, making her blush deeply as she pleaded, “Stop, stop! I just think you two have similar temperaments.”
At first glance, both seemed unapproachable and distant, but only upon getting close would one realize how affectionate they could be—almost clingy, even.
Perhaps this was the nature of pet owners.
She suppressed her ticklishness, but a helpless smile still played on her lips. Her almond-shaped eyes shimmered with laughter, and the red at the corners of her eyes deepened, making her appear unusually enchanting under the candlelight.
Qi Yubai had only meant to tease her, but seeing her like this, the desire in his heart surged like a beast breaking free from its cage. The amusement in his eyes darkened into something deeper.
He sighed inwardly. As someone who rarely regretted anything, Qi Shaoqing now deeply regretted agreeing to take things slow with Lanyin this morning. He should have just married her right away—then he wouldn’t have to endure this kind of restraint. If this went on much longer, he would be the one suffering. More than that, if too much time passed, the two elders might start getting suspicious.
Resisting the urge, he stopped teasing her. Instead, he gently wiped away a tear at the corner of her eye that had formed from laughing too much.
“Let’s go.” He held her hand and led her outside.
Lanyin let him guide her without resistance. After walking for a while, perhaps because they had left behind the intimate atmosphere, the ripples in her heart gradually settled. She walked alongside Qi Yubai, staring up at his profile under the moonlight.
After a brief silence, she couldn’t hold back anymore and softly called his name.
“Qi Yubai.”
“Hmm?”
He lowered his gaze to look at her, his expression under the moonlight still gentle as ever. “What is it?”
“You… can you tell me what happened to you afterward?”
Lanyin found these words extremely difficult to say, but she never looked away from him. Even though there was fear in her heart, she did not allow it to make her waver.
Qi Yubai had already prepared himself for her questions long before he spoke those words to her. He did not hide anything.
“After you left, I left Bianjing as well.”
As soon as he said this, Lanyin gripped his hand tightly. Seeing her face suddenly turn pale and the way her pupils contracted sharply, Qi Yubai knew what she was thinking. In reassurance, he gently squeezed her hand back and continued in a calm and soothing tone,
“I knew you had sought Grand Preceptor Qin’s help. Both he and my teacher spoke up for me, and many officials who had been on good terms with me also vouched for me. Although the imperial censors submitted a memorial against me, His Majesty did not punish me. It was my own decision to leave.”
Watching her die before his eyes, he felt as if the sky over Bianjing had never been clear again, as if even the air had become suffocating and oppressive.
He simply could not continue living in that place. At that time, Grand Marshal Du was in power, so he took his grandmother and left the treacherous political scene of Bianjing altogether.
“I was first reassigned to Duanzhou.”
“You know that I had achievements in water management back then. The people of Duanzhou respected me greatly. Living there was actually far more comfortable than staying in the deceitful and scheming environment of Bianjing. Grandmother liked it there as well. I spent my days with her until she passed away. After that, I returned her remains to Bianjing to be buried alongside my grandfather. Then, I continued moving from place to place…”
As she listened to his steady and gentle voice, Lanyin seemed to witness his entire life unfold before her eyes.
She saw how this man gradually grew from a composed young scholar into someone even more mature and steadfast. She saw how he traveled from one place to another, and no matter where he went, he was always beloved by the people.
“I eventually became the Prime Minister in that lifetime, the very position my teacher holds now…”
A warm, broad palm landed gently on her head. The evening breeze brushed past as his voice, low and soft, reached her ears once again.
“So you don’t need to feel guilty. I was fine. I did not fall into ruin because of your death. I lived out the rest of my life calmly and peacefully.”
He did not tell Lanyin that, in his final years, he had chosen to live in the company of Buddhist scriptures and candlelight.
That he had knelt before the Buddha day after day, chanting sutras—yet his heart had never truly been cleansed of attachments. That every year, on the anniversaries of both her birth and death, he would leave the monastery and visit her grave.
He also did not tell her why he had chosen to live out the remainder of his life in that small temple.
It was because that temple faced her burial site.
Every morning, as he rose, he could look across the mountains and see where she rested. That was how he accompanied her, or perhaps, it was his stubborn way of making her keep him company.
In their past life, they had never even been granted a proper farewell.
Yan Ming had told him countless times, “Why do this to yourself? Throwing away a bright future to live out your days alone in that tiny temple—any fool would know better.”
Qi Yubai had also asked himself, why? But in this world, aside from life and death, the heart was just as difficult to control.
At some point, he had given his heart away, and by the time he wanted to take it back, it was already too late.
Seeing the unrestrainable mist of tears in her eyes, Qi Yubai gently stroked her hair.
“Your uncle arranged for your burial. He chose a prime location with excellent feng shui. The servants you left behind after your passing also lived well. Shi Yu and Song Yue got married. She managed the businesses you left behind, and every year, she would donate a large portion of the profits to continue the charitable work you had once started. Many people who had received your kindness remained grateful to you. They even built a temple in your honor and sculpted a golden effigy of you.”
“As for Xiao Mingchuan—”
Qi Yubai was about to continue when Lanyin, her voice hoarse, interrupted him.
“He doesn’t matter.”
Perhaps when she had first awakened, she had wondered what became of Xiao Ye and Qin Guan after her death.
But so much time had passed, and she no longer cared about their fate. Whether they lived well or suffered, it had nothing to do with her anymore. All that mattered was that the person she loved had been well. That was enough.
Qi Yubai saw that she had no desire to hear more, so he did not continue.