As soon as Li Qinyuan finished speaking, there was no movement from the alley behind him.
If anyone else were present, they might have thought he had seen something he shouldn’t have. However, he wasn’t in a hurry. He remained leaning against the mottled wall, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze fixed on a particular alleyway as he continued speaking in an indifferent tone, “Young Master Gu Jiufei, come out.”
Just as his words fell—
A young man draped in a blue cloak stepped out from a somewhat narrow alleyway.
His face bore a bright smile, radiating the innocent liveliness befitting his age. Upon seeing Li Qinyuan, he seemed a little surprised, but when he spoke, his tone naturally carried a hint of delight. “Brother Li Qinyuan, why are you here?”
After speaking, he reached up to scratch the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed expression. “I just heard someone say there were candied hawthorns being sold here, and before I knew it, I got lost while walking around.”
The young man’s tone was sincere, and his expression was utterly earnest—he truly looked as if that were the case.
Yet, Li Qinyuan merely gazed at him with a half-smile. After a moment, he asked, “Does Fu Xian know your true appearance?”
Gu Jiufei was still lowering his head, hand resting at the back of his head. Upon hearing this, the bashful smile on his face momentarily froze, and his hand stilled as well. However, after just a brief pause, he lifted his head again, his expression returning to normal. He looked at Li Qinyuan in apparent confusion and asked in surprise, “Brother Li Qinyuan, what are you talking about?”
“The Yu family’s school starts at the fourth quarter of the Chen Hour (approximately 8:45 AM), and right now, it’s only the first quarter of the Chen Hour (around 7:15 AM).”
“You specifically chose this time to go out and took a route that doesn’t lead to the Yu family at all, just to buy candied hawthorns?” Li Qinyuan sneered. “You followed her here, didn’t you?”
The young man remained silent, but his thin lips pressed together slightly.
Li Qinyuan leisurely watched him and continued, “Tell me, if someone were to tell your father about this incident today, what would that father of yours, who is extremely biased, think you were trying to do?”
Gu Jiufei still didn’t speak, but the innocent liveliness that had just moments ago belonged to a boy his age had already vanished.
He stood at the boundary between light and shadow. His apricot-shaped eyes—so strikingly similar to Gu Wuyou’s—now harbored a deep and obscure darkness, staring at Li Qinyuan in a way that was completely beyond his years.
After an indeterminate length of time, he finally spoke. “If Father knew she was mixed up with you, he would never let you two meet again.”
“Even if… he spoils her rotten.”
“Is that so?” Li Qinyuan, however, seemed entirely unconcerned. He even shifted to a more comfortable posture and lazily remarked, “That would be perfect; otherwise, I’d still have to think of ways to keep her away from me.”
“You!”
Something in that sentence must have struck a nerve in Gu Jiufei, as his face immediately darkened. He even took a big step toward Li Qinyuan but abruptly halted at the last moment, standing three or four steps away. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “What exactly are you trying to do?!”
Li Qinyuan remained just as relaxed, leaning against the wall with his chin slightly raised, his long and narrow phoenix eyes gazing at him indifferently. “What I want to do depends on what you want to do.”
“I couldn’t care less about the matters between you and your sister.”
“But—” He paused for a moment. The emotions in his eyes suddenly grew cold, and even his voice dropped to a lower, deeper tone. “If it involves me, Gu Jiufei, you should know my temper. Weigh your thoughts carefully—don’t go thinking you can do just anything.”
After saying that, he didn’t look at him again and simply walked away.
When he was about to reach the alley entrance, the overwhelming noise and bustle ahead made him pause. He stood still, seemingly lost in thought, before suddenly speaking, “Do you hate her that much?”
Recalling his interactions with Gu Wuyou over the past few days, he pursed his lips and said, “With that foolish little brain of hers, she’s no match for you at all.”
This time, after speaking, he didn’t linger any further. Without looking back, he strode away.
Behind him, Gu Jiufei did not speak, merely watching as he walked away. Even after Li Qinyuan’s figure had disappeared from sight, he still did not avert his gaze.
The deep and narrow alley seemed as though it was naturally devoid of sunlight.
He stood there, allowing the cold north wind to whip against his face. His face was nearly frozen, and his hands were icy cold, but he remained rooted to the spot, not taking a single step away.
His mind was still echoing Li Qinyuan’s words: “Do you really hate her that much?”
Did he hate Gu Wuyou?
Without a doubt, he hated her.
If it weren’t for Gu Wuyou, his father wouldn’t have neglected him and his mother for so many years, nor would he have looked at him as if he were something that shouldn’t be seen.
He had always wondered if ruining Gu Wuyou, tarnishing her reputation, would make his father disappointed in her, gradually forget about her as a daughter, and finally start paying more attention to him and his mother.
So, from childhood to adulthood—
He had allowed Gu Wuyou to bully him, sometimes even deliberately provoking her.
He knew Gu Wuyou’s temperament and personality. That woman appeared fierce and domineering, but in reality, she was utterly useless. As long as he handled things well, he would only suffer minor injuries, while Gu Wuyou would gradually lose the affection and reputation she enjoyed.
Unfortunately.
Gu Wuyou had been staying in Langya all these years, returning only once a year. The rare reunions only made his father remember her more, cherish her more, so much so that no matter how much he suffered, it made little difference.
Especially in recent years, as Gu Wuyou grew older, she paid less and less attention to him, and his methods of provocation became less effective.
Knowing that Gu Wuyou had been waking up early these past few days, and that her behavior had become increasingly strange, with her personality drastically different from before, Gu Jiufei had deliberately gotten up early to follow her.
He wanted to see what Gu Wuyou was up to.
He secretly followed Gu Wuyou into this alley, which she would never have walked through before, saw her talking to someone, saw Li Qinyuan appear, and then saw the two of them walk out together… To be honest, when he first saw Gu Wuyou and Li Qinyuan walking together, he was shocked.
What kind of person was Li Qinyuan? A notorious playboy known throughout the capital.
Gu Wuyou would actually be with someone like that? Not only walking together, but also behaving so intimately, even more so than with her so-called fiancé from before.
But beyond the shock.
He thought of a plan.
If his father found out that Gu Wuyou was secretly meeting with Li Qinyuan, he would surely be angry. And with Gu Wuyou’s temperament, the more she was denied, the more she would make a scene.
Over time, his father would grow tired of her.
He had always been adept at scheming, but he never expected to be exposed by Li Qinyuan on the spot, nor did he expect to be threatened like this.
His expression shifted between dark and light.
Gu Jiufei stood there for who knows how long before finally stepping toward his carriage. The carriage that had belonged to Gu Wuyou was long gone from the road, yet he stared at the spot for a while, only snapping out of it when his servant called out to him, “Let’s go.”
“Young Master, didn’t you say you were going to buy candied haws?” the servant asked, lifting the carriage curtain for him, a hint of confusion in his voice.
Gu Jiufei replied indifferently, “Couldn’t find any.” As he spoke, he climbed into the carriage.
The servant softly acknowledged with an “Oh,” then smiled, “If you want to eat some, I’ll go find some for you later.” As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something, “Oh, by the way, I saw Fifth Miss earlier. Since it was far away, I didn’t go over.”
“But she seemed quite happy.”
Hearing the word “happy,” Gu Jiufei paused for a moment, but in an instant, he returned to normal, bending down to enter the carriage, “Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Just as the servant was about to lower the carriage curtain, he heard the young master inside say, “Don’t tell anyone about seeing her here.”
“Huh?” The servant was momentarily stunned, but he was always obedient and didn’t ask further, softly acknowledging with a “Yes.”
As the carriage headed towards the Yu residence, Gu Jiufei gazed at the scenery fluttering outside the carriage curtain, his expression calm, lost in thought. In truth, Li Qinyuan had been wrong about one thing.
His plans.
He hadn’t actually thought through any plans at all.
Even though he had confidently considered so many things, when it came time to act, he still hesitated.
Otherwise—
With Gu Wuyou’s level of intelligence, she would have fallen victim to his schemes countless times over the years.
Gu Jiufei scoffed and closed his eyes again.
Gu Wuyou was completely unaware of what had happened in the alley.
She arrived earlier today than she had yesterday. When she entered Pingshuo Hall, there weren’t many people there yet. Xiao Yi, however, had arrived early and was sitting in her chair… Gu Wuyou glanced at her with some surprise.
Although she didn’t pay much attention to the affairs of the academy and never interacted with Xiao Yi and her group, she knew that Xiao Yi and her clique were usually inseparable, always coming to the academy together.
Today—
She noticed that Xu Wan and Xiao Yi’s usual followers hadn’t arrived yet.
Xiao Yi sat in her chair, seemingly lost in thought, her face pale and her lips tightly pressed, as if she had done something wrong.
Perhaps because Gu Wuyou had been staring at her for too long, Xiao Yi suddenly looked up. The moment she saw Gu Wuyou, her expression changed instantly.
The person who had been sitting properly suddenly stood up, causing the brushes and notebooks on the table to scatter across the floor.
The commotion was so loud that even those sitting in the corners looked over, asking with concern, “Yi, are you okay?” Gu Wuyou also furrowed her slender brows, walked over, and asked with genuine concern, “Are you alright?”
Seeing her approach, Xiao Yi took a step back, completely unlike her usual composed and dignified self, her face pale as she said, “…I’m fine.”
But she didn’t look fine at all.
Gu Wuyou frowned, about to ask more, but Xiao Yi suddenly said, “I need to go out for a bit.” With that, she hurriedly ran off.
Seeing her like this.
Although Gu Wuyou found it strange, she didn’t chase after her. Her relationship with Xiao Yi wasn’t deep; at best, they were mere acquaintances. This was only because she now had the experience of an additional lifetime and had let go of many things. In the past, she probably wouldn’t have even bothered to speak.
After helping to pick up the scattered items, she returned to her seat.
From her small bag, she took out an unfinished sachet and continued embroidering. She had worked on it by lamplight the previous night, and now the pattern was starting to take shape. It wouldn’t be long before it was finished.
Looking at the sachet, which was beginning to resemble its final form, Gu Wuyou’s eyes curved into a smile.
She must finish it before the General’s birthday!
Gu Wuyou hadn’t been embroidering for long when the other noble girls began arriving one after another. With so many people suddenly entering, the previously quiet Pingshuo Hall quickly became lively.
Hearing the commotion, she took a moment to glance over at Xiao Yi and noticed that her expression had returned to normal. She was now chatting with her group of friends.
It seemed nothing was wrong after all.
Thinking this, Gu Wuyou took a brief look and then stopped paying attention.
Gu Yu was among the last to arrive. In the past, she would always look toward Xiao Yi and her group first upon entering, but today, her first glance was at Gu Wuyou. Seeing her bent over embroidering the sachet, Gu Yu frowned.
She couldn’t understand what had gotten into Gu Wuyou lately.
Every morning, Gu Wuyou would leave early, and no one knew where she went. Once at the academy, she would start embroidering the sachet. If it weren’t for the fact that her face and demeanor were still the same, Gu Yu would have thought this Gu Wuyou was an imposter.
Just as she was about to go over and say something—
A voice suddenly rang out from behind, “Did you all hear?! The reason Princess Leping returned to the capital is because she broke off her engagement in Langya!”