The day Xie Tao met Meng Lichun again was a Saturday afternoon.
In a milk tea shop on the edge of the city center square, Xie Tao placed the copper pendant she had gotten from Wei Yun in front of Meng Lichun.
“Meng Auntie, I’m returning this item to you.”
Calling her “Spring Auntie” was a bit of a mouthful for Xie Tao, so she opted for a simpler form of address.
Meng Lichun seemed a bit stunned upon hearing this address at first, then she shifted her gaze to the copper pendant on the table.
She had once put a lot of effort into retrieving this pendant, but always ended up unsuccessful.
But now, this copper pendant, lost for many years, was lying right in front of her.
“I heard from Uncle Nian that this copper pendant is a token of love between you and Uncle Xi…”
Uncle Nian, mentioned by Xie Tao, is the man known only by his management bureau ID—AM670.
Meng Lichun’s subordinate.
After learning about this from him, Xie Tao discussed it with Wei Yun, and ultimately, Wei Yun agreed to return the item to Meng Lichun.
After all, this copper pendant was not just a magical artifact; it also held significant meaning for Meng Lichun.
It was originally hers, after all.
Meng Lichun picked up the copper pendant in front of her, touched the clearly fractured filigree tail feather on the pendant, and suddenly chuckled, “What token of love…”
“I made that up, and you believed it,” Meng Lichun said, propping her chin with one hand, her voice sounding a bit distant.
“What?” Xie Tao was momentarily confused.
Meng Lichun took a sip of her milk tea, biting the straw, “He never reciprocated my feelings, so how could there be any token of love.”
This copper pendant was the only item he left her the night she stole him out of the Prince of Liang’s palace.
Meng Lichun always thought her feelings were unrequited, until that night when she held a knife to his throat, and his sudden kiss felt like a long-suppressed, reluctant emotion finally leaking out in an instant.
How could anyone perfectly control their emotions all the time, never letting others notice, even deceiving themselves? Even for a deity, that would be incredibly difficult.
So that night, Meng Lichun finally realized he wasn’t an unmeltable block of ice.
But it was all too late.
Young Master Xian pressed step by step, and that night, in that dilapidated temple, had Wen Xi tied up and returned to the Prince of Liang’s palace.
Wen Xi always wanted Meng Lichun to stay out of it, away from all the warfare, the struggle for power and profit.
But Young Master Xian was not a kind man.
He killed everyone in Wen Xi’s household and later, due to the slander of eunuchs by his side, killed his own wife Wan Hua.
She was Meng Lichun’s only friend there.
And Meng Lichun was thrown into the music house inside the Prince of Liang’s palace, becoming a tiny chess piece in Young Master Xian’s hand.
For her, the copper pendant left by Wen Xi was the only solace in her long life about him.
But now…
Meng Lichun touched the copper pendant in her hand and then pushed it back towards Xie Tao, “Keeping this thing is actually of no use to me; it’s better to leave it for you young people to play with in love.”
She took a deep breath and smiled, “Consider it making the best use of it.”
“Meng Auntie, I…”
“Alright, if I tell you to keep it, just keep it.”
Xie Tao wanted to say more but was interrupted by Meng Lichun.
So, holding the copper pendant in her hand, she finally said earnestly to Meng Lichun, “Thank you, Meng Auntie.”
No matter what kind of misunderstanding it was,
It was ultimately Meng Lichun’s copper pendant that led to her and Wei Yun’s seemingly impossible relationship.
Upon leaving the milk tea shop, Xie Tao found Wei Yun in the library inside the building next door.
At that time, he was sitting in the reading room, legs crossed, with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, fingers pressing on the spine of a book. Occasionally, he would tap the pages with his fingertips, his jade-like profile always carrying a hint of nonchalance.
As Xie Tao opened the door, he turned his head towards the sound.
She had run hurriedly, and now her cheeks were slightly flushed, breathing heavily.
Upon seeing her like this, Wei Yun put down the book in his hand and said, “Come here.”
Xie Tao closed the door and obediently walked over, sitting down on the stool next to him.
Wei Yun timely offered her a cup of water, “Want a drink?”
Xie Tao didn’t reach out her hand; instead, she leaned in to sip from the cup’s edge.
Wei Yun moved the cup back a bit, then directly tapped her forehead, giving her a stern look, “You’re getting lazier.”
It sounded like a light rebuke, but it wasn’t really serious. The tone was, in fact, involuntarily tender.
Xie Tao picked up the cup he had placed on the table and took another sip.
Then, she took out a copper amulet and handed it to him, “Aunt Meng doesn’t want it.”
“Don’t want it?”
Wei Yun raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
He remembered how Meng Lichun had made quite the effort to get back this copper amulet in the past.
Xie Tao nodded and tore open a packet of cookies, eating a piece, “She said to keep it…”
She paused, her voice getting softer, “for us to use in our relationship.”
Hearing this, Wei Yun also felt somewhat unnatural. He cleared his throat and said, “Today, I will stay here and not go back.”
He tilted his head to look at her, “Is there anything you want to do?”
Upon hearing his words, Xie Tao’s eyes lit up. She grabbed his sleeve, “Really?”
She tilted her head, thinking for a while, “Hmm… I’m hungry. I want to go eat at Haidilao.”
Haidilao?
Wei Yun was momentarily puzzled.
“It’s hotpot,” Xie Tao added.
Wei Yun nodded lightly, “Okay.”
Even though Wei Yun was wearing a mask, his distinct long hair, slender figure, and the indifferent temperament he inadvertently revealed made him still attract some glances when walking on the street.
Wei Yun actually didn’t want to wear a mask, so there was a hint of irritability in his eyes and brows. As he walked forward with long strides, he realized Xie Tao had fallen behind.
She was still looking around, seemingly curious about something.
He frowned, suddenly stopped, and turned back to look at her, “What are you looking at? Come here.”
Despite the mask, his voice sounded a bit muffled but remained clear and cool.
Xie Tao hurriedly caught up, running to his side.
The gazes of many people around momentarily paused on them, one tall and one short.
While waiting for the traffic light at the roadside, Xie Tao lowered her eyelids, constantly gazing at his distinctly jointed right hand, as if wanting to reach out and hold it, yet not quite daring to.
His peach blossom eyes slightly drooped, noticing her back-and-forth, indecisive little movements.
Wei Yun raised his eyes, and when the crowd began to move towards the zebra crossing, he suddenly reached out to hold her hand, striding across to the other side.
In that moment, Xie Tao abruptly looked up at his profile, her eyes filled with both surprise and joy.
Yet, Wei Yun always kept his chin up, not turning his head to look at her.
He seemed to maintain a cool and indifferent demeanor.
However, the corners of his lips hidden beneath the mask couldn’t help but lift slightly, even the corners of his eyes bore a faint smile.
Xie Tao tightened her grip on his hand, and under the occasional glances that fell upon them, she seemed not to see them at all, her mouth corners lifting in spite of herself.
Upon entering the store, the first thing Wei Yun did was to take off his mask and sunglasses.
The female server who came over with a tablet for them to order from was momentarily speechless upon seeing Wei Yun’s face, as if she had forgotten what to say.
“Hello, could you give me that?” Xie Tao waved her hand in front of the server and then pointed at the tablet she was holding.
The server instantly snapped back to reality, hastily handing the tablet to Xie Tao, and hurriedly apologized, “I’m sorry…”
Wei Yun’s expression was very cold, his eyes currently lowered looking at his phone.
With an air of aloofness as if repelling others from a thousand miles away, he had the demeanor of someone unapproachable.
The moment Wei Yun sat down and took off his mask, there was a small commotion around, and many people couldn’t help but cast their gazes on him, then whispered something to the people at their table.
Xie Tao even heard two girls at a diagonally opposite table holding each other, their gazes fixed on Wei Yun as if glued, starting to excitedly whisper in shock.
When Xie Tao noticed that young girls had started to take sneaky photos with their phones, she swiftly stood up, sat down beside him, effectively blocking some of the view and even the silent snapping of photos.
Xie Tao ordered a tomato and spicy hotpot, then added some of her favorite dishes before asking Wei Yun, “What would you like to eat?”
“You decide,” Wei Yun said lightly, without lifting his eyes.
So, Xie Tao had to order a few more dishes, then handed the tablet back to the server.
“Please wait a moment.” The server’s gaze still wandered to Wei Yun sitting next to Xie Tao, slightly star-struck, but she still offered a standard professional smile, politely uttered a word, and then turned to leave.
Xie Tao took a sip of water, turned her head to see Wei Yun still looking at his phone, her curiosity piqued, she leaned over to look.
Unbeknownst to her until she looked, she was startled.
Wei Yun was actually browsing a shopping app…
“You’re into online shopping now?” Xie Tao exclaimed in surprise.
“Is it difficult?”
Wei Yun glanced at her.
“…Not difficult.” Xie Tao said quietly.
What’s so difficult about online shopping? Wei Yun’s learning speed in other areas is what truly astonishes her…
Now, she sometimes encounters math problems she can’t solve, but he can.
She was so surprised that her jaw almost dropped, yet he just glanced at her indifferently like today and said lightly, “It’s interesting.”
For Xie Tao, mathematics was already a subject she excelled in, but he managed to reach a level where he could help her with difficult problems in such a short time.
She felt the gap between their minds was just too big.
“But why… are you looking at women’s clothes?” Xie Tao asked, puzzled by life itself.
“For you.” Wei Yun said offhandedly.
???
Xie Tao was stunned, “Why, why would you buy clothes for me?”
“No reason.”
Wei Yun simply stated.
Xie Tao blinked, “But I already have a lot of clothes…”
Upon hearing this, Wei Yun frowned slightly, then turned his head to look at her again, “A lot?”
???
Not a lot?!
What about that huge pile of clothes in the walk-in closet??
“I have enough clothes, you don’t need to buy more.” Xie Tao said quietly.
During the conversation, a male waiter came over with the base of the pot and placed it down, then along with another waiter, brought all sorts of dishes from the cart to the table.
