From the croaking of frogs in spring to the chirping of cicadas in summer, time spent in the water pavilion seemed to be cut into colorful fragments, scattered throughout days that would otherwise have been unremarkable. Each fragment shimmered with dazzling, dreamlike light.

Pei Xueqing and Shen Yuance visited the water pavilion as frequently as every three to five days or as rarely as once every ten days. One was a medicine woman who went out to gather herbs, and the other was a wild young noble. No one knew that these two seemingly unrelated people had spent countless sunny and rainy days in that secluded paradise, talking endlessly and reading volume after volume of books.

There were also a few encounters outside the water pavilion, at banquets hosted by the capital’s elite. They would sit separately—one at the men’s table and one at the women’s—each eating their meals or conversing with those around them, occasionally catching each other’s eye from afar. Their gazes would meet for an instant before they knowingly looked away, as if they were still strangers.

In the past, Pei Xueqing had mostly stayed at home, rarely venturing out except to visit medical shops or gather herbs in the mountains. She seldom attended gatherings of nobles and officials, yet in the past half year, she had frequently accepted invitations.

Whenever she accepted an invitation, Shen Yuance would also be in attendance. Sometimes, seeing him shouting those annoying words and making those out-of-character, embarrassing gestures in public, she would secretly laugh in a corner.

Shen Yuance had excellent eyesight and always caught her, as if no matter how far away or inconspicuous her corner was, his eyes could always find her.

When they met again at the water pavilion, he would “take offense” and ask her what was so funny.

She would honestly say, “If I didn’t know your true character, I might dislike you just like everyone else.”

“And now that you know?” he would ask with interest.

“Now that I know, of course I don’t dislike you.”

“Just ‘don’t dislike’? You, Pei Xueqing, don’t even dislike thieves. Who could you possibly dislike? If the most disliked ranks last, then ‘not disliked’ must rank second to last.”

He was referring to an incident she had experienced on the street.

That day, she had gone to a medical shop for medicine. On her way out, she saw a sugar figurine vendor on the street and impulsively went with her maid to buy one. While waiting for the vendor to make the sugar figurine, someone stole her money pouch in the bustling crowd.

Fortunately, the vendor had sharp eyes and spotted the thief behind her. He shouted, “Catch the thief!” The young boy, startled, clutched her money pouch and ran.

Kind passersby helped chase after him, but the boy was nimble and ran extremely fast, darting through the crowd, making it difficult for anyone to catch him.

In the end, a flower pot suddenly fell from above, landing directly in front of the boy’s feet. Frightened, his legs gave way, and he stumbled, allowing the passersby to apprehend him.

Everyone in the street looked up but didn’t see anyone at the windows of the nearby tavern. They attributed it to the wind knocking over the flower pot—a stroke of heavenly justice.

She decided not to report the incident to the authorities since she had recovered her money pouch and the boy had been taught a lesson. Seeing that the boy had fallen quite hard, she took him to a medical shop and had a doctor treat his injuries. Afterward, she helped him find legitimate employment, advising him not to return to criminal ways.

With all the commotion that day, she never got to eat her sugar figurine.

It wasn’t until her next meeting with Shen Yuance at the water pavilion, when he brought her a sugar figurine, that she realized heaven wasn’t always free to deliver justice or watch her every move. The only one constantly looking out for her and doing good deeds anonymously was the young master of the Shen family.

Probably knowing she had a sweet tooth, Shen Yuance had also brought her a cooling milk dessert that day, in addition to the sugar figurine.

Seeing how he had ridden his horse vigorously until he was drenched in sweat to ensure the dessert wouldn’t melt, she hesitated for a long while, reluctant to disappoint him.

Her maid Zhuyue interjected, explaining to him that she couldn’t eat foods made with cow’s milk as they caused her to break out in hives and struggle to breathe.

“You should have said so earlier. More for me than,” Shen Yuance didn’t seem too concerned at the time and ate the dessert himself.

Later, during the scorching summer days, he would perform what seemed like magic tricks at each visit to the water pavilion—sometimes producing bamboo blinds for shade, sometimes bringing out ice that emitted cold air, and other times presenting ice mirrors filled with sweet drinks—but never again did he bring any food made with cow’s milk.

How could she merely “not dislike” such a person? Someone who acted like the troublemaker the world saw him as, yet remembered everything about her, and was so attentive to her needs.

Under his questioning, she smiled silently and lowered her head to read, ignoring his silly words.

Going out to gather herbs so frequently during summer was increasingly difficult to justify, so they reduced their meetings to once every ten days at the water pavilion.

Even so, Pei Xueqing noticed that her elder brother at home seemed to find her recent whereabouts somewhat suspicious. He had probed her several times, asking which medical books she had been studying lately and whether her herb gathering had yielded any results.

She had indeed read a great many books recently, and Shen Yuance had occasionally helped her gather medicinal herbs during his free time. She showed her brother the books with their extensive notes and the herbs she had stored away. Seeing the comprehensive annotations in her books, her brother temporarily set aside his doubts.

Fortunately, her brother also knew she wasn’t one to act recklessly, and even if he still had questions, he respected her and didn’t investigate or follow her.

That day in the water pavilion, she mentioned this to Shen Yuance as a casual conversation. Unexpectedly, Shen Yuance’s expression turned serious, and he asked: “What would happen if your family found out that you often meet me here?”

She tried to imagine the scenario but couldn’t immediately answer.

Although her parents and brother were relatively open-minded people—they respected her desire to study medicine and politely declined marriage proposals on her behalf, regardless of the suitor’s background, when she showed no interest—they still observed the strict separation between men and women.

In their eyes, these meetings would certainly be viewed as improper private encounters. Even if the man was a gentleman praised by all, her family would still prohibit it. Considering Shen Yuance’s reputation, they would undoubtedly be deeply prejudiced against him and would forbid her from having any further contact with him.

Shen Yuance saw the answer in her silence and suddenly sighed: “I somewhat regret it now.”

Pei Xueqing’s heart skipped a beat as she hesitantly looked up.

Did he regret associating with her?

“We’re just meeting here as friends who share an interest in books. We know we’ve done nothing improper, so there’s nothing to feel guilty about. If my family found out, I would certainly explain everything clearly. I wouldn’t let you be scolded by my father, nor would I cause trouble for Governor Shen and Madam Shen.”

“What are you thinking?” Shen Yuance looked at her with amusement. “I meant I regret acting as this wastrel.”

Pei Xueqing was slightly taken aback.

“With such a ruined reputation, how could I ever meet the Prime Minister’s approval? Won’t it be difficult for me to find a wife in the future? For others, matchmakers can extravagantly praise them, but for me, matchmakers can’t tell such blatant lies. No amount of exaggeration, not even if they made the heavenly peaches fall from the sky, would help my case, would it?” Shen Yuance gazed at the sky, musing.

Hearing the implication in his words and seeing his joking tone yet serious expression, Pei Xueqing’s heart raced, and her face flushed as she picked up the cool tea beside her to drink.

Just at that moment, Zhuyue rushed in anxiously: “Miss, it’s terrible! The young master is heading this way!”

The teacup trembled at her lips, spilling cool tea. Pei Xueqing stood up in alarm: “Is my brother coming to catch me?”

“Not exactly. The young master is outside with friends and happened to come here to rest. He saw our carriage and realized you were here. He’s now heading this way.”

So there was still room for maneuver, though it had become extremely narrow with people already approaching.

How ironic, they had just been discussing this very scenario…

Pei Xueqing nervously exchanged glances with Shen Yuance: “Since my brother already knows I’m here, you must leave. If my brother catches us together, even jumping into the lake wouldn’t clear our names.”

The water pavilion was surrounded by water on three sides, with the fourth side connected to a bridge. The only exit was also the only entrance.

Shen Yuance looked at the long wooden bridge and could already faintly hear the approaching voices: “If I leave now, wouldn’t I still be caught by Pei Zisong?”

Pei Xueqing had also realized this and asked anxiously: “Then what should we do?”

Shen Yuance pointed to the military book on the table: “The Thirty-Six Stratagems, twenty-first stratagem—The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell.”

Before Pei Xueqing could react, in a flash, Shen Yuance quickly removed his substantial belt and jade pendant, handing them to her: “Hide my shell well.”

With that, he turned and pushed open the pavilion window, stepped onto the windowsill, and leaped headlong into the lake below.