“Did Fifth Cousin just come from Great-Aunt’s courtyard?” Qiu Yun asked with a refined manner that carried a somewhat distant smile.

The Qiu family was an established noble house in Yan Bei. Now, Qiu Yun’s grandfather’s branch had become the main lineage of the Qiu family. Although Qiu Yun ranked third among the grandchildren, his father was the legitimate eldest son of the Qiu family patriarch, and he was the only son of the eldest branch, truly of impeccable pedigree.

Therefore, whether in the Qiu family or the Ren family, Qiu Yun was a figure surrounded by stars like the moon. Among his peers, he was held in high esteem.

In her previous life, Ren Yaoqi had disliked Qiu Yun. In front of people, he maintained the appearance of a refined, noble young master. But behind people’s backs, he would always stand aside with a smiling expression, watching Yun Wenfang amuse himself at her expense, while he served as the lookout.

Toward Yun Wenfang, she felt a hatred that made her want to trample him underfoot, but toward Qiu Yun, she felt a disdain and disgust at being associated with him.

“Yes, Third Cousin. Grandmother will surely be delighted to know you’ve come,” Ren Yaoqi returned his smile and replied quietly, her smile even more perfect than his, her manner even more proper.

After saying this, she lowered her head and stepped slightly aside, politely letting them pass first.

Qiu Yun seemed somewhat surprised and glanced at her.

Yun Wenfang, standing beside him, chuckled softly, placed his hand on Qiu Yun’s shoulder, leaned half his body sideways, but his eyes playfully surveyed Ren Yaoqi: “Jinyuan, is this the cousin you mentioned before who has an odd temperament? She doesn’t seem like it at all.”

His manner didn’t resemble that of a noble family’s young master, but rather a frivolous libertine who played with the world. Fortunately, he was young and handsome, so he didn’t appear too disagreeable.

Qiu Yun clenched his hand into a fist somewhat awkwardly, pressed it against his lips, and coughed lightly: “Zishu, you’ve remembered wrong. That was something Yuanhui said about his cousin.”

Yun Wenfang smiled and glanced at Qiu Yun, then looked at Ren Yaoqi, wanting to see if she would get angry easily as Qiu Yun had said. However, he saw her standing there with her head lowered in the same position, not even lifting her eyes once, as if she hadn’t heard his teasing at all.

Her attitude was polite yet distant, making them seem somewhat boring instead.

Yun Wenfang raised an eyebrow slightly. Somehow, Ren Yaoqi’s expression made him feel very uncomfortable.

Although this was their first meeting, and Ren Yaoqi hadn’t done anything wrong, he just felt displeased.

Perhaps it was truly as Ren Yaoqi thought—some people were just naturally incompatible.

So he turned to Qiu Yun and winked: “Since we’ve encountered your cousin, we don’t need him to lead the way anymore, right?” He was referring to Yang Cheng, the outer courtyard steward who had led them in.

When Yun Wenfang was at the Yun family, he was someone who did everything according to his whims. Now, even on someone else’s territory, he wasn’t aware that he should restrain himself.

Steward Yang Cheng looked up at Ren Yaoqi, then at Qiu Yun, and finally lowered his head obediently, indicating that he was merely a servant and would follow whatever the masters arranged.

Seeing the smile on Yun Wenfang’s face, Qiu Yun knew his bad habit of teasing people had emerged again, and he couldn’t help feeling somewhat helpless. The two were classmates, and he understood Yun Wenfang quite well, knowing that when he wanted to trouble someone, ten oxen couldn’t pull him back.

However… he looked at Ren Yaoqi, somehow feeling that today’s Fifth Cousin seemed different from before.

Only then did Ren Yaoqi raise her head, nodding at Yang Cheng with an unchanged expression: “Steward Yang, you may return. Since the guests have encountered me, it’s proper that I should lead them to pay respects to the elders.”

She now understood that with some people, you couldn’t clash head-on, but had to smooth their fur in the right direction.

She had no intention of making enemies with Yun Wenfang and Qiu Yun again. These two were merely irrelevant people, not worth her spending too much effort and thought on. She had too many things to accomplish.

Yang Cheng hadn’t wanted to get involved in the masters’ disputes in the first place, so he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He bowed and withdrew. After all, Ronghua Garden had already sent someone ahead to report, so there would be no breach of etiquette.

Ren Yaoqi nodded at Qiu Yun again, then turned to lead the two toward Ronghua Garden.

Seeing her so agreeable, Qiu Yun felt it inappropriate to make things difficult for her anymore. He turned to discuss with Yun Wenfang the places near Baihezhen suitable for sightseeing.

Ren Yaoqi walked unhurriedly with her head lowered, not joining the conversation. However, Yun Wenfang kept glancing at her from time to time. Because he looked frequently and without restraint, even Qiu Yun noticed.

Qiu Yun quietly signaled to him, asking what was the matter. Yun Wenfang just stroked his chin, winked and smiled, but said nothing.

“Ahem, what has Cousin been busy with lately?” Qiu Yun, feeling helpless, began making conversation with Ren Yaoqi.

Ren Yaoqi replied softly: “The same as my sisters—doing needlework, chatting, and talking.”

“Doesn’t Fifth Cousin enjoy reading, writing, and painting?” Qiu Yun asked with a gentle smile.

Ren Yaoqi smiled slightly: “Those are merely pastimes when bored, nothing compared to Cousin and the brothers who truly pursue scholarly endeavors.”

“You can also paint?” Yun Wenfang leisurely interjected, “Paint one tomorrow for this young master to see.”

His tone was quite arrogant. Ren Yaoqi didn’t want to quarrel with him, so she merely smiled without responding.

However, Qiu Yun clapped his hands together and looked at both of them with a smile: “Brother Zishu’s painting skills are indeed excellent. But… I dare not speak of other things regarding this Fifth Sister of mine, but as for painting… Zishu, you might not measure up to her.”

Ren Yaoqi frowned slightly.

Sure enough, the next sentence she heard was Yun Wenfang saying: “Then I truly must witness this for myself.”

Fortunately, Ronghua Garden wasn’t far away, and soon Ren Yaoqi led them there.

Old Madam Ren should have received word beforehand and known Yun Wenfang’s true identity, so when she saw Yun Wenfang, her attitude toward him was very affectionate.

After Ren Yaoqi brought them over, she curtsied and took her leave.