Shi Xin glanced toward the back garden and smiled. “Don’t you know Xing Zhi? If he truly has his eye on someone, do you think he would ever let go?”

“Right now Xing Zhi is keeping a low profile and not openly confronting Shi Guang. Shi Guang hasn’t yet started guarding against him. But if a real conflict were to arise, I’m afraid he’d be treated as a thorn in the eye. The Commander holds Shi Guang in exceptionally high regard and shows him great favoritism. I worry that acting impulsively could put Xing Zhi at a disadvantage.”

“Everything you’ve said — he couldn’t possibly not know.” Shi Xin took a sip of tea. “I trust he knows his own limits.”

Liu Huan smiled. “But speaking of which, Xing Zhi does have quite a discerning eye. Though the Sixth Miss has a physical disability, she handles herself and others without the slightest flaw. And that non-woven fabric technique in particular — it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard of. If it goes into large-scale production, it will surely sweep through the textile industry like a whirlwind.”

“That’s not even the half of it.” Shi Xin pursed her red lips and blew gently on the rim of her teacup. “Her medical skills are exceptional — she’s helped Xing Zhi crack multiple major cases. And her real reason for having you make the non-woven fabric is for the Military Police Division. And doing things for the Military Police Division means doing them for Xing Zhi.”

Liu Huan nodded. “If that’s truly the case, it would make for a wonderful story. The only worry is your mother…”

“Since when has Mother ever been able to control Xing Zhi?” Shi Xin said. “That child has a mind of his own. From the time he was small to now, not even the Commander has been able to sway him. As for the future… the future is truly hard to say.”

“By the way, you said the lotus flowers have bloomed — how did I not know?”

“Who told you to go away for half a month before coming back? If you’d waited another month or so, you’d only get to see the seed pods.” Shi Xin gave him a reproachful look.

Liu Huan laughed and took his wife’s hand. “The lotus flowers are in bloom, and I haven’t gone out on the boat with my wife to enjoy them yet. It seems we’ve let that young rascal Xing Zhi take all the fun.”

“Going out on a boat to enjoy the lotus flowers?” Yan Qing looked surprised. “I thought it was just a small lotus pond.”

“You’ll see when you get there.”

Shi Ting pushed her through two moon-shaped archways and along a tree-lined path, and then suddenly the view opened wide before them — a shimmering lake stretching out in all its splendor.

Shun Cheng was located in Bei Di, so the lotus flowers bloomed late. In the south, by the sixth month, the lotus leaves already stretched endlessly to the horizon in an unbroken emerald expanse. But now, approaching the seventh month, the lotus flowers had only just begun to bloom here. Though they hadn’t opened in great numbers yet, flowers of every color were already blossoming across the lily pads on the lake — red, white, yellow — countless varieties competing in beauty.

While this lake was not boundless as far as the eye could see, it was still quite vast in area. Without taking a boat out, one could only stand on the bank and observe from a distance, which naturally diminished much of the pleasure of enjoying the lotus flowers.

Only now did Yan Qing understand why Shi Ting had spoken of going out on a boat to admire the lotus flowers.

“Wait for me a moment.” Shi Ting walked along the bank for about ten meters, found a thick rope in the grass, and pulled it forcefully outward. A wooden boat bobbled and swayed its way out from among the lily pads.

Shi Ting gave the boat a quick tidy, then returned to the bank and lifted Yan Qing into the wooden boat.

The boat had two oars. He stood at the bow and rowed, the small vessel cutting through the water as it slowly glided toward the center of the lake.

Shi Ting said, “Third Sister loves lotus flowers, so Brother-in-law bought this lake and built the current mansion on its banks. All the lotus flowers here were planted by Brother-in-law together with the workers.”

“I’d long heard that Mr. Liu and his wife are deeply devoted to each other — now I see it isn’t just a rumor.” Yan Qing’s expression turned wistful. “I suppose this is what it means to find that one person in life and grow old together, never parting.”

Shi Ting gazed at her quietly. Against the backdrop of the beautiful lotus flowers, her skin was white as snow, her eyes clear and bright, and as her gaze fell softly downward, a gentle grace flowed through her features — even the lotus blossoms seemed dimmed by comparison.

“To find that one person in life and grow old together, never parting?” Shi Ting quietly repeated the words. “I’ve never come across these lines before — did you write them yourself?”

“Of course not.” Yan Qing laughed. “How is it that you even know how to row a boat?”

“Is it difficult?”

Yan Qing: “…”

Fine. Consider that question unasked.

“If you’d like, when the lotus seed pods ripen, I’ll bring you here to pick them.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Yan Qing agreed happily.

The small boat glided between the lily pads, and great blossoming lotus flowers appeared before them one by one, like models walking a runway.

Yan Qing couldn’t help but reach out and gently touch a petal. The center of the petal still held drops of dew that had not yet dried, and its fragrance was delightful.

“Why don’t you rest for a bit?” Yan Qing noticed that Shi Ting had been rowing the whole time, his temples damp with sweat, and her heart softened.

“Mm.” Shi Ting set down the oars and sat at the bow.

He wore a refined blue-gray scholar’s robe, with lotus flowers and lily pads as his backdrop, which made him appear all the more matchless in the world — like lustrous jade, clear and refined.

The small boat rested among the lily pads. All around them came the sounds of frogs and insects at intervals, and now and then a dragonfly would land on the gunwale, then flutter its wings and fly away.

“Shi Ting, look — there’s a frog.” Yan Qing leaned over the side of the boat to peer into the water.

Shi Ting laughed at her, looking like a child, and gently reminded her, “Be careful — don’t fall in.”

“Do you know how to swim?”

Shi Ting nodded. “I do.”

“So do I.” She felt a little smug about it.

“You do?” He frowned slightly and glanced at her legs.

Yan Qing realized she had misspoken and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, scrambling for an explanation. “You don’t know this yet — people are born knowing how to swim. In our mothers’ bellies, we were all champion swimmers. And when I was little, I really could.”

“I believe you.” Those two plain, unremarkable words came from his lips and gave her an unexpected sense of warmth.

“Let’s head back.” Shi Ting picked up the oars again. “Third Sister and the others will start to worry.”

“You and your sister really do have a wonderful bond.” Yan Qing thought of her own difficult life within the Yan household and couldn’t help but sigh.

“When I was young, Mother didn’t have time to look after me, so it was always Third Sister who kept me company. After I went abroad, Third Sister kept writing to me — never once stopped.”

It was plain to see how much Shi Ting cherished this sister of his — so much so that he had personally gone to the kitchen to cook for her sake.

After returning to the bank, Shi Xin had already sent someone to wait for them there.

“Someone drowned in this lake.” Shi Xin brought them both to the study for tea. “Every autumn, servants in the household would sneak off to pick lotus seed pods. Some parts of the water are deep, and there’s silt at the bottom — one careless step and you’d slip and fall in. That’s why I was worried about you two.”

Yan Qing couldn’t help but praise her. “Madam Liu’s lotus pond is truly beautiful.”

“If you like it, come by anytime.” Shi Xin smiled. “You and Xing Zhi are friends, so why not call me Third Sister as he does? I’ll call you Yan Qing. Calling each other ‘Madam Liu’ and ‘Miss Yan’ feels so distant.”

Yan Qing quickly looked to Shi Ting beside her.

Shi Ting said, “Whatever Third Sister says.”

Since Shi Ting had no objections, Yan Qing was happy to defer as well.

Liu’s study was quite large, and this particular room was Shi Xin’s private space. It housed a collection of storybooks and novels, as well as famous curios, calligraphy, and paintings.

Shi Xin liked to lounge on the daybed by the window here, sipping tea and reading, with the garden path visible just outside.

“Yan Qing, feel free to browse. If there’s a book you like, I’ll lend it to you. Many of the young ladies from good families borrow books from me.”

Yan Qing noticed several sheets of paper on the desk, and the characters written on them looked familiar.

She picked them up and glanced through them — it was her poem “Farewell to Cambridge,” the one that had spread throughout the streets and lanes.

The characters were written in brush ink, with a bold and vigorous style, strokes that leapt with life — clearly the work of someone with profound calligraphic skill.

The poem was long, and the one who had transcribed it had used several sheets. At the end, there was only a date in the postscript — no name of the writer.

“Beautiful penmanship, isn’t it?” Shi Xin’s laughter reached her ears suddenly.

Yan Qing said, “It truly is beautiful writing. Did you write this, Sister?”

“I’m not capable of that.” Shi Xin raised her slender finger and pointed toward the daybed by the window. “He wrote it.”

Shi Ting was sitting there drinking tea, flipping through a novel, the sunlight falling over him and casting a soft, warm glow. He must have heard them talking about him, because he looked up, a flicker of puzzlement in his bright eyes.

Shi Xin smiled. “Yan Qing says your penmanship is beautiful.”

Yan Qing recognized Shi Ting’s pen-and-ink handwriting, but this was the first time she had seen his brushwork. She had to admit, this man had once again overturned her understanding of him.

“Just something I dashed off.” Shi Ting was unimpressed with himself.

Yan Qing noticed that the date in the postscript was precisely the day she had come to the Liu household for the poetry gathering. She didn’t recall seeing Shi Ting that day, but now it seemed he had indeed been at the Liu household then — and had heard her poem.

To have heard it only once and been able to write it down without missing a single word — the last person Yan Qing had encountered with such a feat was on a television show about extraordinary minds.

“Yan Qing, how is your own penmanship?” Shi Xin asked with a smile.

Yan Qing immediately felt embarrassed. “Mine isn’t very good.”

Back in school, she had thrown herself entirely into her professional studies and had never practiced her writing. Even her regular pen handwriting was barely legible, let alone brushwork — she wasn’t even sure she had ever held a brush.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not good — write more and practice more.” Shi Xin was very generous. “I’ll give you these sheets as a gift. Think of them as a model to trace over.”

“I couldn’t possibly accept them like that.” Yan Qing quickly declined.

“The one who wrote it is right here — he can write as many as you want. Besides, he wrote down your poem — what is there to feel embarrassed about?” Shi Xin said. “I’ll have a servant wrap them up for you in a moment.”

Unable to refuse, Yan Qing had no choice but to accept.

When they left the Liu household, Shi Xin not only gave Yan Qing the calligraphy sheets, but also sent her off with a large bundle of food and other things.

Yan Qing felt awkward accepting it all. Shi Ting stepped in from the side and said, “It’s from your sister — just take it.”

“That’s right, I’m giving it to you, not to a stranger.” Shi Xin chimed in as well.

Yan Qing’s cheeks flushed warm. She felt there was something a little off about those words, but couldn’t quite put her finger on what.

After returning to the Yan household, Yan Qing had Jing Zhi fetch paper, ink, and brushes.

“Miss, why the sudden urge to practice calligraphy?”

The courtyard did have writing supplies, but since no one had used them, they had been sitting in storage and were now covered in dust.

“To close the gap.” Yan Qing flexed her hands with determination. “I can’t be worse than him at everything.”

“Worse than who?”

Yan Qing handed Jing Zhi the calligraphy sheets she had brought back from Shi Xin’s. “What do you think of this penmanship?”

“Beautiful writing,” Jing Zhi said, looking it over. “A master calligrapher’s work, surely.”

“Shi Ting wrote it.”

“Director Shi?” Jing Zhi sighed in admiration. “Director Shi really is capable of everything.”

Hearing someone praise him, Yan Qing felt a quiet delight bloom in her heart. When they had left the Liu household, Shi Ting had not yet departed — she wondered what he was up to now.

Shi Ting had actually intended to leave with Yan Qing, but had been called back by Shi Xin.

The two siblings withdrew to a quiet corner, and only then did Shi Xin ask, “What are your intentions?”