Xie Yanlai’s shoulders were straight, making him appear like any ordinary person, but his steps were very slow. Only because of his long legs, each stride wasn’t so noticeable.

Does it hurt?

Xie Yanlai thought to himself, nonsense—

Before he could say anything, the female voice behind him chuckled self-mockingly: “Nonsense, of course it hurts.”

Xie Yanlai sneered inwardly.

“Indeed,” he turned his head and said, “Miss Chu, please send more medicine to me quickly, and take good care of this wounded person.”

Chu Zhao responded with a sound of agreement but didn’t say anything more pleasant.

Boring, Xie Yanlai suddenly lost interest in talking as well and strode forward.

Chu Zhao followed behind, silent and lost in her thoughts.

A-Le, seeing that both had stopped talking, also followed quietly.

Step by step, Xie Yanlai walked slowly. The short alley finally came to an end. When he turned the corner and walked along the main street, with the girl still following behind him, he could no longer restrain himself. He stopped and turned around.

The girl behind him was completely unaware and bumped straight into him.

He was caught off guard, too—who would have thought this girl would bump into him? Though she looked thin and small, she was quite strong. The impact on his chest forced him to straighten his body to avoid stepping back, which caused his wound on his back—

He let out a hiss.

Chu Zhao raised her head in surprise and quickly asked, “Did it break open the wound?” Then she complained, “Why did you suddenly stop?”

Xie Yanlai said angrily, “You weren’t watching where you were going!”

Chu Zhao smiled, “I was thinking about things and got distracted.”

Xie Yanlai was so angry that he was at a loss for words, looking at this girl, not knowing what to say: “What were you thinking about while following behind me?”

Chu Zhao said, “Many things. The literary gathering tomorrow, there will be many troubles waiting for me, but I’m not afraid. I’ve always been targeted anyway, I’m used to it—”

She was answering him! Who was asking her? His question was rhetorical. Xie Yanlai lowered his gaze to look at the girl who barely reached his chest. The girl’s face was tense, her cheeks puffed out, looking indignant, but her eyes had a defiant expression of fearlessness—

Come to think of it, this girl had indeed caused quite a lot of trouble. From the time he had known her, it had been continuous, and she had still managed to make it to this day.

Xie Yanlai swallowed the words that had reached his lips and turned around: “Stop following me.”

Chu Zhao made an “oh” sound, then asked, “What did you come out for? If you don’t have to go out, it’s better not to. Your wound hasn’t had enough time to heal.”

“Don’t worry,” Xie Yanlai said without looking back, “Even if I recover well, I won’t deliver letters for you. If the wound worsens, you don’t need to care either.”

Chu Zhao laughed and moved in front of him: “Don’t be so heartless. Maybe after you recover, you’ll want to help me again.”

Xie Yanlai raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Fine, then you can wait and see.”

Chu Zhao extended her hand with the letter: “Why don’t you take it first, and then we’ll wait together?”

“Do you think I’m easy to bully?” Xie Yanlai looked at her, slightly leaning forward and asking in a low voice, “Because of Third Master Xie, you think I wouldn’t dare to tear up your letter?”

Chu Zhao said with a serious face: “How could that be? I know you well enough—with or without Third Master Xie, you’ll tear up whatever you want to tear!”

Xie Yanlai couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

When he laughed, his eyes sparkled like scattered stars.

Just as Chu Zhao was about to speak, a call came from behind, “A-Zhao?”

Chu Zhao turned her head and saw a carriage stopped on the street. The curtain was lifted, and Qi Leyun, along with two other girls, was squeezed together, staring at her.

Their expressions were surprised as they looked at her, then their gazes shifted to Xie Yanlai and remained fixed.

Who is this?

How can he be so handsome!

Qi Leyun couldn’t help but blurt out: “Who is this?”

Fortunately, she managed to hold back her second thought.

Chu Zhao should have gone over to talk to them, but she was worried that Xie Yanlai would take the opportunity to leave—Xie Yanlai would do that!

“This is Young Master Xie, Xie Yanlai,” she turned to Qi Leyun and said, standing in place without moving, “I have some things to discuss with him. You all should hurry home.”

She was sending them away! Qi Leyun glared at her, truly valuing a handsome face over friends! She didn’t want to leave; she still wanted to look. That young man was dressed in all black, yet he seemed to emit a light like snow.

So this is Xie Yanlai?

The other two girls also couldn’t take their eyes off the young man.

They had seen him before, but that was when he was being beaten and punished on the street. In that state, no one had given him a second glance.

Unexpectedly, this Xie family son was even more handsome than Xie Yanfang, and with a completely different presence. Xie Yanfang was gentle like jade, while this young man was sharp like the cold gleam of a sword—

“What he said was right,” one girl murmured, “Liang Qin is not as handsome as him.”

Chu Zhao also realized that the girls had taken root and refused to leave. There was no way around it.

“Then you go back first,” Chu Zhao could only say to Xie Yanlai.

Xie Yanlai glanced at her. Since when did he need her dismissal? They were just going their separate ways. Just as he was about to lift his foot, another voice came.

“Xie. Yan. Lai?”

This time it came from behind, one word at a time. Xie Yanlai looked back and saw a young man slowly walking out from the alley they had just passed through.

When he first entered the alley, Xie Yanlai had noticed someone staring at him—

It didn’t matter; whoever wanted to stare at him could stare.

Xie Yanlai ignored it and withdrew his gaze. The girl in front of him peeked around: “Young Master Liang.”

Young Master Liang?

Xie Yanlai looked back at the young man once more. Seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in plain clothes, with somewhat disheveled sideburns, as if he had rushed out from somewhere—

Though he didn’t recognize him, he immediately knew who it was: a member of the Liang family who had been exiled to the border commandery.

Xie Yanlai withdrew his gaze and looked at Chu Zhao, suddenly smiling.

Chu Zhao noticed and looked up: “What are you smiling at? That schadenfreude look again!”

“Smiling at you—you bring trouble upon yourself,” Xie Yanlai leaned down slightly and said with a smile.

Seeing this scene, Qi Leyun was almost pushed off the carriage as the two girls beside her leaned forward even more in excitement. This young man was so handsome when he smiled—

Chu Zhao looked towards Liang Qiang and asked: “Young Master Liang, why are you here?”

Shouldn’t the Liang family be escorted out of the capital by now?

Liang Qiang looked at the young man and woman standing side by side. How to put it—his heart felt even lower than when the Liang family was charged with crimes.

When his uncle was accused, he had already vaguely anticipated it.

When the great stone fell, he was sad and desperate, but he didn’t feel like life was meaningless. When he was released from prison and escorted to the border commandery, as he was leaving the capital, he suddenly wanted to come back for a look.

It wasn’t that he was attached to the lost splendor and wealth; he wanted to see that girl one more time.

At home, his aunt and female cousins were all cursing Chu Zhao, saying she had ruined the Liang family. He certainly didn’t think so. His uncle’s downfall was due to political struggles between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, the Yang family, and the Zhao family’s power game. This girl merely provided them with one reason—just one among many.

He came back to see Chu Zhao without any particular thoughts, just to share a self-mocking smile with her, to tell her that she had overestimated him, that he wasn’t some brave young man.

But unexpectedly, after all his efforts to escape the guards and return to the capital, he witnessed this scene.

He saw that girl, and just as he was about to call out to her, she had already rushed toward a young man.

He saw her meet the young man with joy, watched them talk with uninhibited expressions, saw them walk together in silence yet at ease, watched her smile at the young man, saw the young man gaze at her intently—

Xie Yanlai.

He hadn’t just recognized him now.

Unlike the girls, when Xie Yanlai was being whipped on the street earlier, he had stared hard at Xie Yanlai’s face, memorizing it.

At that time, he saw Chu Zhao run out to protect this Xie family son. Then and later, when Chu Zhao entered the Xie family’s door, he told himself that this was Chu Zhao’s method to get close to Xie Yanfang—

Getting close to Xie Yanfang was nothing special; which girl in the world wouldn’t want to get acquainted with Xie Yanfang? He wouldn’t mind. It was normal for Miss Chu to admire someone like that. Everyone could admire outstanding people; after all, he was also a brave person praised in Miss Chu’s eyes.

But now, all those self-explanations were shattered.

That girl running out at that time, recklessly blocking the incoming whip, wasn’t for Xie Yanfang, but to protect this one, Xie Yanlai!

So the rumors were all true.

“Miss Chu,” Liang Qiang looked at Chu Zhao, “So it was indeed my Liang family that stood in the way of your good marriage. I, Liang Qiang, have come specifically to apologize to you.”