Qi Ying could see her little awkwardness and felt both helpless and amused. Moreover, being stared at by the little girl like this, he couldn’t continue reviewing any official documents. He simply stood up and walked over to her side.

He looked down at her, phoenix eyes carrying shallow amusement, and asked: “Are you throwing a tantrum with me now just over one dinner?”

Three years had passed, and Shen Xiling had grown much taller. Her figure was quite tall and slender, yet standing before him she still appeared delicate. At this moment, she stood entirely within his shadow, as if completely enveloped by him.

She looked at her own shadow completely covered by his, and her heart held very complex feelings—both joyful and sweet, yet also lost and dejected.

She glanced at him and said in a low voice: “Young Master clearly knows I’m not upset about that…”

Qi Ying naturally knew this.

She had looked preoccupied today and must have something weighing on her mind. He just didn’t want to ask directly, to avoid appearing too interfering. But now that she had said this, asking further wouldn’t seem too abrupt, so he asked: “Mm, then what is it for?”

Shen Xiling’s slender white fingers silently twisted together. Upon hearing this, she was silent for quite a while, as if choosing her words carefully. Qi Ying didn’t rush her, just quietly watched her. After waiting for quite some time, he heard her say: “Today I went to see a small fabric shop’s manager. He had previously aligned with me, and now we’re doing white cotton textile business together…”

Qi Ying nodded and asked: “What happened to him?”

Shen Xiling pursed her lips and said: “Today Mr. Song came to find me, saying this manager’s shop had been vandalized by people from the weaving guild…”

Upon hearing this, Qi Ying frowned, and a flash of something passed through his eyes.

Shen Xiling caught that expression of his.

Just as he could see through her every thought without doubt, she also understood him better than others. Although this person was profound and her experience was still shallow, making her understanding of him not very clear, she still vaguely had feelings: he hadn’t expected the weaving guild people to target the manager related to her. Moreover, he also seemed to be blaming himself for not handling this matter in advance, causing her to encounter this setback.

Shen Xiling then understood—Shopkeeper Feng was right, she… indeed had backing behind her.

Speaking of this matter, she had been too careless, thinking that since he didn’t help her openly, he truly hadn’t interfered with her business at all. But she didn’t think—she had been in business for three years and had never dealt with the weaving guild people. If he hadn’t been secretly protecting her all along, how could she have remained free from such troublesome affairs?

She was truly too foolish.

Seeing the little girl now standing silently before him with lowered brows and downcast eyes, Qi Ying naturally sensed her dejection. Combined with her probing words earlier, he understood her true intention in talking with him tonight.

He pondered for a moment, somewhat uncertain about what she was thinking at the moment.

She had been in business for three years. Although he hadn’t openly interfered, he had indeed been secretly protecting her all along—from weaving guilds, local ruffians, evil merchants and brokers—he had blocked all of these for her.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but he felt she was too young and her heart too pure. The filth in commerce sometimes was no less than that in officialdom, especially in Jiangzuo, where business and politics were entangled. Without his protection, no matter how clever and sharp she was, she ultimately couldn’t overcome the suppression of power and influence.

He didn’t want the little girl to understand these things too early. At least while he was here, she didn’t need to understand yet.

His mind was made up, but her words were somewhat difficult to respond to. Although he knew she had already seen through his previous secret assistance, her thoughts remained unexpressed.

If it weren’t her talking to him now, Lord Qi would likely speak in official tones for convenience, deflecting with a few neutral words. But the person before him was Shen Xiling, so he didn’t intend to use evasive words to placate her—he had always been partial to her, treating her differently from others.

Qi Ying thought for a moment, looked at her and said: “I did indeed intervene with the guild before. If this makes you unhappy, I can apologize.”

His words were clear and straightforward, without any pretense, which left Shen Xiling stunned—she had thought he wouldn’t respond to her earlier words, or would simply deceive her, but hadn’t expected him to answer so readily.

For a moment she didn’t know what to say, her fingers twisting tighter and tighter as she stammered: “Young Master was protecting me—why should you apologize…”

Qi Ying smiled, glancing at her increasingly twisted fingers, and said: “If I made you uncomfortable, of course I should apologize.”

His words made Shen Xiling’s heart soften.

She actually couldn’t say she was uncomfortable. She knew he was doing everything for her good. Rather than uncomfortable, she preferred to say she liked his care, she liked that he worried about her, liked that he was attentive to her and treated her differently.

She was just… a bit dejected.

She had thought that everything she had gained over these three years was the result of her own efforts, but hadn’t expected it was still obtained through relying on him. She wasn’t vain, nor did she like to show off, but she hoped she could be more outstanding, so she would appear more worthy of him. At least… not everything should come through relying on him.

But such thoughts she couldn’t tell him directly. She could only lower her head, holding back for quite a while before managing to squeeze out a sentence, saying dully to him: “I’m really not uncomfortable, just… just feel that I’m quite useless…”

After she finished speaking hesitantly, she heard him chuckle softly—that deep, pleasant sound. When she looked up at him again, she saw his features were full of tenderness.

She knew there were countless people in the world who praised Second Young Master Qi’s intelligence, and countless refined young ladies who secretly discussed his handsomeness, but she was certain none of them had ever seen him as he was now.

Young Master’s peerless beauty—only she truly knew what that meant.

His gaze like that made her slightly dizzy. She heard him scold her with a “Nonsense,” and he also said: “You’ve already done very well.”

Shen Xiling’s face reddened again.

When gentle, Second Young Master Qi was intoxicating. Even though Shen Xiling had been with him for three years, she still couldn’t withstand him like this. At this moment, a very strong desire to be close to him arose in her heart—she very much wanted to snuggle into his embrace.

But last night’s intimacy at Wang Garden had irretrievably dissipated with that night’s moonlight. He was no longer slightly intoxicated, and although she still received his favoritism now, she knew this wasn’t the appropriate time to cross boundaries—if she rashly stepped over, he would certainly block her back without leaving a trace.

They both understood this point clearly: an invisible barrier separated them. Last night it had briefly had a gap, but afterward it had erected itself again, unbreakable.

So Shen Xiling carefully restrained that desire to be close to him, looked at him and blinked, also showing a trace of smile, saying: “Young Master is always good at coaxing people…”

The young girl’s expression carried slight reproach, even her tone had little hooks that tickled one’s heart. She herself didn’t know how endearing she looked at this moment, or how she was leaving ripples in the heart of the man before her.

Qi Ying looked at her, and his heart began to waver slightly again.

Clearly he hadn’t been drinking tonight, clearly she hadn’t just returned either, yet his heart still had that strange feeling, the same as last night, buried in his heart, even faintly beginning to emerge from a hidden corner.

He only regarded her as a child. Now grown up, but still a child.

He absolutely had no improper thoughts.

He absolutely could not have improper thoughts.

He silently calmed the waves in his heart caused by her single reproachful remark, then saw her reach out to gently grasp his sleeve, saying to him: “What happened before is already done—there’s no point saying more about it. But this time I want to handle the trouble myself. Young Master, don’t help me—is that alright?”

Her pearly white slender fingers lightly pinched his sleeve, seeming to simultaneously pinch his heart.

Qi Ying sighed, letting her tug at his sleeve, and asked her: “Can you manage alone?”

Shen Xiling smiled, her eyes turning, her expression quite bright, laughing as she answered: “I don’t know either, but I should always try. Perhaps I can manage?”

She was eager to try, seeming to have some endearing ambition, quite different from her quiet, gentle childhood appearance.

He liked her this way—happy and bright-eyed.

The guild waters ran deep, especially involving the Fu family, making it even more complex. He actually wasn’t comfortable with her handling this matter alone, but she seemed very much to want to try herself, and he didn’t want to go against her wishes and dampen her spirits. She was right—he indeed should interfere less, gradually letting go completely. This timing was actually a good beginning. In the end, in his view this wasn’t such a major matter. Even if the little girl couldn’t manage it in the end, he would still be there to protect her.

So Qi Ying nodded and said: “Alright, then I won’t interfere this time.”

As soon as he finished speaking, she became happy, but the small hand grasping his sleeve didn’t let go. She even shook it gently, looking at him with beautiful brows and eyes, saying: “But you can’t completely ignore me either. If I can’t clean up this mess properly, Young Master must catch me if I fall.”

She was even better at acting cute than Xue Tuan’er.

Qi Ying couldn’t help teasing her: “You’re so ambitious—what do you need me to catch you for?”

The little girl laughed, bright and radiant, saying: “Who wants to fight with money? If I have to compensate silver, then forget the ambition.”

Qi Ying was amused by her and lightly scolded: “When you were small you still knew to read a few volumes of books. Now you only know to burrow into money matters. Is this how I taught you?”

Shen Xiling laughed until her eyes curved, bantering: “I’m not burrowing into money matters—I study properly too.”

Qi Ying raised his brows, smiled and glanced at her sideways, then casually scanned the books on the shelf, randomly pulled out a Spring and Autumn Classic and handed it to her, half-seriously saying: “Hurry up and read more—I’ll test you in a couple days.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Xiling’s face fell a bit.

She truly didn’t love reading these serious, rigid books. She could memorize them by rote, but it just didn’t feel natural and wasn’t interesting.

She couldn’t help complaining quietly: “Why test me again? Don’t I still have to be tested on horsemanship tomorrow? You can’t just test me on things I’m not good at—can’t you test me on accounting instead?”

Qi Ying’s eyes held deep amusement. He had already turned and walked back to sit behind his desk, beginning to look at official documents again. He let her pester him for several more sentences before finally relenting: “Fine. If you can pass tomorrow’s horsemanship test, I won’t test you on the Spring and Autumn Classic.”

Shen Xiling thought to herself that this was the same as saying nothing—how could her horsemanship pass? Wouldn’t it be better the other way around—if she could recite the Spring and Autumn Classic, could she skip the horsemanship test?

She pestered him with questions, but he paid no attention. Shen Xiling wouldn’t give up, asking softly back and forth, and for a time Wangshi was filled with laughter and conversation.

Quite heartwarming indeed.

—

Author’s Note: Married couple performance art: How to maintain single status while dating in ultimate ambiguity~