Shi Ting glanced back at the busy street behind them, then pushed Yan Qing’s wheelchair into a tailor’s shop nearby.

The shop owner saw him and greeted him with a smile. “Director Shi, what brings you in today? Having something made, or—”

“Would you be so kind as to lend me a room?”

“Of course, of course.” The owner opened a small door leading to a fitting room. Inside, colorful garments were hung all around, and most numerous among them were qipaos of every style.

The craftsmanship on these qipaos was exquisite, the fabrics beautiful — the owner’s skill was evident.

Shi Ting turned and closed the door, then looked at Yan Qing attentively. “What happened?”

Yan Qing said urgently, “I was just at the pharmacy and overheard an attendant saying that the batch of medicinal herbs my father sold last month has caused trouble.”

“I know.” Shi Ting’s answer caught Yan Qing off guard.

“You… you know?”

Shi Ting nodded. “Your father purchased a large quantity of medicinal herbs from Yunnan, then sold that batch to a merchant named Zhao Ziming, who in turn sold them to the southwestern warlords.”

Yan Qing’s heart quickened, and cold sweat seeped into her palms. Just as she had suspected — those herbs had fallen into the hands of forces hostile to the northern territory.

“Wasn’t that Zhao Ziming supposed to be above suspicion?”

Shi Ting crouched down before her, his deep gaze level with hers. “This affair was orchestrated by the First Madam. It has not yet reached the Marshal’s level. Madam Shi has her reservations — she neither dares nor wants to escalate it.”

Yan Qing looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue.

“Your Yan family rendered great service to the Marshal. At his most difficult hour, the Yan family stepped forward and gave generously without reservation. Although the Marshal pledged a marriage alliance in return, that meritorious act cannot be erased. If Madam Shi were to bring this matter to the Marshal, he would be placed in an extremely difficult position — on one side, the crime of selling medicine to the enemy; on the other, the debt of gratitude owed for help given in his darkest hour. If the Marshal chose not to punish, it would invite others to follow suit and the law would lose its force, throwing everything into disorder. If he chose to punish the Yan family for it, it would chill the hearts of the merchants, and who would ever again offer their resources and support? So Madam Shi does not yet dare to take it that far.”

“Why would Madam Shi go to all this trouble, if she never intended to bring it to the Marshal? What was her goal?” Yan Qing asked, then suddenly put it all together in her mind. She stared at him with a gaze full of disbelief.

But Shi Ting answered her question with another question. “Yan Qing, why did you come to find me?”

“Because besides you, I don’t know who else to go to.” Yan Qing lowered her head softly. “In all of Shun Cheng, you are the only one I trust.”

Shi Ting smiled.

Sensing it, she looked up and found herself drowning in the curve of his smile. When he smiled, his eyes curved and his pupils brightened, and something warm and approachable seemed to radiate from his entire being.

Then her hand grew warm — his hand had wrapped around hers. He held her hand in his palm, his eyes clear and still as a deep pool, meeting her slightly flustered gaze.

Yan Qing froze. On instinct she tried to draw her hand back, but he held on firmly — so firmly that she had no way to pull free.

She could not help but call out softly, “Shi Ting.”

The smile in his eyes did not waver. “Do you know that I have been waiting for you?”

Yan Qing was stunned.

“Do you remember the film we watched together? The male lead says to the female lead: ‘I like you — I like the way you blaze as brilliantly as the midday sun, I like the way you run clear and transparent as a mountain lake…’ I like you. I hope to watch the sunrise with you every single day.”

Listening to his words, Yan Qing’s heart hammered and her face flushed instantly crimson.

“Actually, those weren’t lines from the film.” His grip on her hand tightened by a few degrees. “They were the words I wanted to say to you then — and the words I want to say to you now.”

In the small room, the dazzling array of colorful fabrics was almost disorienting. The enclosed space made his voice sound especially clear and pleasing to the ear.

Yan Qing felt her heart beating so fast it seemed ready to burst from her chest. Not even during her first time at a crime scene had she felt such a mix of nerves and exhilaration.

She did not know what to say. In that moment, though a thousand words swirled within her, she could not assemble a single coherent sentence.

Shi Ting said softly, “You said I am the person you trust most in all of Shun Cheng. Then — may I become the person you like most in all of Shun Cheng?”

Though Yan Qing was slow to warm to matters of the heart, after everything the two of them had been through, only a fool could have missed what he felt for her. His sudden confession left her flustered and at a loss, like a student called on without warning by a teacher.

“You don’t need to answer. If you are willing, just nod once.” Shi Ting did not press her. He gazed into her clear eyes, where a current of nervous uncertainty ran beneath the surface, while his own eyes remained warm and softly curved.

“Shi Ting, you are truly insufferable.” Yan Qing bit her lip lightly, her expression somewhere between coquettish and reproachful.

“How am I insufferable?” He cradled her hand between both of his, as if holding something precious in his palm. Her hand was soft and small, and a perfect fit.

“I came to you for help, and you go and—”

“And I go and what?”

Yan Qing raised a small fist and brought it down on his shoulder, but she could not bring herself to use any force — it landed as lightly as a kitten’s paw.

He laughed. “So, will you nod, or will you shake your head?”

“I’m not telling you.” Yan Qing turned her lips down in a pout, the rosy flush setting off the delicacy of her face. She looked like a perfectly ripened peach, her soft pink lips gently pursed with an endearing, childlike air.

He suddenly leaned closer, his handsome features drawing near until his face was inches from hers. When he spoke, his breath drifted over her like a spring breeze, parting the thin veil of mist that had lain quietly over her heart.

“Then I’ll take that as a yes.”

“You are shameless.”

“But you didn’t shake your head either?”

“Shi Ting, you are absolutely shameless.”

He suddenly drew close to her, his forehead resting gently against hers. She instinctively moved to push him away, but he caught both her hands in his.

When he spoke, his lips barely parted — they were so close they almost brushed against hers. Her face went crimson again and again, the heat so overwhelming she thought she might faint.

“Yan Qing, I like you. So I will not let anything happen to the Yan family — and I will not let you marry anyone else.” He gently nuzzled his forehead against hers, as if in reassurance. “Leave everything else to me. Whatever happens, all you need to do is trust me.”

She gave a small nod. “Mm.”

“You nodded.” He tilted an eyebrow with a hint of playfulness.

Yan Qing was made to laugh by him. “You shameless rogue.”

“Then do you like this rogue?”

He thought she would deflect again, but instead she pressed her lips together shyly and said, “Didn’t you say it yourself? I nodded just now.”

A rush of elation and something tender and wordless surged through him. He opened his arms and drew her into his embrace. “I find myself with a regret.”

“What regret?” Yan Qing was still not quite used to his embrace, yet as she felt the warmth of his body and the strength of his arms around her, a feeling stirred within her — pulling her toward him without her permission, drawing her hands to circle gently around his lean waist.

In that moment, she felt as if her entire world had burst into bloom, flooded with boundless light.

“I regret not meeting you sooner.”

Yan Qing smiled. “This is fine as it is.”

Even if they had met sooner, she would not have been the person she was now.

He held her, reluctant to let go, and buried his face against the curve of her neck with something like quiet longing, breathing in the scent there. It was a scent that made him feel content and something close to addicted.

“Shi Ting, take me home now.” Yan Qing said. “I’m a little worried about Father.”

“All right.” Shi Ting let her go with reluctance, his palm lightly cupping her face. “Whatever happens, trust me. I promise you.”

“I trust you.” Yan Qing smiled. “No need for promises.”

He embraced her once more, which earned him her gentle reproach. “Shi Ting, don’t just go hugging me whenever you please.”

“Isn’t that my right?”

“Who gave you permission?”

“It comes with the territory.”

Yan Qing laughed despite herself. “Hurry up, I want to go home.”

On the way back, they passed a cake shop, and Shi Ting had Old Zhao pull the car over to the side of the road. He turned back to Yan Qing. “Wait for me a moment, I’ll be right back.”

Yan Qing watched as he got out of the car and headed straight for the cake shop. Through the glass display window, she could make out his tall, slender silhouette. After a while, he came out with a bowl of shaved ice in his hands.

He set the shaved ice in Yan Qing’s hands. “It’s hot out. Have some to cool down.”

Strawberry sauce was drizzled over the top, and it looked very inviting.

Shi Ting handed her a small steel spoon. “Go ahead.”

Yan Qing was indeed feeling the heat, and the bowl of shaved ice felt like a gift from heaven.

“Thank you.” She took it, brought it to her nose first to smell it. “These strawberries are so fresh.”

She thought of the vast strawberry fields in Wenshan County. When the strawberries ripened, clusters of red dotting the fields would surely have been a breathtaking sight.

Yet the family of ten who had died tragic deaths in Wenshan County would never see it again.

Yan Qing scooped a small spoonful of shaved ice into her mouth. It was sweet and cool, and it felt as if every pore in her body had sighed open in relief.

“Is it good?” Shi Ting asked.

“Very good.” Yan Qing smiled, then scooped up a spoonful and held it out. “Why didn’t you buy a bowl for yourself?”

He leaned close and said quietly, “I want some of yours.”

Yan Qing’s face reddened and she quickly glanced over at Old Zhao behind the wheel. But Old Zhao was looking straight ahead, his posture impeccable, as though all his senses had been switched off.

As he said this, he ate the shaved ice directly off her spoon. Yan Qing stared at him in wide-eyed astonishment, full of silent accusation. But he savored it with evident satisfaction. “Delicious.”

She mouthed the word “shameless” at him, then looked down at the spoon in her hand, and felt the warmth creep all the way down to the back of her neck.

“Eat quickly, or it’ll melt.” He put on an expression of concern.

Yan Qing turned away from him and slowly began to eat, though when she brought the spoon to her lips, she could not help but glare at him sideways.

She had never imagined that a man like Shi Ting could have such a shameless side — and yet rather than finding it irritating, she was entirely charmed by it.

Yan Qing thought to herself: she must have lost all good sense, dazzled by his handsome face.

When the car pulled up before the Yan Mansion gates, Shi Ting helped her out and into her wheelchair.

As she moved to leave, he watched her with a meaningful look and reminded her once more. “Remember — do not panic.”

“Mm.” Yan Qing said. “I will.”

Yan Qing went through the gate and looked back. Shi Ting was still standing there, straight and fine like a bamboo standing in the wind.

She gave him a small, gentle wave. A shy and warm smile gradually spread across her lips.

Yan Qing returned to the estate alone, and along the way she encountered a maidservant, who offered to push her wheelchair back to her courtyard.

“I believe you belong to Elder Brother’s household?” Yan Qing asked with a smile.

The maidservant confirmed it, and seeing that Yan Qing’s expression was calm — as though she were entirely unaware of what had happened in the Yan household — she cautiously offered a warning. “Sixth Miss, is the rumor going around the estate true?”

—