Just as Tang Si was being shocked beyond belief, Muruo also looked over there.

Hehe.

“What are you looking at? Is it that strange? Your fish fell on the ground.”

She snapped back to reality and immediately picked up the stick from the ground. She swallowed hard again, her cheeks trembling slightly as she looked at the completely calm Muruo.

“What’s… what’s going on with those two?”

“What do you mean what’s going on?”

“Didn’t you just see? Their hands… hands—they were holding each other’s hands.” Tang Si’s face was all scrunched up.

Muruo stared at her and threw out a sentence: “I saw it. So what? Is it that strange?”

“Of course it’s strange. Two grown men holding hands—don’t you think that’s strange?” She was unusually agitated and lowered her voice, narrowing her eyes. “Tell me the truth—they’re not… are they?” Cut-sleeves, right?

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Muruo softly scolded her. “What on earth is in that head of yours all day long? Complete mess.”

Tang Si was unconvinced.

She lifted her chin.

Suddenly grasped Muruo’s hand and said, “Men with men like that won’t do, but if it’s like us two doing this, then it’s fine.”

She didn’t know if her brain had short-circuited, actually making such a move. She probably wanted to use practical action to express her meaning.

But—

Muruo looked at the hand holding his own and froze for a moment.

This scene—he seemed to have experienced it before.

Several years ago, Kong Yu had also held his hand like this and said to him, “Muruo, I’m going to the mountains with my mother to eat vegetarian food. I probably won’t be back for many years. Take good care of yourself. Drinking harms the body—do it less. While I’m gone, please help me watch over A’Rong. I’ll pray for you both at the nunnery.”

The memory surged to his mind, Kong Yu’s voice echoing in his ears over and over.

Following that hand, his gaze slowly fell on Tang Si’s face.

He had said before that this woman bore some resemblance to Kong Yu. He looked somewhat dazed, though he knew clearly in his heart that this woman was not Kong Yu.

But every time he looked at her so intently like this, his heart would inexplicably calm down. That feeling was one of comfort.

Under his gaze, Tang Si became completely at a loss. That kind of look, that kind of expression—they made her heart and organs collide chaotically.

She immediately shyly withdrew her hand from his, grasped the wooden stick, and while roasting the fish, smiled coquettishly. “Why… why are you looking at me like that?”

Muruo suddenly came to his senses, also somewhat flustered, his brow involuntarily furrowing.

“That… nothing. I was just looking randomly.”

“Oh.”

Tang Si smiled like a blooming flower.

For the first time, Muruo’s heart jumped to his throat and began to feel restless. He quickly grabbed a pot of wine and took a drink.

To calm his nerves!

He thought to himself—could he really have… fallen for that smelly girl?

Bah, bah, bah—impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

“Crack… rumble…”

A bolt of lightning accompanied by a clap of thunder suddenly struck down.

Looked like it was going to rain?

All four people looked up at the sky in unison. The ink-black sky was clearly full of brilliant stars—how did thunder suddenly start?

Before they knew it, in a flash—

Rain began pouring down.

“Ah!” Tang Si screamed, threw down the fish she hadn’t finished roasting, and hastily got up while covering her head.

Muruo grabbed her hand in one swift motion and ran toward the carriage.

At that moment, Tang Si was dazed, allowing him to pull her all the way onto the carriage.

Right after, Jingrong also pulled Ji Yunshu up.

“What crazy weather—it rains just like that.” Tang Si wiped the rainwater from her face while complaining.

Ji Yunshu: “This is called a thundershower. It’ll be over in a bit.”

“Thundershower? What’s a thundershower?”

“It’s just…” She shrugged, not knowing how to explain. After all, she wasn’t a meteorology expert. Her body was already weak to begin with, and she caught a chill as soon as she got rained on.

“Cough, cough…”

Without a word, Jingrong immediately took off his outer coat and draped it over her, tightly embracing her in his arms.

Not caring at all about Tang Si’s eyes that were about to pop out.

Look all you want—look your fill.

Ji Yunshu didn’t avoid his embrace either. While coughing, she burrowed even deeper into his arms.

In short, showing affection, tormenting the singles.

Tang Si picked up her jaw from the floor, thinking—two grown men could be so lovey-dovey with each other, so why didn’t that guy across from her show any indication toward her? The contrast was too obvious, wasn’t it?

That guy across, naturally referring to Muruo.

She also pretended to cough a few times, but that guy across remained unmoved.

Angry in her heart, she lifted her foot and viciously kicked Muruo’s knee.

“Ah!”

A miserable cry came from inside the carriage.

Sooner or later, Muruo’s knees were bound to be kicked to pieces by her.

After returning to the residence, a pot of ginger tea was brewed.

The very sensible Shi Ziran deliberately brought four bowls of ginger tea from the kitchen. Two bowls were delivered before his prince, while the other two bowls were delivered before Muruo.

Jingrong understood the meaning. He drank one bowl himself, then took the other bowl to Ji Yunshu.

But after Muruo finished one bowl, he pushed the other bowl aside and said, “I can’t drink two bowls.”

Shi Ziran almost fainted on the spot. “Who said this other bowl was for you?”

“If it’s not for me, why did you put it in front of me?”

“It’s for you to take and give to Miss Tang.”

Idiot!

Love idiot!

Muruo smacked his lips a few times. “What… what does it have to do with me?”

“Oh, well since it has nothing to do with you, I’ll have someone else deliver this bowl of ginger tea.”

“Wait.”

“What?” Shi Ziran revealed a wicked smile.

Muruo said, “I’ll go myself.” He picked up that bowl of ginger tea, not forgetting to grumble, “You’re just like your prince—both annoying.”

Though he said this with his mouth, he still unproductively took that other bowl of ginger tea to Tang Si.

Haha.

This was the first time Shi Ziran laughed so loudly.

He thought—men are just like this. No matter how aloof a creature they are, once they encounter a woman, they transform from carp to dragon, extremely fierce.

In Ji Yunshu’s room.

She had just changed into a set of clean clothes. Her hair was still somewhat damp.

Jingrong came in and placed the ginger tea in her hands.

“Drink it quickly, don’t catch a chill.”

She obediently listened.

Drank most of it.

“It’s so late already. You should go rest early.”

“Are you driving this prince away?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Then good. This prince will sit a bit longer.”

His domineering gaze looked at Ji Yunshu’s face that was fair with a rosy glow, her delicate features, her slightly curved almond-shaped brows, her small crimson lips…

So beautiful!

The room was very quiet. The slightly swaying candlelight flickered unsteadily, pulling their two shadows together.

Intertwining and overlapping.