Before He Yan could speak, Xiao Jue glanced at her and turned to leave. The lantern in front of her hadn’t been taken down yet, but He Yan didn’t care and hurriedly pushed through the crowd to follow him. The craftsman behind her was startled and called out, “Miss, you forgot your lantern!” But there was no response.

He Xinying also heard the craftsman’s call and instinctively looked in the direction he was facing, catching sight of a familiar figure hurriedly leaving. She was startled – that figure looked exactly like Wu’an Marquise He Yan, whom she had met at Yuhua Temple.

For some reason, although she had only met He Yan once, the impression was particularly deep. Xu Zhiheng, standing beside her, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” He Xinying came back to her senses. “Let’s look at the lanterns.” But she felt uneasy inside.

Since marrying Xu Zhiheng, whenever time permitted, he would accompany her to the night market. Recently, Xu Zhiheng had been busy with official duties and hadn’t visited for two months. Yesterday, when she returned to the Xu family, Xu Zhiheng unexpectedly offered to accompany her for a while. In the past, He Xinying would have been delighted, but now walking beside Xu Zhiheng, she felt no joy, only nervousness.

Her mother’s illness, the assassin that night, the military book hidden in her deceased elder sister’s bedpost – any one of these things was enough to raise suspicion. Yet she could do nothing but pretend to be ignorant of everything.

She stared at the diverse lanterns before her, but her mind wandered to the figure that had hurriedly left earlier, lost in thought.

…

In the crowded street, He Yan finally managed to grab Xiao Jue’s sleeve and said, “Slow down. There are so many people here – if we get separated, it will take forever to find you. I’ve already been stepped on several times.”

He continued walking forward without looking back, though his pace did slow slightly.

In the flowing crowd, He Yan gripped his sleeve with the strength she used for throwing stone locks, nearly tearing Xiao Jue’s sleeve. They finally made it to a less crowded area by the river.

“Xiao Jue,” He Yan stared at him and asked, “Are you angry?”

Xiao Jue remained silent.

He turned his head sideways, and He Yan couldn’t see his expression. She stood on tiptoe, trying to get closer to see, but Xiao Jue blocked her with his arm and pushed her away.

“You are angry?” He Yan said, “I just…”

“He Yan,” Xiao Jue interrupted her, staring directly at her with a slightly deep voice, “Do you…”

He Yan looked at him.

“Still have lingering feelings for Xu Zhiheng?”

“Cough cough cough-” She choked in surprise.

“Don’t joke!” He Yan immediately denied, “You know what he did. How could I still have feelings for him?”

“Oh?” He raised his eyebrows, his gaze sharp, “So you’re saying there were ‘feelings’ before?”

He Yan almost lost her breath, stunned by Xiao Jue’s question. No matter how she answered, it seemed wrong. After stammering for a while, He Yan said softly, “There weren’t any in the past either.”

Xiao Jue looked down at her expressionlessly. He Yan felt guilty under his gaze and carefully chose her words to lie: “You know, it was arranged by parents and matchmakers. In my previous life, I had no power to choose. After He Ruei exchanged identities, naturally I had to do whatever the family arranged… The He family arranged for me to marry Xu Zhiheng, so I married him. I didn’t have… any feelings.”

He Yan inexplicably felt like a woman caught in an affair by her husband. She was also troubled – she had merely glanced at Xu Zhiheng under the lanterns, who knew it would cause such trouble? Though thinking about it this way, she seemed more guilty. After all, Xiao Jue hadn’t had any other women before her.

“But I heard you were very happy when you married Xu Zhiheng,” he said calmly, looking at the river water below the railing.

He Yan startled: “Who said that? Such slander behind my back is unforgivable!”

Xiao Jue gave her a bland look. He Yan froze for a moment, then hung her head, “Fine, before I knew what kind of person he was, I had… a tiny bit.” She measured with her pinky and thumb, “Just this much, ant-sized, easily crushed under one step.”

Xiao Jue laughed despite his anger and said lazily: “Then tell me, why did you like him? Even if you didn’t know what kind of person he was, your taste,” he looked He Yan up and down, “was far below average.”

Was he insulting Xu Zhiheng or himself? He Yan thought. Usually not noticeable, but when the young master truly got angry, he was incredibly difficult to appease. Why ask such embarrassing questions? It was like slowly torturing someone with a knife. Yet the person before her kept staring, his beautiful eyes full of scrutiny.

He Yan sighed: “At that time, I just thought he was a good person.”

Xiao Jue smiled mockingly.

“Do you remember that time during the East Mountain hunt when you secretly gave me a rabbit?” He Yan asked.

“Mm.”

“The teachers at Xian Chang Academy wanted to please the Emperor, so they made the students compete seriously. They made a rule that if you didn’t catch any prey, you couldn’t eat and would go hungry for an entire day.”

Even now, He Yan still felt indignant thinking about it. “The person who made this rule must have been sick. Even death row inmates get a full meal. Just because someone didn’t catch any prey, they’d impose such an inhumane punishment… That day, although you gave me a rabbit, I let it go, so I didn’t catch anything.”

If it had been summer it would have been fine, but going hungry in snowy weather was truly miserable. When the hunt ended, He Yan watched the other young men around her returning with their catches, feeling terrible.

That’s when she met Xu Zhiheng.

At that time, Xu Zhiheng was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth in blue clothes, looking refined and gentle. He Yan walked hungry towards where they kept their belongings. The ground was covered in deep snow. She had been at the hunting grounds since morning until nearly dark and was truly exhausted. She didn’t notice a stone buried in the snow, accidentally kicked it, stumbled, and fell half her body into the snow, unable to get up for a while.

As she was struggling in the snow, suddenly she heard a voice from in front: “Are you alright?”

He Yan looked up and saw a youth in blue clothes.

This youth looked unfamiliar, probably not a student from Xian Chang Academy. However, students from other academies had also participated in today’s mountain hunt. He was probably a student from another academy.

While He Yan was still dazed, the youth smiled and directly grabbed her hand saying, “Let me help you,” pulling her up from the snow.

She still wore a mask on her face – the mask was cold, but this youth’s hand was very warm.

“I’m Xu Zhiheng. Are you from Xian Chang Academy?”

He Yan nodded randomly.

“I heard that Xian Chang Academy’s rules are very strict. Those who didn’t catch any prey today must go hungry,” Xu Zhiheng looked at her empty hands. “It’s a pity I didn’t go hunting, or I could have shared some prey with you.”

In Xian Chang Academy, she was considered reclusive and had no friends. Because of her mask, others found her unsociable and didn’t bother approaching her. This was the first time she’d met someone so warmhearted. She didn’t know what to say.

“Are you going to get your bundle over there?” Xu Zhiheng asked. “Let me help? You can barely walk.”

He Yan was about to decline, but when she lifted her foot, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle – it seemed she had twisted it earlier. Considering this, she nodded slightly to the youth and said sheepishly, “Thank you.” She pointed to the red bundle, “That’s mine.”

Xu Zhiheng turned to retrieve He Yan’s bundle from the platform. After getting it, he handed it to He Yan and supported her to the carriage where the Xian Chang Academy students sat before leaving.

At that time, watching Xu Zhiheng’s retreating figure, He Yan thought this youth was truly warm and considerate.

Back at Xian Chang Academy, it was a day without food. He Yan hid alone in her room and poured herself some hot tea, but felt hungrier the more she drank, her stomach growling continuously.

But what could she do? Xian Chang Academy’s rules were the strictest. Besides, she truly hadn’t caught anything, and she couldn’t bring herself to ask for food. After sitting for a while, He Yan sighed helplessly and took out her bundle to reorganize the paper and brushes she’d carried during the day. As soon as she opened it, two golden loquats rolled out.

How could there be loquats at this time of year?

He Yan was stunned, instinctively picking up the loquats. They were large and heavy, with a faint fragrance. The bundle had been on the platform the whole time, and during the hunt, students only carried quivers and arrows for convenience. Thinking it through, the only person who had touched this bundle was that blue-robed youth called Xu Zhiheng.

She peeled one loquat and took a small bite. The fruit was sweet, and remembering the youth’s face and smile, she felt that today’s luck wasn’t so bad after all.

Several years later, when He Yan returned from the battlefield and switched identities back with He Ruei when Madam He told her that they had arranged a marriage for her and the groom was named Xu Zhiheng, He Yan felt not only surprised but also secretly delighted. The He family’s daughters’ marriages were always arranged to pave the way for men, and compared to marrying a stranger, marrying Xu Zhiheng was the best option among all her choices.

Not to mention how others praised Young Master Xu’s early achievements; in He Yan’s heart, she felt that if a teenage Xu Zhiheng could be so considerate to a stranger, he must be a good person. At that time, she had many expectations for this marriage. Even though later Xu Zhiheng favored He Wanru, who always showed off in front of her, because of those two loquats from their youth, He Yan maintained some illusions about Xu Zhiheng.

Until she went blind until Xu Zhiheng personally shattered these illusions piece by piece.

“So,” Xiao Jue said meaningfully, “you liked him because of two loquats?”

“I suppose so,” He Yan said. “I just felt that someone who could be so considerate of others’ feelings and understand their awkward situations must be a good person.”

“Your affections are quite casual,” Xiao Jue sneered, walking forward. After two steps, he stopped and said coldly, “Those two loquats were from me.”

He Yan was stunned.

He continued walking toward the river. He Yan stood frozen for a moment, then caught up in a few steps, grabbing his sleeve. “How is that possible? You’re lying to me, right?”

Xiao Jue looked down at her, his gaze calm.

Back then, when Lin Shuanghe suggested giving He Yan a rabbit, he had shot one out of annoyance, but He Yan had released it. This reminded him of his own experiences in the mountains when he was young, making him view this seemingly unremarkable youth differently. He also knew that students who hadn’t caught any prey today would go hungry for a day back at Xian Chang Academy.

As the first-place winner of this hunt, Xiao Jue received many rewards. The palace people had even bestowed imperial food, which included two loquats.

Loquats weren’t easily available during this season. He had no particular interest in such sweet fruits. When leaving, passing by the platform, he glimpsed the red bundle in the corner and vaguely remembered it belonged to “He Ruei.”

That kid hadn’t caught anything today and would go hungry for a night. In winter, that would be especially difficult to endure. He looked at the imperial food basket in his hand, remembering when he first met “He Ruei,” seeing this person standing under the loquat tree at the academy, jumping up again and again trying to reach the loquats, looking utterly ridiculous. After some thought, he stopped, took out the two loquats from the food basket, and tucked them into the red bundle.

He Yan stammered, “Really? It was you who gave them?”

Xiao Jue silently looked at her.

He Yan thought this was bad. It was like Xiao Jue had done a good deed, but Xu Zhiheng had taken the credit. How could he feel comfortable about this misunderstanding? But at this crucial moment, how could she calm his anger?

“Today is your birthday. I forgot to take that lantern just now. What gift would you like…” she awkwardly changed the subject, spotted someone selling candied haw across the street, and said, “Wait here.” She ran over, bought a stick of candied haw, ran back, and offered it to Xiao Jue: “For you!”

Xiao Jue turned his head away.

He might be angry.

He Yan was troubled. What happened in the past couldn’t be undone. She had indeed had feelings for Xu Zhiheng and had married him, while Xiao Jue hadn’t. She had never experienced what Xiao Jue was feeling now, but she understood that it probably didn’t feel good.

He Yan circled him, “Xiao Jue, Xiao Jue?”

Xiao Jue avoided her gaze, only looking at the flowing river below the railing.

At some point, it had started snowing lightly, snowflakes falling onto their bodies. Away from the night market crowd, He Yan finally felt the cold. She suddenly remembered what Qing Mei had told her before leaving.

He Yan glanced at Xiao Jue, who still wouldn’t look at her. She let out an “Achoo!”, dramatically sneezing and muttering to herself, “So cold.”

The next moment, warmth descended from above as Xiao Jue turned around, took off his cloak, and draped it over her, finally willing to look at her.

He Yan quickly seized the opportunity, throwing herself against him, “Not angry anymore?”

Xiao Jue helped her tie the strings of the cloak in front, still not responding.

His cloak was very large, almost enveloping He Yan entirely. Afraid he might be cold, she pressed very close to Xiao Jue, like that night when she was drunk, almost clinging to him. She looked up playfully at Xiao Jue, “Commander Xiao, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mistaken someone else. Today is your birthday, don’t be angry anymore, okay? Smile? If you don’t want to smile… have a bite of candied haw?”

She held the candied haw up to Xiao Jue’s lips when suddenly her hand was grabbed.

He Yan froze, instinctively looking up, meeting his gleaming black eyes.

The young man’s features had lost their boyish refinement, now like moonlight on snow-capped mountains, his contours clear and clean, beautifully distinct, like flawless jade.

He pulled He Yan closer with one hand, holding her in his arms, and bent down to kiss her.