Third Young Master Lu held a small banquet for Luo Lingyu behind closed doors in his “Clear Courtyard.” Though no elder relatives were present to perform her coming-of-age ceremony, this couldn’t be helped, and Luo Lingyu didn’t ask for it. To hold this banquet while Second Young Master Lu’s fate remained uncertain, Lu Yun was already under great pressure.

Moreover, looking around, Luo Lingyu saw that almost all the young lords and ladies she had met at Young Master Zhou’s birthday earlier that day had come. This gave her a sense of vanity – as if she wasn’t inferior to Young Master Zhou at all.

Young Master Zhou had Prince Chen protecting him, and she had her difficult-to-please Brother Xuehen.

Among the crowd of revelers, little sister Luo Yunsha first waved to greet her sister, but her sister had no time for her. The young lords enthusiastically welcomed Luo Lingyu, with the red-faced Third Young Master Qi being the most excited: “Sister Luo, come quickly. We didn’t know it was your birthday today, we neglected you earlier.”

The ladies also smiled: “We’ve prepared gifts for you.”

Luo Yunsha: “Sister, sit over here!”

Her sister didn’t give her a single glance, but smiled charmingly and walked straight toward the group of young lords and ladies.

Young Lady Luo Yunsha sat down dejectedly: “…”

Well, her sister had always liked being adored.

Beside her sat the Lu family’s Fourth Young Master Lu Chang, who had sneaked over to attend his elder brother’s banquet. He thoughtfully placed peeled shrimp in front of his little cousin. Luo Yunsha just snorted and turned away, unwilling to accept. This left young Lu Chang crestfallen and at a loss, feeling his little cousin was particularly hard to please – among the children of similar age in the family, there was only this one young lady, so naturally Lu Chang wanted to play with the pretty young lady. Unfortunately, the young lady was probably still angry about the previous fight and barely acknowledged him.

Setting aside the children’s conflicts, among the adults, the young lords’ gazes followed Luo Lingyu boldly and enthusiastically, while the ladies’ eyes often drifted toward Third Young Master Lu as he walked among the crowd of young lords. The ladies were restless, as they hadn’t seen this most elegant gentleman of Jianye for half a month due to his eye injury and recuperation at home. Among the crowd of young lords, Lu Yun sat with his robe draped casually, his relaxed and natural posture extraordinarily refined. Some ladies had already begun moving toward him.

Luo Lingyu snorted, seeing how popular her Brother Xuehen was. She turned to give the young lords a charming smile, walking slowly and gracefully into the crowd, smiling as she thanked everyone for their gifts.

Zhou Yangling came to find her apologetically, bringing a small gift: “…Sister shares the same birthday as me, yet I didn’t know. It’s my fault for hurting my sister’s feelings.”

Luo Lingyu smiled very humbly and magnanimously: “What are you saying, Young Master Zhou? It’s nothing, just a birthday, to be celebrated ordinarily, I never care about such small matters.”

In reality, she was dying of jealousy toward Zhou Yangling, green with envy.

But now she had been much placated by Lu Yun’s attention.

Zhou Yangling looked down at her – the beautiful lady was consistently delicate and lovely. When she looked up and smiled, the spirit and beauty in her features carried a hint of cleverness, how soul-stirring, yet concealing insincere distance and pretense. Zhou Yangling smiled slightly, and sat down to comfort Luo Lingyu, hoping to dispel sister Luo’s hostility toward him. In Zhou Yangling’s view, for a beauty like Luo Lingyu to have a slight temper was harmless, just right. If she had no temper at all, perfect and flawless, it would instead be boring.

As the two sat talking, Luo Lingyu would occasionally pull at her sleeves to cover her mouth, or brush her face and adjust her skirts. The glass bracelet on her wrist, the bright moon pendant at her ears, and the gold-framed jeweled ornaments on her skirt hem all sparkled like fireflies in the night, attracting the gazes of the surrounding ladies. Zhou Yangling’s heart stirred, understanding dawning, as he drank tea with a faint smile and remained silent. Ladies with bright eyes had already gathered around him and Luo Lingyu, asking her in succession –

“Lady Luo, are these newly acquired accessories? Where did you get them? They look so beautiful, I want them too.”

“I’ve seen this hairpin before, made by a master goldsmith from the Northern countries. I wanted it, but my elder brother wouldn’t buy it for me. Did Lady Luo purchase it?”

The ladies chattered, discussing Luo Lingyu’s new clothes, new hair ornaments, and new silver, gold, and glass items.

Luo Lingyu’s eyes seemed to contain wandering starlight, extraordinarily beautiful. Surrounded by the ladies, she showed no sign of annoyance, her voice as sweet as an oriole’s song. Being surrounded and admired by the ladies gave her great satisfaction. At past banquets, she had been surrounded more by young lords, but this time unusually, many more ladies liked her.

Luo Lingyu was inwardly pleased, smiling as she answered everyone: “I bought the hairpin, the others I had modified myself.”

The ladies praised in unison: “Lady Luo is truly ingenious.”

The ladies only played with rouge, powder, perfumes, clothes, and accessories – making something new out of these common items had always been the pursuit of these noble ladies. Luo Lingyu usually had many clever ideas and had even opened a cosmetics shop with Zhou Yangling based on such ingenuity. Now that she had applied this cleverness to her appearance, it naturally attracted attention.

Who wouldn’t like someone who knew how to dress, eat, and enjoy life?

This was the most enjoyable evening Luo Lingyu had experienced since her parents’ passing. She could be even happier.

Halfway through the banquet, Luo Yunsha couldn’t stay awake and was taken by a maid to sleep, while her sister remained in the “Clear Courtyard,” surrounded by people, unwilling to move a step. Luo Lingyu’s vanity was evident. The ladies asked again: “This glass seems… why don’t you wear something of better quality? Shall I give you a pair?”

Luo Lingyu touched the bracelet on her arm, smiling as she declined: “No need, this was given to me by my Third Cousin. Third Cousin has started a glass workshop, it hasn’t even opened to the public yet, he just gave this to me to play with.”

After their quarreling and reconciliation, during their shopping and leisure time today, Lu Yun returned the glass bracelet he had taken from her. Luo Lingyu showed it off from time to time, feeling completely satisfied.

The ladies paused briefly, their expressions suddenly turning strange. Due to Third Young Master Lu’s status, he received quite a lot of attention from the ladies. The ladies’ hearts immediately turned sour, and one acidly said: “We’ve never seen him give anything to other ladies… why would he give something to you? What gives you the right?”

Luo Lingyu lowered her eyelids, shyly touching her jade-white wrist, her beautiful eyes flickering: “It’s just an ordinary birthday gift from a cousin. Normal sibling affection, don’t read too much into it.”

The ladies: “…Oh.”

Disappointed, jealous, envious, indifferent. Yet who would believe her “normal sibling affection.”

After showing off among the sisters and circulating among the young lords, Luo Lingyu received the most admiration of the evening. While she was surrounded by people talking and laughing non-stop, at the edge of the crowd, Miss Chen Xiu’s noble and cold face was about to crack. The Chen family had all moved away from Jianye, leaving only Miss Chen. Chen Xiu had been listless for months and initially didn’t want to come tonight, but hearing it was Third Young Master Lu’s banquet, she came anyway, thick-skinned.

Who knew it would be so long before Lu Yun returned?

Shortly after returning, just as Chen Xiu was about to approach, Lu Yun had disappeared somewhere.

She sullenly maintained her dignity while listening to the surrounding ladies’ adoration of Luo Lingyu for a long while. Despite priding herself on being above worldly matters, when she heard that many of the accessories Luo Lingyu wore were gifts from Third Young Master Lu, she couldn’t help but turn her head to look secretly. The more she looked, the more uncomfortable she became – how could Third Young Master Lu, such a noble and dignified contemporary scholar, be attracted to such a vulgar and flashy woman?

Could Third Young Master Lu not see how calculating his poor cousin from the countryside was?

Half a year had passed, and Third Young Master Lu still hadn’t seen through her.

Chen Xiu refused to accept that Lu Yun could be attracted to Luo Lingyu; she believed the gentleman she admired must have been deceived by that bad woman. Luo Lingyu’s appearance was so alluring, her words so sweet, indeed it was easy to deceive men. After showing off for a while, Luo Lingyu tired of it and left the crowd to pour herself a drink. As she happily lowered her head to drink, a proud and reserved female voice came from beside her: “What normal sibling affection? Do you take us for fools? Third Young Master Lu has never given us such valuable birthday gifts. What right do you have to receive them?”

Luo Lingyu turned her head to see Chen Xiu, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time.

Chen Xiu glared at her with contempt, her gaze accusing her of “putting on an act.”

Luo Lingyu’s hand caressed the cool glass bracelet on her arm. Under Chen Xiu’s glare, she swallowed the wine in her mouth. Her eyes were flushed and filled with emotion; the lady didn’t defend herself, but her lips curved upward. Involuntarily, secretly pleased, Luo Lingyu broke into a smile right in front of Chen Xiu.

Chen Xiu: “…!”

How dare she smile so smugly! The young lords should all come to see Luo Lingyu’s two-faced demeanor!

Luo Lingyu pretended to be innocent and pure but was well aware of what everyone was thinking. As soon as Chen Xiu spoke, she couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction. Though she didn’t say “Lu Yun just likes me, what can you do about it,” her smug expression spoke louder than words.

Chen Xiu had probably never seen such a woman act so brazenly before her. She stuttered “you, you, you” for a while, but thinking of Luo Lingyu’s vicious expression, she didn’t dare to provoke her further. Chen Xiu’s eyes reddened as she turned away to contemplate, likely thinking “Why has Third Young Master Lu become blind.”

However, while the ladies understood much in their hearts, the young lords understood little. Men’s and women’s thinking had always been different – women easily noticed the various gifts lords gave to ladies, while men only realized when it was explicitly stated. Thus, Luo Lingyu remained the focus of the young lords’ attention tonight. But after Chen Xiu’s reminder, Luo Lingyu searched through the crowd, wanting to find her Third Cousin to offer him a toast of thanks.

Lu Yun’s heart was so small. If she simply enjoyed his birthday gifts without any gesture of appreciation, Lu Yun would turn against her.

But after searching around, she couldn’t find him.

Jin Yue said: “Third Young Master went out…”

Luo Lingyu belatedly remembered that everyone said Third Young Master Lu hadn’t attended such banquets much in recent years. He had even hosted one for her… Luo Lingyu’s heart stirred, and after telling her maid, she followed Jin Yue’s directions and left the courtyard to look for him. Luo Lingyu finally found him sitting by the railing on the mountain corridor above the Lu family’s great lake.

He wasn’t alone.

The slender young lord standing there was Second Young Master Lu Xian, who had reportedly been missing for several days.

Second Young Master Lu had returned?!

And was talking with his third brother.

Luo Lingyu called out “Second Cousin,” and both young lords on the corridor – one standing, one sitting – looked over. Under the bright moonlight’s gleaming radiance, of the two young lords looking over, Second Young Master Lu’s face was pale but friendly, while Third Young Master Lu had his arm resting on the railing, giving her a light glance, his eyes rather “cold.”

Luo Lingyu secretly cursed Lu Yun for being “fake” – he had been so nice to her during the day, but in front of his second brother, he put on an act as if they weren’t close.

But Lu Xian knew what relationship these two had.

He had come to see Lu Yun as soon as he returned, as Lu Yun’s servant had been waiting for him. Since his younger brother was so concerned about him, Lu Xian naturally wanted to reassure his cousin, and also see if his third brother and cousin were still quarreling, and how his cousin’s birthday celebration was going. Since Luo Lingyu had come looking, she wasn’t looking for him. Lu Xian nodded and smiled at Lu Yun: “…You and cousin have fun. I’m a bit tired; we brothers can talk again tomorrow just as well.”

Second Young Master Lu patted Lu Yun’s shoulder meaningfully, his hint is obvious: A beautiful night, a lovely lady beside you, cherish it, third brother.

But just as Second Young Master Lu had bid them farewell and walked a short distance away, he heard his third brother speaking to their cousin in that frivolous tone: “Aren’t you going to go flirt with those young lords anymore?”

Second Young Master Lu: “…?!”

Was this how his third brother usually spoke to Cousin Luo? So sarcastic, even less warm than how he normally spoke to their cousin! Second Young Master Lu almost wanted to turn back and lecture his third brother – no wonder you couldn’t win the beauty’s heart in the dream!

Second Young Master Lu used great willpower to resist the urge to return, leaving with much regret. In the corridor, moonlight, lake water, and tree shadows intermingled. Lu Yun still leaned on the railing watching the lake water, while Luo Lingyu stood beside him, excitedly but haltingly thanking him: “…Those are just outsiders, talking with them can’t compare to thanking Brother Xuehen.”

Lu Yun turned his head, his cold eyes looking at the lady beside him, suddenly asking: “Your birthday was almost forgotten today, yet you’re still so happy. Haven’t you learned any lesson from this?”

Luo Lingyu rolled her eyes inwardly.

On the surface, she humbly asked: “Please instruct me, Brother Xuehen.”

Lu Yun: “First, you must stand on your own, do things for yourself, and never expect others to remember your affairs.”

Luo Lingyu pouted slightly, saying nothing.

Lu Yun: “Second, men are the most heartless beings in the world. Many may like you, but none love you. Relying on men will never accomplish anything.”

Luo Lingyu snorted, her expression turning unpleasant.

She was properly celebrating her birthday, politely coming to thank him, yet he was lecturing her, preaching grand principles – truly spoiling the mood. Whether his words made sense or not, they certainly weren’t what she wanted to hear right now.

Lu Yun was about to say “Third,” when suddenly crackling explosions rose into the sky, and the brilliantly blooming fireworks reflected in the bright eyes of the two looking up. The sound of men and women laughing came from below and outside – they were setting off fireworks. The fireworks lit up the corridor with shifting light and shadow, in a riot of colors.

Under the dazzling fireworks, Luo Lingyu argued: “…I don’t know if other men love me or not, but I know someone who gets jealous when he sees me talking to other men, who tries to provoke me. Would you say he likes me or not?”

Luo Lingyu looked up at the fireworks in the sky.

Lu Yun turned to look at her.

She stood quietly beside him, an uncommonly graceful figure in this ordinary world. As the lady looked up at the fireworks, the light played across her face, delicate as snow and porcelain, luminous and shifting. Her lifted lashes, bright eyes, pressed lips, her slender neck, thin shoulders, full bosom… Lu Yun propped his chin, quietly observing.

Luo Lingyu watched the fireworks, her lips curved upward. Suddenly feeling the person beside her had been quiet for too long, she turned her head suspiciously to look, but a dark shadow flashed before her eyes – the young lord who had been sitting calmly just now suddenly stood up. In one step, he was before her, his face bending down.

Luo Lingyu’s heart raced!

He wrapped an arm around her waist, spun her around, and pressed her against a corridor pillar, lowering his lips to kiss her. With her back against the pillar, as his lips approached, fireworks exploded in the sky again, illuminating his lowered, fine brows and eyes. Rich and dark like ink, with noble features and a straight nose, under the five-colored lights, how he stirred one’s heartstrings.

In her daze, a trembling sensation climbed up from her tailbone.

She let out a soft gasp, and he caught her hand, his fingernail lightly scratching her hand’s back.

Her heart had already been stolen, and the young lord’s tongue had already parted her pearl-like teeth, drawing her in for a moment.

He lifted his eyes to look.

His expression is full of spring’s warmth.

The flower fragrance was already intoxicating, the fireworks hazy. With that half-drawn allure, the tree shadows like water. The man and woman leaned against the corridor railing, embracing and kissing passionately.

…

In an instant, the world blazed bright.

Luo Lingyu suddenly realized she loved him.

Truly liked him.

Just like the lie she and Young Master Fan had made up. If Lu Yun loved her, she would do everything possible to marry him; if he didn’t love her, she wouldn’t mind marrying for power and wealth.