Ji Bozai’s servant Buxiu felt his master had been swindled. The robe cost only 3,000 bei, yet the shopkeeper had forcibly sold it for 6,000 bei. Surprisingly, his usually astute master seemed oblivious, even urging him to pay quickly and leave, as if fearing the shopkeeper might change his mind.
Carrying the tall box, Buxiu sighed. Just as he was about to ask if they were returning to the Yuan Academy, his master said, “Give me your money pouch. Take these things back first; I’ll browse a bit more.”
Obediently handing over the pouch, Buxiu thoughtfully added, “Miss Ming’s favorite scallion pancake stall is in the middle of the next street. You can take the small alley from here; it’s the quickest route.”
Ji Bozai’s hand paused on the pouch. He turned away, saying, “Who cares about that stuff?”
“Mmm, when you buy them, ask the vendor to wrap them in extra cow-hide paper, or they might leak on your hands.”
Ji Bozai swept his sleeve and left, deliberately taking the main road.
He had no intention of buying scallion pancakes from the next street. She preferred Hua Biezhi’s dishes now.
However, upon reaching Hua Biezhi’s entrance, he saw Situ Ling just leaving, carrying three large food boxes and placing them in a carriage.
Situ Ling’s forehead was sweating, but his eyes were incredibly gentle. His fair fingers traced the carved patterns on the food boxes, lingering affectionately.
Ji Bozai narrowed his eyes at the sight.
Fu Yue boarded the carriage with him, and they headed towards Yuan Academy.
It’s fine, Ji Bozai thought. After all, he’s her sworn brother. It’s natural for him to visit Ming Yi and bring gifts. His behavior is quite normal-
Normal, my foot!
Taking a deep breath, Ji Bozai quickly found a nearby alley and rushed to the scallion pancake stall he’d seen earlier.
“I’ll take all of these,” he tossed some bei coins. “Wrap them thickly.”
The vendor looked at him in shock. “But sir…”
“Don’t waste words. Just wrap them up.”
“Alright then.”
Ji Bozai had calculated that Situ Ling’s carriage would be stuck in traffic for a while. Taking the shortcut, he could reach Yuan Academy before them.
However, today seemed cursed. The small alleys were even more crowded than the main road. To make matters worse, a group of young women appeared from nowhere, insistently throwing handkerchiefs at him.
In the past, he might have found it amusing, perhaps even keeping a few pretty ones to play with. But now, he only found it annoying. He thought these women would be better off studying something useful instead of trying to attract men’s attention.
By the time he finally made it back to Yuan Academy, Situ Ling was already seated in the Forging Hall.
Ming Yi, her eyes bright, looked at the table full of dishes and said, “You’ve come at just the right time. I was about to ask Hua Biezhi to send lunch.”
“These are all new dishes from there. Sister, please try them,” Situ Ling smiled innocently, then asked Fu Yue to bring over several boxes of clothes for her to see.
Ming Yi didn’t dare look too closely, only nodding in thanks.
Situ Ling probably thought she had been this pampered before at Yuan Academy and was worried she might feel dejected now, so he came specially to comfort her. But what he didn’t know was that Ming Xian had never received such treatment at Yuan Academy before.
Back then, her mind was full of thoughts about becoming stronger, and her mother was focused on the same goal. As for these material things, she always had enough. So during visitation days, she would spend those two days learning forging with She Tianlin.
She wouldn’t envy these things, but when someone gave them to her, she felt just as happy as when she won a competition.
Trying to suppress her smile, Ming Yi served him some food. “You should eat too. You must be tired after running around all morning.”
“Sister cares for me,” Situ Ling tilted his head and smiled.
She smiled gently. “You treat me as your real sister, so naturally, I see you as my real brother.”
Is that the look of someone who wants to be a brother? What a fine young woman, how could she be so blind?
Ji Bozai stood outside the window, coldly observing them. He thought Yuan Academy’s rules should be stricter. If they say only parents and elders can visit, then it should be just parents and elders. What use is a brother coming here? It only disrupts the forging of divine weapons.
What’s more annoying was that Situ Ling seemed completely unaware, taking a full hour to finish the meal.
At that hour, the scallion pancakes Ji Bozai was holding had gone completely cold.
“Sister, take good care of yourself out there,” Situ Ling said softly at the Forging Hall’s entrance as he was leaving. “Working with Duke Ji, I imagine you won’t be too comfortable. If he troubles you too much, just let someone know, and I’ll find a way to help.”
He hasn’t troubled me, Ming Yi thought. Compared to his previous arrogance, Duke Ji had become much more amiable lately.
But before she could explain, Situ Ling sighed, “Many men in this world have poor judgment. When you treat them well, they disregard you. But once you stop caring about them, they come chasing after you. That’s not love; it’s just the darker side of human nature.”
Ming Yi was stunned, then suddenly understood.
No wonder she kept seeing Ji Bozai everywhere lately. So he had such intentions.
As they say, it takes a man to understand a man. Though this boy was still young, his words hit the nail on the head.
“I understand,” she nodded seriously.
Situ Ling grinned, showing two tiger teeth, then turned and bounced away.
Ming Yi stood at the entrance, pondering for a moment. She decided it didn’t matter. After all, she only wanted to hitch a ride to Feihua City. She wouldn’t be around Ji Bozai much after that, and out of sight, out of mind.
However, as soon as she turned around, Ji Bozai’s handsome face appeared right in front of her.
Startled, her first thought was that his Yuan power must have improved significantly for him to get so close without her noticing.
Her second reaction was to look down at what he was holding. “What’s that?”
Without even glancing at her, Ji Bozai’s voice was as cold as a winter wind: “What else could it be? Just some groceries I picked up for the kitchen.”
The large paper ball emitted the scent of scallion pancakes in the breeze.
Ming Yi’s eyes lit up. “Is the kitchen being so generous, giving scallion pancakes to everyone? Can I have one first?”
“No,” he brushed past her indifferently. “People like us with our evil nature never do good deeds.”
So he heard everything?
Ming Yi felt a bit awkward and quickly caught up to explain, “Situ Ling is just a child after all. Don’t take his words to heart, Your Grace.”
Now she’s even speaking up for him.
Ji Bozai took a deep breath and smiled amiably, “Why would I take issue with him? He’s so thoughtful, choosing clothes you like, and bringing food you enjoy. He truly treats you like his own sister. Such a good brother is hard to find, even with a lantern.”
While his words made sense, why did his tone sound so strange?
Ming Yi scratched her head, finally managing to say, “He is indeed very good. I never expected to be so lucky to meet such a brother.”
Ji Bozai’s steps faltered. His smile grew even more amiable as he turned and walked in a different direction.
“Hey, weren’t you going to take this to the kitchen?” Ming Yi looked on eagerly. “That’s not the way to the kitchen, is it?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just felt that while some people are always lucky, the pigs in the backyard have always been unlucky. So I’m going to give them a treat.”