“Who ate it?” he asked.

His voice was calm, yet carried the dangerous air of an approaching storm.

If the previous beauty had intoxicated him, then the cruel reality had now awakened him!

“There was… an unexpected situation…” Shi Fa Ke forced herself to explain.

Behind the stove, Zhu Yanyan, who had eaten two bowls of porridge, guiltily moved and made a subtle sound.

Lu Chi’s eyebrows twitched as his cold gaze turned toward the stove. “Who? Come out!”

Inside became completely quiet.

Lu Chi narrowed his eyes and slowly walked over. Seeing this, Shi Fa Ke hurriedly grabbed him.

Her expression was far too panicked—abnormally so. Lu Chi frowned. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll go take a look.”

The porridge eaten down to just a bottom layer, the person hiding behind the stove, Shi Fa Ke’s rare panic… all these abnormalities made Lu Chi alert. He connected everything together and reached a conclusion.

There was a villain hiding behind the stove!

No wonder the door was open, no wonder A’Ke was acting so strangely.

She refused to say anything, probably because she didn’t want to implicate him. After all, in her eyes, he was just a powerless scholar.

Shi Fa Ke was nearly in tears from anxiety, gripping him tightly and refusing to let go.

“Trust me.” Lu Chi gently patted her head to comfort her, then resolutely rushed behind the stove.

Shi Fa Ke failed to hold him back and watched helplessly as he charged over… Damn it! Wasn’t he supposed to be a powerless scholar?! How could he have such strength!

Lu Chi rushed behind the stove and stood looking down at two disheveled people.

A young lady and a servant woman.

Mm… this combination didn’t look like villains at all.

Lu Chi was somewhat puzzled.

Shi Fa Ke’s mouth twitched as she quickly ran to pull him back. “You come out first…”

Lu Chi looked at her, then belatedly realized… he might have misunderstood. There were no villains behind the stove—it was just that this young lady, upon hearing his voice, had no choice but to hide behind the stove to avoid him.

After all, it wasn’t proper for a young lady to casually meet strange men.

This was awkward.

Lu Chi glanced at the young lady and servant woman who looked disheveled from hiding behind the stove, rubbed his nose, and prepared to retreat.

“Young Master Lu…” Zhu Yanyan suddenly stood up. Because she stood too quickly, her extremely thin body swayed and she nearly fell.

The wet nurse beside her quickly steadied her, glaring at Lu Chi angrily.

Zhu Yanyan steadied herself and looked at the gentleman before her, elegant as jade trees and orchids.

While hiding behind the stove, she hadn’t known who had come at first. Only when Shi Fa Ke called him “Young Master Lu” did she realize this man was the one she had nearly wanted to marry. So this was what Young Master Lu looked like—he didn’t have a full beard, nor was he a fat man with a broad back and thick waist covered in flesh. Indeed, as Shi Fa Ke had said, he was a gentleman elegant as jade trees and orchids.

What a pity… he wasn’t the person she was looking for.

“I’m sorry, that porridge… I ate it.” Zhu Yanyan bit her lip, her face reddening with shame as she said, “I didn’t know it was prepared for you by A’Ke…”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Young Master Lu is just playing around with me.” Shi Fa Ke glared at Lu Chi and quickly comforted Zhu Yanyan. “It’s just a pot of porridge, no need to apologize.”

Lu Chi looked at Shi Fa Ke meaningfully.

Shi Fa Ke felt her scalp tighten under his gaze, but she had no intention of backing down. After all, it was just a pot of porridge, and she had agreed to let her eat it. To make a young lady apologize for eating a pot of porridge was simply too much!

Lu Chi said nothing, only extended his hand and gave her the scroll he had been holding since entering. “This is the painting I promised to give you.”

After speaking, he lowered his eyes and turned to leave.

Shi Fa Ke stared blankly at the scroll in her hands, remembering what Lu Chi had said before.

“Make sure you remember what you promised me.”

“I… what did I promise you?”

“It seems you didn’t take it to heart at all. What I promised you, I took seriously to heart.”

Shi Fa Ke suddenly felt deeply ashamed, feeling like she had committed a terrible sin. Her head spinning, she hurriedly grabbed Lu Chi who was about to leave, then quickly picked up the clay pot, wrapped it in cloth, and stuffed it into his arms. “There’s still some left. Eat this first, I’ll bring you more tomorrow.”

“…” Lu Chi silently looked at the warm clay pot in his arms, and the shallow layer of leftover porridge inside.

Only then did Shi Fa Ke realize what she had done. Just as she was preparing to face Lu Chi’s storm-like anger, Lu Chi silently picked up the lid beside him, covered the clay pot, and walked away holding it.

“…” Shi Fa Ke watched his lonely retreating figure, feeling exactly like a heartless scoundrel.

As she was struggling with her feelings, a trembling small hand suddenly grabbed her.

Zhu Yanyan grabbed her hand and held it tightly—so tightly that Shi Fa Ke’s hand ached.

Shi Fa Ke instinctively looked at Zhu Yanyan, finding it hard to believe that her frail body could have such strength, gripping her hand until it hurt. Had she been frightened by Lu Chi?

This one look startled Shi Fa Ke.

Zhu Yanyan was staring at her fixedly, her eyes bright with tears rolling down. She opened her mouth as if unable to make a sound.

“What… what’s wrong?” Shi Fa Ke was startled seeing her like this. “Don’t cry, Young Master Lu wasn’t targeting you, he was just angry at me for not keeping my word…”

“A… A’Ke…” Zhu Yanyan was trembling, tears streaming down continuously. Finally able to make a sound, she still couldn’t form complete sentences.

The wet nurse beside her was terrified. “Miss, what’s wrong with you… Oh my! It’s all that Young Master Lu’s fault, barging in for no reason and frightening our miss!”

“Lu Chi didn’t do it on purpose. Yanyan, don’t be nervous, he meant no harm.” Shi Fa Ke hurriedly explained for Lu Chi, afraid the Zhu family would cause trouble for him.

…What a mess this was!

A bloodbath caused by a pot of minced meat porridge?

Zhu Yanyan closed her eyes and shook her head, tears falling even faster. She trembled her lips trying to say something but couldn’t speak.

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. Take your time, speak slowly. What’s wrong?” Shi Fa Ke quickly supported her, gently patting her back to help her breathe.

“I… I’m so happy!” Zhu Yanyan calmed down a bit and finally burst out with a sentence.

“What?” Shi Fa Ke was stunned. This turn was a bit fast, she was confused.

Happy? Happy about what?

“It’s him… it’s him…” Zhu Yanyan gripped Shi Fa Ke’s hand tightly, trembling as she spoke.

“What?” Shi Fa Ke’s eyes widened, but in an instant she had an epiphany and suddenly understood Zhu Yanyan’s meaning. “You mean, Young Master Lu is the person you’re looking for?”

Zhu Yanyan nodded vigorously like a pecking chicken.

“Didn’t you say you recognized the wrong person?” Shi Fa Ke asked in confusion.

“I… I saw…”

When he extended his hand to give her the scroll, Zhu Yanyan saw his hand.

It was an extremely slender, beautiful hand. From her angle, she could just see the inside of his wrist… on the inside of his wrist was a strangely shaped tattoo, like a dragon but not a dragon, like a snake but not a snake.

It was him!

It really was him!

Young Master Lu was the young man who had saved her on Thousand Cliff Mountain ten years ago. She was absolutely certain!

Zhu Yanyan’s eyes brightened, and her pale face was tinged with an intoxicating blush.