Seeing that the young guard was about to notice something amiss, Ruyi smiled and said to him: “Now that you’ve recorded my name, don’t stop me next time I come.”

Then she got up and led Shen Qiyuan away.

The young guard watched her retreating figure with reluctance, but he also knew that such a woman was beyond his reach, so he could only carefully record her name in the visitor registry.

The three left the morgue together. Fuman got off the carriage halfway, saying she wanted to go gather some information, so Shen Qiyuan continued forward with Ruyi.

Lifting the carriage curtain, Ruyi propped her chin and asked the man riding beside them: “Why are you unhappy again?”

He still kept his eyes lowered, thin lips pressed into a line, ignoring her.

Seeing this, Ruyi gave the driver some loose silver and smiled: “Thank you for your trouble – you can head back now.”

The driver was puzzled – in this desolate wilderness, where could she go without the carriage? But just as he took the silver, the young lady behind him leaped onto the horse’s back with a single bound.

The steed was startled and galloped forward rapidly. Her body swayed backward, her water-colored long dress fluttering in the wind like a blooming peony.

Shen Qiyuan pulled the reins with one hand while nervously wrapping his other arm around her waist.

She used the momentum to turn back around, smiling as she hugged his waist: “What’s Sir panicking about?”

Yes, what was there to panic about? A fall wouldn’t kill her anyway.

Annoyed, he withdrew his hand and said coldly: “Get down and walk yourself.”

“No.”

“Walking back to the city wouldn’t tire you.”

“But you’d be even more unhappy.” She smiled as she rested her chin on his shoulder. “When we first met, Sir insisted on leading my horse back to the city and wouldn’t ride together with me. Didn’t you regret it afterward?”

Shen Qiyuan flared up: “Where did you see me regretting it?”

“If you didn’t regret it, why did Sir later send away the young master and insist I ride your horse?”

“…”

He gripped the reins tightly.

So she knew everything in her heart – all his concealment, all his roundabout ways, she saw it all.

Then what did she think about it?

The single saddle was cramped, and her entire body pressed against his back. Her warm breath fell on his ear, each word clear and distinct in the wind: “With Sir’s cultivation, you must have experienced all manner of romantic affairs. Why do you still keep getting into conflicts with me?”

“Do you know I like Sir best when you’re like this?”

“But I also like it when Sir smiles – why don’t I see you smile?”

Ahead was an extremely dense forest. Once the horse ran into it, everything around them darkened.

Perhaps darkness made people feel secure. After a long silence, Shen Qiyuan suddenly spoke softly: “If I were more handsome and ethereal than all the other young masters you fancy…”

Ruyi was stunned: “Hmm?”

In the darkness, he spurred his horse while murmuring: “If I could always treat you well, only treat you well…”

“If I could help you get revenge and fulfill your wishes…”

“You… could you possibly—”

Could you possibly like only me?

A flock of birds took startled flight with a flutter. The horse’s hooves carried them out of the forest, and the surroundings suddenly became bright.

Ruyi was disturbed by the commotion and couldn’t help but raise her sleeve to shield her eyes.

After adjusting, she lowered her sleeve and asked with an innocent expression: “What was Sir saying just now?”

His face pale in the light, Shen Qiyuan straightened his back as he sat in front of her. After a long while, he raised his riding whip again: “Nothing.”

Taking a deep breath, he led her toward the main city.

Ruyi played with a strand of dark hair behind his ear, her expression both teasing and languid.

The two first returned to the Immortal Wine House. Zhao Yanning looked up and couldn’t help but glance behind them: “Tsk, you two take people out but don’t bring them back – whose fault is it if she gets lost?”

Ruyi laughed: “Do you think Fuman is only three years old?”

“What do you know?” He closed the ledger, took an umbrella, and headed outside. “That person was born gentle and easily bullied – she’s bound to encounter some people who don’t have eyes. The boss lady is something, going out without calling me. Next time, I won’t open windows for you all.”

Shen Qiyuan: “…”

Ruyi coughed and laughed, watching him rush out in a fluster, couldn’t help but ask: “He likes Fuman so much – why don’t I see any progress between them?”

Sitting in the elegant seat partitioned by potted plants, Shen Qiyuan said irritably: “You think everyone is like you, fickle and inconstant.”

“Hey, I don’t like hearing Sir talk like that. What do you mean by fickle and inconstant? I distribute my affection equally to all the handsome young masters in the world.” She brought tea into the elegant seat, saying reproachfully.

Shen Qiyuan nodded in deep agreement, then rolled his eyes dramatically.

So many handsome young masters in the world – wasn’t she afraid of exhausting herself to death?

After a pause, he still explained: “Fuman and her husband were childhood sweethearts. They were married for seven years and were so in sync that they could understand each other’s meaning without speaking. Her husband died at the hands of bandits less than two years ago – how could you expect her to accept someone else?”

Only seven years. Ruyi wrinkled her face: “That’s not long.”

“It’s not long to you, but to them, it’s already a very long time-long enough to be unforgettable.”

“Unforgettable?” Ruyi didn’t quite understand.

Right, how could a promiscuous demon understand this kind of emotion?

Shen Qiyuan sneered and turned his head toward the window.

Dark clouds had been gathering outside for a while, and sure enough, it started raining at dusk.

Fuman stood under a small stall’s eaves by the Rainbow Bridge, her hands shielding her hair, looking bewildered at the people coming and going.

A figure in blue robes gradually approached through the rain curtain, cloud-white boot tips splashing through puddles on the ground, carrying some urgency.

Her eyes gradually focused, and she almost instinctively called out: “Xiuhe!”

The oil-paper umbrella lifted, revealing Zhao Yanning’s face with some impatience: “You’re a grown person – going out without bringing an umbrella?”

His brows and eyes reflected in her pupils, and the light in her eyes slowly dimmed and faded.

Fuman smiled embarrassedly, taking the umbrella he handed her and opening it herself. Two paper umbrellas walked side by side in the rain, separated by a distance, polite yet distant.

—”Unforgettable.”

Shen Qiyuan withdrew his gaze and added faintly, “It means being stubborn in love. Except for that one person they’ve set their heart on, everyone else looks ordinary to them.”

Ruyi nodded with half-understanding: “Oh, then Sir also seems to be stubborn in love.”

“I’m not.”

Righteously denying it, he finished his tea and got up, wanting to return to his mansion, but saw the rain outside had grown heavy.

After brief consideration, Shen Qiyuan still said: “Trouble the proprietress to open a guest room. If there’s new information, I can know immediately.”

“Of course.” She swayed her waist as she led him upstairs, saying teasingly: “This room is specially for Sir.”

It was separated from her room by only a wall, completely open and without avoiding suspicion.

Rarely did he react with shame or resistance.

So when thunder rumbled in the deep night, Ruyi didn’t go feel for Fuman’s door but directly slipped into his bedding, covering her ears and asking him: “Was this also within Sir’s expectations?”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” He snorted coldly and tightened his arms around her.