Before he could ask this question aloud, a sudden gust of wind swept past from beside them.

Wei Zijue turned his head and saw a hand slowly reaching over, precisely grasping Ruyi’s wrist with such force that it pulled her entire body to standing.

She was caught somewhat off guard, her footing unsteady, and she fell softly into the newcomer’s embrace.

Wei Zijue frowned and stood up as well.

Where his gaze fell, he froze in surprise.

The newcomer was covered in wind and snow, and within the gathered fox fur cloak was a face quite similar to his own, except those eyes were deep and heavy, carrying an oppressive aura that forcibly suppressed his anger.

Wei Zijue instinctively touched the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye.

Shen Qiyuan pulled open his cloak, wrapping Ruyi’s entire form inside it, and asked expressionlessly: “Was the lion dance entertaining?”

Ruyi’s spine suddenly went cold.

She was finished. She had been saying she felt like she’d forgotten something—originally, she had arranged with this person to come watch the lion dance together. He must have been waiting for her for a very long time.

She pushed aside the warm, soft fox fur, revealing a pair of long eyes that looked slightly guilty: “Naturally, it wasn’t as good-looking as you.”

Wei Zijue frowned upon hearing this: “Miss Liu, who is this?”

Shen Qiyuan’s hand, hidden within the cloak, silently pinched her waist.

Ruyi gave a dry laugh.

She figured he must be truly furious to not even care about the discretion they had previously agreed to maintain in public. Introducing him as the current Lord Zongzheng in this posture would naturally be inappropriate.

After thinking briefly, she said with a smile, “His surname is Shen. He’s my male confidant.”

The hand at her waist suddenly tightened, pinching her once before loosening again.

Shen Qiyuan lifted his chin and said coolly to Wei Zijue: “It’s getting late. We’ll take our leave first.”

We.

Wei Zijue clasped his hands behind his back, his mouth corners tightly drawn. After a long while, he finally nodded.

Ruyi was thus bundled in his cloak as they descended Lion Tower.

“Ziyan, dear Ziyan, don’t be so angry. Let me out first.”

“Hey, hey, I can’t see the road. I’m going to fall.”

Shen Qiyuan ignored her completely. Sensing that she was truly stumbling badly, he simply picked her up with rough movements.

Ruyi only felt the world spinning around her. She seemed to hear Zhou Tingchuan’s voice, then the neighing of horses, and then she was carried into a carriage.

The fox fur cloak fell away, and she gasped for air in large gulps, her face already flushed red from being stifled.

Shen Qiyuan looked at her coldly, frost forming in the depths of his eyes: “Was it fun?”

Her hair was disheveled as she lay on the soft cushions, her chest rising and falling: “I only watched a lion dance. I didn’t have time to play anything else.”

Was she complaining about him in her words?

He reached out, his knuckles moving to untie the cord at her waist.

Ruyi raised an eyebrow but didn’t stop him, only saying: “You tied this cord, so naturally you can untie it. But Ziyan, what right do you have to be angry with me?”

They weren’t lovers, nor was theirs a relationship bought with power or wealth. They owed each other nothing and belonged to no one—they were simply taking what each needed.

People who take what they need don’t require loyalty or devotion.

His knuckles stiffened in mid-air. Shen Qiyuan looked up and asked her: “If it were me today, behaving this way with another woman, would you not be angry either?”

“Why should I be angry?” She hummed with indifference and laughed. “There are hundreds of different flavors of love in this world. You should naturally taste them all—it wouldn’t be a waste of your time in the mortal realm.”

“…” This made him seem even more like a fool.

Curling his lips mockingly, Shen Qiyuan continued his actions, undoing her sash: “Then consider it that I waited too long and grew angry from waiting.”

This reason Ruyi could accept, since she too would get angry if she waited for him too long.

But this carriage was quite flimsy. With the two of them entangled within it, they could hear even the voices of street vendors bargaining.

Ruyi kept her mouth tightly shut, making no sound at all, but the person above her seemed to be doing it deliberately, specifically tormenting her sensitive spots while staring fixedly at her with both eyes, even reaching out to part her lips.

“At this moment, does Your Lordship not care about propriety?” She had broken out in a sweat at her temples as she asked him softly.

Shen Qiyuan lifted her so their noses touched, half-closing his eyes to look deeply at her: “Why didn’t you say today that I reminded you of an old lover?”

Ruyi opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by his fierce thrust: “Is it because now that you’ve seen him, you don’t think of me anymore?”

“So between him and me, who is better?”

“Or am I only ever his substitute, and now that the original has returned, you can’t even spare me a glance?”

Her waist was so soft it nearly collapsed, but he caught her back, pressing her firmly against his chest: “How could one be enough? With your nature, you should want them all. So next time, Miss Liu won’t stand me up again, will she?”

Her throat made broken, wordless sounds. Ruyi helplessly raised her hand and gently touched his head.

His crumpled heart seemed to be tenderly smoothed out by her touch.

The fury in Shen Qiyuan’s eyes slowly faded, and his movements finally stopped.

She finally smiled and spoke: “Such a strong sour scent. This is the first time I’ve seen Lord Shen like this.”

His jaw tensely drawn, Shen Qiyuan pressed his forehead against her collarbone and remained silent for a long while.

Ruyi slowly soothed him: “You also know he’s my old lover. During the most painful five hundred years of my demon cultivation, he was the one who accompanied me through it all. How could I turn a blind eye to him?”

Back then, when the city was breached, she was pierced through the heart and hung from the city gates. Unable to continue cultivating divinity in human form, she could only sacrifice her body to become a demon, her soul possessing a magpie. She struggled through long three thousand years before earning an immortal demon body.

All her relatives had died, and her only friend had become her mortal enemy. In such circumstances, it wouldn’t be excessive to say she and A’jue had depended on each other for survival.

“If you truly liked him so much, why did you let him enter reincarnation?” he asked in a muffled voice.

That was his own choice—she wouldn’t stop him.

But such an answer was rather boring. Ruyi thought for a moment and licked the corner of her mouth with a smile: “One lifetime is only a few decades, which means every few decades, he’ll fall in love with me anew. Isn’t that rather nice?”

He viciously pinched her cheek.

Wicked and absurd demon—she clearly could have anything within easy reach, yet still enjoyed toying with people’s hearts over and over again.

What was even more detestable was that all the people she toyed with were still willing and happy about it.

The carriage drove toward the back door of the Shen manor. Shen Qiyuan carried her down, wrapped in his cloak, carrying her to his room and into the soft, warm brocade bedding.

He didn’t want to admit he was mad with jealousy, nor did he want to reveal any more emotional weakness before her. He could only leave red mark after red mark on her neck, higher and higher, so high that even her collar couldn’t cover them.

Ruyi knew what he wanted to do but didn’t stop him, only teasing: “If those clan elders of the royal family knew that the Lord Zongzheng they selected was so ruled by emotion, I wonder if they’d be angry enough to file a complaint with His Majesty.”

Ruled by emotion?

Shen Qiyuan closed his eyes.

He thought of several thousand years ago. If it were possible, he truly wished he could return to that time and tell himself to be ruled by emotion, to not be too rational.