Mu Wanyao met Liu Wenji in the resting hall. Liu Wenji still appeared absent-minded and seemed unaffected by how long Mu Wanyao had kept him waiting. Usually, given his pride, he would have shown some trace of impatience.

He was simply too proud, unlike Yan Shang’s gentle and diplomatic nature – which was why Mu Wanyao didn’t like him.

But now his pride was gone, sitting blankly beside the candlelight in the hall, and Mu Wanyao felt somewhat pained seeing him this way.

After all, he was a young genius praised since childhood, unlike her who had experienced too much, and unlike Yan Shang who had traveled many places with his parents since childhood and seen many different aspects of life… A young genius arrives in Chang’an only to find himself indistinguishable from the masses – already difficult enough – and now he has even lost a lover who constantly encouraged and supported him.

How painful.

The maids entered in succession, and someone announced their arrival. Liu Wenji raised his head at the sound, seeing Princess Danyang enter. His eyes habitually looked behind Mu Wanyao, then froze for a moment before darkening as he withdrew his gaze. Both he and Mu Wanyao knew well who he couldn’t help but look for.

After Mu Wanyao entered, she had him seated after he paid his respects. Yan Shang had already helped her comfort this person earlier. Liu Wenji’s emotions were much more stable now. Mu Wanyao didn’t say many unnecessary things, only conveying Chunhua’s wishes: “…She hopes I’ll take care of you somewhat, that you’ll achieve your dreams, become an official, marry a beautiful wife, and live a peaceful and harmonious life.”

Liu Wenji remained silent.

Mu Wanyao stared into space, utterly detached: “So what kind of official do you want to be? Do you want to continue with the imperial examinations, or should I arrange an official position for you now? I can arrange one now, though it certainly won’t be a position of real power, but it’s still better than competing with so many others for the jinshi degree.”

Unexpectedly, after Yan Shang’s repeated rejections, Liu Wenji also rejected her: “…Thank you, Your Highness. But this was exchanged with Chunhua’s lifetime of happiness, I don’t want to use it. I should continue with the examinations, I suppose… I don’t know.”

After a moment’s daze, he said: “Perhaps I don’t want to stay in Chang’an anymore, I want to return to Lingnan.”

He said dryly: “For the examinations, I haven’t seen my family for almost two years. Staying in Chang’an… my heart and liver are shattered now, words cannot express my grief. I might not be able to stay anymore.”

Mu Wanyao thought to herself: His ability to endure is too weak.

Now it’s really difficult to bestow an official position. Yan Shang disdains it, and Liu Wenji disdains it too. She couldn’t exercise any of her princess’s authority, official positions weren’t worth much.

Mu Wanyao didn’t like dwelling in pain; she would chaotically distract herself, trying not to think too much. Looking at Liu Wenji’s state again, Mu Wanyao said: “Chunhua also asked me to give you money.”

Liu Wenji: “Not needed for now.”

Mu Wanyao advised: “Don’t think too much. What in life doesn’t pass? Just forget it. Just let yourself have a worse memory.”

Liu Wenji stared blankly at the princess.

The princess had bright eyes and snow-white skin, strikingly beautiful. It seemed Chunhua’s departure did not affect her at all. Liu Wenji felt indignant about this, however… he was no longer his former self.

He lowered his eyes, lost in thought: “It won’t pass. I can’t forget either.”

Mu Wanyao insisted: “It will pass. You will forget.”

Liu Wenji: “At least now, I don’t want to forget her. It won’t pass, can’t be forgotten. I hope to remember.”

Mu Wanyao froze for a moment.

Then she turned her face away awkwardly, no longer looking at him.

She said coldly: “Do as you wish.”

Afterwards, she rose and left the hall, no longer paying attention to Liu Wenji. However, before leaving, after much consideration, Mu Wanyao assigned two servants to look after Liu Wenji, preventing him from doing anything foolish shortly—

Mu Wanyao’s newest troubles came from Yan Shang.

Since Yan Shang’s subtle confession to her, his attitude changed quickly, becoming very proactive in befriending her. Then after their meeting in prison, it seemed Yan Shang had let go of something else regarding her… now it manifested in him frequently lingering at her place, looking for chances to be alone with her.

Like wanting to read books at her place at night.

After all, living in the same alley, separated by just a few doors, Mu Wanyao couldn’t even find excuses like “Don’t stay too late here, it’s inconvenient to return.”

Then during their occasional eye contact, he would smile at her.

Sometimes even when Mu Wanyao deliberately avoided looking at him, she could feel Yan Shang quietly watching her from behind.

He seemed… to have completely entered a mode where their relationship was extraordinary. This new mode made him feel he didn’t need to be so proper, that he could indulge himself a little.

What troubled Mu Wanyao was that while Yan Shang had entered this mode, she hadn’t.

But she didn’t want to point it out.

Perhaps if she did point it out, making him realize she had no intention of becoming anything more with him, he would stop paying attention to her altogether.

Mu Wanyao reflected on herself, feeling that she both wanted to enjoy Yan Shang’s meticulous care while being afraid of the future and not daring to take any steps forward with him… so now their interaction had become strange.

It had become Yan Shang actively trying to stand closer, wanting to hold her hand; while Mu Wanyao, whose nature was originally much more open than his, became exceptionally proper and formal, not daring to let her gaze wander, fearing he might misunderstand something—

This evening, Yan Shang again asked to stay at Mu Wanyao’s place to read.

Mu Wanyao was speechless, unable to find an excuse to refuse. Because he was just reading properly… just occasionally initiating conversation with her, coming to hold her hand, she couldn’t say he was being excessive and drive him away just because of this.

With Mu Wanyao’s tacit permission, it was night in her chambers, she leaned against the beauty couch flipping through a music score, while Yan Shang sat properly at the desk, reading his books.

Sometimes when he had questions, he would ask her, and Mu Wanyao would casually tell him what she knew, leaving what she didn’t know for him to ask his teacher later.

For a while, the two maintained a peaceful coexistence.

After a while, Mu Wanyao closed the music score and leaned back on the couch, pretending to doze. In her mind, she silently recited that music score, automatically placing each note on instruments in her mind, listening to what the music should sound like… For someone like Mu Wanyao who had been musically talented since childhood, memorizing music scores wasn’t difficult.

Then during her closed-eye recitation, Mu Wanyao suddenly felt the couch sink slightly as someone sat down.

That person’s pure and clean Jiangzhen fragrance wafted down, and they covered her with a quilt… Mu Wanyao immediately knew it was Yan Shang.

Mu Wanyao, with her eyes closed: “…”

How troubling.

He was teasing her again.

Mu Wanyao could feel Yan Shang gazing at her, so she had to calmly continue pretending to sleep. Vaguely, she heard Yan Shang seemingly murmuring to himself: “I always feel like you’ve been avoiding me lately.”

Mu Wanyao: “…”

She was so frightened she completely stiffened, forcing herself to stay calm, not daring to let her eyelashes even tremble. Yan Shang’s perceptiveness scared her.

She heard Yan Shang continue his soliloquy: “But maybe I’m overthinking it. I don’t understand much about matters between men and women… perhaps you’re just shy, not avoiding me.”

Mu Wanyao agreed in her heart, thinking it would be good if he continued believing this.

Following that, she heard Yan Shang’s seemingly bashful low voice: “But you always keep your distance from me… Yao Yao, I want to be closer to you.”

Mu Wanyao: …Who allowed you to secretly call me “Yao Yao”? Not allowed.

What’s there to get closer to? Aren’t we already close enough to reading together every day? How much closer do you want to get? This person has exams coming up, can’t he stop thinking about her all the time?!

While Mu Wanyao’s thoughts were flying wild and she was cursing Yan Shang in her heart, she suddenly felt her knuckle tingle, and the next moment, her hand was held by someone. His fingers lightly touched her fingers, and as if very curious, he hooked her little finger’s pad.

Mu Wanyao felt her heartbeat becoming irregular from his teasing.

After some internal struggle, she thought more righteously: Never mind, why bother avoiding it? If Yan Shang wants to, just let him.

If he wanted to do something improper to her, she would just tacitly accept it… when things naturally progressed, she wouldn’t need to struggle anymore—

However, Yan Shang wasn’t that kind of person.

While Mu Wanyao had mentally prepared herself to give in to Yan Shang, in reality, Yan Shang sat at the edge of Mu Wanyao’s couch, only holding her hand, without doing anything more.

As Mu Wanyao calmly waited, Yan Shang lowered his head, holding her hand and examining it back and forth. He bowed his head, seriously touching her fingers one by one. That kind of gentle, meticulous caressing not only gave Mu Wanyao goosebumps, but Yan Shang himself seemed completely unaware of how excessive he was being.

He was just playing with her hand, holding her hand, and showing a slight smile.

To think he had never properly looked at her hands before.

How beautiful Mu Wanyao’s hands were, each finger long and fair, with elegant joints. The faint blue veins under her porcelain-white skin, the delicate bones that showed on her hand’s back when she raised a finger… and such fine and soft skin. Yan Shang held her hand, comparing it with his own, liking it more and more as he looked.

He suddenly raised his eyes, looking at the sleeping beauty.

His gaze lingered on her face for a long time as he slowly leaned down.

Mu Wanyao felt his breath draw near and thought he was going to steal a kiss. She felt both embarrassed and startled, along with a sense of joy at “so it’s true” and “caught you.” However, Yan Shang simply bent down to gently brush aside a strand of hair from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear, then sat back contentedly.

Mu Wanyao: “…”

He contentedly held her hand again, while Mu Wanyao wondered what was so fascinating about just one hand. Here she was lying still, having convinced herself to give in to him… why wouldn’t he make a move?

Mu Wanyao couldn’t take it anymore.

To tease without following through was a crime. Her heart was being tormented back and forth like this, yet he wasn’t in any hurry. She really couldn’t endure this neither-here-nor-there teasing anymore.

Yan Shang was still joyfully lowering his head to play with Mu Wanyao’s hand. When she was awake, he didn’t dare treat her this way, because she was too enchanting and too mischievous. He often got confusedly led in other directions by her, never even getting a chance to properly look at her hand.

According to Yan Shang’s thin understanding of love, lovers should understand each other.

He just wanted to properly look at her hands first…

But these jade hands belonging to the princess, pampered since childhood – the more Yan Shang looked, the more he liked them. Unable to resist, he bent down and pressed his lips against the back of her hand in a light kiss. Just this one kiss made Yan Shang feel uncomfortable, thinking he had gone too far, and that he shouldn’t be so impetuous.

While he was guiltily reflecting, he looked up to see if Mu Wanyao was still asleep… this look made him freeze.

Because Mu Wanyao had her pitch-black clear eyes open, watching him hold her hand, playing with it, squeezing it, and even involuntarily kissing it.

Mu Wanyao looked at him with an ambiguous smile.

She watched as Yan Shang’s jade-white face suddenly flushed red. He put down her hand and turned his face away as if nothing had happened. After calming himself for a moment, Yan Shang turned back to see Mu Wanyao sitting up against the pillow, still smiling at him.

Mu Wanyao teased: “What were you doing just now?”

Yan Shang paused, then said slowly: “Nothing much.”

Mu Wanyao raised her eyebrows.

Yan Shang: “Between lovers, isn’t this normal?”

Mu Wanyao stiffened, now it was her turn to feel uncomfortable about his use of the word “lovers.” Fortunately, Yan Shang felt he had been too forward with her and wasn’t quite right, so he didn’t notice Mu Wanyao’s momentarily conflicted expression.

Yan Shang organized his emotions, perhaps somewhat trying to win her favor. He looked at her, smiling slightly: “I did get a bit carried away… because since Your Highness returned from the summer palace, it’s been nearly a month before seeing you, I was very happy.”

Mu Wanyao was caught under his unwavering gaze. The handsome young lord, sitting at the edge of her couch, their sleeves overlapping, had just secretly kissed her hand. His eyes were like deep lakes, gentle and accepting, seemingly full of deep love.

Suddenly, she too blushed, feeling the room had grown somewhat hot.

She acted willfully and unreasonably, raising her chin to retort: “You’re not allowed to be happy!”

Yan Shang’s lips quirked up, and he good-naturedly said: “Alright.”

He said softly: “…However, this isn’t something I can control. To be honest with Your Highness, I never thought I would be like this. I always felt Your Highness was very distant from me, unwilling to get close to me. But I very much want to be close to Your Highness. I like learning about Your Highness bit by bit, knowing Your Highness’s preferences, and knowing Your Highness’s temperament. I want to become one with Your Highness.”

Mu Wanyao: “…Become one?”

Yan Shang froze, then with a red face hurriedly explained: “Not in that sense, I meant…”

Before he could explain, Mu Wanyao sighed first and said: “I understand.”

Yan Shang looked at her, seeing Mu Wanyao kneel up on the couch, reach out her arms to embrace his neck and press her delicate body against his chest. As he remained stiff with joy, not daring to move, he heard Mu Wanyao sigh against his face.

Mu Wanyao’s beautiful eyes stared at him: “You’re too innocent, too foolish in this regard. It makes me feel embarrassed to make a move.”

Yan Shang: “…”

He looked down and said: “Your Highness has moments of embarrassment?”

Mu Wanyao: “…”

What a thing to say.

Just how casual did he think she was?

Mu Wanyao said: “Anyway, I have more experience than you. Why don’t you call me ‘sister’ and let me hear it? Sister knows what you’re thinking, and can help you.”

Yan Shang’s eyelashes lowered, not looking up at her. She was kneeling on the couch leaning against his chest, her fragrant breeze wafting over. While he dared not touch her carelessly, he wasn’t so foolish as to completely follow her lead.

Yan Shang said softly: “You’re only half a year older than me, what ‘sister’? You’re teasing me again.”

Mu Wanyao wheedled: “But I call you ‘Second Brother Yan’! What’s wrong with you calling me once?”

Yan Shang helplessly: “Our generations are so confused… mmph.”

His lips were sealed.

She was kissing him.

Her raised eyes, playful and provocative, met his lowered lake-clear eyes. Glance after a glance, waves of emotion flowing between them.

Yan Shang embraced her back, wanting to respond when she turned her face away, unwilling to kiss anymore. Yan Shang pressed his lips together, slightly displeased at how she was always so self-willed, never considering him… Mu Wanyao was quite pleased inside: “I kissed you once, weren’t you very happy?”

Yan Shang thought there was nothing to be happy about, always stopping halfway, he hadn’t even…

But Yan Shang smiled slightly, not saying it wasn’t good.

Mu Wanyao was quite proud, believing she had made him dizzy with love, that he must have extremely liked this kiss. Though Yan Shang didn’t understand love, he was extremely good at perceiving people’s moods. He could see at a glance what Mu Wanyao was thinking, and after a moment of silence, found her extremely lovable and couldn’t bear to say anything.

Mu Wanyao’s fingers gently massaged his neck as she whispered against it: “Second Brother Yan, I know you like me, but don’t keep seeking me out, alright?”

Yan Shang stiffened, his heart growing slightly cold.

After a while, he said: “You don’t like it?”

Mu Wanyao couldn’t bear to see him hurt and hurriedly explained: “I mean, you always seeking me out like this, teasing me, makes it hard for me to control myself.”

Yan Shang blushed: “…Nonsense. I’m not teasing you.”

Mu Wanyao smiled: “But just you standing before me is teasing. Seeing you makes me want to lean against you like this, want you to hold me, kiss me, want to… um, do more excessive things with you.”

Yan Shang gave her a small glare but didn’t speak.

Mu Wanyao was afraid of this tacit acceptance, the more he accepted, the more it indicated his tolerance of her mischief. And if she continued being mischievous, it would never end… Mu Wanyao quickly expressed her real meaning: “I understand your feelings. But you’re busy with the imperial examination now, it’s not good to have your mind so scattered, you know?”

Mu Wanyao said seriously: “You’re always thinking about me, so you can’t focus on studying. I feel that since I’ve returned, you’ve become much less focused, very different from before. Yan Shang, your journey from Lingnan to Chang’an, taking each step forward, has been too difficult. Personal feelings absolutely shouldn’t restrict you, control you, or prevent you from advancing upward.

“So don’t keep seeking me out. Just calm your heart and study well. After the imperial examination… isn’t there plenty of time ahead?”

Yan Shang looked at her, his gaze flickering, as if judging the truth in her words.

He said slowly: “Is there plenty of time ahead?”

Mu Wanyao made herself appear especially sincere: “Of course. Second Brother Yan, do you want to depend on me? Shouldn’t you become an official, properly repay my money, truly buy the neighboring mansion, and make it your private property? Do you want me to support you? Shouldn’t you hurry up and become an official to earn money to repay me?”

Yan Shang smiled.

He nodded, accepting her suggestion.

He said: “Alright, then I won’t seek you out for the next two months.”

Mu Wanyao sighed in relief, thinking if he didn’t seek her out, he wouldn’t keep teasing her neither here nor there.

Yan Shang looked down, and after a while said: “Then I should… leave now?”

Mu Wanyao froze, hearing him say this, she felt reluctant to part, only now realizing that for the next two months, given Yan Shang’s terrifyingly strong self-restraint, she might not see him.

Mu Wanyao said reluctantly: “Let’s not count tonight, stay a while longer. Start not seeking me out tomorrow.”

Only then did Yan Shang smile, raising his eyes to look at her once, the light in his eyes glowing like stars.

He said: “Alright.”

Finally, he reached out to embrace her back, staying close to her for a moment.