From the moment she had walked in, she had noticed that half of Qi Qingchen’s face was red. Surely the medicine hadn’t caused another side effect??

Yan Shiyao looked at Qi Qingchen with both eyes red-rimmed. “Elder Brother Qi, what happened to your face? Why is it so red?”

Qi Qingchen’s mouth twitched.

Yan Shiyao covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her voice trembling. “Elder Brother Qi, could it be that you’re blushing? But if you’re blushing, why is only one side of your face red — how strange of you.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

Qi Qingchen’s dark eyes locked onto her without so much as a blink.

“Elder Brother Qi.” Yan Shiyao’s eyes reddened at the corners.

“Yaoyao.” Qi Qingchen, wearing a half-smile, walked toward her and said through gritted teeth, “Yaoyao, don’t cry — Elder Brother Qi is just fine.”

“I’m so relieved you’re alright, Elder Brother Qi.” Yan Shiyao stepped back imperceptibly.

Qi Qingchen hooked his lips into a smile. “Yaoyao, in the future, don’t be so foolish as to give someone two doses of medicine.”

Yan Yunning’s pupils gave a startled jolt. She slowly edged over to stand next to Xuan Yanyu. “Xianxi, Qi Qingchen’s foolish daze was caused by my A’Jie overdosing him on medicine??”

The man raised an eyebrow, not the least bit surprised.

Yan Yunning fell silent. Her A’Jie was truly formidable.

“Elder Brother Qi, everything I did was for your sake — you have no idea, when you were unconscious, you were there on the bed… Mmm…”

Before Yan Shiyao could finish speaking, Qi Qingchen raised his hand and clamped it over her mouth, his expression darkening to something alarming.

Yan Yunning tugged at Xuan Yanyu’s sleeve. “Xianxi, doesn’t something feel a little odd here?”

Xuan Yanyu’s expression was unreadable. “Odd how?”

Yan Yunning rubbed her chin. “Not sure.”

“You two, get out.” Qi Qingchen bellowed.

Xuan Yanyu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“This is my A’Jie’s room — who are you to chase us out?” Yan Yunning muttered unhappily.

“Out.” Qi Qingchen’s voice was ice-cold.

“Don’t be angry, Elder Brother Qi.” Yan Yunning stepped forward a couple of paces and smiled sweetly. “First let go of my A’Jie. It’s just a matter of wetting the bed — everyone goes through that. There’s no need to feel embarrassed. Don’t be angry.”

“I haven’t.” Xuan Yanyu smiled with a devilish elegance.

Yan Yunning shot him a glare. Who was talking about him! She was just trying to help Qi Qingchen feel a little less singled-out!

Yan Shiyao: “……”

Qi Qingchen’s composure cracked slightly.

He really ought to have let Wu’an kill every last one of them!!

“He has, Elder Brother Qi, he really has.” Yan Yunning blinked, her small face utterly earnest. “You’re not the only one who’s wet the bed.”

Qi Qingchen clenched his back teeth. “You… you all…”

“We’ve all done it — don’t worry.” Yan Yunning pointed at his hand. “Now let go of my A’Jie. She’s done it too.”

The man’s chest heaved with fury, his knees buckled — and with a “thud,” he keeled over unconscious onto the floor.

Yan Yunning pressed her lips tightly together. What was she supposed to do about this?

Xuan Yanyu: “……”

Yan Shiyao: “……”

“He’s already a father, honestly — so unsteady. Fainting from anger?” Yan Yunning gave the senseless Qi Qingchen a nudge with her foot.

Yan Shiyao stood there dazed for a moment, then crouched down on the floor with eyes brimming with tears. “Elder Brother Qi, are you alright?”

“Elder Brother Qi.” Yan Shiyao carefully checked his breathing.

Still alive — not ready to be buried yet.

“Chun Yi, go to the small kitchen and brew a pot of medicine.” Yan Shiyao wiped her eyes mournfully.

Chun Yi pursed her lips. “First Miss, what kind of medicine should I brew?”

Without a prescription, how could she brew medicine?

“Never mind, I’ll go brew it for Elder Brother Qi myself.” Yan Shiyao stumbled to her feet.

Chun Yi hurried to follow her, and the two of them left the side room.

Yan Yunning looked down at Qi Qingchen lying on the floor. “Are we just going to leave him lying on the floor?”

“He got down there himself — let him lie there.” Xuan Yanyu took Yan Yunning’s hand, their fingers interlacing. “Let’s go. We’ll go eat.”

“……” Yan Yunning fixed her gaze on the man’s profile, unable to tell whether he was still angry or not.

Xuan Yanyu led her by the hand all the way to his own side room.

Ye Chen and Ye Jian had already laid out the midday meal.

Xuan Yanyu took the cloth square that Ye Chen passed to him and carefully wiped Yan Yunning’s hands.

Yan Yunning’s eyes shifted slightly. So he was no longer angry.

Ye Jian raised an eyebrow. Second Miss Yan hadn’t even married His Highness yet, and His Highness was already waiting upon her.

“Xianxi.” Yan Yunning said with a bright smile. “Can you please stop getting inexplicably angry with me from now on?”

Xuan Yanyu’s eyes flickered once. He picked up a piece of greens with his chopsticks and held it up to her mouth. “Be quiet.”

When had he ever gotten inexplicably angry??

Yan Yunning ate what he offered, and while chewing said in a muffled voice, “Xianxi, if you weren’t the Crown Prince, with a temper like yours, it would be very, very hard to find a wife.”

Ye Jian and Ye Chen exchanged a glance. With their Highness’s looks, finding a wife couldn’t be that difficult, surely!

Xuan Yanyu dropped his wooden chopsticks on the round table with a “clatter.”

Yan Yunning swallowed and on her own initiative reached over to embrace him, resting her head against his chest, softening her voice. “You’d find one, you’d definitely find one.”

Xuan Yanyu’s throat moved in a swallow. He reached out and gathered her into his arms.

“Yan Yunning, why did you say out of nowhere one day that you would suddenly leave?” The man held her slender waist, still bothered by what she had said that day.

Yan Yunning said nothing. Her fingertip hooked around the jade pendant at his waist, slowly turning it over in her fingers.

“Yan Yunning?”

“I was just joking.” Yan Yunning said in a low, muffled voice.

“Joking?” Xuan Yanyu lightly bit the area near her ear. “Do you have any idea how angry I’ve been these past few days?”

Yan Yunning’s lashes trembled, and her voice took on an involuntary note of softness. “I could tell — weren’t you being rather obvious about it? Telling me to stay away from you, not saying a word to me.”

Xuan Yanyu paused, then said with perfectly straight-faced confidence, “Didn’t I come to your room? And you opened your mouth and chased me away.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

Well, she had been angry too at the time, and even if she hadn’t been, she still would have sent him away.

“But didn’t I go to your room as well? In any case, this is entirely your fault — you were the first one to stop speaking to me.”

Xuan Yanyu held her, leaning back lazily. “My fault?”

He had gone to her room to hide from him, hadn’t he?

Yan Yunning lifted her chin. “Mm.”

The warmth in the man’s eyes surfaced. “Yan Yunning, didn’t you say you wanted to leave me? And that’s why I stopped speaking to you?”

“I didn’t say that. What I said was — what if I suddenly left one day? What would you do?” Yan Yunning cupped his face in both hands. “What would you do, Xianxi?”

“Why would you suddenly leave one day?” Xuan Yanyu placed his hand firmly at her waist and drew her closer.

Yan Yunning looked at him in silence.

At such close range, the man’s eyes deepened, and as though unable to help himself, he lightly pecked her lips.

Yan Yunning’s heartbeat skipped half a beat. “Xuan Yanyu!”

Ye Chen and Ye Jian were still in the room!!

Xuan Yanyu’s voice dropped to a low timbre. “Hmm?”

Yan Yunning’s gaze rested on his face — his perfect features, eyes like bright stars, pale yet deep irises fixed on her. Yan Yunning helplessly swallowed, her heart going thump thump thump.

This was a bit of a disaster!!

This was getting a bit complicated!!!

The man tilted his aristocratic chin upward and teased her, “If you’re hungry, eat your meal — stop staring at this Prince and swallowing.”