“To think Feng Jiu’er made this specifically for Ninth Prince.” Xiao Yingtao gazed at the two outfits before her, full of admiration.
“Feng Jiu’er, your designs are truly inspired — absolutely perfect.”
“Hmph! Lovely to look at, but other people can’t even enjoy the sight.” Qiao Mu still seemed a little put out.
As Xiao Yingtao looked up, she shot Qiao Mu a look.
“Feng Jiu’er already said — anyone else is fine, but the two of us are not allowed. Do you still not understand?”
“We’re all sisters now — how can any of us like the same person? If something like that really happened, how would we all get along as sisters afterward?”
Finding Xiao Yingtao’s logic vaguely reasonable, Qiao Mu drew her brow together slightly.
“Who would still have designs on her Ninth Imperial Uncle? And besides, no matter how much I might think about it, there’s no chance left anyway.”
“I certainly wouldn’t.” Xiao Yingtao gave a smiling shake of her head.
As if remembering something, she glanced at Qiao Mu, then let her gaze settle on Feng Jiu’er.
“Feng Jiu’er, don’t give that another thought — Qiao Mu has already got someone on her mind. There’s no room left to go pining after Ninth Prince.”
“True enough.” Feng Jiu’er gave a nod. “Now, who was it that you said Qiao Mu was calling out for in her dream last night?”
“Xiao Yingtao.” Qiao Mu stared at Xiao Yingtao with a look of absolute warning in her eyes. “If you breathe a word, tonight you’re going straight to bed with Xing Zizhou.”
“Qiao Mu, surely you don’t think we’re not good sisters?” Xiao Yingtao shot her a look, completely unruffled.
“Sisters is one thing, but I…”
“You only need to say the family name.” Before Qiao Mu could finish, Feng Jiu’er said quietly.
“The surname is Feng — figure it out yourself.” Not giving Qiao Mu so much as a breath of time to respond, Xiao Yingtao had already spoken.
“Ah, I see.” Feng Jiu’er half-narrowed her eyes and gave a nod.
“You two…” Qiao Mu pulled out a chair and sat down with a face full of exasperation. “Last night I had a nightmare. A nightmare — do you understand?”
“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er raised a brow and nodded once more.
“Understood.” Xiao Yingtao filled in everything that Feng Jiu’er had left unspoken.
Watching these two in their perfect rhythm of call-and-response, Qiao Mu’s breathing grew heavier and heavier.
Feng Jiu’er glanced sideways at her, pulled out a chair, and sat down herself.
“Matters of the heart between men and women — isn’t that perfectly normal? Miss Qiao, you’re not getting any younger. Are you still shy about such things?”
“I like Ninth Imperial Uncle — everyone knows it, and I don’t deny it. There’s nothing to deny.”
Xiao Yingtao cradled her outfit, found a chair, and sat down as well.
“Exactly — we’re all good sisters. There are no more secrets between us.”
“Truly no more secrets?” Qiao Mu fixed her gaze on the chief troublemaker, her graceful brows creasing slightly. “Then who is it that you like? Why don’t you dare say?”
“Don’t try to tell me it’s Mu Mu again — I don’t believe it.”
Feng Jiu’er’s gaze shifted too, landing on Xiao Yingtao, a faint smile playing at the corner of her lips.
Xiao Yingtao glanced at Qiao Mu, then at Feng Jiu’er, and before long her eyes settled back on Qiao Mu.
“Don’t look at me — it was you who said it: no secrets between good sisters.” Qiao Mu rolled her eyes.
Xiao Yingtao pursed her lips, gave a quiet sigh, and said, “How would I know?”
“When you like someone, you like them. When you don’t, you don’t. Why wouldn’t you know?” Feng Jiu’er asked gently.
“I suppose I still like Mu Mu — only, I don’t find Xing Zizhou disagreeable anymore either.” Xiao Yingtao pressed her lips together. “I’m not sure. I genuinely can’t sort it out.”
“Then if both Mu Mu and Xing Zizhou proposed to you at the same time, who would you choose?” Feng Jiu’er’s voice came again.
Xiao Yingtao looked at her and said with a wry smile, “Feng Jiu’er, don’t joke — how could Mu Mu possibly propose to me?”
“I said ‘if’ — use your imagination.” Feng Jiu’er raised an eyebrow.
Xiao Yingtao didn’t know what “use your imagination” meant, but the hypothetical question itself she could certainly understand.
“Mu Mu likes you — how could I possibly? But if I really had to choose someone to spend my life with, I’d choose Xing Zizhou.”
“So Mu Mu is someone you admire, not someone you love.” Feng Jiu’er said quietly.
“Just as Qiao Mu admires Ninth Imperial Uncle — yet all the while her heart holds a man with the Feng surname. The situation is the same.”
“I told you — I had a nightmare.” Qiao Mu shot Feng Jiu’er a look. “But whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter. I won’t be explaining myself any further.”
“To explain is to cover up — better not to explain at all.” Feng Jiu’er countered with a smile.
“So — does Feng Jiu’er mean that I’m choosing Xing Zizhou because I genuinely like him, and not only because he treats me well?” Xiao Yingtao still hadn’t quite worked that out.
Feng Jiu’er’s gaze shifted to Xiao Yingtao.
“Would you marry someone simply because they treated you well?”
Xiao Yingtao bit her lip and thought it over for a long moment, then shook her head.
“I don’t think so. A lifetime is such a long time — what if one day he stopped being good to me? What would I do then?”
“So then…” Feng Jiu’er waved her hand. “Though you’re still young — no need to rush into any decisions.”
“As if you’re speaking from some great age.” Qiao Mu’s disdainful voice chimed in. “Didn’t you just say that good sisters can’t like the same man at the same time?”
“And yet Ninth Prince and Mu Mu — aren’t they like brothers, both liking the same person?”
“Who ever said Mu Mu likes me? Aside from Xiao Yingtao, I haven’t heard that from anyone.” Feng Jiu’er said lightly.
With Mu Mu’s situation, Feng Jiu’er herself wasn’t certain. At the start, when he’d said he intended to marry her, it was only because he had already known in advance that she was a woman of the Feng lineage.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that after he arrived and lost his memory his behavior became so strange, Feng Jiu’er wouldn’t have given any of that a second thought.
Qiao Mu studied Feng Jiu’er for a moment, then said flatly, “Even you don’t dare confirm it — and you’re still trying to convince the rest of us to believe it? Do you really think we will?”
Feng Jiu’er looked down and continued admiring the outfit in her hands.
“There are still so many things I need to deal with — it’s not as if any of you don’t know that.”
“Even if I do like Ninth Imperial Uncle, that doesn’t mean anything will necessarily come of it. So why would I spare any energy wondering whether Mu Mu likes me or not?”
“He hasn’t said so, and I won’t ask. For now, we’re all living together as family, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“True.” Xiao Yingtao gave a nod. “Still, even if Mu Mu doesn’t say it, I know he likes Feng Jiu’er.”
“Maybe because of Feng Jiu’er’s relationship with Ninth Prince, he finds it hard to say what he feels.”
“Right — you must be the worm living in Mu Mu’s stomach, to know exactly what he’s thinking.” Feng Jiu’er glanced at Xiao Yingtao.
Xiao Yingtao looked at her, her brow creasing slightly.
“Whatever the case, he’s someone I once had feelings for. What’s wrong with caring about him a little more?”
“By all means — just make sure Xing Zizhou notices how much you still care about Mu Mu, and let that keep him up at night without an appetite.”
Feng Jiu’er arched a brow and withdrew her gaze.
“Honestly — it was such a rare thing, being able to spend the New Year with Ninth Imperial Uncle, and I even designed a matching couple’s outfit.”
“I never expected that no matter how many changes I made, you’d still spot it so easily. It seems that outfit — Ninth Imperial Uncle won’t be getting a chance to wear it after all.”