"I've booked it for me." He snapped out of his reverie, smiled slightly, and asked, "What can I do for you, young lady?"
An Xin abruptly looked away, paused, and said, "This painting is fake."
Upon hearing An Xin's words, the vendor immediately exclaimed, "Hey, girl, you have eyes but can't recognize a gem! This is genuine! I wouldn't sell it to anyone else!"
The young man smiled gently and said, "Thank you for reminding me, young lady. Of course I know it's fake."
An Xin asked in surprise, "If it's fake, why spend so much money to buy it?"
He casually put the painting away and said, "Five taels is enough." He then took out some loose silver and placed it in the merchant's hand. The merchant was about to shout, but for some reason, he trembled and sheepishly accepted the silver.
"Are you going to Beilong Mountain, young lady?" He paid the silver and turned back to look at An Xin with a slight smile. His eyes were gentle and bright when he smiled, but he had an extremely ordinary face, which made people feel a sense of regret that was out of place.
"Yes, there are wild animals in the North Dragon Mountain, and I was just about to find someone to guide me."
"Why don't we travel together? That way we can look out for each other." His smile had a lingering beauty, which inexplicably gave An Xin a sense of familiarity, as if she had met him somewhere before.
“Okay.” An Xin agreed inexplicably, “I haven’t yet asked your name, sir.”
He paused, then looked at An Xin, and after a long while smiled, "Jing Lan."
****
An Xin rarely seemed distracted, but upon hearing those two words, she suddenly felt a sense of temporal and spatial disorientation, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
Jinglan?
As a child, she played in the back garden. A boy in white leaned against the French windows, sometimes turning the clean pages of a book, sometimes applying paint with a brush. Occasionally, when he noticed her looking at him, he would wave to her, signaling her to come over. But every time he did, she would run away in panic.
Later, she regretted it countless times. If she had gone over there, her memories with him might have been much more than that.
That boy was also called Jinglan.
"An Xin." An Xin calmly gave her name, but he showed no surprise and simply smiled, "A good name."
An Xin thought she had always been rational, but now she was acting strangely. The person in front of her had an ordinary appearance, but she kept seeing his features overlap with those of the boy in her memory.
"You like Wu Daozi's paintings?"
He curled the corners of his lips and said, "Since it's a fake, it's not his painting. I just like the people in the painting."
An Xin was taken aback, and casually took the painting. The artist's skill was average, but the painting depicted a young girl standing amidst blooming wildflowers, smiling quietly. Her eyes and brows were full of bright spring sunshine, and she was quite a pretty girl.
Thinking of this, An Xin still politely replied, "Beautiful, truly beautiful."
He stared at the painting for a long time, then smiled and said, "It is beautiful, just like Miss An."
Being unexpectedly praised for her beauty, An Xin, who had never blushed before, blushed for the first time. She hurriedly cupped her hands in a polite gesture and said, "Young master is also very handsome. We are alike."
He seemed to find it amusing and said, "Since I got this face, you're the first girl to compliment my appearance."
Looking at his utterly ordinary face, An Xin felt a headache coming on. She could only smile awkwardly and pretend she hadn't heard anything.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Jumping Off the Cliff
The North Dragon Mountain stretches out in lush greenery, and by this point, it is rarely visited by humans. An Xin stopped and said, "I want to continue forward. I've heard that wild animals roam the mountains. You'd better not go in."
Jing Lan's eyes flashed and she smiled, "It's good that I go in with you. It's never safe for a young lady to go in alone."
An Xin raised the corners of her lips and said, "Okay."
"It would be even more unsafe for him to go with us." A lazy voice drifted over, and An Xin was startled. She turned around and saw a person reclining lazily on a crooked branch, looking at her casually.
An Xin's face twitched and her lips trembled. She said bluntly, "What are you doing here?" She always felt that this person was someone she couldn't talk about.
Yan Zhen's gaze swept over An Xin, then fell indifferently on Jing Lan, and she sneered, "Just as you've always been, hiding your true self even when going out..."
An Xin was taken aback and looked at Jing Lan. It turned out that he knew Yan Zhen.
Jing Lan glanced at Yan Zhen and said indifferently, "Likewise."
Yan Zhen's eyes shimmered with an unfathomable light. In a flash, he appeared in front of An Xin, reached out and pulled her into his arms. "Just as you said, there are wild beasts in the mountains. Wild beasts are not scary. What's scary is a scheming person. Come with me!"
Perhaps because of the name Jing Lan, An Xin had an indescribably good impression of Jing Lan. As for Yan Zhen... he was truly rotten to the core!
He slapped his hand away and said, "Young Master Yan is truly self-aware. The most terrifying thing is naturally a beast in human skin."
Yan Zhen wasn't angry at all, and lazily raised her lips: "Oh? You're afraid of me?"
An Xin's lips twitched. Had she actually said that? Or had she, with her shrewd mind, sent out the wrong message?
An Xin looked him up and down and said, "What do you have to be afraid of? Apart from being a little abnormal than normal people, you're fine." An Xin turned and left. Going with him would be a real headache.
“If you want to find the Ancient Spirit Jade in Beilong Mountain, you’ll probably be searching until next year. Since you’re willing to spend the time and effort, then I’ll just have to let you go.” Yan Zhen’s gaze swept over Jing Lan to the side, and a cool smile appeared on her lips. “Since Young Master Jing has nothing else to do, you may go back. I’ll take care of everything here, so there’s no need to worry.”
Jing Lan smiled faintly and said, "In that case, I hope you two can return safely. Until we meet again."
An Xin glanced at Jing Lan, a strange emotion stirring within her, but she couldn't quite grasp what it was. She then shifted her gaze to Yan Zhen and gritted her teeth, saying, "What did you mean by that just now? Do you know the location of the Ancient Spirit Jade?"
Yan Zhen shook his folding fan and said, "Even if someone as abnormal as me gives an answer, it will probably be an abnormal answer, so it's better not to say anything."
An Xin was really annoyed, but Gu Lingyu was no ordinary thing to her. This bastard in front of her was someone who would only respond to gentle persuasion and not force!
"I'll follow you!" An Xin muttered, somewhat displeased, and turned to leave.
Yan Zhen smiled and said, "Although I may be a wolf in sheep's clothing, I've been quite good to you. Let's go."
An Xin followed behind him, her eyes narrowed, and she cursed him in her heart.
As they traveled, the mountains were eerily quiet. Although An Xin had good stamina, she had hardly exercised since she transmigrated, and soon she was out of breath. In contrast, the person beside her looked relaxed and carefree, which made her truly resentful.
Yan Zhen paused, turned her head, and said, "If you're tired, you can rest. There's no need to push yourself."
An Xin retorted, unconvinced, "Do I look that tired?"
Yan Zhen said, "It looks like it."
An Xin gave him a dart eye, but did not stop and continued to crawl forward.
After crossing a mountain, the road suddenly ended. Looking down from the cliff in the middle, all you could see was swirling mist, and you couldn't see the bottom.
Despite being terrified, An Xin feigned composure and asked, "Do we need to get through here?"
Yan Zhen said, "You can also go down to the bottom of the valley, but if you climb down, I don't know if you can climb back up."
An Xin's expression shifted between light and dark as she asked, "What about you? How are you getting there?"
Yan Zhen raised the corner of her lips: "Naturally, we have to skip it. I have no other choice."
An Xin looked at the distance between the cliffs, her lips trembling slightly: "When you jump across, please take me with you. I would be extremely grateful."
Yan Zhen shook her folding fan and said with a smile, "How can I express my gratitude?"
An Xin asked, "Silver?"
"We don't lack anything."
"beauty?"
"We don't lack anything."
"...Then what do you want?" she asked, somewhat annoyed.
"I want you."
"...!"
"Can I interpret that look in your eyes as tender affection?"
You can also interpret this as 'Go to hell'.
"Life is long and full of joy. I will enjoy myself until I grow old, and then I will die naturally."
"..."
"bring it on."
"What are you doing!"
"Jump off the cliff!"
"..."
An Xin thought that the so-called lightness skill was just a trick that people talked about in a mystical way. But seeing it today, it was indeed true to its reputation. Admittedly, Yan Zhen was a bastard, but it cannot be denied that his cliff-jumping posture was still extremely beautiful.
But why is her heart beating a little fast?
It must have been a pebble that fell when I jumped over the cliff, and it slid down the cliff for a long time without reaching the bottom.
When her feet touched the ground again, An Xin felt her chaotic heart gradually calm down. She looked at the cliff not far behind her, swallowed hard, turned around and found herself still in someone's arms. She hurriedly struggled to break free.
"Is there really ancient jade here?" An Xin changed the subject.
Yan Zhen laughed and said, "I've already said it, it's just a rumor."
An Xin couldn't help but purse her lips: "If it's just a rumor, what are you doing here?"
"Nothing comes from nowhere. If there is something to it, then the trip will not have been in vain. If not, then we can just enjoy the scenery."
Looking ahead, An Xin couldn't help but say, "I really hope it's true."
Yan Zhen's eyes suddenly flashed, and his gaze fell on her with unfathomable depth.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Heartbeat
An Xin was never a sentimental person, but at this moment, she felt a faint bitterness welling up in her chest. She squinted at the sky and remained silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.
Yan Zhen covered half of her face, but her eyes shone brightly. This girl really... has a story.
"What are you looking at! Let's go!" An Xin suddenly turned around and glared at him before walking forward.
Yan Zhen thought to herself that she was the only one in the world who dared to speak to him like that. Fortunately, he had a good temper towards her.