Luo Cuiwei closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to ignore the burning sensation on her cheeks. "You came to my door so early in the morning just to ask for a beating?"
If she hadn't known and respected his character and integrity, she would have really thought that this man came to her house early in the morning just to harass her.
"I...I have something to tell you." Yun Lie swallowed hard for no reason, clenching his right hand tightly behind his back.
He suspected that his face was probably redder than hers at that moment.
After taking another deep breath, Luo Cuiwei bit her lip and turned her head to chuckle for no reason, "If you have something to say, hurry up and say it."
She couldn't explain why, but even though she felt the scene before her was absurd, she couldn't help but want to laugh.
“This is a long story,” Yun Lie pursed his lips, the heat on his face subsiding slightly. “Perhaps you should invite me to your study to sit down for some tea and snacks, and we can talk about it slowly.”
She kept him standing at the door, urging him to "hurry up and say it," as if he didn't understand what she was up to. She just wanted him to finish speaking and leave, as if no one knew anything.
He had used this trick on Yun Pei just a few days ago!
"I'm afraid I won't be able to entertain you properly today," Luo Cuiwei said apologetically with a smile, after all, he was a guest, and one who had condescended to come. "I have to go out."
“If you’re going to the Duke He’s mansion to admire the flowers, then you don’t need to go out,” Yun Lie said with a slight smile, his eyes sparkling with joy. “They’re out of flowers.”
****
Sure enough, not long after, people from the Duke of He's mansion came to apologize, saying that there had been some minor incidents at the mansion and the flower viewing banquet would have to be rescheduled.
As Yun Lie wished, Luo Cuiwei invited him to her study and had a pot of fine snow-topped tea and two plates of delicate pastries brought in.
"What's wrong with the flowers at the Duke of He's mansion?"
Satisfied, Yun Lie accepted the tea that Luo Cuiwei had poured for him. He first took a small sip before answering evasively, "His house was haunted last night, and all the flowers disappeared afterwards."
"Haunted? That's weird," Luo Cuiwei frowned slightly, then shook her head and changed the subject, "You came all this way specifically to talk about something?"
Seeing that she was calm and not as cold and hostile as he had imagined, Yun Lie stopped being coy and simply explained the misunderstanding.
"I've heard some rumors about the rivalry between the Huang and Luo families. Since the Huang family sent their visiting card, I wanted to find out if they had any ulterior motives. I kept it from you for now, afraid you'd feel uncomfortable."
This reason was completely unexpected for Luo Cuiwei, and it also made her feel ashamed.
Seeing her looking down in a daze, Yun Lie clicked his tongue and then said, "That day, the purple-backed sunflower was in bloom. I gave a pot to my fourth sister, and I thought that friends should give and receive, so I gave you one too. There's no other meaning behind it."
Yun Lie was unusually candid and unreserved in his words today. He had made up his mind before coming to clarify the misunderstanding and not allow any ambiguity to cause further complications.
And clearly, he did it.
“The flowers are very beautiful,” Luo Cuiwei looked up at him and smiled sincerely. “Thank you.”
"If you like it, that's fine," Yun Lie's heart skipped a beat at her bright smile, and he quickly looked away, clearing his throat. "Is there anything else I need to explain?"
Luo Cuiwei held up her teacup, tilted her head, and smiled at him: "Since we're friends, why did you return the New Year's gift I gave you?"
“No one would give a box of gold ingots as a New Year’s gift,” Yun Lie immediately turned around and glared at her lightly, “If I accepted such a heavy gift, the censors and officials could impeach me and send me to the Imperial Clan Court’s jail.”
Seeing that Yun Lie didn't seem to want to delve into "why she sent such an expensive gift," Luo Cuiwei, relieved, tilted her head back and chuckled, laughing so hard she couldn't open her eyes. "The Imperial Clan Court's prison is no ordinary prison. Only members of the royal family and imperial relatives are qualified to be imprisoned there."
"Thank you, but I didn't expect such an honor." Seeing her smile broadly, Yun Lie felt relieved, and a cheerful smile also spread across his face.
He had heard people say that many girls have strong tempers and are difficult to appease once they are angered.
But the one in front of him was clearly different; after clearing up the misunderstanding, he didn't make things difficult for him at all.
How can she be so wonderful?
****
"So, this is a reconciliation?" Yun Lie asked again to confirm.
Luo Cui smiled and nodded: "Mm."
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Yun Lie felt much better. After drinking another cup of tea, he began to take the initiative.
"Hey, there's something I need you to explain to me."
Luo Cuiwei's heart tightened. "W-what?"
“You’re always casual when you come to my house,” Yun Lie said, glancing at her attire before giving a cold snort. “But you dress up for the Duke of He’s mansion? Hmm? What’s the meaning of that?”
This blatant favoritism bothered him greatly, and he felt he had to get an explanation.
Hearing this question, Luo Cuiwei let out a long sigh and laughed in annoyance: "What's the point of dressing up for your place? You can't even tell if other people are wearing makeup or not."
Today she finally understood that the only way to tell if a girl is wearing makeup is by whether she has applied lip rouge!
The foolish, rough man had no idea about the intricate patterns in a young woman's makeup.
"What do I not understand? Last time it was just..."
Speaking of "last time", Yun Lie couldn't help but recall the scene when Luo Cuiwei grabbed his hand and rubbed his cheek against hers.
After a moment of hesitation, he frowned slightly and said impatiently, "Fine, fine, sometimes it's hard to tell. Who told you to look the same whether you're wearing makeup or not? It would be a miracle if you could tell the difference."
Um?!
Luo Cuiwei stared at him for a long time, and seeing that he looked calm, she couldn't say anything. She could only pick up her teacup and drink it all in one gulp.
This behavior was truly unrefined, but she had no choice—
I was overwhelmed by the sweetness.