The young master leaned closer to her: "Why not?"
She just shook her head.
The young master pulled her into his arms and sighed, "Jin Huanlai is good to you, but he likes other women. If he marries someone else in the future, his wife will be angry if you stay with him. What will you do then?" He held her tightly in his arms, stopping her from struggling. "You like Jin Huanlai, but he doesn't like you. Brother Yi likes you and only loves you. Isn't that better than him?"
Her petite body stiffened noticeably, and she gradually stopped struggling. After a long silence, Qiu Lingling murmured, "No, he's very good to me..."
The young master said, "He is also very kind to others."
Qiu Lingling sniffled: "He won't marry them."
"That's not necessarily true. Can you wait?" The young master chuckled softly. "When you get old, you won't be able to get married. What will he do if he doesn't want you then? Brother Yi is only good to you and won't look for other women. Isn't that good?"
Qiu Lingling remained silent.
The young master didn't say much, releasing his arm to let her lie down: "Take care of yourself first, and remember to tell Brother Yi after you've thought it through."
.
The room was quiet, but you could hear singing and laughter outside the door. A glass of cold wine was filled and served with delicate hands.
Jin pushed him away, saying, "Thank you, but I don't drink."
Qingsi pursed her lips and joked, "Afraid I'll poison your drink?"
Jin sneered, "You can try."
"I don't need to try. Who would be so stupid as to poison you?" Qing Si smiled gently, put down her wine glass, and sat down opposite her. "Something on your mind?"
Jin also said, "Everyone has something on their mind."
Qing Si stared at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled: "Young Master Ning, would you be willing to let me see your hands?"
Jin Huanlai said calmly, "I didn't know you before."
Qingsi lowered her head: "But I hope that you are the one I'm looking for."
Jin looked at that face and said, "My surname is Jin."
Qing Si calmly replied, "I know."
Jin said, "I can easily find someone for you."
Qingsi shook her head and stood up: "Even if we find him, what then? He may already have a wife and children, and he may not be willing to redeem Qingsi from her servitude." She walked slowly to his side: "Besides, if he truly cared for me, he would definitely be searching everywhere. How could there be no news for so many years? Perhaps he is not worth waiting for Qingsi like this. Qingsi has been too infatuated in the past."
Yes, he wasn't worth her waiting. Jin reached out to stroke his face: "You..."
Qing Si asked in surprise, "Young Master Ning?"
Startled awake, Jin withdrew his hand and got up.
Qing Si stopped him: "Does Young Master Ning find Qing Si too frivolous?"
Jin shook his head: "No."
She bit her lip: "Then you..."
Jin was about to speak when there was a knock on the door. He went to open it and his heart clenched when he saw who was outside.
After a few days apart, Qiu Lingling seemed to have lost even more weight. Her face was still a little pale. She glanced into the doorway with her big eyes, then lowered her gaze: "Can you come back with me for a bit? I need to talk to you about something."
Jin turned around, glanced at the scene, and then walked away.
As the two disappeared through the door, a hint of coldness rose in her gentle eyes.
.
In broad daylight, Jin Garden was eerily silent.
Jin spoke first: "I'm back."
"kindness."
"Did you need something?"
For three whole days, he didn't pick her up. Qiu Lingling looked at him for a long time and said, "Brother Yi, are you going to marry me?"
As if struck by a heavy blow, his body trembled slightly, but he quickly recovered and grunted an "Mmm" through his nose. After a long silence, he finally spoke: "His family situation is not simple, and he is far in the north. Once you go there, you may have a lot to deal with, and no one will take care of you anymore. You'd better think it through."
Qiu Lingling's eyes lit up, and she ran up to him, looking at him: "Don't you want me to marry him?"
Jin looked at her quietly for a moment, then looked away: "Whatever."
Her face grew paler and paler. Qiu Lingling murmured, "You weren't like this before. Jin Huanlai, I like you more than any of them. Please don't look for anyone else, just marry me, okay?"
"not good."
Why?
"Because someone likes me more than you do, I wronged her." As for you, you're just used to having me around.
"Is it that girl from earlier?" Qiu Lingling bit her lip. "Then you don't have to marry me, I'll stay with you, okay?"
Jin shook his head: "It's even worse."
She lowered her eyes: "I see."
silence.
She suddenly raised her face, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't cry. She just stared at him intently and said, "You did this on purpose. You deliberately made me like you, but then you didn't want me. I hate you so much." Then she turned and walked away.
The word "hatred" froze Jin in place. He wanted to raise his hand to call her, but he couldn't. He raised his hand, then lowered it again.
.
Lan Xin sat down on the veranda, her slender fingers holding a small, fragrant white jasmine flower. She gently sniffed it, her expression languid and alluring: "You look quite well, Young Master Yi, after making such a good deal."
The young master smiled and said, "Miss Xinluo keeps coming here; it might cause misunderstandings."
Lan Xinluo's eyes widened: "It seems like I'm the one who's at a disadvantage, what's Young Master Yi afraid of?"
The young master shook his head: "I'm very afraid, so I will increase the number of guards. Next time you want to come in, you can only use the main gate."
She rubbed the tiny flower between her fingers, then tossed it away. Lan Xinlu stood up and chuckled, "It's really not easy to lure away your guards." She walked to his side and deliberately looked him up and down, "I really can't imagine that you would be afraid of these things."
“I’m not afraid because it’s not important,” the young master smiled. “Just as a person who doesn’t value their life too much won’t be afraid of death.”
Lan Xinluo looked at him: "So, who are you afraid of?"
“Naturally, it’s my father,” the young master sighed, half-jokingly. “If he knew I was spending such a large sum of money to play with you, he’d probably beat me up.”
Lan Xinluo didn't follow his lead and slowly said, "I heard you have a cousin."
The young master remained calm: "You've inquired quite a bit."
"Don't worry, I just found this out privately," Lan Xinluo said with a gentle smile, her red sleeves fluttering. "If you want to know more about someone you like, he shouldn't be too angry, even if he's not moved."
The young master smiled enigmatically: "It's really unlucky to be liked by you."
Lan Xinlu raised an eyebrow: "Don't you think I'm better than your cousin surnamed Cheng?"
The young master nodded: "You are more beautiful than her, and you are also smarter than her."
Lan Xinluo said softly, "And she's more suitable for you than her."
The young master looked at her for a long time, then smiled: "You're right, but you seem to be mistaken. I never intended to marry her."
Lan Xinluo said, "With your status and talent, you can accomplish many great things. If you had a smart person to help you, it would be much easier."
“Miss Xinluo flatters me too much. I am just a businessman. The only important thing I can do is business,” the young master said, turning to the side. “Besides, I haven’t fallen to the point where I need a woman’s help.”
Lan Xinluo chuckled softly: "Are you so confident?"
The young master shook his head: "No, but life is long, I have plenty of time."
Lan Xinluo's expression changed slightly, and she said calmly, "You are far too arrogant."
“It’s confidence,” the young master corrected with a smile. “I don’t like others interfering in my affairs, especially women. And some women are prone to causing trouble if they are idle for too long. I don’t like being cuckolded.”
Lan Xinluo looked at him coldly: "No man has ever spoken to me like that before."
“That’s why I wanted to conquer him,” the young master raised his eyebrows, “but I think we should prioritize the bigger picture, not conquer a man.”
Lan Xinluo turned and left.
.
Under a gloomy sky, there were about a dozen mounds of earth. The wind blew up a black cloak, and a few strands of black hair brushed against his face. He stood motionless before the grave, like a statue.
He suddenly spoke, the words squeezed out between his teeth: "Old man!"
He kicked the monument, and it cracked into two pieces with a "bang".
This was the person who drove him to the brink of despair, then appeared as his savior, teaching him martial arts and giving him a status that everyone envied. If things had continued like this, it would have been fine, but this person, on his deathbed, revealed all the truth to him. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't, because he had sworn an oath in front of this old man.
"Old man, what do you mean!" he cursed coldly. "Your apprentice has been completely fooled by you, and now that he's going to die, why are you acting like a good person and bringing up old grudges? Do you expect me to remember what you did? Are you feeling good now? Haven't you done enough bad things in your life? You're good enough for the eighteen levels of hell. Do you expect anyone to forgive you or plead for you?"
At that moment, he almost wanted to drag the person out of the grave and whip their corpse.
You've made me make so many mistakes, yet you refuse to let them continue, insisting on being self-righteous and trying to correct them.
Did you hear that? She hates me.
He clenched his fists. The little girl had said she hated him, and that pained him more than ever before, even more than when he first learned the true cause of Wenqin's death. Perhaps he didn't care about this woman as much as he had imagined.
This made him feel even more guilty.
She searched for him for five whole years, worried about whether he was alive or dead, but all he felt for her was guilt.
Without that false accusation, he wouldn't have been mistaken for a thief. Even if she had married into the Yu family, she wouldn't have died, and he could have lived a peaceful life. He would never have met the young girl, and none of this would have happened. It was all the old man's doing.
"You old bastard!" he gritted his teeth, turned around, and strode away.
Will he feel guilty forever? Let him feel guilty alone. Since he made a mistake, he's willing to continue making that mistake. He's sorry to that woman, but at least the little girl will stay by his side. He can't let her hate him.
.
Jin Yuan and Qiu Lingling were waiting in the room, seemingly lost in thought.
Jin felt much more relaxed and went over to pull her along, saying, "Lingling."
Qiu Lingling snapped out of her daze, turned to look at him, and murmured, "You're back."
Her complexion seemed even worse, which was heartbreaking. Jin picked up her small hand and found it cold. Thinking of how he had neglected her these past few days, he was filled with regret: "Is she still not better?"
Qiu Lingling shook her head: "Okay."
Jin casually tidied her long bangs, paused for a moment, then picked up her other hand: "If you really are willing..." He paused when he noticed something in her small hand.