It was almost one o'clock when the two of them got into bed. They nestled against each other and fell into a deep sleep. They were woken up by a series of knocks on the door the next morning. Mu Yijie got out of bed with a gloomy face and went to open the door.
Yong Shanling glanced at the door, pulled the quilt over her head, and continued to sleep as if she wanted to make up for all her lost energy.
Mu Yijie brushed his hair back, leaned against the door, and stared expressionlessly at the butler who was knocking. The butler was a bit flustered. He wouldn't have taken the risk to knock on the door if it weren't for an urgent matter.
"Sir, there's a girl downstairs looking for Miss Yong."
Mu Yijie turned to look at the clock in the room. It was only around eight o'clock. Wu Na usually wouldn't come this early. Then he said impatiently,
"I see. Ask her to wait in the living room for a while."
Mu Yijie sighed, lay back on the bed, and hugged Yong Shanling. Breathing in her unique scent, the restlessness in his heart gradually faded away.
"Someone's looking for you. It might be Wu Na, but it's only eight o'clock. Did you make an appointment with anyone else?"
Yong Shanling was being hugged so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She pushed Mu Yijie away with her hand, opened her eyes sleepily, and looked at him in confusion.
"Looking for me? I don't remember making... "
As she spoke, Yong Shanling's eyes widened and she sat up abruptly. She patted her head. "How could I forget!"
She immediately got out of bed, put on her slippers, and rushed out of the room in a hurry, leaving Mu Yijie looking completely bewildered in the room. He sighed and followed Yong Shanling downstairs.
Seeing the young girl sitting in the living room, Yong Shanling immediately stopped in her tracks. She stood beside her, gasping for breath, and then sat down next to her.
"You're here."
"Yeah."
Liu Ming found it rather amusing to see her in such a hurry. Her clothes and hair were all in a mess. She picked up the water cup on the table and handed it to her. Yong Shanling took the cup and accidentally exposed the hickeys on her neck.
Liu Ming stared at the red and purple marks on her neck. She was so shocked that she stammered, her hand holding the cup trembling. It took her a long time to say a word.
"You, you, you?"
Yong Shanling looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"
Liu Ming's eyes immediately darkened. She pointed at Yong Shanling's neck. "Who bullied you? I'll avenge you."
Hearing her words, Yong Shanling looked at her neck. It was covered with hickeys, so densely packed that it was rather scary. She was both angry and amused.
"Mu Yijie must be a dog. He sure knows how to bite."
Yong Shanling put down the water cup awkwardly and was about to explain when Mu Yijie walked into the living room. Liu Ming immediately walked up to Mu Yijie, grabbed his collar, and said,
"So it's you. You can act so calmly after hurting someone."
Mu Yijie slapped Liu Ming's hand away in disgust. "Who are you? I don't remember allowing just anyone to enter my house."
"Liu Ming, listen to me first..."
"Sister Shanling, don't say anything. I know how much you've suffered. Come with me and leave this hell."
Hearing Liu Ming's inexplicable attempt to take Yong Shanling away, a cold glint flashed in Mu Yijie's eyes. "She's mine. Don't even think about touching her."
"I must take her away today."
"Then you can give it a try."
"Then just wait and see."
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Yong Shanling walked forward helplessly and stood between the two of them. She was about to speak when Mu Yijie pulled her into his arms.
Seeing this, Liu Ming didn't give up. She grabbed Yong Shanling's hand and glared at Mu Yijie. The two of them started arguing again as they tugged at Yong Shanling. Yong Shanling tried several times to interrupt them, but her voice was drowned out by theirs.
"Qingsui, please."
Suddenly, vines spread throughout the villa. The vines separated the two people who were arguing, and Yong Shanling, who was caught in the middle, was finally freed. Seeing this, Liu Ming's anger towards Mu Yijie grew even stronger.
Yong Shanling stood in front of her and was about to explain. Liu Ming was about to interrupt when the vines immediately covered her mouth. All that was left was Liu Ming's struggling sound.
"Liu Ming, this wasn't from being beaten. How should I put it... It's a kind of expression of love. For example, when you and Han Chu fall in love in the future, you'll have it too."
Hearing the name Han Chu, Liu Ming stopped struggling. A look of desolation flashed in her eyes. Seeing that she had stopped struggling, the vines released her mouth.
"I don't like him anymore."
"It's good that you don't like him. You probably won't be able to see through that old fox for hundreds of years."
Qingyuan suddenly appeared in front of the two of them. She looked at Liu Ming with a look of relief.
Yong Shanling immediately ran over to Mu Yijie and said apologetically, "Uncle Shu, I'm sorry. She's a friend I made in the mist. She might... not understand this."
Yong Shanling pointed at her neck, which made Mu Yijie feel a bit embarrassed.
"So, she misunderstood you just now and thought you had beaten me."
"So... can you forgive her, Uncle Shu?"
Mu Yijie rubbed her head and said helplessly, "I was wondering what had suddenly gotten into her. Alright, you guys talk first. I'll go deal with some company matters."
Yong Shanling watched as the two of them started chatting. She went upstairs to change her clothes and then came back down.
"Liu Ming, come and have breakfast."
The three of them sat down at the table and started chatting casually.
"Liu Ming, was everything okay on your way here? How did you shake off those people?" Yong Shanling asked curiously as she ate her cake.
"I just lied to them... but."
"What's wrong?" Qingyuan looked at her sudden pause. It seemed that something had happened.
"Teacher was acting really strange. I thought he would do something to me when he found me. Although he didn't, he suddenly became really odd. He even seems to know you, Sister Shanling."
Hearing her words, Yong Shanling raised her eyebrows. She stopped eating the cake and put it aside. Suddenly, she lost her appetite.
"You don't know, they..."
"Qingyuan!"
Yong Shanling saw that Qingyuan was about to tell what had happened at that time. She immediately stopped her with a headache.
Liu Ming looked at the two strange people in confusion. "Did something happen?"
Qingyuan replied with a smile, "I'm afraid your heart won't be able to take it."
But Liu Ming looked very serious. "Don't worry. I don't like Teacher anymore. I can handle it."
Yong Shanling really felt that her smile was extremely forced. "You can, but I can't, sister."
"Actually, this was the first time Han Chu and Shanling met in the mist. And their first meeting ended with him kissing her forcefully. Isn't that exciting!"
"Qing! Yuan!"
Yong Shanling stared at her stiffly. She wished she could rush up and beat her up.
Liu Ming was stunned on the spot. An ambiguous look appeared in her eyes as she looked at Yong Shanling. She tried hard to hold back the smile on her lips. Yong Shanling looked at the two heartless people and walked straight to the lawn to wait for Wu Na.