As soon as they entered the door, Ruixin came out to greet them.
"Good day, Young Master and Young Mistress," Ruixin said respectfully, bowing.
He Ting ignored her as if he hadn't heard a word, without even a glance in her direction, and simply walked in on his own.
"An'an, I have some official business to attend to. You can have fun on your own," He Ting said as he headed towards his study.
"Ruixin, how have you been these three years?" An Ke took Ruixin's hand and walked towards the garden.
"Young Mistress, I've been fine. But the Young Master has had a tough time these three years," Ruixin replied.
"What could be so tough for him? He thought he'd finally killed the person he wanted to, so he should have been quite happy," An Ke snorted.
"No, Young Mistress. In fact, the Young Master has missed you very much all these years. Often, he would be in a daze, staring into the distance. When Madam wanted to introduce girls to him, he refused and kept pushing them away. Sometimes we could even hear the Young Master softly calling your name as he looked at the room you used to live in. His eyes were full of sadness. And I don't understand what you mean by 'killing someone'?" Ruixin looked at An Ke in confusion.
She doesn't know? An Ke thought to herself. Presumably He Ting still wants to maintain an image of a lovesick man? This doesn't make sense. Not knowing how to respond, An Ke kept silent.
"Moreover, the Young Master has had a really hard time these years. Since everyone found out about your identity as a secret agent, people in the whole city have been mocking the Young Master for a long time," Ruixin said with a sigh.
This remark made An Ke pause for a moment. She knew that the whole city knew she was a secret agent who had deliberately infiltrated his life, but she never thought that they would mock He Ting because of this.
"Let's not talk about him. And don't call me Young Mistress anymore. Call me Ke'er," An Ke said, pouting.
"Young Mistress, I can't do that. It would break the rules, and I'll get scolded," Ruixin said timidly.
"Alright then. When it's just the two of us, don't call me Young Mistress. Call me Ke'er," An Ke said with a smile.
"Okay," Ruixin replied with a happy smile.
Actually, Ruixin was a very beautiful girl with a pure look in her eyes, which made people feel extremely comfortable.
An Ke then spent a few uneventful days in the He Mansion.
This tranquility was disrupted by the doorbell one day. It was Jiang Man, the daughter of the Jiang family. Jiang Man had been in love with He Ting for a long time. Before, she always tried every means to break up An Ke and He Ting, but He Ting never paid much attention to her. This time, as soon as Jiang Man heard that An Ke had returned, she couldn't wait to come over.
"Brother He Ting!" Jiang Man called out enthusiastically.
"Yeah," He Ting frowned and didn't really respond to her.
Three years had passed, but this Jiang Man remained unchanged. An Ke sneered disdainfully in her heart.
Jiang Man saw An Ke's disdainful smile and naturally felt indignant.
"Ah! Our secret agent Sister An is here too. Sister An, why are you back?" Jiang Man pretended to be enthusiastic as she talked to An Ke. This attitude made An Ke sick. Before, Jiang Man would also act very nice to her in front of He Ting but would always cause trouble behind her back.
"Miss Jiang, you're older than me. Logically, I should address you as sister," An Ke raised her eyebrows, her tone a bit provocative.
Jiang Man was really furious when she heard this. This An Ke was becoming more and more difficult to deal with. Jiang Man's once distorted face soon replaced with a seemingly gentle smile.
"I actually forgot about that. Sister An, you're right. Brother He Ting, you must have some official business to attend to. You don't need to accompany me. I'll just stay with An Ke," Jiang Man said as she tried to hold An Ke's hand. An Ke deftly dodged, leaving Jiang Man's hand hanging in mid - air. The situation was a bit awkward.
"Yeah," He Ting glanced at the two women in a stalemate, then turned around and went upstairs. But he stopped on the last step. He knew Jiang Man had ill intentions and was afraid she might hurt An Ke.
As soon as He Ting left, Jiang Man walked away from An Ke, sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and gracefully ate grapes.
"An Ke, long time no see," Jiang Man stared at An Ke sinisterly.
"Miss Jiang, long time no see," An Ke replied with an awkward yet polite fake smile. Then she also sat down.
"You, leave He Ting," Jiang Man demanded.
An Ke didn't say a word. At this time, He Ting, who was standing upstairs, couldn't bear it anymore.
"Uncle Zhang, show the guest out," He Ting said coldly.
Jiang Man was a bit stunned. She didn't expect He Ting to be upstairs and was immediately flustered. But she didn't say a word. She just gave An Ke a menacing look, picked up her bag, and left.
As soon as Jiang Man stepped out of the door, she started to blame herself for being too careless and not noticing He Ting. She knew He Ting loved An Ke very much. So she decided to come to the He Mansion again when He Ting was not at home.
He Ting came downstairs.
"I'll handle her and make sure she won't bother you again," He Ting said sincerely, looking at her.
"It doesn't matter," An Ke said and then went upstairs to her room.
An Ke sat on the bed in her room and recalled the past. Before, Jiang Man always gave her trouble. At the debutante balls, she would encourage others to mock An Ke. In conversations with others, she would constantly imply that An Ke was not pure. She even always made An Ke look bad in front of others. Of course, she did all these things when He Ting was not around.
When He Ting was with her, Jiang Man always pretended to be very nice to An Ke. An Ke also knew the status of the Jiang family, that she was really good to He Ting, and that they had known each other for many years. So An Ke never told He Ting about what Jiang Man had done to her. She always endured it silently on her own.
As she was thinking, An Ke's head started to hurt, so she stopped thinking and fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Man found out the time when He Ting was not at home and came to the He Mansion. Jiang Man rang the doorbell, and Uncle Zhang came out.
"Miss Jiang, the Young Master is not at home," Uncle Zhang said respectfully to Jiang Man.
"It's okay. I'm here to chat with Sister An Ke," Jiang Man replied with a smile.
Uncle Zhang hesitated. He didn't know whether he should open the door or not. He knew Jiang Man was hostile to An Ke.
"Uncle Zhang, have I lost the qualification to enter the He Mansion after knowing He Ting for so many years?" Jiang Man looked a bit unhappy.
Uncle Zhang had no choice but to open the door.
"Miss Jiang, you're overreacting. I just lost my train of thought for a moment," Uncle Zhang said with a smile and invited Jiang Man in.
After showing Jiang Man in, Uncle Zhang stepped back and made a phone call.
"Young Master, Miss Jiang is here. She said she wants to chat with the Young Mistress," Uncle Zhang reported.
"I see," He Ting hung up the phone, got up, and prepared to go back.