Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

Unable to find Song Jinbai, Song Huai's anxiety was palpable. He paced back and forth at the gate, his eyes constantly gazing into the distance. Finally, the sound of rapid horse hooves broke the silence around him. Song Huai immediately perked up and rushed forward.

"Sir! This is bad!" Song Huai's voice was filled with panic. He couldn't wait to speak before Song Jinbai had even completely dismounted from his horse. "Miss Ji...she's fallen for a pretty boy!"

Song Jinbai quickly steadied himself, jumped off his horse, looked at Song Huai sharply, and asked in a deep voice, "What exactly happened? Tell me in detail."

Song Huai quickly told Jun Xianlan the whole story, starting from when he was waiting for Ji Nuan at the South City Gate, and then went on and on about how Ji Nuan wanted Jun Xianlan to marry him.

Song Jinbai's face darkened after hearing this. He knew Ji Nuan wouldn't be easily fooled by appearances, but after hearing what Song Huai said, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"Where is he now?" Song Jinbai's voice was low and powerful, revealing his inner urgency and anxiety.

"Someone just came back to report that the person went to East Street." Song Huai answered cautiously.

Song Jinbai turned around, mounted his horse, and headed towards East Street.

Seeing this, Song Huai grabbed An Zhong's reins without hesitation and followed Song Jinbai.

It is not allowed to ride a horse in crowded places on the street, so Song Huai quickly caught up.

As soon as the two turned into East Street, they saw Ji Nuan chatting happily with a young man dressed in scholar's clothes. Her smile was like the peach blossoms blooming on the branches of Taohua Creek, and her eyes were filled with joy.

Song Jinbai gritted his teeth secretly, threw the reins to Song Huai, and was about to go over.

Song Huai immediately stepped forward to stop him. After hesitating for a moment, he mustered up the courage to say, "Sir, Miss Ji doesn't know that you like her. If you rush over like this, I'm afraid you'll scare her away."

Song Huai pointed at his face lightly, indicating that his expression was too scary and he should control himself in front of Miss Ji.

Upon hearing this, Song Jinbai took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and his expression gradually relaxed.

Song Huai took a deep breath and said something that made Song Jinbai's nerves, which had just relaxed, tense up again.

"Last time, Ji Wei told me that there was a scholar named Meng Ran in their village who admired Miss Ji. The man opposite might be Meng Ran."

As soon as these words were spoken, Song Jinbai's face instantly turned gloomy, and complex emotions surged in his eyes.

"Sir..." Song Huai, under the pressure of having his monthly salary deducted, mustered up his courage again and gently pointed at Song Jinbai's face, trying to remind him to pay attention to his facial expression.

Song Jinbai glared at him, but still forced an unnatural smile. Then he flicked his sleeves and walked towards Ji Nuan with pretended calmness.

Ji Nuan and Meng Ran were talking when Song Jinbai stood between them with a smile as bright as the breeze and moon. He didn't realize he was disturbing anyone and said to Ji Nuan, "Miss Ji, why are you here?"

Ji Nuan was a little surprised by his sudden appearance. After a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Oh, it's my mother who's here shopping. I was just about to go look for her."

Meng Ran, who was standing by, was displeased when he saw this. He didn't like how Song Jinbai easily attracted Ji Nuan's attention. So, he walked to the other side of Ji Nuan and gently called out, "Nuan Nuan."

Hearing one or two men addressing Ji Nuan in such an intimate way, Song Jinbai felt quite unhappy. They were not related to her, so why were they calling her so affectionately?

He pretended to have just noticed Meng Ran's presence and asked Ji Nuan, "Miss Ji, could you introduce me to someone? Who is this gentleman...?"

Ji Nuan felt that there was no need for them to become close friends, so she could only introduce him reluctantly: "He is a scholar from the same village as us, Meng Ran."

"Brother Mengran, this is Young Master Song." Considering that Song Jinbai was unwilling to reveal his identity as the prefect last time, Ji Nuan directly addressed him as "Young Master Song".

Song Jinbai found it particularly irritating to hear Meng Ran call him "brother" so intimately, and a sour feeling welled up in his heart. He simply nodded indifferently to Meng Ran's scholarly greeting, a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"Mr. Meng, if you are not studying hard in the academy now, how can you have the time to come here?" There was a hint of self-evident alienation in Song Jinbai's words.

Meng Ran explained, "Oh, a classmate was ill, and I sent him out to seek medical treatment."

Song Jinbai didn't want to see the man who coveted Ji Nuan for a moment, so he drove him away and said, "I see. Then, after sending your classmates off, Master Meng, it would be best for you to return to the academy as soon as possible."

Meng Ran clearly sensed his hostility towards him, but still insisted, "I'm not in a hurry to go back. I still have to help Nuan Nuan find her mother."

Ji Nuan noticed the subtle atmosphere between the two and was a little confused as to why they were like this, so she advised: "Brother Meng Ran, you should go back to the academy first. Your studies are more important. Don't let my affairs delay you. My mother is nearby, I can find her myself."

Seeing Ji Nuan say this, Meng Ran had to compromise: "Okay, I'll go first. But, Nuannuan, you have to be careful." After saying that, he looked at Song Jinbai next to him meaningfully before turning and leaving.

Song Jinbai's lips curled up into a smirk that was enough to make people angry. He said to Meng Ran's back, "You can go back to the academy without any worries. I will accompany Miss Ji to look for her aunt."

Ji Nuan turned to look at Song Jinbai and asked with a puzzled look on her face, "Is this the first time you've met him? Why do I feel like you have a strong opinion of him?"

Song Jinbai blinked innocently and asked, "Is there?"

Seeing that Song Jinbai was unwilling to say more, Ji Nuan did not continue to ask, and instead said: "Let's go, let's go find my mother." After that, she took the lead and stepped forward, followed closely by Song Jinbai.

The two of them walked side by side through the bustling crowd, and the hustle and bustle of East Street seemed to become the background music between them.

Song Jinbai felt mixed emotions, and he tried hard to make his smile look more natural.

"Miss Ji," he finally couldn't suppress his uneasiness and asked softly, "You and Master Meng... seem very familiar with each other?"

Ji Nuan was concentrating on searching for Ji's mother in the crowd. She was slightly taken aback by Song Jinbai's question, then turned around and smiled, "Yes, we are from the same village and grew up together, just like brother and sister. He takes good care of him."

Song Jinbai felt a pang of sadness. He couldn't match Meng Ran's feelings for her, having grown up together, and he was worried that Meng Ran would snatch her away first. From the moment he realized his feelings for Ji Nuan, he knew she was the one and he wouldn't give up easily.

"Miss Ji," Song Jinbai took a deep breath, mustered up his courage, and looked seriously into Ji Nuan's eyes, as if he wanted to pour all his heart into these words, "I... have something to say to you."

Ji Nuan looked at Song Jinbai's serious expression and thought that he had something important to say. She waited quietly for Song Jinbai's next words.

"Nuan Nuan."

However, at this moment, a familiar voice interrupted Song Jin's conversation.

Ji's mother found Ji Nuan in the crowd. She called her daughter's name happily and drove the carriage towards them.

When Ji Nuan heard her mother's voice, she ran over excitedly, completely forgetting what Song Jinbai hadn't finished saying. She affectionately took her mother's hand, and the two began to excitedly discuss the things they had bought.

Song Jinbai watched quietly from the side. After Ji Nuan finished talking to Ji's mother, Song Jinbai walked up and greeted Ji's mother politely.

Considering it was almost noon, Song Jinbai invited Ji Nuan and her mother to his home for dinner. However, Ji's mother declined, not wanting to burden others. Ji Nuan smiled and pointed to the items on the carriage, saying they still needed to go back and sort out their purchases.

Song Jinbai had no choice but to smile and say to Ji's mother: "Okay, next time, auntie must give me a chance to do my best to be a good host." Ji's mother politely responded to his kindness, and then the mother and daughter drove away in the carriage.

Only when their carriage disappeared from sight did Song Jinbai slowly turn around and go home.