This villain has become a ghost

The last time they met briefly, Yue Liuyun only remembered that Nangong Qianshang was extremely beautiful, but knew nothing about her personality and character.

Now, after hearing Nangong Mingzhu's description, I feel that this man is either a gentleman of utmost integrity, or... a veteran actor with great acting skills and a future Oscar candidate.

Yue Liuyun suddenly became curious and asked Nangong Mingzhu: "...What do you think of him?"

Being in the royal family, intrigue and scheming have become the norm. Blood ties and friendship are nothing but a carefully choreographed drama. Everyone is an excellent actor, but when you remove the gorgeous mask, there is endless hypocrisy and calculation underneath.

Although Nangong Qianshang has not done anything out of line so far, his experiences since childhood have made Nangong Mingzhu no longer have any illusions about so-called family affection.

His voice rang out, carrying a hint of the coolness of the night. It was pleasant enough to hear, yet also cold enough:

“…I can’t trust him yet.”

Trust is a precious thing and cannot be built overnight.

Yue Liuyun asked again, "Then...where is Ling Chaomian?"

Nangong Mingzhu sneered and said, "You're too stupid. You don't have the brains to make calculations. There's no need to doubt it."

Yue Liuyun asked again: "What about Shen Yue?"

Nangong Mingzhu said, "Except for his different philosophies from mine, his moral integrity is beyond doubt, so we can cooperate."

Yue Liuyun continued to ask: "Where is Nangong Wanqing?"

Nangong Mingzhu raised an eyebrow and said, "...Although he comes from the same world as you, he is quite cunning and ruthless, so we have to be on guard against him."

Finally, Yue Liuyun suddenly chuckled softly, looking at him with a smile, and with a hint of lightness and curiosity in her tone, she asked leisurely, "Then... what about me?"

She thought she was an excellent teammate. If Nangong Mingzhu dared to complain about her, she would definitely... just act like she was going to kill herself.

...This is his body. Although we can't let him lose weight, it's no problem to let him lose some weight.

The tassels on the curtains swayed gently with the breeze, bringing about the tranquility of the night.

Nangong Mingzhu's figure was tall and handsome in the moonlight, with a beautiful curve on his face, and he slowly approached her.

Yue Liuyun could see that he pursed his thin lips, his dark eyes staring straight at her, and through those eyes, he looked straight into her soul.

His eyebrows curved, a smile appeared on his lips, and he spoke slowly and softly:

“…I believe in you as I believe in myself.”

The voice was gentle, pleasant and magnetic, coupled with his handsome appearance. Although it was not known whether it was true or not, it was indeed captivating.

Moreover, he called himself "I" instead of "I", which made Yue Liuyun feel that he was somewhat sincere and particularly confusing.

Yue Liuyun was bewildered, her ears suddenly reddened, and she fell straight down again. She picked up the corner of the quilt to cover her face, and sighed honestly:

"That's enough, stop talking, it's too provocative!"

Nangong Mingzhu was stunned at first, then he burst into laughter.

Yue Liuyun thought, this person doesn't usually speak in this tone.

...and usually they are insulting others, and have never said anything so straightforward that seems to reveal their true feelings.

It turns out that people who love appearance are easily deceived by appearance!

She reached out her hand and pulled the corner of the quilt down, revealing a pair of eyes, and her voice was muffled.

She said, "Xiao Ming, you are not teasing me on purpose, are you?"

This was originally a joke. She was expecting Nangong Mingzhu to mock her calmly and then throw a sentence "you are too self-indulgent" at her.

Then, she could make a few more jokes to diffuse the unpleasant atmosphere.

Unexpectedly, Nangong Mingzhu nodded and said, "...Yes."

Yue Liuyun: “?”

She suspected she had misheard and suddenly lifted the corner of the quilt: "Huh?"

For the first time, clear stupidity appeared in her eyes.

Seeing this, Nangong Mingzhu smiled even more happily, his shoulders trembling.

Yue Liuyun was confused and had an expression that said, "What are you laughing at? Are you stupid?"

After a while, Nangong Mingzhu finally stopped smiling and said softly, "It's getting late, go to bed."

Then, he left the bed in a good mood and disappeared somewhere.

Little did he know that after he left, the confusion and doubt in Yue Liuyun's eyes disappeared, replaced by an extremely complicated emotion.

The smoke from the incense burner curled up, passed through the caisson on the roof, and spread throughout the entire bedroom. The flames of the palace lanterns swayed gracefully, casting soft light and shadows.

She closed her eyes and lay on her side, her mind still full of complicated thoughts.

She has never been in love, but that doesn't mean she is really ignorant. She is not a naive and innocent girl. Her reaction may be slow, but she will definitely not be unable to react.

From his impatience and anger every time she talked with Shen Yue and Ling Chaomian, to his not allowing him to go find Qiu Shuangwan, to his increasingly slow voice towards her, to his anger and sadness when he learned that she was going to die... and so on.

...She could feel that Nangong Mingzhu might, probably, should have a little affection for her.

But she always thought it was just an illusion, or even fake.

...After all, this person was able to perform his affectionate act to perfection in order to make the original Concubine Xian a target of the entire harem.

And he never fell in love from the beginning to the end. He was terribly indifferent to both the virtuous concubine and the virtuous concubine, as if everything was only based on interests.

He was never a good person.

But the time they spent together made her feel that he was not as bad as she had imagined.

Putting aside the villain setting, he is actually a normal person with joys and sorrows, a bad friend, a black-hearted dumpling, a person who is tough on the outside but sometimes soft-hearted...

But she didn't understand what he was thinking.

Besides, she was just a lonely soul from another world. Unlike Qiu Shuangwan and Nangong Wanqing, she might even die.

Was this slight impression of goodwill her illusion, or was it a common tactic used by this person to consolidate alliances and interests?

Accustomed to the truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, everything seems like flowers in the fog and the moon in the water, which makes people feel suspicious.

Yue Liuyun finally fell into a deep sleep amidst the tide of thoughts.

-

Nangong Mingzhu was dreaming.

His mind was in a state of confusion and he had a severe headache. As the images flashed by, he seemed to have come to a very strange place, which was completely different from the environment he lived in.

It was a somewhat dim room, and the simple interior was filled with some furnishings he had never seen before.

On a wooden table, there is a dim desk lamp. A slightly fat old man is sitting on an old chair, doing needlework laboriously under the light.