Transmigrated Female Official

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Chu Qingluo quickly turned her head and asked in surprise, "Didn't Second Brother go back a long time ago?"

“Yes, I went back.” Chu Yilin stepped over the stone railing and sat down beside her, then added, “After sending Lifei back, I came back.”

Chu Qinglu stared at Chu Yilin's face and asked suspiciously, "Second Brother, could it be that you're eyeing the fine wine hidden in the courtyard and want to sneak back to drink it all by yourself?"

"That won't do." Chu Yilin winked at her and said jokingly, "If we're going to drink, we have to bring you along as a good drinking buddy."

"Tch—don't talk like I'm a heavy drinker too, okay?"

"Oh, oh, oh, now you're denying it? Then who was it that forcibly opened the vintage wine I hid in the Bamboo Green Courtyard last time?"

"It's a winery opened by the winery itself."

"Oh—, the fine wine even spoke, saying it was tired of living and wanted to go for a ride in Third Sister's belly."

"Pfft!" Chu Qingluo laughed and rolled her eyes at him, too lazy to pay him any attention, and continued to look at the moon.

Chu Yilin nudged her arm with his elbow and said, "It's no fun admiring the moon alone. Besides, the Mid-Autumn Festival hasn't even arrived yet."

"So... Second Brother really didn't come back to steal wine, but to keep me company while I admire the moon?"

Chu Yilin clapped his hands and continued, "Third sister guessed right, I'm here to admire the moon with you, don't be too touched."

"Alright—" Chu Qingluo glanced at him sideways and asked, "You don't happen to need something from me, do you?"

"Look at what you're saying." Chu Yilin immediately denied it: "Absolutely not."

"Are you sure?" Chu Qingluo was highly skeptical. "Are you sure you didn't anger Luo Lifei and get kicked out of the Luo family?"

Chu Yilin pointed a finger at Chu Qingluo's forehead! "Hey, can't you think of anything good about me? Huh—?"

"Tsk tsk tsk." Chu Qingluo suppressed a laugh and said with a look of disgust, "Based on past experience... it's difficult."

"Chu Qingluo—"

"what?!"

I really want to strangle you.

"Hahaha! We're in the same boat!"

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore, let's get down to business." After a burst of laughter, Chu Yilin suddenly adopted a serious demeanor.

Staring at his serious face, Chu Qingluo felt a little uncomfortable. She raised an eyebrow and continued teasingly, "What? Is there anything more serious than being kicked out of the house?"

"Of course there is!" Chu Yilin continued, "What I want to talk about is the process of being kicked out before being formally accepted. Without being formally accepted, how could one be kicked out?"

"..." Chu Qingluo realized after hearing this that he had come for Ji Qiran.

"So many years have passed, which is not a short time. Whether you remember it or not, I have a very deep impression of you, Third Sister, you were once very devoted to Qi Ran!" Chu Yilin said with an extremely certain tone: "If you say that it's all in the past, I don't think so."

Judging from the subtle atmosphere between Ji Qiran and Chu Qingluo, their feelings for each other have never faded.

Chu Qinglu stared at Chu Yilin, somewhat puzzled: "Did you and Mother arrange to take turns comforting me today? Are you... afraid that I'll change my mind about joining the sect, or are you afraid that I'll mistreat Ji Qiran?"

"Did Mother say the same thing?" Chu Yilin was taken aback for a second, then immediately said, "It seems I'm not the only one who sensed it; your face clearly says it."

"What word?"

"Lost sheep!"

"..." These four words, coming from the mouth of Chu Yilin, a free spirit, and being used by him to describe her, almost made Chu Qingluo faint.

“Although Qi Ran has been ignoring me and treating me like an idle person, I know he’s still sending people everywhere to search for Gongsun Yu’s whereabouts; he hasn’t said anything about the Emperor’s bestowal of a door, but I can also see that he’s preoccupied with you. You two are clearly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, yet you’re both more depressed than the other.” Chu Yilin cleared his throat and said, “As your second brother, I really can’t stand it anymore and plan to give you some pointers.”

Chu Qingluo looked at Chu Yilin with a mix of helplessness and amusement. It really was a case of the tables turning. She had taught him a lot of lessons back then, and even used many tricks, but now it was his turn to seriously enlighten her.

"Can Third Sister distinguish between being moved and being touched?" Chu Yilin asked.

"..." Chu Qingluo silently looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"You're so smart, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference."

Hearing Chu Yilin say this, Chu Qingluo felt a little awkward... Could it be that Chu Yilin was implying that she actually had feelings for Gongsun Yu?

Noticing that Chu Qingluo suddenly had a tense expression, Chu Yilin quickly explained, "Please don't misunderstand. What I meant was that whether it's being moved by someone or being attracted to someone, in my opinion, the two are not contradictory at all."

Seeing Chu Qingluo tilting her head and staring blankly at him, as if she didn't know what he was trying to say, he quickly straightened up and added seriously, "Well, let me put it this way, Gongsun Yu did indeed sacrifice himself to save you. You can miss him however you want, but your second brother just doesn't want you to feel guilty and uneasy all the time because of his sacrifice, and give up your right to regain your happiness."

Chu Yilin's words, like a sharp pebble, precisely pierced through Chu Qingluo's layers of defense, striking directly at the depths of her heart, causing ripples to spread across her once still heart...

Just as Chu Yilin said, how could she dare to be happy without Gongsun Yu?

"Third sister, don't you understand Gongsun Yu?"

That man, always as gentle as a spring breeze, always looked at her with a smile, much like the warm sun in the cold winter, a ray of freedom under the scorching sun.

"If you can't live happily, then you've truly let him down."

After saying this, Chu Yilin gently patted Chu Qingluo's back and then slowly stood up. "It's getting late, I should go back to the Luo residence. Third Sister, you should rest early."

"Second Brother..." Chu Qingluo also stood up, called out to him, and after a long pause, said, "Thank you."

Chu Yilin smiled and waved at her. "Let's go!"

……

That night, Chu Qingluo had a very long dream.

In the dream, warm sunlight shone on the study of the new house in the east of the city. Gongsun Yu stood unharmed by the window, wearing a flowing, clean white robe, holding a book in his hand, teaching some children to read and write.

Chu Qingluo rushed into the hall, looking at him with tears in her eyes... That was exactly the scene she had wanted to see back then.

When Gongsun Yu realized it was her, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he asked softly, "Is it lunchtime? I'll be right there after I finish teaching you these last few words."

She rushed towards him like a madwoman, hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face, sobbing uncontrollably.

Whether they meet again in this life or not, in her heart, he will always be the bright beam of light that illuminates her path in the darkness...