cold clothes

The young man looked up and saw Leng Yi so close to him. He instinctively leaned back, as if trying to sink into her clear blue eyes. His mind went blank for a moment, but he was unwilling to let a woman capture his attention. He composed himself and said, "Before you want to know my name, shouldn't you introduce yourself?"

The boy was serious, but Leng Yi chuckled instead: "You still care about these rules? What a bookworm." She pointed to the book in the boy's hand.

Then Leng Yi turned around with his hands behind his back and said, "I am a homeless child with no parents and no home to return to. I think the name that Aunt Hu gave me is awful, and I don't want to admit that it is my name."

"I see. How should I address you, young lady?"

"If you want to know my name, ask someone else. I think I should be infamous by now, sigh." Leng Yi sighed deeply, then suddenly realized something and her eyes widened abruptly.

"Oh no! How long have I been asleep? Did I miss my afternoon classes?!"

Seeing the sun setting outside, Leng Yi cried out in despair, "Oh no!" She clutched her head in regret. Her constitution, which allowed her to sleep like a log, meant she shouldn't have slept alone. Oh no!

The young man carefully calculated the time and said, "From the time I saw the young lady sleeping, she has been asleep for two hours."

"It's over, it's over, I'm going to die tonight..." Leng Yi cried out in despair, but she had no intention of leaving the room. She just paced back and forth anxiously.

"If things are so bad, why don't you go back quickly, young lady?" the boy asked.

"I'll be punished if I go back, I don't want to go back at all." Leng Yi was on the verge of tears.

"But the later you go back, the harsher the punishment might be."

"..."

"Alright." Leng Yi closed her eyes, steeled her resolve, and left as if facing certain death. As she reached the door, she suddenly turned back to the boy and said, "I'm leaving now. I'll come find you to play again when I have time."

The boy thought to himself: Don't you dare come and take over my room again.

However, the little girl's words, "I want to play with you," struck a chord with him. He had never had playmates his own age since childhood; playmates were a luxury for him. He stayed at Fengxiang Tower only to seek a moment of relaxation and comfort, and couldn't stay there for long. But it seemed that coming here more often in the future wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Dr. Xie, I'm leaving!" came the girl's clear, high-pitched voice from outside.

"You little rascal, you've finally woken up! You came without a sound, thank goodness you remembered to tell me before you left," Doctor Xie said, half annoyed and half amused.

"Hehe, I'll come see you again when I have time." The girl chuckled and jogged away. After a brief period of noise, the herbal medicine hall returned to calm. The boy went outside to help Doctor Xie organize the herbs.

“Ningbi is such an interesting little girl. Other girls don’t like to come to my place, but she comes often.”

"I come to visit you often, don't I?" the boy said with a smile.

Doctor Xie glanced at him and laughed, "You're feeling better now, so you're in the mood for banter."

The boy smiled as he placed a basket of pig bone grass under the eaves, casually remarking, "By the way, Aunt Fang, do you know what that girl's real name is?"

"Her real name? She never told me. Ningbi is a stage name given to her by Madam Hu. What? She told you her real name after only two meetings with her?"

"Not at all, not at all. It's just that she asked me my name but wouldn't tell me, saying she hated the name Ningbi. I was just curious." The boy explained, sensing Doctor Xie's teasing tone.

"Did you tell me your real name?"

"Never."

“That’s it,” Dr. Xie smiled. “Since you don’t want to tell me your real name, why force others to do so?”

The boy was taken aback by what Doctor Xie said, then humbly smiled and said, "I was wrong."

"Don't be discouraged, maybe one day she'll tell you," Dr. Xie teased him with a smile, making him both shy and embarrassed.

However, isn't this conversation just like that between an ordinary elder and a teenager experiencing first love?

-

Leng Yi returned to Zhuoyu Pavilion with trepidation, when suddenly a powerful female voice called her name from behind: "Ningbi".

Leng Yi was startled and turned around to find it was Yun Qiu.

Yun Qiu raised an eyebrow and walked towards her: "I asked you to practice the piano all afternoon, how did you do? I'm here to check it out." After saying that, she gave Leng Yi a look, signaling her to come with her.

Leng Yi was initially confused, but she quickly understood. Yun Qiu had covered for her absence from class that afternoon; she hadn't expected Yun Qiu to be so loyal.

"Where did you go this afternoon?" Yunqiu asked as they entered the empty tea room.

Leng Yi told the truth: "I went to the herbal medicine shop as you said, and then I felt a little tired and went to sleep there. I accidentally overslept."

"Overslept? I never thought you'd do something like this..." Yun Qiu looked at her incredulously, her tone slightly disdainful. "Our plan isn't even finished yet, and you're already sound asleep. If you delay tomorrow's plan, you're useless, understand?"

This was arguably the most blunt thing Yun Qiu had ever said to her. She had dropped her gentle and intellectual facade, revealing only calculation and self-interest; it was clear how much she valued this plan. Loyalty my foot! It was all for her own benefit.

Leng Yi was furious after being scolded, but she could only swallow her anger because she was now in cahoots with her.

"Is there anything else? If not, I'll be leaving now. There won't be any problems tomorrow," Leng Yi said coldly.

Yun Qiu narrowed her eyes and said lightly, "Then you can leave."

After Leng Yi left, Yun Qiu's maid looked at Yun Qiu's face and complained, "That Ning Bi is really lawless. She thinks she's so great. In fact, Miss can make her kneel down and beg for mercy with just a flick of her finger."

Yun Qiu's narrowed phoenix eyes flashed with a gorgeous yet cold light as she slowly said, "Actually, her unruly nature has some advantages; she's sharp enough to be used as a blade. However," Yun Qiu's lips curled into a sarcastic smile, "if she hurts my hand, I'll just break it."

-

The tea ceremony class had already started, and there was no time for dinner. When Leng Yi appeared, everyone turned their attention to her. Among them, Wei Feng was the most gloating. He was even happier when he saw Leng Yi's face darken. He really thought that she had been punished by Yun Qiu.

As is customary, tonight's tea ceremony class was to be conducted in pairs, as five people would be awkward. However, before Leng Yi could speak, Wu Xue volunteered to go alone, which was understandable given her aloof personality. Xia Hua then paired with Wei Feng, while Leng Yi paired with Nong Yue.

“Ningbi, you can follow along with me,” Nongyue said to Lengyi with a smile. The subject of the tea ceremony class is to brew various kinds of tea to bring out the best taste, which requires a high level of skill and control in brewing tea. Even though Lengyi had studied tea ceremony in her previous life, she could not meet the requirements perfectly.

Leng Yi could clearly sense that Nong Yue was trying her best to treat her as kindly as before, but she could also tell that Xia Hua's attitude towards her had changed since Aunt Hu announced the change in the rules of the big exam. Nong Yue was, after all, just a child, and didn't have the deep cunning to hide her hostility like Yun Qiu. Look how stiff her smile was, and how insincere her sweet words were.

However, Leng Yi would never dislike her, because she was the same kind of person. It was just that she felt a little regretful that they could never be friends.

“Great!” Leng Yi smiled brightly. “Nong Yue, you’re so kind.”