After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

The crowd automatically dispersed, all watching as Wang Qingyan handed the "angry little pig" to Baili Ce.

"See, I told you so. How could such a handsome young man not have any companions?"

"I'm so envious of that girl!"

Another pig?

Are you trying to mock me?

"Why is it again... Anyway, I don't want to." Bai Li Ce turned and left.

Wang Qingyan quickened his pace to catch up, then turned his head to see that she was really angry... On a whim, he immediately blocked her way.

He imitated a few pig noises, "Hehehe..."

"Ah—" Baili Ce's face flushed bright red instantly, and he covered his face and stomped his feet in embarrassment, "Wang Qingyan! You..."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha......"

The people around burst into laughter.

The lantern vendor said, "Young lady, it's rare to see such a thoughtful gentleman like this, please accept it quickly!"

"Yes, miss, if you don't accept it, I'll accept it for you!"

"Yes, girl, please don't be angry~"

"Haha, buddy, you're really going all out!"

"Little pig, little pig, drink, drink, drink..." Wang Qingyan repeated a few times.

Passersby were all drawn over.

The vendors were laughing so hard they stopped doing business.

Even the jugglers thought this side was more entertaining.

Bai Li Ce was so embarrassed that he wanted to cover his head and squat on the ground. He quickly grabbed the lantern with one hand and grabbed Wang Qingyan with the other, and fled the scene.

She ran for three whole blocks before turning into a quiet alley before daring to stop.

"Phew..." She peeked out and made sure no one was watching before letting out a long sigh of relief.

I instinctively wanted to pat my chest and catch my breath, but then I realized...

She was holding hands with Wang Qingyan.

"No...I'm sorry..." She let go of his hand in a panic.

Wang Qingyan looked at her with shining eyes.

"What are you looking at!" Baili Ce snapped at him.

"Don't look at me!"

"It's all your fault! Why did you have to study...?"

The voice gets quieter and quieter.

Wang Qingyan got closer and closer.

In the dimly lit alley, she immediately thought of some things that she couldn't write down.

Wang Qingyan, who had a mischievous look on his face, chuckled, "Alright~"

"Not that many people are paying attention to your words and actions."

"Relax."

Bai Lizhe, who had been forced back and pressed against the wall, gradually relaxed.

Watching him walk away, I followed him sullenly, carrying the "angry little pig".

"what!"

Unexpectedly, Wang Qing suddenly turned around and tapped her on the forehead with his index finger knuckle, saying, "Don't be unhappy~"

"..." The blush that had just faded from her face returned.

......

I came out of the alley and found a place to sit down at random.

There were no sky lanterns for making wishes, and no gourmet food or fine wine.

Bai Li Ce simply carried her "angry little pig" in the pavilion where she was resting, and intently watched the crowds all night long.

At first, Wang Qingyan didn't understand, but after following her gaze intently for a while, he realized what she was looking at.

The elderly have support, children have care, families are reunited, and everyone has enough to eat.

Women need not be bound by social norms, and men need not die for fame and fortune.

He had thought about this before.

But how can one truly remain untainted by worldly dust and grime?

Moreover, this era has given them more than just the willingness to do anything to survive.

Along the way, all he could keep and trust were those unknowing and insensitive swords and blades.

Baili Ce sat quietly until nearly 9 PM, without feeling bored at all.

Wang Qingyan showed no impatience whatsoever.

Only after the streetlights gradually went out did he gently take her hand and say, "It's late, let's go back."

Bai Li Ce lowered his head and did not refuse.

After a while, she looked up at him.

His eyes were honest and unwavering, revealing his true feelings. "Why do you like me?"

Wang Qingyan did not answer.

"Do you know that there have been several young men who have said they were in love with me?"

I looked away and gazed at the increasingly dark street. "But I don't feel any liking for them at all."

“Some of them even despise me and have said countless unpleasant things about me behind my back.”

“But they still invite me to every banquet, and whenever I show up, they always pretend to admire me.”

"Pah, that's disgusting."

"One of them, when we were kids, he and other kids beat me up, but he... ah..."

Bai Li Ce's smile was more like a grimace. "But he seems to have forgotten."

“My elders advised me not to take it to heart, saying that it was just childhood play and that I shouldn’t be so petty.”

"But why should I be magnanimous? I hold grudges and can't forget them."

"Their liking is like eating when they are hungry, drinking when they are thirsty, or a child taking away someone else's toy if it is more fun than their own. It's natural and follows the established order."

"so......"

She turned to look at Wang Qingyan and said, "I admit I have feelings for you."

"Your lanterns, your perfume, your dried fruit, your care, your sea of ​​flowers, your glass stones, I remember them all and I love them all."

“But, Qingyan, I’m not a little girl anymore.”

"Is it because of... the Baili family rules?" Wang Qingyan listened in silence, then asked cautiously.

"Yes"

"I originally planned to tell you this after I returned to Beijing, but now..."

No one has ever stood with her in the rain.

No one has ever sat with her while she was lost in thought.

So, she didn't want to continue like this.

"In short, I can't give up what I've worked so hard to get."

Wang Qingyan gripped her hand tightly, his posture almost humble, "I will give you everything you want, a thousand times better than Baili's."

"Then let me ask you, do you prefer spending money you earn yourself, or money given to you by others?"

"This is different..."

What's the difference? But Wang Qingyan kept contradicting himself as he finished speaking.

"See, you know you're wrong."

"I'm a lazy and vulgar person."

"All I've ever hoped for is that every piece of clothing, jewelry, and shoe I own, even a pair of socks or a hairband, is bought with money I earned honestly."

"As for liking something... I can only tell you that I admire it, but I will never try it."

Wang Qingyan's affection for her was like a pie falling from the sky and landing on her by chance; while she was shopping, someone suddenly presented her with a bunch of gifts and said they were free for her.

It's abrupt, but very attractive.

But she couldn't bear the consequences.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't know you..."

Wang Qingyan looked flustered and stammered, "But you clearly..."

"Being moved and blushing can also just be being moved and blushing."

"I am calculating, suspicious, and fickle, making it difficult for me to maintain a relationship for long."

"Your liking for me seems so inexplicable and sudden, as if it was premeditated."

“I…” Wang Qingyan looked at Baili Ce sadly. He couldn’t tell her that his feelings for her were not sudden.

not at all.

He had truly longed for a woman like her for a very, very long time.

Yet his affections were indeed full of calculation.

"The one who should apologize is me."

"I am not worthy."

"but......"

"That's it for now."

Put the "angry pig" down.

Bai Li Ce walked into the night alone.

"..." Wang Qingyan tried to call her back several times, but suddenly couldn't think of any excuse.

He had a thousand reasons in his original plan, but now he couldn't find a single one.

Pick up the lantern and watch the little pig with its curled tail nudging someone.

Wang Qingyan eventually chased after Baili Ce in the direction he had left.

......

As the surrounding environment grew darker, Baili Ce's mind gradually cleared up.

As I walked, I realized that the environment was too unfamiliar.

Moreover, strange noises were coming from all over the streets and alleys...

No, isn't it?

Immediately, various terrifying stories flashed through Bai Lize's mind, such as digging out hearts and kidneys, draining brains, falling in love with living zombies, and having his eyes gouged out by a fox spirit.

Stop talking about materialism and core values.

She's already time-traveled, what the hell is she going to believe in materialism for?

He could only silently pray: "Good demon, spare my life! Good ghost, spare my life! I'm a good person, I'm a good person..."

"Thud!" Wang Qingyan caught up and grabbed her.

"Ah..." Baili Ce was startled and even gasped in a low voice.

"Go somewhere with me."

"You...you said you'd go...so let's go!"

Wang Qingyan glanced at him with a sharp look, and Baili Ce proved that he could bend and stretch.

He grabbed her and ran all the way.

Then we went to the lake.

Wang Qingyan left immediately, instructing her to wait where she was...

wait.

Still waiting...

Waiting again.

I can't wait any longer!!