In the novel "Joy of Life," the protagonist wakes up at Li Chengze's residence.

As dusk fell and everything grew dark, a chill rose from the lakeside, and the group set off to return home.

On the carriage, Tao Jingyang chatted with You Ran, listening to her tell her story.

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"You Ran, a native of Nanqing."

When he was three years old, his father worked for a wealthy family and was accidentally trampled to death by a horse. The family offered him a straw mat as compensation but refused to pay any further damages.

When she was ten, her mother did laundry and other work. From as far back as she could remember, You Ran had been washing clothes by the river with her mother. And skipping stones was something she learned during those days.

One year, her mother caught a cold but had no money for treatment. Before she could see the spring flowers bloom the following year, she passed away just a few months later.

She had no brothers or sisters, nor any relatives to turn to. Later, she was sold to a slave trader by a relative, and coincidentally, the second prince had just left the palace, so she was bought back by his men.

With no ties to her family, she stayed in the Second Prince's residence for five years. Life was too hard; all she remembered was that when she was little, her mother bought her a storybook for her birthday.

The book is about a female knight-errant who does all sorts of amazing things and wipes out all the evildoers in the world. This is the first book You Ran ever read, and the only one she's read in all these years...

“Miss Tao, although You Ran didn’t witness the assassination that day, but... but I really think that you are just like the one described in the sketchbook, a female knight-errant who upholds justice!”

You Ran spoke with tears in her eyes, but when she looked at Tao Jingyang, a glimmer of hope seemed to appear in her eyes.

Tao Jingyang listened to You Ran's words in a daze, a pang of sadness rising in his heart.

The seemingly composed You Ran is only 15 years old. Her life has been full of hardships, and the bitterness of life has taught her to ignore what she sees and doesn't speak.

Touched by something, she said, "You Ran, if you come with me, you will no longer suffer."

Tears welled in You Ran's eyes, but fell upon hearing these words: "Miss Tao..."

"The best days are yet to come," Tao Jingyang said, wiping away her tears.

You Ran stopped crying, looked into Tao Jingyang's eyes, and smiled: "Yes!"

Before he even returned to his residence, Li Chengze already knew that Fan Xian had captured Si Lili.

Without a second thought, Li Chengze felt that he should tell her about this now.

But actually, this matter could have been discussed back at the manor, but...

"Bi'an, I have something important to discuss with Tao Jingyang. Go tell her to come to my carriage." Li Chengze lowered his head, not revealing his expression.

Xie Bi'an took a moment to process what he was doing, clearly a little confused, but he still went on to do it.

Upon receiving the notification, Tao Jingyang replied: "I'm not going."

The refusal was firm and decisive, without any hesitation.

Tao Jingyang thought to himself: If it weren't for the fact that it's a modern-day subway, I wouldn't be taking the subway to work, let alone a horse-drawn carriage, which is so bumpy it hurts.

I absolutely will not go.

And so... Li Chengze appeared in Tao Jingyang's carriage.

Okay, I've become a key employee, and the boss is even chasing me to work.

Li Chengze was sitting opposite her at this moment, secretly regretting his impulsive decision.

This is so embarrassing.

But he still cleared his throat and told Tao Jingyang about the news he had just learned.

"Fan Xian captured Si Lili, but the Overwatch Council took Si Lili away, saying she was a spy from Northern Qi."

"You have nothing to do with the Northern Qi spies, do you?"

"There's definitely no connection," Li Chengze said confidently, though inwardly he was thinking: [Anyway, I could tell there was some connection before...]

Nowadays, it's basically impossible to see any connection between them.

Tao Jingyang didn't say anything after hearing this, but moved closer to Li Chengze and then...

He snatched the plate of grapes from his hand.

If you're not telling the truth, don't eat it, I'll eat it!

Seeing her like this, Li Chengze laughed instead of getting angry, and then lay down on the empty couch on this side.

He took a small cushion and put it under his head, sorting through the recent events, and a question arose in his mind: [If one day I were to fight Fan Xian... would she still help me?]

His inner voice went unanswered; only the wind chimes and horse hooves responded.

Oh, and there was also the sound of the person across from me chewing grapes.