The car drove along Administrative Avenue, onto Su Causeway, and across the bridge before stopping in front of a white estate concealed amid green trees and red flowers.
The ancient bronze gates swung open in both directions, and an old man in a gray uniform stood at the entrance to welcome them.
The old man stepped forward and pulled open the car door for her, saying with a kindly smile, "Miss Cui, you're back? Madam and Young Master are waiting for you to eat."
Cui Xiaoxin thanked him and said, "Uncle Yan, you're too polite. I'm the junior here. I can do it myself."
The old man chuckled. "It's nothing. I've gotten used to doing it."
The man in the green robe got out, cupped his fists toward the old man, and then headed toward the rear courtyard. Ning Xin Hai did not dare show the slightest disrespect to this old man, who had guarded the Yan Family for decades.
Accompanied by Uncle Yan, Cui Xiaoxin walked toward the main hall.
The hall was brightly lit. A dignified noblewoman in a purple qipao was playing Chinese chess with a handsome young man dressed in a pink-and-blue satin shirt.
"Mom, no matter what, I can't let you off this time. Just now, you said your elephant could cross the river and your cannon could turn corners. Now you're actually saying my guard is a traitor and using my guard to check my general—Mom, even if I'm your own son, you can't bully me like this, can you?"
The beautiful woman rolled her eyes at her son, revealing the girlish innocence that only a young woman should possess.
"You're my son. What did I give birth to you for? Naturally, so I could bully you when I'm unhappy and vent my temper."
"Mom, who bullied you? Give me a name, and tomorrow I'll bring people to break his legs—" the young man said with feigned anger, though his eyes held irrepressible amusement.
"Uncle Yan," the woman said.
The young man blinked and said with a bitter smile, "Mom, can we pick someone else? That man is an iron wall to me. I'm afraid if I kick him, I'll hurt my own foot—"
"No. Him." The woman condemned the man's misdeeds with a face full of fury. "Three years ago, he promised to take us to see the Dragon-Slaying Ancient Battlefield, but he broke his word. A year ago, he promised he would return to Tiandu with me for the Spring Festival, but then he said he had to work and told us to go back by ourselves. Half a month ago, he promised to take me shopping in Westport, but then he said an official from above was coming to inspect the work and he needed to receive and accompany him—Count on your fingers. How many meals has he eaten at home this month? How many words has he spoken with the two of us? Doesn't a man like that deserve a good lesson? Aren't you the famous wastrel of Jiangnan? Everyone says how formidable you are, how viciously you bully people. As your mother, I'm proud of that and feel it gives me face—just help me get revenge. Consider it one favor your mother owes you. How about it?"
The handsome man wore an embarrassed smile. "Even wastrels have brains. Otherwise, people would laugh at us for lacking depth and foresight, and we'd lose face in our circle. Think about it—the public already resents people like us terribly. We still have to act low-key and cautiously, don't we? I'll make a note of the man you mentioned. When I get the chance, I'll help you take revenge and carve a hefty piece off him."
"Hmph, I knew you were a rotten thing who bites the hand that feeds him. Have you even thought about whose belly you crawled out of?" the woman raged, pointing at the young man's forehead.
Pfft—
Cui Xiaoxin giggled and walked over to the woman. "Auntie, you're really making things difficult for Cousin. You're asking him to bully his own father. Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare."
"Oh, Xiao Xin is back." The woman looked at Cui Xiaoxin with delight and waved repeatedly. "Come here, come here, let Auntie take a look—where did our Xiao Xin go to play today? Did you have fun? Did anyone bully you? If some blind fool picked a fight, you must tell Auntie. Auntie will have your cousin bully him. Your cousin loafs around all day, so we have to find him something to do."
Cui Xiaoxin sat down in front of the woman and let her hold her hand. "Auntie, I'm fine. I just went out for a stroll."
Yan Xiangma placed a cup of tea in front of Cui Xiaoxin, baring two neat rows of teeth as he asked with a grin, "I heard Xiao Xin has been tutoring a classmate lately?"
The smile on Cui Xiaoxin's face stiffened slightly before instantly returning to normal. "Yes. The Literary Examination is coming up, and one of my classmates isn't doing very well. I wanted to help him improve."
Cui Xinci gazed at Cui Xiaoxin with a loving expression. "Our Xiao Xin is so kind. Sigh, she's beautiful, good-natured, and comes from a good family. What sort of man will ever be worthy of our Xiao Xin? Fortunately, Tiandu is full of talent, with outstanding men emerging one after another. When the time comes, the Cui Family will naturally find you someone who matches you perfectly. But when I think about you returning to Tiandu in the second half of the year, it feels as if someone has scooped a piece out of my heart. You've lived here with Auntie for five years, and Auntie has always treated you like her own daughter. Once you go back—"
"Mom, are you ever going to stop? You put on this tragic drama every day. You're not tired of it, but Xiao Xin can't take it anymore. The more you do this, the more she'll be dying to hurry back to Tiandu—Xiao Xin, isn't that right?" Yan Xiangma spoke up helplessly as he looked at his award-winning-actress-level mother.
"How could that be?" Cui Xiaoxin smiled sweetly and squeezed her aunt's hand. "I can't bear to leave Auntie either. I've been very happy living in Jiangnan. If not for my studies, I wouldn't want to leave."
"Xiao Xin is the only one who understands me, unlike those heartless Yans." Cui Xinci looked gratified. "Xiao Xin, come on, let's eat."
"All right." Cui Xiaoxin rose with her.
"My mother knows Xiao Xin likes fish, so she specifically had a bucket of stone-cliff fish sent from Mount Tai. These fish grow in spring water between cracks in the rocks. Their flesh is tender and boneless; if you leave them on a rock to dry in the sun for a little while, they melt away completely." As Yan Xiangma ladled soup into bowls for his mother and Cui Xiaoxin, he explained, "When you make soup with this kind of fish, the entire fish melts into the broth. You can't find the meat, and you won't see even a single fish scale. But take one sip of the soup—and it feels as if a little fish is swimming around in your mouth. It's unbelievably fresh and delicious."
"All you know is how to flatter people," Cui Xinci scolded her son.
"I'm flattering you, Mom." Yan Xiangma chuckled. "Isn't it so Xiao Xin will know how much you care about her?"
"Hmph, sincerity belongs in the heart. Once you say it aloud, it loses its meaning." Cui Xinci shook her head. "You're just like your father, with all those complicated thoughts. Aren't you tired?"
"All right, all right. I won't say anything anymore, okay? I won't say anything anymore, okay?" Yan Xiangma begged repeatedly for mercy.
Cui Xinci and Cui Xiaoxin exchanged smiles. Cui Xinci urged Cui Xiaoxin to drink the soup. "Hot soup is fresh and delicious, but once it cools, it develops a fishy smell. Xiao Xin, hurry and taste it. Tell Auntie if it's too salty or too bland, and I'll have the kitchen improve it next time."
Cui Xiaoxin took a spoonful. The rich, savory fragrance filled her mouth, and she praised it. "It's delicious. The saltiness is just right."
"That's good." Only then did Cui Xinci lower her head and drink her soup.
"By the way, Xiao Xin—" Yan Xiangma looked at Cui Xiaoxin and smiled. "The classmate you've been tutoring—is he the one who saved your life at Beast-Faced Pavilion last time?"
Cui Xiaoxin's brows lifted slightly as she looked up at Yan Xiangma. "Yes, Cousin. He's a very good person; his grades are just poor. The Literary Examination is only a few days away, so I thought I'd help him a little more. After all, if he hadn't stepped in to help back then, Uncle Ning probably wouldn't have arrived in time—"
"Hmph. Killer Crow will die without a burial place sooner or later." A naked viciousness appeared on Yan Xiangma's face, but because he displayed it appropriately, it turned into righteous indignation. "Tiandu has already taken action. The Cui and Yan Families' experts are searching everywhere for Crow's whereabouts, and Jiangnan City has also launched a net-like search. The City Lord's Mansion sent out all its experts as well—Xiao Xin, rest assured. Crow won't dare come again. Even if he does, Uncle Ning and the others will wrap him up like a dumpling and kill him until not even scraps remain."
"Thank you for your hard work, Cousin and Uncle-in-law." Cui Xiaoxin thanked him solemnly.
"Why thank me? We're family. You're my own little sister." Yan Xiangma smiled. "However, Cousin, you should still keep a little distance from that classmate—"
Cui Xiaoxin looked calmly at Yan Xiangma. "What do you mean, Cousin?"
"Think about it. Your classmate is an ordinary person. Ordinary people and our world are simply too far apart—this time, Uncle Ning arrived in time and intercepted Crow. But if there's a next time, will your classmate be that lucky again? I know you only wanted to help your classmate, but if something happens, and he gets injured or suffers something even worse—given your nature, Xiao Xin, you might never be able to free yourself from it for the rest of your life, could you?"
Cui Xiaoxin's gaze sharpened. "Are you warning me, Cousin?"
"Cousin, I'm only offering advice. How could it be called a warning? I'm doing this entirely for you and your classmate's sake, don't you think? If you feel I shouldn't have said these things, then I won't say anything more. You're clever and perceptive; you can think these matters through clearly yourself."
"I've already thought it through," Cui Xiaoxin said.
Cui Xinci looked at her son, then at Cui Xiaoxin, and spoke up. "Xiao Xin, your classmate did help you, after all. Our family should remember this debt of gratitude—since you say his grades aren't good, your uncle-in-law can pull some strings and have Jiangnan University approve a special-admission slot for him. Jiangnan University may not compare with Xifeng University, but it's still one of the Empire's top universities. He can choose any major he likes. What do you think?"
Cui Xiaoxin's emotions surged, and the knuckles of the hand holding her spoon turned white.
She understood what her aunt meant. This was an attempt to buy off Li Mu Yang's life-saving favor once and for all.
But could a debt of gratitude really be bought off?
Before you continue