Last night... how had she gotten back?
She tried hard to remember, but all she could recall were scattered fragments.
It seemed someone had picked her up. The embrace had been warm and strong.
In her dream, she had seemed to mumble something and do something...
Shuiyue sat bolt upright.
She looked herself over. Her gossamer-thin nightclothes were still on, perfectly in place.
She let out a breath of relief, then felt her cheeks grow hot.
She lowered her gaze to the outer robe in her arms, her fingertips gently tracing its folds.
It was his robe, the one he had draped over her last night. Later, she had hugged it as she slept through the night.
After a long silence, she carefully folded the robe.
She took great care, smoothing every crease and aligning every edge.
Then she stood and opened the wardrobe.
Her clothes were neatly folded inside, all in understated shades of white and blue-gray.
She put the robe inside.
At the very back, buried beneath everything else.
As she was closing the wardrobe, her fingers paused.
After a long moment, she shut the door.
Jingzhu Pavilion.
Lu Jiuyuan, Lu Xueqi, and Wen Min sat around the table.
When Shuiyue walked in, Lu Jiuyuan was putting food in Lu Xueqi's bowl: a bite of greens, then a bite of tofu. His movements were so natural, as if he had done it a thousand times.
Lu Xueqi kept her head lowered, the tips of her ears faintly red, but she didn't refuse.
Wen Min sat nearby, cracking peanuts as she watched the two with a knowing look.
"Master, you're here." Lu Jiuyuan looked up and greeted her with a smile. "Come sit. The congee's still hot."
Shuiyue's steps faltered.
She walked to the seat of honor and sat down. Her gaze passed over Lu Jiuyuan, then quickly moved away.
"Go ahead and eat."
Wen Min answered and went back to cracking peanuts.
Lu Xueqi quietly drank her congee.
Lu Jiuyuan picked up the ladle, filled a bowl, and set it in front of Shuiyue.
"Master, have some congee."
Shuiyue stared at the bowl, momentarily stunned.
"Thank you."
She lowered her head and drank, avoiding his eyes.
Lu Jiuyuan then picked up a side dish and placed it on the small plate before her.
"This pickle's good, Master. Give it a try."
Shuiyue's chopsticks paused.
"Mm."
She picked up the pickle and ate it quietly.
Wen Min watched the scene, forgetting to crack her peanuts.
She looked at Lu Jiuyuan, then Shuiyue, then Lu Xueqi. Her eyes darted about before she leaned close to Lu Xueqi's ear.
"Senior Sister, Big Brother's acting a little strange today. Why's he being so attentive to Master?"
Lu Xueqi glanced at her and said nothing.
Wen Min blinked. "Are you jealous?"
Lu Xueqi's chopsticks paused.
"No."
"Really?"
"No."
Wen Min giggled twice and didn't press her further.
Lu Jiuyuan didn't notice a thing. He carried on with his "dutiful attentions," serving Shuiyue food and handing her a napkin.
He was as thoughtful as a filial son—no, even more so than a son.
Shuiyue felt a little uncomfortable under his care.
She set down her chopsticks and said softly, "Jiuyuan, you should eat too."
"I am, Master," Lu Jiuyuan said with a smile. "Don't mind me. Have some more."
Shuiyue pressed her lips together and said nothing.
As she lowered her head to eat, she couldn't help wondering: Is he always this considerate?
She thought of how he usually treated Lu Xueqi—the little things he did for her, the tender looks he gave her. Shuiyue had seen it all.
But today, that kindness was directed at her.
At her, his master, a woman twenty years his senior.
A sudden confusion stirred in her heart.
It was like a calm lake disturbed by a stone, sending ripples spreading outward.
Time passed, and breakfast was over.
"I'll head back now." Shuiyue slowly rose.
Lu Jiuyuan turned to her. "Take care, Master."
Shuiyue nodded and left.
At the turn in the covered walkway, she suddenly stopped.
She lowered her eyes to her hand.
When he had handed her the soup just now, his fingertips had brushed the back of her hand.
Just for an instant.
As if by accident.
But she remembered the warmth.
It was just like the robe draped over her shoulders last night, warm and dry.
Shuiyue took a deep breath and hurried away.
Behind her, laughter drifted from the side hall, along with the low voices of Lu Jiuyuan and Lu Xueqi.
She didn't look back.
She returned to her room and closed the door.
She went to the wardrobe and stood there for a long time.
At last, she opened it.
She stared at the robe buried beneath everything else for a long while, then gently touched it.
"This child..."
She murmured softly, her voice carrying a hint of helplessness, a hint of bewilderment, and something else she couldn't quite name.
Outside, the sun shone bright.
The bamboo forest on Xiaozhu Peak rustled in the breeze.
Shuiyue closed the wardrobe and walked to the window. She gazed at the sea of emerald bamboo, motionless for a long time.
Her mind was full of last night.
The moonlight on the back mountain, the young man beside her, the robe draped over her shoulders.
And that warm embrace.
She closed her eyes and sighed softly.
"Shuiyue, Shuiyue..."
"What's gotten into you?"
After his date with Lu Xueqi on the back mountain, Lu Jiuyuan returned to his lodgings to rest.
Besides, it was about time he checked what the women in the Peerless Beauty Group were talking about.
He opened the chat group.
[Yan Lingji: Hehe, sisters, I've got something fun to show you~]
[Medusa: What is this?]
[Yun Yun: ...]
[Yun Yun: ???]
[Yun Yun: Yan Lingji! What did you post?!]
[Feng Qing'er: Tsk, tsk, Yan Lingji, you're something else. You even managed to get your hands on this kind of stuff?]
[Bibi Dong: In all my years, I've never seen anything like this.]
Lu Jiuyuan raised an eyebrow as he read the messages.
What could possibly have these well-informed women so worked up?
He tapped on it.
The video began playing.
On the screen...
Lu Jiuyuan's eyebrow rose even higher.
It was a Japanese pornographic film.
And it was high-definition, uncensored.
Two people were...
He was silent for three seconds.
Then he closed the video.
[Lu Jiuyuan: ???]
[Lu Jiuyuan: What are you posting in the group???]
The group went quiet for a moment.
Then it exploded.
[Yan Lingji: Oh, the group owner's back!]
[Medusa: We're doomed, the group owner caught us...]
[Feng Qing'er: What's there to be afraid of? So what if he saw? It's not like we're doing anything shameful.]
[Yun Yun: And you don't think this is shameful?]
[Feng Qing'er: Tsk, why are you acting so prim? Who was staring at it for ages just now?]
[Yun Yun: I wasn't!]
[Feng Qing'er: Screenshot.jpg]
[Feng Qing'er: Look at the viewing time. You watched three seconds longer than I did.]
[Yun Yun: ...]
[Yun Yun: Yan Lingji! This is all your fault!]
[Yan Lingji: Hehe, sharing the fun is better than enjoying it alone~]
Lu Jiuyuan watched the women carry on, a vein throbbing in his forehead.
He took a deep breath, ready to use his group-owner privileges to delete the video.
[ Ding—detecting that the group owner is taking action...]
Before the message had even finished popping up, the group flooded with messages.
[Yan Lingji: Group owner, you're not going to delete it, are you?]
[Feng Qing'er: Go on, try deleting it.]
[Medusa: +1]
[Yun Yun: +2]
[Bibi Dong: +3]
Lu Jiuyuan: "..."
Before you continue