Lu Xueqi Is Jealous

Lu Jiuyuan and Jin Ping'er stood side by side by the stream, chatting idly.

"How long have you been in seclusion, only to emerge at the mid-stage of the Taiqing Realm?" Jin Ping'er toyed with a wildflower in her hand, casting a sidelong glance at him. "Lu Jiuyuan, don't tell me you've been secretly consuming some heavenly treasures?"

"Does the jar of wine you gave me count?" Lu Jiuyuan smiled faintly.

Jin Ping'er paused, her alluring eyes darting toward him. "You drank it?"

"Not yet," Lu Jiuyuan laughed. "I'm saving it for a good day."

"What kind of day counts as a good day?"

"For instance, the day someone is finally willing to tell me what it is they really want to say."

Jin Ping'er lowered her gaze, though the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

"What do you want to hear?"

"Whatever you want to say, I want to hear it all."

The two shared a smile, the atmosphere as harmonious as that of old friends of many years.

Wen Min, watching this scene from the side, groaned inwardly.

She stole a glance at Lu Xueqi beside her.

Lu Xueqi stood rooted to the spot, her white robes like snow, her expression as cold as frost.

Those eyes, usually so aloof, were now fixed intently on the two figures by the stream, her gaze as frigid as midwinter ice.

Wen Min shivered.

She reached out quietly and gently took hold of Lu Xueqi's hand.

"Junior Sister Xueqi..."

Lu Xueqi's fingers trembled slightly, but she did not pull away.

"They... they are just friends," Wen Min whispered, trying to persuade her cautiously. "Didn't Senior Brother Lu say he saved her in the past, which is how they know each other? Don't overthink it..."

Lu Xueqi did not speak.

But the way she tightened her grip betrayed her true feelings.

Friends?

What kind of friends could chat so happily?

What kind of friends could smile so beautifully at each other?

She looked at the gentle smile on Lu Jiuyuan's profile, and it felt as if something had gripped her heart and squeezed hard.

She had seen that smile before.

By Yueya Lake, in the room at dawn, and every time he looked at her.

She had thought it belonged only to her.

But now, he was smiling like that at another woman.

Lu Xueqi pressed her lips together.

By the stream, Jin Ping'er suddenly turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Lu Xueqi before landing back on Lu Jiuyuan.

"By the way, are you two heading to the Southern Border?"

"Yes."

"That's perfect." Jin Ping'er stepped forward and naturally took hold of Lu Jiuyuan's hand. "I have some business to attend to in the Southern Border as well. Shall we go together?"

Those hands, fair and soft, rested gently on the back of his hand.

Lu Jiuyuan was slightly taken aback, not yet having time to react.

A white shadow flashed.

His other arm was suddenly gripped tightly.

A warm, soft sensation pressed against him, accompanied by a faint, cold fragrance.

Lu Jiuyuan looked down to see Lu Xueqi clutching his arm tightly, her entire body pressed almost flush against him.

That aloof face was taut, her eyes locked directly onto Jin Ping'er, her gaze cold enough to freeze.

"Jin Ping'er."

Her voice was cold, too.

As cold as the snow on Xiaozhu Peak in winter.

"Since you want to go to the Southern Border with Senior Brother—"

She enunciated every word with heavy emphasis.

"Then you can just follow behind us!"

"Follow behind us," not "follow behind Senior Brother."

Lu Xueqi hugged Lu Jiuyuan's arm tighter, as if declaring something to the world.

Jin Ping'er watched this scene, stunned for a moment.

Then, she smiled.

That smile was full of hidden meaning, her gaze darting back and forth between the two of them before finally landing on the arm that Lu Xueqi was clutching tightly.

"Oh—"

She drew out the sound, the tail end of it rising.

"So that's how it is."

Lu Xueqi did not change her expression, only clutching Lu Jiuyuan's arm even tighter.

Jin Ping'er looked at her, then at Lu Jiuyuan, the smile at the corners of her mouth deepening.

"Fine then."

She let go of Lu Jiuyuan's hand and stepped back, her posture elegant.

"Then I'll just follow... behind you two."

She said that "you two" with particular significance.

Lu Xueqi frowned slightly, feeling that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

Jin Ping'er had already turned around, walked to a bluestone by the stream, and sat down, resting her chin in her hand as she gazed into the distance, looking completely at ease.

"You two continue, don't mind me."

Lu Xueqi: "..."

Wen Min: "..."

Lu Jiuyuan looked down at his arm being held so tightly, then at Lu Xueqi's tense face, and suddenly laughed.

He raised his other hand and gently ruffled her hair.

"Are you jealous?"

Lu Xueqi's body stiffened.

"No."

"Really not?"

"...No."

Lu Jiuyuan laughed even more happily.

He leaned toward her ear and lowered his voice: "Then why do I feel like someone is about to snap someone else's arm off?"

Only then did Lu Xueqi realize how much force she had been using.

Her face flushed slightly, but she did not let go.

"...She is from the Demon Sect."

"I know."

"You and her..."

"Just friends."

"Just friends?"

Lu Jiuyuan looked into her clear, cold eyes and nodded earnestly.

"Just friends."

Lu Xueqi stared at him for a long time.

Those eyes were clear and frank, without a hint of evasion.

She pursed her lips and finally looked away. "Then I will believe you for now."

"If you don't believe me, who else would you believe?"

Lu Xueqi did not speak, but her tense body finally began to relax.

On the bluestone, Jin Ping'er rested her chin in her hand, watching this scene.

She watched the hand Lu Jiuyuan had placed around Lu Xueqi's waist, watched the slightly reddened tips of Lu Xueqi's ears, and watched the atmosphere between the two that no one else could possibly enter.

The smile at the corners of her mouth faded a little.

But soon, it surfaced again.

Interesting.

Truly interesting. She had thought he was just that Qingyun disciple who saved her, that fool who said "people of the Demon Sect are still people," that blockhead who would guard her for seven days while she was injured.

She hadn't expected that he already had someone by his side.

And it was none other than the renowned Lu Xueqi.

Who would have thought that the cold, frost-like, and ethereal Lu Xueqi would actually have a moment of passion, and that her eyes, when looking at Lu Jiuyuan, would be filled with love that she couldn't hide.

A flash of complexity crossed Jin Ping'er's charming eyes as she toyed with the wilted wildflower in her hand.

She had known Lu Jiuyuan for so many years.

That year, he saved her in that cave and watched over her for seven days.

During those seven days, she watched him change her dressings, watched him doze off against the stone wall while she lay unconscious, and watched him glance at her first whenever he occasionally woke up before drifting back to sleep.

She thought she had hidden her feelings well.

Those hidden thoughts, those words she couldn't bring herself to say, those moments she would replay over and over after every meeting.

She thought that as long as she took it slow, one day...

But now, someone else had beaten her to it.

Jin Ping'er raised her eyelids, looking at the two figures huddled together by the stream.

Lu Xueqi happened to look over as well.

Their gazes met in the air.

One was as cold as frost, carrying a blatant hostility.

The other was full of smiles, hiding an invisible edge.

Jin Ping'er curled the corners of her lips and gave her a nod.

Lu Xueqi frowned slightly and turned her face away.

Jin Ping'er lowered her head and let out a soft laugh.