Falling Flowers, Willing Heart; Flowing Water, Uncaring Heart, Only You Are True

Dugu Bo naturally followed along; otherwise, he truly wouldn't have been at ease.

One reason was concern for their safety.

The second was...

Young people had fiery tempers; what if they did something out of line?

High noon.

The sky was cloudless and blue, the scorching sun particularly blinding.

The air was filled with an unpleasant, acrid smell of burning.

Tang San drove the carriage slowly out of Heaven Dou City.

His face was ashen, his eyes staring blankly at the road ahead.

Listening to the sounds of the girls playing and laughing inside the carriage, he felt... a bit uneasy in his heart.

As the only male in this group, he was supposed to shoulder the duty of the coachman.

But... how come no one came to talk to him or keep him company to relieve his boredom?

They couldn't just isolate him because he was a boy, could they?

He didn't care about Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, but what about Wang Dong'er and Xiao Wu? How could even friends who grew up with him distance themselves? Could it be that he had to become a girl to fit in with them? Sigh!

The space inside the carriage was not spacious.

In a three-square-meter area, logically speaking, it should have been more than enough for four slender young girls to sit.

But... Wang Dong'er felt it was too cramped.

She was wedged between Dugu Yan and Xiao Wu, with less than five centimeters of room to move; the slightest shift caused her to bump into places she shouldn't.

The weather was hot, and the space was narrow.

The carriage was like a steamer, filled with the scent of the girls' bodies and the smell of sweat.

What was most unbearable was that both Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan were wearing stockings. To prevent their feet from aching, both had taken off their shoes, and their jade-like feet—white with a hint of pink, with visible veins—were resting on Wang Dong'er's thighs...

Wang Dong'er felt like she was dying.

The only good news was that the road was bumpy, and Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan had already fallen asleep from exhaustion, so she finally didn't have to be sandwiched between them, suffering the condemnation of her conscience.

Ye Lingling sat alone on one side. She kept her head lowered in silence, her face obscured by a white veil, and a faint pink hue hung on the roots of her ears.

"This weather is irritable enough."

Tugging at her collar with her fingers to fan herself, her undergarments already soaked with sweat, a faint milky fragrance drifted out. Wang Dong'er sighed and said.

"Indeed, this carriage is too small. When we return, let's switch to a larger one."

Ye Lingling responded in a low voice, catching Wang Dong'er's movements through her peripheral vision.

Inhaling that faint fragrance, she felt somewhat intoxicated before she knew it.

Fortunately, the veil hid her expression; otherwise, if Wang Dong'er saw her, it would be a huge embarrassment.

"You're dressed so thickly and wearing a veil, aren't you hot?"

Asking out of curiosity, Wang Dong'er's gaze landed straight on Ye Lingling's veil.

She had yet to see what Ye Lingling looked like, and her heart was full of curiosity.

"A calm heart... naturally cools the body."

Liar.

Wang Dong'er curled her lips.

Ye Lingling had been quiet ever since she boarded the carriage, and now, wasn't she hot? Her earlobes and neck were red, sweat had dampened her hair, and a few stray strands were stuck to her forehead; she looked even hotter than she herself felt.

Wang Dong'er took a paper fan from her soul tool and fanned herself gently.

Feeling the breeze, Ye Lingling looked up slightly, took one glance, and then quickly lowered her head in shyness.

"You, you don't have to do that, I'm not hot."

"The fan rises and falls; the wind blows on me when it rises, and on you when it falls. It kills two birds with one stone." Wang Dong'er smiled slightly.

It looked that way, but in reality, it wasn't.

Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan's jade feet... how should she put it? Although there was no strange odor, Wang Dong'er's five senses were sharp, and she could still detect something peculiar...

Fanning with the fan made that scent much fainter.

It was just... she had to make Ye Lingling suffer a bit; she was truly sorry. With the veil on, she assumed the other girl wouldn't notice.

"Tha... thank you," Ye Lingling said.

"You're welcome..."

"I meant, thank you for the medicinal herbs, Wang Dong'er. They were so precious..."

Before she could finish, Ye Lingling's mouth was covered by Wang Dong'er's hand.

She looked up in a panic, staring blankly at Wang Dong'er, her heart hammering violently like a beating war drum—thump, thump, thump...

Wang Dong'er signaled with her eyes and gave a slight shake of her head.

Tang San was still an outsider; how could such things be discussed in front of him?

What a fool.

Seeing Ye Lingling give a slight nod to show she understood, Wang Dong'er finally let go, but...

The carriage was too hot, and at some point, her palms had become slick with sweat.

Ye Lingling's veil had stuck to her palm, and as she gently withdrew her hand, the veil drifted softly back down onto Ye Lingling's face.

Almost the instant the veil fell, Ye Lingling's complexion turned deathly pale. She quickly lowered her head, hurriedly covering her face with both hands, terrified that Wang Dong'er might see what she looked like.

When she looked up again, their eyes met, and her gaze was filled with panic.

"You... you saw it?"

Ye Lingling asked in a hoarse voice.

"Yeah." Wang Dong'er nodded, not thinking much of it. "No wonder you wear a veil, Senior. It turns out you're so beautiful."

Although it was only a fleeting glance and not entirely clear, Ye Lingling was definitely more beautiful than Dugu Yan.

There wasn't a girl alive who didn't like being complimented—at least, that was what Wang Dong'er assumed—but she hadn't expected Ye Lingling's eyes to turn visibly red upon hearing those words.

After readjusting her veil, she buried her head in her knees and began to sob softly.

Wang Dong'er was deeply confused, but no matter what she said, Ye Lingling ignored her. No amount of comforting or apologizing helped, and it wasn't until her tears ran dry that Ye Lingling finally quieted down, though... she didn't say another word to Wang Dong'er.

Wang Dong'er had a massive headache. She didn't disturb Ye Lingling further, deciding she would just have to ask Ye Lingling's best friend, Dugu Yan, why this happened once she woke up.

The carriage was moving at a decent pace, and by the time the sun was about to set, they left the main road and arrived at the outermost perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The nearest city was still forty or fifty kilometers away, and only here, on the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, could they find supplies and rest.

The carriage slowed to a stop at the edge of the forest, and Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan woke up at the same time.

The group stepped out of the carriage.

Looking at the exhausted Tang San, Wang Dong'er spoke up, "You've worked hard, Xiao San."

"It's nothing."

Tang San curled his lips into a bitter smile.

He looked at Xiao Wu and, seeing her pressed close to Wang Dong'er, suddenly felt a wave of irritation.

Xiao Wu didn't even seem to care about him; at the very least, she could have said he worked hard, just like Wang Dong'er did.

Sighing inwardly, Tang San turned to look at the inn not far away.

"Let's just make do here for the night, everyone. We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

He subconsciously assumed he was the leader of this small team and began to make arrangements.

But after a long moment, no one responded. He turned around in confusion to find that Wang Dong'er and the other three had already walked far away.

Tang San clenched his fists, his heart filled with a sense of loss.

It seemed that, just like in his previous life, he remained an insignificant existence in the eyes of others.

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