Do I Have to Break Off the Engagement Too?

"Could I trouble you with something, sir?"

Taiwan Novel Network was incredibly awesome, ẗẅḳäṅ.ċöṁ was amazing.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Nalan Yanran smiled brightly, her eyes shining. Even she had not noticed that, unlike the uncertainty she had felt when she arrived, she seemed to have undergone some sort of transformation.

If she had previously been like a child wildly swinging a treasured sword, she now felt more like a wandering swordsman with a blade hidden at her waist, yet an unmistakable edge about her.

"Could you introduce me to Xiao Yan? I need to discuss something with him."

Her words were far more confident than before. The feeling was somewhat like...

"Of course." A thoughtful look flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.

She felt somewhat like he had when Yao Lao woke up, completely eliminating his lingering worries.

He had already had confidence; now he had even more.

Or rather, it was more like learning that what he had done was not wrong and seeing the road ahead...

A short while later, after eating and drinking their fill, the two walked side by side through the streets and alleys, chatting casually all the way. Before long, they arrived at the back mountain of the Xiao family.

Gazing out at the distant mountains, Xiao Yan stopped and tilted his head slightly.

"I suddenly got curious. When we were eating earlier, it seemed like you wanted to say something, but I didn't catch it clearly. Could you say it again?"

He was referring to the few words she had murmured before Nalan Yanran's eyes turned into a palette of colors.

Something about thirty...

Nalan Yanran paused slightly. Only after a moment did she smile and shake her head, as though the letters exchanged between herself and Xiao Yan had once more surfaced in her mind.

For a time, their conversations had carried quite a strong smell of gunpowder. Xiao Yan's refusal to show the slightest sign of defeat despite being in adversity had displeased her, young and impetuous as she was. Yet his reply had echoed repeatedly through her mind on countless nights.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never belittle a poor young man."

Nalan Yanran glanced around, then met Xiao Yan's gaze with a gentle smile.

The fragmented image in her mind slowly pieced itself together into an illusory figure before finally overlapping with the young man standing before her.

"Those words kept me tossing and turning through countless days and nights. At one point, I even suspected they were just empty words. But the facts proved otherwise, didn't they?"

"Xiao Yan."

After a brief silence, Xiao Yan suddenly smiled.

"Hehe, never belittle a poor young man? I forgot the beginning, forgot the middle, and forgot the end. Let's fast-forward to never belittle a poor old man, respect the dead, and the tears of tomb raiders."

Xiao Yan said cheerfully, folding his arms and leaning against the wall as he calmly met Nalan Yanran's gaze.

"..."

Nalan Yanran's teeth ached, and the corner of her eye twitched uncontrollably.

That wasn't right, was it? Her impression of Xiao Yan should have been that of a genius who completely disregarded so-called fate, firmly believed that his destiny was his own and not Heaven's to decide, remained spirited even in adversity, and ignored everyone else's judgment.

So why had his entire image collapsed during the time they had spent together?

...No, actually, it had not.

Nalan Yanran narrowed her eyes. This unconventional Xiao Yan seemed to fit the image she had pieced together from fragments in her mind even better.

Rather, this suited her tastes more. He was not some lofty idol she regarded as a spiritual role model, but a living person.

Shaking her head with a soft laugh, Nalan Yanran spoke with a casualness somewhat similar to Xiao Yan's.

"Not very friendly of you, Ah Yan, to swindle a huge sum from your fiancée the first time we met."

"You say that like you didn't come here to break off the engagement." Xiao Yan curled his lip.

They were both old foxes. Who was he trying to fool?

Still, to be fair, this fiancée really was different from what he had imagined.

At first, he had thought she would be some spoiled young miss.

When he guessed her identity during their meal, he had been somewhat surprised.

To be fair, Xiao Yan suddenly felt that his grandfather, whom he had never met, did not seem to have caused him such a huge problem after all.

This fiancée did not seem so bad.

Ahem.

"What? Don't you want to? I don't believe someone with the temperament to say those words would accept arrangements made by others."

Nalan Yanran also crossed her arms and leaned against the wall opposite Xiao Yan, her chest pressed into a full curve.

"If you cared about this engagement and did not want me to dissolve it, you wouldn't have retorted when I mocked you.

You're not the type to curry favor with others, and you would be even less able to tolerate a relationship that was highly likely to deteriorate."

Xiao Yan blinked.

That said, if the money was enough, currying a little favor was not impossible.

But Nalan Yanran was indeed right overall. It had to be said, he, Xiao, really was neither good at nor interested in concealing his thoughts, and he had happened to meet someone whose brainwaves matched his.

However, if they were talking about serious business...

"I don't care about this engagement, but that doesn't mean others don't."

Xiao Yan still wore a smile, but several traces of frivolity had left his tone.

"From what you showed in our letters, and based on what I know of you, shouldn't you have come here in a grand display with a group of people who could help you pressure my family into breaking off the engagement?"

In his memories, she seemed to have become a disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect. Breaking off the engagement definitely had not been the Nalan family's idea; that old man Nalan Jie placed great importance on keeping his word.

"But if there are other ways to achieve my goal, why choose a path that takes more effort and earns less appreciation?"

Nalan Yanran's smile remained unchanged. In her eyes, Xiao Yan was someone like herself. Since that was the case, why repeatedly choose the most laborious and thankless method?

Moreover, he seemed to care more about family than she did, and he would consider things more thoroughly. That explained why he was clearly dissatisfied with the engagement but had not acted as she had.

Even without considering anything else, she could not possibly choose the most laborious and thankless path.

As she spoke, Nalan Yanran took another jade box from her storage ring. It was the compensation she had prepared before coming to break off the engagement.

"Oh, right, this is a..." Halfway through her sentence, Nalan Yanran suddenly smiled freely. Before Xiao Yan could say anything, she put the jade box away again.

"I forgot that you're the same type of person as me. You definitely wouldn't accept this."

Xiao Yan: "..."

Grabbing Nalan Yanran's fair hand, Xiao Yan seized the jade box tightly under her astonished gaze.

"You..."

"Is there more?"

Xiao Yan blinked, his expression utterly sincere.

This had nothing to do with pride. If Nalan Yanran had humiliated him in public, he would definitely have smashed the thing into her face.

But in private, none of that was involved. Only an idiot turned down a free advantage.

"That's true. You've never cared about other people's opinions."

After her brief shock, Nalan Yanran shook her head and laughed. A teasing look appeared on her face as she gripped the jade box tightly as well. Seeing that Xiao Yan still wanted to wrestle with her, she immediately leaned forward. While Xiao Yan instinctively reached out to steady her, she put the jade box back into her storage ring and fell directly into his arms.

"Come on, let's go find Uncle and break off the engagement." Meeting the dumbfounded Xiao Yan's gaze, Nalan Yanran brushed back her hair. Her ears were slightly red, but she nonchalantly straightened up and took hold of Xiao Yan's arm.

"You..."

Xiao Yan smacked his lips. This was the first time he had met someone as shameless as himself.

"Then let's go."

Some inn within Wutan City.

Ge Ye, a Deacon of the Misty Cloud Sect and a Da Dou Shi, sat cross-legged on the bed, feeling that something was not quite right.

Why had Nalan Yanran been gone for so long?

Still, that was fine. They had come to break off an engagement, after all. It was good to learn more about the situation and handle things beautifully, lest it become a stain on her reputation or a heart demon in the future.

"Breaking off an engagement isn't exactly a pleasant job."

"Achoo. Martial Uncle, do I have to go along to break off the engagement too?" The disciple who had come with him wore an expression of pure, foolish innocence.

"Yes."