Ning Rongrong decided to play matchmaker and help Yi Yun and Zhu Zhuqing pierce that thin paper window between them. She felt that Zhu Zhuqing liked Yi Yun, and Yi Yun treated Zhu Zhuqing well too. All they lacked was an opportunity. And she would be that opportunity.
Ning Rongrong did not practice Standing Stake that day. She had specifically asked Yi Yun for the day off, saying she needed to get herself into the right state, and Yi Yun had agreed! What he did not know was that she had asked for time off not to adjust her state, but to stir things up.
Ning Rongrong quietly walked over to Zhu Zhuqing, crouched down, and whispered in her ear, "Zhu Zhuqing, you like Brother Yun, don't you?"
Zhu Zhuqing's face instantly reddened.
"I don't." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was calm, but her ears betrayed her, red as cooked shrimp.
"Stop pretending." Ning Rongrong leaned closer and lowered her voice further. "You make Brother Yun breakfast every morning, you sit beside him every day, and there are stars in your eyes when you look at him. And you say you don't like him? Not even a ghost would believe that."
Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip. She wanted to argue, but could find no grounds for it. Every word Ning Rongrong had said was true.
"So what?" Zhu Zhuqing's voice was very soft.
"Nothing. I just think you should tell him," Ning Rongrong said earnestly. "If you like someone but don't say it, how will he know?"
"He knows."
"He knows?"
"He knows everything." Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head and looked at her fingers. "But he doesn't say anything, and neither do I. It's fine this way."
"What's fine about it?!" Ning Rongrong grew anxious. "You won't say anything, and he won't say anything, so you're just going to keep dragging this out? Until when? Until Brother Yun has another eight or ten girls around him? By then, you won't even get a place in line!"
Zhu Zhuqing fell silent. She knew Ning Rongrong was right. There would only be more and more women around Yi Yun: Xiao Wu, Hu Liena, and who knew who else might appear in the future. If she kept saying nothing, she really might not even get a chance to line up.
But she could not get the words out. She was Zhu Zhuqing, a daughter of the direct line of the Star Luo Empire's Zhu Family. Cold aloofness was her protective coloring. Asking her to confess first was harder than asking her to assassinate a Titled Douluo.
"I can't say it." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was muffled.
"Then I'll say it for you."
"No!"
"Why not?"
"Because... because it's too embarrassing."
Ning Rongrong looked at Zhu Zhuqing's crimson ears and tightly tangled fingers and sighed. She suddenly understood Zhu Zhuqing's difficulty. Not everyone was as thick-skinned as she was, able to say whatever they wanted.
"Then how about this? I won't say it for you. I'll create an opportunity for you," Ning Rongrong said. "Find the right moment and tell him yourself."
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.
Ning Rongrong began putting her opportunity-making plan into action.
Step one: get Xiao Wu out of the way.
"Sister Xiao Wu, the cafeteria has braised carrots today. Go see if there are any left." Ning Rongrong ran over, her face full of sincerity.
"Really?" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.
"Really. I saw them when I passed by just now. Hurry, or they'll be gone."
Xiao Wu tossed aside the carrot in her hand and took off running. Her obsession with carrots ran even deeper than her obsession with Yi Yun.
Step one was a success. Ning Rongrong gave herself a mental thumbs-up.
Step two: leave Yi Yun and Zhu Zhuqing alone.
"Handsome Master, I'm off to practice Standing Stake. You two chat." Ning Rongrong ran off as soon as she finished speaking, faster even than Xiao Wu.
Yi Yun watched Ning Rongrong's retreating figure, then looked at Zhu Zhuqing beside him and smiled. "What's that little girl up to?"
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She knew Ning Rongrong was creating an opportunity for her, but she did not know what to say. They sat side by side on the grass, sunlight spilling over them, warm and comfortable.
In the distance, Tang San was watering the vegetable patch. The carrots he had planted had already sprouted. A breeze blew from beyond the mountain, carrying the scent of grass and earth.
"Brother Yun." Zhu Zhuqing finally spoke.
"Hmm?"
"What do you think... of me as a person?"
Yi Yun turned to look at Zhu Zhuqing. Her face was very red, the flush spreading even to her neck. She did not dare meet his eyes and kept staring at the grass ahead.
"You're wonderful," Yi Yun said.
"In what way?"
"In every way."
Zhu Zhuqing's heart skipped a beat. She took a deep breath. "Then do you... like me?"
Yi Yun looked at Zhu Zhuqing. Her eyelashes trembled faintly, her fingers were twisted together so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, and her lips were pressed firmly together, as though she were awaiting a verdict.
"I do," Yi Yun said.
Zhu Zhuqing abruptly raised her head and looked into Yi Yun's eyes.
"Really?" Zhu Zhuqing's voice trembled.
"Really."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes reddened. She had waited so long, agonized so long, and been afraid for so long.
He had answered with two words, light as a feather yet heavy as a mountain, resting on her heart, warm and weighty.
"Then why didn't you say so sooner?" There was a hint of tears in Zhu Zhuqing's voice.
"Because I was waiting for you to say it."
"You!"
Embarrassed and annoyed, Zhu Zhuqing reached out and thumped Yi Yun. He did not dodge, simply letting her hit him. Afterward, Zhu Zhuqing threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and buried her face in his chest.
"Jerk." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was muffled.
"I'm not a jerk. I'm Brother Yun."
"Brother Yun is a jerk."
"...All right, then."
In the distance, Ning Rongrong hid behind a tree. The moment she saw Zhu Zhuqing throw herself into Yi Yun's arms, she nearly jumped with excitement. She had done it! She had successfully brought Handsome Master and Zhu Zhuqing together! She was the greatest matchmaker in history!
In the distance, Tang San crouched in the vegetable patch. The moment he saw Zhu Zhuqing throw herself into Yi Yun's arms, the watering can in his hand paused, then continued watering. Another couple had formed. He was one step closer to being all alone.
Xiao Wu ran back from the cafeteria with a plate of braised carrots in her hands, her smile as radiant as a flower. Then she saw Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing leaned against Yi Yun's shoulder, her eyes red but the corners of her mouth turned up. Their hands were clasped together, fingers tightly interlaced.
The plate of braised carrots in Xiao Wu's hands nearly fell to the ground.
"You... you two..."
"We're together now," Yi Yun said.
Xiao Wu looked at Yi Yun, then at Zhu Zhuqing. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out. She took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Congratulations."
"Xiao Wu..."
"I'm fine." Xiao Wu set the braised carrots down in front of Yi Yun. "Brother Yun, have some. I'm going back to cultivate."
Xiao Wu turned and left. Her steps were quick, so quick it was as though she were fleeing. Watching her retreating figure, Zhu Zhuqing felt a little guilty. "Brother Yun, Xiao Wu..."
"She needs time," Yi Yun said. "She'll come around."
Xiao Wu sat alone beside the sandpit at the training ground, without a carrot in her hands. She did not know why she had run away. She had clearly promised not to get angry, but the moment she saw Yi Yun and Zhu Zhuqing holding hands, she had still felt as though something had fiercely clenched her heart.
"Xiao Wu."
Xiao Wu looked up and saw Tang San standing in front of her with a carrot in his hand.
"Want some?" Tang San offered her the carrot.
Xiao Wu took the carrot and bit into it. It was crisp and sweet, but she found it unappetizing. "Tang San, do you think I'm being petty?"
"It's not pettiness. It's love." Tang San sat down beside Xiao Wu. "When you like someone, you want him all to yourself. That's only human."
"But I don't want Brother Yun all to myself. I know he can't belong to me alone."
"Then why are you still upset?"
Xiao Wu was silent for a long time. "Because I'm afraid... afraid that now Brother Yun has Zhu Zhuqing, he won't like me anymore."
Tang San looked at Xiao Wu for a long time. "He won't."
"How do you know?"
"Because he's Yi Yun."
"Thank you, Tang San." Xiao Wu stood up and brushed the sand and dirt off her skirt.
"You're welcome."
"You're such a good person."
Tang San gave a bitter smile. "What's the use of being a good person? A good person still can't beat Yi Yun."
Before you continue