Cen Xi stared at her, finding her somewhat inexplicable.

"Really, you didn't look down on me for what I did before!"

Zhu Yanniang didn't believe it; she now looked down on herself.

"Really, no. Your behavior is a stress response caused by a serious trauma. I don't agree with what you did, but I don't look down on you, Yan Niang. If I looked down on you, I wouldn't associate with you, and I wouldn't let you into my home. What's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly so self-deprecating?"

Cen Xi hadn't seen this woman for months, and she had really changed. She used to be so carefree, so why was she now frequently asking him if he thought highly of her?

She genuinely disagreed with the other woman's actions, but she did admire her straightforward and passionate personality. At least she was more pleasant to be around than Wen Qihe. She hated that kind of two-faced woman the most.

So she was practically ready to open her heart.

The woman, who dared to love and hate, glanced at Cen Xi hesitantly. She didn't see any disdain in Cen Xi's eyes. After a moment of awkwardness, whether it was a sudden surge of warmth in her heart or something else, she stammered out that she liked Jun Jianchou.

Cen Xi was so shocked she almost fell off the bed. Could it be true? She had heard the news; it couldn't be true, could it?

"I... I know you don't believe me, but I've fallen for him. In my entire life, no man has ever been kind to me. After leaving the capital, I was rescued by Jun Jianchou. He took meticulous care of me for more than two months, and my dead heart started pounding again. I can't control myself either. What do you think I should do?"

Zhu Yanniang stammered for a moment, then closed her eyes and blurted out everything on her mind. She was about to burst with pent-up emotions, and she felt much better after she had confessed.

She knew she shouldn't tell Cen Xi about this, but she didn't know who else to tell. Cen Xi was the most straightforward woman she had ever met, so even though she knew it was very unkind of her to do this, she still told her.

"you…"

Cen Xi felt that her eloquent tongue had been instantly rendered speechless by the other party. What kind of situation was this?

Then wouldn't she be Zhu Yanniang's rival in love? Why? If she were to be completely honest with her, she wouldn't want to hear it, and she wouldn't know how to give the other party any advice.

"I…"

After Zhu Yanniang finished speaking, she didn't know what to say next and was instantly speechless.

Cen Xi covered her face and calmed herself down for a while before asking:

"Does Jun Jianchou know about this?"

"I don't know. How could someone like me possibly know?"

Zhu Yanniang opened her eyes and looked at Cen Xi blankly.

"Then why are you telling me?"

Cen Xi was both amused and exasperated.

"I don't know either. I just wanted to talk to someone. I couldn't bring myself to talk to Jun Xiaoqiao about it. I didn't come here today with any intention of talking, but I ended up revealing my thoughts."

Zhu Yanniang looked at Cen Xi with some guilt.

"Um, you just asked me if I thought highly of you, is it because you've fallen for Jun Jianchou?"

Cen Xi suddenly realized why the other person's question had seemed so strange.

"I... I do have some feelings for her. I feel like I'm not good enough for her, so I wanted to hear what you think of me?"

Zhu Yanniang explained awkwardly.

"What do you mean by that? Do you want me to help you and Jun Jianchou get together, or are you trying to test your rival's reaction?"

Even though Cen Xi had lived two lifetimes, she still didn't understand this operation.

“I… I don’t know. Ah Xi, I know my place. I’m not good enough for Jun Jianchou, but I like him. I can’t control it. I desperately needed to confide in someone, so… I just blurted it out to you.”

Zhu Yanniang was very confused. In fact, all she wanted was to stay far away from Jun Jianchou, take care of him, and watch over him. She didn't understand her own bewildering behavior today.

Can I pretend I didn't hear anything?

Cen Xi wanted to save herself, but how could she possibly manage something like this?

Is she going to run up to Jun Jianchou and say, "Hey! Zhu Yanniang likes you?" What are you really thinking?

"Ah-Xi, I understand what you mean. Let's pretend I didn't say anything today, okay?"

Zhu Yanniang wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it. She also felt that what she had done today was really hard to understand, but she just couldn't control herself.

"Okay, I'll keep it a secret for you. Don't tell me about your relationship with Jun Jianchou anymore. You know about my relationship with him. I won't say a word to him. If I were to say that you like him, Jun Jianchou would beat me to death. That would also go against my principles."

"If you really like him, you can confess and try to win him over. If he agrees to be with you, I have nothing to say. If he doesn't agree, don't blame me. This is between the two of you, and it has nothing to do with me."

Cen Xi covered her face again, and stammered out her thoughts, feeling a little flustered today.

Seriously, what kind of nonsense is this? Why is she the first person to know when she should be the last to know?

Zhu Yanniang, are you brain-dead?!

"Ah-Xi, won't you stop being my sister just because I like her?"

After hearing Cen Xi's words, Zhu Yanniang awkwardly twitched her lips and finally managed to utter this sentence.

"If you treat me like a sister, then I'm a sister. But if you treat me like a rival in love, then there's nothing I can do."

Cen Xi could only respond with a wry smile.

“Ah Xi, I will never see you as a rival in love. I also know that I am not good enough for Jun Jianchou. Don’t worry, our relationship will not change. It’s good that you don’t look down on me.”

After saying this, Zhu Yanniang stood up and ran away in a panic.

Cen Xi was left staring at the door frame with a constipated look on her face, and she remained frozen in that expression for a long time.

It wasn't until Shen Jinchen teased her today that she slowly came back to her senses.

"What's wrong with you? Is there a spider on the door?"

"Hmm, ha! Your joke isn't funny at all."

Cen Xi rolled her eyes at Shen Jinchen.

"What did Zhu Yanniang say to you? It really upset you."

Shen Jinchen sat by her bedside and brought a bowl of medicine to her lips.

Cen Xi took the drink and gulped it down, then blinked before dropping the bombshell on Shen Jinchen:

"Zhu Yanniang told me that he likes Jun Jianchou."

"Cough cough cough..."

Shen Jinchen was taking a sip of tea when these words caused him to choke and cough violently.

What is she saying? Zhu Yanniang likes Jun Jianchou, what kind of matchmaking is this? He just doesn't understand.

How could someone like Jun Jianchou possibly be interested in Zhu Yanniang?

"You heard right, I was also shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. I also don't understand why Zhu Yanniang didn't say it herself, but instead had to say it to test me. Husband, can I say I'm speechless?"

Cen Xi found this whole thing utterly absurd, and for a moment, she simply couldn't describe her feelings.