Su Qingluan listened to Mu Xingzhi's words and waved her hand. "Do you even need to tell me that? Aren't you the type who always considers 'value' before interacting with anyone beyond a nodding acquaintance?"

Mu Xingzhi was stunned when he heard this, then he smiled and said, "Although many people know that I am this kind of person, you are the first one to say it so openly. Aren't you afraid that I will be angry?"

Su Qingluan thought about it for a moment, then shook her head with certainty: "You won't be angry over such a small matter, because it's not worth it." To be precise, Su Qingluan believed that people like Mu Xingzhi, who could keep everything in their hearts and remain calm on the surface, would quickly adjust themselves even if they were angry, and would not even let others notice their displeasure.

Su Qingluan told Mu Xingzhi what she had just thought, and he smiled playfully: "This is the first time someone has said that to me."

"So," Su Qingluan said seriously, "there's no benefit in getting angry with me, and you won't gain any psychological sense of accomplishment, so a smart person like you will definitely not get angry."

"This is the first time I've met a young lady who understands me so well," Mu Xingzhi raised the corners of his lips, his voice very soft, as if whispering, and he leaned close to Su Qingluan with a hint of charm, "How about marrying me?"

Su Qingluan: "..." Her expression was hard to describe. In short, it was not her reaction to hearing "a young man asking her about marriage."

This actually piqued Mu Xingzhi's interest: "What's that expression on your face?"

Su Qingluan couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Of course it's almost like the reaction when a passing bamboo spirit asks, 'The environment up there is nice, do you want to come and settle down together?'"

This metaphor was beyond Mu Xingzhi's expectations and quite amusing. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "What kind of metaphor is this?"

Su Qingluan remained speechless: "Your words are just as outrageous as this metaphor!"

"I thought... even if you didn't have any feelings for me, you would at least blush when a young man expressed his admiration for you?"

"Admiration?" If it weren't for the fact that her sister was sleeping soundly and the guy opposite her had just saved her sister, Su Qingluan would have jumped up and hit her on the head, "You don't have to get yourself involved in this even if you're joking, right?"

"Are you so sure this is a joke?" Although he was joking, he had to admit that the moment this joking remark came out of his mouth, Mu Xingzhi was not completely unmoved - even apart from marriage itself, it was a pleasure to have someone like this around who he could talk to freely but also knew the limits.

From the very beginning, Mu Xingzhi noticed that although Su Qingluan seemed to speak her mind, she was different from many of the so-called "straightforward" people he had met. Her "straightforwardness" was based entirely on the premise of not causing trouble to others. Rather than being "heartless", she was more like "not wanting to waste time on unnecessary things".

However, in reality, whether before or after knowing that he had other intentions in Huaxi Village, Su Qingluan never asked a single question about the topics that Mu Xingzhi was really afraid of - such as his true identity, how those painters learned to use sketches, and Song Bo's whereabouts today.

It can be said that he can speak freely about things that don't matter to him, but he never mentions topics that are not allowed to touch upon.

To be honest, Mu Xingzhi had met smart and cautious people before, but such people were usually the same as himself. They could have seven or eight clever tricks in one sentence, so he dared not be careless.

But Su Qingluan was different. Just as she said, the two of them were already in a cooperative relationship. Under such circumstances, threatening her with the safety of the Su family was "neither necessary nor cost-effective."

It is precisely because of this that she and Mu Xingzhi have no conflict of interest at all, but because of the Xie Mansion, they happen to be on the same boat by chance. It has to be said that this is a wonderful fate.

So after seeing Su Qingluan rolling her eyes at him again, Mu Xingzhi said half-truthfully, "Actually, this is not a lie." At least it wasn't a complete lie.

"Alright, alright, there's no need to say something like that that even a fly passing by wouldn't believe—Oh, right," Su Qingluan glared at Mu Xingyi as if she remembered something, "You didn't tell all those girls in the village, did you? Is that why they're all so obsessed with you?"

Mu Xingzhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I'm not that impatient, am I?"

Su Qingluan nodded. "I think so too. If you had just suggested the possibility of marrying them—even if it was just as a concubine—they would have been ecstatic." They truly admired and loved this "Mr. Mu," but unfortunately...

In fact, if you think about it carefully, even if you become a concubine, if the other party is a rational and almost "cold" person like Mu Xingzhi, as long as she is not attracted to him, then it is much better than Que'er's experience of being betrothed by her parents to an old man from somewhere unknown - at least this is the case for many girls in the village who are treated as tools.

...However, in a sense, this idea also regards Mu Xingzhi as a tool to "establish himself".

Mu Xingzhi smiled again, but in Su Qingluan's opinion, this smile was a bit condescending and cold: "What they admire is only their imaginary 'Mu Xingzhi', that is not the real me."

Su Qingluan remained noncommittal. "No matter what your purpose is in befriending the villagers of Huaxi Village and sparing no effort to help them, as long as you truly do so, then there's nothing wrong with them having a favorable impression of you, right? As the saying goes, 'judging by deeds, not by heart, no one is perfect', isn't it?"

"Judging by deeds, not hearts, no one is perfect when it comes to hearts... This sentence is very profound. I wonder which master said this?"

The corner of Su Qingluan's mouth twitched: "...Couldn't it be me who said it?" That really wasn't what she said, but she didn't remember the specific person, she only remembered that it was someone in the Qing Dynasty.

Mu Xingzhi smiled and said, "With Qingluan's... personality, she probably can't say such... insightful words."

Su Qingluan muttered resentfully, "Actually, what you want to talk about is 'mind'..." This guy really has some bad intentions.

Mu Xingzhi just smiled and shook his head, then asked, "It's late at night, and the air is quite cold. Would Qingluan like a cup of hot tea?"

When Su Qingluan first came here, her mind was full of her sister's illness. How could she have the mood to drink tea? When she was asked this question, she felt a chill all over her body.

Su Qingluan knew that she couldn't fall ill again at this critical moment, so she nodded: "No green tea, I can't sleep after drinking that." It was already very late, and she didn't know how long it would take for her sister to wake up and come home.

Although Su Qingluan was prepared to stay up all night, it would be too unfair if she couldn't fall asleep because of drinking tea.

A moment later, Mu Xingzhi brought a pot of tea cake. Su Qingluan took a sip and sighed, "You are so virtuous. Apart from being unsuitable for marriage, you are actually a good marriage partner."