The moonlight is perfect tonight, illuminating the path between Yunling and Lu Yinghuai's rooms.

Lu Yinghuai returned to his room and first rearranged the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone he had just used. He then moved the two stools closer together, but then felt they were too close and might offend Yunling, so he moved them apart again, and they returned to their original positions.

He suddenly felt that he had nothing to do and was extremely bored. He couldn't concentrate on reading or doing accounting. He couldn't sit or stand still. He looked out the door and saw that it was quiet.

So he started fiddling with the bedding and blankets, feeling that the blankets were a bit crooked and the soft pillows were too low. Finally, when he couldn't get any more out of it, he picked up the incense burner and used the ash press to weigh down the incense ash, which finally calmed his wandering mind.

But soon, with the sound of footsteps outside, the incense ash that had just been pressed down in the incense burner was stirred up again by the ash, and the light and quick footsteps seemed to fall on his heart.

Lu Yinghuai lifted his buttocks, wanting to go out, but fearing that he would give Yunling an impression of being too eager, he pulled his buttocks back and pretended to calmly press the incense ash, but his hands were trembling violently.

"Young Master, are you there?"

Lu Yinghuai silently repeated "calm down" three times, steadied his hand holding the ash press, and then replied:

"Lingniang, come in."

Yunling entered the room and saw Lu Yinghuai pressing incense ash, so she joked:

"Young Master is certainly in high spirits."

"You...you washed your hair?"

"I was drunk, so I felt like my hair smelled of alcohol, so I just washed it while I was taking a shower."

As soon as he finished speaking, a towel was draped over Yunling's head. Lu Yinghuai gently took a strand of her hair and wiped the moisture from it, saying tenderly:

"You should dry your hair promptly after washing it, otherwise you'll get a headache and rheumatism. When you get older, you'll have headaches when it's windy or rainy."

Yunling giggled and said:

"Tang Ling said the same thing, and my grandmother said it too. If you ask me, the young lady who marries you in the future will definitely be very happy, as she will resemble both her mother and her grandmother."

Lu Yinghuai's lips curled slightly upward, and he paused his wiping motion briefly, so that Yun Ling wouldn't miss his words.

"I'll ask her again when she marries me."

Yunling nodded subconsciously, but quickly stopped. Lu Yinghuai's words seemed reasonable at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they seemed a bit strange. However, she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, so she gave up.

Yunling sat down at the table, dipped her brush in ink, and decided what she wanted to write while bathing. It was simply to report that she was safe and sound and add some descriptions of Bianjing's scenery. So she began to write.

Mother:

By the time you receive this letter, I will have arrived in Bianjing safely and without illness or pain.

Bianjing was indeed a place of wealth and prosperity, with countless stalls and shops. People hawked their wares along the streets and called out from across the river. The sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air. The nights here were like days, and everyone seemed to have inexhaustible energy.

We went to the extremely lively Zhouqiao Night Market, which was truly an eye-opener. It was hundreds of times more lively than the night market in Pingcheng. Our group walked around all night and still hadn't finished exploring. I think my mother would be very happy to see so much delicious food.

Okay, that's all for now. Anyway, I'll take good care of myself. I'll write again when I'm taking the boat back.

Mother, I miss you.

Yunling

Yunling read the letter again to make sure she hadn't made any mistakes, then blew on it.

Lu Yinghuai had been watching Yun Ling write the letter, and seeing that the contents were too brief, he joked:

Why didn't you write down your experience of opening and buying rough stones?

"That was a surprise. If you told me beforehand, would it still be a surprise?"

"Then...why didn't you mention that you were drunk?"

"This is a shameful matter, so it should not be mentioned."

Seeing that the ink on the letter had dried, Yunling folded the letter in half and stuffed it into the envelope.

Lu Yinghuai smiled and said:

"It's quite disgraceful; they grab people and start making a scene."

Yunling was taken aback. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little guilty. Without any explanation, she put the brush back in its place and tentatively asked:

"Who are you arresting? I can't remember anyone at all."

"You kept pestering me to hug you."

"How is this possible?!"

Yun Ling slammed her hand on the table and stood up, turning to look at Lu Yinghuai with a hint of firmness in her expression.

"How could I possibly cling to you and want you to hug me? How could I cling to you? You're talking nonsense."

Lu Yinghuai lifted Yunling onto the table, placed her hands on his neck, then picked her up in his arms, teasingly saying:

"That's just how you are, always clinging to me."

Lu Yinghuai's action caught Yun Ling completely off guard. She had never been so close to a man before, let alone embraced him in such a way. Her heart churned violently in the pot of fried noodles at the night market.

She seemed to be under the most vicious spell in the world. Whenever she faced Lu Yinghuai, her heart would race out of control, and she would act involuntarily, even forgetting to push him away for a moment.

This feeling is not good.

Lu Yinghuai was in no better shape. His face was redder than the red lanterns hanging in Dongjier Lane. His shyness spread from his ears and neck down his spine to his feet, and he felt like he was about to burst into flames.

If he was lucid before in the hot spring valley, now he was lucid but somewhat out of control.

He repeatedly told himself to be more restrained, more careful, and to keep a certain distance, but he couldn't control himself when he was with Yunling.

“You treat me like your mother, and you keep asking me to hold you.”

Yunling's heart skipped a beat. She was starting to believe what he said. It was undeniable that Lu Yinghuai reminded her of Zhang Shi, and that was her opinion as well. So it was quite possible that when she was drunk, she mistook him for Zhang Shi...

Yunling was struck dumb, as if by a bolt of lightning. She was already drunk, and to make matters worse, she lost control and clung to Lu Yinghuai in his arms...

Good heavens, we might as well just kill her.

"I...you...it's impossible, you're talking nonsense."

As Yunling spoke, she pushed Lu Yinghuai away and ran out without looking back after her feet touched the ground. She didn't want to admit it. She wasn't sober at the time, so what she did didn't count. It had nothing to do with her.

As Lu Yinghuai watched her fleeing figure, his gaze grew even more intense. He leaned against the door, his mind replaying the scene of him holding Yunling just moments before.

She didn't push him away immediately; her cheeks flushed slightly, like she had applied rouge, and she looked beautiful, just like the bride he had dreamed of marrying.

Her heart was pounding; besides surprise and astonishment, she must have also felt a touch of flutter in her heart.

She must like him, no, she definitely likes him!