This was the first time Yunling had seen the person before her so serious. She quickly abandoned her playful thoughts and became serious as well, saying:

"Go ahead and tell me what you want to say."

Pei Lin took another breath, swallowed his panic, and said to Yun Ling:

"Thinking back, we've known each other for a long time. I remember our first meeting was at Yunxiang Bookstore. I was making fun of your older sister, and you stood up for her. That was our first clash."

"The second time was on the mountain near your maternal grandmother's house. It was then that I learned you knew about herbs and were quite capable. I thought you were a rather special and interesting person. From that time on, it felt like the door to meeting you had been opened for me..."

Yunling sensed something was wrong. She understood what Pei Lin was doing and hurriedly tried to pull her hand back.

Pei Lin gripped her hand tightly, moved his feet closer, and continued:

"I don't know why, but whenever I'm around you, I can't control my mouth, I just want to..."

"Cousin?"

"I just want to argue with you, I..."

"Cousin! It really is you!"

This person, who appeared out of nowhere, gave Yunling a chance to catch her breath. She quickly withdrew her hand and took two steps back to create some distance between herself and Pei Lin.

She never imagined that Pei Lin would have those kinds of feelings for her. He...he...didn't he look down on her? Didn't he find her annoying? Didn't they always insult each other whenever they met?

Pei Lin, who was suddenly disturbed, was naturally not in a good mood. He was about to teach this guy who was randomly claiming kinship a lesson, but when he saw the person's appearance, the words of reprimand stopped in his throat. This was indeed his cousin, Cui Yan'er.

Cui Yan'er hadn't missed the fact that Pei Lin and Yun Ling's hands were stuck together just now, and the two were quite intimate. She immediately remembered that her aunt had told her that Pei Lin had someone he liked, so she jokingly said:

"This young lady must be the one who studied medicine at Ren'an Hall with my cousin. Has she also come to Bianjing?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Cui Yan'er was a little confused. She lowered her voice and whispered:

"My aunt said that my cousin is in love with that young lady from Ren'an Hall who studies medicine. She said she asked you about it and is planning to find an opportunity to go to Pingcheng to propose to her during the New Year, isn't that right?"

Pei Lin's head buzzed. He finally understood why that family had suddenly become so easy to talk to. It turned out that they thought Yun Ling was studying medicine.

Although Yunling was surprised, she still had to explain things clearly.

"Young lady, you must have mistaken me for someone else. The one studying medicine at Ren'an Hall is my elder sister."

Upon hearing Yunling speak, Cui Yan'er smiled and said:

"So you're studying medicine too?"

"No, I'm a businessman."

Cui Yan'er's smile froze instantly, and her gaze towards Yun Ling lost its warmth.

"This is none of your business, get out of here."

Pei Lin pushed Cui Yan'er away as he spoke.

Cui Yan'er grabbed Pei Lin with her other hand.

“My cousin is coming with me. My aunt is worried about you. Let’s go back and have some lactose dumplings.”

"If you want to go back, go back yourself. Don't cause trouble here."

"Whether I'm being unreasonable or not, my cousin knows!"

The two pulled at each other, inadvertently creating some distance between themselves and Yunling. Cui Yan'er lowered her voice again and said:

"How could my cousin fall for a merchant? Merchants are the lowest of the low, full of scheming and cheating. Besides, she's a woman. These days, what decent young lady runs a business?"

"Go away, go far away from me."

"It's fine for me to leave, but the problem is you, cousin. It's your Pei family. After all, your uncle is a fifth-rank official. How dare you? If word gets out, your Pei family will become the laughingstock of the entire Bianjing. An official family marrying a lowly merchant as a concubine..."

"Enough!!!"

Taking advantage of Pei Lin's shout, Yunling quickly blurted out all the words that had been pent up in her heart.

"You...you must have made a mistake. I have always only had brotherly feelings for Pei Erlang, and no romantic feelings whatsoever. I have no intention of entering a high-ranking family, not in the past, and not in the future. So please rest assured, young lady. Someone of my background is well aware of my own limitations and will not try to reach things that are out of my reach."

The snow fell even more heavily from the sky.

Pei Lin's words, "I can not go back to the Pei family, I only want her," which were stuck in his throat, were buried deep in his heart along with the snow. She only had brotherly feelings for him, and no romantic feelings for him.

She doesn't like him...

She doesn't like him.

She doesn't like him!

Pei Lin was completely stunned, his mind went blank, he couldn't think of anything, he couldn't speak, and he was covered in cold sweat.

"That's wonderful, young lady, because she thinks this way."

“Lingniang.”

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Yunling immediately turned around and saw Lu Yinghuai standing not far behind her, holding an oil-paper umbrella. For some reason, she suddenly felt like crying, and she asked, her voice choked with emotion:

Why are you here?

"The snow is too heavy, I've come to take you home."

After Lu Yinghuai finished speaking, he walked towards her. Each step he took felt like stepping on her heart. His footprints on the ground were light, but they felt heavy on her heart.

The umbrella quickly covered her, and Lu Yinghuai gently brushed the snow off her head, asking tenderly:

"Can we go back now?"

"Let's go back."

Lu Yinghuai placed his hand lightly on Yunling's shoulder, protecting her, and led her to the carriage.

Cui Yan'er, who witnessed everything, was extremely surprised to see Lu Yinghuai treat Yun Ling like this. She was eager to know about the two of them, but when she turned around, she saw Pei Lin lying in the snow.

"Cousin! Cousin!"

"Help! Help!"

Yunling, who had been ushered into the carriage, was unaware of what was happening outside. Lu Yinghuai carefully placed his umbrella down and said reluctantly:

"If Lingniang wants to cry, then cry."

Lu Yinghuai concealed the disappointment in his eyes. He had been out of sorts all day, making one mistake after another. Before it even got dark, he had already come to Zhouqiao to wait. He watched Yunling and Pei Lin hold hands and listened to Pei Lin express his feelings.

He was terrified of hearing Yunling agree to Pei Lin's request. His mind was filled with thoughts of how he would face the situation if they were really together.

But the more he thought about it, the more awkward and angry he felt. He liked Yunling so much that he was almost going crazy. How could he be willing to let someone else take her away?

Fortunately, Cui Yan'er appeared and stopped the farce, but he didn't know whether Yun Ling was saying it out of anger or from the heart. The moment she saw him, her eyes were wet, so he was not sure and could only force himself to watch her cry for another man.

"Why do you want me to cry for no reason?"

"You...you...aren't you in love with Lin Ge'er? Don't you feel sad that his cousin said that?"