The resentful woman bids farewell to the unfaithful man, and the infatuated man still imitates the

"Ying'er, let's have bread for lunch. I baked it fresh."

Ever since arriving at the shop that morning, Ke Yike has been agonizing over his bread. It's hard to tell what he's fiddling with, sometimes deep in thought, sometimes scratching his head, completely oblivious to the outside world. Once he's made up his mind, he goes to work, kneading the dough, defecating and dividing it, shaping it, plating it, and sending it to the oven... everything happens by himself.

His eyebrows slanted into his temples, his narrow eyes focused, unwavering; his textured lips were sometimes pursed, sometimes relaxed, and the tip of his sharp nose was beaded with beads of sweat. His delicate face, tinged with a firmness that brought out an unprecedented heroic air. Perhaps it was true what Zhou Ying had said, "A serious man is the most handsome," his current expression of focus was a world away from his usual ambiguous demeanor.

There was a moment of silence, waiting for the moment when the bread came out of the oven. But disappointment always came out with the newly baked bread.

The three of them already had breakfast consisting of bread of various shapes and textures, and now even lunch was limited.

"What the hell?" Lin Yiyi asked bluntly in a clear voice.

"Cough cough..." Ke Yike found an excuse by coughing.

He drawled, "Sister Yue always says that we need to constantly innovate our dishes so that our café can stay vibrant. But without extensive experimentation, how can we create classic dishes? Take our classic 'Confession' bread, for example. It's a masterpiece created after thousands of experiments. This time, I'm going to innovate and surpass the classic!"

Lin Yiyi simply walked away, ignoring him. Zhou Ying then asked softly, "Sister Yue, will you join us for some bread?"

As soon as Mei Rugu left, Li Jingzi came to Liu Che's door.

After knocking on the door and entering, Li Jingzi directly stated her purpose, "Doctor Liu, I have to apologize to you."

"Don't be so polite. There's nothing to apologize for. There must be some misunderstanding." Liu Che stood behind the desk and tidied things up casually.

"Actually, I should apologize to your good customer. The other day, my customer came to see me and saw Xiaoyue leaving your place. After we started chatting, I told her that Xiaoyue was the owner of the coffee shop. Unexpectedly, she suspected her husband of pursuing Xiaoyue, so she went to Xiaoyue's shop. After they met, the misunderstanding worsened, so she spoke rudely. Being misunderstood as a mistress would be uncomfortable for anyone, let alone Xiaoyue. I should apologize to her emotionally and logically. I'm telling you this first, and please pass it on for me. Please help me arrange it another day, and I'll apologize in person."

"Please sit down and have a cup of tea." Liu Che walked over to the tea table, sat down, boiled some water, and then continued gently, "It's okay. I will definitely help you pass on the message, but I believe Xiaoyue won't take it to heart."

"It's been a long time since I last tasted your tea art, thank you. As usual, I'll help you clean the house." Li Jingzi did not refuse.

"No, no, just sit still and wait for a while. It's not appropriate to bother you all the time."

"If you're so reserved, then I'll leave?"

"Well, thank you for your help." Liu Che changed the subject when he saw he couldn't refuse. "What you just said has nothing to do with you. Whether you tell me or not, I think your customer will go to Xiaoyue's shop to find out what's going on. It's only a matter of time before a misunderstanding occurs. Why are you taking the blame on yourself?"

"I didn't kill Boren, but he died because of me. It wasn't that serious, but my words did add fuel to the fire. I can't deceive my conscience."

As Li Jingzi spoke, she skillfully picked up the rag and helped Liu Che wipe the furniture.

"A female gentleman is indeed open and honest."

Liu Che's voice came from behind. Li Jingzi was busy with the work at hand and just smiled and asked, "Are you flattering me because I helped you clean the house, or because your good guests flatter me?"

"It's just honest, heartfelt admiration."

Li Jingzi's question made Liu Che's answer seem awkward, but she herself was no longer aware of these changes. Her entire attention was now drawn to a small corner peeked out from under the drawing board on the desk - it must be the same small corner that had peeked out from behind the mirror a few days ago.

Just before she entered, Liu Che must have been painting here. The desk was a bit messy. The drawing board wasn't on its stand. The stack of white paper beside it wasn't neatly stacked as usual. The mysterious corner beneath the drawing board, a slightly darker yellow against the white paper beside it, resembled a corner of an eave jutting out from the mountains, evoking the sound of bells and drums, bringing back memories from the recent past, and piqued Li Jingzi's curiosity.

"Doctor Li, my desk is too messy. I'll clean it up myself later!"

Liu Che's gentle voice startled Li Jingzi, causing her to blurt out, "It's a mess, so I'm cleaning it up. What's the matter? Is there some secret I can't see?"

"No, no..." Liu Che raised his hand and stroked his forehead. "I'm worried you'll be tired. Could you please help me put the drawing board on my desk into the closet? I won't be drawing today. Oh, the drawing board stand is broken, and the courier will probably take a few days to arrive. I'll probably have to trouble Doctor Li by then. I really don't know how to thank you."

"Oh, okay." Li Jingzi finally recovered. "Why are you being so polite? Didn't we already agree that I'll tell you when I'm free and treat me to a nice meal?"

With the owner's permission, Li Jingzi eagerly moved the drawing board away and revealed the answer while talking.

It was an old letterhead. The paper had yellowed slightly, but it was still as smooth as new thanks to the care it had received.

Not a letter, no words.

It should be a painting, with "green mountains on both sides facing each other." The entire painting, the entire paper, is just two green mountains close together and facing each other, with no other ink.

Ink? No, it wasn't ink. A woman's common sense allowed the attentive Li Jingzi to discern that it was drawn with an eyebrow pencil. So, this wasn't a green mountain, but an eyebrow?

It's an eyebrow! "Spring mountain eyebrows are low and dark," and indeed, the eyebrows are like spring mountains. Although only two strokes, a closer look reveals that, unlike the flowing and graceful painting, these eyebrows are the product of many overlapping strokes.

"Distant mountains are covered with dark blue, and the autumn eyes are dipped in it." Although this painting only has two curved eyebrows like distant mountains, the autumn water has already risen.

Was it painted by Liu Che? The thought of it brings back memories of Zhang Chang, the painter of eyebrows. The romantic flavor, bred over two thousand years of love, hate, and sorrow, emerges from the boudoir, gently emerging from the pages of a series of romantic poems. It's filled with the affectionate sentiments of "long wielding the brush, leaning against someone, just beginning to try my hand at painting flowers," mixed with the self-pity and doubt, "Who will paint my brows if they fade? My thin, slender figure blushes under the pomegranate blossoms."

"Did you draw this?"

…

The rain is still falling, soaking the world's joys and sorrows.

The continuous water droplets washed away the remaining fishy smell in the air, only to form a series of small blood-red pools on the already muddy ground, and then burst the dam and flow...

Cui Ruoyu sat alone in the rain, watching all this unfold through a pair of mournful and sorrowful eyes. His frail shoulders, weighed down by the hazy gray of the houses, distant mountains, and the entire world, all connected by the rain, trembled slightly under the weight.

My hand hurts, but I can't tell what kind of pain it is.

Was that still her hand? A washerwoman's hand... from being soaked in water for so long, her fingers had turned white, the skin swollen and peeling in patches, and it hurt like hell to touch anything, let alone now that it was being pounded by the relentless rain.

In the past, these hands were as white as jade, as tender as spring onions, dyed with nail polish and reflecting the bright light of the morning sun - they were the hands of the granddaughter of the Cui family, a thousand-year-old family in Qinghe.

If I hadn't met Tian Lei and Tian Yunjian, perhaps my hands would still be like this now?

My palms hurt too, probably from the stone pestle I used to wash clothes with. I clenched them too tightly, holding onto so much grievance, bitterness, and regret from the past few years...

"You killed him?"

I don't know when, a woman in white appeared beside me.

"Miss Yue?"

"Hate him?"

"Well, he's a liar."

"Didn't you already know this? Why...?"

"No, it's not because he lied to me. Ever since Miss Yue saved my life last time, I accepted my fate."

"That……?"

"That girl has just come of age, pure and innocent as fresh snow. If Yun Jian truly loved her, I wouldn't harbor any hatred. This is my fate..." The voice, which had been calm until then, suddenly became sharp. "But that girl clearly has a congenital disease, and I'm afraid she won't have much time left. She's placed all her yearning for the beauty of the world on Yun Jian. But Yun Jian is obsessed with her family fortune."

"You mean, Miss Wen?"

"Miss Yue is indeed very smart. Please don't mention it to others, just like you kept the secret for me." Cui Ruoyu's voice became rational again.

"Don't worry." The woman in white nodded and continued, "So you suspect he had the same intention towards you back then?"

"Is there still any need to doubt it? It's just that he didn't expect my parents to be so determined, which made his wish come true."

"Didn't you remind Miss Wen?"

"Remind?" Cui Ruoyu smiled bitterly. "Didn't anyone remind me back then? Miss Wen is too much like me back then. How could she listen to advice? Now in her eyes, I'm just a shameless slut who eloped with someone, dragged down Tian Lei, and is not even a concubine."

"So, you want to end it all?"

"Ruoyu is stupid and incompetent, there's nothing else to do. Just now, Yunjian blamed me for talking too much with Miss Wen. He was afraid that I would talk about more of the past, so he beat me up. Now that things have come to this, I feel calm. Yunjian has finally behaved himself..."

As he spoke, Cui Ruoyu looked at his former lover lying on the ground beside him, "I have failed Miss Yue in this life because she saved my life. Miss, you are so kind and virtuous. Ruoyu will repay you in the next life."

"Live well, you're still young. It's been a few years, and it's time for your father and mother's anger to subside. Come home. I believe that with the Cui family's wealth and influence, they can give you a new identity and a fresh start."

Thinking of her parents at home, Cui Ruoyu's eyes were filled with a hint of reluctance, but it was fleeting. She shook her head, "The government won't let me go either."

"That ungrateful person was at fault first, so you don't deserve the death penalty."

"No, no, Miss Wen is already very unfortunate. I will never tell anyone about her. This concerns a girl's reputation. Otherwise, mother would not have agreed to announce that I died of illness."

The woman in white sighed.

As if she heard something, she looked at the vast rain outside the yard, then turned back and handed Cui Ruoyu a fiery red pill.

"Let Miss Wen take it. You all must live well."

The pleasant voice was like a magic spell. After Cui Ruoyu put away the pill woodenly, he suddenly changed into a different person and attacked the woman in white like crazy.

The woman in white was not in a hurry. She dodged as if she was strolling in the garden, and picked up the stone pestle that fell on the ground and held it in her hand.

She danced gracefully, like a white crane. Even after being in the rain for a long time, her body remained free of water stains. Even when dodging and moving in the mud, no mud stained her body, like a holy white lotus.

The chase and fight between the two men lasted only a few breaths before an oil umbrella appeared at the gate of the courtyard.

The person under the umbrella wore a black gauze scarf with a cluster of flowers on the corners; a purple embroidered robe with a sky-blue lining visible from underneath; a mutton-fat jade necklace tied around the waist; and a pair of green cloud-like boots smeared with gold thread, which were now stained with many mud spots.

Despite his seemingly ordinary attire, he still managed to conceal his wealth. At first glance, he looked like a handsome young man. But upon closer inspection, his neck was as white as snow, and his earlobes were adorned with gold and pearl earrings.

She must be a rich girl who escaped from home by disguising herself as a man.

"Miss Yue?"