Chapter 35 What are you talking about?

Ruan Xingzhu's openness and naturalness quietly dispelled the slight worry in Gu Yun'an's heart. The corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly, revealing a faint smile, and his eyes pointed meaningfully.

"It would be really inappropriate to owe them a favor..."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Ruan Xingzhu, watching her eat her meal in small bites, looking obedient and innocent.

Gu Yun'an slightly concealed the lingering darkness in his eyes, hoping that she was truly as he said, simply unwilling to owe others a favor, otherwise...

His gaze slowly shifted to Ruan Xingzhu's small mouth, and some unusual thoughts couldn't help but surface in his mind: that small mouth could no longer eat so peacefully.

At this moment, the night was as dark as water, slowly spreading out, and the water in the pond gradually cooled down as night fell, losing the warmth it carried during the day.

For the past few days, Gu Qingxu has been confined to her home by the Cheng family and is not allowed to step out of the mansion.

Even when she leaves her room, someone follows her, for fear that she will go out and cause trouble again.

Sitting by the window, Gu Qingxu was feeling rather bored when she overheard two maids whispering to each other.

"That seems to be the young master of the Yi family again. Why do he always just linger outside the mansion every time he comes?" a maid said in a low voice.

"Yeah, they don't come in, and we don't know what they're supposed to do."

Listening to the maid's conversation, Gu Qingxu's brows furrowed with doubt. Yi Mingyu? What is Yi Mingyu doing outside the manor?

Judging from the maid's words, he seemed to have come several times already. What exactly had he been doing at the Gu residence? Was he looking for her? And what did he want to do with her?

Gu Qingxu was filled with doubt, her thoughts a jumbled mess. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind: Could it be that Yi Mingyu had heard that Feng Rongrong was in love with him, so he came to find her specifically to distance himself from her and avoid interfering with his good time with Feng Rongrong?

The thought of this possibility startled Gu Qingxu. For some reason, a strange unease welled up inside her, as if a tiny thorn had gently pricked her.

However, this feeling was fleeting. She slightly raised her chin, went straight out the door, and wanted to see what Yi Mingyu was up to.

Gu Qingxu walked briskly towards the gate of the mansion. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Yi Mingyu's figure pacing back and forth not far away.

He kept his head down, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were deep in thought. His steps were somewhat unsteady, sometimes pausing, sometimes pacing slowly, looking as if he were preoccupied with something.

Gu Qingsu hesitated for two seconds before finally calling out in a clear voice, "Yi Mingyu."

Yi Mingyu, who was lost in his own thoughts, suddenly heard Gu Qingsu's familiar voice. His body stiffened slightly, and he froze for a moment. Quickly, as if by reflex, he looked up at the gate of the Gu residence.

Gu Qingxu was dressed in a light blue thin shirt and long dress. She had a slender figure, and the sunlight shining on her seemed to coat her with a dazzling silver edge.

After not seeing her for many days, Gu Qingxu was still as bright as ever, not at all like the gloomy and troubled person he had imagined.

Seeing Gu Qingxu looking at him, Yi Mingyu's expression became somewhat unnatural. He had originally come looking for her, but now that he had actually seen her, he felt a little lost and was so nervous that he didn't know what to say.

Seeing that Yi Mingyu was still in a daze, Gu Qingxu frowned slightly and asked with a hint of impatience, "What are you doing here?"

For some reason, Yi Mingyu always felt inexplicably uneasy whenever he was in front of Gu Qingxu. Hearing Gu Qingxu's question, his expression became anxious, and his tongue seemed to be tied in knots as he stammered, "I...I came here..."

Seeing him dawdle and fail to utter a complete sentence, Gu Qingxu grew even more impatient and couldn't help but interrupt, saying, "You came to see me?"

She couldn't think of any other reason why Yi Mingyu would come here except to find her.

"Exactly...exactly."

When Yi Mingyu saw that Gu Qingsu had spoken for him before he could finish, he quickly nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Then what do you want from me?" Gu Qingxu was already impatient, and Yi Mingyu's slow pace made her even more impatient, and her tone unconsciously became a few degrees harsher.

Hearing Gu Qingxu's urgent voice, Yi Mingyu became increasingly nervous. Like a child who had done something wrong, his eyes revealed a hint of fear, and he hesitated, not daring to say another word.

Seeing that her loud voice seemed to have startled him, Gu Qingxu felt a slight unease and unconsciously lowered her voice, asking tentatively.

"You came to see me about Feng Rongrong?"

Yi Mingyu's eyes widened in surprise, and he asked in astonishment, "How did Miss Gu know?"

Gu Qingxu gently crossed her arms over her chest, a faint smile playing on her lips. She knew not only that he had come to talk about Feng Rongrong, but she also guessed that he wanted to break off their previous feigned agreement so he could elope with Feng Rongrong.

Look at him now, so timid and hesitant to speak. Isn't he just afraid that if I don't agree, I'll make things difficult for him? After all, my reputation in the capital wasn't very good a few days ago.

However, he was really overthinking it. Gu Qingxu had always disdained doing things that forced others; she wasn't some bandit king. But even so, a strange emotion seemed to be churning in a corner of her heart, making her somewhat unwilling to accept this idea.

Her fingers tightened. It must be because she had finally found someone to appease the Cheng family, and now that person was gone, that she was reluctant. That must be it. Gu Qingxu kept convincing herself.

She took a deep breath, trying to dispel the jumbled thoughts in her mind, and slowly lowered her hand, saying in as calm a tone as possible, "Alright, isn't it just that you two are in love? Then our agreement ends here, and we don't need to contact each other anymore."

Having said that, he turned around without hesitation, wanting to go back.

Yi Mingyu was completely stunned by Gu Qingsu's series of words, not understanding at all. What mutual affection? With whom was he in mutual affection?

He quickly realized that Gu Qingxu had misunderstood him. Seeing her turn to leave, he panicked and, disregarding all etiquette, rushed forward and grabbed her forearm tightly.

Suddenly pulled back, Gu Qingxu looked down at her forearm, which was being held tightly by Yi Mingyu. She paused slightly. What was he going to do now? Did he want her to explain to Feng Rongrong that their previous agreement was fake?

"No, Miss Gu has misunderstood me..."

Yi Mingyu felt Gu Qingxu's questioning gaze and became even more flustered. He spoke urgently, his voice filled with anxiety and grievance.

A misunderstanding? Gu Qingxu was a little confused. She slowly raised her eyes and looked directly at Yi Mingyu, her eyes full of doubt.

Yi Mingyu didn't let go of Gu Qingsu's forearm, afraid that if he loosened his grip, she would disappear immediately. Taking a deep breath, he quickly explained, "What I want to tell Miss Gu is that I have already clearly informed Miss Feng that I have no feelings for her whatsoever."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingxu blinked in disbelief, her mind momentarily blank, with only one big question in her mind: why did he go out of his way to tell her all this?

She was unusually flustered, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she simply replied with a faint "Mm".

After a long while, Gu Qingxu finally managed to sort out Yi Mingyu's words in her mind. But she still didn't understand why he would come to tell her all this if he had no feelings for Feng Rongrong.

"No, why are you telling me all this?" Gu Qingxu said, her face flushing slightly, and she could feel her heart beating faster than usual.

She tried to make her tone sound normal. "It was just a sham agreement. You don't need to tell me that."

Gu Qingxu's voice clearly reached Yi Mingyu's ears, and he seemed to be stumped, his whole body trembling.

Thinking about it carefully, he couldn't quite explain why he was so determined to come and explain things to Gu Qingxu. However, if he didn't come, he always felt like something was missing, an emptiness in his heart.

When Gu Qingxu mentioned that their relationship was just a pretense, he was momentarily dazed, as if he had just remembered that their relationship was a deception to appease all parties.

"I……"

When Gu Qingxu asked him this question, Yi Mingyu was at a loss for words. His eyes were lowered, and there seemed to be some unspeakable emotions hidden in his eyes.

He slowly raised his head to meet her gaze and said in a low voice, "It was because of my problem that Miss Feng targeted Miss Gu. By doing this, Miss Feng will no longer cause trouble for Miss Gu."

Yi Mingyu tried to make his tone sound calm, hoping that this explanation would make Gu Qingxu accept his statement.

This reminded Gu Qingxu of the things she had said in her impulsiveness that day. Upon closer reflection, her words did indeed seem to have some connection with Yi Mingyu. She couldn't help but click her tongue inwardly, blaming herself for speaking rashly and saying things she shouldn't have.

“So, I’m not here to break off the agreement with Miss Gu…” Yi Mingyu said this in a voice so soft it was like a mosquito’s buzz. If Gu Qingsu hadn’t been so close, she probably wouldn’t have been able to hear what he was saying at all.

For some reason, Gu Qingxu detected a hint of pleading in his words. This made her momentarily at a loss for how to respond, and she subconsciously glanced down at Yi Mingyu, who was still holding her hand.

Yi Mingyu followed her gaze downwards and suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing his lapse in composure. He panicked and quickly let go of her hand.

"I'm sorry, Miss Gu, I've been very rude." He lowered his head slightly, looking somewhat restrained.

Gu Qingxu watched him revert to his rigid and dull demeanor, and for some reason, she found herself preferring the way he had held her tightly in his moment of panic.

Realizing these strange thoughts were popping into her head, Gu Qingxu was startled and quickly composed herself, saying somewhat flusteredly, "It's nothing, it's nothing."

Meanwhile, in a corner not far away, a pair of eyes were staring intently at this scene. Feng Rongrong was hiding in the corner and watching everything. She couldn't help but be startled. No wonder Yi Mingyu had suddenly started seeing Gu Qingxu; it turned out that their interactions were all fake.

So, Yi Mingyu must have been threatened by Gu Qingsu. Otherwise, given his personality, how could he possibly like a woman who is bold and adept at wielding weapons?

Feng Rongrong's eyebrows curved slightly, and a smug smile appeared on her lips. She was secretly pleased that she had finally caught Gu Qingxu in a compromising situation. This time, she was determined to get back at Gu Qingxu for all the humiliation she had suffered during this period.