Chapter 13 The Fake Heiress's Escape from Marriage: 13 Peaceful Knots

Strolling on the green grass, Yun Chiyi bent down to pick up a withered lotus leaf by the small pond, her light green skirt brushing against the tips of the grass.

She used a lotus leaf to catch the water from the fountain, the water splashing against the leaf with a soft, rhythmic sound.

Lin Jishen turned around upon hearing the sound, his tall figure standing still.

Yun Chiyi looked pleased: "Is there anything else you want to say?"

Lin Jishen was facing away from the sun; in the place where the warm sun couldn't reach, the shadow enveloped him.

He said in a flat tone, "Have you been getting too close to Wen Yan Yan lately?"

She gave me an innocent look: "We're friends."

Lin Jishen nodded: "You haven't thought at all about how she would view you if she found out the truth later. As a friend, she probably wouldn't blame you."

Yun Chiyi was a beat slow to react: "You're talking so sarcastically."

She tossed aside the lotus leaf, lifted her skirt, and wiped her wet fingertips: "I'm stuck in a bind, I can't care about anything else. I'm on edge every day, what's wrong with making friends? I'm so bored without anyone close to me."

Lin Jishen's gaze followed the green veil falling from her hand, a deep gloom lurking in his eyes: "Is she the only person you're close to?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Chiyi couldn't help but chuckle: "I didn't say it was the only one."

The sound of the fountain suddenly became louder, and the sound of the water was somewhat disturbing.

She stepped closer, bringing her fair, rosy face close to hers, her eyes clear and bright: "You're someone close to me too."

Lin Jishen looked at her with a half-smile.

She suddenly turned around, muttering to herself, "You know most of my secrets, and I know a lot about you too. Isn't that a close enough relationship?"

She gave an ambiguous answer, then clarified it within seconds.

Lin Ji knew her tricks all too well and didn't pay much attention to them.

Yun Chiyi took a few steps forward and led the way: "I haven't seen Gong Mufeng for several days. What is he doing?"

Lin Jishen said, "Fitness."

After listening, she said in a gentle tone, "No wonder I couldn't see him. Speaking of which, he seemed to have sent me a message earlier, but I haven't had a chance to check it yet."

She took out her phone from her bag, opened the chat app, and opened her chat history with Gong Mufeng. The first thing she saw was a screen full of bronze abs.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a muscular physique..."

She clicked on the second photo, staring intently at the screen in the sunlight.

Lin Jishen took the phone without saying a word and quickly deleted the chat history.

Yun Chiyi was stunned: "I haven't finished reading it yet."

Lin Jishen didn't return her phone: "What do you want to see?"

"In case he has something important to tell me."

"What important matter could he possibly have to discuss with you?"

While talking about serious topics, Yun Chiyi's eyes were simultaneously scrutinizing the lines under Lin Jishen's shirt. His well-defined muscles were completely hidden, making him a perfect example of someone who looks slim in clothes.

"Don't let your eyes wander."

She was too blunt. A shadow fell over Lin Jishen's face as he returned the phone.

Yun Chiyi followed his steps: "I was just checking if your clothes were dirty."

Lin Jishen walked quickly: "You have too many things to worry about."

Yun Chiyi humbly said, "It's just a small thing within my ability, there's no need to worry about it too much."

Before Lin Jishen's expression changed, she steered the conversation back to the original topic: "Did you need something from me?"

Arriving out of nowhere, Lin Jishen was taken aback for a moment: "Gong Hanlu wants you to choose a couplet for the Longevity Pine."

Yun Chiyi bit her lip and then said, "What? Is he trying to intimidate me?"

Lin Jishen said, "The longevity pine was a gift from Gu Zhao."

Yun Chiyi listened with a sense of relief: "So you were trying to embarrass me."

She walked slowly to the front hall, where the busy figures made her dizzy.

Gong Hanlu was not there; instead, she instructed someone to let her choose a couplet with the best meaning.

Faced with a crowd of eager eyes, Yun Chiyi stood on a dozen or so couplets handwritten by famous calligraphers, pondering for a long time.

They whispered among themselves, and she couldn't utter a single word for a long time, probably because she didn't understand calligraphy.

Lin Jishen was looking at things in his notebook, occasionally glancing at her movements.

Yun Chiyi stood there, her slender fingers resting on her chin.

The cleaning lady at the Gong family's house tilted her head and leaned over, kindly reminding them, "Actually, no one really looks at the couplets carefully."

Yun Chiyi looked back with bright, sparkling eyes: "Basically, only the people who write couplets will read them."

The aunt fiddled with the rag in her hand: "Anyone who gets chosen will be happy."

Yun Chiyi continued to ponder, but her blank expression seemed to betray her. Finally, she peeled back the layers of red paper and took out the bottom one.

Lin Jishen strolled closer: "Mr. Gong and Mr. Qi had some estrangement in the past, but this year the other party took the initiative to send over the birthday couplets, and Mr. Gong had them placed at the very bottom."

He addressed Mr. Gong respectfully, and Yun Chiyi felt a chill run down her spine.

"He let me choose, but I don't know how. I think this piece of calligraphy is the most beautiful."

Yun Chiyi stubbornly took out the birthday couplet and held it in her hand to admire the vigorous and powerful strokes of the calligraphy.

Lin Jishen said, "You choose this?"

A smile bloomed on her lips, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes: "This Mr. Qi is a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts."

Lin Jishen glanced at her expression out of the corner of his eye: "You don't know her either."

Yun Chiyi said in a low voice, "Isn't this exactly what I was planning to do?"

After choosing the birthday couplets, she and the other women tied peace knots together.

She mingled among four or five aunties, smiling and humbly asking for their advice. She was actually a quick learner; after watching something twice, she tried it herself.

Several aunties praised her for being skillful and clever, and said she was a perfect match for Young Master Gong.

Yun Chiyi joked, "Mu Feng doesn't know how to tie a peace knot either."

An auntie blurted out, "Ji Shenhui."

After Lin Jishen finished taking inventory of the kitchen utensils and writing down everything in detail, he overheard someone talking about him.

He closed his notebook and walked over. Yun Chiyi's eyes were filled with a comforting smile: "They said you know how to tie a peace knot."

She stretched out her jade-like arm and handed over the red rope: "Which one do you know?"

The aunties chimed in, "Oh, show us!"

Yun Chiyi chimed in, "That's right."

Lin Jishen remained calm as he took the red rope from her hand. His gaze was casual, but his hands moved with ease, quickly tying a neat and proper peace knot.

"That's amazing."

Yun Chiyi showered him with praise, her eyes always fixed on him.

The more carefree her smile, the deeper the red mark between Lin Jishen's eyebrows went.

Before he could say anything else, Yun Chiyi turned around gracefully, picked up the red rope on the table, and wrapped the bright red rope around her fingertip. The red and white matched perfectly, making her look incredibly beautiful.

Lin Jishen glanced at him for a while before leaving the front hall.

Yun Chiyi and the aunties stayed for another half hour before returning to the corridor pavilion after receiving a call from Wen Yanyan.

Wen Yan Yan finished the painting, and upon seeing her, she gave a subtle smile: "It's done."

It was already dark, and the surroundings were shrouded in mist, making the lotus pond seem deserted.

Yun Chiyi leaned closer to look: "It's beautiful."

With such a simple assessment, Wen Yan Yan waved her hands in the air a few times, then asked anxiously and expectantly, "Don't you feel anything else?"

Yun Chiyi looked at it again: "It's just very well painted. It's full of life and perfectly captures the afternoon sun. The lines are smooth and the light and shadow are just right. I can't say anything else."

Wen Yan Yan put away her tools with satisfaction: "I like your evaluation."

Yun Chiyi burst out laughing, then suddenly remembered something and asked indirectly, "Were you here alone all afternoon?"

Wen Yan Yan was very focused in the afternoon and did not notice that anyone else had come by.

"I don't know about further away, but no one has ever been to the pavilion."

Good, Lin Jishen didn't sneak up to talk to them, and Gong Mufeng, who had just returned in the evening, hadn't noticed them yet.

Yun Chiyi helped pack up the paintbrushes and casually said, "Why don't you move to Hongshan Garden? It must be so boring for you to live alone in a rented place. If you stay at home, you can cover for me when I go out to play."

Wen Yan Yan was extremely surprised: "This is not good."

She belatedly realized she had spoken too loudly, frowned, lowered her head, and avoided eye contact: "I'm very happy living there, really happy."

Yun Chiyi tilted her head, trying to find a line of eye to meet hers: "Something's wrong with you."

The next second, Wen Yanyan's ears turned red: "I don't understand what you're saying."

Yun Chiyi's eyes widened: "You're not in a relationship, are you?"

[Quickly tell me a name, I need to know all his information, I will protect the female lead.] The system was equally shocked.

Wen Yan Yan pursed her lips and said after a long while, "I'm not in a relationship. He's an art teacher. We occasionally discuss things. He has unique insights and even allows me to sit in on his classes."

Yun Chiyi fell silent.

It turns out that Wen Yanyan has become a little mischievous in order to audit classes.

Wen Yanyan suddenly laughed: "You were so startled just now, just like my teacher."

Yun Chiyi was speechless. She really felt like her little cabbage had been stolen from her home.

Wen Yan Yan smiled gently, smoothing the stray hairs by her ear: "I'm actually quite envious of the students who attend his classes. They're all college students who love drawing. Sometimes when I'm standing next to them, I feel..."

Yun Chiyi probably knew what she was going to say; she felt like she was in college while she was in the classroom.

Yun Chiyi's expression gradually hardened, becoming as cold as ice. When she wasn't smiling, her eyes and brows were cold, and she exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay.

The system didn't dare to joke around at this point, because in the original story, Wen Yan Yan didn't go to university either; she was like a precious canary kept in a cage.

Soon, Yun Chiyi concealed her coldness and turned around, her eyes meeting those of Lin Jishen, who was standing quietly under the tree.

He arrived just in time; she had something to give him.

Wen Yan Yan, carrying her bag, watched helplessly as Yun Chi Yi walked away.

Going again.

As Yun Chiyi approached, she stopped before the night breeze arrived. Lin Jishen's black hair brushed against his eyebrows, and he spoke first, asking her, "Were you angry just now?"

It's so far away, yet he can see it so clearly.

Yun Chiyi shrugged: "Why should I be angry?"

She smiled gently, looked down and rummaged through her bag, then clenched her fist and held it out: "I have a gift for you."

Lin Jishen did not accept the challenge.

Yun Chiyi blinked, then gazed at him with her misty eyes.

It seems to be saying, "Are you really not going to?"

Lin Jishen accepted it expressionlessly; he had already anticipated this the moment he saw the red string at the end.

Yun Chiyi pointed to herself triumphantly: "The peace knot I made."

But Lin Jishen felt as if he was holding a ball of fire in his palm, so hot that his arm went numb.

At this moment, the system's voice rang in Yun Chiyi's mind.

Lin Jishen's emotions fluctuated.