Chapter 12 Wan Yan Ming Zhao Wei Ming Zhao gritted her teeth, "You are a woman, and..."
Xie Wanyan and Wei Mingzhao
Extra 2
The man slowly turned around.
The person who could once be called a boy now looks like a man.
With broad shoulders and a strong waist, he appears slender yet possesses boundless power, like a taut slingshot.
Upon seeing him clearly, Xie Wanyan was so startled that she took a step back.
The once flamboyant and carefree Wei Mingzhao, dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, had become a different person; his face had become extremely thin. His once bright eyes were now filled with darkness and gloom, and his whole demeanor was gloomy.
Just as wild beasts in the mountains can distinguish hunters who have seen blood, Xie Wanyan was the same; she immediately and keenly noticed that he was very different from before.
Xie Wanyan couldn't explain why she recognized him even though he looked completely different.
Wei Mingzhao lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her toes.
Suddenly, she slowly raised her eyes, "Miss Xie, what brings you here?"
His tone was distant and cold, as if he were a stranger.
But Wei Mingzhao always spoke to her with a smile in his voice. Even when she was willful and reckless, Wei Mingzhao never got angry with her and always indulged her.
Suppressing her inner turmoil, Xie Wanyan stared at him and asked, "Did you give me that glass hairpin?"
Wei Mingzhao's eyelashes trembled slightly. "I don't know what Miss Xie means."
He immediately stepped forward and said, "If there's nothing else, please step aside. I have other things to attend to."
When did Wei Mingzhao treat her so coldly?
Even though they had fallen off their horses earlier, Wei Mingzhao disregarded his broken leg and crawled toward her.
He had never treated her like this before.
She knew there was a reason for everything, but she still felt wronged and sad.
She stood there, stunned, unaware that her eyes were already red.
Wei Mingzhao glanced at it lightly, his hands hanging at his sides clenched into fists.
He stiffened his neck, turned his head, and strode out of the alley.
The alley was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to stand side by side.
"Wei Mingzhao, didn't you eat properly?"
As they passed each other, she suddenly asked in a low voice.
Wei Mingzhao swallowed hard. "It has nothing to do with Miss Xie."
He added, "We are now worlds apart, Miss Xie, you must look to the future."
Without lingering after saying that, Xie Wanyan turned back and only caught a glimpse of the fluttering hem of the flying fish robe.
Leaving so quickly, don't you feel any reluctance at all?
She felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.
Wei Mingzhao... has a personality very similar to Xie Lang's, with an inherently proud and aloof spirit.
Otherwise, the two wouldn't have become friends.
He had always looked down on the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who worked in the shadows, finding them not upright enough, but now he had actually joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Fate really does play tricks on people.
How heartbroken he must be.
After returning home that day, Xie Wanyan went into the small kitchen and begged the nanny to teach her how to make some food.
While it's called food, it mainly consists of various kinds of snacks that are easy to carry.
She was very tired from working outside, so she added a lot of sugar.
It took several days to make a box of pastries that were both visually appealing and delicious.
She quietly took the wooden box and went outside the Imperial Guard compound.
After waiting for a long time behind the bushes, Wei Mingzhao and a group of people walked arm in arm through the streets toward this side.
He mingled in the crowd, acting completely nonchalant and carefree. He was a stark contrast to his past self, and Xie Wanyan couldn't help but clutch the cloth covering the food box.
Hesitated for a moment.
Wei Mingzhao's eyes were sharp. He noticed someone watching him and immediately looked over.
When he realized who was looking at him, he suppressed his smile. Just then, someone called him from beside him, and he turned and walked away.
I didn't look at her again.
Xie Wanyan stood there, stunned.
She had just seen that the group of people had dried bloodstains on their hands, and Wei Mingzhao's hands were even worse, with their original skin color almost unrecognizable.
What...did they go about?
Xie Wanyan was very flustered.
This was the first time I realized that Wei Mingzhao was truly different from before.
And what about her?
What should she do?
She stared blankly for a while, then, after thinking it over, placed the food box under the tree.
He glanced at the majestic and solemn gate again, then turned and left.
Unbeknownst to Xie Wanyan, just as she crossed the street corner, a figure leaped out of the door.
After returning home, Xie Wanyan lay on her bed and thought about many things.
I barely slept a wink that night, tossing and turning, thinking about things.
She was afraid and worried, but what she couldn't stand the most was his increasingly gaunt face.
In just a few days, he became even thinner than before.
That sharp chin was like a knife blade, ready to cut through people!
So the next day, Xie Wanyan went anyway, bringing a food box, this time containing some meat strips that could be stored.
The food box she had left yesterday was gone, and she subtly smiled.
She waited under the tree for half a day, but this time she was not so lucky and did not see Wei Mingzhao.
Xie Wanyan also went on the third day.
Xie Wanyan went there every day for the next few days, but she didn't see Wei Mingzhao for several days. She became worried, wondering if he had been injured.
That day, she encountered another group of people returning, and Xie Wanyan mustered up her courage to go up and ask them questions.
Knowing that she probably couldn't mention Wei Mingzhao's name, she asked, "Excuse me, why isn't that skinny young man here?"
She stopped the man, who was extremely burly, like a bear. But the boy's face looked kind.
The man sized her up for a few moments. "Who are you talking about?"
Xie Wanyan then described it in detail, mentioning that there was a scar on her right arm.
The young man then realized that it was indeed someone he knew, and said, "He was injured and is resting for the next few days."
Xie Wanyan panicked upon hearing this, "How did you get injured? Can you take medicine?"
The young man asked suspiciously, "Who are you to him? Why are you so concerned? Are you his sister?"
The young man didn't ask the last question aloud: "Is she still my sweetheart?"
"It's his sister."
Without revealing who his sister was, Xie Wanyan took out a money pouch and handed it to the young man, saying, "Please go and ask him what he needs, and I'll go and buy it for him."
The young man chuckled as he weighed the money bag in his hand, then tossed it back into hers.
"Just one question, wait a moment."
Xie Wanyan paced back and forth anxiously.
The young man returned shortly after, and upon seeing Xie Wanyan's anxious gaze, he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, saying, "He said he wouldn't see you."
Xie Wanyan froze completely.
She had considered countless possibilities, but she never expected him to refuse to see her.
"...Hey, don't cry."
This young man also has a sister at home, and he can't stand seeing his daughter cry. "How about this, I'll look after him for you. If he needs anything, I'll tell the old man at the tea stall across the street, and you can buy it and leave it there."
He paused slightly, then comforted her, "No family member would disown you. Perhaps you're just angry; you'll be fine in a few days."
Xie Wanyan thanked the young man in a daze, not even knowing how to get back to the mansion.
The other guy returned to his dorm room.
Coincidentally, he and Wei Mingzhao shared a dormitory room.
They had just met and didn't really know each other, only that the newcomer seemed to have experienced some kind of family trouble.
After thinking it over, I still said a few words, "Why are you throwing a tantrum with your sister? I saw that girl was about to cry, and she almost fell when she left. You should talk things out, why are you throwing such a tantrum?"
Wei Mingzhao's eyelashes trembled, covering his reddened eyes. He thanked her in a muffled voice and pulled the blanket over his face.
The young man looked at him and said, "The boss said to give you two more days to recover. Get well soon."
Wei Mingzhao: "Hmm."
In the following days, Xie Wanyan kept going to the tea stall. The old man at the tea stall was kind and helped her pass on a message. She was relieved to hear that everything was alright.
She rubbed her face; she had lost a lot of weight in the past two days.
This time she learned her lesson.
To avoid causing him trouble, she hid in an even more secluded place.
Wei Mingzhao was like a slippery eel, and she waited for him for several more days.
Xie Wanyan watched closely from behind the bushes. His face was much paler, his once straight back was slightly hunched, and... he had lost a lot of weight.
Xie Wanyan's heart sank slightly.
He's lost weight again. How much weight does he even have left?
If things continue like this, she's worried that he might fall and die one day!
Wei Mingzhao seemed to have something on his mind, and walked very quickly towards the lake.
Xie Wanyan followed quietly behind.
Then he boarded the painted boat.
Why go to the pleasure boat? She wondered.
After another moment, a slender figure boarded the painted boat.
Xie Wanyan suddenly gripped her dress, jumped up, and headed towards the lake to get a better view.
The painted boat rose from the water and left the shore.
White gauze curtains fluttered in the window, and the faint sounds of string and wind instruments could be heard.
She seemed to smell the fragrance of flowers on the woman, and her head began to buzz.
She never did.
I never imagined that Wei Mingzhao would have anything to do with other women.
Never.
In her heart, Wei Mingzhao should rightfully be hers!
When she fell off her horse, he caught her in his arms. He was so surprised that he lightly touched her forehead with his lips. How could it not be hers?
Even if this man dies, he will still be hers!
Behind the dreamlike white veil, the two grew closer and closer.
Forget about hiding, she stood up and stared intently at the window, feeling a sharp pain in her heart.
She kept her eyes open, refusing to blink, unwilling to miss a single detail.
But at that moment, their eyes met.
She gritted her teeth, her expression a mixture of anger and resentment, but in the next instant, she saw him pull the white veil up without hesitation.
You can no longer see clearly, but you can see shadowy figures overlapping each other.
A raging fire burned within her, searing her with fury, and she could almost hear her own flesh crackling and popping.
She bit her lip until blood appeared, and only then did she come to her senses when she heard the gasps of those around her.
She waited there expressionlessly.
Waiting for the painted boat to dock, waiting for him and that person to walk off hand in hand.
He didn't even glance in this direction.
Xie Wanyan keenly noticed that his clothes were loose and his hairpins were more disheveled than before.
She clenched her fists, letting her nails dig into her palms.
After the woman left, Wei Mingzhao walked back alone.
Xie Wanyan followed without hesitation.
They pulled the person into an alleyway.
Wei Mingzhao seemed unsurprised, looking at her listlessly.
Xie Wanyan was stung by that gaze, but she refused to give up. "What is your relationship with that woman?"
Wei Mingzhao frowned and remained silent, but his gloomy expression suggested extreme impatience.
He had never treated her like this before!
She also kept a cold face and refused to back down an inch.
Xie Wanyan has never been a gentle person; her kindness and consideration these days are only because she sees him sad!
At this moment, his fierce temper flared up again. He grabbed Wei Mingzhao's collar, pulled him towards him, and forced him to look at him. "Look at me and tell me who that woman is?"
Wei Mingzhao turned her face away and did not answer, instead talking about something else.
"The past is the past, but you still take it to heart."
Wei Mingzhao gritted her teeth, "You're a woman, you should have some self-respect!"
Xie Wanyan frowned in surprise, "You're saying I have no shame?"
Wei Mingzhao's eyes were icy cold. He slightly turned his head and glanced at her hand before looking at her, his expression a mix of mockery and sarcasm, "Isn't that right?"
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Author's Note: Next Chapter Preview:
"I'm setting you free. From now on, even if I die, I, Xie Wanyan, will never come looking for you again."
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