"Big brother, stop second brother!" Li Youran hurriedly stopped him after recognizing who it was, "Don't let him do anything foolish!"
"I didn't come here to fight." But it was too late; Tang Lei easily captured Li Tairan with one hand.
"Stop!" Li Youran glared at Tang Lei, frowning as she said, "If you didn't come here to fight, why are you attacking!"
"You..." This damned woman, it was clearly his second brother who attacked first, yet she turned around and falsely accused him. Fine, fine, Tang Lei shook his head and pulled a dagger from his pocket.
"This is what you used to forge before." Hearing Tang Lei's words, Li Youran remembered this matter.
Upon reflection, the original owner had already considered giving up on life before she even transmigrated.
Whenever she recalls that unbearable memory, Li Youran feels a tightness in her chest and can't breathe.
"Little sister, what's wrong?" Zhao Lanzhi was the first to notice Li Youran's abnormality, and then Li Niangzi quickly helped Li Youran up.
Tang Lei also noticed Li Youran's change; the moment she saw the dagger, she seemed to remember something.
What could have terrified her so much...? Tang Lei suddenly remembered the crying that came from Lu Chuan's room that night.
How stupid of me! I actually thought that crying was lovemaking!
He had actually stopped them from beating Lu Chuan. No wonder Li Youran hated him so much. This woman must think of him as Lu Chuan's accomplice. Thinking of this, Tang Lei frowned slightly.
"Um..." He couldn't bring himself to say it, and his face showed difficulty.
Zhao Lanzhi took out a small string of copper coins from her waist and stuffed them into Tang Lei's hand, then made a gesture of closing the door to see him off.
I heard she sells fish soup at the entrance of the academy. I'm going there to deliver a batch of goods tomorrow, so I'll wait for a more suitable opportunity. Tang Lei tucked the small string of copper coins into his waistband and left expressionlessly.
“Miss, you really dote on your son-in-law. I heard yesterday that he likes fish soup, so I cooked some for him today.”
"Stop talking nonsense and saying such shameless things." Although Zhao Lanshan scolded the maid, she was secretly pleased. "Try the fish soup and see if it's salty enough?"
"It's so salty!" Xiao Cui downed her drink in one gulp, gave a thumbs up, and said, "Miss's cooking skills are almost on par with the chefs at Mingyue Tower!"
"Sycophant!" Zhao Lanshan tapped Xiao Cui's head lightly with her finger. "Pack up the fish soup, let's go to the academy."
Zhao Lanshan was Liu Zhiyuan's fiancée, with whom he was betrothed since childhood. Hearing that Liu Zhiyuan raved about the fish soup sold near the school gate, she immediately cooked some fish soup the very next day and specially delivered it to the college.
Thinking about how good business was yesterday, Li Youran specially cooked a lot more fish soup today, and also brought dozens more steamed buns.
Although she arrived later than yesterday, she still made it before school let out at noon. The two women from yesterday turned away when they saw her, so Li Youran simply ignored them.
The perfectly cooked steamed buns, soft yet firm, are soaked in fish soup, making them both delicious and nourishing. As soon as school is over, Li Youran's fish soup stall is surrounded by people.
"Miss, look! So many people are crowding around to drink fish soup." Xiao Cui lifted the curtain to look at Li Youran's stall. "Miss, look, it's the young master!"
"Young Master Liu!" Xiao Cui called out loudly after receiving a signal from Zhao Lanshan.
"Why are you here?" Liu Zhiyuan had come out to buy fish soup, but he didn't expect Zhao Lanshan to show up. Without even thinking, he knew she was here to bring him food.
Liu Zhiyuan neither disliked nor liked his fiancée. In his mind, love should be like that depicted in plays, where two people love each other passionately and madly, escaping worldly constraints to pursue their own desires.
But Zhao Lanshan was chosen by his parents, not by his own choice of love, and he didn't want to live like that for the rest of his life.
"Young Master Liu, my young lady specially cooked fish soup for you and brought it over." Xiao Cui jumped down from the carriage and handed the food box to Liu Er.
"Thank you, Miss Zhao." Liu Zhiyuan cupped his hands towards the carriage and said, "The weather is getting colder, Miss Zhao, it would be best if you went out less often."
"Young Master Liu, you're too kind." Zhao Lanshan lifted a corner of the curtain and said softly, "Young Master Liu, please wear more clothes and be careful not to catch a cold."
Although Zhao Lanshan was proactive and enthusiastic towards Liu Zhiyuan, she never overstepped her bounds and always maintained proper boundaries during their meetings, never showing her face in public.
After exchanging a few brief words, Zhao Lanshan took her leave.
"Young Master, Miss Zhao has already delivered the food. Shall we go buy more?"
"You can have those, I'll go buy some other things to eat." Liu Zhiyuan replied to Liu Er as he strode toward the fish soup stall.
For some reason, ever since he first met Li Youran, he had felt a sense of joy in his heart.
Before, she was his friend's wife, and he could only watch her from afar, burying his feelings deep in his heart. But now it's different; she belongs to no one, and he has the right to pursue her.
"Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Li Youran turned around and saw Liu Zhiyuan staring blankly at her. She felt uneasy. Could he have really hurt himself?
"Thank you for your concern, young lady." Liu Zhiyuan smiled broadly and said, "I'm here to buy fish soup."
"You've come at the perfect time; there's only one bowl left." Before Li Youran could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a magnetic voice.
"A bowl of fish soup, please." Great, he'd finally made it! Tang Lei thought to himself with relief. Buying her a bowl of fish soup to support her business was also a way of apologizing.
Li Youran turned her head and saw Tang Lei. In the cold winter, he was only wearing a thin shirt, and his body was still steaming, his chest rising and falling with his breath.
"I'm sorry! This is the last bowl. This guest was here first." Li Youran handed the last bowl of fish soup to Liu Zhiyuan and said to Tang Lei with a slight apology.
"It's nothing," Tang Lei said before turning and leaving.
"Wait a minute." Judging from the looks of him, he must have been working all morning, and Li Youran felt a little sorry for him.
"There's still half a bowl of fish soup left. How about I charge you two coins?" Li Youran looked at the basket of steamed buns again and said, "There are still quite a few steamed buns left, and they're all warm."
"Okay!" Tang Lei turned back.
Tang Lei ate one steamed bun after another in just a few bites. Li Youran, worried that he might choke, gave him some hot water that she had brought with her.
"Um... I'm sorry." Tang Lei stammered, seeing that he was alone with Li Youran. "I thought before... I didn't know that Lu Chuan treated you like that."
"It's nothing." Li Youran was a little surprised, but still said calmly, "You don't need to apologize, this has nothing to do with you."
"I shouldn't have stopped your brother from hitting him." Tang Lei's eyes gleamed coldly. "People like that deserve to be hit."
Li Youran was frightened by the murderous aura emanating from Tang Lei, and her intuition told her that Tang Lei was not a simple person.
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