Chu Zhao pushed the teacup towards He Yan. He Yan glanced at the teacup but did not move.

"When we were in Jiyang and Rundu, Ah He and I were friends. How come we became estranged after returning to Shuojing?" Chu Zhao said with a smile.

He Yan looked at him, "I heard that the Fourth Young Master was seriously injured a few days ago. Is he okay?"

"It's not a big deal," Chu Zhao said with a smile, "but I'm happy that Ah He is worried about me."

He Yan frowned and looked at him. Why did Chu Zhao's words sound like a teasing? When they were in Rundu, Jiyang, He Yan just thought he was joking and didn't take it seriously. Now she and Chu Zhao have been arranged to be married, even if Xu Pingting and his marriage can no longer be held as scheduled, their identities are still a little subtle.

Could it be that he wanted to use her to deal with Xiao Jue? He Yan thought, at present, Xu Jingfu's remaining gang members have not been completely cleared out, and it is very likely that they will join Chu Zhao's group. In this way, Chu Zhao and Xiao Jue are still rivals. If Chu Zhao wanted to use her to deal with Xiao Jue...he actually used a beauty trap? It was too much of a sacrifice.

Seeing He Yan's strange look, Chu Zhao was stunned for a moment. After a while, as if he had seen through her thoughts, he shook his head and laughed, "What are you thinking about now, Ah He?"

"Fourth Master," He Yan said seriously, "Where did you get Miss He's hairpin?"

"Grandma Xu?" Chu Zhao said, "I just saw that Ah He took good care of Grandma Xu, so I had her hairpin taken away. This is not a gentleman's behavior, but I just wanted to see Ah He." He asked, "Ah He is very sincere to Grandma Xu."

"The matter between the He and Xu families was caused by me. Miss He's deceased elder sister and I happen to have the same name and surname, and we are also destined to be together, so it is only right that I take better care of her." He Yan answered fluently.

Chu Zhao took a sip of tea and sighed, "In that case, I am actually very jealous of Miss Na He."

"What are you jealous of?"

"I envy Ah He for caring about her so much."

He Yan: “…”

She now understood that Chu Zhao was clearly teasing her, and compared to before, he was teasing her more brazenly and openly.

He Yan looked down at her hands. Was it because she hadn't shown off her kung fu in front of others for a long time, causing people to forget that her fists could smash rocks into pieces?

"Fourth Young Master, you didn't ask me to come here to talk about these things, did you?" He Yan asked, "Why don't you just say what you want to say."

Chu Zhao smiled, then frowned for a moment: "Ah He treats me like an enemy now, is it because of Governor Xiao?"

He Yan looked at him and said nothing.

"It's almost New Year's Day," Chu Zhao looked at her with a gentle gaze, and there seemed to be a hint of barely perceptible sadness, "It won't be long before Ah He and Governor Xiao get married."

"Does the Fourth Young Master want to congratulate me?"

Chu Zhao shook his head: "No, I want to ask you... do you really want to marry Governor Xiao?"

He Yan: “…Of course.”

"Can we not get married?"

He Yan was simply puzzled: "Why not get married?"

"Because," he looked over with a smile, "I like Ah He."

He Yan: “…”

In her last life, when she was the second daughter of the He family, although she had many dealings with men, no one had ever confessed his love to her. Even when she was married to Xu Zhiheng, Xu Zhiheng never said the word "like". Unexpectedly, after her rebirth, many peach blossoms bloomed. Putting aside the rotten peach blossom Fan Cheng, whether it was Mu Yi in Jiyang City, Xiao Jue now, or Chu Zhao at present, He Yan was a little suspicious. This daughter of the He family was born beautiful, but she was not a beauty. Why was she so attractive? Xiao Jue had a fate with her for two lifetimes, but what about Mu Yi and Chu Zhao? They had not even spoken to each other for a few times, and they just said "like", wasn't it a bit casual.

"Fourth Young Master, you can't just say that casually." He Yan calmed himself down and replied politely.

"I'm not joking," Chu Zhao looked at her gently, his eyes seemed serious, "I fell in love with Ah He as early as when Liangzhou Wei saw Ah He."

He Yan couldn't help but get goosebumps all over his body.

She thought that she was not used to hearing people say sweet words so bluntly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Fourth, but," she said, "I already have someone I like."

"Is it Governor Xiao?"

"Yes." He Yan answered readily.

"Ah He is always so direct in his actions," Chu Zhao still smiled, but his eyes were somewhat dim. He asked, "Why... do you like Governor Xiao?"

Why?

He Yan was stunned. She had never known that there was a reason to like someone. If you like someone, you like him. Why? If she had to say something, it was probably because Xiao Jue was so good. He secretly put loquats in her bag when he saw that she wanted to eat loquats, asked the brothel mother to replace the strong liquor with sweet rose water, knew that she didn't have enough strength to lift the knife in the academy, so he deliberately chose the swordsmanship master, and when he saw that she was seasick, he gave her seasickness medicine and lied that it was poison... There were so many things like this. It was strange that he seemed to have never been treated gently by others, but he seemed to know how to take care of others gently.

After thinking for a while, she smiled and said, "I used to have a bad relationship with people. Not many people were nice to me, so I remembered every person who was nice to me. Later, I found out that the person who was nice to me was actually the same person. How could I not like him?"

"I will be nice to you too." Chu Zhao said gently.

He Yan raised his eyes and looked at him: "Master Chu Si, we are not the same kind of people."

There was silence in the tea room.

Chu Zhao's eyes were lighter in color, which made him look gentler than others. But now, his eyes were like fluoresce that was about to shatter, so fragile that it made people's heart break.

"Ah He, I'm very sad when you say that."

He Yan said: "I'm sorry."

Although she was never very good at handling intimate relationships between people, when He Yan said this about Chu Zhao, she didn't struggle much. It was an indisputable fact that Chu Zhao and she were not the same kind of people. Because of their relationship in the previous life, she preferred people who were open and honest, rather than those who said three-tenths of what they said and kept seven-tenths of what they meant, which always made people unpredictable.

After all, they were adults, and not wanting to make the atmosphere awkward, He Yan also smiled: "Besides, I am about to get married. The Fourth Young Master pleaded with the Emperor to spare Miss Xu's life, so he must have true feelings for Miss Xu. The Fourth Young Master doesn't know," she said in a relaxed tone, "I am a jealous person. The man I marry will not have any other women in the backyard except me in the future. Xiao Jue paid a price to marry me."

"How difficult is that?" Chu Zhao looked at her and said seriously, "If Ah He is willing to marry me, there will definitely be only Ah He in my backyard."

“Pah—”

Before He Yan could say anything, there was a loud noise and the door behind him was kicked open.

"What big talk." Someone sneered.

He Yan looked back and saw Xiao Jue walking in with a sullen face. Compared with Chu Zilan, he was chilled by the snow outside, and his expression was even colder than the snow. He Yan thought, if the city garrison was not far away, he might have killed someone.

"Commander Xiao arrived really quickly." Chu Zhao sighed, stood up, and said with a smile: "It was almost successful."

He Yan's face changed drastically. Almost? What do you mean almost? Don't say such misleading words at this time!

"No, no!" He Yan explained quickly, "It didn't work. I failed right from the beginning. Really!"

Xiao Jue didn't even look at her, but just stared at Chu Zilan, with a knife in his eyes and a sarcastic look.

"Commander Xiao, you'd better not be too fierce in front of the young lady." Chu Zhao chuckled and looked at He Yan again, "Every word I said to Ah He today is from my heart. If Ah He changes her mind, I will definitely find a way for her... I also really want to marry Ah He."

The last sentence, with its tail end like honey that has been brewing for a long time, makes people's hearts flutter.

However, before the ripples could reach anyone's lips, they were cut off by a sword.

The long table was smashed to pieces by Dianqiu, and the teapot and cups on the table were broken into pieces all over the floor, with the sound being particularly clear in the night.

Xiao Jue was tall and slender, his fingertips holding Yin Qiu were slightly white, his tone was calm, but it seemed like he was brewing a lot of anger, he said lightly: "You are a scoundrel, are you worthy of this?"

Chu Zhao looked at him with a smile, the atmosphere was tense.

Not far away was the city garrison. He Yan estimated that if there was any more noise here, it would attract people. When Xiao Jue used Yin Qiu as a prize in the sword contest on Tianxing Terrace, someone scolded Xiao Jue for being blinded by lust. If this happened today, wouldn't it confirm her reputation as a beauty who brings disaster? God has mercy on her. She didn't do anything, so why did she make things like this?

He Yan acted decisively, grabbed Xiao Jue's sleeve and dragged him out, turning back to Chu Zhao and saying, "It's too late today, don't say any more, Fourth Master Chu, bye."

Chu Zhao smiled and said, "Okay."

He Yan dragged Xiao Jue out of the tea room. The two children in plain clothes at the door had disappeared without a trace. After walking a few steps out of the garden, Xiao Jue suddenly shook off her hand. He Yan was stunned. She saw that the man had already walked in another direction.

No doubt he was angry again.

But this time, He Yan could understand very well. The wedding was imminent, and she was caught in the act of prying the corner of the wall. If it was her, she would also feel upset. But He Yan was also very aggrieved. She chased He Xinying and saw Chu Zhao. At first, she thought Chu Zhao had something to say to her. He Yan was still thinking about whether to use the trick to trick him. Unexpectedly, Chu Zhao came up with a very cheesy confession, which made people dizzy and turned around. She didn't expect this result!

Oh... forget it. Anyway, Mr. Xiao is angry again, and she has to calm him down first.

"Xiao Jue, walk slower, I can't catch up with you—" He Yan called him from behind.

But this time, Xiao Jue did not slow down as before.

He Yan seemed to be extremely angry. He chased after him from behind, ran to him, turned around, and hugged him by the waist: "Stop, don't leave!"

Xiao Jue was held tightly by her and could not move for a while. He did not even look at her, but turned his head to look away, his face still cold.

"Let me explain to you," He Yan said hurriedly, "What happened today was definitely an accident. He came to me with Xinying's hairpin, and I thought Xinying was in trouble and went to see him, but I didn't expect that he was just tricking me to come out and talk. I definitely didn't have a secret meeting with him in the middle of the night, and there was absolutely no affair!"

It would have been better if she didn't say the last sentence. Once she said it, the air around them became a little colder.

"Don't be angry. Getting angry is bad for your health." He Yan reached out to rub his chest. "You are so young, but you hold your breath all day long. Be careful not to get sick from anger."

Xiao Jue blocked her hand that was touching everywhere and frowned, saying, "Don't touch me."

"No," He Yan clung to him like a rogue, "unless you're not angry anymore."

Xiao Jue took a deep breath, looked down at her, and said coldly, "Even if he lied to you, why didn't you leave immediately after you knew you were fooled?"

"I don't understand what he wants to do. I thought he had something serious to discuss with me." He Yan explained: "It's late at night, and he's already here..."

"You're already here?" He looked at He Yan in disbelief.

"Since I'm here, I have to ask clearly!" He Yan said righteously, "How do I know he is here to... ahem... talk about irrelevant things." After saying that, he muttered softly, "It's so scary."

Xiao Jue sneered, "I told you to stay away from him."

"I know, I know," He Yan pointed to the sky and the earth and swore, "I will stay away from him in the future!" This was natural. Who could have thought that Chu Zhao would actually have such an idea for her? It was creepy to think about it.

Xiao Jue's expression eased a little.

He Yan looked at him and saw that he didn't seem as angry as before, so she asked, "But how did you know I was here?" She exclaimed, "You asked someone to follow me again?"

Xiao Jue said unhappily: "Not with you, but with Chu Zilan."

He Yan said "Oh" and sighed: "You care more about Chu Zilan than you do about me. Look how generous I am. Why am I not angry?"

Xiao Jue stared at her without saying a word.

"I was joking." He Yan said with a smile, and suddenly remembered something, "Then when did you arrive?" She was startled, "You arrived at the beginning."

The young man raised his eyebrows slightly.

He Yan: “…”

"What did you hear?" she asked tentatively.

"What should I hear?"

What should He Yan hear if she doesn't say anything? If Xiao Jue came early enough, wouldn't Xiao Jue have heard everything she talked about with Chu Zhao? Including her unyielding confession. He Yan let go of her hand holding him, turned her head away, and wanted to slap herself hard.

Although she herself doesn't care about the shame, but now think about it, she has confessed so many times. From the front, from the side, in front of him, behind his back, she is not a person who confesses without emotion, how come she is caught every time. It's embarrassing, but this person is too dark, just listening outside. If she shows more intimacy with Chu Zhao, will she be accused of "adultery".

There is really no way to defend oneself.

He Yan was lost in thought when he heard him ask, "What are you still standing there for?"

Seeing He Yan looking at him, Xiao Jue paused and said, "Let's go back."

He Yan said "hmm", took two steps, then stopped, looked at him suspiciously and said, "Xiao Jue."

Xiao Jue stopped and looked back at her: "What's wrong?"

"I think about it carefully, and it seems a bit uneconomical." He Yan said.

"What's not planned?"

He Yan blinked: "How many times have you heard me confess my feelings? I have never heard you confess your feelings."

Xiao Jue: “What?”

He Yan spoke confidently, so don't blame her for being so fussy. Now that she thought about it, Xiao Jue might be reserved or something, but he always spoke in a roundabout way, and He Yan was confused by all those flowery words.

"Anyway," she took a step forward and said, "You never said you liked me."

"Like?" He looked at He Yan steadily and asked.

He Yan nodded: "Yes!"

"Miss He," he called He Yan's name, which made He Yan shudder, "What do you want to confirm?"

He Yan was speechless for a moment.

To be honest, she just wanted to take advantage of Xiao Jue verbally and listen to a few nice words from him. However, Xiao Jue was so serious that she didn't know what to say for a moment. Just when she was trying to find an excuse to get away with it, she saw the man in front of her take a step forward.

The young man's face was very close, his features were clean and handsome. When their eyes met, there seemed to be an inexplicable emotion in his deep black eyes, which made people blush and their hearts beat fast.

"You..." He Yan had just said one word when he was interrupted by him.

He took a step forward, "The first loquat I picked was for you, the first time I taught someone swordsmanship was you," and took another step forward, "The first time I applied medicine to someone was you, the first time I gave someone candy was also you." He stepped forward again, step by step, "The first girl I coaxed was you, the first time I covered up a lie for someone was also you."

"After thinking about it, I think the first person I like should be you."

He Yan was forced to the stone wall behind him. She had no way to retreat. When she raised her head, she met his faintly smiling gaze. "Miss He, are you sure now?"

He Yan listened to his own heartbeat and for a moment forgot why he had just mentioned this.

Her gaze moved from Xiao Jue's eyes to the corner of his lips, and she suddenly wanted to go up and kiss him.

She did just that, tiptoeing lightly and moving towards the person in front of her.

Xiao Jue was startled at first, then the smile in his eyes grew brighter and brighter. He leaned forward slightly, and just when he was about to touch her——

"Wow! The morals of Shuojing City have really gone downhill! How can someone who is interested in Longyang dare to be so brazen?"

"It's too much to look at! Hurry up and go away, what are you still looking at?"

"I want to see who these two people are? Maybe I know them."

The two drunks pointed at them and stumbled away.

He Yan was startled, forgetting that she wore men's clothes for convenience when she went out at night. Now, in the eyes of others, it was naturally two men flirting here. But how could there be people wandering around outside at this late hour, not afraid of getting bumped into?

She was angry, not knowing whether she was angry because she almost kissed Xiao Jue but missed the chance, or because she was accused of being too fond of Long Yang. Frustrated, she buried her head in Xiao Jue's arms without looking up, and said unhappily, "I'm sure! I'm very sure. Okay, let's go back now."

Xiao Jue glanced down at her and reached out to try to pull her out, but this person was holding her too tightly. After a moment, he had no choice but to let go and chuckled.

－－－－－－－A side note－－－－－－－

Angry Dudu: Stop touching me.