Chapter 96
After entering the private room on the top floor, Qi Zhizhi gestured for Mu Yulu to sit down first. He turned around and closed the door, then reassured her, "Don't worry, only Xingzhi and I came to the restaurant today, so no one will reveal your whereabouts."
Mu Yulu nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then took off the veil from her head.
Qi Zhizhi stood there looking at her, feeling both surprised and dazed. He seemed not to have expected to see her here, and that she would actually talk to him. He also seemed a little scared, afraid that he might accidentally lose her again.
Mu Yulu put the veil aside, not looking at him, but tilting her head slightly, focusing her gaze on the bustling crowd outside the window, leaving him with a calm profile.
The only sounds in the private room were the two of them breathing and the faint sounds of the marketplace coming from outside the window.
She seemed to have nothing to say to him, and was simply waiting silently for him to speak.
Qi Zhizhi walked slowly forward, his steps very light, as if afraid of startling her. He sat down opposite her at the table. "I didn't expect to see you here. How have you been in Xuanwu Kingdom?"
Mu Yulu turned to look at him at this moment, and her lips twitched slightly: "I am now at Qiye Academy, with teachers and new friends. Everything is fine."
Qi Zhizhi knew that her question was a bit abrupt. She didn't seem to be doing badly now, at least not as badly as she was in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom.
He didn't ask her how she escaped from the Mu Prince's mansion, nor did he explain why he hadn't offered her help back then. Telling her these things now would only make him feel even more worthless.
But he suddenly realized that if they didn't talk about these topics, it seemed like they had nothing to say to each other.
They hadn't been involved in each other's lives for a long time, and even if they wanted to exchange pleasantries, they didn't know where to begin. In addition, he felt guilty towards her and felt that whatever he said at this moment would be inappropriate.
After a brief exchange, the room fell silent once again.
Finally, Mu Yulu picked up the conversation: "Why haven't I seen Zhi Qiu? Didn't she come to Xuanwu Kingdom with you?"
Qi Zhizhi quickly replied, "My mother was seriously ill some time ago, and I have been staying at home to take care of her. It is only recently that I have had a little free time."
Mu Yulu gave a soft "oh": "That explains why I've never seen her at Qiye Academy."
Qi Zhizhi carefully chose his words and said, "I didn't expect you to enter the academy before her. She will also be enrolling in a while, no more than a month or two. Could you please take care of her then?"
“Of course.” Mu Yulu nodded. “I was able to enter the academy thanks to her, so it is only right that I take care of her. Young Master Qi, you don’t need to be so polite.”
She said there was no need to be polite, but her tone was full of polite distance. Qi Zhizhi smiled bitterly, but didn't dare to say anything more: "Then thank you very much. I'll treat you to dinner again later."
As if afraid she would refuse, he immediately started to arrange a time after saying that: "How about a month from now? Zhi Qiu will be here in a month, and we'll throw her a welcome dinner then."
Mu Yulu pursed her lips: "I won't participate, it might be inconvenient for me then."
Qi Zhizhi tentatively asked, "What's wrong? Is there something important that keeps you busy in a while?"
Mu Yulu shook her head: "It's just a personal matter."
It was obvious that he didn't intend to tell him his story.
She always wore a faint smile, but to Qi Zhizhi it appeared incredibly distant, which made him feel a tightness in his chest.
He could feel a thin layer of ice between him and her, but he wasn't sure why.
Is it simply because they haven't seen each other for a long time and so much has happened in the meantime, and everything has changed, or is it because she resents him to some extent, resents him for not lending a helping hand when she was in trouble?
Looking at the slender figure before him, he didn't even dare to ask.
Mu Yulu looked at him with a puzzled expression. Seeing that he seemed to have nothing more to say, she made a move to get up and leave.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Qi Zhizhi called her back in a panic and explained, "When I received Zhi Qiu's message that you were going to marry Mu Qinhan, I immediately rushed back to the capital. I wanted to take you with me, but..."
Mu Yulu interrupted him: "Actually, you wanted to talk to me alone today because you wanted to talk about this, right?"
Her voice was steady and her tone was indifferent, as if she didn't care at all: "I have never resented you. I know you have your own difficulties. You don't need to explain so much to me."
She smiled at Qi Zhizhi, a smile that brought back some of the feeling from before: "The reason I didn't acknowledge you downstairs just now wasn't because I didn't want to, but because I didn't dare."
She continued, "You know I'm in an awkward situation right now. There are many people from the Vermilion Bird Kingdom here, and I'm afraid my identity will be exposed."
Qi Zhizhi's hand, resting on his knee, twitched slightly. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then continued to anxiously search for traces of the past on Mu Yulu's face.
She used to always smile at him, but never with the polite distance she showed now.
He lowered his eyelashes and said, "This is the first time you've smiled at me like that since I took off my veil. I thought you were still angry with me."
Mu Yulu paused for a moment, then shook her head. "It's not like that. I've just been a bit troubled lately. There's a big matter that I haven't been able to resolve, so I've been keeping it on my mind. That's why my expression might have been a bit serious just now."
She observed Qi Zhizhi's expression: "Did I scare you just now?"
Qi Zhizhi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her say that. He wanted to ask what the important matter she mentioned was, but he saw Mu Yulu stand up directly, her movements swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
"I have something to do, and it's getting late, so I should go back," she said simply to him.
He stood up as well, intending to take the veiled hat that was draped over the back of the chair for her. But as soon as he reached out, Mu Yulu picked it up herself, her movements so natural that it was as if he didn't exist.
She and Xinyun had arranged to discuss the second plan tonight. They planned to coax and trick Sanzhou Jinse into coming over for a blood transfusion, but they hadn't yet reached a conclusion on how to implement it.
She was preoccupied with this matter and naturally didn't notice Qi Zhizhi's actions.
"Young Master Qi, please wait. There's no need to see me off." She put on her veil, nodded slightly, and glanced at his face, but her mind was on an important matter that had nothing to do with him. "If you see me off, it might attract attention. I can go back by myself."
After saying that, she didn't linger and turned to walk out the door.
Qi Zhizhi stood there, listening to her footsteps disappear at the top of the stairs. He stood there silently for a moment before slowly sitting back down.
As dusk fell, he lowered his head, his expression indistinct in the dim light.
After returning to her room, Mu Yulu put the incident of meeting Qi Zhizhi during the day out of her mind and immediately began to plot with Xinyun and the others.
The group discussed until late at night, but still couldn't reach a conclusion. Mu Yulu glanced wearily at the night view outside the window and told them to go back and rest.
If we can't come up with a solution today, we'll discuss it again tomorrow. If we still can't reach a conclusion tomorrow, we'll gather more people to come up with a solution together. She doesn't believe that a group of people can't deal with Sanzhou Jinse.
After Xinyun and the others left the room, Mu Yulu got up and paced around the room, continuing to consider the feasibility of the several plans that had been discussed that day.
Just then, the window behind her was pushed open, and a cool breeze enveloped her from behind. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her into a firm embrace.
Mu Yulu was startled. She struggled to turn around, then realized that the person who was hugging her was Sanzhou Jinse. She was so angry that she slapped his arm hard, "What are you doing? You scared me to death."
Sanzhou Jinse rested his chin on the top of her head, tightened his arms around her, and held her more tightly in his embrace. Then, in a muffled voice, he asked, "Where did you go today?"
Mu Yulu was a little breathless from his embrace and felt confused: "I went to the No.1 Restaurant in the world with Tanxiang to try the dishes. Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Just there to taste the dishes?" Sanzhou Jinse's voice grew even deeper: "Did you run into Qi Zhizhi there?"
Mu Yulu finally understood why he had acted so suddenly. She gently grasped his hands that were wrapped around her waist. "You saw everything?"
Then she asked, "You're not stalking me, are you?"
Sanzhou Jinse gently shook her head and then softly hummed in agreement: "I also saw you go to a private room with him alone."
Mu Yulu sensed the jealousy in his words and suddenly had an idea. She raised her voice and said, "Of course I have something to talk about with him in the private room. Can't I associate with other men?"
Sanshu Jinse didn't expect her to answer like that, so she grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, forcing her to face herself.
In the candlelight, his eyes were as deep as ink, churning with complex emotions.
His voice was tense: "You...you like associating with him?"
Mu Yulu thought helplessly to herself, "What kind of questions is he asking?"
But he continued relentlessly, saying, "What business is it of yours who I associate with?"
She tilted her head back to meet his gaze: "Now you know, even without you, I can live a carefree life. Did you think I would be sad for you for the rest of my life? The moment you die, I'll find someone else!"
San Zhou Jinse's eyes held a hint of anxiety, a touch of inquiry, and an undeniable hurt.
He gazed at her intently until his eyes welled up with tears, then he let out a soft sigh: "That's fine too."
Mu Yulu was stunned.
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