Start over

Mu An Ning turned around slowly and looked at his face again.

The bloody scar was neither deep nor shallow, but it did not affect his appearance much.

If he were still wearing the same flamboyant robes as before, this red mark might even add a touch of heroism to his handsome face.

But even if it affected him, it had nothing to do with her.

Even though he was injured trying to save her, she had given him the bottle of medicine.

It is up to him to decide whether to wipe it or not.

Besides, he had never used the medicine she gave him before.

Thinking of this, she shook her head and chuckled, "Men and women should not touch each other, so you should wipe it yourself, my prince."

She wouldn't do thankless tasks now.

Gu Huaizhi looked at the girl's raised lips, and for a moment he felt like he was back in the past.

But the words in his ears, as soft as a feather but extremely cold, were telling him: now is now, and the past is the past.

She used to ask if she could apply medicine on him, but now she rejected him with the ridiculous words "Men and women should not touch each other".

He clenched the porcelain bottle in his hand, and the sense of relief that had just arisen in him because of the girl's care disappeared without a trace in an instant.

She looked like she really didn't want to care about him anymore.

Gu Huaizhi's gaze was fixed on the slender figure who turned around again.

He no longer had the recklessness of the past, and his voice was harsh and low: "But... it hurts."

My face hurts, and my heart hurts too.

Mu An Ning paused, but without turning back, he reached out to push open the side door of the mansion.

Gu Huaizhi pursed his lips into a straight line, never so serious before: "Aning."

This was the first time he called her like this.

His tone was a little dry, mixed with an elusive plea: "Let's start over, okay?"

The surroundings were silent, but his heart seemed to be a ball of restless waves.

He had never been so nervous before, and had never been so expectant about an answer before.

If his fragile look was seen by his friends, it would probably cause a lot of laughter.

But at this moment, he didn't care about his face.

Mu An Ning's black eyelashes trembled, and many complex emotions flashed in her eyes.

He was born a favored son of heaven, a royal relative known to everyone in the capital.

She had felt more than once in the past that this marriage was an attempt to marry someone above her station.

However, he was the one who said that there was no possibility of him liking her, and now he is also the one who says he wants to start over.

She knew that in his heart, she had always been an insignificant person.

To put it bluntly, he treated her like someone who could be summoned at will and sent away at will.

There is no chance for the two of them anymore.

She turned around slowly and walked towards the boy with his head down.

"My Lord, I really don't understand." She stared at the young man in front of her with her almond-shaped eyes, her voice calm and sincere, "Why do you not want to part ways amicably?"

Let’s part ways amicably.

These four short words were like a ruthless slap in the face, hitting the boy's heart hard.

Gu Huaizhi's fingers holding the medicine bottle trembled, and he didn't dare to look at the girl's expression for a moment, fearing that he would see indifference and ruthlessness in her eyes.

He never thought about parting ways with her amicably, nor did he want to.

He always felt that their engagement was a foregone conclusion, and that even if they were forced to become a couple of enemies, they would grow old together.

He had never thought that there would be such a variable as breaking off the engagement.

Finally, he raised his eyes with a grim look and met the girl's clear gaze.

It was almost May, but he felt a chill from the inside out.

The small wound that had been completely insensitive before now began to ache slightly.

His throat seemed to be tightly blocked by a ball of invisible velvet.

He swallowed several times before finally squeezing out a sentence in a low voice: "I just don't want to part ways with you in peace."

He really wanted to say that he fell in love with her.

But at this moment, he felt an unspeakable fear.

This was the first time in his life that he wanted to ask for help from others.

He wanted to beg her to give him a chance to make amends.

He wanted to beg her not to treat him like this.

But he felt a little powerless in his heart because he had treated her the same way before.

Mu An Ning was stunned for a moment, then calmly said: "Sir, things are changing, people are changing,"

She paused, her eyes swept over the boy whose eyes seemed to be a little red: "Emotions also change."

He looked a little flustered and a little... pitiful.

She suddenly realized that all the pains that had weighed on her heart for a long time seemed to have gradually faded away.

She glanced at the afterglow of the setting sun, and before the young man could speak, she said, "It's getting dark, Prince, you should go back home earlier."

Gu Huaizhi's breathing became disordered for a moment. He stretched out his hand to grab the girl who turned around, but he was a step too slow.

This time, she didn't look back.

Things have changed.

Her affection for him disappeared.

But his love for her became stronger.

*

The next day.

Luo asked anxiously, "Gu Ji, is Ah Huai willing to eat it?"

Gu Ji took a deep breath and sighed, "Madam, I was chased out by the young master again."

Since returning home yesterday evening, Gu Huaizhi has locked himself in his room and refused to eat or drink.

Even the unpleasant flute sound is gone.

However, he still vaguely guessed that his young master must have been stimulated, and it was related to Miss Mu.

Luo paced back and forth anxiously, and asked again: "Gu Ji, tell me the truth, what happened yesterday?"

Gu Ji bowed his head honestly and answered hesitantly: "I am not sure, but..."

Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Luo stopped in his tracks and asked hurriedly, "But what?"

Gu Ji gritted his teeth and expressed his guess: "Young Master must have been rejected by Miss Mu."

He was feeling anxious and just hoped that the young master would not scold him.

Luo opened his mouth, and the worry and anxiety on his face turned into helplessness at this moment.

Gu Ji kept hesitating and refused to say anything. She thought her son's loss of appetite was due to some physical problem.

It turns out that he was trapped by love.

This child is really disappointing and doesn't know how to cherish things.

The girl has liked him for so many years, but he turned a blind eye to it.

Now that the two of them are no longer destined to be together, he is rushing to look for her again.

Even though he was her son, she only wanted to say one thing now: He deserved it.

However, she indeed hadn't seen Mu An Ning for a long time.

This little girl is so well-behaved and sensible, and she has been thinking about her very much over the past month.

Just as Luo was thinking about when to find an opportunity to call Mu An Ning to her house, a burst of strong and powerful footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

It was Prince Anqing who had been leaving early and returning late these days.

Gu Ji retreated tactfully, while Luo collected his thoughts and stepped forward to meet him.

Prince Anqing rubbed his brows and said in a deep voice: "Madam, it is better for you to stay out of the house less these days."

Luo felt a little uneasy and asked gently, "My Lord, what happened?"

Prince Anqing was usually calm and composed, and rarely showed such worry.

The last time I saw him so worried was when we were at war with the State of Liang.

Is war going to start again?

But she heard that the envoys from Liang State had visited Chu State before and had just left yesterday.

Prince Anqing shook his head heavily and said in a serious tone: "It's okay, but there are a lot of bandits these days, and it's a bit uneasy."

I'm afraid the world is going to be in chaos again.

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Is Huaizhi in the mansion? I have something to ask him."

*

As soon as Mu An Ning entered the clinic, Su Nianci took her arm and welcomed her in: "Ning'er, come in quickly."

Mu An Ning agreed with a smile, but when she saw the doctor sitting there, she stopped in her tracks.

Su Nianci noticed that her friend's eyes were fixed on the old man, so she introduced him to her in a low voice: "Ning'er, this is Doctor Lu."

Mu An Ning nodded in understanding, with some admiration in her eyes.

Of course, she had heard of the reputation of this old doctor who had profound medical skills and had cured countless difficult and complicated diseases.

Moreover, many of the medical books she had read were his masterpieces.

How on earth did Su Nianci manage to invite him here?

Mu An Ning had many questions to ask Dr. Lu, but he was taking someone's pulse and she couldn't interrupt him, so she had to follow Su Nianci into the cubicle.

Tan Wenhuai, who was fidgeting, saw the person coming and stood up quickly.

His eyes were only on the girl who seemed a little excited today, and he completely ignored his cousin beside him.

Su Nianci smiled helplessly. This cousin forgot about her as soon as he fell in love.

Tan Wenhuai spoke stutteringly: "An, An Ning."

Hearing this title, Su Nianci's heart skipped a beat and her eyes moved back and forth between the two of them.

The two of them actually made progress?

Mu An Ning didn't react much, just nodded, then seemed to remember something and asked gently, "Mr. Tan, were you injured yesterday?"

Not long after she returned home yesterday, Mu Wan'er, Mu Jingyue and Baoqin also returned home unharmed.

Mu Wan'er said that she rented two carriages and secretly followed the Mu Mansion's carriage, and only then did she arrive at the hunting ground.

Just when she was about to believe this explanation, Mu Wan'er mentioned the teleportation again in her mind, and continued to worry about the "plot fix".

Although it was a little unbelievable, she always felt that both she and Mu Wan'er suddenly appeared among the assassins for no reason.

Tan Wenhuai didn't expect that the girl would take the initiative to care about him, and his handsome face instantly turned red to the neck.

He shook his head slowly, a slight throbbing in his heart.

This question should be asked by the man himself.

An Ning is indeed different from others.

Su Nianci didn't know about the assassin and thought that the two of them were talking about a trivial matter like falling off a horse during hunting, so she didn't take it seriously.

She patted her friend's arm gently and decided to lend a helping hand to her cousin: "Ning'er, I see that you two get along quite well. Why do you keep calling me 'Master Tan'?"

Although her cousin is now a minor official, he has a very leisurely life.

Today she called him to come and help, and he agreed without saying a word.

But anyone with a discerning eye could see whether he was here to help or to meet someone.

Su Nianci looked at Tan Wenhuai meaningfully and continued with a smile, "You can do as I did and call him 'Ahuai' or 'Wenhuai', which will sound less distant than 'Mr. Tan'."

The first title was a bit too intimate. Mu Anning paused for a while before calling Tan Wenhuai "Wenhuai" without any hesitation.

Sister Su was obviously trying to bring the two of them together, but she didn't seem to mind.

If I have to find someone to marry, Tan Wenhuai is actually a good choice.

When Tan Wenhuai heard the girl calling his name in a gentle voice, he nodded blankly, and his heart felt even sweeter.

Suddenly, an anxious voice came from outside.

"Doctor, my child has a fever, can you take a look at him?"

Mu An Ning was startled, then turned around and looked outside.

It turned out to be Aunt Fang.