But the person was in the dim light.
Once on the street, Tang Qi's steps remained leisurely. As if under some kind of spell, his gaze was once again fixed on the candied hawthorn skewers on the street. Looking at those skewers, Tang Qi felt his teeth ache terribly. In the end, he couldn't resist the temptation and handed over a copper coin to take a skewer.
Taking a bite, the sugar threads are crisp, and the sourness of the hawthorn makes you inexplicably happy.
Life needs a little sweetness, right? Tang Qi thought.
He ate very quickly, especially the candied hawthorns, almost one in a single bite. Before he had taken more than a few steps, only half of the stick remained.
Tang Qi was about to take another bite when he suddenly heard heavy, rapid breathing behind him. Before he could turn around, his hand holding the candied hawthorn was grabbed with such force that it almost pulled him over.
However, Tang Qi did not fall. After regaining his footing, he was about to raise his eyes to question the situation when he suddenly met the gaze of the person in front of him, which made him freeze in place.
Shock, trepidation, hope... and even a joy he couldn't understand?
Tang Qi witnessed firsthand how the emotions in the person's eyes dissipated after they had seen him clearly, and those eyes eventually returned to their usual indifference.
But the shock and astonishment that had dissipated were now reflected in Tang Qi's eyes. He stared blankly at the person in front of him.
Cheng Junshi.
"I'm sorry." He released Tang Qi's hand, his expression unreadable.
"You..." Tang Qi remained in the same position, the question "You've been transferred back?" abruptly changing to "What are you doing?"
Cheng Junshi raised his hand and bowed slightly, apologizing again for his rudeness: "I... I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Tang Qi chuckled at his expression. Cheng Junshi kept his head down, as if he wouldn't get up unless Tang Qi offered his forgiveness.
“I thought—” he suddenly had a mischievous urge: “You were going to steal my candied hawthorns.”
Knock knock.
Cheng Junshi looked up and met those eyes; he was smiling.
Thump, thump, thump.
He could hear his own heartbeat.
Those eyes...
He won't admit his mistake.
"If you're truly apologizing, aren't you going to treat me to another one?" The person in front of him smiled and raised an eyebrow, still arrogant.
Cheng Junshi was unclear why his appearance had changed.
—I seem to
He paused for a moment, then laughed: "Okay."
—I've found you.
But it doesn't matter, he recognizes his own heart.
Tang Qi was just saying it casually, but now—
He looked somewhat reluctantly at the six candied hawthorns in his hand; he really found it hard to bring himself to eat them.
What's wrong with this guy? He glanced at Cheng Junshi beside him. If he didn't know that Cheng Junshi didn't recognize him, Tang Qi would have thought that he was deliberately taking revenge.
So he held up six candied hawthorns, gestured with his chin to Cheng Junshi, and said, "Thanks."
He turned and took a few steps when he noticed Cheng Junshi had followed him. Tang Qi frowned, glancing at him suspiciously several times, but Cheng Junshi continued to follow him at a leisurely pace.
Tang Qi took one step, and he followed one step; Tang Qi took two steps, and he followed two steps.
No... Cheng Wang, you're a pervert.
Tang Qi felt uneasy and, after walking a considerable distance, finally couldn't help but turn back and ask him, "Why are you following me?"
Cheng Wang: ?
He took two steps to the side and stood on the steps, facing Tang Qi's questioning gaze. Then he pointed upwards, his expression calm:
"This is my home."
Tang Qi looked up following his hand, and two huge characters came into view.
Cheng, Zhai.
"Oh." Tang Qi felt a slight ache in her teeth.
Fortunately, he held back and didn't say those words aloud.
Seeing Tang Qi's discomfiture, Cheng Junshi lowered his head and smiled. He remained standing on the steps, looking down at Tang Qi with a cautious air.
"May I have your name?"
"My name is Tang Qi! Tang—Qi—remember that?"
"...I can't remember it, it's too hard."
"Then repeat it a few more times and you won't forget it, Tang Qi, Tang Qi, Tang Qi, Tang Qi, Tang Qi..."
"Shut up, Tang Qi!"
"Ha—see, you've remembered it, haven't you?"
The images in his mind began to overlap. Tang Qi blinked to pull himself out of his reverie. This similar question came from the same person, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud. After a pause, he looked up and said, "Zhengye. My name is—Lin Zhengye."
Cheng Junshi frowned almost imperceptibly for a moment. He seemed to want to say something more, but he was always unlucky. Just as he was about to speak, Tang Qi waved the candied hawthorn in her hand, thanked him, and then strode away.
He never had a chance to say more than a few words to him. Perhaps he was bad at talking, perhaps he was unlucky, or perhaps... he was always inappropriately silent or hesitant.
As always, Cheng Junshi watched him walk away. Tang Qi's back had been depicted by Cheng Junshi's eyes countless times—in the moment he thought it was just a fleeting encounter, in the very distance where he would never turn back, in some year, month, and day that he took for granted.
Therefore, he noticed Tang Qi's difference faster than anyone else.
Cheng Junshi's gaze lingered on his injured leg, and he remained stunned for a long time.
In fact, Tang Qi didn't think his injury was that hard to accept. Climbing high places to enjoy the view and scaling walls to sneak into courtyards, his leg injury was just a little painful. If he had to pinpoint the only regret, it would be that he couldn't walk fast anymore.
"Hey!" Cheng Junshi called out to him.
If possible—
"My name is Cheng Wang."
--here we go again.
Tang Qi turned to look at him, unsure of Cheng Junshi's meaning, and simply smiled and said, "I understand."
I no longer want to be the casual acquaintance you described, someone who merely passed through our lives and nodded to us.
“The ‘delusion’ in ‘one should not have delusions’.” He stared at Tang Qi.
I want you to call me by my name.
Love and hate are irrelevant
I want to leave an indelible mark on you.
“Good name, I’ll remember it,” Tang Qi said with a smile. “Next time we meet, I’ll treat you to candied hawthorns, Brother Cheng.”
Cheng Junshi also laughed, which startled Tang Qi, making him feel uneasy.
So Cheng Wang doesn't have facial paralysis after all...
He didn't linger any longer. On his way back to the Lin family, Tang Qi's eyes darted around as he began to plan:
Given his current status, contacting Deng Ning and his ilk wouldn't be easy, but establishing a connection with Cheng Junshi would be a tremendous asset. He started considering the feasibility of this idea the moment he saw Cheng Junshi on the street. That's why he deliberately provoked Cheng Wang; after all, favors need to be repaid before anything else can happen.
However, he suddenly felt conflicted. If he really wanted to take revenge, he would inevitably offend many people. He himself would be fine, but what about Chang Qingxue? He was now Lin Zhengye, and with this identity, if something happened to him, it would implicate the Lin family. He did not want to and could not allow the Lin family to suffer any more sacrifices.
Otherwise, even if he died several times, it wouldn't be enough to compensate for it.
While Tang Qi was thinking, he arrived at the Lin family's door. He knocked a few times but no one answered. Tang Qi found it strange. He pushed the door open but still didn't see anyone, so he started to panic.
He immediately ran into the courtyard, but Chang Qingxue and Lin Nan were not there. The house was quiet and silent. The inner room had been tidied up. When Tang Qi went in, he found that most of Chang Qingxue and Lin Nan's belongings seemed to have been taken. Tang Qi searched for a long time before finally finding a note left by Chang Qingxue on the table in the main room.
They left.
"Consider it as us going sightseeing. This room is yours—it was originally a gift from the Marquis. We came to Luocheng just as we can go elsewhere. There's more to the world than just Luocheng; we'll go somewhere else. Chang Qingxue and Lin Nan will no longer exist in this world, so you have nothing to worry about."
The message was brief, but Tang Qi remained silent for a long time after reading it. Beside the table was a recipe; Tang Qi knew it was the recipe they had left for him regarding human skin masks.
Chang Qingxue and Lin Nan were actually traveling physicians. Fourteen years ago, there was a plague outbreak in Luocheng. At that time, Chang Qingxue's family happened to be in Luocheng, so they stayed and helped her father to control the plague.
That's when he met Lin Jiacuo. Later, when the Imperial Censor took over the school, Lin Jiacuo enrolled, and Chang Qingxue and Lin Nan also chose to stay in Luocheng because of Lin Jiacuo's enrollment. This farmhouse was personally arranged by Tang Mian to express his gratitude to them.
Tang Qi sighed.
He truly had no more worries. But in Los Angeles... there was no one left to hold him back.
The nights were becoming increasingly difficult for Tang Qi.
He stayed awake until the stars disappeared, and when he got out of bed again it was a new day. By the time he saw the sunrise, he was already ready and left the house in the first rays of dawn.
He said goodbye to Ye Qian, and the two of them sat down in tacit agreement.
"How is it?" Ye Qian asked.
"Thanks to you all, I'm doing very well," Tang Qi said with a smile.
He met Ye Qian at their usual spot, and the two sat facing each other. Ye Qian stared at his face and said, "I have to say, the quality is really good. You really can't tell."
Tang Qi took a sip of tea and smiled, "If you can see through me, then I haven't lived in vain."
Ye Qian remained silent, then changed the subject: "Have you done anything in Luo City these past few days?"
Tang Qi's eyes trembled almost imperceptibly. He brought the teacup to his lips, and the water in the cup rippled as he blew on it. After a long while, he finally said, "I went to a few old places and saw some old friends."
Before Ye Qian could say anything more, Tang Qi put down her cup, stared into his eyes, and said, "Aunt Chang and Uncle Lin have moved away, so I have no more worries."
Ye Qian paused, realizing what Tang Qi meant: having no worries meant he was going to fight to the death.
"Have you thought it through?" he asked.
Tang Qi laughed, placed her hand on her forehead, and raised an eyebrow at Ye Qian: "When did I ever have a choice?"
Ye Qian looked at the two teacups facing each other in front of him. Tang Qi's cup was empty, but it was still steaming.
“Actually, you have a choice. Aren’t you… already Lin Zhengye?” He looked at Tang Qi and continued, “The Katyu incident has long been settled. Several months have passed since the incident. Deng Ning and his group handled things very cleanly. It will be very difficult for you to overturn the case.”
"That's why I'm living," Tang Qi said.
Now it was Ye Qianxiao's turn. He took something out of his sleeve, pressed it on the table, and handed it to Tang Qi.
"What's this?" Tang Qi asked as he picked it up. Only after he opened it did Ye Qian speak: "An invitation."
He subconsciously thought it was an invitation to Ye Qian and Shen Zhiqing's wedding, and Tang Qi even felt guilty for a moment, thinking that he had to pay extra for it.
In truth, he should have given a larger gift, whether for Ye Qian or Shen Zhiqing, but he didn't have the time before and now he doesn't have the means, so he hasn't even formally offered his blessings.
What's more... he owes them a lot of money.
After their parting at the wedding sedan chair, he was on the verge of death when they met again. It was Ye Qian and Shen Zhiqing who spent a great deal of money to save him. They didn't dwell on it, but the money was truly owed to Tang Qi.
Tang Qi immediately slowed down his movements, and Ye Qian found his guilty look amusing, so he looked at him and chuckled, "What are you doing? This is Yun An's invitation."
"Yun An?" Tang Qi was taken aback and quickly pulled out the item to look at it. "What did she ask you to do?"
Ye Qian shook his head: "It's not just me I'm invited, it's a banquet, and the Ye family is on the invitation list."
"At the Princess's residence?" Tang Qi asked.
Yun'an has hosted many banquets in the past, and the group of several of them has always been on the guest list. If it's just the few of them, the banquet will be held at Baibu Tower in Jingzhou. Judging from the formality of this invitation today, Tang Qi guessed that the scale of the event would be quite large.
"Hmm." Ye Qian nodded: "This invitation is wide-ranging, and many people will be attending. You should be able to find something useful there."
"Where is Shen Zhiqing?" Tang Qi asked.
"In Cangzhou." Ye Qian replied and met Tang Qi's gaze.
"Isn't she going?"
"He's going, but not with me. Yun'an sent two invitations to the Ye residence."
Tang Qi couldn't help but laugh and said with a chuckle, "You two are getting married, but it really looks like you haven't."
Ye Qian remained silent. Tang Qi fiddled with the tea in front of her and suddenly asked, "Are you afraid of Zhou Ziye?"
He didn't look up, but waited for Ye Qian's reply.
Ye Qian was silent for a moment, knowing that the person in front of him could guess. However, he hadn't intended to hide it anyway. Ye Qian snorted, swallowed the tea in front of him, and said, "I'm afraid of the Zhou family."
"Where did you get this information from?" Tang Qi stopped what she was doing and looked at him.
“My father,” Ye Qian said.
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