The incense stick in the middle was cut in half, at a rate that a normal incense stick could not burn completely.
Meng Qingluan's relaxed brows furrowed as she approached the incense burner, ignoring the still-high temperature of the burning ash, and picked it up with her fingertips.
"Are you sure?" Meng Qingluan asked again. The incense ash did not burn her as she had imagined; instead, it felt warm and cool.
"..."
Unfortunately, no one answered her.
“They left you alone for so long. Even if your suffering isn’t directly related to them, they have important reasons. You really have to… hiss.”
The incense ash in Meng Qingluan's hand suddenly became hot, burning her hand until it turned red.
Shaking her burned hand, Meng Qingluan replaced the incense sticks with three new ones and inserted them into the incense burner.
"I promise you, I'll give them a chance. But I won't forgive them so easily. Don't blame me, I'm in your body, and it's for your own good that I won't forgive them so easily."
Meng Qingluan lit incense while talking to herself.
If she hadn't been so determined to forgive, she would never have been prepared to forgive that couple.
After lighting the incense, before Meng Qingluan could even retract her hand, a piece of red paper fell from the offering table and floated lightly to the ground.
Meng Qingluan picked it up and saw four striking black characters on it: "The karmic ties have ended."
She uttered the words aloud, and a gust of wind swept by, lifting the hem of her skirt. She felt a chill on her forehead.
It felt as if someone had touched her forehead with a cold hand, bringing a chilly sensation.
I didn't feel cold; the coolness on my forehead instead brought out a comfortable warmth that spread throughout my body.
Meng Qingluan raised her hand to touch her forehead and whispered, "Goodbye."
"..."
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, a hand patted her shoulder. Meng Qingluan shuddered, jumped aside, and crumpled the red paper in her hand into a ball, hiding it in her palm.
Turning around, I saw Li Zhanjue, whose face was already turning bruised, making him look somewhat comical.
"What can you do in the Buddhist hall? Of course, you can pray for blessings," Meng Qingluan replied irritably.
“Oh,” Li Zhanjue turned his head, “I thought you were doing something shady.”
Upon hearing his words, Meng Qingluan felt a surge of deep-seated displeasure.
She knew Li Zhanjue was a leopard that couldn't change its spots.
A few days ago, he was just trying to lower his guard with Shen Yan, but today, seeing that Shen Yan wasn't there, he revealed his true colors.
Look at this cunning 0.
She spat.
Meng Qingluan said in a strange tone, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."
"I'm here to pray and offer incense, unlike some people who might be here to find some bodyguard or some random man for some kind of intimate encounter."
"..."
Li Zhanjue always felt that her words were strange.
"Wild man"? She's saying she's seeing other men? There are only two people in the Buddhist hall right now, she can't possibly say it's herself, can she?
What a joke! How could a prince like him possibly go looking for a random man?
He admitted that he liked Shen Yan, but he didn't think he had homosexual tendencies; he just liked Shen Yan, that's all!
Furthermore, even if he were to have homosexual tendencies, he should be someone in a higher position, not someone who is being manipulated.
The thought of himself pinning down a man made Li Zhanjue feel nauseous and he couldn't help but gag.
Seeing his unpleasant expression, Meng Qingluan felt much better and walked past him, preparing to leave.
"etc!"
Li Zhanjue suddenly grabbed her hand.
"..."
Meng Qingluan glanced at her wrist, which was now restrained again, and felt a little like cursing. Why did they always grab her wrist?
Thinking this to myself, I couldn't help but ask it aloud.
Li Zhanjue looked at her like she was an idiot. "If I don't grab your wrist, I'll grab your neck?"
"Can't you just say it?" Meng Qingluan retorted.
"If you just say it, will you listen?"
"..."
That seems to be the case.
Not only will she not listen, she'll run even faster, since the person calling her is a lunatic.
Why not run? Wait for him to betray you?
"I have something to say," Meng Qingluan urged him, shaking her wrist as she did so.
Ignoring her protests, Li Zhanjue not only did not let go, but even used the force of his grip on her wrist to close the distance between them.
The two changed from back to back to face, and Li Zhanjue's gaze never left her.
Meng Qingluan wouldn't be so narcissistic as to think he was interested in her; after all, she loved Chen Yan to the point of madness, obsession, and even to the point of wanting to bang her head against a wall.
Despite knowing this in her heart, Meng Qingluan couldn't help but act cheeky.
"What? You're so close, you've fallen in love with me?"
"..."
Li Zhanjue frowned even more deeply. "How can you be so shameless?"
Meng Qingluan immediately raised her other hand, pinched her face, and tugged at it. "Not only is it thick, but it's also very tender."
"Not necessarily." Li Zhanjue glanced at him with disdain.
"At least it's more tender than your thick-skinned face."
"..."
Li Zhanjue didn't waste any more words with her. His dark eyes were deep, and he stared straight into her eyes.
"I know all your secrets."
Meng Qingluan: "..."?
What secret does she have?
How could she not know?
Did he find out that I threw bombs into the latrine during Chinese New Year when I was a child?
Meng Qingluan thought about it and then remembered the scene of her own grandfather being covered in excrement, and couldn't help but laugh.
When Li Zhanjue saw that she had been caught red-handed, instead of begging for mercy as he had expected, she laughed.
You laughed?
What is she laughing at?
"What are you laughing at?" Li Zhanjue finally snapped. "You think I'm joking? Meng Qingluan, I really do know all your secrets!"
Li Zhanjue emphasized the word "secret" very heavily.
"Oh," Meng Qingluan nodded, "Please don't tell, okay?"
Meng Qingluan went along with his words, hoping that this lunatic would let her go as soon as possible.
She was sleepy and wanted to go back to sleep.
And thinking of her grandfather made her want to go home even more, and she felt a little depressed.
Seeing the culprit who prevented her from going home here, she felt an inexplicable rage.
Hearing her perfunctory tone, Li Zhanjue felt annoyed, but his mood was much better than before.
"Aren't you going to ask me what secrets I know about you?"
Meng Qingluan yawned. "What secrets do you know about me?"
"You're not the real Meng Qingluan, are you?"
Li Zhanjue released her hand, his tone resolute.
Meng Qingluan's expression remained unchanged. "Fifth Prince, do you think anyone will believe what you say?"
Li Zhanjue's smile deepened. "Whether anyone believes me or not is unimportant. As long as Chen Yan believes me, isn't that enough?"
"Do you think he would kill you if he knew that a mountain spirit or monster had appeared out of nowhere living next to him?"
“I know him better than you do. He’s a very meticulous person. You don’t really think he would love you so much that he would abandon the bigger picture, do you?”
Meng Qingluan looked up at him, "Whatever you say."
What are you muttering about for so long? You're crazy.
Not wanting to confront him any longer, Meng Qingluan turned to leave, but Li Zhanjue walked up to her and blocked her way.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"I'm so scared, I need to go back and hide under the covers to cry for a while." Meng Qingluan covered her face, hiding her huge, rolling eyes.
“I can choose not to tell him,” Li Zhanjue said abruptly, “but on the condition that you promise me one thing.”
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