Chapter 107 [VIP] Shadow Guard (21)

Nan Yan couldn't help but raise her hand and knocked him on the head. She was angry and amused, and then she began to scold him, "How dare you say that? Today, the auntie next door complained to me again, saying that you didn't know how to give in when arguing with the old lady!"

"I'm already so old, what can I do if you make me sick again? And you even bullied my five-year-old grandson. Ye Qiuchen, when will you be serious?"

Ye Qiuchen immediately turned serious, "I have it."

Nan Yan stared at him, "When?"

The other person's eyes fell on her face, and he suddenly chuckled, his eyes became very gentle, "Of course when I'm with you, I'm always serious."

"Ye Qiuchen, I'm talking to you seriously."

Nan Yan was angry again and couldn't help but shouting his name. Her cheeks turned slightly red and her voice was a little angry. She wanted him to stop joking at this time.

"I'm talking to you seriously."

Ye Qiuchen was obviously very serious this time. He took a few steps forward and Nan Yan took two steps back unconsciously. Now she was pinned against the corner by him and couldn't escape at all. He whispered, "Yan Yan, stop hiding, okay?"

His voice was calm, with a slight hoarseness.

"The people and events of the past are completely in the past. It's been a year. Can you open your eyes and look at the people in front of you?"

"I'm no worse than him. I can even do better than him. Why can't you just look at me? Besides, you don't hate me that much, do you?"

In fact, Ye Qiuchen had reminded and hinted countless times in this year, but each time the other party just brushed it off or talked about other things.

Ye Qiuchen felt disappointed at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that something was wrong. If she really had no feelings for him at all, she could have just rejected him directly, because it was not like she had not done that before. But since when, her rejection was not so obvious.

This seemed to make Ye Qiuchen understand something.

She should have feelings for him, and maybe she herself didn't even realize that she had long been accustomed to his existence, but she had not completely let go of Ying Shiqi in her heart.

Nan Yan didn't expect him to say such words at this time. She pursed her lips, her eyes a little evasive, but her cheeks were slightly red from anger. She felt embarrassed and annoyed, blaming him for saying such words at such an inappropriate time, which made her a little flustered for a moment.

"What are you talking about? What happened to you today?"

As she spoke, she tried to push away the man's restraints and walk out to leave, but she was held down so tightly by the man that she couldn't move at all.

Nan Yan really didn't know what to do now. She became more and more angry, but she didn't dare to look up at anyone.

Ye Qiuchen was still looking at Nan Yan without blinking, especially when he saw her ostrich-like attitude without even raising her head, he knew that this person wanted to change the subject and pass it over without any hesitation today.

Since she refused to admit it, Ye Qiuchen naturally decided to tear off the window paper.

"You really can't feel it?"

Ye Qiuchen grabbed her shoulders. He didn't believe that Nan Yan couldn't see it, but she just refused to face it.

Nan Yan was forced to retreat, so she could only look up helplessly and asked in a muffled voice, "What?"

The two of them were very close, so close that Ye Qiuchen could smell the fragrance of her hair just by lowering his head. There was a very light herbal scent on the freshly washed black hair, which was fascinating.

"I like you." Ye Qiuchen said directly, and this time he tore the window paper completely. His confession was serious but also a bit absurd. "Let me tell you this. I want to marry you, spend the wedding night with you, and have a baby with you. I think you can understand what I mean, right?"

Nan Yan was stunned by his thoughts. She was a little dazed for a moment and just stared at him in a daze.

After waiting for a long time without a reply, Ye Qiuchen was not angry. He seemed to have anticipated this result. His eyebrows were slightly raised. He didn't want to push her too hard, nor did he want to make himself wait too long. So some words could only be said inadvertently.

"You may not know this, but the flirtatious widow across the street has been coveting me for a long time. Especially recently, the way she looks at me is like a dog seeing a meat bun. She is so frightened that she can even glow green in the night. She is not subtle at all. How can you not have a sense of crisis? At least be more possessive and don't be ungrateful for what you have. I am very popular."

"Besides, you have ruined my good reputation this past year. Can you please find a day to take me in as soon as possible?"

"Otherwise, it would be too pitiful for such a young and handsome man like me to be abandoned by others, right?"

He has waited too long, so long that he doesn't want to wait any longer. Ying Shiqi had died a long time ago, and it was time for her to let go of the past and face reality.

Nan Yan: “…”

This was the first time she had met such a shameless person, and was he saying the opposite?

What clean reputation? Does he have the nerve to say that?

The more Nan Yan thought about it, the more speechless she became. She was almost convinced by this man. What nonsense was he saying? In the end, she couldn't help but pinch this shameless thief.

"Who ruined your reputation? It's obviously you who are shameless! You talk nonsense to people in the vegetable market every day, and even told the old lady selling vegetables that I eat a lot recently, my waistline is getting bigger, and it's getting harder and harder to take care of myself..."

"Whenever I go out, the old ladies stare at my belly and ask me how many months I've been pregnant. Tell me, didn't you spread all these nonsense yourself?"

Ye Qiuchen lowered his head and looked around. His eyes looked a little strange. "Your appetite has increased, and your waistline has indeed become thicker. I'm not lying."

When Nan Yan heard this, she pinched even harder.

"How dare you say that?"

Who made this family cook such delicious food? Every day, they served it to her like she was serving Buddha. Every day, they kept telling her to eat a few more bites, a few more bites, but what was the big deal if she only ate a few bites? Besides, it would be a waste if she didn't eat...

He has already said so much. If she doesn't eat a few more bites of such delicious food, how can she be worthy of her own mouth?

Ye Qiuchen's expression was slightly distorted as he was being pinched. He took the hand and placed it against his chest, patting it and saying, "Okay, I was wrong about this. I ruined your good reputation. I'll take the responsibility for it, okay?"

Nan Yan glared at him again, "You wish!"

Ye Qiuchen couldn't help laughing quietly. He suddenly bent down and nodded as if it was a matter of course. Although he was joking just now, his voice was more serious than ever before.

"I have a beautiful thought, so can you give me a chance? Promise me? Just give me a legitimate identity and let me accompany you for the rest of my life?"

Every time this matter was brought up, the atmosphere would unconsciously become tense. Nan Yan turned her face away, as if she wanted to pull her hands out of his arms, but found that she couldn't move them at all.

She didn't know what to do.

His eyes were evasive, his cheeks were red with discomfort, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"I……"

Ye Qiuchen's eyes paused, and he sighed in his heart, knowing that she couldn't sort out her thoughts for a while, so he simply took a step back, thought for a while, then held her fingers and said softly,

"How about letting God decide?"

Nan Yan looked up in confusion, obviously not understanding what he meant by that.

Ye Qiuchen curled his lips, "Tomorrow night is the Lantern Festival. I heard that young men and women will walk from the south to the north of the city. If they are really destined to be together, they will definitely meet on the road. Let's give it a try, okay? Just give each other a chance. If we succeed, will you promise me?"

Nan Yan seemed to have not expected that he would choose this method to solve the problem, and was a little hesitant for a moment.

In fact, during this year, neither of them mentioned much about their relationship. Ye Qiuchen knew that she had not let go of Seventeen in her heart, so he never said anything that would embarrass or make her sad.

But now a year has passed, and a year is really not a short time. For a man who knows martial arts, even if he has suffered a serious injury, a year of rest is enough time for him to fully recover.

If Seventeen was really still alive, he would definitely come to find her, but he didn't. He has never appeared since he disappeared, which means that he may really be gone.

And Nan Yan seemed to understand this truth...

But in her heart...she still couldn't let it go.

So after hearing Ye Qiuchen's words, Nan Yan fell silent again. She recalled the past between the two of them and didn't know how to reply. The two of them had been together for a year. It was impossible to say that there was no affection between them. Even if ordinary people kept a pet, a year of affection was enough to make people unforgettable. Moreover, he still took care of her and accompanied her so much during this year. He was really good to her, so good that even if the two of them didn't say anything, others could see the unique tacit understanding between them.

So Nan Yan hesitated. She looked up at Ye Qiuchen, who had a tense look in his eyes but was pretending to be calm. After a moment of silence, she finally responded.

"……good."

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt her waist tightened. Before she could react, she was pulled into the other person's arms. Ye Qiu stared at her with shining dark eyes, like a little beggar who picked up money on the street, full of surprise and joy. "I heard you agreed. You can't deny it now. Don't regret it."

他這副歡喜的樣子倒顯得很傻。

南嫣看不得他這樣，轉念一想，又忍不住問他，“那要是明天晚上我們遇不到呢？”

葉秋沉目光閃了下，視線落在南嫣的臉龐上，眉梢微挑，然後趁着對方不注意，實在沒忍住湊過去偷親了一口，接着又毫不猶豫地回複道，“要是實在遇不上的話，那就說明我們有緣無分，最多以後孩子跟你姓。”

南嫣聽完才反應過來，随即氣得臉都紅了，實在沒忍住罵了句，“你不要臉！”

然後用力推了這人一把，轉身頭也不回地離開了。

而葉秋沉則是望着她的背影笑了，等了這麽久，終于等到她願意為他打開心房的那一天了。

……

盛夏七月的花燈節是落葉城獨有的一個屬于青年男女們的節日，熱鬧自不必說。

尤其是到了夜晚，月色溶溶之下，沿街挂滿了各式各樣的彩飾燈籠。

未婚的年輕男女們會分兩頭，從城南往城北環繞一圈，三五成群的青年男女們手中各提一盞花燈，在朦胧的月光下一邊欣賞月色一邊往前走着，如果中途能夠遇上彼此，就說明兩人很有緣分，自然也能夠成就一段美好佳緣。

葉秋沉說的讓老天爺來決定，也就是這個意思了，花燈節當日，出行的年輕男女很多，能在這成百上千人中找到對方，也并不是一件很容易的事。

但為了能讓南嫣松口，葉秋沉也算是絞盡腦汁才想了這麽一個她不會直接拒絕的法子了，更何況，他一定會在茫茫人海中找到她的。

集市的喧鬧聲由遠及近……

等這天色完全暗下來之後，長街上的花燈也全部都亮起來了。

空氣裏彌漫着各種食物點心的香氣，還混合着某種脂粉以及花果之類的香氣。

越往集市中間走，周圍環繞的青年男女們也就越來越多了。

而南嫣跟葉秋沉也分開了，兩人都朝着彼此選定的方向往前走去。

只是今晚的人實在是太多了，越往前走人越多，南嫣的腳步也就不由得慢慢停了下來，然後頗有興致地欣賞着周圍的一切。

她瞧着路兩旁各種各樣的攤販，一個挨着一個的，那架子上都擺了不少頗受年輕女孩們歡迎的飾品、簪子之類的，還有臨時搭建的鋪子裏擺了一些名人字帖、書畫，不過最受歡迎的還是要屬賣花燈的小攤販了。

各式各樣的花燈擺在一起，有小兔子還有小狐貍的，模樣栩栩如生又憨态可掬，她瞧得興起，最後實在忍不住買了一盞青色的蓮花燈，然後提着花燈，緩步朝前走去。

大概是街上人實在太多了，南嫣往前沒走多遠，便被後頭的人用力推了一把，這一下也不湊巧，正好撞上了身旁一位穿着藍裙的年輕姑娘，那姑娘也沒留神，被她撞得踉跄着往後退了一步，手裏的花燈一個沒拿穩不小心摔到地上，被人踩了一腳後立馬變形了。

還好那姑娘身旁站着的小丫頭眼疾手快，及時扶了一把，才沒讓那女子摔倒在地。

年輕的小丫頭牙尖嘴利又護主，眼見主子被撞，又看見罪魁禍首只有南嫣一個人時，立馬沖上去就是一頓訓斥，“你這人怎麽走路的啊，沒看見我們家小姐就站在這兒嗎？撞壞了我們家小姐你賠得起嗎？”

南嫣也在這時候才站穩，肩膀被撞的有些發酸，她也有些不好意思，因為這确實是她不小心撞到對方的，于是趕緊道歉，“對不起，剛剛是我沒站穩，姑娘你沒事吧？”

小丫頭冷哼一聲，愈發得理不饒人，“你眼瞎了嗎？怎麽可能沒事啊，沒瞧見把我們小姐的花燈都撞壞了了嗎？”

那小姐的注意力還完全停留在那盞被踩壞的花燈上，小丫頭見狀，立馬上前把燈撿起來，那女子就伸手接過去，眼裏滿是心疼跟可惜，“怎麽就壞了呢？好不容易才求他親手做的，這還沒過一個晚上呢，就被踩爛了，真是太可惜了。”

聽到這話，小丫頭眼裏也流露出些許可惜，想到什麽又立馬擡頭瞪了南嫣一眼，“是啊，小姐，都怪眼前這女人笨手笨腳的，走路也不看路，竟然撞壞了世……公子親手給你做的花燈。”

聽到這話，眼前的杜玉顏也終于緩過神來了，她擡頭看了一眼面前的南嫣，瞧見對方臉上滿是愧疚的神色，再瞧見自家丫頭這副得理不饒人人的架勢，便也不自在地輕笑了一聲，“抱歉了，姑娘。”

“是我家丫頭不懂禮數，剛才說話有些不太客氣，還請姑娘不要計較。不過，今天晚上長街行人實在太多，不小心有個碰撞也是在所難免，這也不完全是姑娘的錯。”

南嫣聞言微怔，然後也朝她露出一個微笑，她往前走了兩步，看到兩人手上那被踩爛的花燈，依稀可見是一個小狐貍的模樣，便忍不住伸手碰了碰，“我沒怪她的，本就是我的問題，雖然你不怪我，但總歸是我先不小心撞到你的，這個花燈樣式我在前面攤子上有看到過，要不這樣吧，你跟我去那邊，我買個新的賠給你，怎麽樣？”

杜玉顏猶豫了下，正想說不用了。

身旁的小丫頭卻很不合适宜了插了一句嘴，語氣明顯有些不屑，“路邊賣的花燈怎麽能跟我們小姐手裏的相比啊？你知道這個狐貍燈是誰做的嗎？這可是我們家世……公子親手做的，就為了給我們小姐打發時間的。”

杜玉顏這次實在沒忍住訓斥了一句，“佩兒，不得無禮，你今晚話太多了！”

佩兒瞧見主子臉上不愉的神色，這才縮頭縮腦地退了回去，徹底噤了聲。

而杜玉顏臉上也多了些不自在，她朝南嫣尴尬笑了笑，“不瞞姑娘，我家丫頭不是瞧不起你的意思，只是這盞狐貍燈是我未婚夫親手做的，跟旁人做的不太一樣，所以她剛才說的話才有些唐突了。”

南嫣聞言，這下也忍不住輕笑起來，她眼睛朝她眨了兩下，帶了點揶揄，

“看來姑娘與自己的未婚夫十分恩愛，所以才會這般在意他的東西。”

聽對方提到心上人，杜玉顏臉上的笑容瞬間真實了不少，又想到他那個呆樣，臉頰兩邊也不由得漫了一層薄紅，然後有些不自在地別過臉，“他啊……他跟旁人都不一樣的，他腦子不太聰明，可我就是喜歡他那副呆愣愣的不聰明的樣子，而且他對我很好，從來不會惹我生氣……”

說起心上的時候，杜玉顏是真的歡喜了不少，連之前花燈被踩壞的事情都不在意了，大概是對方說的話确實合了她的心意，原本都打算就這麽算了的杜玉顏，最後又忍不住跟着南嫣去了前面的小鋪子，兩人一路交換了姓名年紀，又一路聊了好些事情，反倒成了一對萍水相逢的朋友。

南嫣帶着她來到了之前的那個攤位上，可惜她們來晚了，之前那盞相似的狐貍燈已經被人買走了，杜玉顏也有些失望。

兩人在攤前挑挑揀揀，忽然聽到身後傳來一道熟悉的男聲，聲音有些着急，顯然是一路找過來的，“顏顏……”

兩人同時回頭，但南嫣是站在杜玉顏前面的，回頭時恰好被她擋住了身體，她只看到遠處那人大步朝她走了過來，嘴唇抿着緊緊的，表情看上去明顯有些不高興，

“我不是說了，讓你待在原地不要亂跑，然後等着我來找你的嗎？結果我一轉身你就不見了，你是不是故意讓我擔心的。”

杜玉顏立馬笑着迎了上去，臉上有些歡喜和滿足，“時栖，你找到我啦。我就是在府裏待久了，所以才想出來透透風的嘛，跟在你身邊和待在府裏有什麽區別？”

趙時栖皺了皺眉，他還是不太喜歡這種人多的環境，總感覺很嘈雜，“可是外面人很多，會很危險。”

杜玉顏就忍不住笑他，伸手扯了扯他的袖子，“哪有什麽危險嘛？明明是你自己太敏感了。哦，對了，我今晚還認識了一個新朋友，她姓葉，你過來，我介紹她給你認識。”

她說着便拽着身旁的趙時栖走到了南嫣面前，而對方卻在看到他的那一瞬間，整個身子都僵住了，整個人呆愣愣的，連手裏的花燈什麽時候掉到了地上都不知道。

“十七……”

她朝他輕輕喊了一聲，眼淚幾乎是瞬間就溢出了眼眶，順着眼角滑落了下來。