Nangong Yehen felt that the air and environment here were highly beneficial for his injuries. Over the past few days, his entire body had experienced an unprecedented sense of comfort and vitality. He wasn’t in a hurry to leave. If Chu Lingzhi wanted to take Grandpa Hu to T City sooner, he could set off tomorrow.
Chu Lingzhi’s heartstrings felt as if someone had plucked them. Looking at the man’s gaze, it was filled with tenderness. He was so good to her—what if one day she fell in love with him? “If you want to take Grandpa Hu to T City sooner, we can head back tomorrow,” Nangong Yehen said, looking at her with a faint smile. “I think your injuries are mostly healed. If there’s nothing else, let’s go back tomorrow.” Grandpa Hu’s little hut was damp and cramped. She couldn’t wait to get him into a dry, comfortable place to live. “Alright, we’ll go back tomorrow.” Nangong Yehen’s lips curled into a charming smile. Chu Lingzhi looked at him, puzzled. “Going back tomorrow is fine, but why are you smiling like that?” Nangong Yehen pinched her cheek, his smile seductive. “Once we’re back at the manor, I can do whatever I want with you.” “What do you want to do with me?” Chu Lingzhi frowned. “Love you, of course.” At that, Chu Lingzhi’s face flushed crimson, and her heart raced. “Before we go back, isn’t there a place you need to visit?” Nangong Yehen asked. Chu Lingzhi blinked, looking at him in confusion. “What place?” Nangong Yehen took her hand. “Come with me.”
The wind was especially strong today, making Chu Lingzhi’s body and heart tremble. This was where her family used to live. Now, it was nothing but a stretch of grass, lifeless and desolate. For years, she hadn’t dared to come back. Even when she brought Nangong Yehen up the mountain to look for snakes, she hadn’t had the courage to return here. She never dreamed that one day, Nangong Yehen would be the one accompanying her back. Seeing everything before her, her heart was filled with immense sorrow and grief. This place was full of her childhood joy. “I remember the first time I came here, you and Grandpa Chu were drying herbs in the yard,” Nangong Yehen said, walking by memory to where Chu Lingzhi had once stood. The wind tousled his hair as he stood there smiling at her, like a prince stepping out of the breeze, dazzlingly handsome. “You were standing right here, watching me.” Chu Lingzhi didn’t seem to recall that. All she remembered was that Nangong Yehen had been brought to her home by his father. Her first impression of him was tall and thin, with a blank expression, exceptionally cold, and not good at communicating with others. He was somewhat like Nangong Yichen’s current personality, just not as handsome and cute as Nangong Yichen. Of course, by then, Nangong Yehen had already shed that layer of innocence. Chu Lingzhi looked at him, her heart too heavy to speak. Nangong Yehen seemed to dislike seeing her so downcast. “I remember when you looked at me back then, your eyes were glazed over, and you were drooling.” “No, I wasn’t!” Chu Lingzhi retorted. “You forgot? You were staring at me just like this.” As he spoke, Nangong Yehen put on a silly, dazed expression. It wasn’t the look of a woman smitten with a man she admired. It was the look of a simpleton, drooling and vacant. A real fool’s dull eyes and drooling would be quite unattractive. But coming from Nangong Yehen’s refined face, the expression carried a playful charm, tinged with a sunny mischief. Chu Lingzhi’s mood instantly brightened under his coaxing. That heavy, aching heart felt like the weather after a storm had passed.