He Qiu sipped his tea, replaying the details of his time with Luo Qianning just now.
He felt something was off.
Earlier, when Luo Qianning had been straddling him and their chests were close, He Qiu had clearly felt a strange sensation in his chest—this was definitely not the usual flutter a guy feels toward a pretty girl.
Thinking this, He Qiu pulled a fiery red jade pendant from under his collar and held it in his hand, rubbing it carefully.
This jade pendant was given to him—well, kindly given—by a little girl passing through his village when he was a child…
Well, to be honest, it wasn’t exactly a gift.
It was more like He Qiu had “traded” for it.
Ah, well, saying “traded” might be whitewashing He Qiu’s crime.
Describing it as “taking advantage of someone’s misfortune” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
In any case, the jade pendant in He Qiu’s hand had not been easy to obtain.
Today, for some reason, He Qiu felt this fiery red jade pendant was very prominent.
He couldn’t help but want to hold it and stroke it, but no matter how long he examined it, he couldn’t articulate exactly what felt off.
It was precisely because this weird feeling had unsettled him that He Qiu couldn’t let his senior sister get any closer.
So he had been a bit flustered and used that rude tactic to scare Luo Qianning away.
‘Whatever, I went overboard just now. I’ll apologize another day…’
‘Time to go talk to Senior Sister about the marriage matter.’
With that thought, He Qiu sat up and prepared to head out.
But just as he reached the door, a knocking sound came from outside—thump thump thump.
He Qiu guessed it was Senior Sister Ling Ran coming to see him.
‘Good grief…’
‘Today, the senior sisters really are coming one after another.’
Without a second thought, the moment An Lingran knocked, He Qiu pulled the wooden door open from the inside.
Outside, An Lingran was a little surprised.
Last time, when she had come to discuss the marriage with her little junior brother, He Qiu had also already been facing the door, as if he had anticipated her visit.
This time, it was even more absurd.
An Lingran had just knocked, her hand still in the air, when the door flew open at lightning speed.
Moreover, He Qiu was standing at the door, completely unflustered…
“Junior Brother, how did you know I was coming?”
Although An Lingran was surprised, she was still rather happy.
This feeling was like getting a “quick reply” when messaging someone you liked—it showed that the other party really cared about you.
“Senior Sister, are you feeling better?”
He Qiu asked with concern, at the same time stepping aside to gesture for An Lingran to come in and talk.
After all, last time he had publicly rejected her confession, causing his senior sister to faint from anger.
Although he still didn’t understand what he had done wrong, seeing her unconscious had made him feel somewhat guilty and worried.
“It’s nothing. I embarrassed myself in front of Junior Brother last time…”
Again seeing the junior brother she liked, An Lingran showed an apologetic smile, nodded, and followed He Qiu into the room.
After entering, An Lingran saw a purple-haired girl tidying up nearby.
She blinked, stunned for two seconds.
On the other side, Zi Menghan also saw An Lingran, and cold sweat broke out all over her back.
Being scrutinized up close by the Primordial Saintess, Zi Menghan felt like she was facing a great enemy. Her little heart pounded wildly.
The image of the silver-haired girl slaughtering demon cultivators surged into her mind again, and her face paled almost imperceptibly.
Fortunately, Zi Menghan hadn’t wasted her years as the Demon Sect Princess navigating the shadows.
Even when facing the terrifying Primordial Saintess, she could still maintain basic composure.
Besides, so many years had passed.
She recognized An Lingran, but An Lingran might not recognize the little demon tribe girl from back then!
Therefore, Zi Menghan advanced by retreating.
Lifting her long skirt, she bowed deeply: “This humble girl greets Her Highness the Saintess.”
She was just a maidservant in the Longyin Sect now; she needed to act humble before the noble Primordial Saintess.
But there was no need to kneel.
Zi Menghan was still the Demon Sect Princess after all, and even in her acting, she wouldn’t stoop that low.
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That night, kneeling and crying to He Qiu was an exception…
“He Qiu, is this a maidservant you took in?”
An Lingran had heard something about He Qiu rescuing a common girl before, so she wasn’t particularly surprised.
She just turned to He Qiu to confirm.
He Qiu nodded, pulled out a chair, and sat down: “Yes, her name is Li Mengxin. Just call her Meng’er.”
“Meng’er…”
An Lingran stared at Zi Menghan’s face for a while longer, then finally lowered her eyes and asked no more.
She felt this maidservant girl looked somewhat familiar…
But she couldn’t pinpoint the incongruity.
Perhaps, after hearing the story of her and her junior brother’s heroic rescue, she was a little jealous of Miss Meng’er.
But An Lingran thought she wasn’t so unreasonable as to be jealous of a mere maidservant.
Her possessiveness wasn’t that absurd.
Without thinking further, the silver-haired woman walked to He Qiu’s table and pulled out a chair to sit down, just like during their previous talk.
At that moment, Zi Menghan, quick-witted, hurriedly brought over a freshly boiled kettle and carefully poured two cups of hot tea for An Lingran and He Qiu.
Then she gave another bow before withdrawing to continue her chores…
It had to be said that Zi Menghan’s acting was perfect.
Even An Lingran felt favorably toward this considerate and polite “maidservant.”
But for now, An Lingran had no time to focus on a maidservant.
She turned to He Qiu and got straight to the point: “Junior Brother, I came to tell you something very important today.”
“Mm, Senior Sister, please go ahead.”
He Qiu sat up straight.
He held Senior Sister Ling Ran, who was like a half-teacher, in great respect.
Actually, He Qiu also respected Luo Qianning, who had saved his life, but that little senior sister was too mischievous and sometimes clingy and annoying.
No matter how grateful and respectful he was, he couldn’t afford to be too nice to her.
Because the more obedient he acted toward Luo Qianning, the more she would push her luck, always wanting to tease and bully him.
This gave He Qiu a headache; he didn’t like being teased…
But the flaws of Luo Qianning were absent in An Lingran.
He Qiu felt more favorably toward this cool and gentle senior sister, and was more willing to interact with Senior Sister Ling Ran.
Compared to noise, he preferred quiet things.
“Junior Brother, both Senior Sister and the Sect Master forgot to tell you before. Actually… you and I have a marriage contract made in childhood.”
An Lingran explained, pulling a letter from her sleeve.
Just as An Daosheng had told her, she placed it on the table and pushed it in front of He Qiu.
The latter raised an eyebrow, a glint of surprise in his eyes.
Just like how An Lingran had treated An Daosheng before, he took the marriage contract and opened it to read.
After a while, He Qiu drew a sharp breath and raised his doubt: “Senior Sister, I grew up without parents… But this marriage contract says it was set between our fathers?”
“…”
An Lingran’s beautiful eyes widened.
It was the first time she heard that He Qiu was an orphan.
Before, An Daosheng had only said that He Qiu’s father was very mysterious and powerful, so she had always thought He Qiu was hiding his identity and keeping a low profile.
But looking at it today, He Qiu really seemed to have no knowledge of his own background, not even having seen his parents’ faces…
Could it be that Master had some unspeakable secret?
After a moment of hesitation, An Lingran maintained her calm as the Saintess and senior sister.
She took a sip of hot tea, closed her eyes, and said slowly: “Junior Brother, there are many things about your father that are too complicated to tell you now.”
Back then, An Daosheng had fooled An Lingran with the same line.
He Qiu: ?
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