As the banquet drew to a close, Wen Buyu straightened his robes and stood up, offering a parting instruction to Su Xueyin:
“An artifact refiner has presented City Lord Sang with a rather novel creation, and since it was delivered today, he’s invited me to take a look. We’ll be right back. Keep an eye on your Senior Sister and make sure she doesn’t stir up any trouble.”
Su Xueyin patted her chest reassuringly: > “Don’t worry, Senior Sister, I’ll definitely take good care of her.”
Across the table, Sang Nian and Chu Yao exchanged a meaningful glance before lowering their heads to wolf down their food.
The moment Sang Qiyan and Wen Buyu departed, Sang Nian dismissed the attendants with a wave of her hand. > “You guys aren’t needed here anymore, run along and grab some lunch.”
With Chun’er leading the staff away, only the three of them remained in the waterside pavilion.
Slamming her chopsticks down with a sharp clack, Sang Nian raised an eyebrow:
“The liquor we brew here in Qingzhou is notoriously fierce. Are you sure you can handle it?”
With a look of utter disdain, Chu Yao scoffed: > “Whoever chickens out is a dog.”
Waiting precisely for those words, Sang Nian hauled a medium-sized earthenware wine jar out from the cabinet. The second she cracked open the clay seal, a rich, mellow aroma of wine instantly flooded the pavilion.
Taking a deep breath, Chu Yao nodded in approval: > “Not bad.”
“Not bad doesn’t even cover it,” Sang Nian said, pouring the drinks. “This wine is called ‘Cold Breeze Fragrance.’ The water used to brew it is melted snow gathered straight from winter plum blossoms. It goes down smooth and slightly sweet, but it’s a genuine, knockout liquor—a single cup will put you right on the floor.”
“Impossible,” Chu Yao challenged.
“Try it and see for yourself,” Sang Nian replied.
Just as Chu Yao reached for her cup, Su Xueyin pinned her hand down with a look of absolute disapproval:
“Senior Sister, I promised Senior Brother I’d look after you.”
Trying to find a middle ground, Sang Nian suggested: > “Then what are you saying?”
“How can you drink it cold? It’s terrible for your health,” Su Xueyin reasoned. “Of course we have to warm it up first.”
At a loss for words, Sang Nian could only offer a thumbs-up: > “Can’t argue with that.”
She dug out a small portable stove from the days when she used to watch the snow here, and Chu Yao flicked a fire spell straight into its hearth.
The wine heated up in no time, billowing with fragrant white steam.
The two of them cheerfully clinked their cups together and tossed the contents back in one smooth motion.
Thud.
Both girls hit the floor simultaneously, their eyes closing in peaceful serenity.
Wearing the expression of someone who had seen it all coming, Su Xueyin stretched her limbs, hoisted one passed-out girl over each shoulder like a pair of sacks of grain, and vanished from the pavilion in a few swift leaps.
Over at the String Sound Pavilion.
Some kind of commotion was playing out in the outer courtyard, buzzing like a pot of boiling water.
The moment Xie Chenzhou swung his door open, he collided head-on with a walking “mountain,” causing him to instinctively take a half-step back.
Upon recognizing him, Su Xueyin—the sole pillar supporting said “mountain”—lit up as if she had just found her savior.
Lowering Sang Nian from her left shoulder, she offered an apologetic smile:
“The maids in the courtyard were all frightened by something and ran off somewhere in the blink of an eye—probably to brew up a hangover remedy. Anyway, I still have to look after my little Senior Sister, so I’ll leave Miss Sang in your capable hands.”
With her legs turning to jelly and refusing to support her weight, Sang Nian began listing heavily toward the floor.
Catching her by the collar, Xie Chenzhou hoisted her upright with a frown:
“Why are you handing her over to me?”
“Aren’t you and Miss Sang married?” Su Xueyin asked, visible tension coloring her face. “I only found out about it yesterday when I overheard the maids gossiping. Is this some kind of state secret? Did I just stumble upon something I shouldn’t know? Am I going to be silenced?”
Xie Chenzhou: “…No.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she relaxed instantly. “Well, I’m off then!”
Before Xie Chenzhou could even speak, she didn’t give him a chance to refuse. With a light tap of her toes, she soared away and vanished into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Letting out a loud hiccup, Sang Nian blinked her eyes open in a daze and good-naturedly patted the back of Xie Chenzhou’s hand:
“Hey friend, I’m experiencing a mild sense of suffocation here.”
Showing zero patience, Xie Chenzhou loosened his grip and let go: > “Since you’re awake, crawl back to your own room.”
“Now that’s a brilliant plan.”
Stumbling in place for two wobbly circles, she caught sight of the familiar furnishings inside his room through the half-open door and beamed:
“My room is here! Driver, please hit the brakes.”
Without a shred of warning as to where she found the strength, she barreled straight into Xie Chenzhou’s chest and staggered headfirst into the room.
Pressing a hand against his aching ribs, Xie Chenzhou gritted his teeth: > “This is my room. You’ve got the wrong place.”
Spreading her arms wide, Sang Nian flopped face-first onto the bed, making sure to yank a corner of the blanket up to cover her belly button:
“Time for bed, good morning~”
He strode rapidly up to the bedside: > “Sang Yunling!”
Not a peep in response.
The young girl’s cheeks were flushed a deep crimson, her sleeping expression utterly serene.
Xie Chenzhou pushed at her. > “Get up and go back to your own room.”
Eyes shut tight, she let out a soft whine: > “No, this is my room, don’t try to trick me.”
Xie Chenzhou: “.”
He stopped talking, glaring down at her from above with a gaze that shifted unpredictably.
Abruptly, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around the girl’s slender throat.
Sensing something, she blinked open a pair of hazy, half-mast eyes.
The two of them stared quietly at each other in the stillness of the room.
After a moment, Sang Nian reached up, pulled his hand away from her neck, and buried half her face right in his palm, tilting her head to give it a gentle rub.
It was truly light, like a feather drifting down onto the surface of a pond, stirring up the faintest of ripples.
Xie Chenzhou instantly froze.
Her eyes curved into crescents as she chuckled with a touch of drunken silliness:
“Happy New Year, Xie Chenzhou! I want to give you something.”
He pressed his lips into a line. > “What is it?”
“Thirty million,” Sang Nian declared.
Xie Chenzhou: “Thirty million?”
With dramatic inflection and overflowing emotional intensity, she recited:
“A million times happy, a million times blessed, and a million times healthy!”
Xie Chenzhou: “…”
Tugging his hand back, he offered a smile that didn’t reach his eyes:
“Miss Sang is certainly generous.”
Rubbing her eyes, Sang Nian suddenly let out a choked sound.
Frowning deeply, Xie Chenzhou asked: > “What’s wrong with you now?”
Covering her face with both hands, her voice thick with a heavy nasal whine, she announced:
“I want to watch the Dark God of Gula-la battle the dark-skinned athletic jock.”
Xie Chenzhou: “…”
This person was completely out of her mind on alcohol.
Lacking the patience to argue with a drunk, he made to stand up and call someone inside to look after her.
Without warning, she lunged out, grabbed his sleeve, and yanked with all her might.
His balance tipped, and he pitched forward right toward her.
Just a split second before he would have crushed her, he planted his arms to catch his weight, stopping himself by a hair’s breadth.
The distance between them vanished instantly. He could even make out the tiny mole nestled right between her brows.
It was the color of crushed rouge.
The corner of Xie Chenzhou’s eye twitched slightly as he tried to push himself back up.
Refusing to let go, Sang Nian gripped his sleeve tighter.
A string of clear, sparkling tears welled up in her eyes, spilling over the corners to slip away into her temples.
“I was so terrible to you before… I didn’t treat you well, you suffered so much, and I, I…”
Xie Chenzhou was taken aback.
Her words tumbled out in a jumbled, incoherent mess:
“You suffered so much pain, you got hurt over and over again, and it was all because of me… No, wait, it wasn’t me, but then again it was, but…”
At that, she paused for a beat, used his sleeve to swipe away her tears, and stated with absolute earnestness:
“Xie Chenzhou, I’m never going to treat you badly again.”
After a long silence, Xie Chenzhou muttered: > “You expect me to believe your sweet-talking lies?”
In a panic, Sang Nian blurted out: > “I swear! If I’m lying, may I never graduate!”
Having no idea what she was rambling about and chalking it up to drunken nonsense, he lowered his voice to ask:
“Then… how are you going to treat me from now on?”
Sang Nian blinked sluggishly, as if mulling it over.
Finally, she proclaimed:
“I’m going to take you to the beach to pick up seashells.”
Xie Chenzhou canted his head slightly. > “Pick up seashells?”
“That’s right, seashells.”
At that, her spirits soared. Her eyes lit up like bright, glistening beads, still holding shimmering remnants of starlight tears. At a glance, they looked like glass marbles dropped deep into a pool of water:
“I’m going to give the biggest, prettiest seashell to Xie Chenzhou, and then hide him and the pearls inside it together so nobody in the world will ever find you.”
Xie Chenzhou: “…Why?”
“That way, I can protect you.”