Just as I was about to say something, Bai Qi also showed up in the room. There was no barrier in my room. Could they just come and go as they pleased?
"Don't smear us fox spirits. Not all foxes seduce people. That woman is a typical green tea bitch."
"Bai Qi, why are you joining in the fun too?"
"I was woken up by your sighing. If you're going somewhere, take me with you."
The two Bai - surnamed guardians seemed more curious about Gu Yuan's affairs than I was.
"Even you two can see there's something wrong with that woman. Can't Gu Yuan see it?" I pouted and said.
Bai Qi blinked his big blue eyes and said, "Haven't you heard the saying 'two - faced'? She puts on a good act in front of Gu Yuan."
"Should we start a marriage - defense war?"
I didn't want to be like Yu Xiao, acting like a resentful woman just to compete for a man.
"No, I trust Gu Yuan. I'm going to sleep. You guys should leave." I lay back in the quilt. I didn't want to talk about Gu Yuan anymore. The more we talked, the more confused I got.
Seeing that I wasn't interested, they were quite sensible and really stopped talking.
Bai Qi even specially placed a stick of sleeping incense by my bedside. I lay in bed. I didn't know how long I'd been lying there. Anyway, I dozed off in a daze.
I slept until late morning. If the sun hadn't shone in, I'd still be sleeping.
I opened my eyes, stretched, and looked to the side. The bedsheet was as smooth as if no one had ever lain on it.
Gu Yuan didn't come back all night. I let out a heavy, disappointed sigh. After tidying up, I went out to the hall.
Li Hua told me that after I went back to rest, Gu Yuan went out with Dan Zhu and hadn't come back yet. Maybe they were dealing with something important.
I pouted and turned to look for something to eat.
Li Hua could tell at a glance that I was unhappy. She smiled and joked, "Oh, our Lan Lan can finally get jealous. It's not easy."
"Who's jealous? I'm not." I turned my head. My face flushed instantly. I didn't want her to see me like this.
Actually, I'd already admitted in my heart that I was indeed jealous. I didn't like Gu Yuan dealing with that woman. I always felt that Dan Zhu had ulterior motives towards Gu Yuan.
Just as Li Hua was about to say something more to me, Long Lin showed up uninvited. He glanced at me, walked straight past me without looking at me again.
After what happened last time, he'd ignored me ever since.
It just so happened that I had something to ask him, about the blue beads that Gu Yuan had asked me to inquire about last time.
"Long Lin, are you free today? I'd like to talk to you."
"What's the matter?" His face was calm, showing no emotion.
"Let's talk outside." I didn't give him a chance to refuse. I pushed the door open and walked out first. He shook his fan and followed me out closely.
When the two of us walked to the small garden on foot, I stopped, and so did he.
I leaned my back against the wooden railing by the river, turned around, and asked, "I want to ask you about that string of beads."
Long Lin's eyes, which had been fixed on my face, suddenly shifted to a position beside me.
Just as I was about to turn my head to follow his gaze, he suddenly opened his fan and blocked my view.
I looked up at him in confusion. He lowered his head and softly asked in my ear, "What do you want to know?"
This action looked so ambiguous. I hurriedly turned my face away. Just as I was about to turn to the other side, Long Lin pressed his hand on my shoulder.
"You'd better not move around. You'll see something you shouldn't."
I didn't understand what he meant. Long Lin tilted his face slightly, and then I saw what he didn't want me to see.
Behind Long Lin, Dan Zhu and Gu Yuan were chatting and laughing merrily. They looked like a young, loving couple flirting.
One was playing around, and the other was smiling. They walked past Long Lin and me as if there was no one else around.
My eyes were fixed on Gu Yuan's face. I bit my lower lip angrily, almost drawing blood.
I instinctively pressed my chest. It felt so stuffy and uncomfortable.
"Does it hurt?" Long Lin asked gently.
I was annoyed by his tone. He was clearly gloating. I frowned and said, "No."
Then I firmly pushed his hand away and walked around him.
Unexpectedly, Gu Yuan and Dan Zhu hadn't gone far. The four of us ran into each other face - to - face.
When Gu Yuan saw me, the smile on his face disappeared instantly, and his face darkened.
"Why are you here?"
I was also feeling uncomfortable and wanted to ask him the same question.
But I didn't have to ask. Long Lin asked for me.
"Then why are you here?"
"I'm not asking you." Gu Yuan glared angrily at Long Lin.
Long Lin suddenly laughed.
"Why are you angry? We're here for the same reason you are."
I didn't want them to fight because of me again. Every time they did, they'd end up all bruised.
"Gu Yuan, don't misunderstand..."
Just as I was about to explain, Long Lin interrupted me again.
"He's not angry because he misunderstood us. He's angry because you caught them here..." Long Lin almost said the word "rendezvous".
"... That's why he's angry."
"Gu Yuan, I..."
Gu Yuan had a gloomy face. He didn't want to explain anything more. He turned around and left.
Seeing Gu Yuan leave, Dan Zhu gave me a charming smile, then turned around and chased after Gu Yuan.
I watched their retreating backs. Suddenly, I felt so annoyed. I thought why was I so stupid? Shouldn't I be the one walking with Gu Yuan at this moment?
"Little lady, do you still have any questions?"
"The problem is huge. Gu Yuan must have misunderstood us." I glared angrily at Long Lin, then turned around and sat on the grass by the river.
"Then why don't you go and explain?" Long Lin, who had just looked disdainful towards me, now had a big smile on his face. Was his gloating too obvious?
"Explain what? The more I explain, the worse it'll get. Anyway, I'm upright and not afraid of shadows. There's nothing to explain."
"Oh... I thought you'd changed your mind and were going to return the dagger to me."
Speaking of the dagger, it seemed that the fifteenth day was coming soon. The painful look on Gu Yuan's face when he endured the heavenly tribulation flashed through my mind, and my heart ached badly.
"You've seen it too. Gu Yuan is born with a good - looking appearance that surpasses everyone in the three realms. Don't be fooled by his cold and aloof appearance on the surface. He's always surrounded by women. Being with him, he can't even give you the most basic sense of security."
I sat on the ground in silence. I didn't want to explain too much to him. I knew that Gu Yuan loved me, and that was enough. I didn't want to listen to Long Lin trying to mess up my mind.
"Let's not talk about this. That string of sea - patterned beads was something you always carried with you. How did you lose it?"
Long Lin put down his fan, lowered his eyes, and thought for a while. "I lost it right after I first met you. I thought you took it because I was the closest to you at that time. This close."
Suddenly, his face got closer again. Instinctively, I leaned back. When I put my hands on the ground, I seemed to step on someone's foot.
I was flustered and wanted to apologize to this person, but my head accidentally hit Long Lin's forehead.
"Are you okay?" Long Lin asked.
I quickly looked up at the person above me. It was Dan Zhu again. She was looking down at me gloatingly, as if she'd caught me having an affair.
"Why are you back again?" Long Lin was also quite annoyed to see her.
"If I hadn't come back, how could I have seen you two flirting here?"
I suddenly felt really angry. I stood up from the ground, looked her in the eye, and said, "You have no right to interfere in my affairs."
"Indeed. I'm just curious. Why isn't Gu Yuan angry when he sees you two like this? Do you really have feelings for each other?"