"I know this is enough." Yun Qian said contentedly, "I only care about this, the rest... Iâll listen to you."
"I must have saved the world in my past life to meet a girl like you." Xu Changâan covered his face.
"Canât say thatâs not true."
"...Tsk."
ââ
At this moment, the small boat drifted to the center of the lake, stopping at a calm water spot, away from others boating on the lake. Xu Changâan put away the oars and sat down by the steps beside Yun Qian.
"There are some things I can only feel at ease after saying them out loud. I hope you donât mind me ruining the atmosphere tonight." Xu Changâan apologized.
"Is there? I think the atmosphere is quite nice." Yun Qian leaned against him and asked, "What puts you at ease?"
"If Iâm really useless and canât find a way for you to cultivate... then you wouldnât be an ordinary, mundane person either." Xu Changâan said seriously, "Knowing this, I can feel at ease."
He could refrain from probing into Yun Qianâs past, but he did not wish for her life to be ordinary and colorless.
"I donât understand your thoughts." Yun Qian stretched lazily.
"Let me say something unambitious." Xu Changâan brushed his sleeve, looking at the nightscape of Celestial Bright Peak, and said helplessly, "Knowing this, even if in the future Iâm useless or not around... never mind, I wonât say it."
Xu Changâan wanted to say that even if he couldnât be useful in the future or was not by Yun Qianâs side for various reasons, it wouldnât matter; she wouldnât be in danger and would still be protected.
Having this psychological reassurance is like buying insurance, indeed bringing a sense of ease.
"...If you donât want to say it, I wonât ask." Yun Qian said calmly.
After putting some thoughts out in the open, Xu Changâan still knew nothing about Miss Yunâs past, but the knot in his heart had loosened considerably.
He looked at the bright moon in the sky, seeing a layer of something akin to faint clouds or Spiritual Qi shrouding the moon, mysterious and beautiful.
"Miss, do you know the beauty of haziness?" Xu Changâan shook his head, "Itâs the not seeing clearly that adds an enchanting beauty."
Like mist enveloping the cold water and moonlight casting over the sand, thatâs how it is.
"Such a moon is beautiful." Xu Changâan said.
Upon hearing this, Yun Qian tugged on her own pale yellow wool skirt and said, "I know, which is why you bought those semi-transparent clothes for me, but Iâve only worn them a few times. If you like, I can use them as pajamas."
"..." Xu Changâan twitched at the corner of his eyes, "I intend to talk about something more serious, more solemn."
"Making you like it is also very serious and solemn." Yun Qian said earnestly.
"The clothes were chosen by the girls at Piluo Residence, not by me."
"You like them, so their taste isnât bad." Seeing Xu Changâanâs increasingly peculiar expression, Yun Qian quickly said, "So, what serious topic were you going to discuss?"
"I was initially thinking, without knowing Missâs secrets, this mystery would make me speculate about the forces behind you." Xu Changâan sighed, "But now, it doesnât feel that way anymore."
Miss Yunâs lack of ambition really made it hard for him to connect her current self with the impression he had at first sight.
The cabin remained empty, yet the young couple sat at the stern of the boat. As the boat swayed, Xu Changâan looked up at the starry sky.
"No feelings? Are you saying youâve lost feelings for me?" Yun Qian sat upright.
"Of course not." Xu Changâan felt helpless at Miss Yunâs thought process. He gazed at the bright moon and scattered stars in the sky and said, "Does Miss know... what my thoughts were when I first met you?"
"I donât know." Yun Qian thought to herself that when she first met Xu Changâan, she was so nervous there was no time to consider his thoughts.
"It was like seeing the moon and stars." Xu Changâan leaned back, gazing at the starry sky, murmuring, "But not on an ordinary night; it should be more distant, more stunning, like feeling small beneath a vast galaxy."
"So when you were saying the moon was beautiful, you were not really talking about the moon, but about me." Yun Qian realized.
"Sort of." Xu Changâan looked at the silly girl in front of him, sighing softly.
Miss Yun wasnât foolish, but wearing that pale yellow little skirt, she couldnât help but exude a youthful vibe.
"How could I be like the moon and stars? Now you canât reach the stars, but you can touch me." Yun Qian said curiously.
"When I opened my eyes and saw Miss for the first time, it was at night." Xu Changâan closed his eyes, as if hearing the sea breeze across his face and the roar of the tide, recalling the woman in a long black dress standing on the rocks.
She turned back to look at him, with endless nightscape behind her.
Just looking at her was akin to the childhood wonder of gazing at the boundless starry sky, a mixture of amazement and fear of the vast Star Sea.
Scenes like this, he thought, are unforgettable in this lifetime and the next.
Xu Changâan opened his eyes again, looking at Miss Yun who clung to him now, and said seriously, "I once thought... finding Miss both terrifying and unfamiliar was because I didnât know you well enough. Now I see the real you."
"And then?" Yun Qian tilted her head.
"Now reconsidering your mystery." Xu Changâanâs eyes trembled, yet he remained deeply earnest, "Perhaps... the first time I saw you was your true appearance."
Xu Changâan had been contemplating this for a long time.