"Do you want the same makeup as before that highlights your temperament?" Li Zhibai asked.
"Okay."
Li Zhibai thought for a moment, then suddenly closed the makeup box again, and gently gathered Yun Qianās hair that had fallen down.
"The previous makeup, was it washed off by Xu Changāan?"
Yun Qian nodded.
"This rouge is just ordinary rouge, it smears easily," Li Zhibai squinted slightly, leaned down, and lightly rested on Yun Qianās shoulder, looking at her eyes in the mirror, and softly said, "Otherwise, donāt do the makeup now."
"Hmm?"
Yun Qian raised her Liu Mei, turning her head, "Why."
Xu Changāan really liked her makeup, so Yun Qian needed a makeup look to complement the eveningās drinking.
"Itās still raining outside, doesnāt sister want to visit his place since sheās here at Muyu Peak?" Li Zhibai smiled.
"Sister is a smart person." Yun Qian blinked, she was quite clear that Li Zhibai hadnāt eavesdropped on their conversation in the room.
"Your thoughts are not hard to guess," Li Zhibai thought. Considering Yun Qian liked even Xu Changāanās sword so much, how could she not be interested in his place?
Despite what others thought, she still understood a bit of Yun Qianās thoughts...
Li Zhibai didnāt realize how she was dancing on the edge at that moment.
But it was fine, since she was favored by Xu Changāan, and she offered a plate of candied fruit with Xu Changāanās scent, Yun Qian also liked her.
She had reasons to act fearlessly.
If even a Fire Stone can be fearless, why canāt she?
Watching Li Zhibai re-tie her hair, Yun Qian calmly asked, "What does sister mean?"
"I mean..." Li Zhibai was about to speak, but suddenly met Yun Qianās gaze in the mirror, her entire breath disrupted for a moment, then she bowed her head, avoiding her misty eyes.
She whispered a few words into Yun Qianās ear.
"..."
A moment later.
"What does sister think?" Li Zhibai asked.
"Fine."
Yun Qian thought she was being very considerate.
"Then itās settled."
Li Zhibai inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the Jade Dew Wine next to her, "Iāll take these over later."
"Okay."
āā
Just as Xu Changāan thought he would need to wait for a while, Yun Qianās footsteps softly approached.
Having already guessed what Yun Qian went to Li Zhibai for, Xu Changāan instinctively looked at her face.
But he didnāt see a trace of makeup.
"Miss, have you finished talking with the teacher?"
"Mm."
"Then shall we now..."
"Go to your courtyard, I want to see it."
"Letās go." Xu Changāan didnāt hesitate, "Iāll go up and say goodbye to the teacher..."
"No need." Yun Qian shook her head, picked up the umbrella by the wall, and handed it to Xu Changāan, "Sister said we should just go."
"Mm... okay." A strange expression appeared on Xu Changāanās face.
Sister...
Forget it.
Since the teacher was dressed like that now, it wasnāt suitable for him to go up.
Xu Changāan held the umbrella and walked into the rain with Yun Qian, quickly leaving.
āā
Upstairs, Li Zhibai pushed open the window, watched the rain fall from the sky, saw Xu Changāan and Yun Qian disappear into the rain with a single umbrella, and smiled.
For some reason, after having a simple conversation with Yun Qian, she felt much better.
The anxiety she felt after discovering that Xu Changāan was involved with Lingyu and the Celestial Tribulation had calmed down, as if those matters no longer mattered.
She turned and picked up another plain-colored umbrella.
She originally thought... about giving Xu Changāan another umbrella, so that the two of them could walk better in the rain, not needing to crowd under one umbrella.
But she ultimately did not.
She truly was someone who knew how to navigate the situation.
Simply put...
She understood the way.
āā
Outside.
"Cough." Xu Changāan returned to the courtyard, grabbed the sword scabbard, strapped on the longsword that Yun Qian had longed for, and after leaving the main building, breathed a sigh of relief, quietly asking.
"Miss, what were you and the teacher doing?"
"Nothing, she drank wine, I watched her drink." Yun Qian said truthfully.
"...Thatās already strange." Xu Changāan covered his face, thought for a moment, and decided not to delve into the details.
Regardless of other things, his teacher still needed to keep some dignity, and as a student, he should know when to advance and retreat to maintain the teacherās face.
The continuous rain had washed the sky clean; although it was still raining, the gloomy weather had cleared. Water was pooling on the ground, and Xu Changāan held the umbrella, crossing through various barriers of the Sword Hall with Yun Qian, finally stopping at the front door.
Pushing open this door would lead out of the Sword Hall, exposing them once more to the gaze of the senior sisters.
Xu Changāan didnāt have to think to know that the heavy rain wouldnāt dampen the curiosity of the senior sisters, and there were bound to be countless eyes watching for him and Yun Qian to come out.
Even Xu Changāan felt anxious thinking about the dispositions of those senior sisters, and knowing they would be interested in Miss Yun made his heart race.
Noticing Xu Changāan had stopped, Yun Qian, holding onto Xu Changāanās arm, rested her head on his shoulder and asked, "Whatās wrong?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking... todayās rain is really heavy." Xu Changāan glanced back.
The rain fell on the bluestone, and pierced through the woods and leaves.
Walking all the way here, he found the Sword Hall, which had been cleaned, was once again in disarray.
"Next time, Iāll come to clean up again." Xu Changāan said, taking out a new veil to cover Yun Qianās face.
This was his little bit of "protection" that he could offer to the girl.
As he placed the veil on Yun Qian, she slightly tilted her chin, allowing him to fuss over herāa sight that quickened Xu Changāanās blinking.
However, looking at Yun Qianās serene face, he asked in confusion.
"Miss, if Iām not mistaken, you went to see the teacher to touch up your makeup, right?"
Yun Qian nodded.
"Then why didnāt you put on any makeup?" Xu Changāan couldnāt help but ask, being away from the main building.
Could it be...
Did Miss Yun say something wrong, causing the teacher not to fulfill her wish?
It seems plausible.
After all, who treats someone as a mere tool for makeup? No matter what the relationship between Li Zhibai and Yun Qian is, in Xu Changāanās eyes, they were just newly acquainted... Going to trouble the teacher like that was naturally inappropriate.
Plus, Yun Qianās straightforwardness might easily offend people.
So Xu Changāan couldnāt help but feel worried.
Yun Qian glanced at him suspiciously, clearly not understanding what there was to be nervous about. She touched the veil on her face and calmly said, "She said... itās still raining outside."
"Raining?" Xu Changāan listened to the rain on the umbrella surface, which was no longer dense.
"With the rain, putting on makeup now would get it washed away by the time we reach the North Garden, so I didnāt bother," Yun Qian said.
She wanted the makeup for Xu Changāan to admire at home. If it smudged, what was the point?
āIsnāt there Spiritual Power to protect the makeup?ā
Xu Changāan wanted to say that but held it back.
Neither Li Zhibaiās character nor Yun Qian would want to use Spiritual Power to protect any makeup...
In the end, the fact that these two got together to study rouge was the strangest thing of all.
"If not, then we wonāt," Xu Changāan shook his head, just about to say something when he suddenly noticed Yun Qian looking at him with sparkling eyes.
Her words... were not finished?
Xu Changāanās pupils shrunk slightly, then he instinctively asked: "Itās raining, applying makeup would smudge... so?"
"She said she would come to the North Garden to do my makeup when we get back," Yun Qian explained.
"..."
Some warmth passed through Yun Qianās veil and hit his neck, making Xu Changāan shiver involuntarily.
"?"
"The teacher is coming to our house tonight?" Although Xu Changāan guessed it, he was still shocked.
No way.
For his loner teacher to become an in-home makeup artist just to put a little rouge on Miss Yun...
This world is truly strange.
"Thatās what she said."
Yun Qian blinked, she really liked the phrase "our house" that Xu Changāan used.
Those simple words elevated the status of the residence on Celestial Bright Peak in Yun Qianās heart by several levels, directly rivaling the small island.
Just.
"Donāt you want her to come?" Yun Qian asked.