Is it a calm gaze, or gentle, or serious?
Wen Li tried, but even with her artistic skills, she couldnāt truly express the unfamiliar face on that paper as Xu Changāan.
Yet now, she suddenly felt the urge to draw because she saw the most genuine side of her junior brother; such eyes should indeed appear on her canvas.
The crystal-clear tea in Wen Liās cup blinked.
However, this mischievous nature of her junior brother... Wen Li felt it was just like those junior sisters at Muyu Peak who love to bully young girls.
Junior brother... is he a child?
Should I say his nature is adorable?
Wen Liās lips curved slightly.
Junior brother, after all, is a young man. No matter how perfectly he presents himself daily, in the end, heās still a child.
Or perhaps he truly is a disciple of Muyu Peak, having learned all the bad habits of her senior sisters.
Wen Li took a sip from her tea cup.
Given her age, calling her junior brother a child wasnāt unreasonable.
She didnāt really appear in her early twenties; as a Half-Demon, cultivating to this point also took time.
At this moment, Wen Li suddenly wanted to know, if her junior brother liked Miss Yun this much, even resorting to bullying as an outlet for his longing emotions, then how did he bear it when Yun Qian wasnāt on the mountain?
Love in youth should burn as intensely as the noon sun.
Now, starting to comprehend emotions, Wen Li thought so.
And furthermore.
She set down her tea cup and listened to the play, her gaze inadvertently falling on Xu Changāan and Yun Qian.
Realizing she could see the true side of junior brother in front of Yun Qian, Wen Li suddenly wanted to watch them a bit longer from the side.
Since she was in the midst of ambiguous emotions and wanted to see clearly her feelings for her junior brother, Wen Li needed "samples" for reference, and the loving couple before her was clearly the best observation subject.
Comparing Yun Qianās feelings for Xu Changāan with her own would help her better understand what her masterās words about love really described.
Moreover.
Wen Liās mood gradually calmed.
Watching the closeness and interaction between junior brother and junior sister, she couldnāt quite describe her feeling of... joy?
It ought to be joy, right?
Wen Li tilted her head.
Why is it like this?
āā
As the one being teased, Yun Qian held Xu Changāanās finger with a slight force.
"Candied fruit, we need to have it." Miss Yun reiterated.
"Once you finish, there wonāt be any left." Xu Changāan reminded her.
"You can make more." Yun Qian suggested.
"Or, Miss, you could eat slower." Xu Changāan smiled.
Yun Qian lightly nudged him and then fell silent.
Seeing this, Xu Changāan stopped his mischief, stood up to pour Yun Qian a cup of warm water, and as the lady drank to wash away the sweetness of the candied fruit, only then did he say: "Feeling awake now?"
"Yes." Yun Qian nodded.
"Awake is good." Xu Changāan found a good excuse for his teasing of Yun Qian.
But admittedly, his words indeed helped Yun Qianās muddled thoughts become clearer.
Perhaps just as Wen Li thought.
Wearing a mask for too long is a painful thing.
If, on some timeline, he always remained a mild-mannered youth, firmly affixing this mask of gentility on his face, then what would he be like upon reaching the peak?
Yun Qian didnāt know.
She watched the youth beside her, whose gaze was filled with reassurance.
In that river of time, surely, there wouldnāt be a girl who loves his candied fruits.
Nor would a husband wholeheartedly focused on cultivation have the skill or opportunity to make candied fruits.
So, if he could commit something that seemed, to him, to be āutterly madā after recalling many things, then...?
Yun Qian likewise did not know.
But she knew the residual sweetness of the candied fruit in her mouth, the faint fragrance emanating from him, and his reassuring gaze... they rendered those concerns obsolete.
After all, Yun Qian pondering these matters wasnāt about finding a reason for her existence.
He wanted to see her, and here she wasāsuch a natural occurrence, what need was there for reason?
Yun Qian was just slightly concerned about how to handle the other connections around her husband.
But looking at Wen Li in the distance watching her with such a good mood, she blinked.
Perhaps... maybe thereās no need to handle it?
Who knows.
The sugar from the candied fruit Yun Qian consumed was quickly used up by her deep introspection, leaving her tired of thinking further.
Anyway, there were many days ahead for the girl named "Yun Qian," and she only needed to enjoy them.
However, the considerate Miss Yun thought that if the villain wasnāt herself, perhaps she should be kinder to Frosty Heaven?
But if Xu Changāan didnāt like the system he carried, didnāt want to do tasks to mend the cracked sky, then it wasnāt Miss Yunās concern anymore.
She was just an ordinary girl, not supposed to have those capabilities.
To enjoy being protected, that was what Yun Qian wanted now.
...Her thoughts couldnāt keep up.
"Is there any more candied fruit?" Yun Qian recalled the sweetness and his scent within the candied fruit.
"This time, really none left." Xu Changāan said matter-of-factly.
Yun Qian: "..."
Wen Li: "..."
Watching Yun Qianās calm demeanor, somehow, Wen Li seemed to feel a sense of dissatisfaction and grievance, making her suddenly want to stand up for her junior sister against her junior brother.
But as an outsider, she remained motionless.
Speaking of which.
Candied fruit was not something she ate often, nor did she know her junior sisterās taste.
But if her junior sister wished to eat, she remembered... Master Zhu had seemed to carry a bag of candied fruit earlier and said sheād gotten it from Xu Changāan?
Just as she thought of this, Wen Li heard Xu Changāan say.
"Originally, the candied fruits prepared for Miss were mostly given to Senior Zhu, but itās fine... soon Iāll prepare a lot of Beauty Fruits... though I wonder how theyāll taste."
Indeed.
Wen Li glanced towards the deck.
If Master Li knew that Master Zhu and her junior sister were vying for snacks, how would she feel?
But as the Senior of Muyu Peak, Wen Li had nothing to say.
What Wen Li wasnāt aware of was that Li Zhibai not only knew Zhu Pingniang took candied fruits meant for Yun Qian, she was even drinking while thinking about the Beauty Fruits Xu Changāan prepared.
Earlier, Li Zhibai realized something.
If... if the Beauty Fruits might encapsulate the emotions of those who cultivate and manage Spiritual Qi, then... what was Xu Changāanās emotion?
Li Zhibai didnāt know, but... it likely pertained to a certain Miss Yun.
In this context, Tong Jun wanting to eat, Li Zhibaiās eyes filled with helplessness.
As an elder, was Zhu Pingniang really this eager to understand the younger generationās feelings?
"Tong Jun, surely you know what might be in the Beauty Fruit, right?" Li Zhibai asked.
"What are you talking about?" Zhu Pingniang shook the wine cup in her hand, the crystal liquid swaying as she earnestly said: "It was grown by Changāan; how should I know? Iām not a parasite in his stomach."
"Besides Yun Qian, what else could there be?" Li Zhibai laid the words bare.
To savor the love of juniors for their wives was not something an elder should do.
After realizing this, Li Zhibai was quite conflicted about whether to give the Beauty Fruit to the Sect Leader... after all, enabling the Sect Leader to experience the emotions involved, she didnāt even know how to proceed.
Zhu Pingniang had a different opinion.
Before Xu Changāan cultivated Spiritual Qi, he naturally practiced cultivation, so the Beauty Fruit likely contained his cultivation insights or other things, how could it be all about Yun Qian?
She held an opposing view.
"You make it sound like, Ah Bai, to say Changāan is a big man, when heās alone, apart from Yun Qian, canāt he have other things on his mind?"
"What else then?"
"..."
Li Zhibaiās unhesitating words caused Zhu Pingniangās eye corner to twitch slightly.
Just what did this lady think of her student, Ah Bai...