Mu Ziyue, bored after a day spent cooped up in the inn, watched the city lights gradually illuminate, feeling increasingly lonely. With her snacks all gone, she was about to step out when she almost bumped into Ren Yuanhao as she opened the door.
“Brother Bao is finally back! I’ve been waiting for you like the sun and moon!”
Mu Ziyue leaped onto Ren Yuanhao like a monkey, completely oblivious to her skirt. The move was rather suggestive.
“Ahem…”
Ren Yuanhao’s aged face flushed red.
Although Mu Ziyue was born in Xiling City, she possessed the unrestrained spirit of a girl from the Western Wilderness. Far from blushing, she giggled enchantingly, “Brother Bao can blush too? It seems I’m not entirely unattractive.”
“Yes, yes, hurry and change. I’ll take you to eat Haidilao.”
“Tsk tsk! How did Brother Bao know I wanted to eat that!”
“Someone’s treating, so why not go? I told her you’re my sister, so don’t blow my cover.”
Mu Ziyue straightened up and said seriously, “Don’t worry, mission guaranteed to be accomplished.”
…
The nights in Xiling City were very similar to those in Ai Shen City. Sometimes, Ren Yuanhao would find himself dreaming of Ai Shen City, even looking up expectantly at a certain taekwondo gym, hoping the slender owner with long legs would be lounging by her desk in a seductive pose. He would also think of the eating competition in a certain park, or even recall a certain internet cafe and the urge to fight for a beauty.
At this moment, he was sitting in a taxi. The moonlight from the skylight cast upon him, suddenly reminding him of the wedding at Moonlit Oasis, and the woman who was disfigured for him.
—Damn it, Ren Yuanhao, you’re such a scumbag. Where does your heart truly lie, or do you have no heart at all?
“Brother Bao, what are you spacing out about?”
Mu Ziyue was dressed very cheerfully, looking vibrant at first glance. Sitting next to Ren Yuanhao, they indeed had a sibling-like aura.
“I’m wondering, if a man has many, many women in his heart, but doesn’t keep any of them close, nor cuts ties with them, is he a scumbag?”
Ren Yuanhao felt that discussing these matters with a university student, possibly one who hadn't dated yet, or even a child who hadn't truly grown up, would likely yield no response.
Yet, Mu Ziyue’s words unexpectedly brought him clarity.
“My guess is, if a man harbors so many women in his heart but keeps none of them by his side, it’s highly possible he harbors some great secret, or perhaps he hasn’t yet met the woman he wants to pour all his effort into loving. It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a scumbag. Besides, aren’t women these days quite fond of scumbags?”
Just as Mu Ziyue was about to continue, the car suddenly stopped.
“What’s going on?”
Ren Yuanhao looked ahead with great vigilance. A large convoy, surrounding a Rolls-Royce Phantom, was slowly advancing. Cameras and phone flashes on both sides were like lightning striking down.
“It must be that celebrity. These fans and reporters are really enthusiastic. I wonder which celebrity it is. This fanfare is something else.”
The taxi driver wanted to honk, but such an action would be futile and might even incite public outrage. With that thought, he decisively abandoned the foolish impulse.
“Driver, you can just drop us off. We can walk.”
Ren Yuanhao glanced at the time. If they continued to dally, they would certainly be late, and he detested being late more than anything, not even by a second.
The driver was naturally pleased by this situation. Finding a place to turn around, he dropped them off and then sped away in the opposite direction.
“You seem to be in a hurry, or you really dislike being late?”
Mu Ziyue asked, panting as she kept pace behind Ren Yuanhao.
“That’s right.”
Ren Yuanhao didn’t want to reveal the reason to anyone. He knew it himself. Being late meant that many things, which were originally controllable, would become completely out of control, and even…
Meanwhile, Zhao Yishu had already arrived ten minutes early at the most distinctive and popular Haidilao restaurant in Xiling City.
She had reserved a table in advance, even prepared the hot pot. Everything seemed ready, waiting for the two of them.
“Miss, are you waiting for someone?”
Two well-featured attendants stood at the restaurant entrance. One of them, seeing the woman in the yellow and white dress waiting for a good five or six minutes, couldn’t help but wonder what kind of man with three heads and six arms could make such a heavenly-like woman wait.
“Yes.”
Zhao Yishu replied with the most concise and unprovocative words.
“If I were a man, I’d arrive half an hour early, rehearse all the lines I need to say, just in case I forget them and make a fool of myself. Preferably with a large bouquet of roses on standby, and even better, a South African diamond ring. In short, making such a beautiful woman wait is truly ungentlemanly!”
Both men were indignant on Zhao Yishu’s behalf, yet she silenced them with a single sentence.
“Those are methods to coax young girls. Mature men don’t necessarily need to use these inferior tactics to capture hearts.”
For some reason, Zhao Yishu seemed to be caught in a strange loop. Whenever someone tried to slander Ren Yuanhao, she habitually drew her sword, wishing she could verbally condemn them.
She had never felt this way before, never even dared to imagine it.
Ren Yuanhao’s appearance was like a ray of light piercing through thick clouds, dispelling the haze of nearly twenty years for her. It even made her heart flutter, so much so that she considered meeting his sister as a stepping stone to meeting his parents.
Awakening the sleeping iceberg led to an endless flood, and her love was ardent and continuous.
Just as her mind was wandering, Ren Yuanhao, pulling his so-called sister, finally arrived in the last minute.
“Phew, just in time. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Not at all, I just arrived too.” Zhao Yishu smiled faintly, as radiant as the moon in the sky. Her eyes were like clear water, with starlight scattered across them. The yellow and white dress accentuated her, making her seem like a peerlessly beautiful woman from an ancient painting. Every movement she made was like the most moving adjective in a scholar’s writing.
Ren Yuanhao’s movements were effortless, but Mu Ziyue behind him was as exhausted as if she had participated in an 8-kilometer weighted training, her body weak and her face pale.
“Good heavens, sis, did you get lost?” Mu Ziyue asked, hands on her hips, panting heavily and out of breath.
“Huh?”