"I'm not unhappy," Shen Xian said, deliberately glancing at Gu An standing beside him.
Gu An: "..."
Xu Lan's lips curved into a smile. He also deliberately glanced at Gu An and said, "Brother Shen, I know you've been quite weary searching for a maiden with immortal destiny these past few years, but she's not suitable for you. She has no immortal destiny."
Shen Xian said, "Can you stop talking nonsense?"
Xu Lan was such a direct person. Anything he perceived, he would speak of immediately. Just like now, his intuition told him that Shen Xian had already fallen for Gu An.
But Gu An was unaware.
However, since Shen Xian had spoken, any further words from him would only embarrass Shen Xian.
Thus, he shrugged and said, "Alright."
A few more days passed, and Shen Xian's journey to find a wife had clearly become more arduous.
Although this village had many maidens with immortal destiny, only a few were compatible with Shen Xian. And those few maidens were already in love with someone else.
As a result, Shen Xian's idea of finding a maiden with immortal destiny gradually waned.
During this period, Xu Lan did not cause trouble. On the contrary, recently, he followed Gu An every day, not speaking, not causing a scene. Their relationship had become... much more harmonious.
This made Shen Xian feel puzzled.
But it made Gu An uncomfortable.
At night, Gu An lay on the ground, unable to help but recall Xu Lan's gentle demeanor and attitude towards her these past few days. She shivered.
She finally decided to ask him clearly what was going on.
With that thought, she sat up, turned to look at Xu Lan, who was lying beside Shen Xian, hesitated, then lifted the quilt, stood up, and tiptoed
walked to Xu Lan's side, then squatted down and pushed Xu Lan's face.
Soon, Xu Lan stirred.
"What is it?" he asked, opening his eyes.
Gu An cautiously glanced at Shen Xian, who had his back to them, and whispered, "Stop the nonsense. Come out with me for a moment. I have something to tell you."
Xu Lan whispered, "Can't we talk about it tomorrow?"
"No, I need to clarify things with you."
"You?"
"Hurry up and get some clothes on. I'll wait for you outside." Saying this, Gu An stood up and walked towards the temple entrance.
Xu Lan: "..." He yawned and still got up.
At the same time, Shen Xian, listening to Xu Lan's movements behind him and hearing Gu An's furtive conversation with Xu Lan, felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
Then, after Xu Lan went outside, Shen Xian got up and quietly followed.
In an instant, Gu An stopped by a tree not far from the dilapidated temple and turned to look at Xu Lan, who was walking towards her, urging him, "Can you hurry up?"
Xu Lan said, "No, it's so dark. It's good enough that I could follow you. And speaking of which, he stopped in front of Gu An."
Gu An tilted her head up to look at Xu Lan, "What's going on with you? Tell me!"
"What's wrong with me?"
"You know yourself what's wrong."
"Me?" Xu Lan looked confused, pointing at himself, "What do I know? You dragged me out in the middle of the night, and before I could ask what you wanted, you're questioning me?"
"..." Gu An looked at Xu Lan's bewildered expression and got straight to the point, "Why are you being so good to me? Tell me, do you have some ulterior motive?"
"You're not happy that I'm good to you?"
"Why should I be happy?"
"We've been bickering for three whole years. Now that I'm willing to be good to you, shouldn't you be happy?"
At this moment, Shen Xian stopped behind a tree not far from them.
"..." Gu An's eyes darkened. "I'm not happy."
"Why?"
"Because you're good to me, and it makes me very uncomfortable. So, starting tomorrow, I implore you," Gu An took a step back, "to stay away from me."
"What if I say, no?" Xu Lan said nonchalantly.
"....."
Xu Lan raised his chin, "Speak."
Gu An swallowed, "If you say no, then I'll stay away from you."
"You're afraid Shen Xian will see and be unhappy, aren't you?"
"Why would I be afraid of him?"
"Don't think I can't see it. You like him. But Gu An," Xu Lan stepped closer, leaning in to meet Gu An's eyes, "you have no immortal destiny. You and he are simply impossible."
However, Gu An didn't care about Xu Lan's words at the moment. She was just curious how this fellow Xu Lan had figured out she liked Shen Xian.
But she couldn't bring herself to say it, so she could only stare at him.
"...."
"Why are you looking at me?"
Gu An thought that if she didn't say anything, Xu Lan would continue to observe, and perhaps tomorrow, his big mouth would blurt out the matter.
So, to prevent him from saying it, she admitted, "How did you figure out I liked Shen Xian?"
"..." Xu Lan's eyes widened. "You really like him?"
That's right, Xu Lan had just spoken casually. The moment Gu An uttered those words, his heart sank.
"Yes. How did you see it?"
"I was just saying it casually. You... it's impossible for you to be with him. If you insist on being with him," Xu Lan glanced around, then leaned close to Gu An's ear and whispered, "his master will take away all memories of you being together, and you won't have a good ending."
Not far away, Shen Xian hadn't heard what Xu Lan whispered in Gu An's ear. At this moment, his brows were deeply furrowed.
Hearing Xu Lan's words, Gu An felt nothing. She took two steps back and said, "I know. That's why I need to work even harder to help him find a maiden with immortal destiny."
"You..."
"My liking him is my own business, it has nothing to do with him. He..." Gu An lowered her head, "would never like someone like me."
"You?"
"Alright, you just stay away from me tomorrow." Gu An said. Just as she was about to sidestep Xu Lan, Xu Lan suddenly moved to block her path.
Seeing this, Gu An asked, "What are you doing?"
Xu Lan said, "I can leave anytime within these three years, but do you know why I haven't left?"
"What does that have to do with me?"
Xu Lan said, "Because, from the moment I first saw you, I fell in love with you, Gu An." He reached out and placed his hands on Gu An's shoulders. "I'm willing to die for you, I'm willing to..."
"I don't need that."
"Gu..."
"How difficult is it for one person to cultivate immortality? I understand. You have that immortal destiny, so you should cherish it. Also, didn't you say you don't have the practice of marrying a maiden with immortal destiny? If I were to be with you," Gu An stared intently into Xu Lan's eyes, "I would surely be destined for misfortune."
"Gu..."
"Don't like me."
"Gu..."
"Since we've laid everything bare, and I've also seen through your purpose for staying here, then..." Gu An took three steps back. "In that case, you can also leave, lest we feel awkward being together tomorrow, and Shen Xian sees it and feels displeased."
"You care about Shen Xian that much."
"I like him, of course I care about him."