Jun Yelan had just heard that Liu Tingting had come again and was preparing to act in secret, but was stopped by Lan Yan. She told him to wait for the right moment to knock off Liu Tingting's veiled hat and make her flee in disgrace.
He looked at Lan Yan's smile, and had to admit that Lan Yan had a bit of a cunning side, different from other women.
Seeing Jun Yelan staring at her, Lan Yan touched her face, finding nothing. She smiled and said, "Jun Yelan, let's not stand here anymore. Let's go back."
With that, she lightly walked towards the room.
Jun Yelan, following behind, his lips curved upwards slightly.
Upon returning to the room, Lan Yan sat down and saw a bowl of dark, thick medicine in front of her. She frowned, a look of disgust appearing in her eyes, and pushed the medicine bowl aside.
The smell was too strong. She admired Jun Yelan for drinking such stuff every day.
Seeing the medicine bowl already in front of him, Jun Yelan picked it up and handed it to Lan Yan, "This is for you."
"I know, I just want to let it cool down before drinking it," Lan Yan subtly moved the medicine bowl further away again and went to the soft couch, casually picking up a book to read.
Jun Yelan found this reason plausible and said nothing more.
However, half an hour later, he looked at the medicine on the table, which had long since cooled, and Lan Yan hadn't come over at all. Thinking that Lan Yan had reminded him to drink his medicine before, he spoke again, "Your medicine is ready."
Lan Yan, holding her book, muttered, "Heavens, how did it get ready so quickly?" Reluctantly, she returned to the table, staring fixedly at the medicine bowl, and said with a smile, "How about I wait a little longer?"
Jun Yelan: "..." He couldn't help but want to laugh. So Lan Yan also had something she was afraid of – disliking medicine. He said, "If you're afraid of the bitterness, I'll ask Chun Tao for some preserved plums."
"No need, I'm not a child," Lan Yan gave an awkward laugh, picked up the medicine bowl, and took a deep breath. She gulped it down in one go, and the bitterness immediately spread in her mouth, almost making her spit it out.
Leaning on the table with one hand, she exclaimed, "Oh my, this is too bitter." As she spoke, something was stuffed into her mouth, and it instantly turned sweet. "It's a plum!"
She raised her head, looking at the preserved plums in Jun Yelan's hand, her eyes shining.
A hint of a smile appeared on Jun Yelan's lips. He put all the preserved plums into Lan Yan's hand, "All for you." Looking at Lan Yan's current appearance, she was no different from a child.
Somewhat cute.
Lan Yan then picked up a plum and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly, washing away the bitterness she had just tasted. Fortunately, she had Jun Yelan's preserved plums; otherwise, she would have been suffering from the bitterness for a long time.
Chun Tao walked in from outside the door and reported, "Miss, your cousin is here."
"Who?" Lan Yan really couldn't recall.
"Little Yan, I've only been away for a month, and you've forgotten your cousin." The man at the door was handsome and refined, holding a folding fan and clutching his chest, crying pitifully, "No, I have to stay a few more days this time, or you'll never remember me."
Lan Yan: "..." She remembered. This was the original host's maternal cousin, who had doted on her since childhood. But her cousin looked so distressed now.
She said, "Cousin, I was just injured recently, and my mind is a bit hazy. Look, as soon as I saw you, I remembered immediately."
Shen Jin then opened his folding fan, fanned himself, and laughed heartily, "I knew it, cousin, you definitely remember me. After all, cousin is so outstanding. Wait, what did you just say? Injured?"
"Where? Let me see."
Lan Yan held up her bandaged hand and said, "It's nothing, just a minor injury. I'm almost recovered." Jun Yelan had bandaged it for her; it just looked more serious than it was.
In Shen Jin's eyes, his cousin was too pathetic, comforting him when she was clearly severely injured.
His eyes turned red, and he comforted her, "Cousin, cousin will find the best doctor for you! Your hand will definitely be fine."
"Really, no need. You can ask Jun Yelan. My wound has already scabbed over," Lan Yan said helplessly.
Only then did Shen Jin shift his gaze and notice another man in the room. This was not right! He squinted his eyes and wondered, "Little Yan, who is this? You're young; don't tell me you've been deceived by this man."
"Get out immediately! What are you doing staying by Little Yan's side?"
Jun Yelan's expression was cold. He had been brought into the mansion by Lan Yan forcefully, but now, he was somewhat reluctant to leave.
Seeing Jun Yelan motionless and Lan Yan looking worried, Shen Jin felt something was very wrong. He fanned himself faster and directly asked Chun Tao, "You're by your young lady's side, you must know that man. Who is he?"
Chun Tao nodded and looked at her young lady without speaking.
Now Shen Jin was anxious and shouted, "Little Yan." When his aunt was on her deathbed, she had asked the Shen family to look after Lan Yan more. As Lan Yan's cousin, he naturally had to pay more attention.
Seeing that she had no choice but to explain, Lan Yan smiled and said, "Cousin, please sit down first, and I'll tell you slowly."
She made Shen Jin sit down, looked at Jun Yelan, and said slowly, "Actually, it's very simple. I bought a snake-person a while ago and kept him in the mansion."
"What?" Shen Jin immediately stood up, his anger blazing. He pointed at Jun Yelan, "You, get out! I have something to say to my cousin."
Lan Yan, worried that Shen Jin would continue to target Jun Yelan, grabbed his sleeve and pulled him towards the door, "Cousin, let's talk in the courtyard. You can get some fresh air there and calm down."
Jun Yelan was left alone in the room, his gaze fixed on Shen Jin's sleeve, a deep coldness appearing in his eyes. He followed them.
Lan Yan finally managed to lead Shen Jin away and said, "Cousin, don't be so harsh on him. He's very good."
"Cousin, he's just a snake-person. Why are you treating him so well!" Shen Jin truly couldn't understand. "And has he given you some sort of love potion that's caused such a big change in you?"
He felt that Lan Yan was not the cousin he knew this time. In the past, Lan Yan would have chased that snake-person away without a shred of warmth.
Lan Yan rubbed her forehead and explained, "Cousin, none of what you said is true. I feel guilty and pained for him. I did many wrong things to him before, and now I'm making amends." She couldn't say too much, or her cousin would become suspicious.
Shen Jin relaxed a little, "Fortunately, it's not about love." He didn't believe that snake-person.
Lan Yan's cheeks immediately flushed.
From behind a tree not far away, Jun Yelan overheard all of this. He gripped the tree trunk, leaving long fingernail marks on it, and a feeling of unwillingness, accompanied by a touch of stinging pain, surged within him.
So it was just compensation. He had thought too much. He flicked his sleeve and walked away, clenching his fist, completely oblivious to the pain in his palm.
After Lan Yan pacified Shen Jin, she hurried back to the room. She looked at Jun Yelan sitting at the table, his expression even colder than usual, and called out, "Jun Yelan, I've appeased my cousin. He won't say anything more."
Seeing Jun Yelan say nothing, she walked over and was stunned.
Jun Yelan's eyes were now devoid of any emotion!