Lan Yan was perplexed and asked, "Jun Yelan, what's wrong with you?" Strange, had something significant happened in the short time she'd been gone?
Jun Yelan responded coldly, "Nothing. I should return to my own place. This ultimately doesn't belong to me." He tightened his grip on his palm as he spoke. He stood up and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Lan Yan felt Jun Yelan was even colder than when they first met.
Jun Yelan had already walked out, into the adjacent side room. He looked at the bed there and murmured, "You and I should have been living separately long ago."
After he had recovered from his injuries, he had been waiting for Lan Yan to ask him to leave. But Lan Yan hadn't done so, and he had become accustomed to sharing a room with her.
He gave a self-mocking smile. He shouldn't forget his identity and his past. A person like him shouldn't wish for anything more. He needed to wake up; all the kindness was a form of compensation, not affection.
Lan Yan, who had followed him, saw Jun Yelan moving his belongings over and asked, "Why are you moving? Is it because I snored last night?"
Hearing Lan Yan's words, the stab in Jun Yelan's heart intensified. He turned and said coldly, "I need to rest. Please leave."
He stood at the doorway, making a gesture to usher her out.
Thus, Lan Yan had no choice but to leave. As she walked out, she looked back and reminded him, "Then take good care of yourself here." She then walked ahead.
Jun Yelan's eyes flickered, but the thought of "compensation" dispelled it all. He sat on the edge of the bed and began planning his next steps. He needed to contact his old subordinates and return to the Snake Clan.
This was not a place where he should stay.
Lan Yan returned to her room and sighed, "Saving a pitiful soul, why is it so difficult! System, look, I really don't know what's going on this time!"
The system emerged and advised, "Host, you should think about everything Jun Yelan has been through. His emotions must be sensitive. I suspect he's upset because of your cousin. Moreover, it also indicates that he cares about you."
"You mean he's jealous." Lan Yan also thought it was possible. "Jun Yelan might be worried that I will treat my cousin well and thus not treat him well."
She nodded, agreeing with her own thoughts. "You're right. He's like a child right now. I just need to coax him a little. System, quickly give me some ideas."
The system searched for a long time and found a copy of the Thirty-Six Stratagems. "It has the stratagem of 'inflicting punishment on oneself to win the enemy's confidence' and 'rescuing the beauty.' Host, you can use them all."
"I think that's a good idea. I'll start with the first stratagem tomorrow." Lan Yan smiled, her previous frustration gone. She then lay down on the bed and slept peacefully.
On the other side, Jun Yelan did not sleep all night.
The next morning, Lan Yan asked Chun Tao to bring the bowl of porridge to the side room. Seeing that Jun Yelan was still cold, she held up her hands. "Jun Yelan, look how miserable I am. My hands are all bandaged like this, I can't eat."
Jun Yelan was stirring his spoon and looked up. "You can ask Chun Tao to feed you."
"Chun Tao is very busy." Lan Yan looked at Chun Tao and smiled, "Chun Tao, isn't that right?"
Chun Tao saw this and agreed, "Yes, this servant will take her leave." She quickly left, not wanting to get involved in the lovers' spat.
Only the two of them were left in the room. Lan Yan blinked her eyes and looked at Jun Yelan pitifully, pushing the bowl towards him. This wasn't like medicine that could be drunk in one gulp; porridge needed to be eaten slowly.
Jun Yelan looked at Lan Yan as she leaned closer and couldn't help but pick up the spoon and bring it near her mouth.
Seeing this, Lan Yan smiled and opened her mouth.
"Xiao Yan, what right does he have to feed you, and he's unwilling. Let me." Shen Jin walked in angrily, snatching the bowl of porridge from the table.
In his eyes, no one was worthy of his cousin.
Lan Yan: "..." She had forgotten about this unpredictable element. She said, "Cousin, you haven't eaten yet, have you? You go eat first. I'm really fine here."
If he hadn't suddenly appeared, her plan would have been successful.
Shen Jin sat down directly. "I'll eat here." He looked at Jun Yelan, absolutely unwilling to let Jun Yelan take advantage of the situation.
It's over. The plan had encountered a variable. Lan Yan's head drooped.
Shen Jin was even more convinced that Jun Yelan was making Lan Yan unhappy. He kept saying, "Jun Yelan, it's your fortune that my cousin is good to you. Don't push your luck. When she finds someone she likes, remember to leave quickly."
These words were increasingly grating to Jun Yelan's ears. He stood up, his icy gaze fixed on Shen Jin, and said, "I will remember." With that, he left directly to practice his 'Xisi' in the courtyard.
"Jun..." Lan Yan couldn't even call out before she saw Jun Yelan's retreating back. She lost her appetite and said, "Cousin, you eat by yourself."
She left the room.
Shen Jin sat alone at the table, wondering, "What's wrong with Xiao Yan!"
For the rest of the day, Lan Yan didn't see Jun Yelan and felt he was probably avoiding her. She went to the kitchen, made herself a roasted chicken with chili, and took it to the courtyard.
Although life was difficult, she couldn't neglect herself. She had been hungry all day looking for Jun Yelan. "Jun Yelan won't get to taste such delicious food."
She ate while complaining to the system. Towards the end, her lips were red. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and she exclaimed, "No, it's too spicy."
Sniffing, she turned her back to the corridor and continued to gnaw on the bones.
Just then, Jun Yelan was returning to his room and heard a faint sobbing sound. He looked towards the courtyard and saw Lan Yan sitting alone on a chair. The sobbing was coming from there.
His heart trembled. What had happened to make Lan Yan cry? He walked over, brought his hand close to Lan Yan's back, and then withdrew it.
He stood behind her, unsure of what to say, only able to accompany Lan Yan quietly. Even though he knew Lan Yan didn't like him, he still found his emotions changing because of her.
"Lan Yan, what should I do with you!" These were his innermost thoughts.
As if sensing someone behind her, Lan Yan turned her head and saw Jun Yelan. She held a chicken carcass in one hand and a handkerchief in the other, wiping her mouth. She stood awkwardly and said, "Jun Yelan, can you smell the aroma too?"
"Do you want to eat? I still have a chicken leg here." Fortunately, she hadn't finished it all.
Jun Yelan looked at Lan Yan's flushed face and then at the half-eaten chicken carcass, and immediately understood. It turned out she wasn't crying but happily eating by herself.
He said, "I don't want to eat. You continue." He turned to leave, deciding that Lan Yan no longer needed his company.
Seeing him about to leave, Lan Yan quickly reached out and grabbed his sleeve. Seeing his eyes turn cold, she asked, "Are you really not eating?"
Jun Yelan: "...I'm leaving." He shouldn't have harbored any illusions.
Only Lan Yan was left alone, murmuring, "Good food should be shared with people you care about. Forget it, this stratagem didn't work. I'll try another one tomorrow."