Chapter 201

“Grandmother,” Ning Ning sighed, “may I look at your paintings?”

Ning Ning intended to use all her savings to buy these paintings.

Initially, she only wanted to admire them.

Guided by Ah Hui, she went to the grandmother’s room and began to flip through the paintings.

Suddenly, she was stunned by one of them.

It was an old painting depicting a man and a woman walking side by side under the moonlight.

Both were dressed in men’s clothing. The young man on the left showed only a slender back, while the girl on the right had her hair ribbon blown away by the wind. She hastily turned back to grab it.

Her flowing hair and captivating eyes, with their long, narrow shape, were like deep abysses.

A single glance could draw anyone in willingly.

She recognized this face.

It was remarkably similar to Luan Niang.

“Do you like this painting?” The grandmother said it with a hoarse laugh.

“I often saw two young masters walking together on the red light district at night. One day, I realized that one of them was a beautiful young lady.”

“They—” Ning Ning’s heart began to race.

In all the accounts, no one mentioned this young man who had such a close relationship with Luan Niang.

If he was the one corresponding with her—

“Grandmother, do you know their relationship?”

“I never spoke with them.”

The old woman shook her head. “One of them is now the city lord’s wife, right? I made two paintings of them. The lady once stopped by my stall, looked at them for a long time, and bought one of them—the one showing their backs as they sat by the river in men’s clothing, talking at night.”

Even after all these years, Luan Niang still stopped to buy the painting, indicating the young man held a significant place in her heart. Perhaps…

Even more so than Luo Yuanming.

Ning Ning softened her tone and continued to ask, “Do you know the young man’s name or identity in the painting?”

The old woman seemed momentarily dazed.

“A name…,” Her light gray pupils rippled slightly, as if in confusion. She frowned and said, “I remember the girl sometimes calling him ‘Zhou,’ and sometimes it included a ‘Yun.'”

Zhou, Yun.

No matter how the pinyin was arranged, it was a name Ning Ning had never heard of.

This painting was an unexpected surprise. She was about to tell the grandmother that she wanted to buy all the paintings when she heard footsteps behind her.

Turning around, she saw one of the young girls.

Ah Hui smiled and bent down, “What’s wrong?”

“Outside,” the girl seemed scared, lowering her head in distress, “that brother outside…”

She was referring to Pei Ji.

Pei Ji, unable to enter the women’s quarters, was waiting in the hall. He often wore a cold expression and held a sword, which frequently frightened children.

Ning Ning found it somewhat amusing.

She squatted down, resting her chin on her hands to make eye contact with the girl, and smiled, “Do you find him scary and intimidating?”

The girl nodded with pursed lips.

“Actually, he’s very nice and gentle, but just not very talkative.”

She pinched the girl’s soft cheek.

“If you run in like this, he’ll feel sad and think he’s disliked—please, can you try not to be afraid of him? Even pretending not to be afraid is fine.”

Ning Ning lowered her head and took a few candies from her pouch, handing them to the girl. The girl, who rarely had sweets, blinked her big eyes, thanked her, and carefully took the candies, “Really, really?”

“Of course it’s true!”

Ning Ning responded earnestly, “Actually, he looks quite cute when he has a stern face. Doesn’t he look like a big, silly dog? He is very lovable.”

“Um.”

The girl finally nodded slowly and sensitively and caught Ning Ning’s last sentence, “Sister, do you like him?”

Ning Ning’s expression instantly stiffened.

She had just said Pei Ji was “lovable.” Denying it now would make her previous persuasion lose all credibility. If she didn’t like him, how could she expect others to?

But admitting she liked Pei Ji… well—

“Li-liking this kind of thing…”

Ning Ning stammered, feeling a bit flustered.

Remembering that Pei Ji wasn’t around and that she was just trying to comfort a child, she mustered the courage to nod.

“Yes, that’s right. You see, that brother isn’t scary at all. I like him a lot. If you could like him just a little bit too, so he doesn’t feel like he’s disliked, that would be great.”

This was Ning Ning’s genuine sentiment. She didn’t want Pei Ji to always be excluded, to be the one who was feared and disliked.

Having been raised by his mother with various wrong values, Pei Ji had come to despise his own existence. If things continued as they were, his self-loathing would only grow worse.

Ning Ning spoke seriously, gave the candy, and explained the reason, but she didn’t expect that the little girl would purse her lips after listening. As if her evil plan had succeeded, and pointed behind her while holding back her laughter.

Wait, no way!

Her mind buzzed, and Ning Ning turned around stiffly, sensing something.

Pei Ji had somehow come closer and was standing not far from the door. When their eyes met, he instinctively hugged his sword tighter, his face showing a clear look of confusion and panic for the first time.

“Yikes—”

The girl ran out happily with the candy, glancing up at Pei Ji as she passed.

“Brother is blushing!”

Cheng Ying rolled over with laughter and imitated the little girl’s tone in a mean way, whispering in a soft voice:” brother is blushing~”

After saying this, Cheng Ying suddenly stopped and looking elsewhere.

The girl holding the painting in the room abruptly lowered her head, the blush spreading from her ears down to her pale neck.

Pei Ji should understand what she meant, right? That so-called “liking” was just a simple, pure kind of liking… He’s so smart; he wouldn’t read too much into it, would he?

But what if he did read too much into it—then what should she do?!

Ning Ning didn’t dare to look at him. She just wanted to find a quiet, secluded corner to hide. After a long while, she spoke softly to change the topic and break the intense, ambiguous silence.

“I’m planning… to sneak into the City Lord’s mansion tonight.”

Pei Ji stared at his sword and replied sullenly, “I’ll go with you.”

Whew…

Cheng Ying grinned secretly.

The sister’s face seems even redder now.