Chapter 111: An Unexpected Battlefield

As soon as Jiang Niannian heard the voice and the way she was addressed, she knew who it was without even turning around.

She turned to face the person behind her.

He was dressed in a long golden robe embroidered with golden threads, wearing a jade and gold crown, with a sachet of auspicious beasts holding pearls at his waist, and a folding fan in his hand. His noble aura was unmistakable—it could be no one else but Zhao Anming.

Jiang Niannian was surprised: “I’m wrapped up like this, and you still recognized me?!”

Zhao Anming shouted at her, “I’d recognize you even if you turned to ashes!”

He rushed forward, intending to give Jiang Niannian a hug, but was blocked by a pair of slender, bony hands.

Yin Buqi’s lips curled into a gentle smile, but his body exuded a cold, sinister aura, like the gloom at the edge of a lake in late winter, heavy and collapsing.

Zhao Anming shivered, pouted, and reluctantly withdrew his hand.

“Niannian, where have you been these past few months? I’ve been worried about you.”

“Let’s not talk about that for now,” Jiang Niannian asked, “What are you doing here?”

Zhao Anming replied, “Niannian, have you forgotten? My family lives in Buzhou City.”

Jiang Niannian suddenly remembered.

Yes, she seemed to recall Zhao Anming mentioning it.

The sun was already high in the sky, and the group found a teahouse to sit down.

The teahouse owner’s eyes lit up when he saw Zhao Anming, as if he had spotted a money bag, and led them to a private room.

The room had large golden nanmu windows with a layer of mermaid silver moon gauze hanging in front. The gauze was expensive because it allowed a clear view from the inside but obscured the view from the outside. The room was spacious, with a white jade lotus platform in the center for tea drinking.

The private room was expensive, costing three thousand spirit stones per hour.

But Zhao Anming didn’t hesitate, pulling out a pile of spirit stones from his money bag and handing them over without a second thought.

Zhao Anming poured a cup of floral tea and handed it to Jiang Niannian, “Niannian, this is a floral tea brewed with nine types of flower honey. It’s fragrant with a hint of sweetness. Try it.”

Jiang Niannian didn’t take it, mainly because the aura beside her was too cold, and she didn’t dare to.

Yin Buqi smiled, took out his own tea set from his storage bag, carefully wiped it several times, then poured tea from the pot into a cup and handed it to Jiang Niannian, saying, “Things outside aren’t clean. Niannian should only eat what I make.”

Jiang Niannian took the tea and silently drank it: “…” This black-hearted fox is acting up again.

The others also sat down and removed their cloaks.

Zhao Anming withdrew his hand, looking somewhat disappointed, and asked, “Niannian, why have you come to Buzhou City?”

“I heard that the Puppetry Technique will be auctioned at the Linglang Pavilion tomorrow, so Buqi and I came to take a look.”

“Is that so?” Zhao Anming was momentarily stunned, then said, “Niannian, I told you before that I was sickly as a child. It’s true. My father did many wrong things for my sake. After he died, I had no choice but to give up my dream of traveling the world and focus on managing the family business. My home is big, but even after all these years, I’m still afraid to go back. It’s empty, and I always think of my father…”

As Zhao Anming spoke, his eyes drifted behind Jiang Niannian, and his face turned pale with disbelief, “Niannian, you’re married? And you have a dark-skinned child?!”

Jiang Niannian followed his gaze, “Ah, that’s Coalball.”

The next second, Jiang Niannian was pulled into someone’s embrace. Yin Buqi turned his face toward the endless rain, his eyes deep and unreadable, his thin lips curling into a silent, cold smile: “Whether she’s married or not, and to whom, has nothing to do with you. She’s mine, and can only be mine.”

“Buqi, don’t be like this,” Jiang Niannian glared at him.

Zhao Anming must be feeling very sad right now. She was also an orphan, and she understood too well the feeling of returning home to an empty house, alone.

When someone dies, is buried, and no one cares, it’s truly heartbreaking.

“Zhao Anming, you’ve done very well,” Jiang Niannian comforted him.

“Managing the Zhao family’s vast business alone to this extent is really not easy. You need to try to move on from the shadows of the past and look forward.”

“Look forward…” Zhao Anming looked at Jiang Niannian, a bitter smile flashing across his face, mixed with a hint of embarrassment.

“Niannian, I want to talk to him alone.”

Jiang Niannian was puzzled: “With him?”

“Yes.”

Jiang Niannian glanced at Yin Buqi: “Then I’ll wait outside for you?”

Yin Buqi slowly nodded: “Yes.”

Nian Nian said “you,” not “you all.”

She was waiting only for him.

The others left, and once Jiang Niannian was far enough away.

The two in the private room sat in silence.

Yin Buqi extended his slender, bony hand, picked up the teacup Jiang Niannian had just drunk from, and slowly rubbed it. His red eyes lowered, exuding a casual indifference, as he took a sip from the exact spot Jiang Niannian had drunk from.

Zhao Anming said, “You’re Yin Li, right? I saw you sixteen years ago. Back then, you clung to Nian Nian under the pretense of being sickly. Nian Nian, with her kind heart, doted on you. I think Nian Nian is with you now not because she loves you, but out of pity.”

Yin Buqi lifted his eyelids, the gloom and violence in his eyes undisguised: “Whether she loves me or not, I know better than anyone. It’s still better than you, sour grapes.”

After a long while, his crimson lips curled into a smile: “Besides, do you think by pouring out your miserable stories to her, you can get close to her and try to win some sympathy from her? How laughable.”

After a long silence, Zhao Anming chuckled: “You used to act sickly and weak in front of her, didn’t you? Why look down on me like I’m worthless?”

Yin Buqi, upon hearing this, wasn’t angered. His long eyelashes fluttered, and a low, uncontrollable laugh escaped his throat: “How can you compare to me?”

That laughter was filled with disdain and mockery.