chapter 1

Xu Chaojin received no answer from Qin Yi.

She raised her voice and declared, each word decisive, “Qin Yi, I don’t love you anymore. This is where we part.”

The floating comments visibly erupted with excitement.

“You should’ve grown a spine ages ago. Watching you before was suffocating.”

“Qin Yi is supposed to notice that you’re acting differently. He’ll feel unsettled and won’t be able to stop watching you.”

“Get a little closer to your childhood sweetheart and Qin Yi will get jealous.”

Qin Yi frowned faintly. His gaze on Xu Chaojin was as cool as ever.

He inclined his head. “I won’t see you out.”

Xu Chaojin’s eyes reddened.

The comments changed tack at once.

“Don’t cry! Hold it in! Don’t let him see you still can’t let go, or he’ll think you’re playing hard to get and despise you even more.”

“Don’t worry, Eldest Miss. This man is all pretense. Even if he cares when you push him toward someone else, he’ll never show it.”

Xu Chaojin pressed her lips together. A trace of satisfaction entered her eyes, and she turned and left.

She was gone, but the comments remained.

“Isn’t this handing the scheming supporting girl an opportunity? She’ll cozy up to the heir and start bad-mouthing Eldest Miss.”

“Eldest Miss is forthright—she says what she thinks. She could never be as calculating as the supporting girl.”

“That supporting girl is already engaged and still won’t behave. Is Qin Yi blind? Can’t he see she doesn’t even like him?”

Good heavens. So they knew I was engaged.

Wouldn’t I be the one with a problem if I liked Qin Yi?

I stayed where I was and tried to smooth over the awkward scene. “My sister drank before coming out and said some things she didn’t mean. Please don’t take them to heart, my lord.”

Qin Yi narrowed his eyes, displeased, though his tone toward me remained courteous. “Your sister should learn to restrain herself, or sooner or later she will bring disaster upon herself.”

I thought so too.

If word of what she had said today spread, both Xu daughters would be accused of entangling themselves with the heir to Prince Qin. My reputation would be ruined, and the Xu family would become a laughingstock.

I had no idea how Xu Chaojin had learned Qin Yi’s whereabouts and cornered him at the lantern festival.

Fortunately, this spot was secluded and no one else had noticed.

I curtsied. “Thank you for the warning, my lord. I won’t disturb your enjoyment of the lanterns any longer.”

He said nothing.

I turned of my own accord—and walked straight into someone.

Looking up, I found Xu Lang glaring at me in anger. After acknowledging Qin Yi, he seized my arm and dragged me away.

The comments flashed before my eyes.

“Eldest Miss didn’t want the supporting girl alone with the male lead, so she subtly tipped off their brother that the girl was here. She kept anyone from doubting her resolve and stopped the supporting girl from developing a relationship with him. Our clever Eldest Miss—I salute you.”

Xu Lang’s face was dark as the bottom of a pot. He lowered his voice as he scolded me. “Your sister was making a scene. Instead of stopping her, you joined in?”

“If anyone saw you alone with the heir, what would they think of you? What would they think of the Xu family?”

His strides were so long that I had to trot to keep up.

“Do you truly mean to climb your way into a princely household?”

He stopped and gave me a solemn warning. “Your marriage to Tingwei is already settled. If you cause any more trouble, don’t blame me for forgetting that you’re my sister.”

Suppressing the urge to laugh coldly, I lowered my eyes. “This time, Sister dragged me in front of the heir. Then she abandoned me and ran away.”

His brow furrowed. “Chaojin likes the heir so much. Why would she ever bring you to him?”

I could not hide the bitterness in my voice. “Sister said the heir and I were the perfect match, then turned and left. If you don’t believe me, Brother, why not ask the heir yourself whether I stayed to explain the misunderstanding or to ingratiate myself with him?”

Xu Lang studied my face.

I met his gaze without flinching.

The comments rolled past.

“The supporting girl is taking the blame for Eldest Miss. That’s kind of sad.”

“Don’t pity her. This is all part of her act.”

“It’s the boy-who-cried-wolf problem. She used to scheme against the heroine all the time. Now no one believes her even when she’s telling the truth.”

Xu Lang remained silent for a long while.

I turned back the way we had come.

He caught my arm. “Where are you going?”

I looked over my shoulder, my voice choking slightly. “I know you won’t believe anything I say, but this time I acted for the sake of the Xu family. The ambiguous words Sister left behind will expose our family to gossip. If you don’t believe me, all I can do is beg the heir himself to clear my name.”

His tone softened. He pulled me back. “I never said I didn’t believe you. Chaojin can be impulsive… Never mind. We’ll pretend this never happened. You are not to mention it to anyone, including Father and Mother. Understood?”

I hung my head, motionless. “Then apologize to me.”

Xu Lang was lost for words. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, fine. I apologize. I accused you wrongly.”

I wiped away my tears and softened my voice. “Mm. I forgive you, Brother.”

He paused in surprise. I took hold of his sleeve and smiled.

“Now will you walk through the lantern festival with me?”

Nostalgia slipped into my voice. “It has been such a long time since you last saw the lanterns with me…”

The impatience in Xu Lang’s expression slowly faded. In its place came a dazed, complicated look.

The comments returned.

“Who could withstand that smooth little combo from our scheming girl?”

“Xu Qiyu’s whole character is an angelic face hiding a serpent’s heart. Don’t let appearances fool you.”

“Blood still matters. No matter how much Xu Lang dislikes Qiyu, they’re brother and sister. It makes sense that he can’t cut her off entirely.”

“The childhood sweetheart is the one to watch. He’s unwaveringly devoted to the heroine. He knew she liked Qin Yi, so he guarded her silently and even moved their engagement onto the supporting girl to spare her any difficulty.”

“Now that Eldest Miss has stopped chasing Qin Yi, it’s the childhood sweetheart’s turn.”

“Exactly. His own fiancée vanished, but was he worried? Not at all—he was too busy comforting Eldest Miss. It’s obvious who he truly loves.”

Beneath a willow stood a man and a woman, facing one another.

The man leaned toward the woman, holding a lantern as he coaxed a smile from her.

Xu Lang followed my gaze. His expression changed at once.

He had recognized them.

My fiancé was comforting my sister.

Our stares drew the distant pair’s attention.

Shen Tingwei straightened, the tenderness disappearing from his face.

When Xu Chaojin saw me, she moved closer to him as if out of spite. She accepted the lantern in his hand, rose on tiptoe, and whispered into his ear.

For one instant his face went blank. Then a flush crept over it.

I watched his Adam’s apple bob. His whole body had gone rigid, afraid to move.

My vision suddenly went dark.

Xu Lang had covered my eyes. His voice sounded unnatural. “A bug flew toward your face. I’ll block it for a moment. Don’t—don’t be afraid.”

I nodded obediently and did not expose the lie. “Thank you, Brother.”

By the time I could see again, the two by the river had moved apart.

Xu Lang took me over. After shooting Shen Tingwei a glance, he pulled Xu Chaojin to his side and said, “Chaojin will stay with me. You walk around with Qiyu. Don’t stay too late, and remember to escort her home.”

Shen Tingwei looked instinctively at Xu Chaojin.

She lowered her head and said nothing.

“There is no fun in walking in pairs,” he said. “Why don’t the four of us stay together?”

Xu Lang’s face darkened.

Xu Chaojin looked at him. “Qiyu probably wants to be alone with you. We shouldn’t get in the way.”

The comments said:

“She’s walking the schemer’s road and leaving the schemer nowhere to go.”

“Eldest Miss has finally learned a little cunning.”

“The childhood sweetheart must be sick of Xu Qiyu right now.”

Shen Tingwei frowned and swept me with a glance. “Qiyu spent a year at the country estate. Surely she wants to spend more time with her brother and sister. Isn’t that right, Qiyu?”

The faint threat in his eyes warned me not to be difficult.

I leaned slightly toward Xu Lang. “Yes. After a year apart, I missed Brother and Sister very much.”

My meek compliance caught all three of them by surprise. Xu Lang’s gaze grew more complicated still.

Shen Tingwei pressed his lips together. The sharpness in his manner eased.

Xu Chaojin took Xu Lang’s arm. “Then let’s go. There’s no sense standing here.”

She winked at Shen Tingwei. “Take good care of our Qiyu.”

Disgust returned to his eyes when he looked at me.

Xu Lang and Xu Chaojin walked ahead.

Shen Tingwei deliberately matched my pace, walking beside me while his gaze remained fixed on Xu Chaojin’s back.

“I don’t care whether you’ve truly changed or are merely pretending. I will never let you hurt Chaojin again.”

The warning beside my ear was vicious.

Yet to anyone watching, Shen Tingwei looked perfectly ordinary.

He turned toward me with a curl of his lips, as though making casual conversation. Only I could see that his eyes held no trace of a smile.

“Otherwise, you won’t even get another chance to be sent away. I promise I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

I stared at him. I could no longer find in this face any shadow of the smiling boy he had once been.

All the bitterness I had once swallowed had turned into unspeakable revulsion.

I regretted ever loving him so deeply.

“Rest assured,” I said. “I will never target Sister because of you again. I feel nothing for you now.”