I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Pei Youyi knew exactly what was going on.

Beneath her icy exterior, the daughter cared deeply for that boy.

She was simply used to using coldness to shield herself from everything, refusing to reveal even the slightest secret.

On the surface, they maintain a distant doctor-patient relationship, but if Gu Yan casually mentions that she likes a certain book, that book will soon appear in the most convenient spot in her study.

After Gu Yan's treatment was too much, her face turned pale. The next day, the kitchen would always have an extra portion of nourishing medicinal food prepared. When Gu Yan gave her the unassuming black wooden sword, she coldly said, "No, it's useless."

But in recent years, the one I've cleaned and maintained the most is this sword.

Thinking of this, Pei Youyi's gratitude towards Gu Yan deepened even further.

That child truly risked his own life to pull Yu Ran back from the edge of that precipice, bit by bit.

"mom."

Pei Yuran's cold voice rang out again, interrupting Pei Youyi's recollection.

Pei Youyi snapped out of her daze and looked at her daughter.

Will he... come back?

Pei Yuran kept her head down, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the faded amulet on the sword hilt.

She paused, then added in a softer voice, "I haven't returned the sword he left here to him yet."

Upon hearing this, Pei Youyi smiled knowingly and gently.

She took two steps closer and gently brushed a strand of dark hair that had slipped off her daughter's shoulder: "Silly girl, Master Gu Yan will definitely come."

"You have to say goodbye to Yu Ran in person, don't you?"

Her gaze fell on the black sword, polished so thoroughly it seemed to absorb the moonlight, and her smile deepened. "And this sword..."

"Was this Master Gu Yan's first birthday gift to you?"

"It was the second year of his treatment for you."

"I remember back then, you said no with a stern face, but he still gritted his teeth, braved your coldness, walked up to you, grabbed your wrist, and shoved the sword into your hand."

Pei Yuran stopped wiping the sword completely.

A velvet cloth covered the cold spine of the sword, and her fingertips curled slightly as they touched the rough edge of the cloth from the amulet tied to the hilt.

Yes……

The boy was pale and his breathing was rapid as he resisted her cold air, but the strength with which he held her wrist was surprisingly steady, and his palm carried a warmth that was out of place in the icy environment.

When he placed the black sword in her hand, his fingers inadvertently brushed against her palm, leaving a lingering itch.

A strong yet unfamiliar sense of reluctance suddenly struck my heart.

Like a warm current suddenly surging from beneath the ice, it caught her off guard.

Pei Yuran herself didn't realize that her lips, which were always tightly pressed together with cold lines, had subtly curved upwards.

Although it was fleeting, as quick as the moonlight on a sword's surface, it was almost imperceptible.

But Pei Youyi, who had been watching her closely, noticed it.

The beautiful woman's eyes instantly filled with a smile, like warm ripples spreading across a lake where a pebble has been thrown in.

At this moment, the gratitude I felt for that pale boy reached its peak.

"Mom...could we...hire him for a few more years?"

Pei Yuran's lips moved again, her voice so soft it almost dissipated in the wind.

Pei Youyi tilted her head and asked, "Hmm? Yu Ran, what did you say?"

The girl took a breath, her voice still not loud, but each word was clear: "Six years."

She paused, her eyelashes fluttering. "No, ten years."

He paused again, as if finally releasing a heavy bargaining chip, "...forty years, I suppose."

Forty years.

Pei Youyi was taken aback at first, then shook her head and chuckled. She raised her hand to touch her daughter's head, but in the end, she only placed her hand on her shoulder and patted it gently.

"Silly girl..."

"Hired for forty years? That's worse than... marrying into the family?"

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back, letting out a soft sigh, "His health... sigh..."

Employment?

Pei Youyi had seen the boy more than once; he was pale-faced, his fingertips were cold, and he needed to lean against the wall for a long time after each treatment.

The Pei family is not short of money; they could support him for hundreds of lifetimes.

But his dilapidated body, like a delicate porcelain vase that is carefully maintained yet still riddled with cracks, could not withstand the long winds and rains.

Forty years? That's practically binding a person's life for most of it.

This isn't an employment, it's clearly...

"Yu Ran".

"You...have you fallen for Master Gu Yan?"

Pei Youyi softened her voice, looking at her daughter's profile, which was outlined with exceptional coolness by the moonlight, and tentatively asked.

"like?"

Pei Yuran repeated the word in a low voice, as if chewing on something unfamiliar.

She turned her face slightly away, a wisp of hair slipping down to cover the faint blush that had crept up to her ear.

"Won't."

Her voice was cold and hard. "I will not fall in love with anyone."

Pei Youyi looked at her flushed earlobes, a knowing yet mischievous smile curving his lips. "Is that so?"

"Madam, Miss. Master Lin has sent an urgent message."

Just then, hurried yet restrained footsteps came from outside the moon gate.

An inner court attendant strode in and bowed a few steps away.

Pei Youyi suppressed her smile: "Speak."

The servant bowed his head and spoke steadily, "Master Lin said that Master Gu Yan left Jinghai tonight on the Lin family's private plane and is heading to Shanghai."

"At this moment, the plane has been departing for quite some time."

"Snap—!"

The stone bench legs rubbed against the bluestone slabs, producing a harsh, grating sound.

Pei Yuran suddenly stood up!

She slammed the black sword, which she had been carefully wiping, onto the stone table.

The aura she had been carefully concealing suddenly exploded!

The temperature in the courtyard plummeted!

The stone tabletop instantly solidified into a spiderweb of pale frost centered on her palm, which then spread wildly outwards!

The air crackled with the sound of fine ice crystals condensing, and a few fallen leaves hung in mid-air, instantly covered with a thick layer of white down.

Within three inches of her feet, the bluestone slabs were covered with a layer of frost visible to the naked eye.

The icy shell that had covered her face year-round was now cracking inch by inch.

Deep within the pitch-black pupils, it seemed as if ice was frantically shattering and reforming.

Why...?

"They wouldn't even say goodbye... one last time?"

His lips parted slightly, uttering intermittent breaths that were chillingly cold.

"Clearly..."

"Xiao Yan cares about me so much, why won't she even say goodbye?"

That familiar yet chilling, berserk aura, teetering on the brink of destruction, roared out once more from her frail body, like a ferocious beast breaking free of its shackles!

Pei Youyi's expression changed drastically; she felt both angry and amused.

This girl, she just finished being stubborn, but as soon as everyone left, she lost control on the spot!

Didn't Master Gu Yan say it could cure the disease completely?

This doesn't look good at all!

She rushed forward, opened her arms, and hugged her daughter, who was shivering with cold, tightly.

"Xiao Ran! Listen to me! Calm down! Calm down quickly!"

Pei Youyi patted her daughter's stiff back forcefully, her voice urgent yet gentle, almost whispering in her ear, "Don't you know how much Master Gu Yan cares about you?"

"He suffered so much for you, he almost lost his life here several times!"

"He must have his reasons for doing this! Do you want to upset him?"

Do you want him to... hate the way you are right now?

She spoke the last sentence almost in a hoarse voice.