Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

"It's like... something happened, but I can't remember. It's like I had a dream, and when I woke up I only remembered that I had a dream, but I can't remember anything about it."

He paused for a moment, then his gaze returned to Lu Changsheng's face.

Do you feel this way too?

Lu Changsheng remained silent for two seconds.

"No," he said.

Shen Ye frowned slightly, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

He sat up straight again, picked up his glass, and drank the wine in one gulp.

As Lu Changsheng looked at his profile, an idea slowly took shape in his mind.

Shen Ye could sense that "something was wrong," which meant that he was not one of those servants and slaves who had been completely reset.

He retained something—fragments of memories, remnants of intuition.

But why?

Lu Changsheng recalled everything that had just happened. What was Shen Ye doing when the chains appeared?

He was standing next to the table, about five meters away from Xiao Qingniao, closer than Lu Changsheng.

The moment the chains surged out from underground, Shen Ye was pushed away by a force.

It wasn't the chains that propelled him, but the golden aura that erupted from Xiao Qingniao's body. As the aura spread, Shen Ye's body was thrown back, crashing into the wall behind him before sliding to the ground.

He fainted.

He remained unconscious throughout the entire process of the chains engulfing Xiao Qingniao.

He only felt the shockwave, and then he knew nothing more.

When he woke up, everything had returned to normal.

Therefore, there is a gap in his memory.

A void that made him uneasy but could not be filled.

"Everyone."

Xiao Yuheng's voice came from the main seat, interrupting Lu Changsheng's thoughts.

He raised his head.

Xiao Yuheng had already stood up, holding a wine glass in his hand, a gentle and refined smile on his face. His gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling on the direction of the hall entrance.

"Thank you all for coming tonight," Xiao Yuheng's voice wasn't loud, but it could be heard clearly throughout the hall, "This banquet is to celebrate the arrival of my friend Shen Ye."

The banquet proceeded as scheduled.

The clinking of wine glasses, the scraping of cutters on plates, and the hushed whispers all blended together to create a harmonious yet noisy background sound.

everything is fine.

Xiao Qingniao did not appear.

Lu Changsheng sat in the chair, his wine glass already more than half empty. He didn't drink anymore, but simply held the glass in his palm, feeling the lingering coolness on the glass.

His gaze swept across the entire hall without making a sound.

Shen Ye sat to his left, his expression having returned to calm, at least it appeared so. He held a glass of wine, taking sips now and then, occasionally exchanging a few words with the guests beside him, his tone indifferent and his demeanor composed.

Lu Changsheng withdrew his gaze and looked towards the main seat.

Xiao Yuheng sat there, with the noblewoman beside him. She was speaking to him, her head tilted to the side, her smile poised and elegant, like a meticulously framed painting. Xiao Yuheng nodded occasionally, uttering a few words here and there, his demeanor composed and impeccable.

His expression was flawless.

But Lu Changsheng knew that weaknesses are never out in the open.

He put down his wine glass and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the edge of the table.

An Zhiyu sat behind the noblewoman, in an inconspicuous position, but with a good view. Her posture was upright, her expression calm, as if she were attentively listening to the conversation around her.

After receiving the code, she tapped her knee three times with her left index finger.

Lu Changsheng withdrew his gaze and stood up.

The movement was small, but enough to attract the attention of those around them.

Lu Changsheng turned and walked towards the main seat.

The guests in the hall gathered in twos and threes, some chatting, some toasting, and some tasting the food on their plates.

He walked to the seat next to the head of the table and stopped.

Xiao Yuheng was talking to the noble lady when he sensed someone approaching and turned his head slightly.

Upon seeing that it was Lu Changsheng, his expression remained unchanged, and the gentle, jade-like smile still lingered on his lips.

"Mr. Lu," Xiao Yuheng's voice was slow and deliberate, carrying just the right amount of enthusiasm, "Why aren't you eating? Is the food not to your liking?"

"The food was very good," Lu Changsheng said. "But there's something I'd like to ask the host."

Xiao Yuheng raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What is it?"

Lu Changsheng did not answer immediately.

Lu Changsheng shifted his gaze from Xiao Yuheng's face and glanced at the woman beside him.

The woman was very tactful. She picked up her wine glass, gave Lu Changsheng a slight bow, then got up and left her seat at the head of the table. She walked to a nearby table of guests, sat down again, and continued her lively conversation.

His movements were fluid and natural, without any sign of displeasure.

Xiao Yuheng watched the woman's departing figure, the curve of his lips unchanged, but Lu Changsheng noticed that his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Mr. Lu, what is it? You can speak now." Xiao Yuheng leaned back in his chair, his hands folded over his abdomen, his posture relaxed.

Lu Changsheng sat down in the empty seat next to him.

"Master seems to be in a good mood today," Lu Changsheng said.

Xiao Yuheng smiled.

"Of course I'm happy," he said. "How could I not be happy when old friends come?"

"Mr. Shen is indeed an old friend." Lu Changsheng nodded casually, "However, judging from the host's joy today, it seems that it's not just because an old friend has come."

Xiao Yuheng looked at him, his gray eyes reflecting the light of the crystal chandelier.

"What is Mr. Lu trying to say?"

Lu Changsheng did not answer directly.

He picked up a glass of wine from the table, twirled it in his hand, and then put it down.

"I was thinking," Lu Changsheng's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the two of them to hear clearly, "that the host said that besides welcoming Mr. Shen, there was another thing to celebrate at tonight's banquet."

Xiao Yuheng's fingers gently intertwined on his abdomen.

Did I say that?

"I did say that," Lu Changsheng said, "right when the banquet started."

Xiao Yuheng remained silent for a moment.

That moment was very brief, lasting only a fraction of a second. But Lu Changsheng captured it.

"Mr. Lu has a good memory," Xiao Yuheng smiled, his tone relaxed. "However, I said 'this banquet is for the arrival of my friend Shen Ye,' I didn't mention anything else. Did Mr. Lu mishear?"

Lu Changsheng looked at him.

Xiao Yuheng's expression was flawless. The curve of his lips, the smile in his eyes, the rise and fall of his brow bone—everything was just right.

But Lu Changsheng noticed his fingers.

Between the thumb and forefinger, which are crossed over the abdomen, there is a very thin, almost invisible indentation.

It looks like the marks left after holding something for a long time.

Short stick.

Lu Changsheng silently recited that word in his mind.

Xiao Yuheng gripped the short stick. Just a short while ago.

"Maybe I misheard," Lu Changsheng said casually.

An Zhiyu's gaze swept over and lingered for a moment.

Lu Changsheng made a gesture with his left hand under the table.

He remembers.

Xiao Yuheng remembers everything.

An Zhiyu withdrew her gaze, her expression unchanged.

Lu Changsheng leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping across the entire hall.

The clinking of wine glasses, the scraping of cutters on plates, and the hushed whispers all blended together to create a harmonious yet noisy background sound.

Everything was perfect.

so perfect.

He put down his wine glass, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

This copy was much more interesting than he had expected.

-

The banquet finally ended before midnight.

The guests left the hall in twos and threes. Some staggered, some were helped by waiters, and some were still talking in hushed tones, reminiscing about the drinks and dishes of the evening.

Lu Changsheng did not rush to leave.

He remained seated, his wine glass long since empty. Deep red wine stains clung to the glass, gleaming darkly in the candlelight.

"Mr. Lu, aren't you going home to rest?"

Xiao Yuheng's voice came from the main seat.

Lu Changsheng raised his head.

Xiao Yuheng had already stood up and was adjusting his cuffs.

"I'll be right back," Lu Changsheng said.

He stood up, nodded slightly to Xiao Yuheng, and then turned and walked towards the door.

As they passed An Zhiyu, their eyes met for a fleeting moment.

An Zhiyu sat behind the woman, her position almost unchanged. Her posture remained upright, her expression calm, like a knife sheathed, revealing no sharpness.

But Lu Changsheng saw her gently tap her knee with her left index finger.

once.

He looked away and continued walking forward.

The corridor was quiet.

Most of the wall lamps had gone out, leaving only one lit every few meters. The dim light cast small patches of light on the stone wall, like a broken line, guiding the way back to the room.

Lu Changsheng walked very slowly.

He was counting.

There are forty-three steps from the lobby entrance to the stairwell. There are twenty-eight steps from the stairwell to the entrance of the third-floor corridor. There are twenty-six steps from the entrance of the corridor to his room door.

The distance between each step is roughly the same, and the height of each step is almost identical.

But Lu Changsheng knew that some things had changed.

He couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed, but he could sense it.

The air smells different, and the carpet feels different too.

The entire castle has changed.

It's not a change in the physical sense, but a more fundamental and subtle one. It's as if someone disassembled the entire castle, reassembled it, painted it with the same paint, laid it with the same carpet, and shone it with the same light.

They look exactly the same.

But they feel different to the touch.

Lu Changsheng pushed open the door to the room.

The room was exactly the same as when he left. The blanket was crumpled up, the pillow was askew at the head of the bed, the coat was draped over the back of the chair, one shoe was sticking out from under the bed, and the other was nowhere to be seen.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, and moonlight squeezed in through the gaps in the fabric, drawing a thin white line on the floor.

He closed the door and didn't turn on the light.

In the darkness, he walked to the window, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and glanced outside.

In the darkness, he walked to the window, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and glanced outside.

The lake was as calm as a mirror under the night sky.

The moonlight shone on the water, giving it a cool, white glow. The stones on the lake shore cast dark shadows in the moonlight, like a row of neat teeth.

There are no tentacles.

There was no black fog.

There was no murmuring.

There was nothing there.

Lu Changsheng lowered the curtains, walked to the bedside, and sat down. The mattress sagged slightly beneath him, making a soft creaking sound.

He didn't take off his shoes; he just sat there.

He is waiting.

-

The knocking came at two in the morning.

Not too fast, not too slow, three times.

Lu Changsheng did not move.

He lay there with his eyes open in the darkness, listening to the three knocks echoing down the corridor, like the long-awaited echo of a stone thrown into a deep well.

"Mr. Lu."

A hushed voice came from outside the door.

Shen Ye.

Lu Changsheng stood up, walked to the door, and unlatched it.

The wall lamps in the corridor were mostly off, except for the one at the top of the stairs, which was still lit. The dim yellow light shone from a distance, casting large shadows on Shen Ye's face.

He was still wearing the same dark gray coat he'd worn to the banquet, but two buttons on the collar were undone, and his tie hung loosely around his neck, as if someone had pulled it. His hair was also somewhat disheveled, with a few stray strands falling across his forehead, obscuring half of his eyebrow.

His eyes were very bright.

His eyes were like two lamps that were about to burn out.

"Can we go inside and talk?" Shen Ye's voice was a little hoarse, as if he hadn't drunk water in a long time, or as if his throat was dry after talking too much.

Lu Changsheng stepped aside.

Shen Ye walked in, his steps a little unsteady. He walked to the table, braced himself on the surface with one hand, rubbed his temples with the other, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

Lu Changsheng closed the door, leaned against it, and looked at him.

The room was dark, and moonlight shone through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a thin white line between the two people.

"You've had quite a bit to drink," Lu Changsheng said.

Shen Ye opened his eyes and looked at him.

"How much I drank isn't important," Shen Ye's voice was still hoarse, but his tone suddenly became much clearer. "What's important is what I remembered after I finished drinking."

Lu Changsheng did not respond.

Shen Ye turned around, leaned against the table, placed his hands on the edge of the table, and looked up at the ceiling. His expression was not visible in the darkness.

"I had a dream tonight," Shen Ye said.

His voice was very soft, so soft that it sounded like he was talking to himself.

"No, it wasn't a dream." He shook his head, as if denying his own statement. "It's just... it's like something happened, but I can't remember. It's like I had a dream, and when I woke up I only remembered that I had a dream, but I can't remember anything about it."

He paused for a moment, then turned to look at Lu Changsheng.

The moonlight shone on his face, illuminating half of it, a belated realization that "I almost died."

"Do you feel this way too?" Shen Ye asked.

Lu Changsheng remained silent for two seconds.

"No," he said.

Shen Ye frowned slightly.

His gaze lingered on Lu Changsheng's face for a few seconds, as if trying to confirm what this "no" really meant—whether it meant he truly didn't have it, or that he didn't want to admit it.

Lu Changsheng's expression remained unchanged.

Moonlight shone through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating his face and his calm, almost indifferent features.

He leaned against the door, hands in his pockets, relaxed, as if listening to a story that had nothing to do with him.