If you were cold and aloof in your past life, why are you crying in this one?

Wang Jue was helped into the guest room, while Xi Lingxian was being blocked by Xi Rui in the corridor.

"Fanfan, could you take this bowl of hangover soup to Brother Qingyu for me?" Xi Rui shoved it into her hands without further ado. "It's rare for someone to stay overnight, we can't be rude."

Xi Lingxian looked down at the bowl, then looked up at her elder brother's matter-of-fact face, and took a deep breath: "Brother, can't you just have a servant deliver it?"

"How could any servant be as considerate as you?" Xi Rui retorted confidently. "Besides, you and Wang Jue know each other. What happened at the Shangsi Festival is in the past; you can't stay silent forever, can you?"

Xi Lingxian gripped the rim of the bowl tightly, wanting to say, "I just want to stay silent for the rest of my life," but seeing her elder brother's inexplicable reverence and enthusiasm for Wang Jue, she couldn't bring herself to pour cold water on him.

She carried the bowl and, steeling herself, walked towards the guest room.

When I knocked on the door, it was Chang'an who opened it.

"Miss Xi?" Chang'an was taken aback and quickly stepped aside to make way.

Wang Jue had changed into Xi Rui's dark blue robe and was leaning against the couch with his eyes half-closed.

Hearing the noise, he slightly lifted his eyelids, and his eyelashes trembled when he saw who it was.

"Hangover soup." Xi Lingxian placed the bowl on the table, her tone businesslike. "Drink it while it's hot."

She turned to leave.

"Xi Lingxian".

She paused, but didn't turn around.

"You came all this way to bring soup," Wang Jue's voice was a little hoarse, whether from the alcohol or something else, it was hard to tell, "were you afraid I'd really get drunk and die here?"

Xi Lingxian turned around and looked at him coldly: "My brother asked me to deliver it. Otherwise, do you think I wanted to come?"

Wang Jue looked at the thin layer of annoyance on her face and suddenly smiled.

"You come just because your brother tells you to?" he said. "You listen to your brother that much?"

Xi Lingxian was speechless for a moment after hearing his words.

"I dare to come to see you because I now have a completely calm and clear conscience towards you. I treat you as a guest of an ordinary family, nothing more."

Wang Jue propped himself up on the edge of the couch, walked to the table, picked up the bowl of hangover soup, and slowly drank it.

Xi Lingxian flicked her sleeves and left.

As night deepened, the snowfall intensified.

Xi Song, for some unknown reason, dragged her out to build a snowman;

If you said they were twins, she would actually agree.

They're all sick together.

The siblings laughed and joking as they built four snowmen in the cold wind.

"No, we're still missing one. Even though Mother has passed away, she's definitely still watching over us from heaven. We can't forget her."

Xi Lingxian gritted her teeth, "Then you pile them up. Mother loves me the most, she definitely won't want me to suffer from the cold."

"..." Xi Song was speechless. "You really are my sister."

Xi Lingxian wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and waited for him to finish stacking the last one before handing the hot water bottle to Xi Song. "Go back and rest now."

"Sister, is there really no possibility between you and the second brother of the Wang family?" Such a powerful person, it would be so prestigious to be his brother-in-law.

"Why are you saying this out of the blue?"

"I'm just concerned about you, but if someone else asks you the same question, it might not be the same."

Xi Lingxian was unsurprised. "I know that guy is in high demand, but it has nothing to do with me. I don't want him."

"No, no, no." Xi Song shook his head and lowered his voice, "Don't be angry when I tell you."

"explain!"

"Many of those people were placing bets at the gambling den, betting on whether you and Brother Wang still have a chance?"

Xi Lingxian was both annoyed and amused. "Are these guys just bored and looking for trouble?"

Xi Song nodded.

"..."

"...Are the stakes high?"

"With Xie Mingshuo leading the way, how could it not be big?"

It's not a big bet; it would be beneath the dignity of scions of wealthy families to gamble like that.

Xi Lingxian chuckled, "Alright, then I'd be letting them down if I didn't place a bet."

Xi Song exclaimed, "What kind of bet are you placing? Isn't that reckless?"

"If they can use me as a prize, why can't I cheat them?" Xi Lingxian never claimed to be a saint; she was vengeful and never held a grudge.

In this world, vegetarians don't live long.

She turned and walked back after she finished speaking.

Turning around, he found Wang Jue standing on the opposite corridor, having been there for who knows how long and overheard.

He's becoming increasingly uncouth, with a penchant for eavesdropping and spying.

Seeing her approach, he followed her at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

"Why are you following me?" She stopped and turned around.

He pointed to the side room, "I'm going back too, I'm not going with you."

"..."

Xi Lingxian suppressed the urge to strangle the person and walked to the corner of the corridor. Suddenly, the footsteps behind her grew closer.

Before she could react, a pair of hands reached out from behind and tightly wrapped around her waist.

Her back bumped into his chest.

The fur collar of his fox fur brushed against her ear, and he buried his cheek in the crook of her neck.

His warm breath fell on the skin of her neck, carrying a faint smell of alcohol and slightly burning.

Xi Lingxian froze.

"you--"

"Don't move."

His voice was muffled in the hollow of her shoulder, so low and hoarse that it was almost inaudible.

The arm around her waist was so tight that she could feel him trembling slightly.

The wind whistled in from the entrance of the corridor.

The lantern swayed overhead, its light and shadow scattering across the ground.

Xi Lingxian ignored his breath in her nostrils, abruptly turned her head to the side, and slapped the arm around her waist, "What's wrong with you now? Let go of me, I'll call for help."

Tell me about it.

"What did you say?"

"What do you mean you wouldn't want me even if I were in high demand?" he asked calmly, his words utterly devoid of any embarrassment.

"Literally, you, Young Master Wang, have never lacked beauties who admire you. One more or one less makes no difference."

"Then why did you provoke me in the first place?" He pinched her cheek, his tone carrying a hint of punishment.

"I...I...I was momentarily blinded by lust and lost my mind..."

Xi Lingxian was focused on dealing with the pair of iron-like hands around her waist, and for a moment she forgot to keep her mouth shut.

Wang Jue paused for a moment, her eyelashes drooping slightly. "Then I don't seem to have aged or lost my beauty, do I?"

Xi Lingxian choked up.

"What exactly are you trying to do now? I've made myself perfectly clear; I don't see any need for us to get involved anymore."

Her expression was indifferent and aloof; it seemed that only he was held back by the past.

She has already gracefully departed, preparing to journey to another sea of ​​clouds.

"Have you found a suitable son-in-law? Xi Wen?"

"This is my private matter, and I have no obligation to report it to you."

"What's so good about him?"

"He wouldn't lie to me."

"I..." The man who had been arguing fiercely in the court suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

Xi Lingxian sneered, "Do you really think I'm a complete idiot who can't see anything?"

"You think I can't see through your pretense and post-marital pretense? How could you be such a bastard? If you don't like someone, just say so. Why pretend to like them to give me hope and deceive me into continuing to indulge in this?"

"You've never been sincere with me in the slightest, yet you won't allow me to take back my sincerity. What kind of logic is that?"

How do you know I didn't?

She smiled coldly, "I wouldn't want a man who would abandon me in a life-or-death situation."

He froze instantly, as if he had been nailed to the spot by something.

His previously tense jaw suddenly relaxed, and the assertiveness and certainty in his eyes shattered.

"To be honest, I can understand your reasoning. Human life is at stake, and saving as many people as possible is the best policy. Since I can swim, it seems understandable that you would go and save others."

"But I still don't accept it, because your words and actions have always made me feel that even if I can't swim, you would still choose to save Xie Wanyi."

"I used to really want to know if you were sincere with me, but now I feel it doesn't matter anymore; I didn't feel any sincerity from you..."

"None of it counts as sincerity."