Outside Yun Chunfeng’s tent, Jiang Xingyan lowered her voice to report in.
“Brother Yun, I’m back!”
—Get the Soul-Guiding Art ready.
Inside the tent, Yun Chunfeng let out a silent chuckle.
The young miss is as adorable as ever.
He estimated the time it would take for Jiang Xingyan to fall asleep, then made the hand signs and whispered the incantation. After a wisp of mist passed by, the two finally met again within the dream.
It was still the rear garden of the Jiang residence—the place where Yun Chunfeng and Jiang Xingyan had spent the most joyful moments together.
Jiang Xingyan, light as a swallow, flew down and landed beside Yun Chunfeng.
She naturally linked her arm with his, intertwining their fingers.
A tremor of emotion passed through Yun Chunfeng’s heart.
He didn’t know if it was because of their spiritual forms, or because the young miss had truly accepted him completely.
In any case, this kind of intimacy was what he craved the most.
Jiang Xingyan pulled him to sit down in the pavilion and eagerly recounted everything that had happened at the banquet, holding nothing back.
“Brother Yun, did we perhaps play Doctor Sun too harshly? His face was completely black today. I hope he doesn’t anger himself into illness.”
Yun Chunfeng, swaying his feathered fan, replied with a smile, “If the young miss could buy out all the shops next to the Imperial Hospital and gift them to Doctor Sun to run as charity clinics, he’d willingly be tricked a few more times.”
Jiang Xingyan couldn’t help but laugh. “Doctor Sun is really quite a good fellow. Oh, right, Brother Yun, Huo Ci… he seems a bit off. No, very off!”
Yun Chunfeng’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively tightened his grip on Jiang Xingyan’s hand.
Jiang Xingyan reenacted what Huo Ci had said to her, even imitating his expressions and tone perfectly.
Honesty and sincerity were Jiang Xingyan’s creed when interacting with those close to her.
Yun Chunfeng’s hand tightened more and more.
If he had never tasted the young miss’s affection, he would have silently watched over her from behind for a lifetime, never daring to harbor any other thoughts.
But now, having savored it, he was addicted.
He couldn’t bear any risk of the young miss leaving him.
One must remember, that man was her first love at the dawn of her affections.
That made him fundamentally different.
Jiang Xingyan was still pondering hard. “…Surely his mother couldn’t have smashed the Huo family ancestral hall, right? Otherwise, how could he— Mmph.”
Her red lips were suddenly sealed. Jiang Xingyan’s eyes widened in an instant, and she instinctively tried to push him away.
But Yun Chunfeng held her firmly in his embrace, lowering his head to greedily claim the air from her mouth.
It was the first time he had kissed her with such force, as if he might lose her the very next second.
A suspicious, muffled sound escaped Jiang Xingyan’s throat.
Yun Chunfeng’s heart sank—he had lost control! How could he have indulged his inner demons and so blatantly revealed his possessive desire to keep the young miss all to himself?
He would frighten her.
He abruptly ended the deep kiss, burying his face in the crook of her neck, his voice trembling. “Young Miss, this Yun overstepped.”
Jiang Xingyan flushed a deep red, as if thoroughly cooked.
Not only because of Brother Yun’s aggressively possessive act, but also because of how she could have made such a shameful sound.
She steadied her breathing, calming her pounding heart slightly. The cool, clean scent of snow cedar still lingered between her lips.
Pressing her lips together, she let out a soft laugh and patted his back. “If Brother Yun doesn’t want to hear news of him, I simply won’t mention it in the future.”
Yun Chunfeng shook his head, nuzzling against her neck. “No. In front of this Yun, the young miss can be any way she wishes, say anything she wants, do anything she desires. Even… even if the young miss were to forgive him and reconcile, this Yun would not leave your side for a single step.”
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xingyan gave him a sharp shove, her tone turning cold. “Fine, then I’ll go find him right now.”
In that instant, Yun Chunfeng’s heart plummeted into chaos, as if he had fallen from the highest heavens down to the mortal realm. He bit his lower lip tightly and firmly grasped the young miss’s wrist.
Jiang Xingyan tried to pull her hand back twice with force but couldn’t break free.
On the third try, she used all her strength, yanking Yun Chunfeng straight into her arms instead.
With a stern face, she scolded him, “Weren’t you the one who said you wouldn’t leave my side for a single step? Why are you so far away then?”
Yun Chunfeng felt wronged.
“Come with me, let’s go find him.”
Jiang Xingyan turned to leave but was pulled into a tight embrace from behind by Yun Chunfeng.
Like a big, well-meaning dog who had messed up, he buried his head in the crook of her neck, grievances apparent as he spoke in a light, small voice, almost petulantly, “No, I don’t want to. I really don’t want to.”
The corners of Jiang Xingyan’s mouth twitched, hard to suppress, but she didn’t relent. “It seems, in your eyes, I am nothing but a fickle and frivolous person. Perhaps it’s better to just let go now.”
“No, I won’t let go, wuwu…”
Yun Chunfeng nuzzled vigorously, tickling her so much she couldn’t bear it and finally laughed out loud.
Yun Chunfeng, who had been acting spoiled and petulant just a moment before, suddenly froze. He turned Jiang Xingyan around to face him, cupped her face, and examined her carefully.
“The young miss… isn’t angry with this Yun anymore?”
Jiang Xingyan swatted his hand away with feigned annoyance. “Angry! Of course I’m angry! I’m going to be very angry— Mmph.”
Once again, her red lips were sealed by Yun Chunfeng’s thin ones.
Only this time, there was more lingering tenderness and less invasive possessiveness.
When they finally parted, Jiang Xingyan raised a hand to thump him, but he caught it firmly and smoothly interlaced their fingers.
The trace of grievance hadn’t fully faded from Yun Chunfeng’s eyes, but the corner of his mouth had already curled into a mischievous smile.
He leaned close to Jiang Xingyan’s ear, his soft, breathy voice like a kitten scratching at one’s heart:
“But… this Yun cannot bear to let the young miss be very angry.
One is enough.”