Chapter 3 Separation

“You-” Xie Yi painfully uttered a word in the Central Plains language, picking up the paper scraps she had torn from the ground and holding them in his hands, a bewildered look like that of a small animal flashing in his dark green eyes.

Su Mu held his hand, speaking word by word: “Xie Yi, you are free.” Xie Yi couldn’t understand what she was saying, but at this moment he felt an unprecedented lightness, as if the invisible shackles tied around his neck had been unlocked, even his breathing became easier.

Su Mu pulled him to sit down, pointed at herself with her finger, and said: “Su Mu.” Xie Yi blinked his eyes.

Su Mu was not in a hurry, she continued to point at herself, elongating her voice: “Su, Mu.” Xie Yi vaguely understood, his thin lips opening: “Su, Mo?”

“Su, Mu, Mu-”

“Su Mu?” Xie Yi tried several times before finally pronouncing her name clearly.

“Very good.” Su Mu smiled slightly, her smile as light and gentle as ripples spreading on a lake surface: “Here, for you.” She took out a honey-coated candy from her sleeve, bright red like a berry, lying quietly in her fair palm.

Xie Yi looked curiously, confusion in his eyes: “Um-”

Before he could ask, Su Mu directly stuffed the candy into his mouth.

Xie Yi’s expression was momentarily surprised, and the next moment, the sweetness of the candy spread in his mouth, bringing with it the fragrance of apricot, so sweet.

He looked at Su Mu and smiled, his eyes curved, his smile as bright as spring, his dark green eyes like a crescent of green waves.

“Do you like it? I have more here.” She grabbed a handful of honey-coated candies from her sleeve, scattering them on the table, like sparkling red rubies emitting a bright luster, the air seemed to be filled with the thick sweetness of candy.

She knew that Xie Yi loved eating candy the most, honey-coated candy was his favorite candy in his previous life.

Every time he was bullied by Yan Jiyue, Su Mu would buy this to comfort him, and he would always eat them all, not leaving a single one.

Xie Yi looked at the round, smooth candies before him, shocked and unable to believe these were for him.

Only when Su Mu pushed these candies towards him did he finally realize they were all for him to eat.

The hard candy in his mouth was still stuck in his throat.

He tentatively ate another one, holding it in his mouth, observing her reaction.

Su Mu just rested her head on her hand, watching him, her smile gentle, and in the depths of her smile it was also clean and pure, seemingly impossible to find any nauseating impurities.

Xie Yi suddenly realized that the new mistress was much gentler than the previous master.

“It’s getting late, I have to go back.” Su Mu looked at the sky, pulled him to the kitchen, pointing at the rice, noodles, grains and oil still in the kitchen, she said: “If you’re hungry, make something to eat yourself, I’ll come see you tomorrow.” With that, Su Mu prepared to leave.

Suddenly Xie Yi grabbed her.

She turned back, Xie Yi had already neatly folded the outer robe she had just taken off.

Su Mu smiled, said thank you, and prepared to put it on herself.

But Xie Yi had already consciously spread out the outer robe, personally putting it on for Su Mu.

Subconsciously, he still considered himself a servant.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand the Central Plains language now, Su Mu was determined to make him familiar with this place as soon as possible, and then change his current behavior.

After Su Mu left, the small courtyard was so quiet that only the chirping of insects could be heard.

Xie Yi sat alone by the window, holding the paper scraps torn by Su Mu, repeatedly recalling the scene of her tearing up the indenture contract in front of him during the day.

A small flying insect, smelling the sweetness, flew to the edge of the candy. Just as it was about to extend its mouthparts to suck and lick, it was pinched between Xie Yi’s fingers.

The small insect struggled desperately at his fingertips, Xie Yi watched expressionlessly, not a hint of emotion in his dark green pupils, until his fingertips pressed hard, crushing the insect in his hand, finally a faint cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He washed his hands clean, his hands covered with small scars still dripping water, he put the honey-coated candies in his mouth one by one, the clear sweetness of apricot mixed with thick syrup, stirring on the tip of his tongue, sickeningly sweet.

Xie Yi actually didn’t like eating candy, he hated this kind of overly sweet candy even more.

When he used to live on the frontier with his parents and younger brother, he even found raisins too sweet, basically not touching them at all.

But he still ate all the honey-coated candies, his teeth crushing the hard candy into fragments and particles, the sharp corners of the fragments cutting his tongue, his brows slightly furrowed, the sweet candy and the salty blood swallowed together into his throat.

“Su Mu……” Xie Yi murmured softly.

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Su Mu had just arrived at the entrance of Luofeng Courtyard when she saw lights inside, remembering what Yan Zhujun had said earlier about letting Yan Jiyue come to apologize in person.

How could Yan Jiyue possibly come to apologize, more likely to come and make trouble.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Xiao Ping guarding outside the door, looking at him with a half-smile: “Young Mistress, you’ve finally returned, the young master has been waiting for you for a long time, even the Zhujun hasn’t made him wait this long before.”

The implication was to mock her for putting on airs.

In the past, Su Mu might have explained a bit, but now Su Mu only wanted to separate, and started to give up: “Let him wait then.”

Xiao Ping’s smile twitched at the corner of his mouth: “What did you say?”

Su Mu didn’t care: “I didn’t know Yan Jiyue was waiting for me, since he came to my courtyard on his own initiative, isn’t it right for him to wait for me a while? Do I have to kneel at the door to welcome him?” What a big face.

Xiao Ping couldn’t maintain face, struggling to maintain a smile: “That’s not necessary, the young master is still waiting for you, please go in first.” He gritted his teeth and opened the door.

Yan Jiyue sat in the main seat, wearing a red robe with cold eyes lowered, his appearance cold yet alluring, his eye shape not like the popular modern European double eyelids, but extremely traditional classical single-lidded phoenix eyes, at first glance a bit unfamiliar, but becoming more charming the more one looked.

Unfortunately, such a good-looking face was paired with such a dog-like temper.

Yan Jiyue raised his eyes and gazed at her deeply, his voice as cold as icicles colliding: “I heard from my father that my attendant offended you and was beaten with twenty strokes?”

Yan Jiyue got straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth.