The young man leaned in extremely close, the hot breath from his lips causing her ear to itch. His soft whisper was like a feather brushing across her ear canal, reaching deep into her ear, causing her to shudder and stiffen all over.

Realizing what had happened, she immediately covered her ear and took two big steps to the side to avoid him.

She turned her head and stared at him in disbelief.

Jiang Ming Yue was slightly stunned, and remembering his instinctive action just now, his face suddenly reddened. His fingers lightly rubbed under his wide sleeves, but his shy, flickering eyes still stared intently at the young girl.

His bashful yet infatuated look was enough to make one’s heart tremble.

Shen Yao Xing swallowed, finally admitting defeat, her gaze unnaturally drifting elsewhere.

If she kept looking at him, she felt like this person might eat her up.

“Um… does the young lady still want this lantern?”

A sudden voice broke the ambiguous atmosphere between the two. Shen Yao Xing quickly replied, “Of course I do.”

“Then, does the young lady know the answer to the riddle?”

“…” What was it again? Shen Yao Xing recalled what the young man had whispered in her ear, furrowed her brow in a thoughtful expression, and then confidently slapped her thigh and said, “It’s fog! The answer is fog!”

As soon as she finished speaking, a light chuckle came from beside her.

Shen Yao Xing’s face flushed red, but her gaze towards the auntie remained confident, though her heart was anxious. This person wouldn’t give her the wrong answer just to see her make a fool of herself, would he…

“Ah, that’s right. Young lady, you can take the lantern now.”

Only then did Shen Yao Xing breathe a sigh of relief. She looked down at the lotus lantern in her hand, feeling no sense of achievement at all. After thinking for a moment, she still handed the lantern over to him.

“Here, this is for you.”

Jiang Ming Yue’s beautiful eyes widened slightly, and even his breathing became lighter. “You… want to give this to me?”

If so, could this be considered a token of their love? Was she accepting him?

Just thinking about this possibility made Jiang Ming Yue’s heart flutter uncontrollably.

“What do you mean ‘give’? This was yours to begin with, you guessed it.” Shen Yao Xing said matter-of-factly, also shattering his fantasies.

The warmth in his chest dissipated, replaced by a faint disappointment. Jiang Ming Yue’s eyes cooled slightly, but he finally raised his hand to accept it.

Shen Yao Xing chose another one that was easier to guess, and after she got it, the auntie suddenly took out a wooden hairpin. Shen Yao Xing’s attention was immediately drawn to the hairpin. It was because the wooden hairpin was carved very uniquely, especially the fox head at the top, which bared its teeth as if it was about to leap out of the wooden pin. The vermilion fox eyes on both sides added a touch of ferocity to it.

“For every pair that comes to claim lanterns, there’s a piece of jewelry to give away. This hairpin is what’s left. See if you want it.”

“I do,” Shen Yao Xing quickly accepted it, examining it with curiosity.

“This hairpin represents harmony between couples. Young lady, if you give it to your sweetheart, you can be together forever, growing old together…”

To Jiang Ming Yue, “together forever” was undoubtedly the most pleasing words to hear. He eagerly hoped that the young girl would give the wooden hairpin to him.

However, after getting the hairpin, Shen Yao Xing stopped listening to the words and inserted it into her own hair, asking him in a good mood, “Does it look good?”

But what she faced was the back of the young man’s head as he sulked.

Shen Yao Xing didn’t mind and adjusted the candle inside the lantern.

In the air, besides the smell of fireworks, there was also a rich sweet scent of malt. She licked her lips and followed the aroma with her lantern until she stopped at a candy figurine stall.

“Malt candy! Sweet and fragrant malt candy!”

Perhaps due to the atmosphere, Shen Yao Xing was in an exceptionally high spirit. She went over and asked for a figurine to be made in her likeness.

Although it didn’t look much like her, the aroma alone was enough to make one’s mouth water.

When the candy figurine was ready, before she could take it, it was snatched by another hand. Shen Yao Xing’s mouth twitched, looking at the cold-faced person with annoyance, “If you want one, buy your own. Why take mine?”

Jiang Ming Yue ignored her, took off his own face veil, and looked indifferently at the dazed woman, “Make another one in my likeness.”

The woman was already staring in a daze, her drooling appearance disgusting Jiang Ming Yue to the extreme. A flash of crimson passed through his gloomy eyes, and he cruelly curled his lips: “Keep staring and I’ll gouge out your eyes.”

The cold words held no hint of jest. The woman’s spine chilled, her undergarments instantly soaked with cold sweat. She hurriedly lowered her head and started shaping haphazardly.

“Tsk,” Shen Yao Xing frowned, feeling his demand was utterly unreasonable. “How can she make it for you if she doesn’t look at you?”

The young man acted as if he hadn’t heard her words, not even bothering to give her a glance.

In the end, Shen Yao Xing was forced to exchange candy figurines with him, though in her view it didn’t matter, as they were both for eating anyway.

“It’s quite sweet.” Shen Yao Xing licked the candy figurine with relish.

The young girl’s tongue licked over the small face that somewhat resembled him, as if she was licking his face.

A suspicious blush crept up Jiang Ming Yue’s cheeks, his eyes narrowing as he watched intently.

As the night deepened, the flow of people on the street increased rather than decreased, with almost everyone holding a lantern, chatting and laughing. Shen Yao Xing paused in her candy-eating, turning back to look vigilantly at the crowd.

Seeing this, Jiang Ming Yue also coolly swept his gaze in that direction. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Yao Xing hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

It must have been her nerves, she felt as if someone had been watching them just now.

As soon as the thought passed, a cold glint flashed through the crowd, heading straight for them.

Shen Yao Xing’s expression tightened, and with quick reflexes, she drew the sword at her waist. Before the cold light could touch the young man, she deflected it, and the finger-length double-edged leaf-shaped blade embedded itself into the wooden malt candy stall.

The woman was so frightened by this sudden turn of events that she collapsed to the ground, swallowing hard as she looked at the cold, gleaming blade.

Because it was so lively, the people around hadn’t noticed their unusual situation.

Shen Yao Xing stood in front of the young man, vigilantly watching their surroundings, not forgetting to ask the person behind her, “Are you alright?”

At this moment, the young girl seemed to have forgotten that the young man’s alertness and skills were no less than hers.

In contrast to the young girl’s nervous demeanor, Jiang Ming Yue behind her had already raised the corners of his mouth high, his narrow eyes like scattered stars, flashing with burning intensity.

“Mm,” he responded softly.

Shen Yao Xing had no time to care about the young man’s mood. She frowned, still vigilant of her surroundings. A black shadow flashed by not far away, and after saying a word to the person behind her, she quickly gave chase.

Chasing all the way to a dark, narrow alley, the person had disappeared. Shen Yao Xing jumped onto the eaves, looking around, but the suspicious black shadow had vanished into thin air, and she had lost the trail.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Shen Yao Xing hurriedly rushed back.

It was only when she saw Jiang Ming Yue still standing quietly in the same place that she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she had a belated realization – eh? That’s not right, why should she worry about him? With his skills, it shouldn’t be her place to worry about him at all.

The young girl’s expression was strange as she slowly walked over. “Did you offend someone? That person just now seemed to be targeting you.”

Jiang Ming Yue’s eyes were deep and mysterious, rippling when he looked at the young girl. His veil swayed lightly as he tilted his head slightly, thinking. Then he curled his lips and said nonchalantly, “The people I’ve offended are too numerous to count.”

“……”

Huh, so you’re even proud of it?

“However……” the young man’s voice paused slightly, his low and gentle tone full of meaning, “Young Master Yin is different.”

Shen Yao Xing understood his meaning. That’s right, his current identity is that of a noble young man from the capital, so how could he attract such troubles?

The young girl’s frowning, thoughtful expression gave Jiang Ming Yue an extraordinary sense of satisfaction. He wanted to tell her not to worry about him, after all, he had never taken those people seriously.

Just thinking about the young girl being concerned for him made him tingle with pleasure all over.

However, what Shen Yao Xing was thinking at this moment was: Ah, when she was chasing that person, she accidentally dropped her malt candy, and she had only eaten a few bites! What a waste!

The two people, each with their own thoughts, were immersed in their own worlds.

Suddenly, a huge boom exploded above their heads, and brilliant fireworks lit up half the town. Passersby stopped in their tracks, looking up in admiration.

Shen Yao Xing also looked up. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen fireworks in a long time. The last time was a few months ago, and those were even more beautiful than these.

“Boom” Flowers of fireworks bloomed in the sky, accompanied by gasps of amazement.

At this moment, everyone’s gaze was drawn to this beautiful scenery, except for Jiang Ming Yue, who didn’t spare even a fraction of his attention for the fireworks. He stared fixedly at the side of the young girl’s face illuminated by the firelight, his gaze gradually moving upward.

It fell on the fox hairpin in her hair.

……

The next day, they bought a carriage and prepared to have breakfast before setting off.

When the three of them had almost finished eating, the young man finally arrived. Shen Yao Xing glanced at him while holding her bowl, but said nothing.

“Young Master Yin, please sit!” Bai Sha hurriedly made room for the seat next to the young girl.

Jiang Ming Yue nodded slightly, and as he sat down, he discreetly placed a light-colored hairpin near the young girl’s elbow, no more than a fingernail’s width from the edge of the wooden table.

Completely unaware, Shen Yao Xing immediately fell into the trap. A crisp shattering sound rang out. She was puzzled and looked at the hairpin on the ground, broken in two. In her ear came the young man’s soft sigh.

“Do you know how much gold this glass hairpin is worth?”

Shen Yao Xing blinked. “Huh?”

She couldn’t help but look at the broken hairpin on the ground again, her face full of confusion. “Are you trying to extort me?”

Bai Sha beside her was also dumbfounded.

Jiang Ming Yue calmly stretched out his hand in front of her, his thin lips slightly raised: “Compensate me.”

“……” A vein popped on Shen Yao Xing’s forehead as she gritted her teeth and said, “You put the hairpin there yourself, what does it have to do with me?”

The young man’s posture remained unchanged, his gaze deep and mysterious.

What kind of trick is this person up to now?

Shen Yao Xing held back again and again, finally suppressing her full anger. “Where am I supposed to get so much silver right now? Even if you sold me, you couldn’t extort that much!”

“You don’t need to give me silver.” Jiang Ming Yue glanced at the fox hairpin in her hair. “One item can compensate for another.”

“……” Shen Yao Xing raised her hand to touch the hairpin in her hair. So this person had been aiming for this all along.

She unhesitatingly took off the hairpin and gave it to him. If he wanted to say it directly, why go through so many tricks?

Jiang Ming Yue joyfully accepted the fox hairpin and immediately inserted it into his tied-up black hair. His eyes sparkled, looking exactly like those young men eager for their wife-master’s approval: “Does it look good?”

“……”

Huh.