Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  The woman’s silence made the man a little nervous, but he still looked cold and expressionless on the surface.

  Ling’er looked up at him with a smile. “Let’s get the certificate.”


  He had been waiting for her to say those words for four years.

  Now that he heard it all of a sudden, the man was stunned. He just stared at her in a daze and forgot to react.

  Ling’er arched a brow. “Aren’t you happy?”


  The man came back to his senses. He was still so excited that he could not speak. “I am, I am. I’m so happy that I’m at a loss for words!”


  “A-are you sure,” he asked hesitantly.

  Ling’er smiled. “I’m 39 years old, not 19 or 29. We’ve been together for four years. I know you’ll treat me well. Although I can’t say I know everything about you, I think I know enough not to regret this decision. There’s nothing more I could ask of you as a man.”


  Any man receiving such an evaluation would have known it to be high praise.

  “I’ll bring you home.”


  “That’s not what I meant. I know your identity isn’t simple, and I wouldn’t say I like overly complicated relationships. I like the way things are between us.”


  Whether it was a wealthy family, an aristocratic family, or a legendary ancient family, living in such a large family was no different from a struggle for the throne.

  She was older now and appreciated the quiet, carefree time offered to her.

  She thought that living like this for the rest of her life was something she yearned for and brought her great joy.

  “I’ll listen to you, ” he said.

  He hugged himself, not betraying any expression on his handsome face. It was a force of habit whenever he felt nervous or excited.

  Like the kapok tree behind her, Ling’er’s laugh was bright and delicate, charming but not overly so.

  She did not know if it was because of her that he was willing to live on a mountain, isolated from the rest of the world, or if she liked the isolation afforded to them by Mount Qi because of him.

  Four years had transformed their passionate feelings into the subtle fragrance of flowers alight in the spring air or the cold wind to red plums in winter; they were inseparable.

  Knowing that Xiao Jiuyan would leaveMount Qi with his mother, Ling’er was reluctant to part. When Xiao Jiuyan woke up, she hugged him and teased him.

  Xiao Jiuyan had only been there for five months, so he did not understand what it meant to part ways. Instead, he continued smiling happily.

  The man stood at the side and watched as he enjoyed the warm-hearted scene.

  Ling’er suddenly looked at the man. “Ziqing, please help me record a video. We’ll watch the video whenever we miss Xiao Jiu.”


  “Okay.” The man walked to the table, picked up her phone, and turned on the recording function. He aimed the camera at Ling’er and Xiao Jiu, taking great pains to capture their joy and laughter.

  At dinner, Xiao Jiu’s mother did not join them. Confused, Ling’er trained a questioning look in the man’s direction. “Is she still not awake?”


  “It’s alright. You need not wait. I’ll make sure she has something to eat later.” The man picked up some food with his chopsticks and graciously offered it to her.

  Ling’er stared at the man. She was not sure what was going on between him and her disciple. A nagging itch told her something was not quite right about the situation, but she could not put her finger on it.

  Ling’er’s gaze lingered on the man for a time. It was with much hesitation did she refrain from prying further. Pensive, she continued eating her dinner.

  The man clenched his chopsticks tightly. He could see the hesitation in Ling’er’s eyes and how she finally decided to let the matter rest. He saw it all as he matched her gaze, unflinching. In the end, he, too, chose to say nothing.

  –


  Sometime later that night, Fengyue Inn……

  Chao Yan sat with his legs crossed and an arm dangling over the back of the sofa. He was sitting in the main hall with a coffee table in front of him. Not a hint of colour peeked through the gauze covering his eyes. On the table was a cup of coffee gone cold.

  Yin Shi entered the inn and saw his Master seated in the hall. Hastening his steps, he arrived before his Master.

  “Master, it’s already late. Miss Qin probably isn’t coming back. It would be best if you went back to the guest room to rest for now,” he advised in a low voice.

  “Make another cup of coffee.” Chao Yan’s responded with supreme indifference.

  “Master……” Yin Shi wanted to oppose his Master’s decision but thought better than to do so. In the end, he did as instructed and prepared another cup of coffee for his Master.

  Just then, Ye Luo walked in with President Ba in his arms. When he saw Chao Yan sitting on the sofa, Ye Luo pretended he had not seen him and made for the stairs with President Ba lounging in his arms.

  Yin Shi returned with the freshly brewed cup of coffee and happened to see Ye Luo heading upstairs with President Ba. Earlier, he had seen Ye Luo accompanying Qin Shu out. It was strange for him to return without her. “Hasn’t the Young Madam returned yet? She should have come back by now……”


  Ye Luo stopped in his tracks and responded to Yin Shi’s question. “No.”


  As soon as he answered Yin Shi, Ye Luo continued up to the second floor.

  Qin Shu had said that there was no need to wait for her if she did not come down after dark.

  Ye Luo waited until ten in the evening before returning.

  “.……” Yin Shi carried the hot cup of coffee to his Master, replacing the cup of coffee that had gone cold. He put it in the same spot as the previous cup for his Master’s convenience.

  Recounting how he met Ye Luo moments earlier, he said, “Master, Ye Luo has just returned. It seems Miss Qin hasn’t come down from the mountain yet. I’m afraid she’ll have to wait until tomorrow to come down.”


  Chao Yan inclined his head, pausing ever so slightly as he listened before taking a sip from the steaming cup of coffee Yin Shi had left on the table.

  His Master’s silence revealed his intentions: he was planning to sit there the whole night if need be.

  Yet, as much as he tried, he could not understand why his Master would choose to sit on the couch and await Miss Qin’s return.

  Miss Qin was not going to return that night, so what was the point of waiting?

  Yin Shi kept his thoughts to himself and did not try persuading his Master from proceeding with the course of action he had decided. Instead, he stood vigil, waiting quietly.

  The inn ran on central air-conditioning, so he did not feel a draft.

  In the wee hours of the morning, only a young lady remained at the front desk, working the night shift. Yin Shi and his Master were the sole guests left in the main hall. Words could not describe the surreal sense of serenity.

  Time passed at a snail’s pace. Many would agree that the act of waiting is one of those which lengthens the distance between periods, with time moving slower than one would expect.

  Yin Shi stared at his Master the whole time in agonising silence. If his Master chose to wait, who was he, as a servant, to say or do otherwise?

  Moments before dawn, the figure of two people appeared at the inn’s entrance. Ziqing carried Qin Shu in his arms while Jiuyan carried Xiao Jiu. The two men entered the establishment together.

  Fearing she would catch a cold, Ziqing wrapped Qin Shu in a mink fur coat as she slept soundly in his arms.

  Like Qin Shu, Xiao Jiu was fast asleep. She, too, was bundled up in a coat such that only her eyes peeked through.

  Chao Yan immediately sensed the disturbance. He turned and faced the entrance.

  Yin Shi snapped to attention, scanning the two who had walked in. At first, he was puzzled, but that changed when he saw Qin Shu. “Master, someone has brought Miss Qin back. A man is carrying her.”


  Chao Yan got up in one smooth motion, making his way over to the hall’s centre, almost as if he was waiting for someone.

  Although the person walking towards them had restrained his aura, Yin Shi still felt an immense weight pressing down upon him, making it hard to breathe.

  It was enough to prove that the man carrying Qin Shu was much stronger than him.

  Yin Shi did not dare take a step forward – to do so was to walk to his death.

  He now understood why his Master chose to stay up all night waiting in the main hall. It turned out that he had guessed that someone would send Qin Shu back.

  Ziqing hugged Qin Shu tightly, glaring at the man who stood in his way with cold eyes…… The man’s eyes were covered in a layer of white gauze.