The sun was scorching hot. It was to the point the sunlight could practically roast a person dry. The streets had been quite cheerless from the start, and now due to this weather, some stores simply decided to close shop.

  Although Liu Zhiyuan was there to hold an umbrella for her, the heat was still irritatingly hot. In addition, her garments weren't very well-ventilated so sweat was gathering all around her back and waist. Then there was the fact that Liu Zhiyuan couldn't seem to tell that she was hot. His dumb and oblivious manner frustrated her.

  If it weren't for the fact that Murong Yu was here, she would have already slapped him.

  On the other hand, Murong Yu who was standing beneath the scorching sun without any protection seemed completely unaffected and said with a smile, "That store in front belongs to the Murong family. If Miss Nangong doesn't mind, Murong would like to invite you to rest a little in the shop and drink some herb tea. After a brief break, I'll have someone send Miss Nangong to Blue Moon Lake, what does Miss Nangong think of this suggestion?"

  These words made Nangong Yan look towards Murong Yu with slight interest. His appearance was very graceful and his manner of speaking was elegant. He was a pretty good man. It was just that her heart had already decided on her senior brother, so no matter how good any other man was, in her eyes, they were nothing but dirt.

  Nangong Yan retrieved her gaze and tilted her head back to glance at the scorching sun. In her heart, she cursed the damned Tang Doudou again before replying with a smile, "Many thanks, Murong gongzi, for your kind intentions. As deference is no substitute for obedience, Yan er will take you up on your offer. It's just that there's no need for Murong gongzi to be so polite either; after all, Wind Cloud Island and the Murong family know each other well enough to count as friends. If gongzi doesn't mind, in the future you should just call me Yan er."

  Murong Yu was, in the end, Murong Ming's senior, so he was able to hide the gloomy craftiness in his eyes extremely well. When one looked at him, he only seemed elegant. When he heard what Nangong Yan said, he smiled gently and replied, "That's exactly what I had hoped."

  Nangong Yan batted her eyes mischievously as she asked with a smile, "Then can I just call you Big Brother Murong in the future?"

  "Haha, it's truly Murong's great fortune to have such an adorable and clever younger sister." Murong Yu laughed heartily, then put his hand on the umbrella Liu Zhiyuan was holding. "Why don't you allow Big Brother to hold this umbrella for you……"

  Unexpectedly, Liu Zhiyuan refused to let go. His face stayed expressionless, but a trace of murderous intent flashed through his eyes.

  What an audacious servant! What an amazing servant!

  Murong Yu was inwardly taken aback. As expected of a noble daughter of Wind Cloud Island, even her servants possessed inner strength comparable with his.

  "Ah Yuan! Don't be rude!" Nangong Yan knew the feel of Liu Zhiyuan's murderous intent best and she immediately berated him.

  Liu Zhiyuan jolted, then he lowered his eyes as a trace of unwillingness flashed through his eyes. In the end, he still let go of the umbrella.

  "Yan er, don't get angry. This brother was probably worried that I wouldn't be able to hold it well enough to properly shield Yan er from the sun." However, just as Liu Zhiyuan was about to let go, Murong Yu let go as well and made this remark filled with implications.

  Nangong Yan's face immediately turned cold. Without even bothering to glance at Liu Zhiyuan, she said in a disgusted tone, "He's nothing but a servant; he's not worthy of being called brother by Big Brother Murong. In addition, holding an umbrella is servant's work. Of course I can't bother Big Brother Murong with that."

  "Yan er is right."

  "Aiyoh!" As Nangong Yan was speaking, she suddenly tripped. Liu Zhiyuan immediately reacted and pulled her arm so that she wouldn't hit the ground, and inertia caused her to fall towards his chest. Unexpectedly, the moment Nangong Yan came back to her senses, she slapped Liu Zhiyuan. "Bastard! Who allowed you to hug me!? Just because I treat you well, you forgot your lowly status? Is this miss someone a servant like you can take advantage of!? Scram!"

  It was seriously infuriating!

  Of course, she already knew about Liu Zhiyuan’s filthy thoughts, but she had allowed him to stay by her side since his martial arts were good and he was loyal to her. However, unexpectedly he was becoming more and more audacious, and now he even dared to take advantage of her this way!

  Not even Senior Brother had touched her body before, yet this lowly servant had actually touched her!

  She glared at Liu Zhiyuan. If it weren't for the fact that she needed his protection to get back, instead of a slap she would have given him a stab!

  She was completely disgusted, yet she couldn't voice it, so she turned to look for the thing that tripped her earlier. When she got a clear look at what it was, she almost fainted from anger. It was actually her fan!

  She had been secretly delighted when Senior Brother took her fan. After so many years, Senior Brother was finally willing to accept something from her with his own hand. However, in the blink of an eye, it showed up here and tripped her. Why would it show up here!?

  Every time Nangong Yan encountered something related to Baili Yu, she would lose her ability to form any rational thought and put all the blame on others. It was also the same this time. After a brief moment of thought, her heart immediately filled with hatred and she concluded it had definitely been Tang Doudou's doing!

  She was definitely the one that told Senior Brother to throw away this fan. That lowly woman! She was definitely jealous that Senior Brother had accepted her fan, so she secretly threw the fan away for her to step on, to trip on, to be made a fool of and to be taken advantage of by a servant!

  The more Nangong Yan thought about it, the more hatred she felt. She felt the urge to go and torment Tang Doudou to death right now.

  "Yan er, are you hurt anywhere?" asked Murong Yu, his eyes filled with concern.

  Nangong Yan tried moving her foot and a sharp pain immediately hit her, causing her little face to contort.

  Murong Yu was about to help support her when he saw the clear palm print on Liu Zhiyuan's face and jolted to a stop. He said softly, "It seems like you've sprained it. Yan er, wait here for a little while. I'll go call someone to bring a palanquin over."

  Nangong Yan's dark expression instantly became a lot better when she heard that he was going to call for a palanquin. She gave Murong Yu a soft smile as she said, "Then I'll have to trouble Big Brother Murong."

  "Look at how you're making this a big deal, it's no trouble to speak of. I'll head there right away, so just endure for a little while." After he finished speaking, he walked off.

  Nangong Yan hadn't expected for Murong Yu to be so considerate. Then she glanced at Liu Zhiyuan and felt her heart fill with disgust. "Why are you still here!?"

  "The Island Master gave orders that I must not leave Miss's side!" Liu Zhiyuan restrained the resentment in his eyes and replied in a flat tone.

  "So you'll go die if he tells you to go die!?" said Nangong Yan with a cold humph. "Hurry up and go check if Senior Brother has gotten to Blue Moon Lake yet! Don't you dare come back if the plan goes wrong!"

  Liu Zhiyuan suddenly looked up and stared at Nangong Yan coldly. The things contained in his gaze caused Nangong Yan's heart to skip with fear. Words subconsciously leaped out. "Y-you, what do you want?"

  "Understood!" Suddenly, Liu Zhiyuan gave a soft reply and disappeared.

  As for that beautiful umbrella that had her favorite scene of lotuses after rain, since no one was there to hold it, it fell to the ground. Nangong Yan was just about to bend over to grab it when a gust of wind swept the umbrella up into the sky and it flew away.

  __________

  Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Edited by Dray

  [Chiyomira's Corner]

  D: This girl needs more than one tight slap. WTF!? She KNEW she tripped. This omfg. I want to cuss so much!