--- "You have me, and I have a home."
This was not a question, but a statement.
There was only one different word between "you have" and "I have", but the emotions behind them were completely different.
Even Ye Anping couldn't help but hold his breath when he heard these words.
Coming here, he had anticipated that Li Longling would most likely confess to him after he cured her.
But, he did not expect this short sentence to move his heart.
"..."
Ye Anping looked at Li Longling's face and suddenly felt a little hesitant. She was very similar to the girl, Xiyue, in the game -- gentle, independent, strong, quiet, reserved, considerate...
There was no doubt that she would be an extremely virtuous wife, a woman who would always stand behind her husband and support him.
Ye Anping closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then looked at her with a calm expression and answered flatly. "Not possible."
After these two words, he didn't speak again.
Li Longling originally thought that Ye Anping would explain to her why, but after his silence, she could roughly guess what was in his mind.
After a while, she asked with a wry smile, "Is she...very good?"
"Yes, very good."
"Ah, in that case..." Li Longling was a little disappointed, but she quickly recovered. "I wonder what kind of blessings that girl has achieved in her previous life?"
"Her name is Xiyue."
With that, Ye Anping stood up from the couch and said, "The medical expenses amount to a total of one hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones. Remember to settle the bill and have someone deliver it to the Jiang Mansion in Duchun City ."
"One hundred and fifty thousand?"
"You also owe me a favor." Ye Anping walked to the door, paused, and turned to look at her. "I may need your help in the future. Is it too much?"
"One hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones plus one favor..."
Li Longling lowered her eyes and pondered for a while. Then, she stood up from the couch, feeling a little uncomfortable at first but gradually steadied herself after taking a few steps.
She walked to Ye Anping and grabbed his shoulders. Standing on tiptoe, she closed her eyes and lightly kissed his cheek.
Mwah~
"Thanks."
Ye Anping glanced at Li Longling's lips, and seeing that she had rouge on them, he quickly rubbed his face to erase the lip marks. "You're welcome."
Creak--
The door to the side room opened.
The scorching sun at noon shone into his eyes, causing him to shield them with his hand and blink a few times to recover.
Ye Anping looked toward the entrance and saw Xiao Yunluo and Pei Lianxue sitting closely together on the steps, seemingly engrossed in reading a book, completely unaware that he had come out.
A little puzzled, he quietly approached behind them, squatting down and looking over their heads at the book they were reading. He heard Xiao Yunluo saying, "Lianxue, although I have already said it several times, I still want to reinforce it. These things are very dangerous. Not only might they cost lives, but they will also affect the health of the body, especially your brother's."
Pei Lianxue nodded earnestly. "Oh..."
"Don't let your curiosity lead you to try those moves from this book with your brother. And if he brings it up himself, you must refuse."
Frowning slightly, Ye Anping glanced at the back of Xiao Yunluo's head, feeling a bit depressed, and suddenly exhaled. "Hoo..."
The warm air blew on Xiao Yunluo's ear, causing her to freeze on the spot. Slowly, she turned her head and looked back. When she saw Ye Anping standing behind her, she was so frightened that she threw the book away.
"Ahhh--!!!"
Pei Lianxue remained calm, raised an eyebrow, and called out. "Brother, are you done?"
"Yes, it's done."
Ye Anping stopped talking and glanced at Xiao Yunluo again.
Seeing his gaze, Xiao Yunluo's cheeks immediately turned red, and she also felt a sense of fear in her heart. But she didn't lie in what she said to Lianxue...
"Ye... Ye, Ye Anping, have you finished?"
"Sigh--" Ye Anping exhaled lightly and turned his head to look at his sister with a smile. He said, "Sister, do you remember what Miss Xiao said?"
Pei Lianxue paused, her cheeks suddenly turned red, and she nodded.
"Yeah... I remember."
"Good. Make sure you remember. I am not very good at teaching you these things, so I had to ask Miss Xiao for help."
Ye Anping sighed, then cupped his hands to Xiao Yunluo in salute. "Thank you, Sister Xiao. We can't stay anymore, so we're leaving now."
"..."
?
Xiao Yunluo didn't react for a long time, only watching Ye Anping hold Pei Lianxue's little hand and walk out of the Crescent Gate. It was only when Li Longling walked up to her and spoke, startling her, that she finally returned to her senses.
"Sister Xiao..."
"Ah?"
Xiao Yunluo turned to look at Li Longling and saw the golden glow in her eyes and the fiery red baby phoenix on her shoulder. She stared for a while and asked, "Sister Li, can you see now?"
"Well... it's thanks to Young Master Ye." Li Longling smiled and then chuckled, asking, "Sister Xiao, are you hiding something from me? And to think that I trusted you so much."
"Ah... ah? What?"
"That time when we were bathing together in the spiritual spring in the back of the mountain..." Li Longling pouted in dissatisfaction and said, "You said you've trained your body, so you're quite a bit more fit than an ordinary woman, but..."
"..."
Xiao Yunluo paused, took a deep breath, and asked, "Did Ye Anping tell you?"
"...Sure enough." Li Longling raised an eyebrow and shook her head with a sigh. "I was leaning on Master Ye's shoulder, indeed. You acted along with him to fool me."
Realizing that she had been tricked into exposing herself, Xiao Yunluo opened her mouth slightly, and after a while, she replied with downcast eyes. "I'm sorry. Actually, when you entered the pool, he was already in there."
"So, Master Ye intentionally didn't make a sound to alert me as he watched me take off my clothes and walk into the pool?"
"Yes."
"Master Ye turns out to be so bad." Li Longling shrugged slightly, relaxed her frown, and said, "Forget it. Sister Xiao, do you want to go for a stroll?"
As she spoke, she reached out and scratched the chin of the young phoenix on her shoulder, causing it to lift its head.
"Chirp--"
Through its eyes, she looked up at the sky.
White clouds and blue sky, she could see it all.
The golden sun was dazzling.
She marveled in her heart that the sun was so dazzling and bright.
"Miss?! You came out..."
Ling'er's voice came from behind, and Li Longling turned to face her. She was a little surprised when she saw the wrinkles at the corners of Ling'er's eyes and the freckles scattered across her face.
It was the first time she saw the maid who had been serving her for more than ten years.
"Ling'er, I didn't know you had freckles on your face."
"Huh?"
Ling'er stopped when she heard this sentence, her eyes widened, and in the next moment, she burst into tears uncontrollably.
"Miss!!! Miss!!"
She opened her arms and, forgetting the master-servant etiquette she had followed for over ten years, threw herself at Li Longling and hugged her.
"Miss, you can see now!! That's great!!"
"...Uhm."
Xiao Yunluo watched from the side and suddenly felt relieved. She took two steps back to give them space and not disturb them.