As You Wish

In the end, the silver was finally retrieved, though Qingyi's expression was far from pleasant. He complained about having wandered in circles inside the General’s Manor, meeting the old madam, then going to the accounting room, bowing and scraping the entire time, never daring to stand up straight. It had truly exhausted him—his back ached, his legs hurt.

Still, the thought of bringing back the money made him smile with satisfaction. Seeing how hard Qingyi had worked, I allowed him a proper rest and left the matters of the shop to others.

As he left, he muttered regretfully about not getting to see the tall and imposing General Yun—what a pity.

Yun Heng, was it? He hadn’t returned yet, so how could Qingyi have seen him? And besides, he was nothing like “tall and imposing”—he was gentle and refined.

Someone once said, the more you wish to avoid someone, the more likely you are to run into them. How profoundly true that is.

Li Yexuan actually came to the shop. What was he doing here, when he hadn’t shown up on opening day? I didn’t think too much about it, simply went up to greet him. I was about to address him as “Your Highness” when he stopped me.

“Brother Mu, your business seems to be thriving. I happened to be passing by, so I thought I’d come take a look.”

“Brother Li, you’re too kind,” I replied, inviting him inside. He probably wanted to look around the shop. As we walked, we ended up in the back courtyard. Anyone who saw me respectfully addressed me as “Young Master,” and those with sharp eyes, noticing Li Yexuan’s distinguished dress, greeted him as “Young Master” as well.

Li Yexuan remarked, “Your people here are quite good.”

“Your Highness flatters us,” I replied.

“This courtyard is also quite nice.”

“Your Highness flatters us again.”

Suddenly, Li Yexuan pressed me against a tree in the courtyard. Only then did I realize what he was doing—was he trying to take liberties? He leaned so close, almost pressing his whole body against mine. I dared not move, for even the slightest shift would bring us into contact.

“Your Highness, what are you doing?”

“Call me Li Yexuan.”

“Ah… Oh… Li Yexuan.”

His hands seemed to relax, and I breathed a sigh of relief, only to find myself trapped again the next moment.

“Mu Fan, when did you become like this?”

“Li Yexuan, why don’t you tell me exactly how I’ve changed?” I demanded, frustrated by being cornered here and asked such inexplicable questions—what on earth was going on?

A surge of anger rose within me, and I pushed him away.

“You used to be so innocent, rarely called me ‘Your Highness’—it was always ‘Li Yexuan’ this, ‘Li Yexuan’ that,” his voice sounded from behind me.

“Didn’t you say I was too naïve? And it’s true—my excessive innocence made even survival a serious problem for me.”

Whenever I thought of everything that happened in the General’s Manor, I felt miserable. Without Yun Heng, I couldn’t go on. But thinking it over, Li Yexuan probably knew nothing of this, so he couldn’t have meant that. Clearly, I was overthinking things.

“We’re both owners here, I simply didn’t want you to be so formal. What’s gotten into you?”

“Ah!” Only then did I realize I’d lost my composure, rubbing my face, which was already flushed.

He pulled me over again, pinning me against the same tree. I silently vowed to have Jin Hu chop it down later. But even if the tree was gone, there would still be walls to pin me against. The fact that I was even thinking about this made me admire myself—it was impossible to tell whether I was utterly calm or calm to a fault.

Li Yexuan’s head lowered—did he intend to…? I was too stunned to react. Never had I encountered such a situation; I was completely at a loss.

Closer and closer—his lips were about to touch mine…

Bang! A sudden, ill-timed noise drew both our gazes. Qinglan had knocked over something and, after a brief pause, hurried away.

Realizing the absurdity of the situation, I pushed Li Yexuan away, brushing the dust from my clothes. To outsiders, we were both men—no wonder Qinglan had been so frightened.

“Li Yexuan, you’d best go,” I said quickly, leaving in haste myself. I didn’t dare look at him again, but I did, as he wished, refrain from calling him “Your Highness.” Many years later, someone told me that was Li Yexuan showing that he cared for me, and only then did I understand—he had been concerned about me from so long ago.

For a long time afterward, Qinglan looked at me with a strange expression, which gave me a headache. I decided not to explain—sometimes, the more you say, the less clear things become.