The Mi Family members had wanted to keep Yan Zhen for lunch, but he politely turned them down, claiming a heavy workload of schoolwork. Madam Mi thus prepared a lavish lunchbox for the pair.
The two rode back to Mystic Academy in the carriage driven by the old steward, then headed together to Mentor Yu Xuan’s private office to report in.
Aside from Mentor Yu Xuan herself, the other women were all there in the office. They eyed the newcomers with faintly appraising stares, as if suspecting the pair had done something unseemly.
“We’re back!” Mi Xue’er called out cheerfully. “Has everyone eaten? Mom sent food over. If you haven’t, join us~”
Mentor Yu Xuan smiled gently. “We’ve all eaten already. You two go ahead. I could hear Yan Zhen’s stomach rumbling from here. Why didn’t you eat before coming over?”
Yan Zhen pressed a hand to his chest and declared with utmost seriousness, “Because I love studying.”
The women burst into delighted giggles at his earnest tone.
Mi Xue’er opened the lunchbox and arranged the dishes neatly on the table. She grinned at him. “Little Brother Yan Zhen was just being shy. Dad and Mom kept chattering away at him, so he couldn’t wait to make his escape.”
The women’s smiles vanished in an instant.
Unaware of the shift in mood, Yan Zhen took the chopsticks Mi Xue’er offered and dug in heartily.
Yan Meng’er ventured cautiously, “Sister Xue’er, your parents seem awfully pleased with Cousin Yan Zhen, don’t they?”
Mi Xue’er nodded vigorously, beaming. “Thrilled to bits! They even want to head to Martial Tang City right away to call on the old city lord and settle our wedding date!”
What?
The women’s expressions shifted subtly.
“Aren’t you two just pretending to be a couple?” Xiao Xinyan blurted out. “How can you—how can you possibly get engaged?”
Mi Xue’er lifted her lunchbox, holding her head high as proud as a little swan. “What do you know? This is a case of pretense turning into reality, right, Little Brother Yan Zhen?”
Eight pairs of eyes snapped onto Yan Zhen at once. Mentor Yu Xuan’s gaze was by far the sharpest.
“Cousin?”
“You’re not seriously getting engaged, are you? What about the Huangfu Family?”
Oblivious as ever, Yan Zhen mumbled around a mouthful of food, “Of course it’s fake. I turned them down properly—said I had no time for now, wanted to focus solely on cultivation, that sort of thing. Brushed them off just fine.”
At his words, the women breathed sighs of relief—all except Mi Xue’er, who giggled. “I’m dead serious, though, Little Brother Yan Zhen.”
Yan Zhen polished off a chunk of braised pork and looked up at his senior sister, whose tone had turned strangely solemn. “Serious about what?”
“Ahem. Then listen up.” Mi Xue’er gathered her courage, tamped down her shyness, and proclaimed loudly, “I, Mi Xue’er, have fallen for you, Little Brother Yan Zhen! So from today onward, I’m going to pursue you with everything I’ve got! Clear enough?”
“Ah?”
Yan Zhen froze. He forgot to swallow the braised pork in his mouth, his left hand cradling the lunchbox and his right clutching the chopsticks, staring mutely at Mi Xue’er.
He was sure he’d misheard. He glanced around at the others—only to find them just as stunned as he was.
Turning back to her, he asked in bewilderment, “Wh-why? Because of last night—”
“No such thing!”
Mi Xue’er cut him off at once, her confession spilling out from the heart. “I-I’ve liked you since laying eyes on you that first time. I thought it was just a passing fancy at first, but spending time together day by day made it grow stronger and stronger! The way you talk, that confident smile of yours, how you chow down with such gusto, your dazzling heroics on the arena stage—they all set my heart racing. I’m completely serious. I want to be your girlfriend. I want to marry you! I’ll win you over for sure, so get ready, Little Brother Yan Zhen!”
Her words hung in the air. The office fell utterly silent as everyone gaped at Mi Xue’er in shock.
They could all tell she harbored feelings for Yan Zhen, but none had imagined they ran this deep—that she’d cast aside maidenly restraint to declare her pursuit so openly…
Hold on. For Mi Xue’er to confess right in front of them like this—was she throwing down a gauntlet?
Aside from Yan Meng’er, Yan Ruyu, Xiao Xinyan, and Mentor Yu Xuan each felt a jolt of alarm. Had they been found out?
Yan Zhen himself was in utter disarray.
What kind of plot twist was this? Senior Sister Xue’er suddenly confessing love at first sight? That didn’t happen in any story he’d read.
He would have preferred to think she’d wet herself because of him last night, decided no one else would marry her, and was now latching onto him out of desperation to take responsibility.
But no—her words made it clear this wasn’t the case. She’d had designs on him from the very start.
“Xue’er, y-you’re not joking around, are you?”
Yan Ruyu recovered first, staring at her best friend in disbelief.
Mi Xue’er shook her head firmly. “I truly like Little Brother Yan Zhen, Ruyu. If you do too, then let’s compete fair and square!”
“I-I don’t—”
Yan Ruyu broke off mid-denial. Out of habit, she’d started to refute it, but in that moment, she found she didn’t want to back down. With a hint of resentment, she said, “Why him, of all people?”
“Hee hee. It’s all your fault, Ruyu. You kept badmouthing your cousin in front of me, got me so curious. Then when I finally saw him—handsome, bashful, utterly captivating. Just like that.”
“…”
Yan Ruyu groaned inwardly. Beware fire, thieves, and best friends—the ancients had it right!
Memories flooded her mind. It was from a pajama party after she and Mi Xue’er had become mentors at Holy Land Academy. Mi Xue’er had confessed then: cheering on her best friend while secretly harboring a crush on Yan Zhen herself—and nearly sleeping with him while pretending to be his boyfriend.
The recollections overlapped in a dizzying rush, leaving Yan Ruyu lightheaded.
So it had been real after all? Which meant Mentor Yu Xuan…
She stole a glance at the mentor, only to see furrowed brows and eyes fixed tensely on Yan Zhen.
No escaping that reaction!
Yan Ruyu felt as if she’d stumbled onto a monumental secret.
“Sister Xue’er, I’m not handing Cousin Yan Zhen over to you!” Yan Meng’er huffed, clutching Yan Zhen’s arm. “He belongs to me and Big Sis. Any other woman who wants in has to settle for being a concubine. Hmph!”
Yan Ruyu panicked and lunged to clap a hand over her cousin’s mouth.
But apart from Yan Zhen himself, everyone present knew of the girl’s crush on him. It stirred no real surprise.
Mi Xue’er was utterly unfazed.
In her previous life, they’d all been losers in love. Now, reborn, she’d chosen fair competition over sneaking ahead—and that was plenty sisterly already. Why should Yan Meng’er get to be the principal wife while she played second fiddle?
“What you say doesn’t count. It all depends on Yan Zhen.” Mi Xue’er looped her arm around his other side. “If he wants me as the principal wife, great. Concubine, that’s fine too.”
“Heh. Not even married yet, and you’re already bickering over who’s principal wife and who’s concubine. Have you no shame?”
Xiao Xinyan’s barb struck home, drawing furious glares from both girls at once.
“Xiao Xinyan, don’t think I haven’t noticed those looks you’ve been giving Little Brother Yan Zhen lately. You like him too, don’t you?”
“Hmph. Sneaking peeks at Cousin Yan Zhen every day—you thought we wouldn’t notice?”
Xiao Xinyan’s face flushed crimson. She stammered, too flustered to muster a reply.
Mentor Yu Xuan, who had been about to step in and smooth things over, swallowed her words. Surely nothing about what she and Yan Zhen had done had leaked out…?
