Chapter 83: He Is Different

Chapter 83: He Is Different

According to the original storyline, it was Xiao Jing and Liu Qingci who had jointly discovered this place.

They worked together to obtain the key evidence in this plot.

Though the plot diverged, and Liu Qingci was no longer entangled with Xiao Jing,

Little K had said that Xiao Jing had already arrived at Qingshan Town by this time.

Xiao Yan thought, given the typical way the protagonist's plot armor works, if he let the story run its course...

Xiao Jing would surely get there first!

Then Xiao Jing would use this to form greater leverage and control over Liu Qingci.

That absolutely cannot happen.

Alarm bells went off in Xiao Yan's head, and he decided to do something about it.

So he left the house early this morning.

Even Little K didn't know what he was up to; when asked, he wouldn't say.

Ridiculous.

The system was huffing and puffing away, trying to play matchmaker for the main couple, and he was going to run over and cut the red thread with a single snip.

If Little K found out, would he let him go?

Fortunately, he had read the original and knew where the item was hidden.

Plus, when Little K pulled up the map, he had already secretly memorized the layout of Qingshan Town.

Finding the item wasn't difficult.

When Xiao Yan rushed over and took the item, Little K was so furious he almost fainted.

Then, after thinking it over, he only took out the letters inside, replaced them with a few random old sheets of paper, put them back in the clay jar, and placed the jar back exactly in its original spot.

As Xiao Yan was heading back with the item, he happened to come across the assassination attempt on Liu Qingci on the road.

Now.

Xiao Jing seemed completely unable to accept the truth Xiao Yan had stated.

He jerked his head up, staring at Xiao Yan in disbelief, his voice cracking with agitation,

"Impossible! How do you know? ... Are you lying to me?!"

Xiao Yan let out a scornful laugh: "Believe it or not, it's up to you. Go check for yourself."

He couldn't be bothered to waste more words, and left with Liu Qingci, abandoning Xiao Jing, whose face was pale and green with shock and anger, standing there alone.

Qingshan Town was small, but the only decent inn was quite far away.

They boarded a carriage to head there, while Xiao Yan rode his Ferghana horse alongside the carriage.

Chen Huai'an was almost collapsed onto the soft cushion across from him, his face still somewhat pale, still shaken.

He first surreptitiously lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to glance at the dark-clad figure on horseback outside, then quickly lowered it, clutched his chest, and let out a long, heavy breath.

"Oh my heavens..." he whispered, glancing at the composed Liu Qingci, his voice still trembling with raw fear, "Brother Qingci, we really had a close call with death today!"

Liu Qingci's tone was gentle: "Are you hurt?"

Chen Huai'an shook his head: "I'm fine. Thanks to His Highness Prince Yu arriving in time."

Mentioning Prince Yu reminded him of Prince Rui again.

Today's whole scene truly gave him a fright.

"Brother Qingci..." Chen Huai'an hesitated then stammered, "His Highness Prince Rui... wasn't he your bosom friend before?"

But the atmosphere today didn't seem right, did it?

Chen Huai'an had witnessed the entire scene again, and it was so shocking that he was only now gradually coming back to his senses.

Thinking back now...

Oh heavens.

That resolute "I want you" from Prince Rui was enough to make one's skin crawl.

When Chen Huai'an heard it at the time, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, goosebumps breaking out all over.

Even now, recalling it made him shiver uncontrollably.

He quietly observed the expression of Liu Qingci across from him.

He saw the usual gentle curve at the corner of his lips faded, a faint trace of disgust flickering through his eyes, but it quickly vanished, leaving only a calm facade.

Liu Qingci was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly, his voice devoid of emotion: "Times change, and so do people's hearts. Some friendships are nothing but illusions."

He didn't elaborate, but Chen Huai'an already understood.

Today, Xiao Jing's blatant lust and threats, along with the despicable tactics using Madam Liu and Liu Qingci's young sister as leverage, bore no resemblance to a close friend's behavior.

Clearly, it was nothing but calculated scheming and control!

Having one's friend harbor such intentions toward him was truly disgusting.

"Uh... then what about His Highness Prince Yu?"

Chen Huai'an suddenly thought of it and blurted out without thinking.

Having unwittingly become a spectator, he had clearly seen how differently Liu Qingci treated the two princes.

And he realized that Brother Qingci didn't seem to be repulsed by Prince Yu at all?

"What about him?" Liu Qingci tilted his head slightly, looking at Chen Huai'an.

His clear amber eyes reflected the flickering lamplight, calm and unruffled.

But Chen Huai'an distinctly caught that, when Liu Qingci mentioned Prince Yu, the tight line of his lips relaxed just for a moment.

"Uh..." Chen Huai'an scratched his head, organizing his words, "I mean... your relationship with Prince Yu seems different from what they say."

Liu Qingci didn't respond, only his gaze grew distant, falling on the window outside the carriage.

In the twilight, Xiao Yan's tall and straight figure on horseback loomed faintly, his black robe whipping loudly in the wind.

Liu Qingci's heart stirred, and he quickly averted his gaze.

Their relationship...

After a long while, Liu Qingci spoke softly, his voice very low, as if answering Chen Huaian, and as if speaking to himself:

"He... is different."

Chen Huaian looked at his friend's calm profile, listening to these words that were ambiguous yet seemed to contain many unspoken thoughts, and understood.

At the same time, a complex, indescribable emotion welled up within him.

Brother Qingci, the path you’ve chosen hasn’t been easy at all.

Ahead there is Prince Rui, that wolf, and behind... uh, Prince Yu, whether he’s a tiger or something.

The carriage finally arrived at the inn.

In the private room on the second floor of Yuelai Inn, several exquisite local dishes of Qingzhou were placed on the table, steaming hot and fragrant.

As the group entered the private room, Xiao Yan pulled Liu Qingci over to sit next to him.

Chen Huaian glanced back and forth.

"Maybe... I'll go out and eat with Yun Feng and the others!"

Hearing Chen Huaian's words, Liu Qingci's face flushed slightly, and he instinctively shifted his body, putting some distance between himself and Xiao Yan: "Huai'an, you don't have to do that..."

Chen Huaian stood by the door, unsure whether to leave or stay, with a conflicted expression.

At that moment, Xiao Yan looked up and cast a faint glance over,

"Sit down."

These simple three words immediately killed Chen Huaian's idea of sneaking off, and he obediently moved back to his seat, barely perched on the edge of the chair, looking as stiff and awkward as possible.

The meal was unusually quiet.

Xiao Yan's manner was elegant, thoroughly adhering to the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping.

Liu Qingci ate slowly and unhurriedly, but didn't eat much.

Chen Huaian, on the other hand, ate without tasting, feeling like he was chewing wax, wishing he could bury his head in the bowl.

He quickly wolfed down some rice and grabbed a few bites of vegetables. When he finally decided he’d had enough, he immediately set down his chopsticks and bowl, wiped his mouth, stood up again, and made an excuse and slipped away.

Finally, only two people remained in the private room.

Xiao Yan had been keeping an eye on Liu Qingci and knew that he hadn't eaten much at all.

At this moment, Liu Qingci also maintained a proper sitting posture, with his eyelids slightly lowered and his fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the teacup, clearly not focused on the cup in front of him.

Xiao Yan put down his utensils, tilted his head and leaned in close to Liu Qingci's face, and looked directly into his lowered eyes, asking,

"In a bad mood? What are you thinking about?"