Chapter 157 Grown So Handsome

Liu Qingci hurried out of the front hall, crossing the winding corridor where light and shadow danced.

From afar, he spotted the tall figure.

Xiao Yan was walking slowly, even a bit sluggishly, and stopped by the screen wall near the inner gate. Fu'an and the imperial physician followed far behind, heads bowed, eyes downcast, keeping a tactful distance.

Liu Qingci felt a slight tug at his heart. His steps quickened as his robes brushed against the bluestone slabs with a soft rustle.

Xiao Yan seemed to sense something, suddenly turning around.

The moonlight and the lantern light from the corridor mingled, falling on his deep-set eyes and brows.

When he saw who it was, astonishment and undisguised joy flickered in his eyes: "You... why are you out here?"

Liu Qingci stopped in front of him.

"I came to see you off," he said.

Xiao Yan looked at him like that, and the feeling that had been weighing on his heart all night welled up again.

He took half a step forward, leaving only half an arm's length between them, so close he could smell the faint fragrance coming from Liu Qingci, so close he could see the tiny, luminous down on his lashes under the moonlight.

Xiao Yan's eyes smiled, but he replied, "I can't bear to part with you either."

Liu Qingci: "..."

When Liu Qingci returned from outside the mansion gate and re-entered the front hall, both his parents were indeed no longer there.

He let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief, feeling a little grateful.

Just now, the way he eagerly rushed out to see him off—now that he thought back on it, his face burned.

Good thing his parents hadn't waited for him; otherwise, he wouldn't know how to meet their eyes.

Liu Qingci thought to himself, planning to slip away quietly from the front hall back to his own room.

He hadn't taken two steps when he was startled by a shadow that suddenly jumped out from the side.

"Ha? Brother, are you feeling guilty? Such a big reaction!"

Liu Qinghe had been hiding who knows where, appearing without a sound, as if she had been waiting specifically for him.

"Qinghe, what are you doing here alone?" Liu Qingci put on a stern face on purpose.

Liu Qinghe wasn't fooled by her brother's stern act. She clasped her hands behind her back, slowly circled half around Liu Qingci, her bright, lively eyes scrutinizing him up and down.

But Liu Qingci's expression was perfectly composed, and Liu Qinghe couldn't see anything amiss, feeling a bit disappointed.

She had to be honest: "I'm waiting for you here, to see how long it would take you to return."

Liu Qingci gave her a casual glance.

Liu Qinghe, not backing down, pressed him further: "Brother, you and Prince Yu... are you in that kind of relationship?"

She seemed a little embarrassed to say it outright, so she just held up two fingers and gently tapped them together, then blinked at Liu Qingci expectantly.

Liu Qingci stayed calm on the surface, but inside he was reeling.

He remembered Liu Qinghe from before the plot reset—she was the same, as if she saw through everything.

But in this timeline, Liu Qinghe had only seen Xiao Yan for the first time today, hadn't she?

She figured it out that quickly?!

Liu Qingci recalled that his sister had mentioned before that she read it in some storybook.

What kind of storybooks had this girl read at such a young age to develop such sharp eyes?!

"Brother, is it or isn't it?" Liu Qinghe's eyes sparkled, pressing him insistently. "There's no point denying it—I can see it clearly!"

"What kind of relationship are you talking about? And how did you figure it out?" Liu Qingci couldn't help being curious, but he kept his composure.

Liu Qinghe "hmphed," as if mocking him for trying to save face.

"It's simple. From the way he looked at you, from how Father and Mother treated him, and from that subtle atmosphere between you two..." Liu Qinghe counted on her fingers, speaking with authority, then tsk-tsked twice. "The way he looks at you—so clingy, like he wants to devour you with his eyes from head to toe. I may be young, but my eyes aren't blind."

"And as for our parents, if I'm not mistaken, they already know too, right? And here you are, hiding it from me alone!"

Liu Qinghe finished, then lifted her chin proudly and announced:

"Didn't expect that! I figured it out all by myself!"

Liu Qingci didn't know how to describe his feelings.

Why did he have to go through this twice—having his romantic relationship exposed by his younger sister, who was six years younger and not even of age yet?

But in the end, he chose to give in: "Mm, Qinghe... you're very smart."

"You don't need to brush me off with that tone you use for kids." Liu Qinghe waved her hand at him like a miniature adult.

"Brother, I didn't wait here today just to tease you." Her gaze was firm. "I'm here to support you!"

"Hm?" Liu Qingci had a feeling.

Sure enough, the next moment he heard his sister declare with conviction: "So what if you like guys? Brother, don't worry—our parents have always been open-minded. Besides, our Liu family still has me! I like guys too, hehe. I can carry on the family name for us!"

Hearing this all-too-familiar line, Liu Qingci looked dazed.

His mind went back to that moonlit night that no one else remembered—another night like this, when Qinghe had said the same thing to him.

Then he smiled, somewhat relieved.

The effects of the plot reset had turned the world upside down, but after the change, many things still seemed to be moving along the same path.

—

Xiao Yan found an opportunity to meet Zhao Chongwu.

They arranged to meet at a tavern in the capital. Clearly, the old Prince Yu had been a regular here, so when Xiao Yan reappeared after many months, having come back from the dead, the tavern staff's expressions were quite complicated.

Xiao Yan had long grown accustomed to such looks. After all, his identity was now officially recognized, so he didn't need to care.

"It really is His Highness Prince Yu..."

"He doesn't look like a ghost, does he? How did those rumors start?"

"Yeah, I think the old Prince Yu looked more like a ghost!"

"Maybe because his body was drained before? That's why he looks..."

"Could it be that he's absorbing Yang energy now? He's become so handsome..."

"Do you actually dare to say that? Do you think the current Prince Yu has changed his nature?" Someone in the crowd muttered under his breath.

Those murmurs completely stopped.

Xiao Yan, who had good hearing and had decided to 'change his nature,' pretended not to hear and went straight upstairs.

Zhao Chongwu was already waiting inside the private room. He wore a worn robe, weathered by hardships, like a spear that had been put away but not yet rusted.

"Uncle," Xiao Yan said indifferently upon seeing him.