"I said I like you."
The mont those words left An Nuan’s mouth, the entire room fell into complete silence.
Fu Tong simply stood there staring at her, unable to react. For several long monts, he honestly thought he had heard her wrong, and his mind went completely blank.
After what felt like forever, he finally found his voice.
"What... what did you just say?"
An Nuan looked directly at him without the slightest intention of backing down. Although her cheeks had already turned bright red from embarrassnt, she gathered her courage and repeated herself.
"I said I like you."
Fu Tong suddenly stood up so quickly that the chair behind him nearly toppled over.
The surprise on his face had completely disappeared, replaced instead by genuine panic.
"You... you can’t say things like that."
An Nuan blinked in confusion.
"Why not?"
Fu Tong imdiately looked away from her.
"Because... you just can’t."
She slowly stood up as well, her eyes never leaving him.
"That’s not an answer."
Fu Tong rubbed his forehead as though trying to calm the chaos inside his mind.
"An Nuan... don’t joke around."
The small smile on her face slowly faded.
"I’m not joking."
The seriousness in her voice made Fu Tong’s heart skip a beat.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say sothing, but not a single word ca out.
An Nuan quietly took a small step toward him.
"I’ve liked you for a long ti."
Almost unconsciously, Fu Tong took a step backward until his back was nearly against the wall.
"You... you don’t understand."
An Nuan frowned slightly.
"Then explain it to ."
Fu Tong slowly clenched his fists.
How was he supposed to explain it?
How could he possibly tell her that his marriage had already been arranged, that everyone in both families had accepted it, and that Zhao Yin was already his fiancée?
Just thinking about it made his chest feel painfully tight.
After struggling with himself for several monts, he finally forced the words out.
"...I’m engaged."
An Nuan quietly looked at him.
"I know."
Fu Tong stared at her in disbelief.
"Good! You know."
She gently nodded.
"I know you and Zhao Yin are engaged."
His confusion only deepened.
"Then why?"
The question escaped his mouth before he could stop it.
"Why would you tell this now?"
An Nuan lowered her head for a brief mont.
When she finally spoke again, her voice had beco much softer.
"Because if I didn’t say it now... I don’t think I would ever have another chance."
The room beca quiet once more.
Fu Tong felt as though sothing heavy was pressing down on his heart.
An Nuan slowly lifted her head and looked at him again.
"I wasn’t asking you to leave her."
"I wasn’t asking you to choose ."
A faint smile slowly appeared on her face, but there was a trace of loneliness hidden within it.
"I just wanted you to know."
Fu Tong remained silent.
His thoughts were completely tangled, and he could not sort through them no matter how hard he tried.
An Nuan suddenly let out a soft laugh, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere between them.
"You don’t have to look like the sky is falling."
"It isn’t that serious."
Fu Tong looked at her, his lips moving slightly.
"But..."
Before he could continue, she gently shook her head.
"No."
She slowly took one step backward.
"You don’t have to say anything."
Then she took another step.
"I already knew what your answer would be."
Almost instinctively, Fu Tong reached his hand out toward her.
"An Nuan..."
She looked at him one last ti.
Then she smiled.
It was a bright and familiar smile, exactly the sa smile she had always worn.
"I just wanted to be honest once."
At that very mont, voices drifted over from the courtyard outside.
"An Nuan!"
It was An Yu.
"Co on.. we have to get going now"
An Nuan quickly blinked away the strange look that had appeared in her eyes before turning back to Fu Tong.
"You should pretend this conversation never happened."
Before he could answer, she had already turned and walked toward the door.
Her hand rested lightly against the doorfra for a brief mont.
Without looking back, she quietly said,
"...Take good care of Zhao Yin."
Then she stepped outside.
The door slowly closed behind her.
Fu Tong remained standing exactly where he was, staring at the closed door for a very long ti.
His heart felt strangely heavy.
And for reasons that he himself could not understand, the last words she had spoken before leaving continued to echo over and over inside his mind.
"I just wanted to be honest once."
...
An Yu, An Li, and little An Nuan left together not long after that.
The small courtyard slowly beca quiet again.
Only Fu Sheng and I were left standing there.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
The morning sun had already climbed higher, but it felt as though an entire day had passed.
I looked at the closed gate for a mont before letting out a small sigh.
"A lot has happened this morning."
Beside , Fu Sheng gave a small nod.
"Yes."
That was all he said.
But sohow, that single word carried the sa tiredness I was feeling.
I lowered my eyes and looked at the tea in my hands.
Everything had changed so quickly.
The plans we had carefully prepared, the dangers waiting ahead, the people we wanted to protect...
None of it looked easy anymore.
After a long silence, I finally turned to look at him.
"Do you think..."
My voice beca quieter.
"Do you think we can really succeed?"
Fu Sheng did not answer imdiately.
He simply looked at .
The wind moved gently through the courtyard, carrying the scent of flowers from sowhere outside the walls.
For a mont, his silence made my heart grow uneasy.
Maybe he was not confident either.
Maybe he was just as afraid as I was.
I lowered my head slightly and forced out a small smile.
"If we fail, then—"
Before I could finish speaking, a warm hand suddenly reached over and held mine.
I froze.
I slowly looked up.
Fu Sheng was still looking at , his expression calm, but his grip around my hand was steady.
He did not let go.
"You’ve already thought about the worst outco," he said softly.
"Then let think about the best one."
I stared at him without saying a word.
He squeezed my hand lightly.
"We’ve co this far together."
"We will keep walking together."
"There will be danger."
"There will be things we cannot control."
"But as long as you are beside , I won’t give up."
The words I wanted to say suddenly disappeared.
It was as if he had stolen every one of them before I could even speak.
My fingers slowly tightened around his hand.
The fear that had been sitting inside my chest since morning quietly faded away.
I smiled before I could stop myself.
"...You really know how to make people stop worrying."
A faint smile finally appeared on Fu Sheng’s face.
"No."
His eyes stayed on mine.
"I only know how to tell the truth."
For a few monts, neither of us moved.
My hand was still in his, and sohow, I did not want to pull away.
The courtyard was quiet.
The morning breeze brushed past us softly, carrying the fresh sll of earth after the early watering.
Fu Sheng looked at for a long second.
Then he slowly reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
My face instantly beca warm.
"What are you doing?" I asked quietly.
He did not answer.
Instead, he lowered his head slightly.
Before I could react, a soft kiss landed on my forehead.
I froze.
My mind went completely blank.
When I finally looked up at him again, he was smiling faintly.
"You looked too worried."
I could not help but glare at him.
"You scared ."
"But you’re not worried anymore."
I opened my mouth to argue, but no words ca out.
In the end, I could only look away.
"...You’re becoming shaless."
A low laugh escaped him.
Then he gently pulled into his arms.
I could hear the steady beat of his heart, and sohow all the uneasiness I had been carrying since morning slowly disappeared.
We stayed like that quietly for a little while.
Finally, Fu Sheng let go and looked toward the gate.
"I should head back to the farm."
I blinked.
"The farm?"
He nodded.
"The Zhao brothers should have started planting."
A helpless smile appeared on his face.
"I should at least go and see whether they actually worked or spent the whole morning talking."
I laughed softly.
"That sounds more likely."
Fu Sheng chuckled.
"If those two are being lazy, I’ll make them work until sunset."
I nodded.
"Then go."
He gave my hand one last squeeze before turning around and walking toward the gate.
I stood there quietly, watching his back disappear into the distance.
Only after he was completely gone did I turn around and head back inside the house.
But the mont I stepped through the doorway, I stopped.
A young girl was standing there waiting for .
It was Zhao Yin.
The mont she saw , she hurried over.
Her eyes were red, and she looked so anxious that it seed she had been waiting for a long ti.
"Sister Su!"
She grabbed my sleeve tightly.
I frowned imdiately.
"Zhao Yin? What happened?"
Her lips trembled.
Then she looked at with pleading eyes.
"Sister Su..."
"My sister really needs your help."
My expression slowly beca serious.
"What happened to Zhao Yue?"
Zhao Yin lowered her head, and when she spoke again, her voice was already carrying a sob.
"My sister... she heard sothing very heartbreaking."
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