After Mu Nanzhi said those words, her heartbeat suddenly sped up, and while there was some nervousness and shyness mixed in, most of it came from the strange emotion that surged up when she met the gaze of the man in front of her.
She could not quite describe what she was feeling, and if she had to force an explanation, perhaps this was the mysterious reaction people called love. She had never experienced it before and could not be sure whether this truly counted, yet as she looked into his eyes, everything around them seemed to freeze, leaving only the two of them standing there with their gazes tightly intertwined.
No one knew how long it lasted before they suddenly smiled at the same time, as if something unspoken had already been confirmed between them. This must be what people meant by recognizing someone with just a look,
Wang Haoran thought to himself before he took the initiative to break the gentle silence. “Are you free tonight?”
“Huh?” Mu Nanzhi’s face, already tinged with red, showed a trace of panic. Was this not moving a little too fast.
Before she could sort out her thoughts, Wang Haoran added with a faint smile, “Dinner.”
Only then did Mu Nanzhi let out a quiet breath of relief, shooting him a mildly annoyed look. He had clearly done that on purpose just to tease her. She pouted slightly, wanting to throw out a simple no to get back at him, yet for some reason, the words would not come out.
It was as if her voice failed her at that moment, and she could not bring herself to say no at all.
“Alright,” she said instead.
“Then I’ll see you tonight,” Wang Haoran said with a charming smile.
Mu Nanzhi lifted her hand and waved, watching as Wang Haoran drove away. Even after his car completely disappeared from her sight, she stayed there for a while longer before finally pulling her gaze back.
A faint trace of melancholy surfaced in her eyes, yet the moment she thought about their dinner later in the evening, that sadness was quickly replaced by excitement.
She held the oil paper umbrella in her arms as if it were some priceless treasure and turned toward the hotel, her steps noticeably lighter than before.
Back in her hotel room, Mu Nanzhi sat there holding the umbrella, her thoughts wandering all over the place. She had no idea how much time passed before the doorbell suddenly rang, snapping her back to reality.
She got up and opened the door, only for Bian Suwen to walk in gracefully.
The moment she noticed Mu Nanzhi’s strange behavior, she frowned and asked in confusion, “Why are you holding an umbrella?”
Mu Nanzhi froze and only then realized that she had not put the oil paper umbrella down when she went to open the door. Feeling awkward, she quickly placed it on the coffee table, doing so with great care, as if she were afraid it might get damaged.
The more Bian Suwen looked at her, the stranger it felt, and as she glanced at the umbrella and recalled Mu Nanzhi’s outfit back at the Mu King Pavilion, a sudden thought popped into her head.
“My dear sister,” she said half jokingly, clearly slipping into the role of Xiao Qing, “you didn’t run into Xu Xian, did you?”
She left the pavilion in a hurry earlier and had not changed out of her green outfit, so she was still dressed the same way, making her teasing tone even more fitting.
“Are you a fortune teller now?” Mu Nanzhi asked oddly.
“Wait, you really did?” Bian Suwen blurted out in shock before immediately lighting up with excitement. She rushed over, grabbed Mu Nanzhi’s hand, and urged eagerly, her curiosity burning bright. “Hurry up and tell me what happened.”
“Nothing much,” Mu Nanzhi said, though her face showed a level of shyness Bian Suwen had never seen before. “We just exchanged contact information, and he invited me to dinner tonight.”
Bian Suwen was both surprised and happy for her. “And you still say that’s nothing. He asked you out to dinner, and at night too, that’s definitely promising.” As she spoke, her smile faded a little, and she frowned. “But why dinner at night. His intentions aren’t impure, right?”
“My clothes got wet earlier, and it would have been awkward, but he never even glanced at me once,” Mu Nanzhi argued immediately. “How can he be that kind of person.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized something felt off.
Bian Suwen clicked her tongue in amazement, looking at Mu Nanzhi like she was seeing some rare creature, and laughed. “You’ve really fallen for him.”
Mu Nanzhi felt embarrassed but did not argue back. Instead, she let out a soft sigh. “What you said before was really right.”
“Which part?” Bian Suwen asked, confused.
“That love is poisonous,” Mu Nanzhi said slowly as she looked at her.
Bian Suwen was momentarily stunned, but she understood the feeling all too well and did not laugh at her. Instead, she sincerely said, “Congratulations.”
“It’s too early to say that,” Mu Nanzhi sighed again, her heart filled with a sense of uncertainty and fear of loss.
Bian Suwen saw it clearly and more or less guessed what her good friend was worrying about. “
“That wasn’t your fault,” she said gently. “Why punish yourself for someone else’s mistake.”
“I know that logically,” Mu Nanzhi replied with tightly furrowed brows, “but I’m still incomplete.”
“If he truly likes you, he won’t care about that at all,” Bian Suwen said firmly. “And if he does care, then it only proves he’s not worth your feelings. If he’s not a good man, what’s the point of liking him. In the end, you’d only be hurting yourself.”
“But,” Mu Nanzhi started, then stopped.
“You’re afraid he’ll care, but you also can’t let go, right?” Bian Suwen said, suddenly realizing something felt wrong.
They only met today, yet Mu Nanzhi already cared to this extent. She could not help wondering what kind of man Mu Nanzhi had fallen for to become so deeply affected in such a short time.
“Yes,” Mu Nanzhi nodded.
Bian Suwen frowned. She wanted to tell Mu Nanzhi that if the other party really minded that matter, then she should not bother with him at all. Yet seeing how torn Mu Nanzhi looked, she worried that if this ended badly, Mu Nanzhi might regret it for the rest of her life.
After thinking it over, she said instead, “Then just hide it from him. When you two really reach that point, I can help you keep it hidden.”
“Don’t forget, I’m a doctor.”
“I don’t want to lie to him,” Mu Nanzhi shook her head and refused.
This is bad, Bian Suwen thought, feeling a headache coming on. Her friend had fallen far too deeply. Rubbing her temples, she suggested, “Then you can test him first. See if he cares about it or not. If he doesn’t, then you can be honest later. If he does, then you can decide what to do next. How does that sound?”
Mu Nanzhi’s eyes immediately brightened.
Bian Suwen noticed the change and continued, “If you think that works, then don’t wait too long. It would be best to test him tonight, when you go to dinner.”
“No, I’ll just go with you,” she added suddenly. “I’m really curious whether you met Xu Xian, or if you ran into Pan An instead.”
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