8 It's okay.
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Yet Su Qingyi remained exceptionally calm. Her mind was devoid of any romantic notions; instead, she was filled with thoughts of how painful it must have been when the candelabrum fell, yet he still spoke to her so nonchalantly, insisting he was fine.
“If it hurts, just tell me,” she murmured softly, gently applying ointment to the bruises on his back.
He remained silent.
The only sound in the room was the soft rustle of her fingertips against his skin.
Su Qingyi paid no mind. After finishing with his shoulder and back, she straightened up and noticed the string of Buddhist prayer beads that had slipped from his fingers.
She paused briefly.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she withdrew her knees from beside his legs, sprayed medicine generously into her palm, and applied it directly to his arm.
The air was filled with the sharp, soothing scent of mint.
By the time she went to wash her hands in the bathroom, he had already dressed, his tall, slender frame exuding an undeniable nobility and dignity that even the humble room could not conceal.
Only the avoidance in his eyes was too palpable.
It stirred in Su Qingyi an indescribable sense of guilt.
Sensing this, she wisely refrained from saying anything that might provoke him and instead walked to the door to retrieve the room card. “Shall we go?”
He looked at her quietly, the lingering scent of mint between them, as if silently asking, “If you’re not leaving, what do you intend to do?”
Her heart fluttered uneasily under his gaze. She instinctively raised three fingers in a solemn vow, “I truly only helped you with the medicine. I didn’t see anything else.”
The one hundred and eight beads of his Buddhist prayer necklace were back in his hand.
Without a word, he opened the door. The emotions in his eyes had vanished completely. “It’s fine.”
Su Qingyi was momentarily stunned.
After a moment, she understood what he meant—it didn’t matter if she had seen, because he had nothing to hide. There was no need to fear the Bodhisattva’s gaze.
Her eyelids drooped slightly as she caught up to him. “Really, it’s fine?”
His cool, serene eyes swept lightly across her face. “Yes.”
“Then see you tomorrow,” she said, the cautious guilt that had weighed her down dissolving entirely as she turned her back and walked ahead with a noticeably lighter step.
Lu Jingchen couldn’t help but stop in his tracks.
She seemed not to hear him as she bounced down the stairs holding the small plastic bag with the ointment. When he reached the lobby, she was checking out at the front desk. The middle-aged woman behind the counter glanced at the clock on the wall and remarked, “Isn’t this a bit too quick, miss?”
Su Qingyi hadn’t considered this and casually looked at Lu Jingchen beside her. Her ears flushed red. “Sister, what are you thinking?”
She shook the plastic bag in her hand. “Don’t you have any serious business when you come here?”
The woman gave her a look but said nothing.
To be honest, no, not really.
Yet…
The two of them didn’t appear to be the type of people seeking mere fleeting pleasures.
Especially the man.
His brows were cool and compassionate, devoid of any worldly desire.
The faint scent of mint on him matched the pain-relieving ointment in her bag, so she was temporarily convinced by Su Qingyi’s words and took back the room card. “True enough.”
Su Qingyi nodded in satisfaction.
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However, Lu Jingchen paid no attention to their conversation and walked straight ahead. Near the entrance, a middle-aged man with a beard hurried in. Upon seeing Lu Jingchen, he froze momentarily, clutching his still-dripping umbrella, and stared at him in surprise. “Boss Jiang?”
Lu Jingchen glanced at him indifferently and nodded slightly before continuing forward.
“What’s this about…” The middle-aged man looked between him and Su Qingyi behind him, utterly baffled. Neither of them showed any intention to explain.
Su Qingyi grabbed an umbrella left in the lobby and caught up to him.
“Jiang Jingye.”
He stood under the dripping eaves and looked at her.
Su Qingyi handed him the metal handle of the umbrella. “Here.”
“No need.” His cold, distant gaze was filled with aloofness, unwilling to be linked with her over an umbrella. After taking the handle, he tried to return the umbrella, tilting it back toward her.
Su Qingyi quietly watched the rain slanting across his shirt beneath the eaves.
“Jiang Jingye, don’t be like this.”
A rare seriousness appeared in her expression. His look toward her also grew earnest, ready to speak, but she frowned and said, “If you’re like this, I might really want to date you.”
Lu Jingchen: “…”
His jaw muscles tensed momentarily.
But the feeling passed quickly. Believing she would speak to him earnestly was as likely as believing in ghosts.
The funniest part was that she was actually annoyed by her own genuine desire to be with him, as if in her mind, wanting to win him over was the limit of their relationship.
He silently composed himself, his expression calm as he stared at her. “Don’t worry, you won’t be able to.”
Su Qingyi: “…”
She fell into an unusual silence.
He was very pleased with her self-awareness. After watching her for a moment to ensure she had calmed down, he was about to hand the umbrella back and leave when she muttered defiantly, “I never said I want to date you now.”
Lu Jingchen froze mid-motion as he handed her the umbrella.
His gaze deepened once more.
Su Qingyi looked up at him, belatedly realizing what she said, her ears reddening. “Alright, don’t mind me. Keep the umbrella. I’m here.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, she shielded her head with her hand and dashed toward the alley across the street.
He held the umbrella, turning away, watching her retreating figure toward the sign at the alley’s entrance — “Zhou’s Woodcarving.” After she entered, a young man came out and asked with concern, “Why no umbrella in this heavy rain?”
She smiled politely but said nothing.
The young man didn’t press further and fetched a jacket draped over a chair to dry the rain from her.
She maintained that courteous, gentle smile but firmly declined the jacket and even stepped back to create some distance.
Lu Jingchen recalled how she spoke with others.
Gentle, polite, always maintaining a proper, safe distance.
Even if he told others about her, no one would believe it.
He calmly watched her for a while and withdrew his gaze once she followed Zhou Xu into the shop.
**
When Su Qingyi left Zhou Xu’s store, the rain had stopped.
Altogether, it had lasted less than half an hour, though the sky showed no sign of clearing.
She declined Zhou Xu’s offer to escort her and hurried to her grandfather’s woodcarving workshop before the rain resumed.
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The few woodcarvings she posted yesterday on her secondary social circle had already found two buyers.
Since the buyers were in Jing City, she carefully packed the carvings in glass covers and wooden boxes, wrapped them in foam, and then built a wooden frame around the foam for protection. As she was about to call the courier, she received a message from a friend in Jing City.
“Qingyi, I heard that Young Master Pei is still looking for you. He said if you dare to return to Jing City, he’ll have someone kill you. Don’t let him find you!”
Su Qingyi was momentarily stunned.
She hadn’t expected that nearly three months after leaving Jing City, she was still a "legend" there.
She removed her gloves, called the courier, and only then replied on WeChat: “Tell him to come.”
Not only that, she sent a location, as if to make sure Pei Ling could find her.
On the other end, her friend panicked immediately. “Don’t tell me where you are! If Young Master Pei comes looking for me and I can’t handle the pressure, I’ll definitely sell you out! Retract, retract, quickly!”
Su Qingyi thought it over and realized she shouldn’t involve this friend. She wasn’t mixing in that circle anymore, but the friend still was.
So she retracted both messages.
Then, she updated her social circle with a location.
Since deciding to break the engagement with the Pei family, she never planned to part on good terms.
If he wants to pick a fight, let him come to Datong.
She was eager to see if his status as the crown prince of the Jing circle would still hold sway there.
Her friend, relieved to see her retract the messages, barely had time to relax before the girl sitting opposite exclaimed, “Oh my god, Su Qingyi updated her social circle! She even posted a location—doesn’t she know Pei Ling is looking for her?”
Her friend’s pupils dilated.
They hurried to open Su Qingyi’s posts. Not only was there a location, but also a photo of a lush seven-leaf tree inside a temple, captioned: “At the edge of the vast plain lies the spring mountains; travelers wander beyond the spring mountains.”
No one cared what she posted.
Everyone only wanted to know where she was.
The friend realized she had seriously underestimated Su Qingyi.
Before breaking off the engagement, she had thought Su Qingyi was like her—submissive, stepped on, trampled by anyone, at the very bottom of the social ladder. When Pei Ling’s scandal made headlines, everyone was waiting to see Su Qingyi’s humiliation.
But instead, Su Qingyi not only broke the engagement but also humiliated Pei Ling, turning him into the biggest joke in the circle recently.
Pei Ling, known as the crown prince of Jing, was usually untouchable, the top of the social hierarchy. Only he laughed at others; no one dared mock him.
Yet Su Qingyi, with just a few words, made this crown prince the subject of endless ridicule.
Who wouldn’t say, “A role model for our generation”?
The friend wondered where Su Qingyi found the courage to stand up to Pei Ling and asked in WeChat, “Aren’t you afraid Pei Ling will come after you? Qingyi, his crown prince title isn’t just for show. Don’t think leaving Jing City means he can’t reach you.”
“His crown prince? Do you know who I am?”
The friend was startled. She hadn’t known that Su Qingyi had endured so much in Jing City while hiding another identity. She hurriedly asked, “Who?”
“The successor of socialism.”
Friend: “…”
Had Su Qingyi said she was a little princess of Datong, it wouldn’t have left her so speechless.
She realized something.
This wasn’t courage.
Perhaps… it was simply madness.