The next morning, just as Yueshi had said,

when Tushan Jingci went to the hall for lessons, Yueshi followed at her heels without leaving her side for even a step.

“Master Xian has some matters to deal with lately, so for this period, I’ll be taking over your lessons,” the new teacher standing at the front of the classroom on Cloud-Soaring Peak said as he introduced himself. “My surname is La, and my given name is Guo. Easy enough to remember.”

Tushan Jingci paid him no attention at all.

Her gaze kept drifting out the window.

Yueshi was standing there, calmly watching her.

The girl puffed out her cheeks and withdrew her eyes.

At that moment, only one question kept turning over and over in her mind—how exactly was she supposed to shake Yueshi off?

But very quickly, Tushan Jingci wilted again. Yueshi was watching her this closely. How was she supposed to get away at all?

Teacher La had already begun the lesson in the classroom, but Tushan Jingci still had not taken in a single word.

Whenever she closed her eyes, her mind was full of Xiao Mo.

When she opened her book, it was as if every line on every page carried his name.

And when she picked up her brush, by the time she noticed, the two graceful little characters “Xiao Mo” were already written on the blank sheet before her.

For the first time, the girl understood with complete clarity—

her whole world had somehow become full of him.

Without him by her side, she seemed unable to muster any interest in anything she did.

After class, Tushan Jingci quietly returned to her courtyard, while Yueshi followed behind her in silence.

Seeing her young lady keep her head lowered the whole way, looking utterly listless and absent-minded, Yueshi felt more and more guilty and distressed.

At lunch, she noticed even more clearly that her young lady, sitting there in the courtyard, had barely touched the food in front of her.

That afternoon,

Tushan Jingci sat properly on a stone stool in the courtyard, silently watching leaves drift down one after another from the branches, spinning as they landed on the bluestone ground.

Her gaze was fixed on the distance, unblinking and unfocused.

She sat there without moving, like the most perfect statue Heaven itself had carved by hand.

“Ah...”

Looking at that slender, graceful back, Yueshi could not help sighing softly to herself. She slowly walked over to the girl’s side.

“Do you really care that much about Xiao Mo, Young Lady?”

Yueshi’s voice gave the dazed Tushan Jingci a small start. She trembled slightly, then came back to herself.

“Sister Yueshi... I don’t know either...”

Tushan Jingci lowered her head, rubbing her hands lightly together, her fingertips unconsciously circling around each other.

“When Xiao Mo first moved out, I felt like something inside me was missing... At first I thought it was only because he’d been with me for so long, and then suddenly he wasn’t, so of course I wasn’t used to it. I thought I’d be fine after a few days...”

“But later on... I still couldn’t get used to days without him.”

As she spoke, Tushan Jingci stretched out her legs, tucked both hands between her knees, and lightly tapped her heels against the ground. The little embroidered shoes on her feet began swinging back and forth restlessly.

“I used to hate going to lessons. But these past days, it’s been different.”

“Compared to before, I kept looking forward to going {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} every day—because at least if I went to the hall for lessons, Xiao Mo would be there too.”

“But now... Xiao Mo’s in seclusion... Even if I go to the hall for lessons, Xiao Mo still won’t be there...”

Her voice gradually fell, carrying an indescribable loneliness.

“It feels like... it feels like all at once there’s nothing left in life to look forward to...”

“Even when Mother left me, I never felt like this...”

As she spoke, Tushan Jingci could not help drawing up her feet onto the stone stool and wrapping both arms tightly around her knees, curling herself into a small bundle that looked especially dejected.

Yueshi quietly listened to all of it. Her throat moved slightly, as though she wanted to say something, but in the end she closed her mouth again.

At last, she turned around and faced away from Tushan Jingci. Her voice came softly from ahead.

“I’m not feeling very well today. I’m going to lie down in my room for a while. If Young Lady wants to go play with those young ladies from the great families, I won’t go with you.”

When Tushan Jingci heard that, she froze for a moment. Then those beautiful eyes of hers lit up bit by bit, as though flooded with bright sunlight, filling with life again.

“Sister Yueshi is the best!”

Tushan Jingci sprang off the stone stool at once, rose on tiptoe, and planted a loud kiss on Yueshi’s cheek. By then her long legs were already carrying her forward, and she ran out of the courtyard at full speed.

“Young Lady...”

Yueshi stood where she was, watching her young lady’s figure run farther and farther away. She could not help pressing her lips together, one small hand clutching tightly at the hem of her clothes.

“That empty feeling in your heart... it’s because you’ve truly grown into a young woman...”

Her gaze followed that lively figure for a long time, relief in her eyes, but also a trace of worry too difficult to put into words.

“It’s just... for Xiao Mo, can he really bear the weight of that?”

...

After leaving the courtyard, Tushan Jingci did not stop for even a moment. Before long, she arrived at the bamboo grove at the foot of the mountain.

Xian Xichun, who was sitting on a rock outside the bamboo courtyard, slowly opened his eyes. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he let out a quiet laugh to himself.

“So she still came after all.”

Almost as soon as the words left Xian Xichun’s mouth, the soft rustle of the girl’s steps on bamboo leaves drifted through the grove.

“Hm? Master Xian?” The moment Tushan Jingci reached the bamboo courtyard and saw Xian Xichun, surprise immediately appeared on her face. “Why are you here, sir?”

Xian Xichun smiled faintly. “I promised little brother Xiao Mo that while he was in seclusion, I would guard the way for him.”

“Ah? You’re guarding the way for him, sir?” Tushan Jingci stared blankly for a moment, then hurriedly bowed to Xian Xichun. “Thank you, sir. Tushan will remember this kindness.”

“Heh... I’m guarding the way for Xiao Mo, and that has nothing to do with your Tushan,” Xian Xichun said as he stepped down from the rock, brushing the dust from his green robe. Then he drew out a talisman from his sleeve and held it out to her.

“Well then, since you’re here, Jingci, help me keep watch over him for a little while. I’m going to Cold Mountain City to buy some wine. I’ll be back shortly. If anything unexpected happens, paste this talisman onto my sword.”

“All right, sir.” Tushan Jingci did not think anything could possibly happen inside Cold Mountain Academy, but faced with Master Xian’s caution, she still accepted the talisman respectfully.

“I’m off.”

With his hands clasped behind his back, Xian Xichun slowly strolled out of the bamboo grove.

After he left, only Tushan Jingci remained outside the bamboo courtyard.

The girl stood by the fence, blinking as she looked toward Xiao Mo in the courtyard.

At the sight of him, the worry that had filled her heart suddenly seemed to settle.

Just looking at him, it was as if that hollow place inside her heart was gradually being filled again.

“Xiao Mo, you big idiot!”

“Xiao Mo! You’re a pig!”

“Xiao Mo, you’re so ugly!”

Cupping her hands around her mouth like a little horn, the girl “secretly” whispered insults at Xiao Mo.

“Hey—Xiao Mo...”

“Xiao Mo, can you hear me?” The corners of her lips curved upward. “I’m secretly calling you names. You can’t hear me, can you?”

“Hey—Xiao Mo... let me tell you something...”

Her eyes bent with laughter, sweet as spring wine.

“Xiao Mo, I, your young lady...”

“came to see you...”

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