Chu Lian thought once again that He Changdi was much better than Xiao Bojian. At least that man would show his sincerity through his actions, rather than just using meaningless words.

She sneered inwardly. Did Xiao Bojian really think that those empty promises would melt her heart?

That only showed how much he didn’t understand her.

“Mister Xiao, don’t you know that you’re causing trouble for me like this? Right now, I don’t have any ties with you at all.” Chu Lian lowered her head as she spoke, so that Xiao Bojian wouldn’t see the annoyance and disgust in her eyes.

Xiao Bojian stiffened and looked around them with some anxiety.

This place was foreign to him. This was the Jing’an Estate, and the woman before him had the title of House Jing’an’s Third Young Madam.

When his thoughts led him to this realisation, it was as if he had lost his soul. He felt as if thorns were piercing him right in his heart.

That’s right! How could he have forgotten that fact? Such a wonderful and perfect Lian’er... didn’t belong to him right now!

The depths of his eyes turned cold in an instant, but the guilt in his heart only increased.

He took a deep breath and managed to calm down a little. He raised his gaze and stared at Chu Lian. “Lian’er, I didn’t think things through carefully enough. But don’t worry, I’ll get you out of this and give you a proper title as my wife! You... have to wait for me! It won’t take too long.”

Shock flared up in Chu Lian’s mind, but she didn’t dare to display it on her face. She looked downwards without speaking, as if she was pretending to be angry at him.

It was clear from Xiao Bojian’s expression that he couldn’t bear to part with her. However, he pressed his lips together and finally said, “Lian’er, don’t be angry with me. I’m leaving now, we won’t be discovered.”

After saying so, he strode right out of the pavilion. When he stepped out, he paused before adding on, “Lian’er, the meal you cooked today was delicious!”

In the future, would you just cook for me alone? Unfortunately, he didn’t have the right to say that now.

Perhaps Xiao Bojian was really feeling shame and remorse; he didn’t even turn back to look at her again after leaving.

It wasn’t until Xiao Bojian’s figure had completely disappeared from sight that Chu Lian dared to raise her head. Her remaining strength left her body and she collapsed on the spot.

That was way too dangerous. If she hadn’t discovered Xiao Bojian’s guilt towards her in time, their meeting wouldn’t have ended well for her.

If that Xiao Bojian could act so fearlessly even in the Jing’an Estate, it looked like just avoiding him wasn’t going to work next time. She had to prepare some precautionary measures somehow.

Sob sob. She really didn’t like him at all! If she could pay a thousand taels to stop Xiao Bojian from liking her, she would have gritted her teeth and paid out the full amount! Why was she so unlucky?!

Chu Lian wiped her lips fiercely with a handkerchief until they were red and sore, before throwing the handkerchief to the ground in a temper.

Xiao Bojian’s thin lips looked so soft, pink and weak... They were pretty much better-looking than hers. Wasn’t his kiss the same as getting kissed by a woman??

Chu Lian flipped a table in her mind! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

She wasn’t the type of person who dwelled on things. For the whole incident today, she just treated it as getting bitten by a passing stray dog. Thus, she managed to calm herself down and walked over to Xiyan to wake her up.

When she took a look at the back of Xiyan’s neck, there was a bruise, just like the previous time with Wenlan.

After Xiyan woke up, she was completely panic-stricken. “Third Young Madam, are you well?”

Chu Lian shook her head and helped her up from the floor. “I’m fine.”

Xiyan looked Chu Lian up and down. When she saw that her master really seemed okay, she heaved a sigh of relief.

Her voice trembled as she asked, “Was it Mister Xiao?”

Chu Lian knew that she couldn’t hide this matter from Xiyan, so she nodded.

Xiyan’s cheeks immediately puffed up, shaking with anger as she said, “He.... How dare he! This is the Jing’an Estate!”

Chu Lian was also helpless. Xiao Bojian was indeed very bold. If she hadn’t made use of his guilt towards her today, he probably wouldn’t have left so quickly.

When Xiyan noticed Chu Lian’s silence, she quickly tried to reassure her. “Third Young Madam, please don’t worry too much. As long as we don’t associate with him, he can’t do anything to Third Young Madam.”

Chu Lian couldn’t be bothered to say any more on the matter. She had already lost the interest to nap by this time. She simply ordered listlessly, “Let’s return to our courtyard.”

Xiyan answered her and quickly followed behind Third Young Madam. However, she had already decided in her heart to send Wenqing and Wenlan with her master, no matter where she went.

While full of suppressed emotion, Xiao Bojian quickly strode along. Since Xiao Bojian had left that pavilion, One had already come out of the shadows to follow behind his master. He kept a watchful eye on their surroundings as they left the inner court of the Jing’an Estate. Along the way, he even knocked out two servants who had been passing through the gardens.

No matter how skilled he was in martial arts, he couldn’t make any careless mistakes while protecting his master.

Just as Xiao Bojian was passing through the door connecting the outer and inner courts, he was caught by someone’s gaze.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Madam Zou couldn’t stop worrying when she wasn’t serving by her husband’s side. When she heard that her husband’s friends had been sent to rest after getting drunk, she had gone to the outer court to check on the situation. However, on her way back to the inner court, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

Xiao Bojian’s appearance was rather outstanding and would attract a second look from anyone, regardless of gender. No matter how much he tried to keep a low profile with his dressing and personality, he couldn’t hide his extraordinary looks.

TL Note: The author put the table flip emoji there, so I kept it in the text (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻