Ning Yuzhu appeared by the lakeside, her figure outlined by the scattered lights of firefly stones. Jiang Huai, startled by her presence, fumbled to cover his eyes, stammering apologies for “peeping.”
“I’m wearing clothes,” Ning Yuzhu’s cool voice responded, “Why are you covering your eyes?”
Jiang Huai lowered his hands, realizing she had swum to the shore. She wore a pale pink sling dress, now clinging and slightly sheer from being soaked. Water droplets on her neck glistened under the lamplight.
“Why are you here?” he asked again.
“When I can’t sleep, I come here to play in the water,” she replied. She didn’t come to bathe; her own courtyard had a bathhouse, but it lacked the vastness of the lake. Her Senior Disciple Sister had once brought her here, and after a fruitless fishing attempt, had tricked her into the water to playfully catch fish. She enjoyed the sensation of being enveloped by the water, even as the cold seeped into her skin, turning it faintly red. The lamplight cast a glow on her, her delicate waist swaying like a young willow in spring.
She gazed at Jiang Huai for a long moment before he quietly murmured, “Senior Disciple Sister… you’re truly beautiful.”
Ning Yuzhu blinked, momentarily taken aback. It hit her then that Jiang Huai’s compliment was genuine, devoid of ulterior motives. For a long time, no one had praised her appearance. As the second disciple of the Divine Emperor, her status as the Yuzhu Fairy, with her cultivation reaching the level of a Divine King, had overshadowed her beauty. Such direct praise was considered disrespectful and thus unspoken.
“Beautiful in what way?” Ning Yuzhu asked, a flicker of interest igniting within her.
Jiang Huai stumbled for a moment before resorting to his usual refrain, “You’re beautiful everywhere, especially your eyes.”
“Are you? I think Jiang Zhi’s eye color is prettier.”
“It’s not the color, but the tranquility in your eyes, Senior Disciple Sister. It’s something most people try to emulate but can’t. It’s so serene, it puts one at ease.”
“You certainly know how to speak,” Ning Yuzhu replied calmly. “No wonder you have so many Dao Companions.”
Jiang Huai’s eye twitched slightly. “Did you see my memories, Senior Disciple Sister?”
“Only some,” Ning Yuzhu admitted.
The unexpected encounter in the wind and snow seemed to leave them both at a loss. After another pause, Ning Yuzhu spoke again. “Are you here to fish?”
“Yes.”
“You fish, I’ll go back and change,” she said softly before leaving. Jiang Huai took out his fishing rod, found a spot by the lake, and sat down cross-legged. He suddenly recalled her words: “go back and change.” What did that mean?
Snow fell on the lake’s surface, the wind and snowflakes creating a soft rustling sound. The trees swayed gently. Jiang Huai regretted not wearing more layers; it was quite cold. He wondered why Ning Yuzhu would swim in the lake in this freezing weather, especially since she, too, would be affected by the worldly rules of White Dew Mountain. *No, I can’t think about women while fishing, it’ll bring bad luck.*
He watched the snowflakes dance in the lamplight, finding them remarkably beautiful, though the cold made him shiver. He silently vowed to catch one fish and then go home. Suddenly, a coat was draped over his shoulders from behind.
Jiang Huai turned in surprise. Ning Yuzhu, now in an apricot-colored dress, stood there. She wore no shoes or socks, her white and tender little feet pressing into the snow. Seeing him turn, she said softly, “Don’t freeze.”
“Thank you, Senior Disciple Sister.”
Ning Yuzhu hesitated, then sat beside him. She didn’t sit cross-legged, so her white and tender little feet dipped into the cold lake, creating ripples. Jiang Huai glanced at her profile. In the wind and snow, her features were flawlessly exquisite, her fair cheeks impossibly delicate and flushed from the cold.
The coat she had given him was warm. Jiang Huai, unsure of what to say, quietly asked, “Senior Disciple Sister, aren’t you going back to sleep?”
“I came here to play because I couldn’t sleep.”
“Hmm, why can’t you sleep, Senior Disciple Sister? Are you worried about something?”
“No,” Ning Yuzhu shook her head, and in the next moment, asked, “What about you? Are you here because you’re worried about something?”
Jiang Huai could only reply that he wasn’t. It seemed neither of them could reveal their troubles to the other.
“Senior Disciple Sister…”
“Yes?” Ning Yuzhu looked at the lake, her expression uncomprehending.
“I felt like you were a little cold to me tonight. Was that my imagination?”
“Yes,” Ning Yuzhu answered.
Jiang Huai fell silent. “Well, if, if it was, what should I do for you not to be angry with me?” he ventured, trying a different approach. Ning Yuzhu stared at the lake, counting seconds.
“You’re so annoying.”
Jiang Huai felt an embarrassing urge to jump into the lake and drown. He obediently fell silent, his gaze also following the lake’s surface. But as he looked at the water, Ning Yuzhu turned her gaze to his profile, seemingly on the verge of speaking.
She couldn’t quite articulate her feelings for Jiang Huai. She didn’t feel a strong liking, but she didn’t dislike him either. Perhaps he had guessed some subtle hints, that even if he intended to do something excessive, she wouldn’t be able to refuse, yet he remained silent about it. He was, at least, a decent gentleman. Ning Yuzhu hadn’t interacted much with men in a millennium. The closest people to her were her Senior Disciple Sister and Master. In the outside world, as the Divine Emperor’s proxy, she never needed to give any man a second glance; she merely issued her commands from on high, and they were executed.
The lake was tranquil, and Jiang Huai’s fishing line remained still. After some time, he cautiously tried another tactic. “Senior Disciple Sister, aren’t your feet cold soaking in the lake water?”
Ning Yuzhu raised her eyes and turned to look at him. The sound of splashing water filled the air as she lifted her ankle from the water. Droplets trickled down her white and tender feet, glistening like cold jade in the lamplight. She replied calmly, “It is cold.”
Jiang Huai took out a handkerchief. Ning Yuzhu shifted slightly, bringing her delicate foot closer. Jiang Huai carefully wiped away the water stains. Ning Yuzhu watched his profile serenely, her expression neither blushing nor aloof, until Jiang Huai’s fingertips brushed against the smooth sole of her foot. Her toes curled slightly. Jiang Huai felt as though he were holding a piece of cold jade. His palm was warm as he gently held her slender, soft, jade-like foot. In the midst of the wind and snow, Jiang Huai’s expression remained calm and gentle, but his heart pounded with anxiety. *What will Ning Yuzhu think? Will she think I’m taking advantage of her? Or will this make her less angry?* He couldn’t be sure until Ning Yuzhu spoke.
“You like feet?”
“N-no… that’s not right… I just wanted to warm them… no… I shouldn’t say that… no…” Jiang Huai truly wanted to jump into the lake now.
“You want to warm them for me?”
“Y-yes.”
Ning Yuzhu’s white and tender foot moved, and she shifted closer. Instantly, her feet burrowed under his clothes, near his lower abdomen. The soft, delicate soles pressed against his skin. Jiang Huai felt a strange sense of humiliation, his lower abdomen growing cold. Yet, he perversely tucked his clothes tighter, preventing the cold wind from reaching her. Gradually, her feet, pressed against his abdomen, began to warm up. Ning Yuzhu watched his profile.
After a long while, Ning Yuzhu spoke softly, “You’re so easy to talk to.”
“When people are indebted, they repay kindness. I owe you so much, Senior Disciple Sister, of course, I have to repay you properly.”
Suddenly, a pair of white socks with lace edges were tossed onto Jiang Huai. Ning Yuzhu glanced at him, her meaning clear. Jiang Huai gritted his teeth. *Damn it.* He had a feeling his aloof Senior Disciple Sister was deliberately humiliating him for her amusement. But Little Huai was always one to repay kindness. He carefully picked up the cute, lace-trimmed white socks, gently took her ankle, and helped her put on the socks. Looking at her cute feet in the socks, the hazy fabric seemed to make them even more adorable.
After he finished, Ning Yuzhu withdrew her feet and sat cross-legged, just like him. *Wait, what’s the pity?*
“When I peeked into your memories, I saw many instances of women stepping on you, looking at you with disdain.”
“Wait, wait… Senior Disciple Sister, you can’t say that… that’s bedroom intimacy, with mutual consent… I never force anyone to do bad things… the expressions on their faces are acting, not real, not real…” Jiang Huai was ready to jump; he had already made up his mind. If Ning Yuzhu shamed him one more word, he would jump.
“I’m just correcting your earlier statement that you don’t like feet,” Ning Yuzhu replied calmly, though her voice seemed to carry a hint of languor. In the moment following her words, even she was slightly taken aback. For a long time, he had distanced himself from everything, feeling neither joy nor sorrow. But at this moment, a rare sense of lightness filled her heart, perhaps accompanied by a hint of mischievousness she couldn’t explain. Looking at Jiang Huai’s slightly embarrassed expression, she found it strangely amusing.
“So what if I lied! Didn’t you lie earlier when you said you weren’t angry?”
“I wasn’t angry in the first place.”
“Then why were you looking at me so coldly at dinner tonight!” Jiang Huai, ever relentless when he felt he was in the right, pressed on.
“I wasn’t.”
“Jiang Zhi said she felt it too!” Jiang Huai brought Jiang Zhi into the conversation, making it two against one.
Ning Yuzhu turned to him. “Then, why do you think I would be cold towards you? Because you chose Senior Disciple Sister’s cultivation method instead of mine? Do you think I’m holding a grudge over this?”
“That… that doesn’t seem to be the reason…”
“So you have no reason to doubt me,” Ning Yuzhu said, her eyes innocent and languid. Jiang Huai wasn’t angry. The previous embarrassment had vanished without a trace. Instead, he smiled at Ning Yuzhu and softly said, “Senior Disciple Sister, your eyes are so beautiful.”
“You said that before,” Ning Yuzhu replied calmly.
“No, I mean your charming expression right now is much cuter than your usual aloof demeanor…” Jiang Huai winked at her and moved closer. The instinctive retreat of Ning Yuzhu, her fair cheeks flushing a faint pink.
