About love

After she recovered, Xiao Ai began chattering away again. “Hello! I’m Yao Dongfang. Not only are you handsome, but you already have your own company at such a young age. Brother, you have to work hard too!” She turned to her own brother with a nonsensical cheer of encouragement.

Han gave a gentle smile, donned his social mask, and began exchanging pleasantries. “Is that so? Thank you for the compliment. Please, everyone, have a seat.” With that, he sat gracefully on a single sofa to the side. The already elegant sofa suddenly seemed imbued with the noble aura of a king simply by his presence.

It was true: clothes make the man, but sometimes the man makes the chair. Good looks did make all the difference.

“Yu, it’s been a long time! How are Uncle and Aunt doing?” Han set down his coffee cup, steering the conversation toward Yu.

“It hasn’t been that long. They’re well, thank you for asking,” Yu replied with his usual indifference, completely unaffected by Han’s imposing presence.

“Do come by more often when you have time. You and Xiao haven’t seen each other in ages. It’s good for old friends to keep in touch,” Han continued, sounding every bit the elder giving advice.

“Heh, brother, you sound just like a grumbling old man!” Xiao couldn’t help but laugh at her brother’s manner. Han took her teasing in stride, smiling gently—so gently that the others felt nearly blinded by his radiance. “Let’s have some coffee.”

“Oh,” Xiao replied, giving her brother a curious look. She couldn’t be blamed—whenever her brother smiled like that, it usually meant someone was in for trouble. Holding her coffee, she glanced around the room, her eyes finally settling on Yu.

Her instincts told her that he was the likely target. Yu, meanwhile, was carefully inspecting the coffee in front of him, convinced he was in for misfortune again today.

Han Shangguan was not as benevolent as he appeared. Just the fact that he’d made coffee for everyone was enough to arouse suspicion. But when Yu noticed Xiao glancing his way, he had no choice but to take a sip. The moment he swallowed, his stomach began to churn.

Once his body finally calmed down, Yu stared quietly at his coffee. Though his cold face betrayed nothing, he felt utterly helpless. With someone like Han to deal with, he hardly knew whether to laugh or cry.

It had always been this way since they were young. If anyone dared bully Xiao, her seemingly mature brother would become absurdly childish. Once, after Yu made Xiao cry, Han discovered it and placed a bunch of disgusting caterpillars in his lunch. He even decorated the lunchbox beautifully. By the time Yu found the insects, he’d already eaten two-thirds of the meal. He was so shocked! After that day, Yu spent an entire week sick, unable to keep anything down. That lunch truly left an impression—who knew what Han had put in the coffee this time?

“Does it taste good?” Xiao asked, puzzled that Yu hadn’t reacted. Could she have been wrong? Maybe her brother was just in a good mood? But that didn’t make sense. Yu calmly replied, “Not bad.”

Suspicious, Xiao observed Yu for a while, finally deciding she was overthinking it. Yu glanced at her, remaining composed as he sipped the adulterated coffee. The atmosphere in the room grew tense. No one dared breathe too loudly—they all felt that if they drew attention, they’d be next.

Xiao Ai looked from Yu’s coffee to her own, and a scene suddenly played in her mind: Yu became a favored concubine persecuted by the Empress in a palace drama. Xiao was the fearsome Empress, Han the cunning, sinister nanny always at her side.

“Concubine Ouyang,” declared Empress Xiao, “I’ve heard you’re much in the Emperor’s favor lately. So, for your better service to His Majesty, I’ve decided to reward you with the nourishing tonic the ministers just sent. Nanny, bring the soup for the concubine.” The nanny replied, “Yes, Your Majesty!” She soon returned with a bowl of black, bubbling concoction.

Standing before Concubine Ouyang, she said, “Please enjoy, Concubine Ouyang.” Terrified, Ouyang tried to back away, but she was quickly seized by the Empress’s loyal attendants. “No, I won’t drink it! The Emperor won’t forgive you. Let me go!” she cried, struggling in vain.

Nanny Han stepped forward, pinched her chin, and forced every last drop down her throat. “Ugh... Even in death, I won’t let you get away with this...” she gasped, blood streaming from her seven orifices as she died.

“Xiao Ai, Xiao Ai!” Lost in her fantasy, Xiao Ai vaguely heard someone calling her. It was her brother. She snapped out of her reverie and replied a beat late, “Ah, what is it, brother?” She blinked at him innocently.

“Uh, nothing. But why were you looking at Ouyang with such a strange expression?” Dongfang Shuo pointed out helplessly. If he didn’t directly tell Xiao Ai what she’d just done, she might do something even more shocking.

“I wasn’t! I didn’t look at him like that! I just... drifted off for a second, that’s all!” Xiao Ai was flustered. There was no way she could tell them what she’d just imagined. If she did, Ouyang would surely kill her—and so would Han and her brother! She wasn’t about to die so young.

So this was a secret she’d never tell anyone—not even her own brother.

“Really? You’re sure you weren’t thinking about anything? Shuo was already being kind in his description. That look you had wasn’t just strange—it was practically lecherous! And you stared for a full half hour! Still denying it?” Hui interjected mischievously, imitating Xiao Ai’s earlier expression in an exaggerated, ridiculous manner.

“Shut up! If you can’t close your mouth, go sew it shut!” Xiao Ai yelled, not sure if she was more angry or embarrassed.

“Could it be that Xiao Ai has a secret crush on Yu but is too shy to say so? That won’t do! Don’t they say that love should be spoken aloud? If you back down in a quarrel, all is well; back down in love, and you’ll lose everything. Don’t wait until it’s gone to treasure it—by then you’ll have nothing left,” Xiao added cheerfully.

“How is that even possible!” Xiao Ai was at a complete loss. No matter how she replied, she’d end up offending everyone.