Mist shrouded the Whale Ship.
The wind blew, making the clothes of those standing nearby flutter. Wei Sheng Lan gazed at the girl’s clear and fair cheeks. She was earnestly explaining things to him, as if she did not understand why he had suddenly become like this.
They stood just a step apart, and Wei Sheng Lan could even see the confusion in her eyes clearly.
Then he suddenly froze, as if he had finally sobered up. What followed, however, was deep bewilderment, because he did not know what was wrong with him either.
Why did he feel unhappy seeing her laughing and talking with others?
Why did he feel an inexplicable irritation and anger because of that Azure Cloud Sect disciple who had proactively approached her?
Xin Yi could not see the expression on his face, but she could sense the young man’s eerie silence.
So she leaned in closer, waved her hand in front of his eyes with concern, “What’s wrong, Mu Lan? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Wei Sheng Lan caught her wrist, but his mood remained extremely complicated.
He did not think his abnormality was because he cared about her.
Then there was only one possibility left: during this time, he had grown accustomed to Xin Yi’s presence. Even if he did not like her, he had subconsciously accepted her identity as his “wife.”
Yes, he just needed her.
That was why these strange emotions that did not belong to him had arisen. Once his injuries healed, it would surely not be like this anymore.
While the young man was lost in thought.
Xin Yi watched him on the side while rapidly communicating with the system, “What stimulus did Wei Sheng Lan receive? I can confirm I didn’t provoke him.”
System: “Could it be that seeing those from the Azure Cloud Sect made him recall past memories?”
“…”
How could that be? Unless there was a serious bug in the plot, Wei Sheng Lan absolutely would not recover his memories so quickly.
Just as she could no longer tolerate it and planned to argue with the system.
Wei Sheng Lan suddenly spoke in an emotionless tone, “These are all your private matters; you don’t need to explain them to me. In the future, we’ll try not to interfere with each other. If we find we don’t suit each other after trying to get along, we shouldn’t force it.”
Xin Yi: “…”
What did this mean?
Was he annoyed that she was too clingy and did not give him enough personal space? Or had his obsession with Qiong Yan been etched into his bones?
No one else would work except for her, which was why the original “Xin Yi” had failed in the original plotline.
If this were in the real world, she would give up immediately without a second thought and absolutely avoid a man who had someone else in his heart.
No matter how many good qualities he had!
But her current goal was to complete the strategy task; she had no choice. Even gritting her teeth, she had to raise his favorability.
In the end, it was hard to say who between them had it worse.
So she thought for a moment and still gave Wei Sheng Lan a firm reply, “I’m good to you now because you are my husband, so you don’t need to have any psychological burden at all.”
She paused, then added, “Moreover, I can guarantee you that no matter whether you recover your memories in the end or whatever choice you make then, I will respect it and absolutely not pester you.”
She thought she was being very understanding and had given him a shot of reassurance.
Unexpectedly, after hearing these words, the young man did not show much joy. Instead, he stared at her darkly for a long time.
The time was so long that Xin Yi even got goosebumps.
Just as she was about to reflect on whether she had said something she shouldn’t or unintentionally poked his sore spot, Wei Sheng Lan’s gaze finally shifted away.
Then he said indifferently, “Do as you like.”
By the time they left the railing of the Whale Ship, the Azure Cloud Sect disciples had already sat down in groups of twos and threes to drink tea and chat.
Zhang Yingqing had originally been sitting with others, but when he saw Xin Yi, he immediately stood up and waved, “Here, here!”
Xin Yi had just hit a snag with the villain, and seeing such an enthusiastic smiling face now, she suddenly felt a surge of warmth in her heart.
She walked toward him.
A round purple sandalwood table was placed in front of her, and she naturally sat down on the left side of the white-clothed youth.
Then she beckoned Wei Sheng Lan to sit as well. He had wanted to leave, but after she tugged his sleeve, he frowned involuntarily. Still, he did not embarrass her in public and sat on the other side of the table.
Zhang Yingqing did not notice the undercurrents between them; he just felt that the surrounding air had turned a few degrees colder.
Clearly, the other party wore a silver mask, but he inexplicably felt that the young man’s hidden expression was not good, as if he harbored some hostility toward him.
But he thought about it and felt it was unlikely.
They had only met for the first time today and had no grudge; how could there be such an absurd illusion?
Perhaps this Daoist Friend Mu Lan was just born with this personality. From his observations, the young man’s attitude toward Xin Yi was also average.
Neither cold nor hot, as if Xin Yi owed him money.
Zhang Yingqing thought this way and felt it was increasingly possible.
But he could not ask too much in front of Wei Sheng Lan, so he pretended to cough twice and turned his gaze back to the girl beside him, “Once we arrive at the Weaving Continent, which inn do you plan to stay at?”
Xin Yi shook her head and answered honestly, “I haven’t decided yet.”
She truly had not decided, but fortunately, she had saved up quite a bit of spare money during this time, so staying at a good inn should not be a problem.
Zhang Yingqing smiled upon hearing this and excitedly recommended to her, “In that case, why not stay at the same inn as us? It’s the best inn in the Weaving Continent anyway! Disciples from other sects will also stay there, and it’s very close to the Qin Clan’s Peony Residence, convenient for when the time comes…”
Before he finished speaking, a teacup suddenly flew from the table and splashed tea all over him.
Zhang Yingqing reflexively stood up and looked over angrily, only to see the young man who should have held the teacup steadily speaking in an indifferent tone, “Sorry, my hand slipped just now.”
Zhang Yingqing: “…”
He heard the apology, but why was there not the slightest sincerity? It even sounded like “Good thing my hand slipped.”
He glanced at the blue-clothed youth, then at the gaze from the girl beside him, and in the end chose to swallow his anger meekly, “It’s fine; I can wipe it myself.”
Xin Yi did not know if Wei Sheng Lan did it on purpose.
Because ever since boarding the Whale Ship, his mood had been off, perhaps he found the youth noisy and took it out on him.
She could not say much and could only look at the unlucky fellow beside her with eyes full of sympathy.
Then she took out two spirit grass cakes and handed them to him as a token of apology, “These are sugar frosting flavor, and there’s osmanthus flavor too. Daoist Friend, feel free to try them if you like.”
Unfortunately, before Zhang Yingqing could take them, the spirit grass cakes in Xin Yi’s hand were knocked to the ground by the suddenly standing youth.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked in surprise.
“Nothing, I just won’t disturb you two catching up here.” The youth’s tone was cold and hard, as if he was enduring something.
One could vaguely hear disgust in it.
It was not until Wei Sheng Lan walked far away, his clear and cold robes disappearing around the corner.
That Zhang Yingqing came back to his senses, picked up the spirit grass cakes from the ground, blew off the dust, and spoke up for her, “How can this guy be like that! So cold and what attitude, as if you begged him or something.”
Xin Yi did not respond, however, and only belatedly asked the system, “Wei Sheng Lan wouldn’t be jealous, would he?”
If one really had to interpret it that way, it did seem like it.
The system sighed faintly, “With only 30% favorability, what jealousy can you expect from him? At most, it’s because a new friend suddenly appeared by your side, while he only has you, so he’s a bit unhappy about it.”
Fine.
It seemed she was overthinking it.
Zhang Yingqing sulked for a while, but when he turned his head, he saw the girl with an utterly unconcerned expression on her face.
A slight smile even hung at the corner of her lips, as if she was not upset or angry about what had just happened. He was completely baffled now and asked, “Why are you so good to him? Did you owe him a favor, or is he actually your creditor?”
Xin Yi was amused by him and chuckled.
Then she shook her head, leaned in closer, and deliberately used a mysterious tone to tell him, “Of course there’s a reason. Did you see that mask on Mu Lan’s face?”
Zhang Yingqing nodded.
He had seen it; he had noticed it from the beginning, but he did not know why Mu Lan wore a mask. Other than not wanting others to see his true appearance, the only reason left was an unsightly face.
Could it be because of that that his temper was bad?
He had heard some similar stories: the stranger the appearance, the stranger the temper.
“Actually…” she drew out her words.
“Actually, he’s extremely handsome. If he didn’t wear the mask, many girls would fall for him at first sight.”
Xin Yi recalled something and said with a squinting smile, “I’m a rather superficial person. Since he’s so good-looking, even if he’s a bit fierce, I can forgive him.”
The youth seemed not to hear the answer he wanted and immediately refuted unwillingly, “No matter how handsome, can he be more handsome than our Azure Cloud Sect’s Senior Brother Wei Sheng?”
Although he had not seen Senior Brother Wei Sheng yet, he had long heard of his various reputations in the Immortal Continent, and that face was one of them. It was said to be even more handsome than Immortal Venerable Qing Heng and had once made countless female cultivators swoon.
Unfortunately, his senior brother cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness and would never take interest in any woman.