Chapter 99

“Zhou Yanli, long time no see.”

As for the youthful past, Nianxi could hardly remember it clearly anymore. Her impression of Zhou Yanli began after she got married. At that time, she attended a banquet and saw Pei Jian’s jade pendant, which had been modified into an ornament hanging from Cousin Xu’s waist.

It was her husband’s jade pendant.

The charcoal fire in the room was burning fiercely, making it hard for her to breathe, so she walked out alone. The garden was silent; the white snow flew across the sky, and she stood by the empty lakeside, both confused and heartbroken—until an oil-paper umbrella was held over her head.

“Are you alright?” A voice, familiar yet strange.

Nianxi turned around abruptly.

Zhou Yanli, with black hair and a red robe, looked stunning, as if a deity descended to the mortal realm. He still bore the semblance of his younger self but now exuded even more elegance and noble charm.

Nianxi, filled with sorrow, felt weathered and weary. She lowered her head and softly said, “It’s nothing.”

Just as she was about to walk away, he suddenly extended his hand to her, offering her a piece of candy.

“When your heart feels bitter, sucking on a piece of candy—wouldn’t that make it a bit better?”

Nianxi was momentarily stunned.

Zhou Yanli was a year younger than her. During the five years they lived as neighbors, whenever Nianxi got mischievous, she would always give him a piece of candy and say, “Eat something sweet, and you’re not allowed to stay mad at me~”

Nianxi took the candy from his palm without raising her head. “Thank you.”

“Do you want me to walk you back?” Zhou Yanli asked her.

The young minister of power might have long forgotten their childhood memories, and Nianxi wouldn’t bring them up either. She clenched the candy in her hand, keeping her gaze lowered. “No need.”

She didn’t return to the banquet and returned to the Prime Minister’s residence.

In the capital, banquets, large and small, were endless. With Pei Jian holding a high official rank, invitations were only increasing. On the many occasions that followed, she often saw Zhou Yanli at these gatherings. His features were refined, like a towering jade mountain. When addressing others, his smile always carried a touch of gentle nonchalance and charm—a style uniquely his, making him highly noticeable in any crowd.

On several occasions, Nianxi overheard the ladies talking about him in private, nicknaming him “The Jade-Faced Gentleman.” By then, Nianxi had been married for five or six years, while Zhou Yanli remained unmarried. He had become the dream lover of a new generation of young women.

Occasionally, when Nianxi ran into him, they would exchange a few insignificant words. He refused to call her “sister” as he did in Jinling, and she never mentioned it either. At that time, Nianxi was trapped in a misaligned relationship, gradually wearing herself down. Days of waiting turned her anxious and sensitive, self-conscious and timid.

She became increasingly despondent with each passing day, reluctant to see people. She locked herself away in the opera house, listening to one melancholy performance after another, gradually forgetting about him. Until Nianxi decided to dissolve her marriage and went to the countryside for relaxation. While resting in a small mountain pavilion, she saw Zhou Yanli again. Dressed in red, he appeared rushed, his delicate features showing rare traces of anxiety.

Seeing her, he stepped closer.

The autumn mountains were chilly, and beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

“What a coincidence,” he said softly.

Nianxi brewed tea and shared a cup with him.

Outside the pavilion, rain began to fall at some point, weaving a dense curtain of raindrops across the landscape.

The two of them quietly drank tea and listened to the rain until he asked: “Sister, are you happy?”

Hearing him call her “sister” again after a lifetime felt utterly surreal.

Madam Li laughed and said, “This child must be silly with joy. Nian’er, this is Yanli, the one you used to play with every day in Jinling.”

“Back then, when our family moved to the capital, you threw a tantrum.”

“After nearly a year apart, sister has grown distant from me.” Zhou Yanli smiled, stood up, walked to Nianxi, and took something out of his chest. Reaching out his hand, he opened his five fingers, revealing a piece of candy lying quietly in his palm.

It was identical to the candy he had given her in the midst of a snowy banquet years later, under the vast sky of fluttering snowflakes.

“Sister may not remember me, but you’ll remember this candy. Whenever you bullied me back then, you’d always give me candy to make up for it.”

Talking about Nianxi’s mischievousness made everyone in the room laugh.

Zhou Yanli’s eyes held a smile, too, but it wasn’t the kind of indifference he displayed in later years. Instead, his beautiful eyes curved, and the laughter in them made them shine brightly.

Nianxi took the candy from his palm. Her fingertips brushed against his skin, cool to the touch. Zhou Yanli quietly moved his hand behind his back.

“Yanli is now a ‘Juren’ and will be entering the Imperial Academy next year to study,” Madam Li said to Nianxi with a smile. “This child is so thoughtful; he came specifically to visit us.”

Nianxi had already returned to normal. But the impression of the red-robed, powerful minister from her past life was so vivid that, compared to the youthful and sincere Zhou Yanli before her now, it gave her a sense of detachment, making her appear somewhat reserved.

The Wen family, however, did not find her aloofness toward her childhood playmate unusual. After all, they were both grown up now and if they had acted as closely as before, it would have seemed overly intimate.

Moreover, Gu Ci had just left not long ago, and Nianxi was not in high spirits, which her family fully understood.

But Zhou Yanli couldn’t understand. Before leaving, Nianxi had clearly promised him to stay in touch and write to him often. Yet now, it seemed as though Nianxi had completely forgotten about him. He couldn’t help but clench the hand that had briefly touched Nianxi’s. While speaking with the Wen family, his gaze occasionally and unconsciously drifted toward Nianxi.

After almost a year without seeing her, his sister Nianxi seemed burdened with many more worries.

“…I think you don’t need to rent a place anymore,” said Father Wen. “There are plenty of rooms available in the front yard. We have a small family, and since you’ll only come back once every ten days from the Imperial Academy, why not just stay here instead?”

Father Wen valued talent and deeply admired Zhou Yanli upon learning that he had achieved the top rank in the provincial examination.

Zhou Yanli’s gaze immediately fell on Nianxi. Seeing that she showed no sign of dislike or disapproval, he smiled and stood up. “Thank you for your kindness, Uncle. However, my father has already written to my aunt, and arrangements have been made there. I regret that I cannot stay by your side to receive your guidance.”

Unfamiliar with such matters, Father Wen asked, “Your aunt…”

Madam Li interjected with a smile, “Is it the one married into Duke Fu’s household, the wife of Commander Lu, who leads the Left Dragon Guard of the Imperial Guard?”

“Exactly.”

Duke Fu’s household was the maternal family of Empress Lu, comprising three branches. Zhou Yanli’s aunt, Madam Zhou, was married to Lu Wenzhou from the second branch. Meanwhile, Empress Lu’s younger brother, Lu Wensheng, was the head of the entire Duke Fu’s household.

“I heard that Sister has opened a beverage shop,” Zhou Yanli said to Nianxi with a smile. “When I was in the South, I never knew Sister had such a talent.”

After dinner, as they sat in the flower hall to digest their meal, the conversation turned to Nianxi’s shop. Zhou Yanli asked with a smile, “Where is the shop located?”

He was someone who understood boundaries well; every word and action stayed within propriety.

Now, having been reborn and facing his still-youthful self, Nianxi remained deeply grateful to Zhou Yanli, who had held an umbrella for her on a snowy day and given her candy.

Nianxi smiled and gave him the shop’s address. “But the shop only serves women. If you like the beverages, I can have someone prepare them and send them to you.”

“Thank you.” Zhou Yanli’s gaze was attentive, and his smile was particularly charming. “Sister has truly grown up. She’s no longer the one who tricked me into wearing women’s clothes to play hide-and-seek back in the day.”