Chapter 948: My name is Gu Aiyue

Han Shanxue stopped moving away. She took the spirit stones from Ye Wenxin and slipped them into her bag. The whole thing happened so fast that Ye Wenxin barely had time to react.

She had never encountered an ice-cold beauty with a miser’s personality. She thought about questioning her but decided against it. She stood quietly by Han Shanxue’s side, letting that chill calm her restless mind.

However, whenever she tried to inch a bit closer, Han Shanxue would move away again.

“Miss Han, it’s not like you’re going to melt. Why are you afraid of me standing so close?” Ye Wenxin asked curiously, paying little attention to the contest happening on stage.

“You’ll get frostbite.” Han Shanxue spoke a full sentence for once, taking Ye Wenxin for an ordinary person.

Ye Wenxin laughed. “It’s fine. I’m a Golden Core cultivator. A little chill shouldn’t—”

A piercing chill suddenly hit her, coating her innermost layer with thick frost. If she stayed in that icy wind for more than three breaths, she’d freeze solid and suffocate to death.

Ye Wenxin quietly backed off to a safer distance.

Seeing she had finally gotten the message, Han Shanxue turned her gaze to the stage. The two said nothing after that.

……

Before long, the results came out. Long Qingyue had earned everyone’s approval with her depiction of a cocoon breaking. The butterfly she created was vivid, its beauty striking.

Young Master Lü accepted his defeat. “Miss Yue, your skills are truly worthy of admiration. I concede.”

Long Qingyue gave a slight nod but didn’t bother with formal pleasantries. Normally, she wouldn’t have accepted such a trivial competition. However, she had made an exception since Ye Wenxin was working for the Fang family.

Long Qingyue’s metamorphosis painting was probably only about 30% of her ability. Unfortunately, no one noticed that she had been holding back. That she could not find a true judge of her talents was one of the reasons she found this world so dull.

“Miss Yue, this painting is exquisite. Would you be willing to part with it and sell it to me?” asked Yu Xian.

He had no other redeeming qualities aside from being rich. Watching Young Master Lü talking to Long Qingyue, he couldn’t stand being left out and immediately made an offer.

Long Qingyue responded with a faint smile. She had already captivated the onlookers with her beauty and aura.

Unlike others, Long Qingyue was adaptable and could slip into any role.

Right now, she carried both the freshness of a sixteen-year-old girl and the refined poise of a noble lady, making her an absolute delight to behold.

Ye Wenxin had always liked Long Qingyue from that period of her life. At least back then, she hadn’t killed people. She preferred pushing them into despair until they took their own lives.

“Apologies. I’ve already promised Miss Hong to sell my painting to the Treasure Pavilion,” Long Qingyue replied. True to form, she never did anything meaningless.

While chatting with Long Qingyue earlier, Sister Hong offered to buy the painting for the pavilion to give Young Master Lü more chances to interact with her.

Young Master Lü, who had been sulking a moment ago, immediately brightened. He knew Sister Hong still cared for him.

Yu Xian looked displeased but didn’t dare act out in front of Sister Hong.

In contrast, Young Master Lü looked like he wanted to announce his victory to the world. Sister Hong watched her childish younger brother. She had already given up hope for him.

Turning back to Long Qingyue, Sister Hong smiled. “Miss Yue, it’s nearly noon. Why don’t we have lunch together?”

Even so, she still tried to create more opportunities. Some things were easier said between women, and they wouldn’t have to be as guarded.

Long Qingyue smiled, her eyes flicking toward Ye Wenxin, silently mouthing the words: “Beg me, and I won’t go.”

But Ye Wenxin knew her too well. No matter how much she begged, Long Qingyue would go. All this fanfare was designed for her to get into the Treasure Pavilion.

Even though Ye Wenxin didn’t want to get tangled up in this royal sibling rivalry, Long Qingyue seemed intent on dragging her in.

So Ye Wenxin edged closer to Han Shanxue again, trying to calm herself with the chill. She vowed never to let Long Qingyue fool her again. She was no longer that rash Demon Lord. Sooner or later, she’d have this boss villain dancing in her palm. And if Long Qingyue forced her hand, Ye Wenxin was more than ready to teach her new tricks.

A subtle smirk curled at Ye Wenxin’s lips. But suddenly, she noticed Han Shanxue had moved even farther away this time. There were faint traces of moisture on her neck. For a moment, Ye Wenxin wondered if Han Shanxue really was melting. But she didn’t ask. Everyone had their secrets.

Ye Wenxin would stay friendly with Han Shanxue, but nothing more.

But as it turned out, this lunch outing was more trouble than it was worth.

“Miss Yue, let me make some introductions. This is my younger brother, Fang Lü. Starting from his right, we have Mei Xiaosheng, Fei Chai, and Celestial Master Ye…”

Since Sister Hong didn’t know Ye Wenxin’s real name, she could only refer to her by her title.

Long Qingyue glanced at Ye Wenxin, repeating the title with some doubt: “Celestial Master Ye?”

“Yes. Celestial Master Ye has considerable skill in Daoist arts, so I hold her in high regard,” Sister Hong explained smilingly before continuing with the rest of the introductions.

“And this is Miss Gu Youchou.”

When she heard the name Ghost Mother had given herself, Long Qingyue nearly laughed and broke her perfect mask. “Gu Youchou” sounded like a not-so-subtle declaration of Ghost Mother’s unwavering loyalty to Liu Churan and her irreconcilable grudge toward Gu Qingcheng.

Ye Wenxin felt embarrassed, but Long Qingyue wasn’t done stirring the pot. Smiling, she turned to Ghost Mother and said, “What a coincidence, Miss Gu. We share the same surname.”

Ghost Mother narrowed her eyes and feigned curiosity. “Oh? What is your full name, Miss Yue?”

Long Qingyue chuckled. “It’s Gu Aiyue.”

Hearing Long Qingyue’s obvious wordplay, Ye Wenxin’s feelings grew even more complicated. The “Yue” might not be the same, but the whole name essentially meant: “Gu loves Yue.” When had she, Gu Qingcheng, ever dared to entertain such fanciful thoughts about Long Qingyue?

But she could only quietly swallow the frustration, watching as everyone around her unknowingly praised Long Qingyue’s name.

The beautiful scene nearly brought Ye Wenxin to tears.

Fortunately, Long Qingyue behaved herself after that. The meal carried on pleasantly, thanks to a skilled conversationalist like Sister Hong leading discussions and the storyteller’s tales. It had been a long time since Ye Wenxin had shared such a simple meal with Long Qingyue. This moment reminded her of their youthful, reckless days.

Long Qingyue seemed moved as well. Her mind-reading ability told her this group harbored no ulterior motives toward her, which put her at ease. A genuine smile tugged at her lips.

Suddenly, she noticed Ye Wenxin staring straight at her.

Long Qingyue recalled when she first met Gu Qingcheng—also dressed in men’s clothes—at a brothel. She had lifted her cup and smiled gently at her. Ye Wenxin returned that smile, and just like that, the seed of fate was planted and quietly took root.

Long Qingyue couldn’t resist repeating that exchange. She raised her cup, which had tea instead of wine. Ye Wenxin also lifted her cup, smiled back at Long Qingyue, and drained the tea in one go. The two felt like they had returned to that bygone moment.

But both quickly returned to being strangers, engaging with those around them as if what had just passed between them was nothing more than an illusion born of overlapping memories.