The first time Yan Luqing read lines like “The Han Emperor valued beauty and longed for a nation-toppling face” and “From then on, the ruler no longer attended morning court,” the first thought that arose in her heart was incomprehension: Is the bed of tenderness really that good to sleep in? Isn’t it fragrant to govern the country as a wise ruler? If you won’t attend court, I almost want to attend court in your place.

And also the tales of Daji and King Zhou, as well as the anecdote of “beacon fires played upon the feudal lords.”

Some people sighed regretfully over these two anecdotes, because they saw in them sorrowful and touching love stories—yet when Yan Luqing read that King You of Zhou lit the beacon tower to amuse Bao Si and tricked the feudal lords, she put herself in the lords’ place and only felt she would be angered to death on the spot.

As she grew older and her thoughts gradually matured, those slightly extreme ideas of childhood faded away, and she began to understand that the seven emotions and six desires of people were sometimes difficult to control.

Until now, looking at Gu Ci—Yan Luqing, for the first time, felt as though she stood in the position of a muddle-headed ruler.

The faults of muddle-headed rulers and tyrants could never be whitewashed by any reason; only, she had to admit… that the bed of tenderness was indeed probably very good to sleep in, and peerless beauties were indeed formidable.

But she was not any muddle-headed ruler—she was merely the small head of her own household.

Moreover, even if she truly became an emperor who had to attend morning court, she believed that she would certainly be a wise ruler—so long as no enemy country sent a princess named Gu Ci to bewilder her heart, there would be no problem.

——

From the garden back to the room, Yan Luqing all the way felt a bit dizzy, her whole mind replaying the expression on Gu Ci’s face when he said that final sentence to her.

Only after taking a bath did she become clear-headed again.

She lay on her back upon the bed, looking at the ceiling, and called out to Makka Pakka.

The moment she opened her mouth it was an astonishingly shocking question—

“Do you know how to pluck the stars?”

“…Ah?” If Makka Pakka had a mouth, at this moment it would surely already be wide agape.

It thought, Do my colleagues also get daily struck speechless by their hosts? Or is it only that my host is such an oddball?

Makka Pakka paused for several seconds before cautiously asking: “Maria, what did you just say? Pluck the stars? Do you mean…the real stars in the sky?”

“What else?” Yan Luqing half-jokingly asked, “Could it be you think I’m talking about fake stars?”

“Then do you perhaps think…” Makka Pakka trembled all over, “that I look like someone who can pluck the stars down…”

Of course not.

It wasn’t that she had no common sense, she was merely bored and teasing it.

Yan Luqing deliberately sighed: “After all, you are so almighty; I can even read minds now. I just thought… perhaps you really could pluck the stars, who knows.”

Makka Pakka explained with difficulty: “…But all of this is limited within a certain scope, Maria. The universe is the father.”

Yan Luqing was amused by its sentence “The universe is the father,” and laughed: “Enough, step down. I was teasing you.”

Though she said so with her mouth, her brain kept turning unceasingly, all kinds of “plucking the stars” plans lining up one after another, then one after another being eliminated.

By the time she had studied from plan one to plan ten in order, and had been thinking for quite a while, Yan Luqing suddenly realized what she was doing, and instantly sobered—

She had actually been solemnly devising various plans for plucking “fake stars,” even pondering which would be more beautiful, which would be more romantic.

…So that was why she said the enemy country must not be allowed to send a princess named Gu Ci to seduce her!

Yan Luqing abruptly sat up from the bed, her expression both regretful and ashamed. Curling her finger, she closed her eyes and flicked her own forehead with a knock.

You don’t even have a wife, yet you keep using “wife” as a metaphor every day! Family Head, wake up!!

Yan Luqing flicked herself to lessen that feeling of shame, and at the same time to clear her mind.

At dinner that evening, before she had even decided what sort of expression she ought to use to face a certain princess from an enemy country, the princess herself called her out.

He said: “What happened to your forehead?”

With this question from Gu Ci, Little Black, who had been at her side all along, finally noticed Yan Luqing’s forehead. In the middle of her fair skin was a small patch of red.

This observation was far too meticulous… he himself had not noticed at all. As her bodyguard, he instantly felt a deep sense of shame and guilt.

Just as Little Black finished thinking this, another thought quickly followed—Miss Yan and Gu Ci seemed like they were in a relationship. In that case, it was only natural that a bodyguard could not compare to a boyfriend.

Little Black immediately forgave himself.

Yan Luqing had no idea about the winding mountain paths of thought in her bodyguard’s heart. She instinctively reached up to touch the spot a little above the center of her brows—that was where she had flicked herself earlier. Could it be… it had left a mark?

She picked up her chopsticks, forcing calm, and said, “I accidentally bumped it while bathing.”

Gu Ci watched her face with great interest. Her skin was fair, and in the middle of her full, well-proportioned forehead, the faint red dot was very obvious. “Looks quite like someone flicked your forehead.”

The chopsticks in her hand froze.

“But who would dare flick you.” Gu Ci paused, slowed his speech, as though deliberately drawing it out. “Then again, that can’t be… it must have been you yourself.”

Yan Luqing: “……”

Am I the one who can read minds, or are you???

The spot where she had flicked herself was practically starting to heat up. She maintained her expression, kept her gaze fixed on the dishes, and did not look at Gu Ci’s face. “I’m not stupid. I just bumped it casually, that’s all.”

“Mm.” She heard Gu Ci’s response, carrying a faint smile.

After that, he had no intention of speaking again. It seemed she had managed to muddle through, and Yan Luqing finally let out a sigh of relief.

A muddle-headed ruler really couldn’t win against the princess of an enemy country.

——

After dinner Yan Luqing received a phone call. It was from the old Master Yan, asking her when she was going to attend school.

The moment Yan Luqing thought of the period when she had buried herself in intense study, her scalp went numb. If nightmares had a ranking of the most terrifying things, then college physics and electronics and electrical engineering would absolutely occupy the very top of her nightmare list.

And on top of that, it had been Gu Ci teaching her. That was the princess of an enemy country. If it had been another teacher, she would have died of frustration while studying.

Yan Luqing said softly: “Grandpa, my butt still hurts.”

At that moment she was, as usual, sitting on the sofa watching TV with Gu Ci. When the call came, she had not avoided him, and Gu Ci had even considerately turned down the volume of the television.

After she spoke, Yan Luqing distinctly felt his gaze sweep over her.

On the other end, the old Master Yan also felt somewhat awkward. He cleared his throat: “I asked your doctor two days ago, he said it wasn’t too serious, just a few days and it would be fine…”

“But—” Yan Luqing cut him off: “Grandpa, it really hurts. It just hurts.”

The princess of an enemy country swept another glance over.

Yan Luqing had been lazing comfortably at home for far too long lately. Thinking that she could drag things out for another day if possible, and taking advantage of the fact that the old Master had not yet had time to confirm, she added: “And also… Grandpa, I haven’t been feeling very well recently.”

The old Master Yan was stunned: “Not feeling very well? In what way?”

“That is, my mental state has been… stirred up by this matter,” Yan Luqing spoke very vaguely, “and has become somewhat unstable.”

“……”

This move successfully repelled the Yan Family’s eldest.

Yan Luqing hung up the phone with a face full of smiles, and said to Gu Ci: “You can turn the TV volume back up, I’m done with the call.”

Unintentionally meeting Gu Ci’s gaze, Yan Luqing saw him maintaining that kind of look as though he were observing an alien life form, and then nodding slightly at her: “I heard.”

Silence fell for a moment.

Yan Luqing felt that she, at any rate, was someone who had always been regarded as a top student in high school, so it was still necessary to explain a little… She looked steadily at Gu Ci and said calmly: “Actually, I do quite like studying.”

Gu Ci smiled and nodded: “You just don’t want to attend school.”

“……”

After saying that, he continued to turn the TV volume up, as though he had long grown accustomed to this way of hers.

Just as the opening theme finished playing and the next episode of the drama began to air, Yan Luqing said no more, scooped up a throw pillow to hug, and the two of them continued to watch TV.

Yan Luqing was watching intently when suddenly her phone buzzed. She didn’t open the screen until the episode finished.

It was a WeChat message from the old Master Yan.

【Yan Family’s Eldest】: If you don’t take medicine, how could you get better? Take medicine on time, and once you are stable, immediately go to school.

“……”

Looking at those two words “take medicine,” Yan Luqing decided, boldly and fearlessly, not to reply to this message.

At first she had fretted over whether the brain of someone with mental illness had in fact undergone some sort of lesion. She searched for a long time and found all kinds of conflicting statements. Later, she closely observed her own body and felt that indeed she occasionally experienced headaches, but—

Where on this body was there no pain? Taking a few extra steps left her panting, running eight hundred meters would likely make her faint on the spot; there was simply no part of her that was completely healthy.

She was willing to accept nourishing and adjusting of all the body’s organs, but no matter what, when it came to mental illness medicine she would absolutely never take it—that was the bottom line.

——

Originally she thought she would not need to consider this matter of returning to school for the time being, at least enjoy a few days of leisure. But Yan Luqing did not expect that the very next day she would, for some unknown reason, receive a friend request.

【Yezi】

【I’m Yezi from the group chat “XX Class Computer Science Department General Group”】

Yan Luqing’s first thought: Could it be that some teacher had sent this person to urge her to attend class?

So she clicked reject. But not long after, another request came.

She thought, even if it really was to urge her, it would still be better to explain things clearly. So she clicked 【Accept】—

The chat box popped up, and the other party quickly sent a message.

【Yezi】: [Good morning.jpg]

An expression of a cat.

Yan Luqing politely replied with a “Good morning,” and then directly asked the purpose.

【Runaway Saintess】: Why did you add me? Do you have some business?

【Yezi】: Hello! (Cute)

【Yezi】: Actually, I saw you on the day of the midterm exam, and I wanted to add you then. I kept hesitating, hesitating until now…

“……”

Looking at this person’s avatar, which was practically bubbling with pink bubbles, Yan Luqing tapped it—

So pretty, this little sister!

She’s totally my type!

Yan Luqing: Ah…

Immediately after, Yezi sent another message.

【Yezi】: Um, classmate, may I ask why you only attended one exam, and before and after that you haven’t come to class?

Yan Luqing was very familiar with this sort of opening, but she had no intention of becoming close with anyone here, much less this kind of obviously male–female interaction.

She felt she ought to strangle it in the cradle.

【Runaway Saintess】: To tell you the truth, it’s because I’m a mental illness patient. I was previously on a leave of absence, so I didn’t attend class.

She saw countless question marks bubbling above 【Yezi】’s head.

【Runaway Saintess】: I originally planned to return to class after finishing the exam, but I didn’t expect to relapse after the exam…

After sending it, Yan Luqing immediately deleted him.

Classmate Yezi, surely this would extinguish his thoughts, right?

Although Yan Luqing’s hand was utterly merciless in deleting friends, when she saw the praise in the other party’s heart, it was impossible to say she wasn’t happy.

——After all, the Family Head who had once been showered with praise, upon coming to this world, had hardly had anyone sincerely compliment her face-to-face.

Close to breakfast time, Yan Luqing, in excellent spirits, went downstairs, just in time to bump into Gu Ci who had come out to pour some water.

She thought for a moment, smoothed her hair with her hand, walked over to stand behind him, and greeted: “Morning.”

Gu Ci turned around—just waking up and still a peerless beauty—lifting his cup and looking at her: “Morning, bestie.”

“……” Why was it that the “bestie” from Gu Ci’s mouth was sounding smoother and smoother? Clearly this form of address had originally been her own suggestion.