At the breakfast table the next day—

Everything around her was as usual, only Yan Luqing herself was in all kinds of inner turmoil, harboring a bellyful of complicated thoughts. She had deliberately gone downstairs earlier than usual, wanting only to avoid Gu Ci at breakfast. Unexpectedly, just as she sat down, Gu Ci appeared at the entrance of the dining room.

—He had actually arrived early as well.

He looked in excellent spirits, the skin beneath his eyes clean and fresh. Today he was a Princess Ci whose beauty value was practically maxed out.

“Haven’t thanked you yet.” Gu Ci looked at her, his eyes curved as he said, “Bestie, yesterday was really effective.”

Yan Luqing, though she had not yet eaten anything, inexplicably felt a choke: “…Since we’re already calling each other bestie, no need to be so polite.”

After hastily finishing breakfast, Yan Luqing thought that his midterm exams would probably also last two days. Before leaving, she said, “Good luck on your exam today.” And in return she received from Gu Ci a single “Thanks.”

Everything was as usual.

Truly exactly the same as usual.

Perhaps the artificial idiot was right—those answers only showed that their relationship was not bad, that Gu Ci’s impression of her was fairly good, nothing more.

Yan Luqing didn’t want to waste the whole day idling at home. She felt she ought to find something to do, to divert her attention. After pondering back and forth, she thought: since she had borne so many burdens with this body, she should also use this body’s money to enjoy a bit of happiness.

Yan Luqing chose to go shopping.

She brought Big Black and Little Black along to the downtown mall. Originally she thought she could be like in the TV dramas, pointing at a whole row of clothes and saying, “Wrap them all up.” But once actually on site, she discovered she still couldn’t do it—

Because in every row there were clothes hideous to the extreme!!

When she began selecting piece by piece, she heard Big Black beside her sighing to Little Black: “Miss Yan’s taste is so much better now. I was wondering why she only called the two of us out this time. Turns out it’s because she doesn’t shop like before anymore.”

Little Black, who hadn’t experienced it, asked curiously: “What kind of clothes did she buy before?”

Big Black: “The kind that makes you feel both the maker and the buyer were blind.”

“……” Yan Luqing, hearing this, really couldn’t hold back from retorting: “Big Black, have you been led astray by Gu Ci? Why does your way of speaking have such a ‘Ci flavor’?”

Big Black’s face turned faintly red.

But truth be told, his complaint was quite funny.

Yan Luqing turned back and continued picking clothes.

They shopped for a long time. At first, the spree of buying was indeed extremely joyful, but after Yan Luqing had bought enough that Big Black and Little Black’s hands were full, she started to feel tired. As she wandered, she began frequently spacing out. Unconsciously walking into a store, she was reminded from behind by Little Black: “Miss Yan, this is a men’s clothing store…”

Big Black quickly jabbed Little Black: “Don’t be tactless! Obviously it’s to buy for Gu—”

Hearing this, Yan Luqing instantly snapped out of her daze—indeed, she was standing at the entrance of a well-known men’s brand store.

But she didn’t leave. Instead, she went straight inside, and at the same time looked back at her two bodyguards: “No.”

Little Black froze: “What’s not?”

Yan Luqing denied what Big Black had said: “I came in not to buy for Gu Ci, but to let the two of you pick clothes.” Then she smiled. “This past month you’ve both worked hard. Just stroll around, pick whatever you like, I’ll pay.”

Although Yan Luqing said so, of course Big Black and Little Black still didn’t dare buy freely. But she forcefully picked several sets of matching “brother outfits” for them—whether they accepted or not, they had to accept.

In the end the brothers were very happy, probably feeling that her mood must be especially good today, and so they talked much more than usual, performing like a crosstalk duo, amusing Yan Luqing to the point of great delight.

The three left at noon, and didn’t return home until Yan Luqing could no longer walk from shopping, by then dusk had already fallen.

Gu Ci was sitting on the sofa. Hearing the sound of facial recognition by the door, he lifted his eyes to look.

Before the door even opened, the sound of laughter came drifting in.

“You two, next time we go out, wear that striped set,” the girl’s voice rang out, entirely different from the morning, “Eh, it really looks good, especially imposing!”

Yan Luqing entered the door first, followed by Big Black and Little Black, each with their hands full of shopping bags.

Gu Ci’s eyes swept over those logos, finally landing precisely on a certain men’s brand.

Not just one—several bags.

Yan Luqing, still entirely unaware, was speaking with lively enthusiasm. After changing her shoes and walking toward the living room, she finally noticed Gu Ci’s figure.

“You’re back?” Her smile was still on her face. “You actually got home earlier than me.”

She directed Big Black and Little Black: “You two take these up to the changing room upstairs, don’t unpack them, I’ll do it myself later.”

She very much enjoyed the feeling of tearing open new clothing packages and hanging them on the rack.

Once she had finished instructing them, Yan Luqing went over to the sofa and sat down, habitually turning on the television. Then she looked at Gu Ci with some surprise.

“Why didn’t you turn on the TV today?”

Gu Ci looked at her expression. He had already completely returned to the way he was before yesterday, entirely different from this morning.

He suddenly felt a bit like laughing, and some unfamiliar emotion quietly sprouted.

As though out of his control.

But nothing showed on his face.

Gu Ci asked: “Why did you suddenly go shopping?”

Yan Luqing flipped channels as she replied: “Oh, nothing, just to relax a little.”

“To relax,” Gu Ci repeated her last two words. Then he turned his head and asked, “You’re unhappy?”

“……” Yan Luqing’s fingers paused slightly, silent for a moment. “It’s not that I’m unhappy.”

It was just that there were some things she couldn’t figure out.

For example, the entanglement between the Family Head and the wife, between the fatuous ruler and the enemy-country princess.

What the Family Head couldn’t figure out about the wife, the wife also couldn’t figure out about the Family Head.

Yan Luqing’s train of thought went like this: when she was conflicted, she had indeed truly and tangibly struggled with it. But if she still couldn’t straighten it out, then she might as well set it aside for the time being.

Heaven and earth are vast, but happiness is the greatest.

These were things Yan Luqing could not say to Gu Ci. So she perfunctorily said: “Ai, you know my grandfather has always wanted me to go back to school, but I’ve gotten used to being lazy at home and don’t want to go… But sooner or later I’ll still have to return to study, so that’s why my mood’s been bad.”

After saying this, she turned her head to look at Gu Ci’s expression, and happened to meet his gaze.

Though he wasn’t smiling, his expression looked fairly mild. Then he slightly turned his body, one hand resting on the back of the sofa, his voice casual as he said: “When you went shopping, why did you buy men’s clothing?”

“……”

Yan Luqing was at first stunned, then immediately reacted—he must have seen the bags Big Black and Little Black were carrying.

“Ah… I just happened to pass by, then thought of rewarding Big Black and Little Black a little, so I bought them a few sets of clothes.”

Actually, it didn’t quite seem like that.

At the time, though she had been spacing out, it seemed she was thinking about the enemy-country princess before her. And afterwards, because she heard Big Black say, “Miss Yan came to buy for Gu Ci,” she suddenly gave rise to a rebellious impulse—today, the Family Head truly would not buy it!

But why was the enemy-country princess Ci asking this?

She looked at Gu Ci in puzzlement, only to find that he slowly drew out a faint smile, his voice lowering: “Only bought for those two?”

“……”

The Family Head was suddenly stunned.

Why did it inexplicably feel like being caught by a wife for buying brand-name clothes for her own secretaries?

Yan Luqing nodded: “…Mm, didn’t buy for anyone else.”

She truly had only bought for those two secretaries.

Yet she hadn’t expected that upon hearing this, Gu Ci first nodded lightly: “Oh.”

Then the distance between them suddenly drew closer—she saw today’s peak-value beauty of the princess magnified before her eyes, appearing all the more stunning.

“Others have, but I don’t.” Gu Ci smiled at her, the curve at the corner of his eyes exceedingly beautiful. He said: “Yan Luqing, is this the treatment of being your bestie?”