Chapter Thirty-Six: We Are No Longer Entwined

Zeng Lang failed to notice that, when facing Pingyin now, his patience was nothing like it once was. Frowning, he glanced around, then lowered his voice in irritation. "I have something to discuss with her."

He shot Pingyin a warning glare and growled, "Let go! Do you hear me? Let go, right now!"

No, this isn't how it used to be—he was never so harsh with her before!

Her eyes grew even redder as she sniffed, tears falling in fat drops down her cheeks.

When he saw more and more people turning to look at them, Zeng Lang grew truly annoyed. Ever since he abandoned Lu Ying, his reputation had been in tatters. Though it was said that a man could not be shamed, the title of "wife-abandoner" and rumors of taking his wife as his concubine had all branded him as cold-hearted and untrustworthy. In this age, where Confucian virtue was increasingly prized, he could often feel the angry stares of scholars drilling into him.

The last thing he wanted was to be the center of attention. With a harsh tug, he yanked Pingyin's hand away and hissed, "You fool! Why are you crying here of all places?"

He used all his strength to pry her fingers away, not considering for a moment the pain it would cause. Pingyin's hand was scraped so roughly that blood welled on the back of it. Stunned, she let go, staring in a daze as Zeng Lang walked toward Lu Ying.

A muffled sob escaped her. Pingyin pressed her hands to her face, crying silently.

After chatting and laughing quietly with her brother for a while, Lu Ying suddenly heard someone call from behind, "A-Ying."

That voice—

She stiffened, turning slowly. Hurrying toward her was none other than Zeng Lang.

She hadn't expected to see him again so soon. Lu Ying's eyes widened as she stared at his face, thinking in surprise: Just a few days ago, I slapped him on both cheeks. How has he already let go of his anger? Why has he come to find me? What does he want now?

Remembering how Old Master Zeng had nearly sold her to Old Madam Ping the other day, Lu Ying grew wary. Yet what puzzled her was the look on Zeng Lang's face as he strode toward her: there was no malice in it—quite the opposite. His eyes, fixed unwaveringly on her, held a hint of tenderness and longing.

"Zeng," Lu Yun snapped, stepping protectively in front of his sister as soon as he saw Zeng Changzhi. His handsome features darkened, and his hand at his side clenched into a fist. "My sister has nothing more to do with you. What are you doing here?"

"I..." Zeng Lang's throat tightened, and under Lu Yun's vigilant gaze, his steps faltered. Halting, he stared blankly at Lu Ying.

...How could it be? How could A-Ying, whose engagement had been broken, who should never have been able to marry well again, look even more beautiful than before? Simply standing there so quietly, her dark eyes calm and undisturbed, she was unspeakably moving.

Swallowing, Zeng Lang spoke in a hoarse, gentle voice. "A-Yun, I mean no harm. I just... I just wanted to see A-Ying."

"We're not interested."

Lu Yun glared at him coldly. "Zeng Changzhi, listen well: neither my sister nor I have anything more to do with your family. Now get lost."

"You—" Zeng Lang's anger flared at Lu Yun's words, and he started to raise his voice, but when he caught Lu Ying's serene gaze, his temper vanished. He lowered his head, murmuring, "I just wanted to see you... A-Ying, these past few days, I've missed you. Truly. As for you hitting me, I've long forgotten it. I... I miss you."

He missed her? After becoming another woman's fiancé, he missed her?

Lu Ying almost wanted to laugh. How could there be such a man in this world—always coveting what he could not have, never satisfied, forever gazing after women who didn’t belong to him!

Her lips curled in a faint, ironic smile. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm doing quite well now," she replied coolly. "It would be better for us not to meet again." She paused, then added with a gentle smile, "If you carry on like this, you’ll only make Miss Ping sad." With that, she cast a meaningful glance toward the donkey cart behind them, where Pingyin was staring at her with a mixture of nervousness and resentment.

Turning away, Lu Ying held out her hand to her brother. "A-Yun, such idle people are not worth our anger. Let's go." Without another word, the siblings joined hands and walked away, not sparing Zeng Lang a backward glance.

As he watched the siblings walk away, their heads bent together in quiet laughter, Lu Ying's cool, clear laughter drifting back to him, Zeng Lang suddenly felt his chest tighten, almost as if he couldn't breathe.

...He had always loved Lu Ying, after all. Otherwise, he would never have considered letting her go. Now, watching her treat him as a stranger, and being utterly powerless to stop her, Zeng Lang realized for the first time how stifling that sensation could be.

In A-Ying's eyes, he had truly become nothing more than an irrelevant outsider!

He stood there for a long moment, forcing down the sour ache in his chest, before slowly turning away. By then, Pingyin had come up behind him. But he walked right past her, as if she didn't exist. Even after climbing into the donkey cart, and as it rattled away into the distance, Zeng Lang, lost in his own emotions, failed to notice that Pingyin was still left behind, abandoned on the spot.

No, this wasn't her Zeng Lang. Her Zeng Lang had always been gentle and courteous, handsome and affectionate; her Zeng Lang used to tell her tender jokes, to gaze at her with eyes full of joy. Whenever she appeared, his gaze would never leave her.

Their engagement had only just been set; she had not even married him yet—how had her Zeng Lang changed so?

Covering her mouth with her hand, Pingyin couldn't hold back her sobs. With each choking sound, tears streamed down her pale cheeks in great, round drops. But now, there was no affectionate young man to watch her with concern, nor any bystander to comfort her kindly. All that remained was the distant donkey cart receding into the distance, and the scornful, pointing fingers of those around her.

The siblings made their way into a narrow alley. Glancing at the grand house beside them, Lu Yun suddenly pointed at it in excitement. "Sister, do you know? That boy who lives next door to us—the one we've run into a few times—his name is Yin Che! Let me tell you, Yin Che is remarkable. He's a renowned talent here in Luoyang. The late Lord Qiu once said that, in his life, he’d met countless geniuses, but among them all, Yin Che of the Yin family stands above the rest."

At his words, Lu Ying suddenly remembered why the name Yin Che sounded so familiar—she’d heard people mention him long ago.