Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

"Do you like it?"

Shang Hexing’s voice came from behind her, very close. Wen Zhi turned around to show him the dress.

Shang Hexing said, "You’ve worn it before, but I didn’t know if you’d still like it now."

Wen Zhi nodded, "I still like it."

He bent his lips into a smile.

After a long journey, dusty and covered in dirt, Wen Zhi couldn’t wait to take a bath and change her clothes.

She was afraid to speak up, worrying that she would be a nuisance, but she hadn’t expected that Shang Hexing had already arranged everything for her, without a word.

She happily took the dress with her to the washroom. Just as she reached the doorway, she heard Shang Hexing call her name:

"Wen Zhi."

Turning at the sound of his voice, her face beamed with a radiant smile, "Hmm?"

Shang Hexing asked, "Did Meng Fan get carsick coming to Licheng this time?"

Wen Zhi nodded, and then said, "But Meng Fan said she was never carsick before, only when she came here. She keeps having all sorts of strange images in her mind. She seemed quite agonized, so I agreed to ride here with her."

Whatever those images were, Meng Fan did not elaborate, and Wen Zhi was unclear about them.

Shang Hexing said, "She’s been to Licheng before."

Wen Zhi continued, "I guessed as much."

Because earlier, Shang Hexing had said she’d been here before, she remembered his exact words from before.

"After your bath, rest for a bit. I’ll go see my grandmother and come back as soon as I can."

Wen Zhi obediently nodded, "Okay."

She was so well-behaved, Shang Hexing found it hard to leave her, but it was only half an hour. He needed to inform his grandmother of Wen Zhi’s arrival and arrange for them to meet later.

After Shang Hexing left, Wen Zhi went to take her bath.

About ten minutes later, Wen Zhi emerged from the washroom dressed in a long-sleeved dress with red and green patterns.

She looked at herself in the mirror and, without any insincerity, grinned, "Red and green together actually look quite nice."

And the long sleeves were perfect for blocking ultraviolet rays.

After drying her hair, Wen Zhi put on a headscarf and then mockingly covered her face in the mirror, "Just like a local."

Feeling very cheerful, she played with the headscarf and walked over to the curtains, pulling them back with a swipe of her hand to reveal the full design of the floor-to-ceiling glass wall.

The courtyard was outside.

A peacock stood on the steps below, foraging for food. Wen Zhi tapped the glass to make a sound, "Hi~"

Her tap startled the peacock, making its long feathers wobble back and forth.

Wen Zhi regretted her brusqueness. She closed the curtains and went over to open the door.

The peacock hadn’t wandered far off. She squatted down and called to it, and the peacock came trotting back.

Wen Zhi giggled as a long shadow fell beside her. Her smile froze as she looked up.

It was the man who had greeted her when she came in.

"You’re my uncle’s little girlfriend?" the man towered over her as he asked.

Wen Zhi stood up, a look of discomfort on her face. She wasn’t sure how to respond, so she extended her hand and introduced herself, "Hello, I’m Wen Zhi."

The man didn’t extend his hand, just opened his mouth, "I’m Han Yu, Meng Fan’s cousin."

Wen Zhi’s eyes flitted, "Oh, so you’re Meng Fan’s cousin."

Seeing that Wen Zhi looked like an easy target, soft and pliable, Han Yu handed her a bucket, "Since you’re here, the task of feeding the peacocks falls to you now."

Wen Zhi took the bucket hesitantly, "I’m to feed them?"

Han Yu asked, "You don’t know how?"

Wen Zhi quickly said, "I do, I do."

Han Yu crossed his arms, "These peacocks are my great-aunt’s beloved treasures, not a single mistake can be made."

"I will feed them well," Wen Zhi promised.

After saying that, she went off to find the peacocks.

There was still plenty of feed in the bucket, making it somewhat heavy. Wen Zhi, leaning to one side, bent over, appearing somewhat challenged by the weight of the bucket.

Han Yu chuckled softly, "Tsk, I’ve always heard people say that this woman managed to climb up to my uncle because of her cunning ways. Looks like she’s pretty average to me, not all that sharp."

She seemed kind of dopey, very easy to bully.

Han Yu leaned against a wooden column, watching like he was enjoying a show.

But then, Shang Hexing returned. Upon seeing him, Han Yu immediately straightened up.

"What are you doing?" Shang Hexing walked up to Wen Zhi’s side.

Wen Zhi turned around, her hands covered in feed, thankfully saved by rolling up her sleeves.

When she saw Shang Hexing, she was startled at first, then quickly backed away, not wanting the feed on her hands to touch him.

"I’m feeding the peacocks," she said truthfully, pointing to the bucket beside her.

Shang Hexing took her hands, undisturbed by the feed, wiping it off for her, "Did you want to feed them yourself?"

"No, I didn’t," Wen Zhi shook her head.

From a distance, Han Yu sensed trouble brewing.

Shang Hexing then asked, "So who asked you to do it?"

Wen Zhi turned to look at Han Yu, who tensed at her glance. Then she lifted a hand to point at him and said, "He told me to do it, bossing me around as soon as you left."

Han Yu: "...", Damn, the girl’s naiveté was all an act.

She was sharp as a tack!

And she knew when to complain once her backup had arrived.