Lu Qinyi had become a lot more… tolerant of Fei Li’s presence. He only cursed him out occasionally now. And so when Fei Li went to pass the doorway to the library which was wide open and much too quiet in the room beyond, he only paused for a moment before he changed his mind and decided to step inside. Most days, Lu Qinyi could be seen walking back and forth sorting books, and there would be the quiet sounds of steps and pages turning as he worked at his task. Fei Li couldn’t see Lu Qinyi when he initially entered. It was only when he walked deeper into depths of the piles of books and tall sets of shelves that he found him. He was sitting slumped in the corner made by where a bookshelf met the wall. Although he rolled his head slightly to look at who had entered, he didn’t sneer or make any remarks. He simply looked away again, staring blankly. There were stacks of books everywhere nearby, in the process of being sorted and given a place on the shelves. Instead of leaving again, Fei Li picked up a book from the top of one of the stacks.
“Where does this one go?” He asked, unsure if he’d even get an answer. Lu Qinyi didn’t want to converse with him on the best of days. And yet, Lu Qinyi lifted his gaze, assessing the book Fei Li held. After a moment, he waved his hand in the direction of one of the shelves.
Fei Li stepped forward and glanced over the books on that shelf. He couldn’t initially see any particular order to them so he simply went to slot the book in.
“Not there.”
Fei Li paused with the book still held uncertainly in his hand.
“They’re sorted by topic, then by relevance, then by age.”
Fei Li looked again and sure enough, they were indeed sorted. He ran his fingers along the books and pulled a few out to check their contents before he determined the correct position and placed the book away. He picked up another and held it for Lu Qinyi to see. “And this?”
Lu Qinyi silently assessed for a moment before he dragged himself to his feet. He walked to the other side of the room, tapping one of the shelves. “Literature is kept here.”
Fei Li nodded and walked over to place the next book. Lu Qinyi walked a wide arc around him before picking one of the books to sort for himself. He didn’t talk, neither comment nor complaint. His movements were slow but still, he was moving and it seemed like that was something to be grateful for on a day like this. There were good days and bad days. It seemed like today was a bad day for Lu Qinyi. Fei Li remained where he was and flicked open the next book of a nearby pile to scan its contents. “Military book.”
“What kind?”
“Sword techniques.”
“Left side, upper 3 shelves.”
Fei Li had to appreciate how well organised Lu Qinyi was. He obeyed the directions and placed the next book on the indicated shelf.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Sure enough, that shelf was free. Fei Li set it down and had just been shifting through the piles to pick another book to sort when Lu Qinyi walked closer. He reached out to push down the book Fei Li had just been lifting. “You can leave now.” His tone wasn’t bitter or biting, emotionless at best, and he didn’t give any further words or explanation. Lu Qinyi simply turned away to put another book away. Fei Li stared at him a moment, fingers still on the book before him. But he eventually withdrew his hand, leaving the room as quietly as he had come.
—
It hadn’t been many days before Fei Li was called over from his study to deal with a situation regarding Lu Qinyi. It hadn’t even been enough time for a stick of incense to burn since Yang Xun and Zhao Mei had left the estate when Fei Li had been informed that Lu Qinyi was arguing with the guards about leaving as well. Ever since Lu Qinyi had first arrived, he had shown no interest in taking even a step beyond the walls that encased Fei Li’s estate. It was truly strange, and strange hadn’t proved to be a good sign when it came to managing Lu Qinyi.
“What is it you want to leave for?” Fei Li asked.
Lu Qinyi shot him a look, still facing one of Fei Li’s guards with his arms crossed over his chest. “I want to go for a walk. Is that not allowed?”
Fei Li frowned but eventually, he merely shrugged. “You may do as you wish.” Upon seeing the way Lu Qinyi raised a brow, Fei Li was very quick to think better of his words and added “Within reason.”
“Fine. Then I want to leave to walk around.”
Couldn’t Lu Qinyi have waited until Zhao Mei and Yang Xun were back to go for a walk? But he looked pretty insistent on going now so Fei Li turned to his guard and gestured with two fingers for the guard to step aside. Lu Qinyi spared them both a glance before he went to walk through the gateway. Fei Li followed behind him, leaving a distance between them. Lu Qinyi glared at him.
“Why are you coming too?”
“Supervision.”
Lu Qinyi rolled his eyes. “You have guards don’t you? Don’t you have something better to do?”
“My guards are uneasy around you, particularly since that day where you destroyed your room and I had to replace all of the furniture.” Fei Li replied honestly. “I was getting tired of reports.” He hadn’t simply walked around without a purpose for sometime now, he was hardly idle enough for such things. So the warm sunshine and scenery that skirted the outside of the walls felt a bit unfamiliar to him. Fei Li hadn’t cared much about his home. He hadn’t been the one to design it, pick the features, or even the one to choose the minimal decor within it. But he had picked the location. It was set further back from the busy streets and packed areas where you would find the crowds. Somewhere more quiet. Fei Li liked quiet, and peace.
Lu Qinyi hadn’t bothered arguing with him further. Despite being out for a ‘walk’, he seemed oddly focused on finding something, looking around as he walked with Fei Li trailing after. Finally, Lu Qinyi seemed to have found it. He crouched down and plucked… a flower? It was a simple wild flower with red petals, about the size of a thumb. It wasn’t anything special but Lu Qinyi seemed satisfied, twirling the stem of it between his fingers as he stood back up. He turned and began walking back towards the estate, seemingly done with his outing now.
“A flower?” Fei Li asked and was met with an irritated look from Lu Qinyi. It seemed like Lu Qinyi wasn’t willing to talk with him.
A few moments passed.
“When I became a general and Zhao Mei became my lieutenant, she only really asked me for one thing. She wanted one particular day off each year. She didn’t tell me what for, she found it amusing to watch me try to guess. It wasn’t a birthday of hers, or anyone she knew. There wasn’t a celebration on that day. I couldn’t figure it out until I saw her on that day one time. She was out with her husband and her son. Her husband told me it was their anniversary today. Every year, that was the one day Zhao Mei always set aside to be with her family.”
Lu Qinyi gently smoothed the petals of that delicate flower in his grasp.
“And that day would be today?”
Lu Qinyi nodded. “I think so. I don’t have a grasp on times or days anymore. But Yang Xun remembers too, he always remembers this kind of stuff. I’m pretty sure he convinced her to go out today to keep her distracted.”
“I see,” Fei Li replied, frowning a little. Zhao Mei had seemed no different today but it had to be immensely difficult for her. Even after all this time, no news had been found of her husband and son.
They continued the walk back in silence. As they passed through the gateway again, Lu Qinyi said one more thing to him. “My possessions from when I was captured…”
Fei Li’s brows furrowed before he truthfully answered. “Discarded or destroyed.”
Lu Qinyi’s eyes closed as pain swelled in his chest. The letters… “Nevermind then.” He turned to walk back to his own room. Fei Li went his own way, returning to his study.
When he later came across Zhao Mei in passing, he wasn’t surprised to see the red flower she held. Just as she went to walk past him, he called “Mrs Zhao.”
Zhao Mei’s steps instantly stopped as she looked at him and frowned faintly. She was more confused than upset. Fei Li respectfully chose to continue calling both her and Yang Xun by their previous titles, he hadn’t called her in such a way before.
“Wait here.”
Fei Li left, returning a few moments later with a small decorative porcelain… vase? He held it out to her and she took it.
“Good night.” Fei Li said without answering the questioning gaze she gave him.
“…Good night.” Zhao Mei watched him leave before looking at the item in her hand. She filled it with water and set it on her bedside table. The flower it held sitting quietly in the faint moonlight cast through her window.
Author’s Notes:
Finally! The more wholesome content we’ve all earned! Enjoy~
Uploaded a day early since Rae was so fast with her review! Many thanks Rae~
thank for the updatealso that was bittersweet, but wholesome
You’re most welcome! Thank you for the comment! ❤
Loved it 😍
But when are you going to update again author??
I’m so glad! Thank you so much!! Sorry about the delay, the newest chapter is written and is currently being reviewed by my editor. It should hopefully go up tomorrow!
Not to mention that there is something sweet about the quiet book arranging between Lu Qinyi and Fei Li – it’s a start for them to start building that burnt bridge again! A very nice chapter once again, thank you for it! I hope you have a wonderful week and please take care of yourself! ❤
Yes! I’m glad you appreciate their tiny slow progress as much as I do. Its a start indeed! A start to something beautiful… and gay ✨
You’re very welcome and thank you for your comments! I still absolutely love them and look forward to them every time a chapter goes up. I wish you a lovely week as well ❤