Qin Miao's bright eyes stared at Xie Yun, making him feel a bit uneasy.

  "How come you're allowed to drink and I'm not?" Xie Yan slightly turned his head, trying to avoid the awkwardness.

  "This isn't it, I just find it strange. You... aren't you the one who doesn't like drinking? And besides... in the past, you always stopped me from drinking, saying it's not proper and not dignified..."

  Vaguely remembered that after Qingxiang entered the mansion, she didn't often see Xieyan either. So during her melancholy, she had nothing but turbid wine to accompany her through each cold night. But thanks to those days, she got to taste all sorts of wines in the big and small taverns of Pingyang City. Thinking about it now, it's still quite memorable.

  Qin Miaohuan looked around but couldn't find any suitable wine cups, and it wasn't good to wake up Zixuan in the middle of the night, so she simply picked up two tea cups. "No wine cups, we'll just have to make do."

  As soon as the words fell, Xie Yan gave a ghostly smile, this smile should only be in heaven. Qin Miao involuntarily shivered, feeling that today's Xie Yan was giving off an eerie aura. What kind of eerie aura? A bit wild and reckless! Yes, a bit crazy, a bit wild, not at all like Xie Yan...

  Before Qin Miao could react, her waist was already lightly blocked by someone, and she stepped out of the door with a few light taps. With a gentle flutter, she floated up to the rooftop on the wind.

  "What are you doing!" This sudden change made her furious and she shouted loudly. But just the next moment, half of her face was covered by someone, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't make a loud noise.

  "Hmm...Xie Xuan, are you still the Xie Xuan I know? Bastard!"

  Her waist was locked by someone, and that person was close at hand. Under the moonlight, a stunning face leaned in, pouting to signal her to be quiet. "Shh... don't make a sound, do you want the whole Qin family to wake up and see us?" Still, his lips were cold and thin, with just the right thickness, and as they parted, hot air sprayed onto her cheek.

  So frivolous, so wanton, indeed very different from the dignified and proper Lord Hou she knew. Yet it was with this ambiguous and alluring demeanor that he held her in his arms. At this moment, Qin Miao felt a little dizzy...

  "You... didn't you say you wanted to drink? How can I drink like this?" Qin Miao helplessly rolled her eyes at him. Indeed, the force around her waist loosened a bit, and she hastily shifted a few steps to the side. But little did she know, she had already been brought to the rooftop, and with every step, she was in danger of tumbling down like a rolling donkey.

  "Ah!" As expected, in order to avoid embarrassment, one careless step and the person was gone.

  Xie Xuan's long arm swept out, pulling the person back against his chest once more. His chin rested smoothly on her forehead as he chuckled and said, "You're avoiding me and guarding against me like this, yet you don't even realize when you're about to fall."

  This time Qin Miao was indeed obedient. At this moment, she was kidnapped to the rooftop, and a slight carelessness could make her fall down.

  Xie Xun saw that she was much more obedient in her own arms, and a cluster of sweetness suddenly rippled in her heart. However, this silly sweet taste didn't last long.

  "Come on, aren't we going to drink? Bring it here!" Qin Miao said so, but her two small hands still tightly grasped Xie Yun's collar. However, her expression had calmed down a lot and was no longer flustered as before, instead seeming rather distant.

  At such a moment, the fragrance of the jade was so close, yet the beauty was unintentional, and Xie Xuan's heart was cool. He put down Qin Miao, sat safely on the rooftop, and handed over a jar of wine with his right hand. "Here!"

  Qin Miao didn't say a word, pulled open the wine cover, and a refreshing sweetness hit her face. She was overjoyed in an instant, without waiting for the people around her, she directly tilted her head back and took a mouthful. Her heroic vigor was not inferior to that of a man.

  Xie Xuan just stared at her in surprise, having only seen her drink like that on a stormy day. In the past, when she saw her drinking, although she was greedy for cups, she was still an elegant and dignified woman. If it were an ordinary day, Xie Xuan would have definitely looked down on her with disdain. But at this moment, seeing Qin Miao being so unbridled, the disappointment in his heart was self-evident.

  She would no longer pretend in front of herself and hide her true nature.

  This brought back memories of when Qin Miao had just entered the manor, although he didn't like her background, and after becoming the master of Zhong Kui, he often heard Po Feng say that she was ruthless and tough in her actions, but at least in front of him, Qin Miao always presented herself as a gentle and obedient woman. At that time, he also thought that spending a lifetime together with her wouldn't be bad either.

  Until now, he was infatuated with a fake Qin Miao. The real Qin Miao had been hiding her true nature and compromising herself to fit into Xie Zhu's ideal wife. That day when she got drunk under the corridor and cried out in despair, it was probably because she couldn't hold back anymore.

  Every time he thought of this, thinking of the scene that day, Xie Yan's heart was like a knife cutting at his heart. He also raised his head and drank a mouthful by himself, staring blankly into the distance.

  "An Na, don't you hate me?"

  Xie Xuan finally asked the question that he had wanted to ask for so many years but had nowhere to ask. Although he already knew the answer, he still masochistically wanted to hear her say it herself.

  Qin Miao was still immersed in the fragrance of wine, just thinking about opening his mouth to ask where the wine came from, when he unexpectedly received Xie Yan's serious question.

  "Cough... Maybe it did happen, but I'm also unclear about it. The matter has already passed, and I don't want to investigate further. You... don't need to either..."

  From the moment she left Xie's house, Qin Miao had made up her mind not to look back. Even in midnight dreams, she could still dream of Xie Yan, but what did that represent? Two people who couldn't be together, even if there was still a thread of thought in their hearts, it wasn't very realistic. Qin Miao wasn't some foolish woman from a novel, she couldn't learn to be so sentimental, and thinking back, she had been brave enough to pursue Xie Yan step by step, but that was probably because his appearance had confused her judgment.

  "Alas, after you found me, I've been wanting to find an opportunity to have a good chat with you." Qin Miao took a sip of wine and smiled as she spoke towards the distant high-hanging crescent moon: "You and I knowing each other was actually a mistake from the start. Look at it, what status is Xie Yun in, and what status am I in? If not for the two old ancestors having a relationship, we wouldn't have been brought together. Our families aren't compatible, you were respectful back then, but I'm not the kind of woman you wanted to marry. These are things I only thought about after leaving you, when one is in a situation they're confused, but once out of it, they naturally become clear-headed. You say, isn't that right?"

  Qin Miao finished speaking and raised the wine jug in front of Xie Yan. Xie Yan was still stunned, but suddenly came to his senses, and they clinked glasses together, both tilting their heads back to drink the wine.

  Sweet wine enters the throat, instantly turns bitter, bitterness reaches the heart and lungs, numbing people's hearts.

  Xie Xun sighed and self-deprecatingly said, "Yes, at that time I really didn't pay much attention, so I acted like this. It's not your fault, it's my own fault, I brought it upon myself."

  "But... Ah Nuan!" He couldn't help but feel reluctant, even though he realized it too late, and didn't want to let go. "I'm really regretful now. You know, seeing you again makes me incredibly happy! Who says heaven is heartless? It's actually very sentimental. Otherwise, why would we be able to meet again? This is fate. Ah Nuan, why can't we give each other another chance?"

  "You've also seen it, I'm no longer the Xie Lin you used to know. I want to change for you too. As long as we both have a heart, there will definitely be good results, right?"

  Xie Xuan's voice trembled with excitement as he unconsciously tightened his grip on Qin Miao's hand, his eyes wide with anticipation as he gazed at her. The phrase "door to door" was just a grandiose excuse he had used in the past, completely insincere. As for that unutterable knot in his heart, he hadn't dared to dream of it for ages, and even tried not to think about it on ordinary days. Now, his only wish was to rekindle his old relationship with An Nuan and never let her go again.

  "Xie Xuan, the love for me has perhaps been very deep. But now you also see that the Qin family needs me, and I am inseparable from the Qin family. So, I don't want to touch those unnecessary things again, just want to take good care of the Qin family, help big brother cultivate the young nephew into a talent, and one day restore the Qin family's reputation. Are you satisfied?"

  "This doesn't conflict with our matters at all. Moreover, the Qin family having a connection to my noble house through marriage can only be beneficial, right? Your younger nephew is also mine..."

  Young nephew?! What young nephew?! Whose young nephew?!

  Suddenly it seemed as if someone had opened up the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and a forgotten question leapt out.

  "What's going on with you and Qin Lang...and that child?"