On a spring day, the streets were full of vitality, but in Xie Yan's eyes, they were cold and desolate.

  The request to go back has already been made, this is the proud and arrogant Xiao Houye who has been doing low-key for a long time. However, the other party seems to be unimpressed.

  Qin Miao walked ahead, Xie Yun followed behind her with a dejected expression, step by step.

  Up to the door of Qingfengpu, Xiao Zhanggui came out happily from inside and jumped up and down in front of Qin Miao: "Master! Just now, the wife of Zhang Futaizhai's family sent someone to place an order again!"

  Ever since San Yiniang commissioned Qin Miao to make spring shirts, the business of the Fu Tai family has not been interrupted. Not long ago, a young servant came and said that Zhang Daren wanted to make several robes, specially instructing the master to take care of the style, and then send it to the mansion.

  Xiao Zhanggui's abacus skills are impressive, and his mental arithmetic is even more astonishing. Having gained the favor of the parents' official in Wuchang City, Qingfengpu still worries that business is not booming. Thinking about this, his already small eyes narrowed with joy into a thin line.

  Qin Miao walked to the door, heard Xiao Zhang's words, and her footsteps paused for a moment. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly. In an instant, she thought of that old man's face, which seemed elegant but was actually sinister. Bah, a weasel visiting a chicken on New Year's Day is definitely not a good omen.

  "Alright, you go ahead and busy yourself." Qin Miao responded casually, then turned to head inside.

  Xiao Zhanggui saw Xie Yun, who came in from behind, wearing a brocade robe, with an air of dignity and nobility, his eyebrows and eyes exuding an aura of wealth. He immediately went forward to greet him with a smile: "This noble gentleman has come to our humble shop, what kind of clothes are you planning to make?" As he spoke, he wanted to politely lead the way inside.

  Xie Xuan gave him a cold glance and walked past him, heading in Qin Miao's direction.

  The young shopkeeper saw that this person's face was cold, and his whole body emitted an extremely unfriendly atmosphere, causing him to involuntarily soften his feet. The store's apprentices were also intimidated by Xie Yan's dark face and did not dare to approach again.

  Qin Miao saw her subordinates trembling and silently scolded them for being useless.

  "If you have clothes to make, discuss with our shopkeeper. If there's nothing else, please leave."

  Got it! This is a great way to treat him as an outsider. Xie Yan gritted her teeth and swallowed the dissatisfaction in her heart. Can't get angry, must not get angry, this woman doesn't take softness but takes toughness, with the most slippery tongue. Right, good advice!

  "An Na, don't be angry anymore. Let's sit down and talk it through, okay?"

  Qin Miao rolled her eyes, originally not wanting to pay attention again, but with a sidelong glance, she saw the exaggerated expressions on her companions' faces, their mouths agape in gossip, and could only lead Xie Yan to the back room.

  "There's something I want to say." Qin Miao said directly to Xie Yan, the two of them facing each other across a wooden table.

  Xie Yun moved his chair, trying to get closer to Qin Miao. Qin Miao didn't want to pay attention to him and simply moved her chair away too, maintaining a distance as the principle.

  "Enough!" Xie Houye finally lost his temper after being rebuffed multiple times. "You're so unwilling to see me, so unwilling to look at me, and yet you want to leave me?"

  Qin Miao hummed softly and thought to herself: What's the point of coming now with such a fuss, when you could have done it earlier?

  "I don't want to see you, I don't think about seeing you, I want to leave you, what are you going to do!"

  "You...” Xie Yan was choked with anger, but eventually softened his tone. "An Nuan, I know you're still angry about what happened at the Fireworks Festival, aren't you? I admit it, I was wrong, I was foolish. But... considering how long I've been searching for you, can you give me another chance? Besides, I know you like me, and in the future, I won't be stupid again, I won't disappoint you."

  I know you like me. Xie said a lot of nonsense, but this sentence was like a firework in the dark night, suddenly exploding and blowing Qin Miao to pieces.

  "Yes, you were relying on my little fondness for you to be reckless and extravagant. From the first day I married you, have you ever looked at me with a straight eye, have you ever considered me as your wife?" Qin Miao never thought of being one of those resentful women in novels, but Xie Yun's words evoked her deepest resentment. Thinking back to those days in the Hou Mansion, she felt stifled, always trying to please, full of joy. What was it all for?

  A woman's heart is forever a vast ocean. Even if it can withstand storms, who knows how deep and dark it is? Qin Miao didn't want to say anything, but today she couldn't bear to hold back anymore.

  Xie Xuan was speechless once again. What Qin Miao said wasn't unreasonable, he had long seen her admiration for him, but he just chose to ignore it. And from the beginning, when he agreed to marry her as per his ancestors' wishes, he also had ulterior motives and didn't truly want to be with this merchant's daughter who was more precious than gold. So, everything she said was correct.

  "I admit, at first my intentions were not pure, I was indifferent. But after you left, I regretted it. It turns out that you had already moved into my heart a long, long time ago. So early that even I didn't know when the feelings started." Xie Yan said, his face slightly red, he had never spoken such romantic words to a woman before.

  He recalled the night they drifted on the lotus pond, Qin Miao asked herself, pretending to be asleep, when could she enter his heart. If so, if he had woken up early enough at that time, perhaps they would not have ended up like this today.

  Facing such a sentimental Xie Yan, Qin Miao was very unfamiliar with him. In her impression, he always had a cold face, almost no emotions. She treated him well, and he also accepted it calmly, without much response. Few people can make the thousand-year-old iceberg collapse, and even that is accompanied by anger.

  She let out a soft sigh and put down her stubbornness, speaking seriously to him: "Xie Xun, you and I have reached the end of the road. Since I, Qin Miao, chose to leave, it was a well-thought-out decision, not impulsive or leaving myself any leeway. It can only be said that you and I were never meant to be, which you knew from the start. In the past, I was blinded by my own foolishness, thinking I could occupy your heart. Now, I've wised up. We indeed have fate but no destiny, unrelated to anyone else. I don't want to blame anyone anymore, let's just part ways and be at peace."

  Take care of yourselves! Who wants to take care of you? Yin is his wife, but he accidentally lost her. Now that she's finally found, how could he lose her again?

  Xie Houye understood the resignation in Qin Miao's eyes at a glance, just like when she looked back at him outside the fire scene that year. He felt very uncomfortable in his heart. Since he had missed it before and now let him meet again, no matter what, he would not be foolish enough to give up again.

  That day's conversation ended abruptly between Qin Miao's carefree face and Xie Yun's persistent pursuit. But from then on, Xie Yun became a regular at Qingfeng Pu, always waiting at the door early in the morning, each time bringing all kinds of delicious food.

  The shopkeeper and apprentices of Qingfengpu were initially a little intimidated by his innate majesty, but as they got along day by day, they didn't feel that this person was distant.

  There's just one thing that's too strange, who is this man anyway?

  Every day clinging to one's own master, what is the point of making a fuss?

  Could it be that he has taken a liking to this widow, Dongjia?!