CFSSIR

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Cui Qiao hesitated for a moment before responding, "At this moment, Young Master should be waiting in the front hall."

The weather today was not good; it had been gloomy since morning, and now dark clouds loomed overhead. The wind was picking up, and despite it being autumn, there was a hint of winter chill in the air.

Shen Qingyao hugged herself, shrinking her neck into her thick clothing, which was already thicker than most wore. Yet for her, it still felt inadequate.

Cui Qiao glanced at the sky and couldn't help but whisper, "Miss, it looks like the weather is about to change. Let's hurry to meet Young Master." She furrowed her brow, still concerned about Shen Qingyao's recent coughing bout, and added as if to convince Shen Qingyao, "In the capital, unlike the south, it's unusually cold this year. It might snow in a few days. Miss, with your delicate health, you mustn't catch a cold again!"

However, Shen Qingyao paid no heed. She waved her hand dismissively, indicating she had other priorities. She then leaned in and whispered something to Cui Qiao, who looked at her bewildered, not understanding her intentions.

"You should go then! And remember to tell Elder Brother Lu Zhao!" Shen Qingyao blinked and nudged Cui Qiao before walking away in another direction.

Upon receiving the message sent from Shen Qingyao, Lu Zhao lightly tapped the cup and set aside the fine tea without hesitation. He stood up, adjusted his clothes, asked no questions, and headed to the place mentioned by the little girl.

Passing through the round archway, the garden was deserted, tranquil yet slightly lonely amidst the autumn scenery.

The place seemed familiar to Lu Zhao, who was stunned momentarily. What did the little girl summon him here for? His eyes scanned the small garden, and not finding Shen Qingyao who had summoned him, he noticed a pavilion not far away. A fire burned brightly in a small stove, and steam billowed from a teapot on top, creating wave after wave of white mist.

Lu Zhao chuckled softly, approached, sat down at one end of the table, picked up a jade-green teacup, and played with it in his hand. The scene matched a memory perfectly.

Hidden in the shadows, Shen Qingyao exhaled softly. Seeing Lu Zhao amidst the swirling mist, he seemed almost unreal. She shivered involuntarily, feeling a surreal sensation of time and space shifting.

[Host, what are you doing?] The system, perplexed by Shen Qingyao's actions, felt a sense of familiarity but couldn't quite grasp the situation.

Shen Qingyao paused, rolled her eyes after a moment, thinking the system's memory was quite poor. With a flat tone, she said, "Just a little romantic gesture between young lovers. Are you sure you want to hear about it?"

System : [...]

After an [Oh,] the system fell silent again. Perhaps because of its sudden malfunction which made him embarrassed in front of Shen Qingyao, even though she didn't seem to mind, it felt too shy to engage in conversation with her unless absolutely necessary.

So, it chose to silently observe.

Meanwhile, Shen Qīngyao, crouching low, claimed it was a romantic gesture, but in reality, it was just a whim, a sudden nostalgia.

She waited for a while, seeing no reaction from Lu Zhao, who remained calm and brewed tea in the pavilion as if nothing else mattered except the boiling water before him. Grinding her teeth, Shen Qingyao couldn't decide if she was angry at her own childishness or at Lu Zhao for being so cooperative without asking any questions.

Lu Zhao added more water once again, poured two cups of hot tea, left one in front of himself, and pushed the other to the empty end of the table. In that moment of looking down, he caught sight of a piece of clothing in the corner of his eye. Unable to resist, he smiled faintly. After all this time, the little girl still didn't know how to hide her tracks.