I don't talk about love with my Martial Sister

Chapter 63

In a secluded corner of the teahouse, Chu Ming, who had finally calmed down, was pulled aside by Shang Can for a private conversation.

"...I already knew that Junior Sister Yun Duan hadn't lost her memory." Chu Ming's voice was timid. "It was the last time I came here. She told me in this very teahouse."

Shang Can really didn't know what kind of expression to show. So, while she had been playing outside the teahouse, happily pretending to be a cultivator with the children, Yun Duan had been inside confessing such a shocking truth? It made her feel like a carefree fool in comparison.

If only she'd thought to eavesdrop back then. How annoying.

She frowned in frustration, which made Chu Ming, who was trying hard to read her mood, tense up. He quickly said, "Don't be mad. Junior Sister Yun Duan had no choice—"

"No choice?" Shang Can frowned even more deeply, her voice dangerously low. "What did you do to her?"

Chu Ming had originally wanted to defend Yun Duan but ended up putting himself in the line of fire. After stammering for a while, he finally muttered, "At the time, I didn't know. I just assumed Junior Sister Yun Duan subconsciously wanted to follow you, and I thought that nothing good could come of it..."

He paused and sighed heavily, as if giving up. "So, I used our elders as leverage to pressure her, telling her not to keep following you and that if anyone needed to 'watch over Shang Can,' I would take care of it. But she refused to back down and couldn't give me a reason, so she had no choice but to tell me the truth."

"..."

Shang Can's frown relaxed slightly as she leaned back against the wall. In a low voice, she asked, "And you agreed to her request?"

"Of course." Chu Ming didn't hesitate for a second. Calmly, he said, "Since she remembered everything, it was clearly her choice made with full awareness. Using more excuses to stop her would be pointless. You know Junior Sister Yun Duan's personality better than I do."

Indeed, once Yun Duan made a decision, nothing could change her mind—not even a herd of oxen could drag her away from it. Now that same stubbornness was directed at Shang Can, leaving her helpless. She pursed her lips and suddenly remembered something, raising her eyebrow as she asked, "So, that day when you talked to me, everything you said was just to test me?"

Chu Ming was silent for a moment before he replied awkwardly, "...Yes, that's about right."

"...Well done, Chu Ming," Shang Can said with a bright smile. "You've improved a lot over the years. Was it your idea?"

"Yes, it was." Now that everything was out in the open, Chu Ming felt no need to hide anything. "That day, I insisted on speaking with you. Yun Duan was so wary of me, like I was a vicious dog or something. I'm guessing she really didn't want me to talk to you alone, especially after she had just told me she hadn't lost her memory. Do I really seem that untrustworthy...?"

Well, that much was true. Shang Can remembered how Yun Duan had been that day, clearly uneasy and on high alert during her conversation with Chu Ming. She hadn't relaxed until Shang Can returned as if nothing had happened.

"And?" Shang Can continued to press him. "What did you figure out from testing me back then?"

Chu Ming muttered something along the lines of, "You know this yourself," and sighed in a weathered tone, "I figured out that you had no intention of reuniting with Junior Sister Yun Duan."

"..." Shang Can pursed her lips and quietly asked, "And then? Did you tell her?"

"I would never do such a thing." Chu Ming hastily denied it, his tone growing more somber. "...Junior Sister Yun Duan was already going through enough. Why would I add to her burden?"