The maid came in with some food for Zhan. He was pretty hungry and was just getting into his meal when Ziyi walked in. "Thank goodness you're up," Ziyi said, plopping down on the edge of the bed.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
Zhan smiled. "I'm alright. And I didn't think it would be easy for us to meet here on the island..."
"But what happened to you? Yibo found you in their family mausoleum"
"Yibo?" He paused his meal, his brows furrowing before a grin spread across his face. "Oh, right. Your future fiancé. The guy who was here when I woke up."
"Yes, that's him. But you still haven't answered me. Why were you in the mausoleum? And you were burning up with fever when Yibo brought you home."
Zhan fell into deep thought. The house from the painting is gone and they have made it into a family mausoleum. He didn't even realize when he fell asleep or lost consciousness last night, right there in front of Lan Wangji's grave.
Zhan exhaled heavily and lifted his gaze. "I was hoping to surprise you by showing up unannounced but I got lost. Anyway, here I am."
"Yes." Ziyi accompanied that with a delicate smile. "I am so glad you're here now," she said with genuine warmth, glancing at her cousin. "What do you think about him?"
"Him who?" asked Zhan confused.
"My soon-to-be fiancé, what can you say about him?"
"Muy simpatico..." Zhan paused there, like he'd heard it all before, then shrugged it off. "A typical mix of confidence and arrogance. But of course, it usually emanates from someone born to wealth." He wiped his mouth with a napkin, grabbed a glass of water, took a sip, and set the tray down on the side table.
Ziyi drew in a deep breath. "Yes, he is like that and to top it all, he acts and talks as if he owns the world, Zhan..."
"Naturally," Zhan replied with a smirk, raising his eyebrows. "Some guys are rich, some are almost perfectly handsome, and some have that magnetic sex appeal. But this Yibo has got them all into one. So what do you expect?"
"And I'm going to marry him..." Ziyi broke the silence, her voice firm.
Zhan's head snapped up in disbelief. "No, you can't! What about Zhoucheng?" Ziyi's eyes were clouded for a moment. "I can't go against Mama. She calls me all the time. If I disobey her, she'll disown me. She found out Zhoucheng followed us, and she was furious. Even Papa pleaded with me to follow Mama, Zhan."
Zhan let out a groan.
Ziyi stood up from sitting on the edge of the bed. "You must rest. You just got over that fever." She bent over the table and grabbed a pill and a glass of water. "Here, take this..."
Zhan obediently took the pill, his thoughts lingering on Yibo. He believed Yibo wasn't the kind to just do what his parents wanted if it didn't sit right with him... He couldn't marry Ziyi. He just couldn't...
"I'll see you tomorrow, Zhan," said Ziyi when she saw her cousin yawning and quietly left the room.
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