Li Wei and Li Zhilan's friendship bloomed like a budding flower in the spring rain. Over the next few weeks, they spent more time together. Li Wei came to know more about Li Zhilan and even started talking to her uncle and aunt whom she wasn't close with.
Everything was going well, but Li Wei began to be restless with each passing day. Khan Bojing hadn't return as he promised.
In the evening, Li Wei snuck out to the Cherry Teahouse. It was almost like a storage box for gossips to pass from one person to the next. She wanted to check if she could obtain any information related to him.
She was just a couple steps from the entrance of the Cherry Teahouse when an unfamiliar voice called out. "Li Wei, is that you?"
A man dressed in a silver armor with arrows on his back walked up to her. He had grown tall, muscular, and now carried a strong aura around him. He couldn't be mistaken for anyone else. Li Wei knew who he was at one glance. "Gu Guangli..."
Gu Guangli subsconciously smile before he could realize it. He hadn't expected her to still recognize him. He felt quite pleased. "Li Wei, you still remember me."
"Ah... I made a guess." She made up an excuse and pointed to his armor. Despite her calm attitude, she wanted to slip away. The entrance of the teahouse was right there, if she was fast...
"Li Wei, let's share a meal together." Before she could say no, he pulled her inside the Cherry Teahouse.
Gu Guangli couldn't stop staring at her even after they sat down. To think that they would meet again in Na'an after he searched for her for two years was almost like a joke. A cruel joke with a touch of sweetness-- reuniting where they first met.
No matter where he looked, his gaze found it way back to her. Li Wei had gotten even more beautiful. No doubts about it, she was the most attractive woman he had seen.
When they were children, he couldn't be close to her, but things have changed. Now with her just an arm's length away from him, he wanted to hold her in his arms.
The way Gu Guangli stared at her didn't go unnoticed, but Li Wei wasn't reacting because she didn't care enough. If he wasn't skilled in martial arts, she would've snuck off a while ago.
As he continued to watch her, she paid attention to the storyteller on the first floor in the center of the stage.
The storyteller tonight was an old man. He sat on the edge of the stage casually as his gaze quickly assessed the crowd. "Now, which stories do we want to hear tonight? Anything you wish to know. Na'an's royal family? The newest tea on the streets? Perhaps, our neighbor, Hai'an?"
Li Wei strongly wanted to pick the third option, but she didn't want to stand out. She quietly hoped someone would speak up.
"How about Hai'an's prince?" A young man seated close to the stage was the first to speak up. Perhaps because he was brave, he held up his cup of tea and even toasted the storyteller.
The storyteller smiled knowingly. The civilians of Na'an were often more interested in Hai'an than their own country. "Khan Bojing, the only son of Hai'an's emperor, is a man of mystery. Not one person in Hai'an knows how the prince looks like. Sure, he shows up here and there but doesn't dare show off his face."
"Perhaps he's insecure of his looks?" The young man suggested with a smirk, clearly he was confident of his own appearance.
"No, no no. To think so shallow is be considered a fool." The storyteller shook his head. "Think deeper, consider further. One, Khan Bojing is not real. His identity was created to scare off neighboring kingdoms. The emperor actually has no son. Two, Khan Bojing has a personal stand in. Who we see in public is actually not the real him, thus his face can't be seen. Or three, Khan Bojing simply doesn't want to be a prince and hides himself away."
The young man stood up and a frown could be seen on his handsome face. "Where's the story here? That's a bunch of unproven claims."
"Patience, young man. I'm getting to it." The storyteller motioned for the young man to sit down and continued, "For whatever reason, it's not important. The crucial event here is, Khan Bojing has recently returned to Hai'an. The reason why, I can't say for sure."
"What about our own prince?" A teenage girl seated in the corner suddenly asked.
The storyteller smiled. "Our prince? He's set to marry soon. Nothing much to say."
"Old man, you're not telling me anything new." The young man angryily got up and walked out the doors.
Li Wei watched and listened with a blank expression as the storyteller continued onto new stories of Hai'an's royalty. The storyteller was smarter than she thought. He had guessed almost correct. From the last time she saw Ye Dequan acting as Khan Bojing, she already knew. To hear he's gone back to Hai'an though, this was new.
"Li Wei, your noodles are getting cold." Gu Guangli finally spoke up.
Gu Guangli, perhaps he was trying to be nice. Maybe he wanted to be friends now. Whatever it was, none of it mattered. Too late to earn favor.
Li Wei had gotten what she came here for. She rudely pushed the bowl of noodles away and ran out of the teahouse.
She just entered the market streets when he followed closely behind. No matter which direction she ran to, he could find her. Gu Guangli forcibly pulled her into a dark alley in a quiet residence area. "Li Wei, wait for me."
"Let go, I have to go home." Li Wei shook off his grasp on her hand.
Gu Guangli studied her face, but found he was unable to tell her thoughts. "Why are you in a hurry? Let's get acquainted."
"No thanks." Li Wei turned to leave, but he was faster than her.
Gu Guangli pinned her against the stone wall impatiently. His face was inches away as he spoke sternly, "Li Wei, I like you. I really like you. When I heard you've returned, I wanted to see you right away."
Li Wei was indifferent to his confession. What a headache. "That's none of my concern."
"Li Wei, don't act that way."
She blinked innocently as if she had no idea what he was referring to. "What?"
"Don't be so cold!" He roared in anger.
"Then stay away!" Li Wei was losing her patience as well. She trembled slighly in disgust as he moved closer.
He was a devil to her. Once when she was fifteen, he locked her in the storage shed. In the dark, his hands rubbed against her legs and his eyes roamed her chest. She screamed for him to stop, used all her energy to push him away, but he didn't listen.
Luckily, he wasn't able to do anything else before San'er heard her. He finally backed away and jumped out through the window before San'er opened the door with the keys.
She was young, but she wasn't naive. She knew what Gu Guangli wanted to do. From then on, she made sure she was never by herself. No matter where she was or what she was doing, San'er was always ordered to be close by.
Li Wei started carrying a small knife in the belt of her waist. She never told a word to anyone else what happened, even San'er had no idea. Until now, she could recall that horrendous night clearly as if it was burned onto her skin.
An ugly scar forever to remain.
Earlier, she still held her hatred in, but now he no longer deserved the treatment of a stranger. Her fists clenched in anger as his arrogant eyes dared her to escape his clutches. His arrogant smirk made her want to smack his face.
"Get away, dude. Didn't you hear what the lady said?" The young man from before sneered as he looked at Gu Guangli in pure disgust. Somehow, he happened to be there as well.
Gu Guangli was obviously offended and pulled himself away with his arms crossed. "And you are?"
Li Wei quickly hid herself behind the young man from the teahouse. Strangers or not, he seemed safer. Only when her body was blocked from Gu Guangli's gaze could she breathe normally.
"Obviously, someone with higher morals than you."
"You! Scram before you regret it." Gu Guangli was now huffing in resentment, his face red and his hands ready to fight. He was the general's son, he could careless of what status this man had.
Li Wei wasn't sure what the man did, but he blew something towards Gu Guangli and the muscular man fell onto the ground unconscious.
"Let's get away before he wakes up." The stranger led her back to the market streets where it was safe in the crowd.
She couldn't help but asked, "What did you do to him?"
"No worries, I just poisoned him." The stranger patted his shoulders, acknowledging his own good work.
It was rare for her to smile at strangers, but she smiled at this upright young man. "Thank you, I'm Li Wei."
"I know."
Li Wei's smile froze. "What?"
He grinned and passed over a small slip of paper. "I'm here on a mission."
One word was written. Peach.
Her eyebrows crinkled and she questioned his sanity. "This is?"
The stranger wiped his hands on his clothes before he reached out his hand. "I'm Song Yishan. Happy to finally meet you, Sprout."