The appearance of the luxurious carriage didn't seem too attractive in Wu Jiangfeng's eyes. He paid no heed to it, much less to the occupants that had just stepped outside of the carriage. They didn't faze him at all and he wasn't fascinated by them.
Assuming those people from the carriage to just be the heirs of some random officials of the Northern Li Kingdom, Wu Jiangfeng's attention on Li Fantong and Wang Heiyue was short-lived as he proceeded to pull Bai Shuyin along his walk, creating a significant distance between them.
Nevertheless, Bai Shuyin was sure she had made brief eye contact with Wang Heiyue before she was pulled away. By now, she could even feel his gaze latching on her form before it disappeared.
While being dragged, she was relatively baffled at Wu Jiangfeng's indifferent manner, it took a second for Bai Shuyin to realize that he probably didn't even recognize the other party of the arranged meeting, and vice versa, much to her surprise. However, deep inside, she should have predicted this outcome. During this era, there was no technology, no phones, and no electricity.
They depended heavily on spiritual stones from wild spiritual beasts, especially those who weren't blessed with the tremendous power of the fantastic four.
*Note: Fantastic four is just an inside joke Bai Shuyin has for the four auspicious beasts.*
There was no internet at all, no wifi, much less social media where Wu Jiangfeng could stalk the profile of his probable blind date partner before the D-day. It solely depended on luck whether or not you met the right one.
Still, shouldn't they at least have a portrait of Li Fantong shown to Wu Jiangfeng? Or was it drawn so badly that Wu Jiangfeng couldn't even recognize her on the streets? It was either that or the lack of concern of Wu Jiangfeng to learn about Li Fantong.
"Xiao Bai?"
A tug on her hand arose Bai Shuyin from her thoughts. She had slowed Wu Jiangfeng down and ended up staying rooted in place ever since she saw Li Fantong and Wang Heiyue.
"Somehow you know?" Wu Jiangfeng asked as he finally glanced their way. There was a good distance between the two parties and it seemed that the other party didn't notice them either as Li Fantong was pretty much preoccupied with gushing out loud about something. Wang Heiyue also looked like he was completely intrigued by what Li Fantong was saying.
She pointed back and forth between the shop they had just exited with much excitement towards the future villain.
Bai Shuyin said nothing, never taking her eyes off the couple a few feet away from her. All of sudden, her lips felt dry, like sandpaper had forced through cracked lips.
How they could bump into each other in such circumstances was beyond Bai Shuyin's sanity to grasp.
Yet, it made her realize that nothing was going to change fate and it was impossible to do so. Even though there were slight changes in the process and differences in a series of actions and operations, all of their fate had already been determined.
Wang Heiyue would once again be the villain of this world that fell in love with the original female lead, and so would Wu Jiangfeng and Wang Shenqiu, while she, the cannon fodder, would still die a tragic death.
An important sacrifice needed to achieve the perfect character development of Wang Heiyue.
Bai Shuyin suddenly found herself to be quite overwhelmed with the current situation and instinctively looked away from the scene, blinking her blurry eyes rapidly as if to clear her vision from getting clouded by unshed tears.
A sudden loud and long gurgle coming from her stomach saved her the melancholic moment she had drowned herself in. The grumbling emitted from her stomach was loud and before she could save herself the embarrassment, Wu Jiangfeng had already stifled a laugh from the side.
"Is Xiao Bai hungry?" Wu Jiangfeng smiled, warm energy radiated from him like wildfire.
"Yin'er apologize…" Bai Shuyin bit her lips, ducking her head down to avoid looking at Wu Jiangfeng's smiling face. How dare this stupid black hole of a stomach decided to act out! In front of the Crown Prince, no less!
"No worry, no worry! What does Xiao Bai want, hm? Tell this Benwang! There's no need to feel shy, so speak!" This time, the warm energy exerted increased tenfold. The radiance coming off of him had Bai shuyin drenching her whole body in a thin layer of salty fluid.
"No need--"
Wu Jiangfeng made a tut-tutted sound before giving her a disappointed look. "Why don't you let me spoil you?"
Bai Shuyin looked at their joined hands, no, more like Wu Jiangfeng was the one who was grasping her wrist, as if unwilling to let go. Deliberately, she reached her other hand out in an attempt to try and peel his tightly-wounded fingers around her wrist.
"Why indeed, Young Master Wu. What is your intention, I have no idea. You bought me clothes and now you are trying to feed me. You are so eager to spend some money on me. It is weird, frightening if I had to say, especially since we just met not long ago. Why does a noble, a Crown Prince like Young Master Wu bother with a peasant like myself?" Realizing she had spoken informally towards the Crown Prince, Bai Shuyin recoiled on the inside.
Yet, she couldn't stop herself from speaking so frankly, couldn't stop herself from speaking her mind and pouring her true feelings. She was still ravaged by the melancholic feelings from witnessing Wang Heiyue together with the original Female Lead, moreover, her grumpy stomach was hyping up her sour mood.
Wu Jiangfeng nonetheless maintained that discontented look on his face, yet he remained silent, seemingly waiting for her to continue.
Bai Shuyin threw a glance over her shoulder, looking past the silent guard and at the empty spot previously occupied by Wang Heiyue and Li Fantong. Both were gone, presumably enjoying their sweet moment inside the shop.
Then she looked at the hand clutched in her hand. Bai Shuyin didn't know if she should be pleased or discontent by the sudden kindness and generosity. Her lips tightened into a straight line as she gently returned his hands to his side, withdrawing hers away deliberately.
"Why… are you so kind… to me?"