"If Jiang Yun were mute."
"Is it me you're looking for?"
With hands folded, Qu Buping cast his gaze into the distance, his tone filled with endless desolation. Following his words was a long sigh.
"Elder?" Zhang Zai Xing glanced at Qu Buping's disheveled appearance and furrowed his brow, muttering under his breath, "Something's not right. Didn't my mother describe the person I'm looking for as tall, handsome, and extraordinary? How did I end up encountering this old man?"
Although Qu Buping had long suspected, hearing Zhang Zai Xing mention his mother still made his body tremble. He turned away so Zhang Zai Xing wouldn't see his expression and spoke, "Is your mother doing well?"
...
If Jiang Yun knew that Qu Buping, who had always been indifferent to everything, would leave the library upon hearing a tune, he would surely be curious about Zhang Zai Xing's identity.
However, at this moment, he was off picking flowers somewhere, completely unaware that after his tiff with Lu Yao, he was pondering why she was upset. After all, he was a teenager who had never experienced romance before. Despite overcoming his aversion to matters of the heart, how could he possibly understand Lu Yao's feelings?
On his way back, Jiang Yun spotted wild lilies blooming along the road. It suddenly occurred to him that he had seen drawings of lilies in Lu Yao's room. Thinking that she might like them, he decided to pick some wild lilies to make amends.
Lost in his delight, Jiang Yun failed to notice that Lu Yao had returned from the pavilion. He was picking flowers one by one, and just as he was halfway there, he saw Lu Yao standing amidst the mountain flowers, smiling.
Lu Yao's smile was radiant, and her laughter caught Jiang Yun's keen senses. He turned around to see Lu Yao standing amid the blossoms, more beautiful than the flowers themselves.
"Aren't you supposed to have left? Why are you still here?"
Seeing Jiang Yun awkwardly picking flowers, Lu Yao found it a bit amusing. Her anger had subsided, and she was more self-aware of her own exaggeration.
Jiang Yun tightly held the flowers in his hand and grinned sheepishly, "I was planning to leave, but when I saw these flowers blooming so beautifully along the road, I thought you might like them. Perhaps your mood would improve."
Upon hearing Jiang Yun's words, Lu Yao's emotions were a mix of uncertainty. While the first sentence threatened to reignite her irritation, the following words reassured her that he still cared.
"Are these flowers meant for me?"
Lu Yao gestured toward the flowers in Jiang Yun's hand and asked softly.
Jiang Yun chuckled, grinning, "Of course, they're for you. You don't think I, a grown man, would be interested in these boring flowers and plants, do you?"
Jiang Yun was truly a terrible speaker. Lu Yao's gradually improving mood was almost ruined by his initial words, but luckily, the latter part of his sentence saved the situation.
"Are you saying that I'm boring?"
"Not... not at all. You're a woman, right? It's normal for women to like flowers and plants." Jiang Yun clumsily explained, even though the logic in his words didn't quite add up. But then again, who said that emotions had to be logical?
"Of course, she wouldn't have it, at least not Lu Yao as she is now.
"Since you put it that way, you can keep these flowers for yourself. I wouldn't dare take them, lest I become one of those 'boring' people you mentioned." Lu Yao verbally refused, but as she looked at Jiang Yun's eager eyes, two large words were clearly written across her face: "Take them."
Unfortunately, Jiang Yun was still Jiang Yun. He actually replied, "Oh, well if you don't want them, I'll just throw them away."
Lu Yao's eyes widened in anger once again, almost causing her to spew blood. She quickly reached out to grab Jiang Yun's hand, ready to stop him from discarding the flowers, and said, "Forget it, seeing as you've spent so much time on this, I'll accept them."
"Great, as long as you like them."
Jiang Yun smiled, handing the flowers to Lu Yao and then asked, "By the way, you still haven't told me why you were looking for me."
Lu Yao took the flowers from Jiang Yun's hand and sniffed them, her mood suddenly becoming beautiful. This time, she didn't get angry.
"Oh, and now that you're at the peak of the Elemental Martial Ninth Layer, are you planning to leave the mountain after the inter-sect competition?"
Lu Yao suddenly thought about Jiang Yun's cultivation, which was almost breaking through to the Earth Martial Realm. According to the rules of the Heavenly Sword Sect, he should be leaving the mountain soon.
"Yes, you're looking for me about that, right? Do you need my help with something when I leave the mountain? Don't worry, just tell me. As long as I can help, I'll definitely do it."
Jiang Yun suddenly understood, thinking that Lu Yao had sought him out for this matter.
After listening to Jiang Yun, Lu Yao's eyes turned a few times as she devised a plan and said, "You said it yourself, don't go back on your word."
Jiang Yun waved his hand generously, saying, "Don't worry, as long as it's not too difficult, it's fine."
"Then when you're ready to leave the mountain, let me know. I'll be prepared to go down the mountain with you."
Jiang Yun looked at Lu Yao skeptically, asking, "Why would you want to go down the mountain with me?"
"Hey, you were just about to change your mind after saying that, weren't you? If you don't want to, forget it." Lu Yao pointed at Jiang Yun.
"That's not it. I'm just curious why you suddenly want to leave the mountain. Weren't you doing well up here?"
Sometimes when Lu Yao listened to Jiang Yun, she really wished she could take a bite out of him. She couldn't say something like, "I've taken a liking to you, so I'll go wherever you go." And the key point was, Jiang Yun was just clueless; he really wouldn't catch on if she beat around the bush.
"I'm happy to. What's it to you?"
Lu Yao had finally found a way to deal with Jiang Yun – the innate skill of women, being unreasonable.
"Fine, I'll let you know when the time comes." Jiang Yun had no choice but to agree, as he had already spoken. He couldn't go back on his word.
Lu Yao couldn't believe that this method worked so well on Jiang Yun. She felt secretly delighted. Finally, she had found a way to deal with this wooden block of a person. Otherwise, she would get really upset every time.
Jiang Yun looked at Lu Yao, who seemed lost in thought, shrugged, and smirked. He patted her on the shoulder and said, "Well, you better prepare well. I've given you the flowers, so I'll head off now. We have the quarter-finals tomorrow."
Lu Yao snapped back to reality after being patted, and she responded absentmindedly, "Mhmm, sure."
Jiang Yun smiled, brushed off the pollen that had landed on Lu Yao's shoulder, and then turned to leave. Lu Yao watched Jiang Yun's gentle actions, thinking, "If Jiang Yun were mute, how wonderful that would be. He's handsome, gentle, talented, and extraordinary. Everything is so perfect about him, except every time he opens his mouth, he completely shatters the perfect image I have of him."