The Reticent Blade-Chapter 128 - Box of Rouge

The sky became a bit gloomier that afternoon.

Granny Yu chatted with Chi Nanwei in the house for over half an hour, and she gave Ye Beizhi a glare as she walked past him in the courtyard.

Ye Beizhi blinked and pretended not to notice.

Not long after, Chi Nanwei came out, having changed into a new outfit. Apart from her slightly reddened eyes, there was no sign she had just been crying.

Chi Nanwei took small steps toward him, grabbed Ye Beizhi’s hand, and said, "Let’s go. We agreed to buy stuff for New Year's this afternoon."

Ye Beizhi nodded and turned to lead the way out of the courtyard.

Chi Nanwei suddenly called out from behind. "Wait!"

Ye Beizhi turned his head, looking at Chi Nanwei in confusion.

Chi Nanwei wrinkled her nose playfully and ran over, reaching for Ye Beizhi’s waist and grabbing the Tang blade.

Ye Beizhi immediately grabbed the hilt of his blade, frowning slightly at Chi Nanwei.

Chi Nanwei put her hands on her hips, glared at Ye Beizhi, and then reached her hand out.

"Who goes shopping with a blade? Leave it at home. No one’s going to steal it."

Ye Beizhi stood still, giving the woman in front of him a long look, and gradually released his grip on the blade.

"Alright." Ye Beizhi nodded, lowering his head slightly and avoiding eye contact with Chi Nanwei.

He untied the blade and sheath from his waist and handed it to Chi Nanwei, who ran into the house with it.

Soon after, Chi Nanwei came back out, after hiding the blade. She grabbed Ye Beizhi and started pulling him out of the courtyard as she said, "Let’s go, let’s go! If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late."

Ye Beizhi let her pull him forward, occasionally shifting about uncomfortably. Without anything hanging from his back, he felt like something was missing.

After they reached the street, Chi Nanwei let go of Ye Beizhi’s hand but stayed close by his side. The streets were already crowded with waves of people, as it was almost New Year’s, but Chi Nanwei eagerly talked about her plans.

"Tomorrow, I’ll find the teacher across the street and have him write us a couplet. Once we stick it up, it’ll feel more like New Year’s."

"After the New Year, I’ll ask Aunt Liu for some fabric, and then I’ll make you a new set of clothes..."

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Ye Beizhi slightly turned his head, looking at Chi Nanwei. "About the couplet..."

Chi Nanwei tilted her head. "What about it?"

"We could ask that guy next door... Su Yi, right?" Ye Beizhi frowned, trying to recall the name he could never quite remember.

"He’s also a scholar..." Ye Beizhi spoke slowly as they walked. "He should...know how to write a couplet."

"Him?" Chi Nanwei pouted. "He’s the top scholar. Writing a couplet would be no problem for him, but it wouldn’t be right. After all, he’s a minister now... He wouldn’t just write something for anyone."

"Besides..." Chi Nanwei glanced up at Ye Beizhi.

Ye Beizhi noticed Chi Nanwei observing him and glanced at her sideways. "Hm?"

Chi Nanwei shrugged helplessly. "Besides, you and him don’t seem to get along that well, right?"

Ye Beizhi thought for a moment. It was true, as Chi Nanwei said, that Su Yi seemed to have something against him. Every time they met, Su Yi would snort coldly, looking like he didn’t want to associate with him.

Was it because I wasn’t friendly enough the first time we met?

It probably was.

"Ah! it’s Rouge from Yanlong Cosmetics Studio!" Chi Nanwei suddenly exclaimed in delight, pulling Ye Beizhi toward a shop.

Yanlong Cosmetics Studio? Ye Beizhi hadn’t heard of it and didn’t know what Chi Nanwei was talking about.

Noticing his confusion, Chi Nanwei turned and smiled at him. "Yanlong Cosmetics Studio, have you never heard of it?"

Ye Beizhi shook his head.

"Yanlong Cosmetics Studio... it sells rouge and face powder, of course." Chi Nanwei shot Ye Beizhi with a playful look. "I’ve been using their rouge since we were in Jiading. You didn’t know?"

Ye Beizhi stood with his mouth slightly open, speechless.

Before he knew it, Ye Beizhi had been pulled into the studio by Chi Nanwei. Yanlong Cosmetics Studio wasn’t very big, and it felt cramped inside. Unlike other stores, it was filled entirely with women.

Ye Beizhi stumbled awkwardly as Chi Nanwei pulled him through the crowd of women. Despite his martial skills, he could hardly use them now, so he appeared quite clumsy.

"Found it, found it!" Chi Nanwei pointed excitedly at a box of rouge on a shelf not far away.

Ye Beizhi looked up. sure enough, it seemed familiar. He had seen this same rouge box in Chi Nanwei’s small makeup bag before.

As Chi Nanwei reached for the rouge box, another hand fell on top of hers. From beside her, a pleasant voice said, "I’m sorry, but I saw this first~"

Chi Nanwei froze and turned her face to see a woman as beautiful as an immortal being standing before her with a smile. Chi Nanwei had never seen anyone so stunning, so much so that she couldn’t even feel jealous.

Seeing Chi Nanwei staring in a daze, the beautiful woman grew slightly impatient and waved her hand in front of her face.

"Miss, would you be willing to let me have it~?"

Realizing how foolish she had just looked, Chi Nanwei blushed and felt a bit tongue-tied. "Ah, this... I..."

The beautiful woman chuckled softly.

"Heh, no need to be shy, Miss. You see, I’m really fond of this box of rouge~ So, if you don’t mind, I’ll gratefully accept your kindness."

With that, the beautiful woman reached out to take the box, continuing to speak, "My name is Yang Lu. Let’s consider this the start of our friendship. Thank you, Miss, for letting me have—"

Yang Lu suddenly gasped, feeling an overwhelming and chilling aura envelop her. Her hair stood on end as if she had been trapped in an ice cellar. Her hand, halfway outstretched, froze in midair, unable to move.

The aura was so menacing, that she firmly believed even the slightest movement on her part would result in her being torn to pieces.

Yang Lu’s heart raced uncontrollably, her eyes widening. She didn’t even dare to breathe too heavily, as if afraid of disturbing a sleeping beast.

But who is this aura coming from?! This woman in front of me? Impossible!

As Yang Lu’s mind raced, a large hand reached over, picked up the rouge box, and held it in its grasp.

Yang Lu swallowed hard and slowly turned her head. What she saw was a young man handing the rouge box to the pretty woman from earlier, without even glancing at her.

"Huh? Dummy..." Chi Nanwei looked at the rouge box in her hand, then at the motionless Yang Lu. "W-what happened? Didn’t that sister want this box of rouge?"

Ye Beizhi thought for a moment before replying, "She doesn’t want it anymore."

Chi Nanwei, confused, turned to look at Yang Lu.

Yang Lu suddenly felt the oppressive aura disappear. She had clearly heard the conversation between the two and hurriedly looked up, seeing the young man standing behind the girl, staring at her with emotionless eyes. His gaze unmistakably told her, Leave now.

Yang Lu knew she had no choice but to accept the loss. "I don’t want it anymore," she muttered gloomily before disappearing into the crowd.

Chi Nanwei raised her eyebrows in confusion and turned to look at Ye Beizhi. "Dummy, do you know her?"

Ye Beizhi quickly shook his head.

"Alright. I’ll believe you for now." Chi Nanwei raised her chin proudly, like a mother hen guarding her food.