One step, two steps, three, four steps, ten steps and a hundred steps, and finally we reach the end.
Mu Ying stood outside the door of the room at the end of the corridor and let out a breath, showing a relieved smile, finally not disturbing the rest of the family.
There is a glass wind chime hanging under the corridor in front of Zhongnan Gate. It has a sapphire blue glass body and a hand-carved fish-shaped wooden sign hanging inside. The tail of the fish is decorated with a knot braided by Xing Xing.
When the wind blows, the tinkling sound is clear and distant.
Mu Ying has never seen such wind chimes anywhere in Zhao State, but she has seen them in Qi State.
So this is Zhong Nan's thoughts about his home and relatives.
She stretched out her slender fingers and gently played with the fish tag. The fish tag hit the glass bell body rhythmically, making a clear and sweet sound.
The door opened silently behind her.
The man stood in the shadows, looking at her expressionlessly, and took a step closer to the door, leaving just enough space for people to pass, indicating that he welcomed her in.
Mu Ying smiled and walked sideways, closing the door gently. "Are you not asleep?"
Zhong Nan didn't make a sound, but walked to the window and pushed it open.
The moist and cool night breeze mixed with the scent of jasmine under the stairs blew into your face, and the fragrance was lingering.
He lived a much better life than Mu Ying. The windows were covered with green gauze, so no mosquitoes could fly in.
Unlike Mu Ying, she didn't even think about putting gauze on the window - her window was often used for entry and exit, sometimes by her, sometimes by Tiger and Xuan Jin.
There was a bamboo couch under the window. There was a tea table and tea sets on the couch. Tea was brewed with cold mountain spring water in a simple teapot. Next to it was a pair of tea cups made of bamboo roots.
Zhong Nan picked up the teapot, skillfully poured tea into the tea cup, and silently put the cup of tea aside.
Mu Ying walked over and sat down on the other side of the bamboo couch, picked up the tea and slowly sipped "good tea."
Zhong Nan didn't say anything, but poured another glass in time after she finished drinking.
It's light, not very enthusiastic, but it doesn't make people feel cold either.
"You've been talking less and less lately, are you unhappy?" Mu Ying put her hand on her chin, lying on the coffee table and staring at Zhong Nan.
He was beautiful, with fair complexion and a cold temperament. He looked particularly pleasing to the eye under the moonlight. She would not get bored even if she stared at him like this every day.
"You're overthinking, I've always been like this." Zhong Nan put down the tea cup with a calm and cold expression, "How come you didn't sleep in the middle of the night and suddenly came here?"
"I was dreaming." Mu Ying smiled, "I dreamed about what happened when we crossed the Baojiang River in the past. I was still bare-headed, and you called me neither a man nor a woman..."
Zhong Nan frowned slightly, "How could you dream of that?"
Mu Ying said, "I also dreamed that you were seasick and vomiting, but in front of me you said you were blowing the wind."
She smiled and rolled into his arms, put her feet on the bamboo couch, and felt free. "I'm also surprised, why did I dream about that?"
At that time, I was confused and didn't have much consciousness. In fact, I completely forgot many things and couldn't remember them, but I didn't expect that I saw them in my dream."
Zhong Nan felt a little uncomfortable and slowly combed her long hair with his fingers. "Aren't you sleepy? You're crazy for getting up in the middle of the night."
"I'm not sleepy, I won't be sleepy anymore just thinking about you." Mu Ying's eyes were bright, "How about we go boating together?"
Zhong Nan didn't really want to go "make a noise, but luckily it's going to be noisy again, and the whole family won't be able to sleep well, forget it."
Mu Ying whispered, "How long has it been since we met my sister and brother-in-law to now?"
Tomorrow dawn will be three years.
Zhong Nan slowly stretched out three fingers, still expressionless.
Mu Ying frowned, "Looking at you, it seems like I will force you to marry me."
At that time, Mu Yunhan made a request to them that they could not discuss marriage within three years.
So now that the three-year period is coming, she has already made a decision in her heart, and she still wants to be with Zhong Nan.
Zhong Nan looked at her quietly, his eyes serious, but he never said that sentence.
Mu Ying actually didn't care about being the first to say those words. That was her temperament. Whatever she wanted, she would speak directly and never embarrass herself.
But at this moment, she didn't want to speak first. She knew her heart and knew that she could bear the consequences.
Now if she wants to be with him, then stay together. If we don't want to be together in the future, just separate.
But she didn't know what Zhong Nan was thinking.
Far away from home and family, far away from the prosperity and the world, living in seclusion in the mountains to be an ordinary farmer, it would be difficult for any man with ideals to accept.
Mu Ying thought about this, and the hot blood in her heart felt a little cold.
But I heard Zhong Nan whisper, "I've been waiting by your side for three years, waiting for you to force me to marry you. I've been waiting every day, but you didn't say it until now. I'm a little disappointed."
What are these words?
Mu Ying sat up with a "huh", feeling that she might have heard wrongly.
I saw Zhong Nan slowly getting up, arranging his clothes and hair slowly, then staring at her, expressionlessly saying, "Although I am disappointed, you still said it. So, I decided..."
He paused intentionally and said solemnly, "Mu Ying, can you marry me? Not the kind of temporary marriage, where we stay together or break up if we don't, but the kind where we will never be separated for a lifetime."
Mu Ying was a little confused, "What, what?"
Zhong Nan said seriously, "Do you want to deny it? Stop pretending. Although you have been pretending that you have no other ideas, I know that this is what you think in your heart. If we work together, we will be together. If we don't, we will separate. I won't agree."
Mu Ying was dissatisfied, "If we don't get along and still force ourselves to get together, how much do we hate ourselves! What else is it if we're not crazy?"
"I'm a madman. I don't want it to be short-term, I want it to be long-lasting." Zhong Nan said, "This is my request. You can answer me after you think about it."
Mu Ying was a little intoxicated. A man with such a serious look wanted to be tied to her for the rest of his life. Gee, it felt so good to be taken seriously and liked by someone.
But then I thought about it, if we don't like the disharmony and still force ourselves to get together, isn't that crazy and paranoid? This is wrong.
She was extremely entangled and stammered, "Isn't it inappropriate to think about dividing the relationship before it's over? What are you thinking about?"
Zhong Nan looked at her with a look that saw through her, and said calmly, "It's not me who is thinking, but you who are thinking, Mu Ying, you are a scumbag!"
"Slag?" Mu Ying pointed at the tip of her nose, angrily, "You are talking nonsense, you are spitting blood, you are slandering! I don't like anyone else!"
"Haha... That's because others can't compare to me." Zhong Nan's little eyes showed a bit of contempt, "You go back and think about it first, and then come to me after you think about it clearly."
Mu Ying came here excited and returned disappointed.
She slammed Zhong Nan's door hard and sneered, "You little brat! I'm spoiling you! Humph! It's like you won't marry anyone but you!"