Untouchable Lovers

Chapter 97: Volume 3 Wearing a Light Fur Coat Leisurely and Indifferently, the Sky Vast and the Clouds Idle, Heading towards the Singing Voice Chapter 92 Seemingly Misled by Previous Fate

Lying on the soft low couch in the carriage and accompanied by the slight sway of the ride, Chu Yu soon forgot the unpleasant incident in front of the palace gate. As they were about to reach the Princess Mansion, she suddenly remembered something, lifted the carriage curtain, and asked Yue Jiefei, who was sitting in front at the carriage shaft, “Is there… um… anything ahead?”

Yue Jiefei looked towards the alley ahead and replied, “No, Princess.”

After thinking for a moment, Chu Yu made a decision, “Take a detour, today we will use the back door to return to the mansion.”

Ahead, Yue Jiefei let out a laugh, his voice carrying a hint of restrained amusement, “Yes, Princess.”

Chu Yu was somewhat annoyed by Yue Jiefei’s reaction, but after getting angry, she felt that she was also quite pathetic and couldn’t help but laugh as well, then laid back down on the couch.

The carriage took a roundabout route, entering through the alley connected to the Princess Mansion’s back door and away from the main streets, making it several degrees quieter and deserted.

The carriage turned a corner and stopped earlier than Chu Yu expected. She didn’t need to look outside to know they hadn’t arrived yet, because according to her memory, there was some distance between the back door of the Princess Mansion and the alley.

“What’s the matter?” Without much thought, Chu Yu immediately pulled the carriage door open and jumped out. They weren’t too far from the Princess Mansion, and walking a few steps wouldn’t matter, but just as she got out of the carriage, she saw the very person she had purposefully taken the detour to avoid.

He stood tall and upright, his expression cold, but lacking that alienating distance that pushed people thousands of miles away. Seeing Chu Yu, a hint of warmth flickered in his icy eyes.

On his back, he carried a long wooden case.

“Xiao… Bie?” Chu Yu called out the man’s name in a bizarre tone, then couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing here today?” She had deliberately avoided the front door and used the back, just to avoid Xiao Bie, yet, unexpectedly, she ran into him just at the back door.

Since the day Xiao Bie had offered to enter her mansion and was rejected by her, a few days later, as Chu Yu was returning to the mansion from the palace, she saw Xiao Bie standing at the Princess Mansion’s front door, waiting for her to critique some newly composed music pieces, which scared Chu Yu into a hasty retreat.

Joking! She wasn’t the real Shan Yin’s Princess who could discern any merit in music. If she spoke nonsensically, she would likely give herself away.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ɴονǥᴑ.сο

Yet, after being rejected once, Xiao Bie was not discouraged. He came knocking continuously. Fortunately, the main entrance of the Princess Mansion didn’t face the street directly, and it was usually very quiet there. Otherwise, the news that the noble young man Xiao Bie had become a frequent visitor to Shan Yin’s Princess would have spread throughout Jiankang City in an instant.

Xiao Bie looked at her, a slight curve lifting the corners of his mouth, his smile was so faint that placed on anyone else, it would be nearly imperceptible, “Princess, how could I not know that you do not wish to see me? Yet, seeing you as a soulmate, how could I simply give up?”

While her face carried a stiff smile, Chu Yu internally cursed, “You call it soulmate, your whole family are soulmates!” Despite her dissatisfaction, she still decided to bluntly ask, “Did you guess I would use the back door today?”

Xiao Bie said, “Princess, do not forget, although Xiao Bie specializes in playing the zither, there are those in my family who advance in martial arts. Xiao Bie, in the past, also studied military strategies. As the military treatise says, ‘War is the way of deception,’ when emptiness is achieved, it appears full; when fullness is achieved, it appears empty. Princess, you encountered me at the front door several times before, so you must have started to feel a desire to avoid it. This time, I guessed you would choose the back door, so I was waiting here.”

Listening, Chu Yu’s face turned green. She thought to herself, harsh indeed, to bring the strategies of warfare into play. At the same time, she realized just how determined Xiao Bie was; completely avoiding him was not impossible, but would require too much effort and was simply not worth it.

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Yu said, “Very well, from now on I will not avoid you, but do not come here to look for me. I have given each of you a fan, have you thrown it away? Please attach it and also note the location of Chu Garden. I will go there every now and then. If you wish to see me, find me there.”

Xiao Bie paused, asking in surprise, “Princess, you do not wish others to know of our association?” He was no fool; how could he not perceive the avoidance in Chu Yu’s words?

Chu Yu helplessly said, “You linger in front of the Princess Mansion every day. Fortunately, these days no one knows. If it gets out…” She paused, thinking that the real Shan Yin’s Princess had no reputation to speak of claiming Xiao Bie affected her reputation would be shameless, so she changed her words, “If it gets out, it would be bad for your reputation.” Well, she had no reputation, but perhaps Xiao Bie did?

Xiao Bie indifferently said, “I do not care.” Having been bluntly rebuffed by Chu Yu, he had now come to terms with it. What were those reputations to him? What did they have to do with him?

Chu Yu’s face turned from green to black, she gritted her teeth and said, “You may not care, but I do.” Fearing Xiao Bie might say something else, Chu Yu firmly concluded, “That’s settled then.” Not waiting for Xiao Bie’s reaction, she walked past him and quickly headed towards the back door of the Princess Mansion, taking the last three steps in two, almost running.

Chu Yu, fearing he might follow, walked very fast, but Xiao Bie did not do so. Instead, he turned around and watched Chu Yu go, with a touch of sadness in his voice, he said softly, “Am I really so unworthy of association?”

Yue Jiefei, who followed behind Chu Yu, stopped as he passed by Xiao Bie, patted his shoulder, and comforted him, “The Princess has somehow become absorbed in pure and few desires. Maybe in a while she will return to her old self. By then, even if you do not visit, the Princess might come looking for you.”

Chu Yu ran back to the Princess Mansion and took a few more steps before she looked back to make sure Xiao Bie would not follow, then she breathed a sigh of relief; but after only a few steps, she timely remembered that there was someone outside the mansion she couldn’t avoid. She could hide inside the mansion, but where could the person inside hide if they wanted to avoid someone?

Luckily, the person inside the mansion wasn’t as action-oriented as Xiao Bie.

When she reached the place where the East Upper Pavilion met the West Upper Pavilion, Chu Yu didn’t go back to her room but instead went to Huan Yuan’s Xiu Yuan Residence.

Nowadays, there were usually three people handling affairs in Xiu Yuan Residence. Liu Se had been officially put in charge, and together with Mo Xiang, they took over the heavy responsibilities from Huan Yuan. Mo Xiang managed personnel and goods, Liu Se managed money, but under the supervision of Mo Xiang and Huan Yuan, Huan Yuan had full authority to direct Liu Se and Mo Xiang. Although their powers differed, among the three, Liu Se was the most oppressed.

Upon arrival at Xiu Yuan Residence, Chu Yu inquired whether everything was on track. After confirming it, she did not concern herself further but told Huan Yuan to free up some time in the coming days, as she had other matters to entrust to him.

Leaving Xiu Yuan Residence, Chu Yu should have headed to the East Upper Pavilion, but somehow, her feet did not obey, and she slowly walked until she stopped at a certain place, sighing helplessly upon seeing the words on the door in front of her.

The door was slightly ajar, requiring only a gentle push from her to open. If she opened it, even if she closed her eyes, she could feel that sparse and refreshing greenery, and amid the multilayers of green shadows, there was a figure as white as broken ice and snow, eternally indelible.

That day… she had fled in panic.

That day Rong Zhi had held her hand, and after words as gentle as a vow, her mind went blank, unsure of how to respond. Although she had managed to leave pretending nothing was amiss at the time, the embarrassment in her heart was even worse than when she encountered Xiao Bie who had come looking for her.

These days, she had been deliberately avoiding this place, feeling flustered and not wanting to see Rong Zhi, and it seemed Rong Zhi knew her intentions, having not left Muxue Garden, always locking himself inside.

How was he doing now?

Unable to help thinking that, Chu Yu slowly walked over, her hand resting on the black lacquered door, the coolness bringing clarity to her mind, yet she did not push it open, nor did she step inside.

It was at this moment, in the silence, that she heard the crisp sound of chess pieces coming from inside.

Click.

Click.

One by one hitting the chessboard, the crisp sound carried continuously to the outside of the garden, entering Chu Yu’s ears, one sound after another.

Chu Yu faintly remembered that Rong Zhi had mentioned once, when he was unhappy, he would play chess.

In her mind, a scene seemed to emerge: in the deep, quiet bamboo forest amid green shadows, a boy dressed in clothes white as snow sat on the green stone platform, his fair hand picking up black and white chess pieces, playing chess very lonelily.

In the sparsely falling chess sounds, inside and outside the door, one person on each side, passionate and unemotional, each with their own thoughts.

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