Bairan looked at Hanyue, and the cold man beside him bowed respectfully.
"I'm very grateful for saving us," she said. "Sorry for troubling you a second time today."
Hanyue looked at her. She was even dustier now, especially her right arm, which seemed bruised from the fall. Still, she hadn't let the boy get hurt. Even now, she didn't seem to care about her own injury—or perhaps the moment was so tense that she hadn't noticed it yet.
It was the second time Hanyue found himself quietly amazed by her.
"Young Miss, you're hurt."
Bairan smiled. "It's nothing."
But when she touched her arm, she hissed softly. "Okay... Maybe a little."
Baian rushed to her side, eyes reddening. "Bairan-jie, your arm!"
Bairan kept smiling but replied with feigned annoyance,
"Isn't it because you let go of my hand?"
Baian's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry…"
She reached out and ruffled his dusty hair gently.
"You don't have to say sorry to me. You're my little hero. Just stay by my side and don't push me away again."
He didn't understand all of it, but he understood enough, especially this part that he's hero.
His face lit up. "Okay, Bairan-jie!"
Hanyue turned to glance at the cold man, who slowly blinked his eyes.
Hanyue nodded in acknowledgement, then turned back to Bairan.
"Young Miss, I will definitely help you find your family. Let's go somewhere quieter—you can tell me everything in detail."
Baian pointed quickly.
"There's Master Fang's inn, just at the corner," he said, then looked at Bairan and added, "He's a good man."
Bairan looked at Hanyue. Hanyue nodded.
"Okay, let's go there."
They reached the inn. It was clean and warm, and an old man came out to welcome them.
"Welcome, gentlemen. How can I help you?"
Hanyue spoke warmly, "We'd want a good meal and three separate rooms to rest in."
Master Fang clasped his hands together.
"Right away, young Master, right away. Would you like to see your rooms first, or shall we prepare the meals?"
Hanyue glanced back at Bairan and Baian. Bairan smiled gently, while Baian didn't dare to look at him directly.
Hanyue said, "Meals first. But can you call a doctor as well? This young miss's arm has injured."
Master Fang nodded, but Bairan quickly stepped forward to stop him. She looked at Hanyue.
"There's no need for a doctor, Young Master. It's just a small bruise, not a serious injury."
Hanyue said softly, "But—"
Bairan smiled and continued,
"Trust me, it's not like my hand is broken. It will be fine in a while . I don't want to cause any more trouble for you. Young Master, you've already helped me a lot "
Then she turned to Master Fang.
"Uncle, could you give us some water to clean our faces?"
She looked at Baian, who nodded.
The old man squinted at Baian, then stepped closer.
"Boy… is that you? Master Mu's servant?"
Baian replied, "Yes, it's me."
The old man laughed and shook his head.
"My eyesight must be getting worse—I didn't recognise you at first. Come, come… Why are you in such a messy state again?"
Then he looked at Bairan.
"Young Miss, this way."
Bairan glanced back at Hanyue and the cold man.
"We'll be back soon," she said.
Hanyue gave her a nod. The cold man silently took a seat at one of the tables. While Hanyue choos a table nearby and sat down as well.
Not long after, Bairan and Baian returned to the dining area, looking much better now. The grime of their desperate escape had been washed away, and their clothes, though simple, were neat. Bairan had retied her hair, her face was clean and her beauty restored. And her right arm was now neatly bandaged with a piece of cloth.
She glanced at the two men thoughtfully. The cold man sat alone at his own table, a silent and imposing figure. Han Yue sat at another table, looking at the their direction as if waiting for them.
Bairan smiled faintly and walked over, choosing to sit at his table, with Baian following close behind.
Han Yue's gaze lingered for a moment on the bandage around her arm.
Bairan noticed and said with a warm smile, "Uncle Fang's wife was such a kind woman. I told her many times it wasn't necessary, but she insisted on bandaging it."
Han Yue nodded in acknowledgement, "She did a great job."
Bairan nodded with a smile.
Just then, a young man arrived carrying a few trays in his hands. He placed two on their table and one on the cold man's table, then wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel draped over his shoulder.
He asked respectfully, "Young Master, do you need anything else?"
Hanyue took out a gold tael and placed it on the table.
"Please make sure the rooms are clean," he said, "and prepare warm water for bathing."
The young servant bowed politely and took the money.
"Sure, young master. Don't worry."
Baian stared at the table without blinking.
There was rice, soup, and several side dishes—seasonal vegetables, fresh seafood, and meat.
It was definitely his first time sitting at a table with so much food. He swallowed hard.
Bairan, on the other hand, glanced over the dishes as if sizing up her enemies. She even wrinkled her nose slightly when her eyes landed on the seafood. She was clearly not in good term with food.
Hanyue gestured for them to begin and said, "Please, help yourselves."
Baian hesitated to pick up the chopsticks and looked at Bairan, who was sitting beside him. Bairan lifted her chopsticks casually and smiled.
"Come on, eat, Baian. You had a training day, didn't you?"
She paused for a moment, thinking about that.
A training day…
Her eyes flicked toward the cold man at the other table. He was eating in silence, taking very small bites.
She remembered this morning—he had tried to give her money, but she had refused. She even said it was training to collect money from the ground. Yet now, here she was, using their money to eat.
The thought made her feel a little ashamed.
But fortunately, the cold man hadn't said anything. In fact, he hadn't even looked her way.
Bairan quietly praised him in her heart as a genuine man—not the kind who would argue with a young girl over something so small.
She looked back at Baian, who was trying his hardest not to eat too quickly.
"Eat slowly…" she said gently.
Then she started eating the rice. After her first bite, she turned to Hanyue and asked,
"Young Master, how should I address you?"
Hanyue finished chewing what was in his mouth, put down his chopsticks, and smiled at her.
"I'm Pei Hanyue from Fenghua."
Bairan smiled slightly. Though he spoke only five words no more, but her tone was humble.
"I'm honoured to have met you today, Master Pei."
Then she quietly returned to her meal.
Hanyue smiled and asked,
"And how should I address you, Young Miss?"
Bairan looked up, paused then laughed softly.
"Oh… I almost forgot. But please don't take it as an act of disrespect, Master Pei. Actually… I don't know my name."
She turned her gaze to the side dishes, studying them as if choosing the right one mattered more than her own identity.
Hanyue was slightly surprised.
"You don't know your name?"
Bairan put down her chopsticks. "This morning, I came to town hoping to find my family, but… I don't remember anything. I don't know who I was or where they are. So I ran into some trouble as you know "
Hanyue asked again. "You don't remember anything? Why? What happened to you?"
Bairan counted his questions in her mind, then answered them one by one.
"No, I don't remember anything; my head was empty when I woke up yesterday morning. And why? I think... I fell from a cliff."
Just as she spoke that last sentence, a clink sounded from the cold man's table.
Bairan paused and glanced over, but the cold man remained silent, his eyes fixed on his bowl.
Hanyue's voice came again, breaking the silence, "You fell from a cliff?"
Bairan shifted her focus back to him. "Yes. When I woke up, I was inside a cave. No one was there, only a letter. From a person who saved me. He said he found me at the foot of a cliff and didn't know who I was. All he knew was that I'm from this town."
She continued slowly,
"I thought… since I'm from this town, if I came here, maybe someone would recognise me."
Hanyue paused, thinking deeply for a moment.
"So you went to the teahouse and the inn to see if anyone knew you?"
Bairan smiled. "Yes."
Hanyue looked at her.
"But this young servant from the teahouse owner called you Bairan-jie. Did he recognise you?"
Bairan shook her head.
"No… No one knows me."
She turned to look at Baian, her gaze softening.
"He calls me that because… when we first met, neither of us had a name.
So I chose two names with the character Bai—one for him, and one for myself. Now he's Baian and I'm Bairan "
Hanyue nodded at her. He half-believed her, but considering her young age and the calm demeanor which she spoke, he remained cautious. Every move she made seemed measured, almost as if drawn with a ruler. But she's really amazing woman.
He raised his cup in a gesture of respect. "It's been a tough day for you. Miss Bairan I respect your calm demeanor… and your clever mind."
Bairan, for her part, thought her opponent was quite clever too—but so be it. She hadn't lied. It simply wasn't necessary to say everything. If she told him she was a reborn soul and someone give up his life for her, this thoughtful young man might just think she was crazy. What's more, she believed he isn't bad person- and that was the only important point for now.
She nodded back, laughing softly. "I'm just a young girl trying to survive. I was on the edge just hours ago. But thanks to you, Master Pei… I made it through."
Baian wasn't interested in their conversation. His eyes drifted toward the meat on Hanyue's side—then quickly looked away.
Hanyue chuckled at his reaction, this boy had already eaten half of the food on the table and still wanted more. With a smile, he moved the plate of meat closer to Baian.
"So," he said as he did, "do you have any idea how to find them now?"
Bairan looked at Baian, shook her head lightly, and repeated, "Eat slowly, Baian. The food doesn't have legs."
Then she turned back to Hanyue and replied, "Actually… I got some information at the inn. If my guess is right, I might be one of the Lin family's daughters."
Hanyue raised an eyebrow. "How come?"
Bairan laughed awkwardly, touching her hair. "That… that was just what people say. They claim the Lin family daughters are the most beautiful girls in town."
Hanyue: "…"