They passed through a winding corridor, the afternoon light shining gently through carved windows. In the middle of the courtyard, a soft breeze rustled the plum blossom trees. Petals drifted over a large pond, and the whole view looked like it came from a painting.
Linyue paused for a moment to enjoy it. Shu Mingye walked behind her elegantly, hands in the back, completely silent.
Was he admiring the scenery?
No. He was probably wondering if it was legal to duel a koi.
Song Meiyu spun around and waved wildly. "King Shu! This way! Don't get lost!"
Shu Mingye raised one eyebrow. "It's a straight path."
She completely ignored that. Instead, she leaned toward Linyue and whispered in the loudest whisper possible, "He suddenly became calm and composed, like a gentleman. Not his usual scary and grumpy self. Is he possessed?"
Linyue gave Shu Mingye a long, thoughtful glance. Then she nodded seriously. "Highly likely."
Shu Mingye sighed. Loudly. "I'm still right here."
"No one said the ghost didn't have good hearing," Song Meiyu whispered again, eyes wide.
He Yuying muttered, "Possession might be an improvement. Let's not rule out brain injury."
Even Shen Zhenyu joined in with his usual calm voice, "We should sprinkle salt. Just in case."
The group burst into laughter and kept walking down the corridor like nothing strange was happening. Just a group of loud young people, and suspiciously well-behaved king possibly possessed by a gentleman ghost. And so, the chaos couple and their chaos family continued their peaceful but slightly chaotic invasion of Xuanyi Pavilion.
When they finally reached the familiar courtyard of their residence, everyone stopped at the same time. As if planned, they all turned their heads to stare directly at Shu Mingye.
He stared back, completely unfazed. Clearly, he was used to this kind of group scrutiny.
Song Meiyu tilted her head, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Where will he stay?"
Linyue answered without missing a beat. "He can stay in the storage room."
He Yuying nodded. "Agreed. And lock the door just to be safe. That's where we keep dangerous things."
Shu Mingye turned to her slowly. His face said one thing: betrayal.
Linyue gave him a sweet smile. "There's a storage room right beside my chamber."
Shu Mingye's expression flipped instantly into a smug grin. "Good. I'll just stay there."
Song Meiyu gasped so hard it bounced off the courtyard walls. "Are you serious?"
Shen Zhenyu, as always the quiet voice of reason, said flatly, "Let him stay in the guest room. South wing."
Shu Mingye shrugged like it didn't matter. "Anywhere is fine."
Of course, his tone implied anywhere as long as it wasn't five walls away from Linyue. But he kept that thought politely locked behind his perfect villain smile.
Song Meiyu clapped her hands together with too much energy. "Well! Since we're already here, why don't we greet Master Tian Mo first?"
He Yuying groaned instantly, dragging out the sound like his soul was leaving his body.
Linyue gave a small nod. "Alright."
Their residence was a two-floor building. He Yuying and Shen Zhenyu stayed on the first floor, like two quiet turtles who hated stairs. Song Meiyu and Linyue stayed on the second floor, mainly so Song Meiyu could spy on everything from above and Linyue could enjoy a bit more sunlight.
They split up. He Yuying hauled his luggage (and possibly someone else's emergency snack stash) and trudged off with Shen Zhenyu. Linyue remained upstairs with Shu Mingye standing beside her. She didn't bring much. Most of her belongings were still in Shulin. There was no need to pack heavily since she planned to return soon anyway. Xuanyi Pavilion had everything she needed. Master Yin Xue, sharp-tongued and mischievous as she was, never let her disciples lack anything.
Linyue looked at Shu Mingye, who was now inspecting the corridor like he was memorizing every escape route. She crossed her arms and said lightly, "Don't look so tense. Master Tian Mo won't eat you. Probably."
Shu Mingye raised one brow. "Are you sure?"
"No," she admitted cheerfully. "But you can bribe him."
"Good," he muttered, already plotting. His eyes scanned the space again before he added, "This place is really nice."
"Mhm."
"Better than Shulin."
"Mhm."
He turned to stare at her, looking almost offended. "You didn't even hesitate. And yet you still say you'll be my wife?"
"Mhm."
"You know you can't live here after we're married," he warned, narrowing his eyes.
Linyue nodded again. "Mhm."
Shu Mingye exhaled loudly, his patience thinned. "Just mhm? I told you, it's too late to regret now. Whether you like it or not, I'm dragging you back with me."
"Mhm."
"Pie," he growled, voice low and dramatic, "I'm serious."
Finally, she looked up and smiled. It was soft, sweet, and completely smug. "I know. So am I." She reached up and poked the deep furrow in his brow with one finger. "This place is only better because you're here. It doesn't matter where I live… as long as it's with you."
Shu Mingye froze. His brain short-circuited. He had prepared a hundred clever retorts, five dramatic speeches about how terrible Shulin was compared to Xuanyi Pavilion, and even one fake complaint about their lack of proper tea. None of them worked anymore. His Pie had just said she didn't care where she lived. As long as it was with him.
He stared at her. She just stood there, face calm as usual, voice soft, gaze clear. She wasn't blushing. She wasn't shy. She wasn't teasing. She meant it.
"Pie," he said finally, blinking. "Are you… trying to kill me softly?"
"What?"
"Because," Shu Mingye placed a hand over his chest, "my heart just skipped at least three beats. Are you trying to make me die young?"
Linyue only shrugged lightly. "If your heart can't handle this, how will you survive what comes in the future?"
He let out a laugh. It was sharp and helpless at the same time.
Chaos couple: one completely defeated king and one small victorious Pie who had just declared her loyalty with a straight face. It wasn't even a competition.
Just then, the rest of the group appeared, looking refreshed after dropping off their things and returned just in time for reinforcement. They strolled lazily toward Master Tian Mo's residence next door. It was so close they probably didn't even need shoes for the walk.
Shen Zhenyu, as always the most civilized among them, stopped at the door and knocked politely.
From inside came an annoyed voice. "Come in."
They went in politely. Shu Mingye brought up the rear, still radiating calm dignity.
Master Tian Mo, as expected, was doing absolutely nothing. He lounged back in his seat, sipping tea like he had no plans to move today or any other day this week.
"You finally came back," he said lazily. "Did you have fun?"
Before anyone could say a word, Song Meiyu exploded. "No. Not at all. It wasn't fun. We were busy. Tired. Exhausted. We didn't even get to enjoy our tea. We fought demons like it was a full-time job. And… and we still had to solve massacre cases!"
Master Tian Mo immediately choked and spurted his tea in every direction. "PFFT—" He laughed so hard he almost dropped the cup.
He Yuying added, "True."
Shu Mingye turned to look at them with a sharp glare. What kind of slander was this? He gave them food! Well… sometimes. They drank tea and gossiped daily! Sure, there were demons. And murder. And deadly conspiracies. But that was part of the ambiance. He opened his mouth to defend the honor of his palace, then shut it again. No. He had a reputation to keep. He was now the calm and respectable future husband of Pie. Dignified silence was his new weapon.
Shen Zhenyu just sighed. Clearly, he had seen worse.
Linyue just watched the chaos unfold silently. She glanced at Shu Mingye. He was stiff, silent, expression unreadable. But she knew. Inside, he was already filing a complaint in the deepest part of his soul.
Chaos family: 1
Shu Mingye: 0
And the match had only just begun.