Before Miyue could figure out what the progress bar was, Youhua carried her off the ox cart.
It was a beautiful spring day in Heian-kyō, and many noble ladies in gorgeous clothes were sitting on the grass.
When Miyue looked up and saw the crowd, her heart warmed. Isn't this a good time for her to find out the news about the evil ghost!
The suppressed cough behind her interrupted her thoughts. When Miyue looked back, she only caught a glimpse of the boy's slender back. He was walking in the opposite direction. There were few people in that place, so he chose a tree and sat down with his legs propped up.
I have to say that some people are a beautiful sight just standing there even if they do nothing.
Miyue took advantage of her young age to laugh and joke with the noble ladies. However, one of the noble ladies, who was about the same age as her brother, suddenly changed the topic to her brother who was not far away.
"Which mansion does this young master belong to?"
Miyue looked back and found that two noble ladies were standing beside her brother and talking.
Unlike his indifference towards her, he now had a warm smile on his face. Even though he was not as strong as other young men, he was quite popular because of his good-looking face. Even from such a distance, Manyue could feel the elegance and dignity in his dealings with others.
Youhua walked closer, then lowered his head and revealed his identity to the other ladies.
"The Ubuyashiki residence?" The noble lady covered her mouth with her hands and exclaimed in surprise, "I don't think I've seen this young master go out much."
Several young men in fancy clothes passed by and heard the conversation and looked over. As expected, no one could resist listening to gossip.
Miyue nodded and then wanted to explain: "Brother's health——"
"Tsukihime." Before she could finish her words, a familiar voice behind her interrupted her.
Miyue turned her head and saw that Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko, who had just been sitting under the tree chatting with other noble ladies, had walked behind her at some point. He had a faint smile on his face, and his light-colored clothes were like petals blown by the wind. The sickly look between his brows added an indescribable charm to his expression.
This was the first time Mitsuki heard Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko call her name.
Could it be that her attitude changed after she asked her cheap dad to take him out?
So the progress bar really represents favorability?
"Brother..." Miyue broke free from Youhua's arms. Her small stature made her need to look up to see his face when she stood in front of him. Even though he had given her the cold shoulder yesterday, she couldn't refuse or not reply to him. When he took the initiative to break the ice, Miyue generously chose to forgive him and get close to him.
This face is so great...
As Miyue sighed, he half-knelt down and very gracefully picked off a flower that had fallen from her head.
"It's windy outside, Yueji should stay in the car." He calmly decided to end Miyue's time out, but his eyes fell on Youhua beside him, and he gave the order in an attitude that could not be refused.
Just at this moment, Miyue sneezed, and Youhua quickly picked her up and put her on the ox cart.
no...
She hasn't even chatted much yet.
Mitsuki poked her little head out to look over. Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko was performing the same gesture when greeting others, but he did it in a particularly pleasing way.
As expected of a child from a wealthy family, he has to start socializing at such a young age.
Miyue was bored sitting alone in the ox cart, so she simply threw the topic to Youhua who was standing outside the cart.
"Arika, has anything strange happened in Heian-kyō recently?"
What she got was a flowery shake of the head.
Maybe it hasn't happened yet? Or maybe some flowers are not exposed to such secrets?
Miyue held her chin and looked in the direction of her brother. More and more people were surrounding him, including some of the nobles of high status in the capital. Compared with Youhua who acted cautiously, perhaps she still had to get useful information from these nobles.
For this reason, Miyue showed Youhua that she was fine, and Youhua gave her more clothes before agreeing to get out of the carriage.
Miyue's arrival also attracted the attention of that group of people.
The girl who came over was as pretty as Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko, but she was still young and her face looked more childish. However, she had a healthy body that Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko did not have, and her rosy complexion made her even more pleasing.
The children surrounding Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko moved away a little, enough for Mitsuki to slip into the crowd like a little butterfly. The people around her subconsciously looked at her, with a look of curiosity flashing in their eyes from time to time.
Noticing the change in attitudes of the people around him, the boy's fingertips turned white as he gripped the fan ribs.
"Why are you out again?" His voice was as cold as the spring breeze.
Miyue smiled innocently, trying to hide her true purpose of seeking information about the heresy: "I want to stay with my brother."
Her eyelashes blinked slightly, and her plum-colored pupils spread out in the ripples of the water, more beautiful than the lip balm made from the wrinkles of the double cherry blossoms blooming on her head.
"You two have such a good relationship." The noble lady, whose face was hidden by a fan, said this with a smile, and the stagnant atmosphere around them became lively again.
Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko smiled but said nothing.
Miyue squeezed into the circle without hesitation and listened to the people around her talking.
This is a circle of aristocrats under the age of fifteen. Today is a flower-viewing party. The game given to her by her bestie is still in the experimental stage. There are not many kinds of flowers in this world. Someone pointed at the double cherry blossoms and recited two poems. Everyone gave a few words of praise and then stopped talking.
Many aristocratic children of her age were not very interested in reciting poetry, but when someone mentioned a line from a recently popular strange story, they all pricked up their ears to listen.
Miyue also became interested.
"Has anything strange happened in Heian-kyō recently?"
Some people mentioned the One Hundred Demons Night Parade a while ago, and everyone's story had details. Some said they saw Shuten-doji sitting in a sedan chair luring humans to the mountains to eat them, while others said they saw Hashihime standing by the bridge, grabbing humans and drowning them in the river.
That's it?
Miyue frowned and thought about it. Her best friend had told her that there were many handsome men. Could this be an escape game based on the "One Hundred Demons Night Parade"?
Miyue couldn't figure out anything, so she turned around to see what another group of people were doing.
Ubuyashiki Tsukhiko had been sitting quietly beside her. When she looked over, she found that a chessboard had appeared in front of him at some point, and a black piece was placed on it with his slender fingers.
Snap——
One move determines victory or defeat.
The young man had a smile on his face, his eyes calm, not showing any smugness of victory. He bowed slightly and said, "Thank you."
Oh no——
Although Mitsuki was not very good at Go, he could tell from the few white pieces on the board that his opponent was completely defeated by Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko.
Not only does he have a good face, he is also a good chess player!
She flattered him without asking for anything in return: "Brother is so awesome!"
He smiled at Miyue and quickly turned around to talk to others.
However, after only knowing each other for a few days, Miyue didn't care much about his slightly cold attitude, and even continued to whisper with other noble ladies.
A cool breeze blew by, and a muffled cough came to my ears.
Miyue turned her head and saw that the originally talkative boy suddenly bent down and covered his mouth, his thin back trembling uncontrollably as he coughed.
His five fingers were deeply embedded in the grass, and the blue veins on the back of his hands were bulging like a trapped animal struggling in a cage. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a few suppressed gasps escaped.
The resentment on the face of the young man who lost the game faded away like the tide. He frowned and covered his nose subconsciously, then stood up and walked away.
Miyue didn't care that the people around her were intentionally staying away. When she noticed the embarrassment shown by the young man with his head down, she was stunned for a moment, then she propped herself up and stood up, raising her hand to block the gaze of the surrounding nobles.
"My brother contracted typhoid fever a few days ago and hasn't recovered yet, so he lost his composure like this."
Someone in the crowd expressed concern, whether genuine or out of courtesy: "You still need to take care of yourself and get enough rest."
Miyue nodded repeatedly, called the servant who served Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko to come and bring him back to the ox cart, then said goodbye to everyone and sat back.
The ox cart swayed and the sound in my ears gradually disappeared.
When there were only two of them in the car, the noise in the small space gradually intensified.
The coughing sound beside him gradually disappeared, and Miyue only breathed a sigh of relief when his breathing calmed down.
She was the one who brought him up, and she finally managed to gain some favor with him. She doesn't want him to be thrown back to the old days overnight.
It was too quiet in the ox cart. Miyue glanced at the progress bar above his head and saw that it had gone up again - 35.
It seems that her guess was correct. These points increased just after she helped him out of trouble. This progress bar is indeed the favorability level.
Miyue happily brought hot tea and placed it in front of him, trying not to touch his sensitive nerves: "Brother, drink some water."
The boy's usually pale face was stained a little red because of coughing. He suppressed the itch in his throat, glanced at the tea brought by Miyue, but did not reach out to take it. Instead, he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall of the car to rest, showing an indifference that kept strangers away.
Miyue understood and retracted her hand. She was thirsty, so she turned her head and drank it all herself.
The scenery outside the window kept changing, and she began to wonder where to look for clues about the heresy next.
She gained nothing from the flower viewing party... well, not really, at least she got a vague clue about the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.
After returning to the mansion, Miyue couldn't go out at will, so she simply stayed at home to improve the NPC's favorability.
She either went to offer warmth to her stepfather or showed up in front of other NPCs to win their favor. Although she had not been there for long, she soon became familiar to all the NPCs in the mansion.
During this period, Ubuyashiki Kengo gave the most gifts. He sent a lot of good things to Miyue's room, including beautiful clothes and delicious food, all of which she put aside.
Mitsuki was thinking...I haven't seen Ubuyashiki Tsukihiko since the last time he went out.
Even when she went to visit, she was turned away.
The excuse was that he was not feeling well and could not see anyone.
She understood that the boy's self-esteem was hurt after he finally went out and was seen in an indecent way by other nobles. Now he needed an independent space to lick his wounds.
So after being rejected the first time, Miyue never visited again.
It was not until half a month later, when the weather gradually warmed up, that she finally saw the familiar figure appear in the hall.
He sat there upright, his figure looking even thinner in the sunlight filtering through the shade of the trees.
The man opposite was tall and serious, and he opened his mouth to say something.
She couldn't hear clearly, so she leaned close to the door and eavesdropped.
"Your mother is pregnant and you are not in good health, so don't bother her for the time being."
The cup tapped against the table, making a crisp sound. After a while, a deep, hoarse voice of a young man replied, "Yes."
Miyue was just about to continue listening when footsteps came towards the door.
Oh shit!
The other party moved too fast and she had no time to dodge!
When she retracted her head and was about to pretend to pass by, she happened to bump into the young man stepping out from the inside. Miyue dodged and grabbed the hem of his clothes at the moment of collision.