CHAPTER 80 — WHEN HIS PRIDE LEFT BEFORE HIM
"But Xin'er, what are you doing? Why don't you simply return his keepsake?"
Seeing Tang Ke Xin remain silent, Ye Lan Chen reminded her again, gently but insistently.
"Hmph. Why? Can't bear to part with it?" Mu Shaoyi sneered, mistaking her silence for reluctance. "If you cannot bring yourself to give it back, then spare us these little games."
He was convinced she did not truly wish to end the engagement—that she was merely toying with him. And, infuriatingly, he found himself drawn to this new version of her. She was no longer the timid girl who trailed behind him. There was something different now—an allure that made others look twice without realising why.
"But Xin'er, did you not bring it with you?" Ye Lan Chen asked quietly. He knew her well enough to understand that if she had the pendant, she would have flung it at Mu Shaoyi without hesitation.
"Come. We'll return to the manor and fetch it," he said, already reaching for her hand.
But Tang Ke Xin did not move.
In her memories, she had only ever touched that jade pendant once—on the night she had unknowingly transmigrated—when she had rewarded the man who saved her with the silver she carried. She remembered the faint sensation of something else in her palm, something smooth and cool.
That is most likely the pendant. Darn it!
Because she had never seen it again.
The original Tang Kexin's memories held only a vague impression: a snow‑white jade pendant, exquisitely carved, nothing more.
If she wished to retrieve Mu Shaoyi's pendant—or forge a replica—she needed to know precisely what it looked like.
"Forgot to bring it?" Mu Shaoyi scoffed. "How could you forget something you always kept on your person? What a ridiculous excuse."
Yet beneath his mockery was unmistakable satisfaction.
She had not left with Ye Lan Chen.
She must still care for him.
She had loved him so deeply before—how could she stop now?
"I truly did not bring it," Tang Ke Xin replied calmly. "My illness has healed. Many things from before… have changed."
She saw the pride flicker in Mu Shaoyi's eyes and could not fathom what he found so pleasing.
Her words, however, wiped the smile from his face.
He remembered all too well how she used to cling to him.
Now she did not even look at him.
"We can fetch it now," Ye Lan Chen said, turning to leave.
"Alas!" Tang Ke Xin added lightly. "After recovering, I cannot recall everything from before. For instance, I no longer remember what the jade pendant looks like. And my family owns many pendants—I cannot tell which one belongs to Young Master Mu."
She spoke with such serene honesty that Mu Shaoyi's temper flared.
"Don't remember? Impossible!" he snapped. "Even if you forgot everything else, you would never forget that."
"Our Mu family has two identical heirlooms," he said coldly. "If you cannot remember yours, I can show you the other. Let us see what excuse you invent next."
Tang Ke Xin's eyes brightened.
Two identical pendants?
That made things far easier.
She knew she would never recover the original.
Without returning the pendant, Mu Shaoyi would never annul the engagement—he would assume she still harboured feelings for him.
But if she could obtain the second pendant…
She could have a replica made.
And the matter would be settled.
"Should we take some tea first?" she said suddenly, turning away from him and walking toward the teahouse.
She had a plan now.
Mu Shaoyi was no longer worth her attention.
"Tang Kexin! Are you still playing games?" Mu Shaoyi nearly stamped his foot in fury. She had humiliated him publicly, and she did not even look back.
"Do not worry, Young Master Mu. I will return the pendant to you," she said lightly, without pausing.
"If you walk away now, forget about annulling the engagement!" Mu Shaoyi darted in front of her, blocking her path.
He believed she could not bear to part with him.
He believed she was bluffing.
But in truth, she simply could not produce the pendant.
Inside the private room, Ye Lan Jue's eyes narrowed, a cold, lethal aura gathering around him.
"This Mu Shaoyi is insufferably petty," Nangong Yi muttered under his breath. "How dare he bully my Xin'er?"
But he kept his voice low.
The Crown Prince was in the next room, and neither he nor Ye Lan Jue could afford to reveal themselves.
"Mu Shaoyi, you are going too far," Ye Lan Chen snapped, anger rising.
"What I do with my fiancée is my business," Mu Shaoyi retorted. "Until the engagement is broken, she is a member of the Mu family. I have every right."
In the private room, Ye Lan Jue's killing intent sharpened.
Nangong Yi's smile vanished entirely.
Both men looked ready to end Mu Shaoyi where he stood.
Even the Crown Prince, listening from the next room, grew cold-eyed.
Then Tang Ke Xin spoke.
"Young Master Mu," she said softly, "your face ran away from home this morning."
The entire teahouse fell silent.
Her tone was light, almost amused—utterly at odds with the insult she had just endured.
No one understood.
His face away from home?
Even Ye Lan Chen stared at her, bewildered.
"What do you mean?" he asked, genuinely confused.
Mu Shaoyi frowned. "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Even Nangong Yi leaned forward, baffled.
This girl's words were too cryptic—even for him.
Tang Ke Xin turned slightly, her expression serene.
"Because," she said gently, "Young Master Mu clearly does not want it."
The silence shattered.
Inside the private room, Nangong Yi choked so hard he nearly spat blood.
Ye Lan Jue's lips curved in a slow, helpless smile.
This woman… truly is clever and ingenuis.
"Hahaha—! This king—this king is dying—!" Ye Lan Chen doubled over laughing. "She means—she means he has no shame! His face ran away! Hahaha—!"
The explanation only made the crowd laugh harder.
In the next room, the Crown Prince smiled as well—
but his eyes gleamed with something far more dangerous.
Interest.
This woman was clever.
Sharp.
Quick-witted.
Unpredictable.
And such a person…
was worth watching.
Mu Shaoyi understood Tang Ke Xin's meaning the moment the words left her lips.
His face darkened so violently he looked on the verge of coughing blood. And when Ye Lan Chen deliberately explained the insult aloud—followed by the entire teahouse erupting in laughter—Mu Shaoyi's complexion turned a furious shade of crimson.
"Young Master… let us return," one of his guards murmured, tugging gently at his sleeve. Even they could no longer bear to watch. "What you said earlier… was indeed a little excessive."
It was no wonder Miss Tang had retaliated so sharply.
"As expected of my Xin'er," Nangong Yi said with a bright, admiring smile. "To scold someone so thoroughly without uttering a single vulgar word—exquisite. Truly exquisite."
His tone was light, but his eyes slid meaningfully toward Ye Lan Jue.
And then—
Ye Lan Jue rose to his feet.
Nangong Yi blinked, startled.
"You—where are you going?"
Ye Lan Jue did not answer.
He simply stepped forward, his expression unreadable, his aura shifting—cold, controlled, and unmistakably dangerous.
The air in the teahouse tightened.
Even Nangong Yi, who rarely lost his composure, felt a flicker of unease.
For Ye Lan Jue did not move without purpose.
And when he did—
Someone was about to regret it.