Traveling through troubled times, he fled with his stepson

Three years later.

It was winter, and heavy snow was falling all over the sky. A thick layer of snow had fallen under the eaves and on the corridors.

The wintersweets in the yard bloomed brightly in the snow, adding a touch of color to the pale and desolate yard.

In the room, beside the table.

A pair of plain hands put the beautiful wintersweets outside into an equally plain vase. Wei Qiqi admired them for a while before turning around and sitting at the eucalyptus table to continue writing.

Three years have passed, and her appearance has gradually grown from a somewhat immature and childish face to a more gorgeous and stunning one that people can't look directly at.

She has such a charming face, but she is wearing plain clothes without any patterns. The sharp contrast between the two has a kind of strange charm.

It makes people feel that it is some kind of monster that has become a god through good fortune and worship. It is so harmonious and hazy that one dare not look directly at it.

Every time Wei Qiqi looked in the mirror, she was reluctant to admit that the person who looked like the Fallen Beauty in the mirror was herself.

There was a creaking sound of wood, and someone pushed the door open and walked in.

Following the direction of the voice, the person who came in was the older Li Yuan.

Now, he is less than twelve years old, but he is much taller than before, and is only a head shorter than Wei Qiqi.

Whenever the two of them stood together, Wei Qiqi would always sigh that children grow up so fast.

In just two or three years, Li Yuan grew from a height not even reaching her waist to a height around her shoulders.

Wei Qiqi was amazed at how tall he was, just twelve years old, and not even his twelfth birthday. He was already so tall, and he would continue to grow in the future. Was this kid going to soar into the sky?

"Qiniang."

Li Yuan walked closer and saw a stack of papers on Wei Qiqi's desk, with words written on each sheet.

He picked it up and took a quick look. The densely written words, although he had practiced for a long time, the handwriting was still ugly, unique and breathtaking.

"You're back so soon, Cheng Feiyue must have finished copying what he was punished to do."

Wei Qiqi wrote the last word and then began to put the words in order.

"I want to go to Yixianglou after copying, so I'll come back first."

"Yixianglou is a good place, with food, drinks and people of your age. Why didn't you go there?"

As Li Yuan spoke, he followed Wei Qiqi's movements and checked the Arabic numerals below one by one.

"Those are so boring. It's more interesting to come back and accompany Qi Niang."

Wei Qiqi chuckled: "When will you stop talking like an old man? You think they are boring. If I were to say it's you who is boring, I'd say it's you who is boring."

During these three years, Li Yuan became Cheng Feiyue's study partner. Except for following Cheng Feiyue during the day, he followed her all the time, doing nothing but reading and practicing the Six Arts.

The dullness of the content made her feel bored.

Fortunately, although Cheng Feiyue was a spoiled child, he did not bully Li Yuan, and the city lord's wife Xu Yaluo also mostly protected Li Yuan.

But Li Yuan's taciturn personality could not be changed.

As she moved, her fingers touched Li Yuan's palm. Li Yuan was startled, and his whole body felt as if an electric shock had passed through it, and he was unable to move.

Wei Qiqi took the paper from Li Yuan's hand without noticing and put it in a homemade file bag.

Li Yuan smelled the special scent of the floor lamp in the room, the dark and fragrant wintersweet, and the unique fragrance on Wei Qiqi's body.

He couldn't help but take a few steps back. Seeing his actions, Wei Qiqi put down the file bag in her hand and approached him.

"It's hot in the room, and you haven't taken off your cloak yet, even though we've been talking for such a long time."

Then he gestured to Li Yuan to take it off himself.

It’s not that she didn’t want to untie it, but Li Yuan seldom touched people, especially women. The precautions between men and women were even more strict than those of girls in the Qing Dynasty.

Sometimes, when Wei Qiqi saw him avoiding others, she would wonder if Li Yuan was the legendary homosexual.

"How's it going lately? Is Cheng Feiyue still a decent kid?"

"Out of the five sentences Qi Niang said to me, three were about Cheng Feiyue." Li Yuan said in a deep voice. Wei Qiqi could sense the dissatisfaction in his tone even from a distance.

"You are his study partner. I understand his situation so I can understand yours. Otherwise, you are unwilling to speak and just keep repeating the same few words."

Wei Qiqi said in confusion, why does this child become more and more twisted as he grows up, or is he about to enter the rebellious period of adolescence so he wants to rebel against everything?

“…Qiniang.”

He felt wronged before he could even say a few words. Wei Qiqi was really impressed.

"Come over and warm your hands. They're so cold when I touched them just now." Wei Qiqi said as she pushed a brazier over to Li Yuan's feet.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Li Yuan shook his head.

She sighed, stood up and got some cakes for the child.

"Next time, please have dinner before coming. Sometimes I don't even prepare food for you."

Wei Qiqi reminded him that she always felt like an old lady who had to say something about everything.

Li Yuan watched Wei Qiqi's movements, her slightly wide sleeves swaying in the air, and was fascinated for a moment.

"Xiaobao? Xiaobao!"

A hand flashed twice in front of Li Yuan's eyes, causing Li Yuan to lean back subconsciously.

Wei Qiqi: “…”

"Am I some kind of poisonous insect or fierce snake that makes you so afraid of me?"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

But when he turned around and left, Li Yuan missed the cunning in Wei Qiqi's eyes.

This kid is like this every time.

If you don't treat her, people will think she has no temper.

During the three or two years they spent together, Wei Qiqi never changed her expression towards Li Yuan, and never even spoke a harsh word to him.

I was suddenly shocked by these harsh words and was unable to react for a moment.

When he looked again, Wei Qiqi had already turned around and was about to take a step, so he subconsciously reached out to stop her and explain.

"Qiniang!"

boom!

There was a ping-pong sound behind her. Wei Qiqi looked back and saw that Li Yuan had one foot stepped into the fire pit and was reaching out with his other hand to pull her up.

His eyes widened in an instant.

"Xiaobao!"

He used both hands to push Li Yuan onto the couch at the back, and his feet left the brazier in an instant.

The air was suddenly filled with the smell of something burning.

Wei Qiqi used the cloak that Li Yuan had just taken off to slap the burning charcoal on Li Yuan's feet.

Sparks were still burning inside.

Li Yuan was urged to take off his shoes and socks.

Only after seeing the feet did Wei Qiqi breathe a sigh of relief.

It's okay, I'm not burned, just a little red. I think the redness will go away after applying some medicine overnight.

After realizing what the little bastard had done, Wei Qiqi suppressed the urge to slap him. She was originally not angry, but now she suddenly became angry.

Seeing Li Yuan reaching out to grab her, she couldn't bear it anymore and slapped the back of his hand: "Are you some kind of idiot? Can't you see the big fire pot on the ground and avoid it? You are a person who is good at reading and martial arts, but you are so smart and you would step into the fire pot."

"Tell Cheng Feiyue that and he'll probably laugh his teeth off, because you, a fool, outshine him in every way."

"Is that a ball on your neck? I'm really impressed by you, you little bastard."

Wei Qiqi attacked for a while, and after that the whole place was as quiet as a chicken.

Li Yuan was stunned by the scolding and stared at Wei Qiqi blankly.

It seemed that no one expected these words to come out of Wei Qiqi's mouth.

"What's the matter? Have you been scolded so much that you are dumb and can't talk? It just so happens that I..."

Wei Qiqi, who was speaking, suddenly stopped talking. She looked down and saw the little bastard hugging her waist, holding it tightly.

"Qiniang."