"Here they come, it's Young Master Xu..."
The sound of hooves echoed from afar. Nie Tong gazed at the familiar figure on the leading horse and turned to inform Xie Jiang.
Xie Jiang, who was comfortably eating and drinking on a picnic mat, immediately wiped her hands and stood up upon hearing Nie Tong's words.
Xu Hengyan, accompanied by his escorts, a group of over a dozen riders, appeared in Xie Jiang's sight, kicking up dust along the way.
"It really is my second brother!"
Xu Hengyi, holding half a bag of jerky, came to Xie Jiang's side and waved towards the approaching riders.
"Young Master, it's Young Master Xie."
Guang Bai, following closely behind Xu Hengyan, was the first to spot the figures on the hilltop ahead. Some people were born to shine with dazzling brilliance; even from afar, without seeing their faces clearly, one could instantly recognize them.
As for the person standing beside Young Master Xie, vaguely resembling their third young master, Guang Bai felt there was no need to mention it. With Young Master Xie present, who else would the Young Master notice?
Mentioning it would be pointless.
Xu Hengyan seemed to sense something and raised his head, looking towards the hilltop where Xie Jiang was. Seeing the figure he was so concerned about, the urgency hidden in his heart instantly spread and intensified.
"My second brother must have seen me!" Xu Hengyi noticed his second brother's riding speed suddenly increase and waved even more enthusiastically.
The group of riders, accompanied by billowing dust, drew closer. Xu Hengyi had just put a piece of beef jerky into his mouth when he caught a glimpse of Xie Jiang falling headfirst.
The hillside they were on was at least five stories high. If Xie Jiang fell headfirst, she wouldn't survive!
"Ah..."
Xu Hengyi cried out in alarm, spitting out the jerky in his mouth. As Xie Jiang plummeted downwards, he instinctively reached out to grab her.
Luo Tie did not move. His Marquis had lunged down himself; he wasn't jumping off a cliff.
Nie Tong, however, did move. Out of consideration for Xu Hengyi's filial piety, he pulled him back.
His Marquis would be fine if he fell, but it was uncertain for the third young master Xu.
The person he longed for was right before his eyes. Xu Hengyan was about to slow down when he saw her leap towards him.
There was still some distance! Wasn't she afraid he wouldn't catch her!
Xu Hengyan's heart leaped into his throat. He urged his horse forward, not daring to be careless, and finally caught her steadily before she fell.
"Reckless!"
Holding her behind him on the horse, Xu Hengyan's heart was still pounding. He couldn't help but turn and scold her with a stern face, "Do you know how dangerous that was!"
Xie Jiang smiled and said, "I could have jumped onto your horse accurately. You were being overly cautious."
Xu Hengyan retorted irritably, "Accurately, from where! What if you..."
Xie Jiang's single sentence blocked all his subsequent reprimands. "Wasn't I just too excited? I didn't have time to think things through. I only realized what I had done after I jumped..."
Xu Hengyan himself wished he had wings, so how could he not understand her feelings at that moment? In his eyes, vast and filled with spiritual energy, there was only the joy and affection of seeing him. Xu Hengyan's heart was irrevocably lost.
"You mustn't be so reckless next time." He had said this many times, but she never learned. Xu Hengyan was helpless against her.
"Whether I can control myself next time is not up to me," she murmured, resting her head on Xu Hengyan's back, faintly hearing his heartbeat.
It was thrilling, wasn't it?
Next time, it should be even more thrilling. How else could it be unforgettable?
How else would he and Xu Hengdan become sworn enemies in the future?
Xu Hengyan gazed at her for a long time without speaking.
Xie Jiang rested her chin on his shoulder and looked up at his profile. "Xu Hengyan, when was the last time you washed your face?"
Saying this, she reached out to brush the dirt from his face.
Xu Hengyan held her hand down sheepishly. How could he not have washed his face? He had washed up at the post station before setting off in the morning, but the dust along the way made him feel like his mouth was full of sand.
Xie Jiang smiled, "I don't mind."
Xu Hengyan pulled her hand down and placed it on his waist. "...Hold on tight."
Unknowingly, he had slowed his horse. The urgency he had felt to rush back to the capital had faded the moment she landed on his horse.
Xie Jiang hugged his waist. "I can stick to you, the kind you can't pry off."
Xu Hengyan tightened his grip on the reins. "Stop fooling around..."
Xu Hengyi tumbled down the steep slope, still shaken.
He watched as Xie Jiang fell and landed on his second brother's horse, then rode away with his second brother without stopping.
"Hey, hey, hey—"
Xu Hengyi called out as he watched Xu Hengyan's group gallop away, then quickly got up.
"Second brother! Second brother! What about me—"
Unfortunately, Xu Hengyan's group had already gone far, and Xu Hengyi's calls were unheard.
Xu Hengyi looked at Nie Tong and Luo Tie with disbelief, and belatedly realized, "Your Marquis didn't fall down accidentally just now, did he?"
Nie Tong rolled up the picnic mat and said, "If Young Master Xu didn't fall, how could our Marquis have fallen?"
Xu Hengyi said indignantly, "So she just abandoned me and ran off with my second brother?"
Luo Tie packed up the leftover food. "Our Marquis came to pick up Young Master Xu, and hasn't he picked up Young Master Xu already?"
"He picked up my second brother and can just leave me? Does she have any conscience? She jumped down without a sound, scaring the soul out of me, and then she just left with my second brother!"
Looking down at his fingers, which were swollen from shelling walnuts, Xu Hengyi suddenly felt the bleakness and heartlessness of the autumn wind.
Why had he shelled walnuts for Xie Jiang!
He should have fed them to the dogs!
Yi Shan tried to save his young master's dignity. "The Young Master didn't know the young master was also here. He must have thought it was only Marquis Xie, so he took Marquis Xie away directly."
Xu Hengyi felt a chill in his heart. "My second brother didn't know I was here, but didn't Xie Jiang know too! She didn't even ask my second brother to wait for me! Neither of them cared about me. Am I superfluous?"
"Young Master, you're thinking about it the wrong way. The Young Master hasn't been back to the capital for several months. You know how much the Old Madam and Madam miss him. The Young Master must be eager to return home and pay his respects. You're not a child, why would the Young Master need to specifically stop and wait for you? You can just catch up on horseback. The Young Master must have thought the same, so he took Marquis Xie ahead."
Nie Tong and Luo Tie finished packing and prepared to leave. Yi Shan and Yi Shui, while coaxing their young master, followed them towards the path where the horses were tied at the bottom of the slope.
Soon, they caught up with Xu Hengyan's group.
Xu Hengyi's dead heart instantly came back to life. Yi Shan hadn't lied to him; his second brother had slowed down to wait for him!
"Second brother! Second brother! Second brother—" Xu Hengyi called out happily as he rode up.
Xu Hengyan calmly turned his head and glanced at him.
Xu Hengyi showed a big smile. Although his second brother was as indifferent as ever, he knew that his second brother cared about him.
He looked at Xie Jiang, sitting behind his second brother. She was already an adult, yet she still needed someone to carry her on horseback.
"Xie Jiang, Nie Tong has brought your horse. Ride your own horse. Don't squeeze with my second brother. My second brother has been traveling for days and is very tired..."
Xie Jiang buried her head in Xu Hengyan's back. What if she wanted to squeeze with his second brother?
Xu Hengyi's eyes widened. "Xie Jiang, have you no shame..."
Before Xu Hengyi could finish speaking, he saw his second brother look at him and shivered violently.