Seeing the starlight rekindle in the young man's eyes, Nangong Qianyu smiled with a graceful charm, and the heavy stone that had been pressing down in her heart could finally be lifted.
She knew better than anyone the turbulent changes Ye Ming had endured internally during the preceding period, how he had nearly twisted and gone mad at a certain moment.
Fortunately, Nangong Qianyu's words had pulled him back from the brink of losing control.
"Ye Ming! I never cared about how our final fate would turn out. All I want is..." Nangong Qianyu gently cupped his face, her voice filled with tenderness. "That we stay together forever!"
With that, she leaned in and kissed him deeply.
Their kiss was tender, a gentle dance of mutual response and merging, as if etching each other into the deepest recesses of their hearts.
When their lips parted, only each other remained in their eyes.
"Let's go back!"
Ye Ming held Nangong Qianyu's hand and smiled softly.
"Okay!"
Nangong Qianyu rested her head lightly on his shoulder, a perfect curve forming on her lips.
They turned, hand in hand, and began to descend the mountain. Not long after, they spotted a young girl watching them from afar.
It was Xu Jingyao!
A smile of relief bloomed on her pretty face.
"It's her!"
Nangong Qianyu recognized the other girl.
"Do you know her?"
Ye Ming asked, glancing over.
"Not exactly!" Nangong Qianyu said, looking at Ye Ming beside her. "Come to think of it, my meeting with her was related to you."
"Oh? Related to me?"
Ye Ming was unaware of the stir his presence on the mountaintop had caused.
Nangong Qianyu then briefly recounted what had happened.
This included the message Xu Jingyao had asked Nangong Qianyu to convey to Ye Ming, hoping he wouldn't shy away from reality and would look towards the future.
"Heh heh heh! I never expected my actions would cause such a... misunderstanding!" Ye Ming chuckled, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "I just wanted to find a quiet place."
"Well, why did you choose such a dangerous place?"
Nangong Qianyu chided him.
"Uh! That was my mistake!"
Ye Ming admitted that his behavior could indeed be easily misinterpreted.
"But then again, she's truly a kind girl!" Ye Ming's gaze drifted forward, settling on the young girl not far away.
"Mhm! Indeed!"
Nangong Qianyu agreed wholeheartedly.
About half a minute later, Ye Ming and Nangong Qianyu finally met the young girl.
"Big Brother! You..."
Upon seeing them, Xu Jingyao's eyes immediately fell on Ye Ming. However, she clasped her hands slightly in front of her, appearing a bit nervous.
"I'm sorry to have worried you, Miss! Don't worry! I'm fine!"
Ye Ming nodded, feeling a natural affinity for this brave and kind-hearted girl.
"Oh... it's good that you're okay!"
Xu Jingyao breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Nangong Qianyu and began to admonish her. "Sister! You must guide Big Brother properly and not let him do such foolish things again."
"Uh!"
Hearing this, Ye Ming's lips twitched slightly, but he offered no explanation.
Nangong Qianyu couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
"Alright, I won't let him do foolish things again!"
Nangong Qianyu glanced at Ye Ming beside her and winked.
Ye Ming pretended not to see, knowing she was teasing him.
Xu Jingyao noticed their subtle interaction.
To her, this exchange clearly looked like a couple playfully bantering. This confirmed her belief that the young man was indeed alright.
"Right! I don't know what happened between you two, but if you encounter any difficulties, I believe I can offer some help." Xu Jingyao, intending to see her good deed through, said earnestly.
Hearing her words, Ye Ming and Nangong Qianyu exchanged a glance, both seeing their affection for this young girl.
"Thank you!"
Nangong Qianyu stepped forward gently, taking Xu Jingyao's hand. "We appreciate your kindness, but I think we can resolve our problems ourselves!"
"Then... that's fine!"
Xu Jingyao seemed momentarily captivated by the ethereal beauty of the woman before her, her face flushing slightly.
Seeing the young girl's adorable reaction, Nangong Qianyu liked her even more. "By the way! You still haven't told me your name."
After chatting for so long, it was indeed odd that they didn't know each other's names.
Ye Ming and Nangong Qianyu had altered their appearances before leaving, so Xu Jingyao couldn't recognize them.
Responding to Nangong Qianyu's question, Xu Jingyao readily introduced herself.
"Sister! And you?"
Her bright, sparkling eyes fixed on Nangong Qianyu, she said with some excitement, "Sister, you're so beautiful! If you debuted as a celebrity, you'd surely become a goddess in countless eyes!"
Especially the mysterious aura that emanated from Nangong Qianyu, something Xu Jingyao had never encountered before.
An overwhelming curiosity filled her heart.
Since the other party had been so open, Ye Ming and Nangong Qianyu didn't want to hide anything.
"Jingyao, our identities are a bit special. Could we tell you elsewhere?"
However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Nangong Qianyu preferred not to reveal everything here.
"Oh! Special identities!"
Upon hearing these words, Xu Jingyao's eyes lit up. "Great! There's a very nice dessert shop just down the mountain. Let's go there!"
As she spoke, Xu Jingyao proactively linked arms with Nangong Qianyu, appearing quite eager.
Perhaps it was a woman's intuition, but she had a premonition that what was to come might be very interesting.
"Okay! Let's go!"
Nangong Qianyu happily agreed.
The three then began to walk down the mountain.
However, Xu Jingyao didn't notice that not far behind them, a pair of enraged eyes were fixed on her.
This person was none other than Luo Fu, who had been following Xu Jingyao earlier.
"You damned bitch! You're forcing my hand!"
Luo Fu watched the retreating figures of the three, a sinister smile appearing on his lips. "Heh heh heh! I never expected that beautiful woman to be with you. It seems I'm in for some fun today."
At this moment, a middle-aged man approached Luo Fu and said in a deep voice, "Young Master! Isn't this a bit inappropriate? Miss Xu is..."
"That's enough! I know what you want to say!"
Luo Fu interrupted him before he could finish. "Our Luo family and the Xu family have always been close. Xu Jingyao will eventually be my woman. I'm just speeding things up a bit now, is there a problem with that?"
"Besides..."
As he spoke, a hint of madness flashed in Luo Fu's eyes.
"Once the deed is done, who else will Xu Jingyao marry?"