Yixuan was momentarily stunned before he belatedly realized what his fourth brother meant. He couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation but still replied good-naturedly, "Alright, I’ll teach you." Thus, Yixuan went hands-on to instruct him. During this time, Yun Ge, who was cradling a handful of melon seeds, caught sight of the two. Yun Ge would wander to Xihui Courtyard from time to time; she especially liked to stick close to Dong Huiying. She used to be inseparable from Purple chervil, but now Purple chervil was mostly occupied by the Liang family, and these men guarded against her as if she were a thief—truly maddening! She hadn’t intended to bother with Haoming and Yixuan—the Liang brothers were just too annoying, and she didn’t like them. But once she realized what the duo was up to, her intelligence shone through. She couldn’t help but take another look at the pair. Perhaps, having these few men around to protect Purple chervil might also be a stroke of good fortune for her? At least, all of these men cherished her. Well, of course, except for Liang Shuyu, who was always sarcastic and weird. When evening arrived. Dong Huiying was fiddling with medicinal herbs when Liang Haoming pushed the door open and entered. The two of them locked eyes, big ones staring at small ones, until after a long while, Haoming’s ears turned conspicuously red, and he walked towards Dong Huiying with an expressionless face. She looked up at him; his emotionless "coffin face" was a natural mask of indifference, making it impossible for her to discern his thoughts. However, his face seemed a bit red, didn’t it? His normally bronzed skin now sported two patches of rosy color. Suddenly, Haoming turned his face away and quickly moved behind her, his large hands pressing down on her shoulders. She was startled, thinking... but then, she felt the force on her shoulders gentle yet firm, as he actually began to knead her shoulders? Her neck? While wearing the little purple cotton-padded jacket upon her, his hands moved over Dong Huiying’s slender shoulders; although he didn’t feel any flesh under his touch, Haoming took a sniff, then another.... A stream of nosebleed burst forth. All at once, he clutched his nose and dashed out of the room in a disheveled escape. What in the world was he here for??? Shortly after, Yixuan approached Dong Huiying with a smile on his lips. "Fourth brother said your shoulders were uncomfortable, but he had to leave for a bit due to some urgent matters, so I voluntarily came to take over," he said, before pulling her to sit down and continued where his fourth brother left off. After a moment of surprise, Dong Huiying’s heart filled with warmth. A full quarter of an hour later, Dong Huiying felt much relief in her shoulders and neck, and Yixuan excused himself with a smile, having business elsewhere. But after stepping out the door... Yixuan passed by his fourth brother’s room, paused his stride, and pushed open the door. Inside, his fourth brother sat on a stool, with his nose covered in blood and stuffed with two small pieces of cloth, still with his usual blank, stunned face. Yixuan: "..." What to do when he suddenly felt an urge to laugh? The sky was not yet bright when Liang Yuening woke up. He was usually a heavy sleeper; once down, not even thunder could disturb him. But that night, it seemed he’d barely closed his eyes before waking again. With the sky still dark, he would close his eyes, only to wake up soon after. In this way, he must have woken up at least a dozen times that night. Until now, while it was still dark, he couldn’t lie in bed any longer. He got up, put on a black cotton robe, and draped a blanket over himself before stepping out of the room. Outside the room were steps, two in total. He sat on the stone steps and saw the entire courtyard covered in a blanket of snow. Under the moonlight, the surface of the snow seemed to glisten.
