Before leaving, Chai Xiaomi specifically called Zhu Yu aside.
She held up Zhu Yu's hand and gently placed a rough wooden ring into her palm.
She had made it in passing while crafting a cat teaser wand.
"This is the best I can do, it really isn't much to look at," Chai Xiaomi smiled sheepishly. "There are still some splinters that might prick your hand. If you have time, it would be best to wax and polish it a bit, then it will be smooth."
Zhu Yu stared blankly at her palm.
The wood grain was plain and the style was simple, yet it looked fifty or sixty percent similar to the one she had burned.
A wave of warmth unexpectedly surged in her chest, and her eyes instantly turned red.
"Thank you, Xiaomi."
"Between friends, there's no need for thanks." A soft, warm smile rippled at the corners of Chai Xiaomi's lips. She noticed that Zhu Yu seemed to be packing her luggage as well. "Do you still plan on keeping this inn from now on?"
"No," Zhu Yu shook her head. Her gaze looked toward the distance, revealing a clear and steady resolve. "The inn will be handed over to someone reliable to manage. I plan to set off again, travel the world, and build up my business once more. I'm going to go back to being 'Boss Zhu'."
Although the wealth she had previously earned was completely taken away after she returned to Sanchao County, no one could take away the vision, courage, and business acumen she had accumulated through years of hard struggle.
What she coveted was never the glory piled up by gold and silver, but the sense of stability and vitality gained from running about, strategizing, and achieving, as well as the affirmation and weight hidden within others calling her "Boss Zhu."
Saying this, Zhu Yu suddenly remembered something. She quickly hurried back into the inn, and when she came out again, she held a yellowed paper deed in her hand.
"You're heading to Youquan Town, right? I previously bought a few shops in Liangya Prefecture, and now only this deed is left. The shop is in Qianwu Town, which you should pass by along your way."
She stuffed the paper deed into Chai Xiaomi's hand, her tone as casual as if she were mentioning a trivial matter. "If money is tight, or if you happen to find it useful, just take it."
In other words, she was giving this shop to her.
"This is too valuable, I can't accept it, I really can't!" Chai Xiaomi flusteredly refused verbally, but her little hand unconsciously and quietly pulled open a corner of her bundle, her movements so fast that they seemed to have a mind of their own.
Zhu Yu was amused by her duplicitous behavior and laughed out loud. No longer standing on ceremony, she picked up the paper deed and directly stuffed it into the open opening of the bundle.
"Just take it since I'm giving it to you. Since we're friends, there's no need to be a stranger."
Chai Xiaomi had just been scooped up onto the horseback by Wu Li when the youth's slow, drawling voice drifted to her ear:
"You're quite good at doing business. A single wooden ring traded for an entire shop."
She pretended not to understand his sarcasm. Tilting her chin up and pouting her lips, she looked as smug as a victorious little peacock. "What do you know? The things I make are worth their weight in gold in other people's hearts. She was willing to give it to me, so why are you being so sour about it?"
Her sense of self-worth was just that high.
"Heh." Wu Li gave a dry, cold sneer.
"What are you 'heh'-ing about? If you're unhappy, keep it to yourself." She simply assumed he was jealous of her new shop.
"I just feel that some people have a conscience smaller than a grain of rice." He paused, his fingertips seemingly inadvertently brushing past the gently swaying buyao hair ornament in her hair. "I at least gave you an earring, and I work hard every early morning to style your hair."
"Why haven't you given me a gift in return?"
Chai Xiaomi's righteous arrogance suddenly shrank by half.
Putting it that way, she did seem to be a bit in the wrong.
Not only had she accepted his gift, but she had also comfortably exploited his free labor.
Gifting a hair ornament and even including post-sales application services.
This after-sales service was better than what major jewelry brands offered.
"Then tell me, what do you want? Big sister will buy it for you!" She turned her head, her confidence returning. After all, she had money now. Carrying the gold given by Sister Yao and holding the shop deed given by Zhu Yu, she was essentially a wealthy woman, worrying only about having nowhere to spend it.
"Tch, I don't want something bought, there's no sincerity in that at all." He raised an eyebrow, full of disdain.
"..." Chai Xiaomi felt her sincerity had been ruthlessly trampled on. "Do you know that when I am willing to spend a huge sum of money on someone, that is the greatest sincerity of my life!"
"Then think carefully, what exactly do you want? The prerequisite is that it must be something I can make."
What did he want...
He didn't know either.
Wu Li's gaze swept aimlessly around, eventually landing on the front, on the head of Jiang Zhiyu's horse, where the white cat was proudly hugging a thin bamboo pole tied with bird feathers, looking exactly like it was holding a ridiculous fly whisk.
Looking closely, he realized that the bird feather actually seemed to belong to Ah Nan.
His mouth twitched.
It was ugly to death; he definitely didn't want something like that.
His line of sight involuntarily fell back onto the side profile that was so close at hand.
The young girl's lips looked exceptionally plump because they were slightly pouted, radiating a cherry-pink luster.
Unconsciously, he stared at those two cherry-pink lips.
His eyes suddenly darkened for a moment, and as if burned by something, he quickly looked away.
"Forget it, just consider your gift returned."
"Huh?" Chai Xiaomi couldn't process it for a moment.
Why had he suddenly become so easy to talk to?
This guy's thought process was so bizarre, acting crazy in fits and starts.
After picking a fight with her, he took the initiative to give her a way out.
Just as she was pondering this, a loud, resonant voice rang out from the front.
"Today I bid farewell to you all here! The mountains are high and the rivers are long; if it is destined, we will naturally meet again!"
Yan Xingxiao stood in front of Lady Yue and several escort agency workers, clasping his fists in a salute to everyone.
The three wooden chests pasted with seals had already been securely loaded onto the carriage.
Having delayed their journey for two days due to the matter with the little ghost, they now had to travel day and night to make up for lost time.
He specifically turned to Wu Li, clasping his fists and saying, "Young Master Wu's archery skills are extraordinary, I truly admire them! It is quite a pity that we must part in such a hurry. If fate brings us together again in the future, I must properly ask you for some pointers!"
On horseback, Wu Li lowered his eyes and glanced at him. His expression was indifferent, and his tone was flat: "Oh, then it's better if we don't meet again."
Yan Xingxiao: "Uh?"
Chai Xiaomi quickly gave his leg a secret pinch, piling a smile onto her face. "What he means is, he can't bear to part with everyone! He wishes we could travel together forever, and without parting, there naturally wouldn't be any talk of 'meeting again'!"
She turned her face and glared at the youth with feigned reproach. "Head Escort Yan, please don't take offense. My husband is clumsy with words and doesn't know how to speak properly, please don't misunderstand."
"Hahahahaha!" Yan Xingxiao realized, bursting into hearty laughter. "I can see that, I can see that! Young Master Wu is a man of true temperament!"
The white cat nearby blew on its whiskers. "When it comes to archery, it was only my skills in my youth that could be called stunningly brilliant."
Jiang Zhiyu went along with its words, suggesting with a sincere expression, "But with Master's current physique, drawing a bow is inconvenient. How about your disciple makes a slingshot for you instead?"
"You brat! Are you trying to anger me on purpose? After not seeing you for a few days, where did you learn such sarcastic remarks?"
The white cat's whiskers quivered as it widened its eyes in a glare.
"Just because I want to take you back, you use words to choke me here? I advise you to drop these romantic thoughts as early as possible. Your imperial father has few heirs; you are his only son. Now that the political situation is unstable, so many eyes are watching, urging him to establish you as the crown prince soon, to spread branches and leaves for the royal family, and to stabilize the foundation of the state."
"If your father hadn't wished for you to enjoy a couple more years of carefree freedom, this heavy burden would have been placed upon your shoulders long ago."
Jiang Zhiyu remained silent, offering no reply.
His gaze passed over the crowd, landing quietly on the solitary figure riding ahead of them.
Her back was slender yet perfectly straight, like a stalk of green bamboo that refused to bend.
Ever since their master appeared, she had never again casually rapped him on the head. Even their occasional conversations were now veiled in a measured politeness, a subtle distance that made his heart inexplicably tighten.
