Li Xueyue swallowed. Who let him into her room in the first place? What the h.e.l.l were her guards doing if they couldn't keep the guests out? But then she thought about the frightsome aura of Wen Jinkai and the overpowered guards he had.

The Li family soldiers were definitely unable to withstand the pressure of a Commander.

"What an insolent, audacious, irritable brat he is," she cursed him to the stars and back. Placing her pendant onto the table, she tore open his letter, not caring about how ugly it had become.

'I won't start with headings or greetings, for it's a waste of time to you. Firstly, I would like to apologize for my treatment towards you. I've realized my wrongdoings, and I promise if you will give me a chance, I will change. I promise I will. I am a man of my word. To show you I mean no ill intent, I've returned your pendant to you.

It wasn't mine to take, but I had no other way of grabbing your attention. It was the only thing that tied me to you. I didn't want to part with it, but my moral conscience told me it was the best thing to do.

I hope you can forgive what I've done to you. If I had offended you in any way, I do not mean it. I rarely apologize, Little Fawn. I am too honorable of a man, so please, I hope you take into consideration the meaning of my words.

Yours truly,

Wen Jinkai'

Li Xueyue wanted to rip the letter into shreds. He apologized but demanded her to accept it. That wasn't how it worked. But she couldn't ignore the weight of his apology. It must've been a great deal for him to swallow that ma.s.sive ego and lower his head to write this.

Li Xueyue clutched her pendant tightly in her palm, staring down at it. She placed it back down on the table again, deciding it needed a proper cleaning.

"Poor thing, you must've suffered," Li Xueyue muttered, stroking the pendant. It had endured enough. This time, she would keep it safe for the rest of her life. She would never allow it to be stolen. Ever again.

Li Xueyue wondered if Wen Jinkai had heard the last thing she said before she fainted.

Li Xueyue wondered about the impact of her saying, "Yu Zhen" right before she pa.s.sed out.

It must've infuriated him. But what could he even do?

"You're the biggest fool of the century, Li Xueyue," she bit out. "How can you still think of him? Why can't you get him out of your head?" she sighed.

"Li Xueyue, I hate you. I hate you so much," she grumbled, crossing her arm, hoping this self-berating would awake her from her stupidity.

- - - - -

The morning eventually approached. Instead of continuing to sleep until the morning, Li Xueyue had spent her time by the window. She was reading a book with half of her attention outside of the window.

She admired the rosy hues of the sky as the sun emerged high in the sky, burning bright. She reached her hand out, capturing the warmth of the rays. It was comforting, but painful, for the memories instantly surfaced.

Li Xueyue retracted her hand and sighed. Every little thing reminded her of Yu Zhen, but what could she do? She was the dimwit who pushed him away.

"He's never coming back, is he?" Li Xueyue wondered out loud. She held back a melancholic sigh.

"I guess it's my turn to barge into the twins' room," she said.

Hopping off the window sill, Li Xueyue thought she would quickly dress herself. When she was living in the Bai Manor, no one tended to her. The clothing in the Bai Manor was always simple, plain, and just a single layer of cheap fabric.

However, her clothing in the Li Manor was multi-layered and colorful. It required expertise to perfectly match each layer so that it complemented the next. Eventually, she found herself angrily putting the pieces on blindly—she couldn't care less if they were mismatched.

Li Xueyue took her sweet time walking down the hallways, knowing she was early anyway. She found the silence in the hallways to be oddly soothing. There wasn't a single sound except for her light footsteps and the hollow murmurs of the wind.

The breeze had been rough ever since Yu Zhen left. Not that she noticed or anything…

Li Xueyue could feel the pressing stares of the guards who never took their attention off of her when she pa.s.sed by them. It was strange. Did they always look at her for longer than necessary?

She glanced around her surroundings. "Maybe it's because I'm the only one out here," she mumbled."

"Are they awake yet?" Li Xueyue asked when she stopped in front of the door of her first victim, her dear ole' Wen-ge.

The guards glanced at her once, before taking an abrupt second look. "Y-Young Miss," they said in unison.

Li Xueyue was puzzled by their expression. Why did they look so surprised to see her? It wasn't like she was a ghost.

Li Xueyue ignored them. Maybe they were simply surprised to see her in this part of the house. She seldom ventured to the twins' side of the house anyway and the twins seldom have visitors. Shrugging at their response, she pushed the door open and entered her brother's room.

Unsurprisingly, she heard the loud snore of a 'piglet'. She snickered. That nickname truly suited Wenmin.

Li Xueyue tiptoed into the room until she was near his bed.

"One…more…" he groaned in his sleep.

Huh? One more what? Set of training?

Li Xueyue bent down to hear him clearly.

"Bun…"

"Pft!" Li Xueyue covered her mouth to resist the laughter that almost burst out. One more bun? Of course, this glutton would dream of food in his sleep!

"No more buns for you," she loudly said.

His eyebrows scrunched together. "Bun....nooo, why are you running away from me?!" His hand shot up, his fingers reaching and grabbing for the food in his dream.

Li Xueyue couldn't hold her laughter back anymore. She let out a small giggle, but the slightest of noise shook Li Wenmin awake.

"What the—!" he let out a yelp, bringing the blanket up to his collarbone as if he was a young maiden caught in a thin nightgown.

"Xiao Yue, what are you doing here?" he asked, placing a frightened hand upon his chest. "Gosh, this must be a nightmare," he added on, slipping back under his blankets.

"Hey, that's rude!" she called out, grabbing the edges of his blankets.

"Go away you evil spirit!" he groaned, kicking at the parts she was trying to yank. "You can haunt me once I get a few more hours of sleep."

"But I'm not a ghost!" Li Xueyue huffed. In one rough tug, she ripped the blankets off of him.

Li Wenmin let out a scream. He rolled his entire body into a ball and moaned. "Just a few more minutes please."

"It's already morning, wake up you sleepy piglet!" Li Xueyue hissed, tossing the blanket to the other side of the enormous bed.

"I am not a piglet!" Li Wenmin cried out. Finally, he cracked his eyes open, rubbing the tiredness out of it. He found it difficult to keep his eyes open so early in the d.a.m.n morning.

"You snore like one," Li Xueyue piqued.

"Doesn't make me one!"

"And you were also dreaming of food…"

"So you were the one stealing my buns," Li Wenmin huffed. "I should've known!"

Li Xueyue rolled her eyes. "It's not like you're gonna actually eat the bun. Now come on!"

"Ugh, where are we going?" Li Wenmin groaned, rolling onto his stomach.

Li Xueyue could see his toned muscles. She wondered how it was possible for him to eat so much and not get fat. "We're going to scare Chenyang."

Li Wenmin bolted upwards. "Oh, that sounds fun! Let's go, let's go!" he excitedly said.

Li Wenmin's eyes lit up. He couldn't wait to get payback on his brother for all of the teasing and bullying.