As the moon's gentle light bathed the surroundings in a silvery glow, her gaze locked onto the distant figure of the man. In that instant, tears welled up without warning, spilling down her cheeks in an uncontrollable torrent.
Caught completely off guard, she stood frozen, her face blank, unable to express the surge of emotions crashing within her. Then, in a trembling whisper, she murmured, "Yang... Huo...?"
He couldn't hear her voice, but from reading her lips, Yang Huo could roughly guess what she had said.
'She knows me?'
A ripple of unease spread through him. From her reaction alone, it was clear that the original Yang Huo had shared a special relationship with this woman.
Yang Huo resisted the urge to massage his forehead. Having a fiancée was already troublesome enough—but now this?
Suppressing a sigh, he decided to test the waters. He softened his tone slightly and asked, "You seem injured. Are you alright?"
It was as if those words snapped her out of a trance.
She wiped the tears from her cheeks, her expression shifting subtly. The tension melted away, replaced by a faint smile tugging at her lips. Shaking her head, she began walking toward him—and in that moment, Yang Huo witnessed something extraordinary.
Though her steps appeared leisurely, the distance between them collapsed in an instant, as if she had crossed it in a single bound.
When they were finally face to face, she leaned forward slightly, her eyes still glistening as she asked with an eager, radiant smile.
"Are you worried about me?"
Her white robe was stained with crimson blood, yet her smile remained dazzling.
The sudden closeness caught Yang Huo off guard. He took a step back, creating a sliver of distance between them.
"…Of course," he replied after a brief pause.
Unbothered, she stepped closer once more, her curious gaze fixed firmly on him. "Yang Huo, what are you doing here?"
"I…" He hesitated.
Judging by how comfortably she acted around him, the original Yang Huo must have been far closer to her than expected.
'No wonder that damn guy rushed here so eagerly,' he thought darkly. 'Turns out he already had someone.'
Continuing this interaction was dangerous. With his lack of information, he couldn't afford to let the conversation drift any further—
But before he could respond, she interrupted him.
"Are you lost?" she asked, a playful smirk lifting her lips.
How the hell did she figure that out? Was the original Yang Huo that bad with directions?
Chuckling softly at his expression, she added, a faint blush coloring her cheeks, "I can guide you."
Yang Huo's eye twitched. The headache was already creeping in.
This was bad.
Without understanding the original Yang Huo's relationship with her, he had no control over the flow of the conversation.
In less than a second, Yang Huo steadied himself. "That won't be necessary," he said smoothly. "You should tend to your injuries first. I can find my own way back."
Of course, that was nothing but a convenient excuse. Though the smell alone wasn't enough to be certain—but combined with her condition, the lack of any real injuries, and her unbothered demeanor, the odds of it being human blood, much less her, dropped to almost nothing.
But so what? No matter what she said, he would play dumb and be stubborn!!
"Sure!" she exclaimed brightly, suddenly extending her hand toward him.
Yang Huo blinked. "…?"
Her innocent smile immediately explained it. "A medicinal pill. Don't you have one? That'll be my payment for guiding you back!"
His mouth twitched.
This shameless woman! She clearly wasn't injured, yet she still dared to demand a pill? This was daylight robbery!
She waved her hand impatiently.
"C'mon, c'mon. I know you have one."
Yang Huo fought the urge to rub his face. 'Aaah… I give up. This woman is impossible.'
He knew people like this in his previous world. Without first mapping their personality, predicting their behavior was nearly impossible.
His plan shifted instantly.
Risky as it was, he decided to use this opportunity to probe her character.
Watching her hand sway expectantly, Yang Huo sighed inwardly. He retrieved a white pill from his storage ring and placed it in her palm.
Her face lit up instantly, like a delighted child.
"Follow me!"
She turned and began walking, with Yang Huo trailing a step behind her.
Keeping pace with her relaxed stride, Yang Huo scanned the surroundings, his eyes narrowing slightly.
'That damn System… where did it go?' He hadn't seen the owl since encountering this woman.
However, dwelling on it was pointless. He pushed the thought aside and redirected his focus to the woman beside him.
He couldn't discern the exact relationship between her and the original Yang Huo.
She didn't idolize him like a lovestruck admirer, nor did she behave like a mere friend. When she saw his face and broke down earlier, there had been genuine longing—affection even—in her eyes.
More than friends… yet not quite lovers.
Could she be Su Meiying?
The story had never described her appearance, so he had no reference.
But.... he dismissed the idea almost immediately.
From what he understood based on the story, Su Meiying was submissive, withdrawn, and plagued by low self-esteem—a byproduct of the way she'd been treated since childhood. Any resentment she harbored was buried deep, expressed only through quiet endurance rather than open defiance.
This woman was nothing like that.
And even if he were mistaken, the relationship between the original Yang Huo and Su Meiying was supposed to be poisoned by indifference and hostility.
At the very least, it was nothing remotely friendly.
Yang Huo released a slow sigh.
He had thought all he needed was to act like a domineering young master—cold, willful, and indifferent toward the Su family.
But now…
Because of this woman's existence, everything had become unnecessarily complicated.
'Yang Huo's ties to the Su family… are a mess.'