Sure enough, Ouyang Ye, as usual, had no habit of listening to others. Mu Anxiao was not surprised by this, but his appearance had once again disrupted her plan. Clenching her fist, she told herself mentally not to pay him any mind while quickly turning and running towards the steps.
Ouyang Ye seemed unfazed by Mu Anxiao's reaction. Instead, he calmly stood in place, watching her desperate attempts to open the door with a smirk.
Minutes later.
Mu Anxiao's persistent banging and shouting yielded nothing. Resigned, she stopped, finally realizing that everything was under Ouyang Ye's control. With a sigh, she gave up her 'struggle' and turned to face him. "What do you want?" she asked, completely drained of the strength to resist him. All she hoped now was that he wouldn't hurt anyone else.
"Aren't you quite intelligent?" Ouyang Ye said deliberately.
Mu Anxiao's eyes darkened. She quickly descended the steps, returning to face Ouyang Ye. "Even the smartest person, when tricked by a cunning villain like you, will become..."
"Unintelligent," Ouyang Ye finished with a playful grin.
Mu Anxiao was momentarily speechless when Ouyang Ye uttered those words. "In any case, I don't need your insincere praise. Tell me, what exactly do you want?" she demanded through gritted teeth, grabbing the front of Ouyang Ye's robe.
Ouyang Ye remained silent and merely smiled.
Mu Anxiao, confused by his unperturbed, even amused, expression, questioned, "Ouyang Ye, what are you laughing at?" she demanded.
Ouyang Ye then looked down at his robe, still clutched tightly by Mu Anxiao, and said with a faint smile, "Turn around and see if there's any change."
Any change?
Hearing this, Mu Anxiao completely lost her patience. "Ouyang Ye, answer me when I ask you something. Is this fun for you?" she glared at him, tightening her grip on his robe.
"Let go," Ouyang Ye said softly.
Mu Anxiao frowned. "I won't. I'll let go only if you answer me," she stated, her tone laced with threat.
"Let me answer, and you'll let go," Ouyang Ye said, then leaned in close to Mu Anxiao. "Otherwise, don't blame me if I bite." He then deliberately glanced at Mu Anxiao's lips.
Sensing the impending danger, Mu Anxiao immediately averted her gaze from Ouyang Ye, released his robe, and stepped back. "You can speak now."
Seeing Mu Anxiao's immediate 'surrender', Ouyang Ye chuckled. "Alright, I'll tell you," he said, reaching out to place his hands on Mu Anxiao's shoulders. "There, that's my answer."
Mu Anxiao stiffened. Just as she was about to retort, Ouyang Ye forcefully turned her towards the door.
Immediately, as Mu Anxiao was about to erupt in anger, the double happiness character plastered on the door caught her eye. "What is this?" she exclaimed, startled by the characters.
Ouyang Ye said, "He agreed," as he removed his hands from her shoulders.
Agreed? If Mu Anxiao remembered correctly, Feng Qishi had already escaped, and Shen Lü was the one impersonating him in the manor. Furthermore, even if Feng Qishi were inside, he wouldn't have agreed so readily to marry a monster, especially one introduced by Ouyang Ye.
Therefore, from the current situation, it seemed... all of this was just Ouyang Ye's 'wishful thinking'.
With that thought, she refused to believe him, letting down her guard and turning back to face Ouyang Ye with a cold laugh.
Ouyang Ye looked at her, puzzled. "You have nothing to say?"
"Who did you say agreed?" Mu Anxiao countered deliberately.
"Feng Qishi," Ouyang Ye replied simply.
Mu Anxiao then burst into unrestrained laughter.
Ouyang Ye had expected Mu Anxiao to fall into uncontrollable sadness upon hearing this news. To his surprise, she was now sneering at him. Seeing her like this, he was taken aback. "What do you mean by this?" he asked, unable to understand her.
"It means nothing. I just want to say," Mu Anxiao said, narrowing her eyes, "Ouyang Ye, is this kind of thing meaningful to you?"
"You..."
"I could just as easily paste a 'happiness' character on your front door, you..."
"Aren't you curious why no one is here?" Ouyang Ye interrupted suddenly.
Mu Anxiao remained impassive. "It's late, and no petty thieves would dare enter the general's manor. You..."
"That beggar wasn't a petty thief," Ouyang Ye interrupted again.
Hearing Ouyang Ye's low interruption, Mu Anxiao was reminded of the dirty-faced man she had 'sent' inside. This made her pause for a few seconds before she said, "He was a beggar, not..."
"She Ning and Zhao Xiang will both be attending," Ouyang Ye continued to interrupt.
This time, Mu Anxiao was completely speechless... and her face froze.
Ouyang Ye looked down at the now subdued and silent Mu Anxiao and smiled faintly. "That tea house nearby is quite good."
Mu Anxiao's seemingly perfect plan had been completely overturned by Ouyang Ye at that very moment. In that instant, she understood... that she stood virtually no chance of outwitting Ouyang Ye.
Of course, she also learned from this incident... that she indeed couldn't trust anyone around Ouyang Ye, especially Zhao Xiang.
With that thought, she let out a cold snort at Ouyang Ye.
Ouyang Ye remained unfazed by Mu Anxiao's attitude; in fact, this was the reaction he desired. "Alright, come inside with me," he said, taking her arm preemptively.
Mu Anxiao said nothing but looked down at Ouyang Ye's hand.
Seeing this, Ouyang Ye asked, "What? Not convinced? Want to fight me to settle this?"
"I'm not in the mood," Mu Anxiao replied, beginning to worry about Feng Qishi's safety.
"Not in the mood? Then go to sleep. After a good sleep, you'll feel better," Ouyang Ye said. As he started to lead Mu Anxiao towards the steps, she pulled her arm away. He merely smiled faintly and said nothing more.
Mu Anxiao looked at him, perplexed. "What are you smiling about?" she asked, stepping back, truly unnerved by his smile.
"I knew you'd do this. You really did," Ouyang Ye said, maintaining his smile. "You just shook my hand off."
"You..."
"Just remember that I'm treating you well. And also," Ouyang Ye said, pointing towards the door, "I'm not giving you any other options. Let's go."
"Don't worry, I will never remember your kindness. In my eyes, you are nothing," Mu Anxiao said bluntly.
Ouyang Ye's lips curved into a smile as he walked ahead.