Upstairs.
Qing Muye helped Meng Jingwei sit on a chair on the balcony and said softly, "Sit for a while, I'll go get you some fruit."
"Mm-hmm, okay."
Meng Jingwei nodded and sat in the rocking chair, overlooking the bustling streets of the Hidden Tribe. Her mood was somewhat gloomy.
Thinking of Shi Ran's injuries made her feel particularly heartbroken, and she didn't know how she would explain things to them.
"What are you thinking about?"
In a moment, Qing Muye brought a crystal fruit platter, prepared with fresh fruits characteristic of the Hidden Tribe, peeled and cut into pieces.
He placed the plate on the coffee table and picked up a piece of fruit with a golden fork, offering it to Meng Jingwei's mouth.
The gentle and considerate care made Meng Jingwei feel incredibly touched.
She slightly raised her eyelids, returned a smile to Qing Muye, opened her mouth, and chewed the white fruit. "It's so sweet, very similar to the melons from our Lancheng, but softer and more fragrant than melons."
"If you like it, I'll bring back some seeds when we return home and plant them for you to eat," he said, pulling out a tissue to wipe the moisture from the corner of her mouth with immense affection.
"I'm not paralyzed, yet you're feeding me and wiping my mouth?"
Although she knew Qing Muye doted on her, she felt a bit unaccustomed to such pampering.
She took Qing Muye's hand and asked him to sit beside her to talk.
"What, you don't like me taking care of you?"
Qing Muye, dressed in a sapphire blue shirt, raised his ink-like sword eyebrows, his handsome face curving into a faint smile, breathtakingly alluring.
"You've been taking care of me in the hospital for half a month."
Meng Jingwei turned her neck and twisted her body. "I'm fine now. I can do things myself."
"I've been taking care of you for half a month, how should you compensate me?"
The man chuckled mischievously, his meaning clear.
"Of course, you must compensate me well," Meng Jingwei said, reaching up to hug his neck. "Close your eyes."
The sudden intimacy made the man subconsciously think of something. He slowly closed his eyes, tilted his chin slightly, as if waiting for something.
Meng Jingwei knew what Qing Muye was waiting for, and she couldn't help but chuckle, holding back her laughter.
She reached out, picked up the fork, and put a piece of fruit into Qing Muye's mouth.
The man felt a slight coolness on his lips, his eyes snapped open, and he saw Meng Jingwei's playful expression.
"Teasing me?"
He raised an eyebrow, and before Meng Jingwei could react, he cupped the back of her head and kissed her lips, forcefully transferring the melon from his mouth to hers.
"How does it taste?"
He asked when he released her.
"Mm, very sweet."
"Am I sweet, or is the melon sweet?"
Meng Jingwei: "..." Good heavens, is he competing with the melon for favor?
"Of course, it's you," she replied to Qing Muye's question, though it was against her will.
As expected, the answer made Qing Muye very satisfied. His slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and a faint smile graced his deep, sculpted, stern face, as if in a spring breeze.
"By the way, is the matter I entrusted to you settled?"
Meng Jingwei's casual demeanor changed, and her expression turned serious.
"You mean Li Yun'er?"
"Mm."
"After the Hunting Festival ended, I sent people to the mountain to find her, brought the body down, cremated it, and then buried it."
"What about Kang Zi?"
"He's buried next to Li Yun'er. The two of them won't be too lonely on the Yellow Springs road," Qing Muye said.
Meng Jingwei leaned back in the rocking chair, turned her head to gaze into the distance, and sighed. "Li Yun'er is like Kang Zi. Although they were detestable, they were also pitiable. But Kang Zi was forced. His brother was held captive by He Kaqing Tang, who forced him to kill me. He had no choice."
As for Li Yun'er...
Meng Jingwei sympathized with her experiences, but Li Yun'er still had other paths to choose, yet she made wrong decisions again and again, strayed onto the wrong path, and ultimately brought about her own death.