These past few days, Yan Xiaoyu had found time to loiter by the gate and even chose a table near the entrance when eating. Yan Shaocheng smiled without comment; Nian-ger simply lacked that kind of insight.

“Brother Xiaoyu, are you waiting for Second Brother Yan to come back?” Nian-ger, holding his rice bowl, sat down next to Yan Xiaoyu. “Don’t worry—I’m keeping an eye out for you every day!”

He looked so understanding, but Yan Xiaoyu snapped back gruffly.

“Who’s waiting? I’m just checking on business at our Yuye Pavilion to see if we’ve lost any customers!”

Yan Xiaoyue, who had been tucking into her meal nearby, stopped what she was doing upon hearing this and said earnestly, “Our business is going great—don’t worry.” Yan Xiaoyu felt stuck between these two blunt individuals, unable to get a word in edgewise, and was feeling both embarrassed and annoyed.

He took a big bite of meat but hadn’t had time to swallow it when he heard Nian-ger shout, “Oh my, ‘speak of the devil’—Yan Erge is really back!”

“Yu Xiaonian, you’ve really got some nerve!” Yan Xiaoyu, with a piece of meat still in his mouth, glared fiercely at Nian-ger, his voice muffled. “You still dare to pull my leg?!”

Nian-ger looked a bit aggrieved and pointed toward the doorway. “No, really—Second Brother Yan is back. Just look…”

Yan Xiaoyu froze. Just as he turned his head, he came face-to-face with Yan Shaoxuan striding through the door. He unconsciously swallowed hard, forcing down a piece of meat he hadn’t even had time to chew.

Yan Xiaoyu choked, his eyes rolling back in his head as he frantically pounded his chest with both hands—a truly pitiful sight.

Yan Shaoxuan, seeing the little guy he’d been thinking about nonstop, didn’t even have time to feel happy—he immediately rushed to pat his back to help him swallow.

After finally managing to swallow the piece of meat, Yan Xiaoyu blushed crimson with embarrassment, just as Nian-ger spoke up again: “Why did you choke from getting so worked up?” Yan Xiaoyu shot him an angry glare, then lowered his voice and enunciated each word clearly: “I’m not talking to you—how come you can’t be put on mute!”

With so many diners watching right there, did he want to lose face?! Yan Erlang was still standing right next to him!

Even after they entered the back courtyard, Yan Xiaoyu was still muttering, “Nian-ger is such a pain!”

Yan Shaoxuan suppressed a smile and glanced at her discreetly: “We haven’t seen each other in half a year—how come you’re still thinking about other things? Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Yan Xiaoyu paused in his steps, his cheeks flushing as he looked Yan Shaoxuan up and down.

Although only a few months had passed, Yan Erlang really had changed somewhat. The youthful exuberance had faded, and his entire demeanor had become much more composed. Perhaps due to the exhaustion of the journey, his face had grown a bit thinner, making his features stand out more prominently and rendering him even more handsome.

Yet in front of Yan Xiaoyu, he still couldn’t keep his composure: “You choked just now—did seeing me make your heart race?” Yan Xiaoyu shot him a sidelong glance: “You know the answer already!”

That put Yan Shaoxuan’s mind at ease.

As soon as they entered the room, he eagerly pulled a few items out of his bundle and piled them in front of Yan Xiaoyu.

Yan Xiaoyu recognized the rest of the items at a glance, but he was somewhat surprised by several crystal-clear glass vases of various colors and shapes: “What are these? They’re actually quite pretty?”

“Peony water, milk cream, aloe vera ointment, and jade-complexion ointment… The first few are for nourishing the skin, and the jade-complexion ointment is for applying makeup.” Yan Shaoxuan looked a little uncomfortable, but his eyes sparkled. “You’ll be able to use them just in time for our wedding.”

“……” Yan Xiaoyu really hadn’t expected that coming to the capital for the imperial examinations would lead to such thoughts. “Didn’t you already give me those?”

Yan Xiaoyu was a carefree sort; unlike other young men, he didn’t pay much attention to his appearance and had no interest in skincare. Last year, when the Yuye Pavilion opened, he’d been busy for several days, and from constantly washing his hands, they’d become so dry they’d cracked.

When Yan Shaoxuan saw this, he grew concerned. Not only did he buy ointment and lip balm for Yan Xiaoyu the very next day, but later, when he went to the prefectural and county exams, he brought back a few more items.

Yan Shaoxuan urged him to apply the ointment to his hands and face, and now his hands were soft and fair, never chapped again. 

“This was bought from a particularly famous cosmetics shop in the capital; it’s different from what we have here.”

“Oh.” Yan Xiaoyu fiddled with the pale green glass jar in his hand and replied casually, “You didn’t have to buy so many. It’s such a hassle to carry them all this way! We’re heading to the capital soon—I can just go buy them myself, can’t I?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the room suddenly fell silent. Yan Xiaoyu looked up and noticed that Yan Shaoxuan was pursing his lips, his face actually showing a hint of guilt. 

“I’m sorry, Xiaoyu, we can’t go to the capital after all.” 

Yan Xiaoyu was baffled: “What do you mean? Didn’t they say the top scholar would definitely stay on to serve in the Hanlin Academy or something?”

Yan Shaoxuan thought for a moment, then explained the situation to him exactly as it was.

“Originally, there were three county magistrate positions available, but one was here in Weishi County, and another was in Songning County, my parents’ hometown. I was required to recuse myself from both of those places, so I had no choice but to choose Lingbei.”

Sending Yan Xiaoyu to the harsh, frigid region of Lingbei meant Yan Shaoxuan would be away for at least three years—and it was uncertain whether he could be transferred elsewhere after that. If he left Yan Xiaoyu behind in Weishi County, the years would just slip by.

Yan Shaoxuan simply couldn’t bear to part with him.

“Lingbei?”