Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 35

Li Jin’an didn’t return alone. Seated high upon a swift horse, she held a rope that was tied to two half-dead fellows, who stumbled along, led by the rope. They were precisely the two who had previously slipped through the net from the bounties.
The surrounding citizens pointed and whispered. Those with sharp eyes recognized them immediately: “Aren’t those the rogues nicknamed ‘Ground Roller’ and ‘Hundred-Day Ghost’?”
Thus, when Li Jin’an went to the stable to return the horse and retrieve her considerable deposit, she once again caused a sensation throughout the entire city.
The yamen runners didn’t even need to go; they were brought by enthusiastic citizens to the stable. The stable owner not only charged Li Jin’an less but also enthusiastically pointed out the two captured rogues, who were surrounded densely by people. He was truly extremely hospitable.
Li Jin’an had to rely on her long legs to squeeze her way out, breathing fresh air as she followed the yamen runners to the prefectural yamen to collect the bounty.
On the way, a familiar yamen runner told her that their alley was as safe as could be. Ordinary local ruffians didn’t dare go near, as Li Jin’an had only been away for a few days, not dead, and her reputation was still very intimidating. Otherwise, they might easily become the next unlucky person to be exchanged for a bounty.
Her fiancée, Xie Huaixue, hadn’t encountered any danger either. She went to and from school every day, sometimes even flocked around by a group of short, stout little radish heads on the way home, her prestige fully displayed. Only…
Li Jin’an’s face was full of confusion. “Only what?”
Isn’t that great? Why is there an ‘only’ then?
The yamen runner gravely patted her shoulder, his tone not without schadenfreude. “I heard you left without saying goodbye to your fiancée. No wonder your fiancée’s expression was so icy it could freeze all of Huai’an City. I’ll say no more. Good luck.”
No, I left a note! How can that be considered not saying goodbye?! At most, it was a ‘strike first, report later’ situation… It must be an exaggeration. Xie Huaixue is an ice spirit… ice spirit what was it? But she wouldn’t freeze the entire city with a cold face. If she could, then no one would need to buy ice in the summer.
Though she tried hard to comfort herself, Li Jin’an’s sense of crisis was maxed out. She couldn’t care less about the word she couldn’t recall; she needed to quickly save her own life.
With gold and silver in her pocket, Li Jin’an came out of the prefectural yamen and ran to the jewelry store, buying all the hairpin with dangling ornaments, hairpins, and gold-inlaid jade earrings she had mentioned last time. Still feeling it wasn’t enough, she also bought rouge and powder, new clothes, and a pound of every pastry they both liked.
Halfway home, a thought suddenly came to Li Jin’an: she suddenly remembered what she should most give Xie Huaixue. She hurriedly ran to the bookstore, carrying a huge stack of books — classics, historical texts, philosophical works, collections of writings; tales of gods and demons; geographical records; poetry and songs; travelogues…
Only then did she return home, satisfied.
Just as she entered the small courtyard, before she could even put her things down, her gaze met Xie Huaixue’s, who was sitting formally at the stone table.
Li Jin’an pondered briefly, then chose to greet her. “Long time no see. Why are you home?”
“The whole city is abuzz. I was the last to know you returned. Scholar Lin let me come home early.” Xie Huaixue raised her eyes, her gaze subtly sweeping over Li Jin’an.
Scholar Lin was the tutor at the private school, teaching three classes—A, B, and C—totaling fifty to sixty students. He simply couldn’t handle the elementary class, so he handed it over to Xie Huaixue. Today, upon learning of Li Jin’an’s return, he waved his hand grandly, letting Xie Huaixue leave school early and dismissing the restless children of the elementary class along with her.
The way she said it made it sound as if Li Jin’an had told everyone else about her return but deliberately kept it from Xie Huaixue.
Heaven and Earth bear witness, I really didn’t!
She just wanted to finish quickly, resolve those annoying pursuers and the mastermind early, so their peaceful life wouldn’t be shattered.
If there hadn’t been enough time, she would have even wanted to replace the Great Shun Emperor. But wasn’t there someone waiting for her at home? So she naturally hurried back on horseback.
Li Jin’an meekly unwrapped each item and placed it in front of Xie Huaixue, resting her chin in her hand and watching her, as obedient and likable as could be.
“You know, in emergencies, one acts according to circumstances. And there’s a saying: ‘A general outside the capital is not bound by the emperor’s orders.’ Li Jin’an spouted nonsense. Seeing Xie Huaixue’s indifferent expression, she became a little anxious. “Look, isn’t it enough that the outcome is good? The mastermind was punished by heaven, and the evidence of corruption, bribery, and forming cliques for private gain was made public. We both got revenge and secured our peaceful lives. It’s the best of both worlds!”
“This was just an accident, and now the accident is gone. I definitely won’t act so recklessly in the future! I promise there won’t be a next time!”
Although she made a guarantee, in the end, she actually felt that she hadn’t done anything wrong. She even felt that at this moment, she was patient and profound, misunderstood by her fiancée, and carrying a hint of tragic color.
Xie Huaixue still watched her without speaking, not sparing a glance for the jewelry, bottles, and jars on the table.
Li Jin’an felt as though the air in the entire courtyard pressed down on her. The atmosphere was utterly frozen as they silently stared at each other.
“Aren’t you going to say something else?”
Otherwise, the stone bench feels like it’s pricking me, making me unable to sit still.
Xie Huaixue withdrew her gaze and said faintly, “My words; you don’t take them to heart. What’s the point of saying more, only to annoy you further?”
Li Jin’an’s small face instantly crumpled. How could this person be so passive-aggressive? Her temper also flared up, and she turned her head away, refusing to look at her.
When it came to passive-aggressiveness, Xie Huaixue still lacked a bit of skill; Li Jin’an was the truly gifted one. However, as the saying goes, ‘one bows their head when under another’s roof.’ She had indeed gone a bit too far this time.
Everyone saw Li Jin’an when she returned, except Xie Huaixue. And when she left, she did tell Xie Huaixue, but without asking for her opinion, she just left a note and ran off…
So it wasn’t surprising that Xie Huaixue was angry; what she did was truly unethical, and Li Jin’an knew it herself.
Although she had turned away, Li Jin’an honestly remained seated beside Xie Huaixue, her ears perked up, planning to wait for Xie Huaixue to say something before she turned around and counterattacked, seizing the initiative for herself.
Then she heard—
“Let’s break off our engagement.”
Li Jin’an shot up from the stone bench. The movement was so large she nearly twisted her waist, but at that moment, she couldn’t care less. She simply stared at Xie Huaixue, extremely shocked and bewildered.
Her shock stemmed from two reasons.
One was that she felt her feelings had been deceived. Since waking up with amnesia, Xie Huaixue was the first person she had seen, and everything about the past was told to her by Xie Huaixue. Emotionally, she trusted and relied on her greatly, and now their connection was about to break.
The second was that she was angry that she hadn’t even proposed breaking off the engagement herself, so what right did Xie Huaixue have to propose it first?
A complete reversal!
Li Jin’an gritted her teeth, still refraining from saying, If you want to break it off, then break it off; who cares?
She still felt she couldn’t save face and really wanted to turn around and leave defiantly, but her feet were rooted to the spot, unable to move a single step.
“You… you… you…” She ‘you’d’ for a long time, but couldn’t come up with a reason. Instead, her cheeks flushed, and the corners of her eyes turned bright red from holding back.
Xie Huaixue, instead, gave a faint smile.
Li Jin’an’s face turned dark.
If I didn’t have concerns, I’d definitely let Xie Huaixue know what true passive-aggressiveness is.
“Isn’t this when you should be silent with a cold face?”
Xie Huaixue shook her head and said, “I’m serious. Everything I say, you don’t like to hear, so I can only keep silent, lest I add frost to snow and annoy you further.”
Li Jin’an imitated her, even copying her tone perfectly, just adding her own interpretation, shaking her head. “…I can only keep silent, lest I add frost to snow and annoy you further~” The rising intonation in her voice carried an inherent urge to make people clench their fists and punch her.
“Give me a reason. A legitimate reason, and we’ll break off our engagement.”
Li Jin’an narrowed her phoenix eyes, the corners upturned, with a half-smile that seemed frivolous and casual. Yet her tone deepened, inexplicably carrying a grinding-teeth intensity, not sounding like she would break off the engagement after a reason was given, but rather like she intended to be entangled forever.
“I don’t want to burden you.”
“…Huh?”
Li Jin’an was completely confused, trying hard to recall if she had lost her memory again, otherwise, how could she not understand what Xie Huaixue meant?
Xie Huaixue’s brows trembled slightly, her eyelashes like fans, and her clear eyes seemed to speak as she gently said, “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have to do all these things, wouldn’t have to work hard to earn money, wouldn’t have to suffer these hardships. Besides, what you yearned for more was to become a swordsman, not to be bound by a marriage contract by my side.”
How could this person only say things that I can’t understand, and then when I do understand, they make me even angrier!
Li Jin’an was so angry she laughed instead, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth. “You are truly something else.”
It felt like her unreasonable demands were anticipated by the other party, and the other party was even more unreasonable than her.
Things had come to this; she might as well eat something to calm down. She was so angry she became hungry.
Li Jin’an munched on pastries with her head down, maliciously thinking she would eat them all and not leave a single bite for Xie Huaixue, to prevent that mouth from constantly spouting unwelcome words.
A cup of hot tea was silently offered beside her.
Li Jin’an tilted her head back and gulped it down, her tongue going numb from the heat. Her expression shifted for a moment, then she coldly snorted. “Oh, isn’t this the eloquent Scholar Xie, Teacher Xie? To drink tea poured by you in this lifetime, I am truly honored! It instantly diluted the chill I felt upon seeing goose feather snow in summer; it’s unbearably warm!”
“This is my haul from this trip to the capital.” Li Jin’an slammed the silver notes she had swindled from the capital and the official gazette announcing the Xie family’s exoneration heavily onto the stone table. She rose to leave, then suddenly remembered something, her tall figure pausing. “Oh, and the reason isn’t legitimate. My answer is not approved.”
Back in the room, Li Jin’an closed the door and then revealed a fierce expression.
It hurt her to death. She should have known not to use so much force to slam the table. Now her tongue and palm were inexplicably injured.
However, she didn’t regret it. She believed her attitude had been expressed thoroughly; she was just that disdainful of Xie Huaixue!
Whether to break off the engagement or not, she would decide. It should be her fiercely casting Xie Huaixue aside!
Li Jin’an walked to the window, casually cast her gaze out, and found Xie Huaixue still sitting in the courtyard. She immediately sidestepped to hide, leaning against the wall and rubbing her chin in thought.
Then a head poked out, intently staring at the other’s back.
“Hmm, this is a necessary step to scout out the enemy.”
Li Jin’an’s fingertips, resting on the wall, twitched. Seeing Xie Huaixue’s straight back and meticulous posture, she always wanted to go poke Xie Huaixue’s shoulder. She just couldn’t stand her serious and indifferent demeanor.
Suddenly, the small courtyard gate was knocked.
Li Jin’an was startled and quickly pulled her head back, just as she heard a cheerful and bright female voice outside. “Teacher Xie, are you home? I’ve come to deliver your dinner again.”
Dinner? Oh right, it was something she had ordered from the restaurant before she left. The server delivering the food spoke in a strange way. ‘Teacher Xie, are you home?’ Li Jin’an shook her head, making a face, rudely mimicking the person’s words in her mind. She muttered a reply to herself: ‘If she’s not home, can she fly up to the heavens?’
From outside, the faint rustle of clothes could be heard as someone stood up. Xie Huaixue said softly, “Coming.”
Li Jin’an’s brows twitched, and she followed, opening the door and going out.
She had spent her own money, so why couldn’t she look at it and eat it?
“I’ll take it,” Li Jin’an said, striding quickly. Taking two steps at once, she walked to Xie Huaixue’s side and took the food box. A fake smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. “Thank you very much. You don’t need to deliver it anymore. I’ve come home and will settle the payment with your manager then.”
Without waiting for the person outside to react, Li Jin’an smoothly closed the door and said to Xie Huaixue, “Let’s go, Teacher Xie.”