Earlier, we mentioned that Duan Yunhe rushed to Shuanglin Yuan at dawn and was so startled by Yuan Mo (?) that she burst into tears outside Qiu Huan’s room. Originally quite wary of her odd behavior, Yuan Mo suddenly felt a bit at a loss when she started crying.

As a child, he had little sense of the distinction between men and women; after the age of fourteen, he had always stayed by Qiu Huan’s side. Apart from being a “colleague” at work, the only woman he had ever interacted with was Qiu Huan. And Qiu Huan… well, she was indeed very different from ordinary young ladies; she certainly didn’t have the habit of bursting into tears after just a few words like Duan Yunhe did. Besides, Qiu Huan often told him to be gentle with women, saying that women’s lives were full of hardships. So when Duan Yunhe made such a scene—though it wasn’t entirely because of her own actions—he suddenly felt inexplicably guilty and unconsciously loosened his grip.

Just then, a faint moan came from inside the room, followed by Qiu Huan’s drowsy voice: “What happened? Yuan Mo? Why do I seem to hear someone crying…?”

Qiu Huan has always been a light sleeper, but she makes up for it by sleeping a long time—a classic case of trading quality for quantity.

Yuan Mo was about to respond when Duan Yunhe beat him to it, pushing open the door and running in. He could only follow suit and enter the room.

The room was still as plain as ever, but as soon as Miss Duan stepped inside, she was taken aback—the place was pitch-black. Yuan Mo walked calmly to the window and swiftly pulled down the tightly drawn blackout curtains, finally letting in some light. But as the light streamed in, a mournful wail suddenly echoed from the direction of the bed, and Qiu Huan, who had just been exposed, instantly curled up completely under the covers.

Duan Yunhe had been spooked by the darkness earlier, but now that there was light, she wasn’t afraid anymore. As it happened, Qiu Huan’s wail revealed her location, so Duan Yunhe hurried over and pounced on—well, rather, onto the blanket—without even bothering to ask whether Qiu Huan knew what was going on, and began pouring out her heart: “Feng, Feng Ze—I dreamed again last night about the time before I fell into the water, and the content in that book has even changed! It actually… it actually includes a part where I come looking for you…”

Hearing this commotion, Qiu Huan was fully awake. Seeing Duan Yunhe’s almond-shaped eyes all red and swollen, though pitiful… she couldn’t help but think she was rather cute, so she reached out and gently rubbed her head, asking softly, “Didn’t you have this before?”

“Of course not!” she said firmly, nodding. “Because it even mentions me—those parts I remember perfectly.”

Qiu Huan thought for a moment and asked, “Then does Yunhe remember any other changes in the story?”

Duan Yunhe’s expression shifted slightly, and after a brief hesitation, she said slowly, “Yes—not long after, a man shows up looking for you, claiming to be Feng Ze’s older brother.” She glanced at Qiu Huan, her expression somehow uneasy.

But the other two in the room didn’t notice this little gesture. Upon hearing the word “brother,” both of them changed their expressions: Yuan Mo’s usually cold, hard face instantly turned as icy as a block of ice, while Qiu Huan, after her initial surprise, seemed surprisingly relieved. “Is that person about 180 centimeters tall, wearing a large-sleeved blue robe, with peach-colored eyes?” Though she was asking, Qiu Huan spoke in an almost exclamatory tone, which sounded rather odd.

“That’s right,” Duan Yunhe nodded. “How does Feng Ze know about this? Do you know him?”

Qiu Huan chuckled lightly, staring intently at Duan Yunhe until she looked flustered. After a long pause, she finally replied, “Yes—he really is my older brother. How come Yunhe doesn’t know him?”

Shang Rong strode down the street with a long face, inwardly cursing Qiu. “If you want to go shopping, go ahead—no one’s stopping you. Your shop opens and closes whenever it suits you anyway. But why drag me along?! I depend on Yutang Ge’s income to make a living, you know! Just because you don’t worry about food and clothing, does that mean you can ignore everyone else?!”

Ignoring the little master who kept muttering complaints behind her, not far behind him, Duan Yunhe was happily leading Qiu Huan around, browsing here and there, while Yuan Mo kept close by Qiu Huan’s side—after all, all the money was with him, so even if he wanted to slip away, Qiu Huan wouldn’t allow it.

Earlier, when the three of them were at Shuanglin Yuan, they saw it was still early, so Qiu Huan suggested they go downtown to browse the morning market together. But though she called it “together,” she’d always done things her own way, merely giving Duan Yunhe a perfunctory heads-up. Duan Yunhe, however, misunderstood and took advantage of the time when Qiu Huan was changing clothes to dash over to Yutang Ge and bring Shang Rong along. In fact, if Qiu Huan had asked herself, Shang Rong might not have come—after all, it’s hard to refuse someone you’re not even familiar with, you know.

End of Chapter 4: The Visitor Remains Unidentified