Rebirth: After Becoming the Villainess-Chapter 73: I’ll Say It One Last Time, I Don’t Like Zhou Junlin Anymore
As dusk fell, Chun De specially arranged a night tour of the Imperial Garden.
Under the night sky, the area surrounding the Imperial Garden’s lotus pond was hung with lanterns of all shapes and sizes, illuminating it brightly. A small boat drifted across the pond, a boatwoman poling it along as she sang.
Although neither Prince Wei nor King Wen had arrived, it did nothing to dampen the spirits of the young noble ladies, who strolled through the garden in small groups.
Worried the young ladies might feel too reserved, Chun De sat and chatted with the other madams in a nearby pavilion.
Song Xilan stood on a bridge, her lips pressed tightly together. She was so nervous, her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest!
She tightened her grip on the porcelain vial she had been clutching, telling herself over and over, ’Today is the perfect opportunity. If I miss it, I’ll be forced to live under Song Lianhe’s thumb forever. So, I have to do this.’
As she repeated this mantra to herself, the voice in her ear seemed to ring out again: ’All of this should have been yours! She’s the one who should be groveling at your feet!’
As if brainwashed, Song Xilan stared at the surface of the pond and murmured, "That’s right. It should all be mine... It’s all mine..."
Not far away, Song Lianhe was perched on a rock at the pond’s edge, holding a handful of melon seeds she had swiped from who-knows-where.
"Song Lianhe!"
Cao Ying stormed forward, her face flushed with anger. With one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Song Lianhe, she demanded, "What exactly are you up to? Why would you say we’re friends? Don’t you realize you’re ruining my reputation!"
Song Lianhe spat out a seed shell. "Reputation? Tell me, Sister Cao, with reputations like ours, it’s debatable who’s ruining whom. Besides, if I didn’t claim we were friends, what was I supposed to say? That I was minding my own business in my shop today when someone suddenly abducted me? Oh, right, and while I’m at it, should I mention your big brother, the Commander of the imperial guard? Who else has the ability to sneak a whole living person into the Imperial Palace without a soul noticing?"
"You..."
Cao Ying was rendered speechless, able to do nothing more than glare at her, her cheeks puffed with indignation.
"Heh, there we go." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Song Lianhe cracked another seed, smiling at her. "As things stand, we’re six of one and half a dozen of the other; neither of us is in any position to judge. So, you’ll just have to be my ’good sister’ and act as my shield when I need one. As for Zhou Junlin... you can have him!"
Cao Ying eyed her suspiciously. "You really don’t like Prince Ling anymore?"
"Nope. I don’t."
Seeing Song Lianhe’s nonchalant expression, Cao Ying was even more confused. "But why? Before, you hated Song Xilan’s guts because of him, didn’t you?"
"You said it yourself—that was *before*! Besides, doesn’t everyone fall for the wrong person when they’re young and naive? I’ve had an epiphany, and now I don’t like him anymore. What’s not normal about that?"
"Normal... you think?"
Cao Ying was thoroughly confused, but she wasn’t an idiot. It made sense for Song Lianhe to use this act on Song Xilan, but there was no reason to put on a performance for her.
Still...
"You can just say you don’t like him and that’s it?"
Song Lianhe gave her an exasperated look. "I’ll say this one last time: I. Do. Not. Like. Zhou. Junlin anymore!"
Behind the rockery, Zhou Junlin’s fists were clenched, his expression taut and his gaze as cold as frost.
Beside him, Zhou Cangyan’s eyes were half-closed. His expression was unreadable—not quite placid, but somehow lacking its usual somberness.
Zhou Junlin spoke abruptly. "Imperial Uncle, Ziyin has other matters to attend to, so I will not be able to accompany you for the rest of the tour."
Zhou Cangyan nodded. "Mm."
Zhou Junlin turned and left.
Watching his retreating figure, Zhou Cangyan narrowed his eyes. "So, she doesn’t like him anymore."
At some point, a Shadow Guard had appeared beside him. Staring in the same direction, the guard echoed, "She doesn’t like Prince Ling anymore."
Zhou Cangyan turned his head and gave him an icy glare.
The Shadow Guard hastily took a step back, acknowledging he had overstepped.
After departing with his men, Zhou Junlin circled around the rockery and walked toward the lotus pond.
Just then, Song Xilan suddenly appeared before him.
"Xilan?"
He froze, forgetting for a moment to mask the faint anger on his face.
"Junlin..."
Song Xilan noticed his mood was off. She took a step forward and asked cautiously, "Did something happen?"
Zhou Junlin paused for a moment before letting his expression soften. "It’s nothing."
’What am I doing?’
’Letting my mood be swayed by a few words from that woman!’
At this thought, his loathing for Song Lianhe intensified.
Turning his attention back to Song Xilan, he stepped closer with a light chuckle and whispered in her ear, "Were you looking for me?"
