Xiaxia hung the dress in the wardrobe, turned around, and saw the third young lady sitting on the edge of the bed with a pale little face, seemingly lost in thought.

She was about to go over to offer a few words of comfort when Jiayi spoke, "Leave now, I’m going to rest."

Xiaxia had no choice but to close the door and leave the bedroom first.

Walking a few steps along the corridor, Xiaxia looked back at the tightly closed room door and sighed.

The third young lady’s position in the Chu Family was rather awkward to begin with, and with her disappearance for a year and subsequent memory loss, she must be finding it hard to adjust to returning to the Chu Family.

Thinking this, she turned and went downstairs to the kitchen to warm a cup of milk for the third young lady.

Once the milk was ready, Xiaxia held the tray, preparing to take it up to Jiayi. Just as she was passing the stairway corner, a tall and dark figure came into sight, seemingly waiting for her to come up.

Xiaxia was startled, "Mr. Nie, you haven’t gone to bed yet?"

The night light from the living room cast a shadow on Nie Yixiao’s handsome and delicate face, creating a dim ambiguity that concealed the man’s true feelings.

"Bringing milk to the third young lady?" Nie Yixiao’s eyelids twitched slightly, and his voice was faint and colorless.

Xiaxia nodded, "Yes, the third young lady is in very poor spirits; I’m worried she won’t sleep well, so I made her a cup of warm milk." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"In poor spirits?" The man’s fingers tapped lightly on the smooth peachwood handrail of the staircase, and his tone also changed slightly.

Xiaxia hesitated for a moment. Knowing the status that Nie Yixiao now held in the Chu Family, almost like that of a co-master, she honestly said,

"Yes, the third young lady... she cried after returning to her room today; just now, her dress was accidentally torn as well, so I think she must be feeling very upset."

It seemed as if something struck Nie Yixiao’s heart.

A few seconds later, he reached out his hand, "Give me the milk; I’ll take it to her."

Xiaxia was taken aback, "That wouldn’t be appropriate, Mr. Nie. The third young lady is probably asleep by now, and besides, you should also exercise some discretion."

After all, Nie Yixiao was currently the boyfriend of Miss Chu Xinyu, the eldest sister. It wouldn’t look right for him to go into the third young lady’s room to bring her milk in the dead of night.

Of course, Xiaxia also knew that Nie Yixiao had come to S Country with the third young lady before and was her childhood sweetheart and first love. It was normal for him to be concerned now.

But choosing such a time seemed a bit awkward, didn’t it?

Nie Yixiao didn’t feel that there was anything improper, "I grew up with the third young lady since we were children."

Although the man’s face was composed, his eyes betrayed a hint of indiscernible determination.

Xiaxia dared not say anything and could only obediently hand the tray to Nie Yixiao, quietly following behind him.

Well, she might as well wait by the third young lady’s door!

In case someone came, she could quickly send a message; after all — the sister’s boyfriend going to the younger sister’s room late at night would always look bad if someone saw it!

And knowing Ms. Xinyu’s temper, if she found out, she might even trouble the third young lady!

Jiayi’s bedroom was at the very end of the second-floor corridor.

It was very quiet, very hidden, almost reclusive, like a patch of moss growing in a damp and shaded place, out of the light.

Just like her status in the Chu Family.

Nie Yixiao turned the doorknob, walked in, and gently closed the door behind him.

Inside the room, a fragrance unique to the girl wafted faintly, elegant and sweet, the scent of Nie Yixiao’s memories.

Back then, when he was still in the small town of his homeland, he would always ride his bike to take her to school.

She loved to bury her chubby face, which still hadn’t lost its baby fat, into his back, rubbing her face against his white shirt, giggling while tickling him.

She would never know that he wasn’t ticklish at all, yet every time, to make her happy, he would pretend as if he was.

He witnessed her growth, becoming the first man in her life to which she gave her heart, but also brutally hurt her on her path to adulthood, leaving her bleeding on the ground!

And now, he could only endure as he watched the girl who should have belonged to him being embraced by another man...

"Mmm..."

The girl had already crawled under the covers, fallen asleep, and now, as she turned over, she murmured softly.

Nie Yixiao put down the milk, walked over, and sat on the edge of the bed. He couldn’t help but lean his tall body down, bringing his face close to her sleeping, rosy cheeks.

Just like when they were children.

The overseas town where they lived was a gathering place for Chinese people, mostly new immigrants. Many businesspeople from China brought their families to settle there.

Near their homes was a field of green grass.

In the summer, many children from the town would drag their parents to that field to cool off and catch fireflies.

Nie Yixiao’s parents had passed away when he was very young, and it was his grandmother who raised him, while Jiayi had only her mommy. During those times, she would sensibly say there was no need for mom to accompany her; she could just go with Brother Yixiao. She feared others, with husbands and wives together, would make her mom feel sad and alone.

So, every year, the field was filled with whole families joyfully catching fireflies with their little nets.

It was only Nie Yixiao and Jiayi, two little ones, who operated separately.

After catching fireflies, they would place the bags full of them around them to use as lighting. Then, holding hands, they would lie in the middle, looking up at the night sky filled with stars.

Sometimes he would catch the fragrance of her youthful face, just like he did right now, drawing close, lightly inhaling.

Lost in the beauty of those past memories, Nie Yixiao hardly wanted to return to reality.

He thought that the beauty between him and Jiayi would continue on forever.

They would grow up, graduate, find jobs, and then get married in that small town, have sons and daughters, and be an ordinary yet happy couple.

It was he who destroyed those memories, shattered the future he had always longed for.

The moment he became involved with her sister, he knew that Jiayi might never forgive him in this lifetime.

Yet, he had no choice but to do it.

All he could do was to watch, as a silent onlooker, while Xuan Yu arranged a substitute marriage for her.

Jiayi always thought he did it for the sake of riches and honor, but who could know the other, unspoken sorrows in his heart?

Nie Yixiao’s thick eyelashes slightly trembled, touching the delicate skin of Jiayi’s cheek.

In her sleep, Jiayi’s skin tickled and she, with eyes closed, subconsciously raised her fair little hand to scratch it, then curled up inside the blanket like a pupa, continuing her game of chess with Lord Zhou in her dreams.

Because she moved, the girl’s lovely little face was even more exposed in front of the man, with dried tear stains by her eyes.

She really had cried, falling asleep with tears in her eyes.

Nie Yixiao lifted his hand, gently brushed away a few strands of her hair, and wiped her tears dry.

He knew she was in a deep sleep now; he took a deep breath and, from behind, carefully cuddled up to her through the blanket.