HBWMA -Chapter 263 He provokes you, and you yell at me?

The front courtyard of Bamboo Garden was lush and green. Moonlight filtered through the bamboo forest, scattering broken, shimmering shadows across the ground, carrying a faint sense of wandering martial-world solitude.

Lei Xing was holding a hoe, loosening soil among the trees.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Huashan stepped forward and greeted him casually. “Steward Lei, planting vegetables?”

Lei Xing glanced at the seedlings in his hands and smiled as he straightened up. “Miss Jiang is joking. These are flower seedlings. I saw that Young Master A-Ling’s balcony is already too full, so I thought I’d clear a bit of space here for him to mess around with.”

“Is that so?” Hearing this, Jiang Huashan turned to look at the second-floor balcony of the villa.

Shen Guiling’s room was a separate small western-style building. Flower vines centered around the balcony and spread outward in all directions. It was currently autumn, the peak blooming season, and the branches were heavy with blossoms, all competing in full bloom.

She had once thought this “social butterfly” was using flower-raising as an excuse to get close to her grandfather. She never expected he would actually learn how to do it properly.

Jiang Huashan couldn’t help doubting her memory. In her previous life… did Shen Guiling even grow flowers? No. He only kept fish—so many noble ladies of Whale Harbor had ended up in his fishpond.

She didn’t quite believe it. “You’re saying those balcony flowers were raised by Shen Guīling?”

Lei Xing nodded. “Young Master A-Ling is a very gentle person. He doesn’t like socializing much, so he just takes care of flowers in his free time.”

“?” Jiang Huashan glanced at him. “Looks like you don’t really understand your young master that well.”

Lei Xing frowned slightly in dissatisfaction. “I’ve served Young Master for three years. Who could possibly understand him better than I do?”

“Really? Then let me test you.” Jiang Huashan pretended to ask casually. “What does your young master usually like to do when he’s free?”

“Very rarely has free time,” Lei Xing answered. “When he does rest, besides watering flowers, he reads books.”

“Is he usually very busy? Busy with what?”

Lei Xing thought for a moment. “Young Master is very filial. In his spare time, he goes to visit Madam.”

As expected—people who know how to speak really are an art form. Clearly it was Madam Yao making things difficult for Shen Guiling, but in Lei Xing’s words, it became a picture of filial harmony between mother and son.

Jiang Huashan saw through it but didn’t point it out. “What about uncle? He never used to care about Shen Guiling, but suddenly he kept him in Nanyan to recover from his injury. Did Shen Guiling say anything about that?”

Lei Xing replied, “No. The young master was very happy.”

Jiang Huashan coughed lightly. “Steward Lei, I’m asking all this because I care about Shen… Brother A-Ling.”

Lei Xing nodded. “Understood. Miss Jiang is caring, not interrogating.”

“?” Jiang Huashan froze and narrowed her eyes at him.

Lei Xing cleared his throat, then silently pointed toward the balcony. “Miss Jiang, the questions you just asked… I mean, the ones you care about—were all approved for me to answer by the young master.”

Jiang Huashan’s face darkened. She turned to look at the balcony.

A young man stood there in black sleepwear, elegant and unrestrained. A lazy, provocative smile hung on his strikingly handsome face.

“…!”

Jiang Huashan let out a laugh in anger, turned around and left. Then she suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned back again, raised a hand to cover half her face, and pressed her fingers against her brow before flipping him the middle finger toward the balcony.

Shen Guiling raised his brows slightly—and for some reason, his smile only deepened.

“……”

“Miss Jiang, take care on your way. I won’t see you off.”

“Bang!”

Jiang Huashan slammed the courtyard gate shut. Lei Xing was left standing there with his honest, good-natured face, having been unceremoniously shut out.

“Laugh, laugh, what are you laughing at! You get flipped off and you’re still laughing—what kind of kid is this, a psycho?”

Jiang Huashan kept muttering angrily all the way. Just as she stepped into the corridor, she bumped head-on into Shen Lanxi who had just entered the courtyard.

“……”

She froze for a moment, then quickly reacted and pressed her lips into a smile. “What a coincidence?” As she spoke, she lifted her foot to leave.

Shen Lanxi grabbed her wrist. “Where are you running off to?”

What was going on lately? Why was everyone daring to stop her and question her?

Jiang Huashan shook off his hand, transferring all the anger she’d just had toward Shen Guiling onto him instead. “What if I run? Can’t I run in my own backyard?”

Gao Zhi turned to look at Shen Lanxi. If it were anyone else, he would’ve already slapped them, but with Jiang Huashan, he silently stepped back three paces.

Shen Lanxi said expressionlessly, “You just came out of the Bamboo Garden. He provoked you, so you take it out on me?”

Jiang Huashan’s temper deflated instantly.

Shen Lanxi’s gloomy expression faintly resembled someone from her past life. She had always harbored resentment about what happened before, so she couldn’t help but carry some bias toward him.

Her attitude toward Shen Lanxi was simple: as long as he hadn’t truly hurt her, she would only get a little angry at most. But now, seeing that familiar shadow in him, she suddenly lost even the interest in picking a fight.

She let out a cold laugh and turned to leave.

Shen Lanxi noticed her change in mood. After a brief hesitation, he softened his expression and grabbed her again. “Stand still. I’m not finished talking.”

Jiang Huashan covered one ear. “I don’t want to listen.”

Shen Lanxi pulled her other hand down. “These days, don’t run around.”

Jiang Huashan caught the implication and glanced sideways at him. “What do you mean?”

Shen Lanxi let go of her. “The matter with Xiao Lanlan won’t settle anytime soon. You need to be careful during this period—watch your words and actions, don’t go out randomly, and don’t let anyone catch you making mistakes. As for the rumors at school, if you don’t want to hear them, I can help you take leave.”

Jiang Huashan understood his subtext and temporarily set aside her personal bias. “How do you know it won’t be resolved anytime soon? Did you find out something?”

Shen Lanxi didn’t want to say more. “This has nothing to do with you. Just remember what I said.”

Jiang Huashan paused, then immediately cut off any intention of asking further.

Shen Lanxi was arrogant and self-important. In his eyes, she was just a troublesome little girl who liked causing trouble. Even if there really was something, he wouldn’t bother explaining it to her.

“Oh.” She instantly turned cold and walked away.

Shen Lanxi watched her retreating figure, a faint darkness flickering in his eyes.

After she left, Gao Zhi stepped forward cautiously. “Young Master, Miss Jiang doesn’t know what’s good for her. I’ll go teach her a lesson for you.”

Shen Lanxi glanced at him.

Gao Zhi looked up at the sky. “Young Master, if you’re worried about Miss Jiang, you can just say it directly. Going around in circles like this, you might end up tying yourself into knots.”

Shen Lanxi’s gaze was cold. “I’m worried about her?”

Gao Zhi glanced down, then quickly looked away again. “With the Xiao family stirring up this mess, the Shen family’s young ladies will all be affected. Miss Fu Sui’er has her mother, Miss Shen Mianzhi has her father, and Old Master, who protects Miss Jiang the most, is currently not here. Aren’t you staying here specifically because you’re worried Miss Jiang might suffer losses?”

As a result, he got angry the moment he saw her coming out of the Bamboo Garden. Ah, the inexperienced young master—he can’t handle the suffering of love.

“Self-righteous.” Shen Lanxi turned and walked past Gao Zhi. After a few steps, he stopped again, his expression cold. “How exactly am I supposed to say it directly?”

Gao Zhi immediately became energetic and stepped in front of him. “You should say it like this…”

He cleared his throat and adjusted his tone. “Little sister, listen to your brother~ Your brother has been standing in this cold wind waiting for you for an hour, just to tell you—don’t be afraid, I’ve got your back, I’ll protect you—”

Shen Lanxi’s eyelid twitched slightly, and he turned and walked straight into the corridor.