ce on her face. But when she saw Wei Ziqi, she suppressed that pride and put on an overly delicate and artificial expression.
Wei Ran heard Lin Qiuyue suggest that Wei Ziqi take the Wei family's young lady for a walk around the yard, so she secretly followed them.
By that time, she had already developed the habit of walking barefoot.
Fortunately, the yard was clean, with no garbage. She just had to be careful not to step on small stones, though sometimes it was unavoidable.
She didn't need to search very hard, as she soon saw Wei Ziqi press the Wei family's young lady against a stone pillar in the pavilion and kiss her.
At the time, she didn't understand what kissing meant. She just thought Wei Ziqi was biting the Wei family's young lady's lips.
But the Wei family's young lady still looked like she was enjoying it, her hands painted with pink nail polish moving through Wei Ziqi's hair and over his back.
Then, the Wei family's young lady squinted and noticed Wei Ran.
At that moment, Wei Ran was standing on the stone steps of the pavilion, with nowhere to hide.
She thought she would be scolded, but unexpectedly, the Wei family's young lady laughed lightly, her giggles ringing like a breeze through a wind chime.
"It seems like we have an extra little audience!" the Wei family's young lady said with a light laugh, not at all upset, but rather quite proud.
She teased Wei Ran, clearly wanting her to watch the whole thing.
Suddenly, Wei Ziqi pulled away from her, so abruptly that the Wei family's young lady lost her balance and almost slid down the pillar.
"Hehehe!" the Wei family's young lady trembled as she touched her forehead. "Oh my! I've heard you were good, but I didn't think I'd almost collapse just from a kiss!"
Wei Ziqi didn't say anything, his lips curling into the usual mocking smile as he took out a handkerchief to wipe off the lipstick print from his lips.
Wei Rongxuan knew that being interrupted by that clueless little girl meant there was no chance of continuing with Wei Ziqi now.
She couldn't help but feel annoyed, losing her earlier playful mood towards the little girl.
Wei Rongxuan's hand limply rested on Wei Ziqi's chest as she pouted, "When should we continue?"
Wei Ziqi expressionlessly tossed the handkerchief into the trash can. "Find an opportunity."
Wei Rongxuan's expression stiffened, knowing that when he said "find an opportunity," it meant "there's no opportunity."
His interest had faded. Even if today passed, there would still be plenty of women waiting for him, but he had little interest in her.
Wei Rongxuan couldn't help but blame this on Wei Ran. If it weren't for this little girl's appearance, her good fortune wouldn't have been ruined, and she would have had what she wanted today.
Her gaze shifted, her eyes, still full of spring charm, gave Wei Ran a slightly coquettish glance.
"Who is this little girl?" Wei Rongxuan asked ambiguously, looking at Wei Ziqi. "Could it be that you've kept her by your side since childhood, to slowly teach and train her, to satisfy your needs in the future?"
Wei Rongxuan softly pointed at Wei Ran with her finger. "Raising a little girl like this, that idea is quite wicked!"
Wei Ziqi's smile grew more mocking as he looked past Wei Rongxuan and directly walked up to Wei Ran.
To the nine-year-old Wei Ran, Wei Ziqi was far too tall.
When he approached, he blocked all the sunlight above her head.
The shadow covered her, mirroring the fluctuating expression on Wei Ziqi's face. Wei Ran felt as if the ground beneath her was sinking, about to swallow her up.
Wei Ziqi, as he often did, pinched her chin with his thumb and index finger, forcing her to lift her head higher.
The angle of her neck stretched to its limit, beyond which it would snap.
"This?" Wei Ziqi smiled, but his eyes grew even colder. "She's just a little toy I brought back because I was bored."
Wei Ziqi let go of Wei Ran's chin, his expression frosty. "But since she's mine, it's better if you don't get any ideas about her."
Even without seeing Wei Ziqi's face, just hearing his voice made Wei Rongxuan's expression turn dark.
Looking at Wei Ran from behind Wei Ziqi, her gaze hesitated, and her eyes flickered as if deep in thought.
At that time, Wei Ran only felt uncomfortable with the way Wei Rongxuan looked at her, but now, thinking back, it made her shiver.
Wei Rongxuan's face gradually became blurred, and suddenly, she disappeared from the pavilion without any warning.
The empty pavilion grew unusually spacious, different from her usual memory of it.
Then her body seemed to rise higher, as if all the changes from the years had been condensed into a second, replacing Wei Rongxuan, who was trapped between Wei Ziqi and the stone pillar.
Soon after, she saw Wei Ziqi's nearly enchanting face constantly growing larger in front of her.
Eventually, his lips pressed against hers.
His kiss was even more reckless and intense than before. His hands cupped her face, pressing her head tightly against the cold stone pillar.
As the kiss deepened, her wide eyes, filled with surprise, slowly closed, her eyelashes trembling, making the eyelids part slightly as she gazed at Wei Ziqi's expression.