Early the next morning, Zhao Yelan went downstairs to have breakfast. As soon as he walked out of the room, he saw Yan Mingting sitting in the lobby.

Zhao Yelan paused lightly, then went downstairs with his head lowered and specially picked a table with his back facing the other person.

The two of them sat just a few tables away, eating breakfast quietly without disturbing each other, but Zhao Yelan knew that Yan Mingting was staring at his back again.

When they were about to finish eating, soldiers came from outside to report to Yan Mingting about the situation of the Nanjiang royal family. The old Nanjiang king had been imprisoned by the Eighth Princess, and today was the day the Third Prince ascended the throne.

“Let’s go see the Second Prince first.” Yan Mingting got up and was about to leave, but when he walked to the door, he looked back at the person in the corner, pondering for a moment before he urged: “Little Face, I’m going out for a while, so don’t run around the inn.”

Once he left, Zhao Yelan walked to the gate, staring at the empty road in a daze. Then he returned to the room to rest for a while, packed his luggage, and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, he was stopped by a guard when he reached the door. The guard glanced at his luggage, took him back to the lobby, and said: “Can you not stay for a while?”

Zhao Yelan looked at him blankly.

The guard said in a low voice: “Although I never met Zhao-daren, the General says you are very similar to him, so can you stay a few more days? The General has eaten a lot of meals recently, and even ate two buns in the morning.”

Zhao Yelan wanted to ask him, did Yan Minging usually not eat breakfast?

Unexpectedly, although the guard couldn’t read his eyes, he complained on Yan Mingting’s behalf on his own: “The General hasn’t eaten much in the past six months, either drinking or sleeping. It is only these days that he has slowly returned to his original appetite. Now is a critical period, so we subordinates all hope that you will stay with the General for a while longer. After he fully recovers, we will take you wherever you want, and we can give you money.”

Zhao Yelan handed him the luggage. The guard gave him a doubtful look, and Zhao Yelan pointed upstairs.

“Thank you!” The guard was overjoyed, and ran upstairs to deliver the luggage.

Yan Mingting returned in the evening. He had just sat down in the lobby when he heard a door open on the second floor. Zhao Yelan went out the door and went downstairs unhurriedly.

Yan Mingting stared at his figure, and unconsciously thought of Zhao Yelan’s posture when going down the stairs. He stared blankly until the other party sat down beside him, then returned to his senses and asked: “Why are you sitting at my table again? Weren’t you avoiding me this morning?”

Zhao Yelan gave him what was in his hand. It was a piece of paper with the word “eat” written on it.

“You’re hungry so early?” Yan Mingting called a waiter over, ordered several dishes, and asked him if it was enough. When he shook his head, Yan Mingting ordered a few more and said with a smile: “You pauper, why do you have this habit of extravagance and waste? Perhaps it is because I paid for it that you want to drain me dry.”

Zhao Yelan nodded.

“You are very honest,” Yan Mingting said.

When the dishes were all served, Yan Mingting awkwardly pointed to the seat across from him: “Why don’t you sit across from me.”

Firstly, he felt that the distance between them was too close and felt that this pauper had his eye on him. And secondly, sitting across from him made it easier for him to take a few more glances. He could always see the shadow of that person in this man, which was very satisfying.

Zhao Yelan disagreed. Sitting opposite the other person would risk his exposure. It was safer to be next to him with a mask to cover him up.

Yan Mingting’s persuasion was ineffective. As soon as he picked up his chopsticks, the other party picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his bowl, then turned back awkwardly, not daring to look him in the eye.

Yan Mingting ate the piece of meat with a very complicated mood. “That…..”

The other party immediately gave him two slices of beef.

Yan Minging finished eating the beef: “I say…..”

Zhao Yelan picked up another fried egg.

After going back and forth like this, Yan Mingting had already eaten two bowls of rice, and couldn’t keep up with the speed the other party was picking up vegetables. Seeing the man pick up even more, he hurriedly pushed his hand away: “Don’t worry about me, eat it yourself, ah.”

Zhao Yelan fiercely put the vegetables into his bowl, then picked up his own bowl and began to eat slowly.

Due to the mask, he ate very little each time. After Yan Mingting finished three bowls of rice, he stared sideways at him and continued the topic just now: “You haven’t forgotten what I told you last night, have you?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head.

“So you don’t have feelings for me?”

Zhao Yelan lowered his head and pretended to be shy, glancing at him cautiously.

Yan Mingting: Oh no, he secretly loves me, ah.

It wasn’t just the food. He habitually went to get wine, but was stopped by the other party, who handed him a cup of water and pointed at it, making random gestures.

Yan Mingting: “You’re saying you boiled this water yourself?”

“…….” Zhao Yelan was silent for a moment, then nodded. He looked at him expectantly, then motioned for him to drink the water.

Yan Mingting couldn’t bear to brush off his kindness, so he drank it all in one gulp. His stomach was full, and he didn’t want to drink for the moment.

It went on this way for the next two days. During mealtimes, Zhao Yelan kept picking up food for him, and even thoughtfully brought him tea and water, which made him feel a little embarrassed. He pulled him aside and said in a low voice: “You don’t need to worry about me. You just need to be like you were before, understand?”

Zhao Yelan shook his head: I don’t understand.

“How you ate, drank, and walked in the past, you should do the same now.” After speaking, Yan Mingting sighed in disappointment and stared blankly at nothing, adding: “If you want to imitate him, you should imitate him.”

Zhao Yelan turned around and ran back to the room. Yan Mingting thought he had given up out of embarrassment, but didn’t expect that the other party would come back soon and show him a piece of paper with three words written on it—

How to learn?

Yan Mingting laughed helplessly. He was laughing at him for being foolish enough to want to imitate someone he didn’t know, and at himself for being foolish enough to be shamefully moved by the behavior.

If he never saw Zhao Yelan again in this life, even seeing a shadow of him was good.

Yan Mingting told him many things, starting from the beginning: “The first time we met was at my mansion. The terrible thing was that I had been poisoned and was extremely ugly, so he didn’t even take a fancy to me. If I had known that I would like him so much in the future, I would have been a villain back then and taken him away directly. Even if he hated and resented me, it would be better than the eternal separation between man and heaven nowadays. The second time we met, we got married. I looked better than before, but we were so wary of each other at the time.”

After talking for more than two hours, Zhao Yelan was not sleepy at all. He had never known these things from Yan Mingting’s perspective, and he had so many habits that he wasn’t even aware of.

“Once he finished horse stance, he would snore lightly as he slept, which was very cute; if someone nearby spoke to him, he must first turn his eyes in that direction, and then his head. This is a defensive posture. But when he looked at me, he would turn his head first and then look at my face carefully without noticing what he was doing. He looked very good when he ran. Every time I dragged him to run, I would always follow behind, because his hair fluttered like catkins blown by the wind. He would always stop to breathe against the third pillar when he ran to the back courtyard, because there were the fewest people there, and he was most afraid of shame.”

He said a lot of things intermittently, saying whatever he thought of. Yan Mingting was more like a narrator, taking the opportunity to say these words to him and tell him bits and pieces of before.

When Zhao Yelan left, these memories were slowly sealed away. No matter who he mentioned Zhao Yelan’s name to, the other party thought he was crazy, and would insist on reminding him: “Wake up, he is already gone.”

No one was willing to listen to his confessions. It was just that when he was drinking and talking drunk again, everyone advised him to be sober and rational. But how could he be sober and rational when his soul had left?

The dusty memories opened up like a flood. Even Yan Mingting was surprised that he could remember so many trivial things, and his voice choked up unconsciously.

At this time, a hand patted him gently on the back.

He slowly relaxed. Looking up at the stars in the sky, he said hoarsely: “Which star do you think is him?”

Zhao Yelan pointed to the brightest one.

“No, that’s not him,” Yan Mingting said firmly.

Zhao Yelan pointed to the dimmest star and looked at him.

“That’s not him, he’s here.” Yan Mingting pointed to his chest.

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. Then Zhao Yelan slowly leaned over and hugged him.

Yan Mingting didn’t know if this was an encouraging and comforting hug, or a loving hug. He couldn’t think about such things for the moment, and vented the joy and pain brought on by those memories through this warm embrace.

Zhao Yelan felt a slight chill on his neck. He didn’t move, and just felt the other silently cry. His body was hugged tightly, and his ribs were almost crushed, but he didn’t say anything about the pain. Because the other party was hurting worse than him, the kind of pain that had no physical wound, but would hurt all over when touched.

Zhao Yelan finally felt a trace of regret.

He was not a person who regretted much. Once he made a decision, he would not regret it. In everything he did in the past, he took into consideration the worst result, and he would weigh the pros and cons. Only after he could accept the price to be paid would he put all his eggs in one basket.

But now, he somewhat regretted.

Zhao Yelan took this identity and escaped from the perilous court and the abuse of the common people, but still didn’t feel true freedom, because his heart was attached to another person.

He couldn’t bear for him to be hurt, and couldn’t bear to see him drinking too much. He was willing to accompany him back to this small inn on the border of the Xuan Dynasty, just to see him a few more times.

In the barren land of his heart, seeds somehow began to germinate and break through the ground.

“I’m sorry.” After Yan Mingting had vented his emotions, he let go and turned around, walking quickly back to his room.

Zhao Yelan also stayed up almost all night.

The next day, when he got up to change, his eyes glanced over his few simple clothes, and he put on a set of bright ones instead. Yan Mingting stared at him intently as soon as he went downstairs.

Looking at the other party, Yan Mingting felt awkward again. He felt that after hearing stories about Zhao Yelan last night, the other party had seriously imitated him.

He couldn’t help but want to look more, but reminded himself from time to time that this was wrong.

Zhao Yelan sat down beside him.

Almost instantly, Yan Mingting smelled a fragrance. It wasn’t the sachet that Zhao Yelan usually used, but one that he had never smelled before. Perhaps it was some flower or plant from the south.

He subconsciously glanced down at the sachet the other party was wearing, then silently raised his eyes and only looked at the food on the table. The other party didn’t take the initiative to pick food for him today, because he had said that Zhao Yelan would not pick food for him.

He seemed to be imitating him in essence.

Yan Mingting sneaked a glance from the corner of his eye and saw that his clothes and demeanor were more and more similar to Zhao Yelan’s. And he was wearing a mask, so couldn’t he imagine that Zhao Yelan’s face was hidden beneath it?

“Mengting,” he blurted out.

Zhao Yelan turned to look at him.

“Are you satisfied with breakfast today?”

Zhao Yelan nodded.

The corners of Yan Mingting’s mouth turned up uncontrollably, and he quickly picked up some food for him: “Mengting, eat more.”

Zhao Yelan saw the mound pile up in his bowl, so he picked up the green vegetables on top and put it into the other’s bowl.

So alike, so alike!

Yan Mingting gave a quiet laugh and grabbed the bowl directly. He even forgot to pick up more sides, and ate more than half of the bowl of rice plain.

Zhao Yelan noticed his actions, and couldn’t hold back his sudden smile.

Yan Mingting paused, and said seriously: “Don’t smile, you don’t look like him when you smile.”

Zhao Yelan: “…….”

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Extra 10: Faking Death (3) <<Table of Contents >> Extra 12: Faking Death (5)