Chapter 136: The Scroll

Yet Li Rui knew that Zhang Xiaolan was not the person in the portrait. The woman depicted was his childhood sweetheart, whose features bore an uncanny resemblance to Xiaolan’s. This tangled web of emotions, however, was bound to many untold stories.

"Lanlan, I have found the woman I love. She began with you, yet she is different. Although you share the same face, I know she is not you; her temperament and tone are entirely her own. She is merely a bit more mischievous than you ever were."

Li Rui spoke to the portrait, a gentle smile playing on his lips, his eyes filled with tenderness. It was the thought of Zhang Xiaolan that stirred these emotions, and he spoke to the image as if he were chatting with an old friend, offering a final accounting of his past.

The portrait had been kept for years in a secret compartment behind the wall where the painting of the Princess hung, its existence known to no one. Today, he had brought it out to confess his heart, perhaps as a way to lay his past to rest.

"Brother Li, I knew I would find you here."

Zhang Xiaolan’s cheerful voice rang out, causing Li Rui’s heart to skip a beat. Caught completely off guard, he nearly dropped the portrait in his haste.

Before he could react, Xiaolan had already stepped into the room. He could only stare at her, frozen in a state of panicked stillness.

The reason for his distress was obvious: the portrait of the mysterious woman still held firmly in his hands. Her sudden arrival had caught him completely off guard, leaving him paralyzed.

"Brother Li, what is wrong?" Having walked quickly, Xiaolan was already standing before him in the blink of an eye.

Seeing him standing there as if turned to stone, staring blankly at her without a word, she nudged his shoulder and asked, "What is the matter?"

"Oh—oh, nothing. Why have you come to see me so late, Lanlan?"

Li Rui asked, his expression unnatural and awkward. He tried to hide his guilt, attempting to slip the scroll behind his back without drawing attention to it. This move, however, only piqued Zhang Xiaolan’s curiosity.

"I saw that the light was still on in your study, so I brought you some dessert—the double-skin milk. Didn't you say last time that it was delicious?"

Xiaolan set the tray down and turned her full attention to Li Rui, smiling faintly as she asked, "What were you hiding behind your back just now? Can you not show it to me?" She had noticed his strange behavior the moment she entered and had been suspicious ever since.

When she had turned slightly earlier, she had caught a glimpse of him tucking the scroll away. Did he really think she hadn't seen?

Zhang Xiaolan had a sharp eye and a wide field of vision; she had seen the movement clearly. Thinking perhaps it was a surprise he had prepared that she had accidentally stumbled upon, her curiosity was piqued. She wasn't one to feign ignorance, preferring to satisfy her interest immediately.

"It—it’s nothing!" Li Rui’s heart hammered against his ribs in extreme nervousness, his speech faltering for the second time.

It was no wonder; he rarely lied, and certainly never to Zhang Xiaolan. Now that she had discovered the object in his hands and was pressing him for answers, his panic was evident.

"Why are you stammering? There must be something you're keeping from me. Let me see."

It was rare to see Li Rui in such a state. Her curiosity piqued and her playful side emerging, she pouted, looking at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, as if daring him to resist.