Warm medicine emits fragrance

Fan Liuer had always treated Feng Xu as a younger brother, and seeing his aggrieved appearance, she felt dissatisfied.

She put her arm around Feng Xu and led him outside, saying, "Don't pay any attention to him, let's go." As she spoke, she called out to the master beside her, "Master, let's go to your house and take a look."

The master was also a little afraid of Li Chenbi, so he immediately followed.

"Fan Liuer!" Li Chenbi called out to her.

Fan Liuer simply turned around and said, "Don't follow me."

Li Chenbi was furious, but in the end he didn't follow them. He only sent two servants with him.

Fan Liuer didn't return until dinner time, and Li Chenbi was so angry that he lost his appetite and didn't eat. He waited under the eaves.

Qi Weiming pushed open the door and came in with a smile on his face. "Liu'er, look what I brought you today." He was carrying a wooden cage with a yellow dog and a white-faced puppy inside.

As soon as you enter the courtyard, you are met with Li Chenbi's devilish face.

He rolled his eyes at Li Chenbi, then picked up the cage and headed to the kitchen.

Not finding her in the kitchen, he came out again with the cage, searching the whole house for her, calling out, "Liu'er. Liu'er."

Li Chenbi watched him walk around the entire house without saying a word.

Qi Weiming, unable to find anyone, reluctantly carried the dog cage to Li Chenbi. "Where's Liu'er?"

Li Chenbi looked up at him. "Want to know?"

"nonsense!"

"Beg me."

"I'm begging you!" Qi Weiming cursed under his breath, turning to walk out. "She's definitely at the ironware shop next door."

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Qi Weiming returned and walked up to Li Chenbi again, his face extremely pale.

"Where did you hide her?"

Li Chenbi said lazily, "Go ask my uncle, he might know."

"Li Chenbi!"

Li Chenbi then looked at him, and seeing Qi Weiming's angry face, he thought of something and slightly curled his lips.

Instead of arguing with me, you should think about how to protect your position.

Qi Weiming frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Li Chenbi crossed his arms, tilted his head to look at him, and said calmly, "What I mean is, your real competitor has appeared."

Qi Weiming didn't understand what he was saying, and his brows furrowed even more.

Li Chenbi was exceptionally patient today, explaining to him, "She has feelings for me, but she refuses to marry me. Do you know why?"

"What else could it be? If she refuses to marry you, it means she doesn't care about you," Qi Weiming replied decisively.

Li Chenbi scoffed coldly, "I survived this time entirely because of her. If she didn't care about me, would she have risked her life to save me?"

Qi Weiming fell silent, knowing that Li Chenbi was telling the truth.

Furthermore, Fan Liuer herself has said that she has feelings for Li Chenbi.

"Why is that?" he asked reluctantly.

Li Chenbi: "Because she doesn't like money or power, she prefers a peaceful and stable life."

"You've made a huge mistake by always seeing me as your rival. She didn't even choose me, so do you really think she would choose you, someone who could be fighting on the battlefield and risk their life at any moment?"

Qi Weiming still didn't understand what he meant. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Li Chenbi said slowly, "You know Feng Ji, right? He has a younger brother who is a few years younger than you and has a very good relationship with Fan Liuer."

Qi Weiming understood what he meant, but was somewhat dismissive, "What's the big deal? Liu'er must see him as a younger brother."

Li Chenbi snorted coldly, "Younger brother? You think it's normal for two people with no blood relation to be so affectionate? Fan Liuer is more affectionate towards him than towards you or me, and she even takes his hand proactively."

Upon hearing this, Qi Weiming's expression changed slightly.

Li Chenbi then asked, "Among the three of us—me, you, and him—what advantage do you have?"

"I won't even mention it. You and I are completely incomparable. Just look at him. He's younger and more stable than you. His family is here, his parents are alive, and his family has a good relationship with Fan Liuer. But what about you? You have no parents, no family to help you, no fixed abode, and you live hand to mouth. Your life is always hanging by a thread."

"Besides earning a little more than him now, what else do you have that you can't compare to him in?"

"But Fan Liuer is not short of money. I gave her a lot of money, and she can live a wealthy life without relying on anyone."

Qi Weiming's expression grew increasingly grim.

Li Chenbi said sarcastically, "You still want to compete with me? You'd better beat him first before you're even qualified to compete with me."

After saying this, Li Chenbi didn't speak again, and Qi Weiming also didn't speak, standing there with his head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Fan Liuer was brought back by Feng Xu. When the two reached the courtyard gate, Feng Xu stopped. "Sister Liuer, I won't go in. Your cousin looks too scary."

Fan Liuer smiled apologetically at him, "Sorry, I scared you. Don't mind him, he just has a bad temper."

Feng Xu nodded, then leaned close to Fan Liuer's ear and whispered, "He has such a bad temper, you'd better not like him anymore. You should choose your original husband instead."

Fan Liuer was surprised that this boy, busy learning his craft all day, still had the mind to listen to her gossip. She raised her hand and patted his head, "Focus on learning your craft, don't act like an old lady and listen to those irrelevant rumors."

"What are you doing!"

The sudden sound from the courtyard gate startled the two of them. They looked over at the same time and saw Qi Weiming standing at the gate with a dark face.

Feng Xu shrank back and hid behind Fan Liuer. "Sister Liuer, could this person be...?"

Fan Liuer nodded, but at the same time, she was puzzled. What was wrong with Qi Weiming today?

"Then I take back what I just said. This one doesn't seem to have a very good temper either," Feng Xu whispered to Fan Liuer.

After saying that, he turned and ran, "Sister Liu, I'm leaving first."

Qi Weiming's gaze remained fixed on Feng Xu, observing his still-childish face, his slender yet subtly masculine physique, and the intimate gestures between the two.

Anger welled up inside me, but it was also mixed with despair.

Li Chenbi was right; among the three of them, he was the least competitive.

He's not as rich as Li Chenbi, nor as stable as that kid.

"What... what's wrong?" Fan Liuer asked cautiously, noticing Qi Weiming's increasingly grim expression.

Qi Weiming withdrew his gaze and landed on Fan Liuer's face.

Looking at the face he had longed for for a year, from the first time he saw her portrait to bringing her to Xingzhou, then the unexpected events, and finally their reunion, the two of them still had the chance to meet despite so many twists and turns. This was an opportunity given to him by God.

He cannot give up.

If Fan Liuer does not marry Li Chenbi, then she can only choose him; there cannot be a third person.

He has to sabotage every single one that comes his way.

I must strive to be the first and second choice; if I can't be Fan Liuer's first choice, I absolutely cannot be her third choice.