Publish Time: 2026-06-22 18:32:00

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«Chapter 521: Kicking Down the Door, Shouting “Thief!”

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This was inherently contradictory. To Chen Changsheng, of course, not seeing her at all was best. But over the years, Miss Yun’s determination showed him an even worse outcome.

Think how quickly forty or fifty years had passed. Not just two or three years, but forty or fifty.

If they truly never met again, Miss Yun might not forget him. On the contrary, she would think about him for a very, very long time in the years to come. That was something Chen Changsheng did not wish to see.

It wasn’t that he was magnanimous. Instead, this behavior felt a bit like having it both ways, not befitting a good person.

Compared to never seeing each other again, meeting occasionally was indeed the best outcome.

All in all, this was something he shouldn’t have done in any way. There was no clear reason for it. But then again, such matters of the heart—how many could ever be reasoned out clearly? They always remained one-sided.

The tabby cat slept soundly on the stone table nearby. His ears twitched now and then while he slept, yet his slumber was deep and undisturbed.

The kind you couldn’t wake.

He’d rested very little on the journey and was probably truly tired.

Chen Changsheng was just closing his eyes to rest when he suddenly felt someone’s gaze on him.

He turned and saw a half head peeking over the courtyard wall.

It was Ruyi.

Ruyi ducked down immediately, reassuring herself.

‘He probably didn’t see me.’

Right as she thought that, a voice came from the courtyard.

“Is Ruyi still a child?”

Under the wall, Ruyi stiffened. Her flushed face had just faded, but now the redness quickly returned.

Chen Changsheng heard no movement from beyond the wall, but moments later, a knock came.

“Knock, knock…”

Chen Changsheng said, “The latch is broken. Just come in.”

Ruyi pushed open the door and looked at Chen Changsheng sitting in the courtyard.

Only now did she get a clear, careful look at him.

She froze, unable to process it.

Why…

He hadn’t changed at all!

Neither his clothes nor his appearance showed even a trace of change!

But… twelve whole years had passed!

Ruyi couldn’t help but ask herself, ‘Is it really possible for someone not to change after twelve years…?’

Dazedly snapping back to reality, she saw Chen Changsheng looking at her. The words spilled out impulsively: “Are you… an Immortal?”

She had intended to call him Uncle Chen, but after seeing his unchanged appearance, it felt completely wrong—like it made him seem old.

He hadn’t expected those to be her first words.

After a moment of thought, he replied.

“Your Uncle Chen is not an Immortal.”

He gave her a gentle smile and added, “He is a ghost.”

Ruyi blinked, then suddenly laughed out loud.

She wasn’t even sure why she laughed.

Perhaps she remembered joking with Uncle Chen as a child, all those times he’d tricked her—again and again. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The evening breeze drifted into the courtyard, lifting the strands of hair near her temples.

When Chen Changsheng looked at her again, he realized this little girl had truly grown up. She was now graceful, in the prime of her youth, completely changed.

……….

Ruyi brought the stool herself.

She knew better than Chen Changsheng where everything in the courtyard was kept.

Over the years, she’d been the one taking care of repairs and leaks in these courtyards. She even replaced the dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen with new sets every year. Strangely, it amused her too.

Why was this?

Even though they hadn’t truly spent much time together, she had genuinely remembered him for so long.

Perhaps because Uncle Chen was one of the few playmates in her childhood years.

The moment Ruyi sat down, she yawned, as if sleepy.

“I heard from Aqing you’re a supervisor at the embroidery workshop now?”

“Mm, yes…”

Ruyi said, “It’s been a few years. It’s all thanks to Sister Yun’s care. I couldn’t have managed it otherwise.”

Chen Changsheng shifted the subject. “I’m more curious though… how Ruyi managed to kick the latch till it snapped.”

Ruyi flushed instantly.

“I… that was…”

Seeing she couldn’t refute it, Ruyi covered her face in embarrassment.

Watching her, Chen Changsheng burst into laughter.

Seeing him laugh, her expression instantly shifted to annoyance.

“You picked on me constantly when I was little, Uncle Chen! And you’re still doing it now that I’m grown!”

“Perhaps it’s habit.”

“Habit!?”

Ruyi stood up. “Is that how an uncle acts? Do you still think of Ruyi as a child?”

“Children are the ones who climb walls.”

“I was, I was just…”

Ruyi grew flustered, pacing back and forth before him.

Chen Changsheng watched her movements and asked, “Could it be Ruyi is afraid of losing face in front of me?”

“Of course not!” Ruyi retorted.

Just as she was about to say more, he interrupted.

“Hmm…”

Chen Changsheng looked at her meaningfully. “Didn’t you lose it all during your childhood?”

“……”

Ruyi froze. That familiar feeling washed over her.

Yes, just like this.

He’d teased her with such circles in his logic when she was small.

She knew this pattern all too well!

Pressing her lips together, Ruyi simply plopped back down on the chair and stopped speaking.

Chen Changsheng glanced at her. “Back then too, once mad, you’d just park yourself and sit. Nothing and no one could move you.”

Hearing this, Ruyi suddenly felt the chair beneath her was unbearable. So, she stood up, turning her back to him, facing the main hall of the courtyard instead.

“Haven’t eaten?” Chen Changsheng asked.

Ruyi’s lip twitched. “What more do you want? I’m already standing up! What else?”

Chen Changsheng blinked innocently. “I was simply asking if you’re hungry.”

Silence fell momentarily in the courtyard.

Ruyi turned her head slightly away, her face crimson.

Right then, her stomach betrayed her, letting out a loud, unmistakable rumble.

She hadn’t eaten anything since arriving back—she was utterly starving.

“Seems you truly are hungry,” Chen Changsheng observed.

He stood up. “I made some dishes this afternoon. They’re still warm. Good enough for a bite or two. Might as well stop standing.”

“No. I want to stand,” Ruyi said stubbornly.

“Then stand.”

“……”

Ruyi bit her lip, instantly regretting it.

Chen Changsheng headed into the kitchen and brought out the food.

He saw the tabby cat sprawled over the table.

“Lihua, move over,” Chen Changsheng said, giving him a little nudge.

With sleep-clouded eyes, the cat stretched, yawned slowly, shuffled sideways, and immediately flopped back to sleep, completely unaware someone new was in the courtyard.

Chen Changsheng pulled the stool closer to the stone table.

“Going to eat or not?”

“Yes!”

Ruyi sat down too. This time, she held nothing back.

She picked up the bowl and chopsticks and dug into the food piled within.

Her table manners weren’t particularly refined.

“Eat more slowly.”

Ruyi swallowed her mouthful. She shot Chen Changsheng a look. “Uncle Chen, have you gotten married?”

“I don’t marry,” Chen Changsheng replied.

“That figures.”

“?”

«Chapter 521: Kicking Down the Door, Shouting “Thief!”

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