Chapter Seventy-One: The Cuju Match

Li Deren’s face changed instantly at Lin Miaomiao’s words. In truth, he hadn’t quite understood what she meant either. He glanced at her and asked, “What do you mean by ‘the cost of being a villain is a bit high’?”

Lin Miaomiao thought for a moment, sitting atop the cabinet opposite Li Deren, then replied, “Being a villain is a high-risk profession.” She cast him a cool glance. “To be a villain, you must abandon your conscience. You must become someone devoid of feeling or intent—that’s the only way to qualify. And you have to be clever, otherwise you’re just cannon fodder.”

“Most importantly, the net of heaven is vast and never lets anything slip. I have a feeling if you do evil, you’ll surely be found out. So you’d better not be a villain.”

Li Deren looked at Lin Miaomiao, “What’s cannon fodder?”

Lin Miaomiao pondered, then answered, “Cannon fodder is when a villain gets killed by a good person.”

She pinched her chin in thought, offering this explanation. Li Deren suddenly found the girl before him quite remarkable.

Li Deren was speechless.

Lin Miaomiao, seeing his reaction, hastily explained, “See, justice always triumphs over evil, so villains inevitably get killed by good people.”

She glanced at Li Deren, “Honestly, if you weren’t so good-looking, I wouldn’t bother talking to you.”

Li Deren nearly spat blood at her words.

“Good-looking isn’t used to describe men. For men—”

Lin Miaomiao waved her hand dismissively, interrupting him, “Li Fourth, can you stop being pedantic?”

“Good-looking means handsome or beautiful. I’m complimenting you.”

Being called Li Fourth made Li Deren feel out of sorts. Why wasn’t this girl afraid of him at all?

Lin Miaomiao, noticing his expression, remarked, “Aren’t you a villain? Why do you care what people call you?”

Li Deren glanced at her, “Villains don’t care?”

Lin Miaomiao nodded earnestly, “Those who roam the world don’t use their real names.”

Li Deren nodded, suddenly realizing he’d talked at length with this young girl. Lin Miaomiao looked at him, “Are you leaving?”

After she said this, she yawned, feeling sleepy. She had never stayed up so late since arriving in the ancient world.

She struggled to keep her eyes open as she looked at Li Deren. He saw her yawn and nodded, listening to the night watchman’s call outside.

Opening the window, he stood on the sill and said to Lin Miaomiao, “I’m leaving.”

With that, he slipped out the window. Lin Miaomiao watched him depart, feeling inexplicably impressed.

Did everyone in ancient times know lightness skills? Would Li Yanhe know them too?

Yawning, she lay down to sleep. As she was drifting off, her window opened again.

“By the way, I think you’re right—the cost of being a villain is too high. I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf.”

Lin Miaomiao looked at Li Deren, nodded sleepily, gave him a thumbs up, and said, “Got it, go on, go on!” She waved him off impatiently. Li Deren chuckled at her annoyed expression and left.

She felt she hadn’t stayed up so late in ages, and tomorrow she’d have to go back—who knew how late she’d sleep. She told herself not to sleep too deeply, but ended up doing exactly that.

Li Deren left her room and went straight to a room in a nearby inn.

Crown Prince Li Hanwen reclined on a soft couch, sipping tea and reading. When he saw Fourth Prince Li Deren return, he found it curious.

Li Hanwen smiled at him, “Did you encounter something amusing? You seem to be in good spirits.”

Li Deren glanced at him, “I met an interesting young girl on my way back today.”

Li Hanwen raised an eyebrow, “An interesting girl? That’s not like you!”

Li Deren sat in a chair, sipped his tea, and replied, “She was a surprise.”

“Oh?” Li Hanwen’s eyelids lifted. Li Deren’s lips curled into a pleasing smile. “She advised me to be a good person.”

“‘A good person?’” Li Hanwen seemed to have heard a joke and burst into laughter.

Li Deren handed him something from his pocket. “I found this at the prefect’s residence.”

Li Hanwen glanced at the ledger, his lips forming a handsome smile. “Keep it.”

“Third Brother is favored, and those two young ones follow him. The situation isn’t to our advantage.”

He looked at Li Deren, who answered with an ambiguous smile.

Accumulating strength for a sudden surge—that was their strategy. Both understood, so neither would be foolish enough to expose Third Prince Li Taian right now.

When Lin Miaomiao woke, it was already past nine in the morning. She realized she really couldn’t keep staying up late.

In modern times, sleeping in was no big deal, even if she woke at ten, she wouldn’t feel embarrassed.

But now, she was greeted by Li Yanhe’s handsome face, and he warmly called her to rise.

Suddenly, the world seemed less beautiful. After so long in the ancient world, she could now read ancient time.

The first thing she did upon waking was check the time—just after nine. She wanted to sleep a bit more, but Li Yanhe scooped her into his arms.

In that moment, she sensed a cool fragrance from him, and her face flushed bright red.

She looked up at him, wondering why he was so flirtatious today. Her cheeks were rosy as she gazed at him.

“What’s wrong? Did you catch a cold?” Li Yanhe’s deep voice came. She shook her head.

Outwardly shaking her head, inwardly her mind screamed, “Oh my god!” She felt shy.

For a moment, Li Yanhe seemed utterly charming. If she wasn’t in a child’s body, she would surely want to be with him.

At ten, she dressed and followed Li Yanhe to the main hall, checking the time.

Li Yanhe said, “Let’s go. There’s a cuju match today. Though it’s late, we can catch the last game.”

Lin Miaomiao’s eyes sparkled, “Are we in the front row, and with the best view?”

Li Yanhe nodded. She jumped up in excitement. He took her hand.

As they walked through the busy streets, Lin Miaomiao looked at the stalls, brimming with excitement.

Back in university, she had chosen women’s football as her elective. She’d played matches with other schools.

Now she was thrilled—her first time seeing ancient football up close.

Watching Lin Miaomiao bounce along, Li Yanhe laughed, “So happy?”

She nodded, “Of course.”

She grinned at him, “You know, it’s my first time watching a football match, so I’m excited.”

Li Yanhe glanced at her, raising his brows, “What is football?”

Lin Miaomiao was speechless.

“Cuju,” she murmured.

They arrived at an inn, and she asked, “Why are there so many inns here?”

Li Yanhe thought a moment. “This is the last city before the frontier, so travelers rest here.”

She immediately understood. Looking ahead, she spotted a familiar face—the gentleman from last night.

She exclaimed, “You, Li Fourth?” surprised to see him emerging from the inn.

Crown Prince Li Hanwen heard her, raised his brows, and glanced at Li Yanhe behind her.

Sensing the tension between them, Lin Miaomiao wondered if she’d stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Li Yanhe pulled her into his arms, giving Li Hanwen a cold look, “Elder Brother, you seem quite leisurely.”

Li Hanwen paused, smiled, and nodded to Lin Miaomiao, “You truly are an interesting child.”

Li Deren waved at Li Yanhe, grinning, “Elder Brother.”

Lin Miaomiao looked at them, suddenly recalling Li Deren’s words last night, feeling amused.

They all used their ranking as names—how amusing.

Li Deren saw Lin Miaomiao in Li Yanhe’s arms. She looked at him, feeling oddly embarrassed.

She tugged at Li Yanhe, “Let’s go watch the cuju match. You said we’d catch the last game, let’s not miss it.”