“Xiao Yan!”

She suddenly stood up, reached out to pat her husband's shoulder, picked up her coat and scarf, then turned around and said, “Xiao Zhen, Mom suddenly wants to sit in your seat. You and Xiao Yan, come to the front.”

“Ah? Oh, okay.”

Yu Zhen vaguely felt that the atmosphere was not quite right. Hearing this, he immediately stood up. His gaze swept over Han Ya and Wu Xuan, and he patted Yin Yan's leg, signaling him to make way.

Yin Yan, however, grabbed his hand, stopping him from getting out, and said, “Wait a moment.”

Seeing this, Chou Feiqian raised her eyebrows, looking at him with an expression of disappointment.

In the back seat, Yin Le also frowned and stood up, looking at Han Ya with a sullen, resentful expression.

“Xiao Ya.”

Wu Xuan took a step forward and wrapped his arm around Han Ya's shoulder. With a look full of possessiveness and the subtle superiority of a victor, he looked down on Yin Yan and coaxed Han Ya softly, “It's not good to block the aisle. Let's sit down first.”

But Han Ya didn't move. She insisted on taking a step forward to break free from his grasp. Tears welled up in her eyes in an instant as she looked pitifully at Yin Yan and said, “Yan, I already know I was wrong about the car accident, I'm sorry. But one should take responsibility for their own actions. If you want revenge, just come after me, okay? My parents are innocent. They've always admired and been grateful to you. Last time you...”

Hearing these words, Chou Feiqian was so angry she felt her hair was about to catch fire.

'What do you mean, come after you? If he really went after you, then things would really be over!'

“Han Ya, I'm the one making trouble for the Han Family. You'd better not provoke me—”

“Are you cold?”

Yin Yan suddenly spoke, interrupting Chou Feiqian's impending public outburst. But his words were baffling: “Tell me if you're cold.”

Yu Zhen, whose hand was being held as he was questioned: ???

'The heating on the plane is so strong, how could I be cold? What is Yin Yan doing? And also...'

He tugged at the hand Yin Yan was holding, but couldn't pull it free. He glanced at Han Ya, who was being ignored by Yin Yan, and at Chou Feiqian in the front row who was clearly suppressing her anger, and felt a little nervous.

'This whole scene just doesn't feel right. Is Yin Yan acting like this because he's missing the original owner's memories and is completely out of the loop, not knowing how to handle it? Or is there some backstory, and he's deliberately only talking to me and ignoring everyone else?'

'If he's missing his memories, how should I help smooth things over? If it's deliberate, what should I do? Should I ignore her too?'

'But this girl looks quite pitiful crying like that.'

His hand was suddenly squeezed hard. He snapped back to his senses, retracting the gaze he had subconsciously sent to size up Han Ya, and looked down at Yin Yan. Just as he was about to ask why he had squeezed so hard, his heart suddenly sank heavily. Then, with a whoosh, it was as if his body had been thrown from a temperature-controlled room into a sub-zero snowfield. His body heat receded like a tide, and a familiar coldness spread fiercely toward his limbs, freezing his thoughts in an instant.

“Yin-Yin Yan...”

He tightly squeezed back Yin Yan's hand, which felt incredibly warm at that moment. Unease and panic colored his eyes. His sluggish brain couldn't process what was happening to him for a moment.

[The Gift of the Mountain God has disappeared.]

A familiar, cool voice rang out in his mind, but the Yin Yan in front of him hadn't spoken.

“Let's go to the front row.”

Yin Yan stood up, half-embracing Yu Zhen. He finally turned his head, lowered his eyes, and spared a glance for Han Ya, who had been looking pitiful for a long time. He said calmly, “Excuse me, you're blocking the way.”

The tears that were about to fall from Han Ya's eyes got stuck. Her expression froze comically for a moment, and her gaze subconsciously fell on Yu Zhen, who was half-leaning against Yin Yan's embrace. She asked, slightly disbelieving, “Yan, what did you say? You... you two...”

“My brother told you to move. Miss Han, do you have any public decency? Is it fun to keep blocking the path?” Yin Le finally couldn't hold it in anymore and retorted, rolling his eyes.

In the past, if Yin Le dared to talk back to Han Ya like this to her face, Yin Yan would have scolded his younger brother before Han Ya even had a chance to look hurt and upset. But not today. Yin Yan's gaze on Han Ya remained calm—so calm it was indifferent.

“Miss Han, I believe I made myself very clear last time. Also, please don't call me that. It will upset my family and my lover.”

He reminded her implicitly. After speaking, he looked at Wu Xuan and asked politely, “Could you please move your girlfriend out of the way? Thank you.”

The previous Yin Yan had never labeled Han Ya with the identity of “Wu Xuan's girlfriend,” not even when rumors were circulating in their social circle that Han Ya and Wu Xuan might be getting serious.

But now he used it, and he did so naturally, casually, and openly.

“Lover?”

The superiority and impatience in Wu Xuan's eyes receded. He finally looked properly at Yin Yan and Yu Zhen in his arms. His gaze fell on the gold ring Yin Yan was wearing. He reached out, pulled the frozen Han Ya back, and said probingly, “I wish you and your lover a long and happy life together.”

“Thank you.”

Yin Yan responded politely, walking straight past Han Ya with his arm around Yu Zhen. He stopped in front of Chou Feiqian and Yin Hexiang's seats and called out, “Mother.”

“Good son.”

Chou Feiqian patted his shoulder in approval and efficiently made way for them. When passing Han Ya, she paused but didn't look at her. Instead, her gaze landed on Wu Xuan. With a polite and courteous smile, she said, “Young Master Wu, forgive my impudence for saying a few words today. When choosing a wife, you have to pick one with good character, someone down-to-earth and reliable. Don't be blind for a moment and marry a troublemaker, bringing her home. It's a small matter if she disrupts the peace of your days, but it would be a disaster if she accidentally tarnishes the noble reputation your Wu Family has built for generations.”

Hearing this, Han Ya's face turned pale. Her hurt and embarrassed gaze once again clung to Yin Yan, who had already taken his seat in the front row.

Unfortunately, the person who used to always pay attention to and cherish her now only left her with a completely unfamiliar back.

Wu Xuan's hand tightened, pulling her back forcefully. He also put on a polite and courteous smile and replied, “Auntie Chou is right. This nephew has learned his lesson.”

The Wu Family and the Yin Family still had business dealings, so no one would completely tear off the veneer of civility. Chou Feiqian said no more, turned around, and sat down comfortably, feeling immensely satisfied.

'She was very satisfied with her son's performance today. For a woman like Han Ya, where even an extra glance was self-torture, ignoring her was indeed the correct approach. Moreover, she could see clearly that Wu Xuan was not like her one-track-minded son. He was proud and arrogant, and his heart was fickle. Whether this Han Ya could ultimately marry into the Wu Family was hard to say.'

As soon as Yu Zhen sat down, he immediately shrank into Yin Yan's arms. It wasn't that he wasn't being reserved, but he was truly cold. It felt as if all the coldness that had been suppressed by the Gift of the Mountain God was released at once, freezing him to the point of almost fainting.

“Eat it.”

Yin Yan held him and took out a brown pill, feeding it to his lips.

Yu Zhen quickly opened his mouth and swallowed it. Then, he ducked his head and buried himself completely in Yin Yan's embrace, unconsciously rubbing his forehead against his chest, trying to warm up his brain, which felt like it was about to shut down.

“Close your eyes, slow your breathing.”

Yin Yan raised a hand to hold his head steady. He also fed himself a pill, then lowered his head to look at him intently, observing his condition.

“Yin Yan and his lover seem to have a good relationship,” Wu Xuan said casually after sitting down.

Although he and Yin Yan had been love rivals before, they had never been enemies. Now that Yin Yan had found his other half and was no longer pestering his girlfriend, he was naturally willing to give the Yin Family some face, let bygones be bygones, and remain friends when they met in the future.

As the victor, he didn't like the drama of kicking a man when he was down. It was beneath him.

“I-is that so? That's great,” Han Ya replied with difficulty. Because she was sitting in the inner seat, she couldn't see what was happening with Yin Yan. She said in a low voice, “After all these years, he's finally found someone who can make him stay. My guilt has lessened a bit... I just don't know when he settled down. Before the car accident, he seemed to still...”

Wu Xuan paused at her words. He crossed his legs, rested his elbow on the armrest, and glanced at the silhouette of Yin Yan, who was faintly visible from the side facing the aisle, embracing someone. He said, “Maybe it was the car accident that made him commit to his current lover. Don't they say adversity reveals true feelings? And Yin Yan went through a major ordeal this time.”

For a moment, Han Ya couldn't tell if his words were a casual remark or held a deeper meaning. Reason told her she shouldn't continue talking about Yin Yan, but a strange sourness rising in her heart made her unable to resist saying, “But no matter the hardship, a person's orientation won't change. Yan's mother is so domineering, maybe Yan was forced...”

“But finally, there's no one clinging to you like a ghost, troubling you, putting you in a difficult position, making you feel pity. Isn't that great?”

Wu Xuan suddenly turned his head. The tenderness in his eyes was gone, replaced by a trace of impatience. He said, “Xiao Ya, a person's orientation might not change, but their feelings can. When you're in our circle, the most important thing is to be observant. Right now, Yin Yan wants to erase the embarrassing past of him chasing you. He's found a partner to marry and settle down with, so you should play dumb and cooperate. In the future, hang around in front of the couple less, to avoid provoking Yin Yan's lover's nerves and getting yourself into unnecessary trouble.”

Seeing that he was having one of his young master's tantrums and growing impatient, Han Ya bit her lip, lowered her head, and stopped talking.

Unlike Yin Yan, Wu Xuan did like her, but it was only 'like.' To him, he himself was the most important thing in the world. She could throw a small tantrum occasionally, but she couldn't keep making a scene.

'But what could she do? She liked him. In love, the one who falls first always loses.'

The plane took off, flying towards B City.

Mid-flight, Han Ya got up to go to the restroom. She slowed her pace slightly as she passed Yin Yan's row, but neither Yin Yan nor Yu Zhen paid any attention to who was passing in the aisle.

On her way back from the restroom, Han Ya was afraid of angering Wu Xuan, who had been watching her, so she only cast a brief glance in Yin Yan's direction. But that one glance nearly made her lose her composure and trip over herself.

“Hmph.” Chou Feiqian sneered.

Wu Xuan frowned in displeasure, feeling that Han Ya had truly embarrassed him today.

Han Ya steadied herself. Seeing that the other passengers around them were all looking over, she quickly averted her gaze and stiffly returned to her seat. Remembering the scene she had just witnessed—of Yin Yan secretly kissing the person in his arms—she couldn't help but grip her dress tightly.

'No, a person's orientation doesn't just change suddenly.'

'But just now, the way Yin Yan looked like he wanted to kiss the other person but restrained himself, hovering in front of them...'

She suddenly felt an emptiness in her heart, as if something that belonged to her had been snatched away, a weightless feeling like missing a step.