Jing Yi hadn’t thought that he would be able to be even more embarrassed than he had been when he brought it up but hearing Peng Mu laugh, he felt even worse. He lowered his head in shame, even the tips of his ears burning. "I … I also told him that it was completely over-the-top!" Really, he still couldn’t believe that Qiu Ling had done something like that. Of course, people would think it was strange when it was brought up. There really was no reason to think anything else.

Peng Mu just continued to laugh but then reached over and patted Jing Yi’s shoulder. "Ah, don’t take it too harshly. It’s not that I am laughing at you. I just think that … that was an incredibly adorable way to go about this. Your fiance sure must’ve fallen hard when he saw you. You should be proud of that."

Jing Yi glanced up, a little unbelieving that Peng Mu would actually say something like this. "You … You don’t think it’s embarrassing?"

Peng Mu raised his brows. "Why would it be embarrassing?" He really looked puzzled when he said that. "Your fiance saw you and was sure at first sight that you were the right person for him. That’s … while being a bit unconventional, that is certainly a very good thing, isn’t it? He must be very devoted to you."

Jing Yi looked at him, slightly slack-jawed. This … How come Peng Mu was able to realize something like this as an outsider who hadn’t even met Qiu Ling while he had only been able to figure it out after several months of knowing Qiu Ling?

Peng Mu almost wanted to laugh again when he saw Jing Yi’s expression. "I guess you didn’t take it well, did you? Don’t worry. Since you’re engaged now, it obviously means that your fiance hasn’t given up that easily, right?

"That means that not only is he very sure in what he did right in that first moment, he’s also a dependable person you’ll be able to spend the rest of your life with. He isn’t somebody fickle that will give up at the slightest bit of disadvantages. He’ll persist if there’s something he really wants. That is very admirable, don’t you think so?"

Jing Yi leaned back and finally couldn’t help but nod. "I guess you’re right. I just … I had some trouble seeing that before. It … It makes me feel even worse thinking about how he is injured right now."

Peng Mu nodded. "I can imagine. Well, there’s nothing you can do about that. Just … maybe tell him these things when you get back. If you haven’t already, that is. I’m sure he would be very happy."

"I definitely will. I already swore that to myself when I realized. It’s strange but sometimes you only realize how important something is to you when it might be too late."

Peng Mu sighed and went back to work. "Yes, that really is the case. Life is like that sometimes. And then, it makes us question the things that we’ve done before. You can’t help but think that maybe if you had made a different decision, it wouldn’t hurt this badly."

Jing Yi stared at him with some surprise. "Big brother Peng Mu, what are you talking about? That does sound very serious."

Peng Mu paused in his movements and then sighed, shaking his head. "I really shouldn’t burden you with this."

Jing Yi hesitated for a moment but then inched closer to the table, putting on a determined expression. "Big brother Peng, I’ve burdened you with what happened with me and my fiance just now. And you gave me some really good advice. I might not have your experience with things and maybe there isn’t much I can do either but I would like to listen. Maybe talking about it will already help you."

Peng Mu looked at him with a strange expression but finally smiled. "Look at you! How old are you right now? You’re probably a decade younger than me but you’re actually already starting to sound so mature! I certainly wasn’t like that when I was your age."

"You’re making fun of me." Jing Yi still smiled back in good humor. He was obviously still lacking when compared to Peng Mu or even Qiu Ling who sometimes acted immaturely. But, well, that wasn’t the issue right now. "Anyway, do you want to talk about it or not?"

Peng Mu sighed again but finally nodded. "Well, I guess it’s also not a problem to say it. Sooner or later, you’ll probably hear about some of that anyway if you keep staying here for a while."

Peng Mu looked down at the robe in his hand, his brows furrowed slightly. "Maybe you’ve actually heard about this but somebody had an accident around here a while ago. His name was Tai Chen. To be honest, I would consider him a friend.

"He was somebody I talked with a lot despite not having much in common. He was also quite a few years younger than me and he seemed a little gloomy sometimes. In fact, he was just taking things a bit too badly very often. If nothing happened, then he was a very happy child though.

"Anyway, that day, things hadn’t been going too well. Tai Chen dropped a bucket of water at the place where we were currently working, not only ruining the work I had just done but also soaking my clothes. The others ridiculed him for that and he just snapped. He yelled at them and then ran off when they got angry as well. Later that day … he turned up dead."