Chapter 4640 — Reuniting with Han Jingyi

"Lan'er, this is the dear friend I've told you about so many times. Those Foundation Establishment and Golden Core materials I brought to North Island last time—she was the one who prepared them all!" Ning Xuefei introduced with a beaming smile.

"I've known that for ages! She's not just your dear friend, Feifei—she's mine too. We've exchanged so many letters by now that we know each other inside out!" Shangguan Lan'er laughed and took the other girl's hand.

"Yes, yes, all dear friends—the three of us are one gang!" The three girls dissolved into laughter, thick as thieves.

"Lan'er, that..." another girl suddenly began, then faltered.

"That what?" Shangguan Lan'er eyed her with a teasing look, exchanging a glance with Ning Xuefei. They both knew what she wanted to say, but deliberately refused to say it for her.

"That... why hasn't he come yet..." the girl asked, blushing with shyness.

"He? Who exactly do you mean? There are lots of people who came with us this time, you know. If you don't say exactly who, I'm afraid I can't answer you." Shangguan Lan'er grinned mischievously.

"Exactly! If you don't say it outright, how would Lan'er know which one you're asking about?" Ning Xuefei joined in the teasing. Aside from her research into all sorts of things, this girl was utterly guileless—one rarely ever saw her blush or look bashful, so this chance was simply too precious to pass up.

"Brother Wei Zhao, of course..." the girl finally managed, face crimson.

"Oh, oh, so you were asking about our little junior brother! I have no idea—he said he was off to handle some paperwork, and who knows when he'll be done." Shangguan Lan'er's eyes suddenly darted about, and she turned to the little curly-furred bear. "How about this, Xiao Bai—go fetch our little junior brother and tell him there's a lovely girl here gazing at the door so wistfully she's about to turn into a stone waiting for her husband!"

"As if! I'm not turning into any stone!" The three girls promptly collapsed into another fit of giggling and horseplay.

Hearing this, the little curly-furred bear dragged out its signature weapon and trundled huffily toward the door—only to nearly leap out of its skin when it opened it. There stood Wei Zhao, stock-still as a wooden post, staring blankly into the room, his gaze drawn helplessly to a certain girl: none other than Han Jingyi, the one he had pined for day and night!

The women inside hadn't expected this either and froze on the spot. Their earlier romping had left them all a bit disheveled, and they hurriedly turned away to straighten their clothes.

"Brother Wei Zhao!" Han Jingyi cried, delighted and startled at once at the sight of him.

She had waited for this day a long, long time—especially after learning that Wei Zhao would be leading the mission to West Island. She had been so excited she couldn't sleep a wink all night, abandoning even the artificing and mechanism research that usually made her forget food and rest. Day after day she had stayed with Ning Xuefei, the single thought in her heart being to see Wei Zhao as soon as possible.

Han Jingyi was merely thrilled, but Wei Zhao was utterly thunderstruck. Unlike her, he had had no warning at all—she had known he was coming and was prepared; he had not been prepared in the slightest. The wild joy struck too suddenly, and even with his temperament he could not digest it all at once. He could only stand there like a fool, staring like a fool at Han Jingyi.

"Jingjing isn't a stone waiting for her husband, but someone here has turned into a proper stone waiting for his wife!" Ning Xuefei covered her mouth and laughed.

"How long do you two plan to gaze at each other so soulfully, hmm? Shall we clear the room first—step outside and let you two look your fill?" Shangguan Lan'er chimed in, stirring up more mischief.

At these words, Han Jingyi's pretty face flushed an even deeper red, right down to the tips of her ears. That dainty, bashful look was positively entrancing—even Ning Xuefei and Shangguan Lan'er could not help feeling a pang of envy.

Wei Zhao sighed inwardly in admiration. After more than two years apart, Han Jingyi had not only grown ever more beautiful and alluring; even her manner had taken on a touch of maturity, with a charming, womanly sweetness. Compared to her old, pure, guileless self, her power to devastate a man had multiplied several times over.

Shaking off his daze, Wei Zhao strode abruptly up to Han Jingyi. Ignoring the astonished looks from Ning Xuefei and Shangguan Lan'er, he pulled her into his arms without a word. At such a moment, a thousand words and ten thousand speeches were worth less than one embrace.

Han Jingyi let out a startled little cry, but once she felt Wei Zhao's warmth and heartbeat, the faint, lingering distance that two years of separation had wrought melted away completely. Her pretty face pressed against his chest, she was brimming with happiness.

Ning Xuefei and Shangguan Lan'er watched from the side, eyes shining. They had imagined countless ways in which Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi might meet; every time they wrote to each other they discussed it, and they had even rehearsed countless versions of the two lovers' opening lines—yet never once had they imagined Wei Zhao would do this.

Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi had always been kindred spirits. At a time like this, there was truly no need to do anything or say any words of love—all of that would have been superfluous. A single embrace was enough to press their hearts tightly together, and that was enough.

How long the two held each other, no one could say. Ning Xuefei and Shangguan Lan'er had grown tired of watching before Wei Zhao finally, reluctantly, let Han Jingyi go. He could not help asking, "Jingjing, how do you come to be here?"

"Hehe, when I was teleported to Cloudstep Island, I landed right here! Then by a lucky coincidence I met Feifei and have been living with her ever since." Han Jingyi smiled sweetly.

"Oh, oh, that's good." Wei Zhao felt a surge of relief. Thank goodness Han Jingyi's lot had been far better than Tianchan's or Xueli's—otherwise, if she had fallen in with the wrong people, with her innocent, guileless nature she would have suffered untold hardships. He did not dare even to imagine such a scenario.

The purer and kinder a person, the more Heaven seems to favor them—this was what they called "fortune favors the fool." Unseen forces did seem to have a will of their own.

Wei Zhao looked at Han Jingyi, then at Ning Xuefei and Shangguan Lan'er standing nearby, and broke into a heartfelt smile.

Of course, he was not entertaining any sordid notions about the joys of having three beauties at once. He was simply happy from the bottom of his heart: because of Ning Xuefei, Han Jingyi had been spared all sorts of troubles, and because of Shangguan Lan'er, he had been able to reunite with Han Jingyi after so long apart. Was this not the will of Heaven?

"Brother Wei Zhao, Jingjing knows all about what you've been up to," Han Jingyi said suddenly, blinking her big eyes and pursing her lips in a smile.

"Hm?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback.

"What's so strange about that? There's Shangguan Lan'er, our little spy, to thank for it—she writes to us every few days to report on your doings. It's only this past year and a half, while you were away, that her letters have grown sparse." Ning Xuefei covered her mouth and laughed. R1152