The White Moonlight Disdained by the Male Protagonist of Redemption - Chapter 19.5

Feng Jingzhuo had just finished fixing the broken door. He patched up the damaged spots and touched up the paint.

It was over a hundred years old, that door—no matter how well he repaired it, it still looked worn. Honestly, they had enough savings now to renovate a few houses. The library, especially, was just a thatched roof, fragile and thin.

Grandmaster loved his books. That room should be the first they rebuild. He’d talk to Yao Yao about it later.

Feng Jingzhuo was still thinking about it as he picked up the scattered tools on the ground and placed them one by one back into the wooden box. He grabbed the edge of the door and gave it a little shake. It was sturdy now. Then he pulled it open.

Outside, Ning Yao was sitting on the steps. When she heard the noise, she turned around and gave him a smile.

The sun was nearly gone, just a thin band of golden light left on the horizon. And somehow, all the warmth in the world had landed on her alone.

At that moment, Feng Jingzhuo suddenly understood that phrase from the books: a life without regrets.

He walked over and sat beside her, propping up his chin with one hand to look at her.

Ning Yao said “What are you staring at?”

He wanted to say, When I see you, I just can’t look away.
But that sounded like something a flirt would say. And his Yao Yao—his moon on the mountain—he couldn’t cheapen her with words like that.

So instead, he rubbed his hands a little and asked gently, “Yao Yao, what are you doing here? ”

Ning Yao thought about it. Came to help you fix the door.”

Feng Jingzhuo laughed.

Ning Yao bumped into him. “What’s so funny?”

He said, “You’re coming to help me—of course I’m happy.”

Yeah, right. He was clearly laughing at her.

Then Feng Jingzhuo reached out, pulled Ning Yao into his arms, and held her tight. His chin rested gently on the top of her head.

“Yao Yao, let’s build Grandmaster a new room—for his books.”

Ning Yao said,

“Sure.”

Feng Jingzhuo added, “We’ve also got to build Yuzhu a room. He’s been nagging forever about having his own space.”

Ning Yao agreed right away: “Let’s build it for him. That way he won’t get jealous seeing the books have a new place and keep bugging me all day.”

Then Feng Jingzhuo said,
“Sister Tu said there’s this really pretty new style of hairpin out there—made of pure gold, with fine little tassels hanging down. I want to buy one for each of you girls. What do you think?”

Ning Yao hesitated.

“Hmm…”

Feng Jingzhuo lowered his voice. “Come on, let’s buy them. You two are the only young ladies on this mountain.”

Ning Yao pulled away from his arms a little. “But how do we even have the money for gold hairpins?”

Feng Jingzhuo pulled her right back. “We’ve got enough.”

Ning Yao still looked unsure. “Feels like a waste…”

If she said it was a waste, that meant she liked it—just couldn’t bring herself to spend the money. Feng Jingzhuo smiled and whispered,

“It’s not a waste. You’ll look beautiful in it. Just give me a little more time—it won’t be long. One day, you’ll be able to buy anything you like, whenever you want.”

Ning Yao suddenly came back to“ herself—“Give it more time? ”

But… they didn’t have more time.

She looked up at Feng Jingzhuo. “Jingzhuo, let’s get married tomorrow.”

“…Huh?” Feng Jingzhuo froze. “What?”

“Tomorrow.” Ning Yao leaned closer, whispering by his ear. “I already had them set up the wedding hall.”

Feng Jingzhuo looked flustered. “But… I haven’t prepared anything…”

Ning Yao blinked. “What do you need to prepare? ”

Marriage wasn’t some tiny matter. Feng Jingzhuo started listing:
“The whole mountain needs to be redone—we can’t have you getting married in a place full of holes. We also need more assets. What we have now still isn’t enough. And the betrothal gifts—I can’t offer you anything too shabby…”

Ning Yao asked, “What if I don’t have a dowry?”

Feng Jingzhuo answered,
“How could you not? I’ll prepare both your dowry and the betrothal gifts. I’ll make sure you have everything.”

Ning Yao blinked again and gave a soft, “Oh.”

There was something too deep in his eyes—too heavy in his words. She couldn’t quite see through him, and she didn’t like the tightness that filled her chest, like it was hard to breathe.

It was uncomfortable, and she didn’t like being uncomfortable. She just wanted to feel okay again.

So she looped her arm through his and smiled—sunny, sweet, dangerously sweet.
“Oh no, no way. Every mountain leader has lived simply—we can’t go spending wildly now. Our ancestors wouldn’t be pleased. And hey, my dad’s still in their hands, remember? ”

She leaned close, that smile like soft poison.
“No need for all the glitz. We’re not inviting outsiders. Just the few of us on the mountain. I’m the Mountain Lord, you’re the Lord’s husband—that’s already grand enough. Why bother with the fluff? Let’s skip it.”

She even brought the ancestors out. Feng Jingzhuo had no argument left. She had a point—you couldn’t outshine the ones who came before.

But still, he looked guilty. “I haven’t done anything for you yet…”

Before he could finish, Ning Yao clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Oh, come on. Is marriage really about all that? It’s not! I like you, you like me—isn’t that enough?”

She added, “Even if it was about all that—things are better now, and the money we have? All earned by you. How is that ‘doing nothing’? ”

Feng Jingzhuo sighed.

She gave him a home. She gave him love. She freed him from that cursed Bone Binding Lock. She was the one girl he could pour everything into and still feel it wasn’t enough.

He pulled her into his arms. In his heart, a dozen thoughts warred—agreeing felt like he was giving her too little; but refusing… he couldn’t bear to see her disappointed.

While he hesitated, she said:
“Hey, why are you still hesitant? If you were a real man, you’d already be spinning me around and kissing me like crazy! My brother-in-law would’ve done that by now!”

“The Grandmaster already picked the date. The others set up the wedding hall. Now imagine—the groom backs out last minute? I’m the Mountain Lord! What about my reputation?”

Feng Jingzhuo couldn’t help laughing through his exasperation.
“How am I backing out? I never said that!”

And what’s this comparison to her brother-in-law about?! Just because he didn’t do the spin-and-kiss routine?

He wanted to defend himself:
“What kind of groom only finds out twelve hours before the wedding that he’s getting married?!”

But Ning Yao looked proud: “Mine does.”

He really had no way to win with her.

Before he even realized, he was already gently brushing her hair aside and whispering:

“…Okay.”

Ning Yao beamed. “See, that’s more like it. You’re going to be the Mountain Lord’s husband now—excited?”

Feng Jingzhuo just smiled. The smile even creased the corners of his eyes.

Ning Yao stared at him, her own smile stretching all the way to her brows and her eyes. She almost couldn’t remember how he looked in the beginning—half-alive, half-dead.

She reached out, cupped his face in both hands, and gave his cheeks a little squeeze to hold the smile in place.
“Zhuo’er, you have to keep smiling like this, okay? It suits you. It’s beautiful. Promise me.”

Feng Jingzhuo placed his hand gently over hers. His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried weight.

“…Okay.”

***

The next day, around noon, Ning Yao started getting ready.

At first, she didn’t want to go through all the fuss. But everyone around her had opinions—
“Come on, at least dress up a little; it’s still a wedding.”
“Even if you can’t do it, we’re here to help.”
“Lazy has its limits, you know…”

Fine. Dress up it is.

Ning Yao really didn’t know how to do her hair. And since braiding didn’t help you cultivate, she never bothered learning. Someone else had to do it for her.

Ning Yuzhu, knowing she was hopeless at it, volunteered to doll up the bride himself—
But after just two suspicious looks from Tu Manxing, and one deeply wounding question from Ning Yao—
“You? Are you sure you can do it?”
—his fragile pride broke on the spot, and he stormed off to find Feng Jingzhuo.

That left Ning Yao and Tu Manxing alone in the room.

Tu Manxing held a comb in one hand. “So, got any ideas? Any look you want? ”

Ning Yao sat with her feet on the edge of the chair, hugging her knees. She waved a hand.

“Nope. Just do whatever. As long as it looks okay.”

Tu Manxing looked at her through the mirror, grabbed her collar, and straightened her up.

“Sit properly. Legs down. No slouching. There—that’s better.”

What a pretty face. A natural red mole between her brows. Even in her worn-old robes, she glowed. Sitting there in silence, she looked like a painting—like a merciful goddess from a shrine.

Tu Manxing was pleased. “Okay, don’t talk. You ruin the vibe the moment you open your mouth. Let me concentrate.”

Ning Yao asked, “What if I want to talk? Can I go ‘mm-mm-mm’ to signal stuff? Or like, cluck? ”

Tu Manxing shut her down cold: “Zip it.”

She had quick and clever hands. And Ning Yao had smooth, soft hair—easy to work with. In no time, a graceful, elegant hairstyle came together under her fingers.

The odd part was—Ning Yao actually stayed quiet the entire time.

That wasn’t like her at all. Could she really behave this well? Tu Manxing glanced at her through the mirror. Ning Yao sat silently, gaze lowered, hands in her lap.

Staring at her own fingers.

Thinking about… something.