Shen Mengzhi sat upright behind the screen, calming his mind and quieting his breath.

This screen completely separated him from the others, dividing everyone into individual, soundproof cubicles. They could not hear each other's voices, and their senses grew dull.

This was the clever setup of the "Recognize the Sound" trial.

"Everyone, please choose one person to be the recognizer and one to be recognized. In this 'Recognize the Sound' trial, those being recognized are separated by screens and will not interfere with one another. The recognizers must walk along the corridor outside the screens, asking questions one room at a time. Without seeing their faces, only hearing their voices, you must identify your own companion from among these many cubicles to pass."

Yin Yu had explained this to everyone before the trial began. Shen Mengzhi had been sitting here for several rounds, and the questions from outside were of all sorts. Some asked him to recite poetry, some asked him to match couplets, and one, who was probably Qi Yu, asked him to shout a few curses for him to hear.

Shen Mengzhi wasn't one to do things half-heartedly, so he answered each question to the best of his ability, even cursing at Qi Yu with great earnestness.

After an unknown number of rounds, he still hadn't encountered the person he was waiting for, and couldn't help but wonder if Chu Jin had already come by.

'Could it be that he didn't recognize me?'

Shen Mengzhi zoned out for a moment, his mind replaying the words Chu Jin had said to him before the trial started.

He had been very unsure at the time, asking Chu Jin without much hope, "Do you have any confidence in winning?"

The other person answered honestly, "None."

Shen Mengzhi looked at him wordlessly. Although that was indeed the case, hearing him say it with such certainty was, surprisingly, a relief.

If it were him, he wouldn't be confident in finding Chu Jin in a sea of people by voice alone either.

He thought helplessly that it was just a game, after all. Winning or losing didn't matter, so there was no need to care so much.

"If we really lose, will you be disappointed?" Chu Jin asked suddenly.

Shen Mengzhi's mind was wandering, and he replied subconsciously, "No."

'I didn't have much hope to begin with, so how disappointed could I be.'

"Oh." Chu Jin asked again, "Then what if it's Qi Yu who doesn't recognize you?"

"..." Finally snapping back to reality, Shen Mengzhi glanced at him. "What does it have to do with him?"

The expression on Chu Jin's face was rather intriguing. He met his gaze for a long moment before saying quietly, "Senior Brother, I discovered long ago that you're best at saying one thing and meaning another."

Shen Mengzhi's heart skipped a beat, and a flustered feeling of being seen through instantly washed over him. He forced himself to remain calm and said, "I'm not."

He regretted it as soon as he said it. Looking up, he indeed saw Chu Jin's mischievous smile.

"Much of the time, what you feel is the opposite of what you say." Chu Jin paused mischievously. "'I'm not' means 'I am,' and 'I won't' means 'I will'."

Shen Mengzhi took a deep breath. "What are you trying to say?"

He knew Chu Jin had caught on to his weakness and wouldn't let it go easily, so he was prepared to deny it to his death.

However, the next second, Chu Jin unexpectedly leaned close to his ear and whispered, "With me, you don't have to live so tiredly."

Shen Mengzhi's eyes widened slightly as he looked up.

"You won't be disappointed." Chu Jin's lips curled up, and he winked at him. "I will do everything I can to find you, Senior Brother."

Shen Mengzhi's heart slowly settled.

He heard the light sound of a door at the end of the corridor; it seemed someone had entered.

The person walked at an unhurried pace. As they passed each cubicle, they would pause slightly and tap the screen three times with their fingers. Shen Mengzhi couldn't hear what question was asked, nor how the others answered. He only tilted his head to listen as the footsteps started again, drawing near.

The person stopped in front of him. A screen separated them, and their breathing was soft and shallow.

A light knock on the screen, three deep sounds.

He heard a voice, as clear as rinsing jade and cutting ice, its final tones lingering with a hint of a smile.

"Guess who I am?"

Shen Mengzhi was taken aback.

Clearly, the person outside was the one supposed to be doing the recognizing, yet he had the strange illusion that it was he who had to guess the identity of the person beyond the screen.

Shen Mengzhi was all too familiar with this voice and tone. The answer was on the tip of his tongue. He opened his mouth, but couldn't stop himself from laughing. It dawned on him then that this whole scene felt just like a children's game, and the thought of Chu Jin asking such a childish question with a straight face made him unable to hold back his amusement.

Shen Mengzhi stifled his laughter and said, "Chu Jin?"

Though it was a question, he used a tone of certainty.

There was a moment of silence from outside the screen, followed by a soft chuckle. As the laughter died down, Chu Jin seemed to have found his answer. He stopped moving forward, turned around, and walked back the way he came.

A short while later, Yin Yu came in and said, "Everyone, the 'Recognize the Sound' trial has ended. Please follow me to the front hall."

Hearing this, everyone pulled open their screens and came out. Someone said excitedly, "I've never tried this kind of game before, it's really refreshing."

Shen Mengzhi happened to run into Song Sifan and noticed his strange expression. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Song Sifan's expression was hard to describe as good or bad. He took a deep breath and said, "That guy Qi Yu... how on earth did he think of such a question..."

Thinking of Qi Yu's request to be cursed at, Shen Mengzhi was speechless.

"I cursed him out completely. If he still can't recognize me after that, it just means I'm usually too restrained," Song Sifan sneered.

"..."

The group pushed open the door and walked into the front hall. Seeing their companions, their feelings were mixed. Yin Yu took in everyone's expressions and smiled. "Everyone, the results of the first trial are out."

Everyone held their breath to hear her announce the results.

When he heard his name, Shen Mengzhi was walking over to Chu Jin's side. He couldn't help but ask, "Everyone else chose questions with many words, like poems or couplets. What were you thinking, trying to identify me with just two words?"

It was no wonder he asked. Compared to others, Chu Jin's question was completely arbitrary. Had anyone else been sitting behind that screen, they probably wouldn't have guessed correctly.

"The story of Lady Zhao's Three Recognitions of Mu Lian is certainly beautiful, but I've always had a question," Chu Jin said. "In this story, what role does Mu Lian play?"

Shen Mengzhi's eyes flickered, and he instantly understood his meaning. He smiled faintly and continued along Chu Jin's line of thought, "From beginning to end, it was always Lady Zhao who was giving, and Mu Lian who was evading. The two of them were not equals."

The world was moved only by Lady Zhao's obsession with finding Mu Lian, weaving their story into a beautiful tale, but they overlooked Mu Lian's actions.

If their roles were reversed, would Mu Lian have been able to recognize Lady Zhao?

Chu Jin looked at Shen Mengzhi and slowly curved his lips into a smile. "If I were Lady Zhao, I would want my 'Mu Lian' to recognize me from the very beginning."

When the story is stripped of the deified colors of popular retellings, a true so-called soulmate relationship can only be built on a foundation of equality.

This was why Chu Jin had asked such a question.

"You really are..." Shen Mengzhi said helplessly. "Were you so certain I would be able to call out your name? What if I had been wrong?"

Chu Jin actually thought about it seriously. "That wouldn't have mattered."

Because the moment he heard the voice from behind the screen, he knew that any clever tricks were superfluous. To him, Shen Mengzhi had always possessed a unique ability. The moment he spoke, even just a single syllable, the restlessness that had accumulated in his heart for years would quiet down. It was more effective than any panacea in the world.

"Besides, you weren't wrong."

Shen Mengzhi said calmly, "With such a sly and flippant tone, of course I wouldn't be wrong."

Chu Jin laughed in exasperation, then replied in an exceptionally "sly and flippant" tone, "Senior Brother is right to lecture me~"

Shen Mengzhi: "..."

By now, Yin Yu had finished announcing the results. She said seriously, "To the young masters who were victorious in the last trial, please follow me to the side hall. The game for this round is—'Recognize the Bone'."

Hearing this, everyone's expressions grew a little more serious.

"Mu Lian was disfigured, so Lady Zhao identified him by tracing his bones with her hand," Yin Yu said. "In this trial, you must all identify your partner's bone structure."

If recognizing voices was barely possible, then recognizing bones was practically a fantasy. None of them were Lady Zhao, able to remember the contours of another's bone structure without the slightest error.

"Recognize the bone?" Qi Yu was distraught. "I've never even touched Song Sifan's face in my life."

"..." Song Sifan said, "If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll beat your face swollen."

Before the trial began, the others had already paired up to familiarize themselves with each other. Song Sifan also closed his eyes with an expression of facing death and urged Qi Yu to start.

The scene was quite comical. The group of youths didn't know how to be gentle, and for a time, cries of pain were heard endlessly.

Chu Jin was immediately seized by a teasing mood and said casually, "Senior Brother, should we also familiarize ourselves ahead of time?"

He hadn't expected any kind of response at all; a cold glare and a firm rejection were more likely. But to his surprise, Shen Mengzhi glanced at him and said, "Alright," then closed his eyes.

After he closed his eyes, the noble and elegant aura around him intensified. His picturesque face was calm and peaceful, perfectly composed, without a trace of shyness or awkwardness.

'He agreed?' Chu Jin was stunned.

He knew Shen Mengzhi had never liked physical contact with others. He had only been teasing just now, never imagining things would turn out this way.

Logically, if his heart were pure, he would have nothing to feel awkward about. After all, this was just part of the game.

Chu Jin's gaze fell on the side of the jade-white face before him, and for the first time, he felt what it was like to be in an awkward predicament—one he had created himself.

The others beside them were going back and forth, you touching me and me touching you, snickering and finding it sappy. But the more they did so, the more frozen Chu Jin became, because he knew very well that he was different from them.

He wasn't pure enough.

Chu Jin suddenly chuckled and said pointedly, "Senior Brother, aren't you afraid I'll take advantage of you?"

Shen Mengzhi opened his eyes, his gaze clear and frank. "Why would you say that?"

He asked uncertainly, "Do you not have a sure way?"

Chu Jin stared at him for a long time, as if trying to discern a different expression on his face, but found nothing. After a while, as if unwilling to concede, he suddenly reached out, his hand heading straight for Shen Mengzhi's cheek.

The action was so sudden that Shen Mengzhi's pupils contracted. But he didn't dodge, subconsciously closing his eyes to hide the fleeting panic within them. Then, he felt a light breeze brush past his ear, carrying a deep, quiet scent of sandalwood. A hand gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, the movement extremely light, before withdrawing without any hesitation.

Shen Mengzhi opened his eyes in confusion, only to hear him say, "No."

"I don't need these preparations." Chu Jin's gaze landed on him, surging like a black tide. "I have a way to recognize you."

On the other side, Yin Yu was already calling everyone. "If you are all ready, please follow me."

The smile on Chu Jin's lips faded. He immediately retracted his gaze and said no more. His change in attitude was strange, making Shen Mengzhi feel slightly uneasy, but he didn't ask, slowly following the others out.

He suddenly felt a stickiness in his palms. Shen Mengzhi stared down in a daze, only to see that his hands had become damp with sweat at some point.

As Song Sifan passed by Shen Mengzhi, he saw his perturbed expression, as if he were in a daze, and asked in confusion, "Senior Brother?"

Shen Mengzhi came back to his senses, answered, and followed.

Seeing that he was heavy-hearted, Song Sifan asked in a low voice, "Senior Brother, what's wrong with you?"

He had been perfectly fine at the end of the first trial. How could he have changed so much in the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn?

Shen Mengzhi frowned, his gaze still fixed on his palms, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Song Sifan followed his gaze and was taken aback. "Why are your palms so sweaty?"

"Yes," Shen Mengzhi asked in a low voice. "Why?"

Why what? Why was he sweating? Song Sifan was completely baffled by his question.

He answered drily, "You're probably nervous. My palms also sweat when I get nervous."

Shen Mengzhi's breath caught.

He stared at his own hands for a long time before slowly curling his fingers into his palms.

'But I... why would I be nervous?'

'If my heart were truly open and without reservation, why would I have shut my eyes in a panic?'

'If I truly had no distracting thoughts, why would I be sweating so profusely?'

The author has something to say:

Chuchu: He's not even blushing or his heart racing, he definitely doesn't like me. Time to go dark.

(Just two people with mutual crushes who don't know about each other's feelings)

Next chapter, our "blackened" Heir is going to make his move, hehe.