Chapter 106 City Streets 6

Chapter 106: City Streets 6

"Brother Liu, Qin Tongsheng is right outside. Aren't you going out?"

Ming Geer, who was helping out at the eatery, handed Liu Guyu a small, round, white pottery medicine jar, tilting his head to look at Liu Guyu, who was busy at the counter.

Liu Guyu glanced over, and Ming Geer quickly added, "Qin Tongsheng asked me to give this to you! Um... it's probably for the injury on your forehead, right?"

He then pointed at the slightly swollen bruise on Liu Guyu’s forehead.

"Thank you. You can get back to work now."

Liu Guyu nodded, feigning a busyness that left him no time to spare, and simply waved Ming Geer away.

Ming Geer nodded as well, picked up two bowls of prepared desserts, and went out to deliver them to a customer’s table.

Only after the other had left did Liu Guyu take a couple of steps forward, lift the curtain, and glance into the dining area.

Qin Rongshi sat by the window, wearing a dark red padded cloak, looking even more like a dashing young gentleman.

Seated on either side of him were Xie Baozhu and Li Anyuan, whom he hadn't seen in two years.

By winter, Eldest Young Master Xie was bundled up like a big furball.

True to his name, he was dressed lavishly, wearing a dark blue brocade robe with a rabbit fur collar, fur trim on the cuffs, and a furry hat adorned with a red gemstone.

Xie Baozhu’s name sounded like that of a young lady, yet he was the tallest and most robust of the three, with a healthy tan complexion. He loved to laugh and was an exceptionally handsome young man, though his outfit was quite mismatched.

Upon entering the eatery, the young master looked around furtively, then, like a thief, took off his hat and placed it on the corner of the table.

Qin Rongshi spoke bluntly, asking directly, "After two years apart, why do you look so shifty?"

Xie Baozhu glared at him.

Li Anyuan, sitting on the other side, chuckled. He took a sip of water while suppressing a smile before saying, "The New Year is almost here, and the academy will be on break in just two days. Baozhu’s mother has come to Fushui Town to take him home for the holidays."

"A mother always worries her son isn’t dressed warmly enough, so she specially dressed him up... Usually, Feicui is with him, and if he doesn’t wear these things, Feicui will report back. He’s guarding against the 'household spy.'"

After two years, Xie Baozhu and Li Anyuan seemed even closer, with Li Anyuan calling him "Baozhu" quite naturally.

Xie Baozhu pouted and grumbled, "What do you two know? This is all my mother’s love!"

With that, he pulled out a large, fluffy mass from his robe—it was clearly an orange cat that had grown into a chubby mound.

Xie Baozhu exclaimed, "Hey, take a look at my chubby little girl!"

He placed the cat on the table. Covered in golden orange fur, it was round and plump, with a fluffy face. It took two steps on the table, its belly wobbling with each move.

The cat circled the table once, then finally shoved its butt into Xie Baozhu’s hat, trying to stuff all four paws inside, though it was a bit of a struggle.

Li Anyuan hadn’t seen the cat in a long time either and was stunned for a moment before asking, "What have you been feeding her? She wasn’t this fat last time I saw her!"

Qin Rongshi was clearly much more tolerant of the plump cat. He withdrew his gaze from the kitchen, looked at the orange cat for a moment, and said, "Your daughter's living the good life."

Xie Baozhu: "..."

Xie Baozhu sighed, finally saying with a worried expression, "I was actually trying to make her lose weight! But this month, my mother came! Ah... anyway, the diet didn’t succeed! She’s even fatter now!"

Li Anyuan shook his head and sighed, "That's one heavy dose of motherly love."

The three chatted about the cat for a while before Xie Baozhu turned to Qin Rongshi again, laughing, "You’ve really changed a lot after being away! So? Where have you been these past two years? Hey... no offense, but Qin Rongshi, you’re not very considerate—you didn’t even write to us these past two years."

Qin Rongshi picked up a wooden spoon and scooped some honey-sweetened osmanthus steamed milk into his mouth. After a few bites, he said, "Didn’t I send you *Policy Questions* and *The Nine Classics of Mathematics* last month?"

Hearing this, Xie Baozhu glared at him and retorted irritably, "Letters! I meant letters!"

"The academy already gives us more homework than we can handle! You’re my classmate, not my teacher! Why are you sending me more problems?"

Li Anyuan, however, said, "I haven’t thanked Rong Shi for the books yet! That set of *Policy Questions* is brilliant and has been incredibly beneficial to me!"

Then he turned and glared at Xie Baozhu, leaning in to whisper, "And you’re complaining? Have you even finished reading that book? The exams are coming up next spring!"

Under Li Anyuan’s guidance, Xie Baozhu had finally earned his Student Scholar rank and was no longer the oldest repeater at Three Pines Academy.

But it had taken him many years to pass the Student Scholar exam, and the thought of taking the Xiucai exam made him anxious. He muttered, "Next year? I’m probably not ready, right? The teacher only said I should go and get a feel for it."

Li Anyuan said sternly, "If not next year, you can try again in three years. Don't sell yourself short!"

Xie Baozhu pouted and leaned closer to Qin Rongshi, whispering, "Look at him, Yuan Yuan is getting more and more strict! Even more rigid and severe than Master Qian at our academy!"

Li Anyuan glared at him again and said, "I heard that! I’m in it for the money! I can’t just take your silver and watch your studies stagnate, can I?"

Xie Baozhu clasped his hands in apology, "Yes, yes! You're right, Master Li, this student admits his mistake!"

After the two bickered for a bit, they quieted down, and Qin Rongshi finally found a moment to say, "That set of *Policy Questions* was put together by the teacher himself. I just copied a version to send to you. Brother Xie really should take a closer look."

Xie Baozhu’s eyes widened in surprise, and he whispered, "The teacher? You mean Head Lü? Hey, then I really should study it more! So it was written by the academy head... No wonder I couldn’t understand it."

Li Anyuan sighed.

The old friends chatted for a long time before finally parting ways.

Xie Baozhu said King was hungry and needed to be fed. Li Anyuan said he needed to go to the bookstore to buy a copy of the *Three Character Classic*. His young nephew was six years old, the right age to begin his schooling, and he planned to teach him some characters during the New Year break.

Qin Rongshi stood up and personally walked his two friends out of the eatery. When he turned back, he saw Ming Geer clearing the table. Soon, new customers came in and found empty seats.

Qin Rongshi quickly walked over and said to Ming Geer, "I’ll handle this. You go attend to the customers."

Ming Geer nodded hurriedly and went to greet the new arrivals.

Qin Rongshi glanced around briefly before turning back, picking up the stack of bowls and plates, and heading toward the kitchen.

"Have they left?"

Liu Guyu, who was kneading tea pastry dough, heard the noise but didn’t look up, assuming it was Ming Geer coming in. He immediately asked.

Qin Rongshi placed the bowls and plates into the large basin, which already held many unwashed dishes.

After a moment, he replied, "They just took off."

It was Qin Rongshi’s voice. Liu Guyu immediately looked up, nearly bumping into Qin Rongshi, who had leaned in close.

"You—why'd you sneak up on me?"

Liu Guyu leaned back, his eyes wide open, staring warily at Qin Rongshi.

Qin Rongshi didn’t answer, only studied the injury on Liu Guyu’s forehead. After a moment, he asked in a low voice, "Did you put the medicine on?"

Liu Guyu nodded.

Qin Rongshi didn’t speak again, nor did he step closer, much less repeat last night’s gestures of holding the back of his head or tilting his chin. Instead, once he got a clear look, he quickly withdrew, maintaining a polite and proper distance.

After asking, he sat back down on the small stool beside the wooden basin, rolled up his sleeves, and reached for the water.

"Hey! Wait a moment!"

Liu Guyu immediately called out, but it was too late. Qin Rongshi had already dipped both hands into the water, his right hand even gripping the scrubbing brush inside the basin.

Hearing Liu Guyu’s voice, Qin Rongshi looked up at him.

Liu Guyu sighed and smiled. "Your sleeves are so long—aren’t you afraid they’ll get wet?"

As he spoke, he turned and grabbed a long red cloth strip from the cabinet, then waved to Qin Rongshi and said, "Stand up."

Just by looking at the item in Liu Guyu’s hand, Qin Rongshi knew what he intended to do. He stood up without a word and stretched both dripping hands forward.

The long cloth strip was something Liu Guyu used himself as an arm strap. He had originally planned to hand it directly to Qin Rongshi and let him put it on himself, but to his surprise, the other had already silently extended his arms.

Liu Guyu gave him a side-eye, suspecting he was doing it on purpose.

But Qin Rongshi’s expression was calm and composed, as if he had no ulterior motives.

Liu Guyu studied him for another moment, then finally walked over to Qin Rongshi. He unfolded the vibrant red long cloth strip, tied it around Qin Rongshi’s arms, and fastened it behind his shoulders.

"Right hand… left hand…"

"Mhm, lower your head a bit more."

"Done."

The body that had been pressed close withdrew and moved away. Qin Rongshi also promptly averted his gaze from Liu Guyu, nodded solemnly, then tucked his robes aside and sat back down on the small stool. Picking up the brush, he began washing the bowls and plates.

Liu Guyu stayed quiet for only a short while before he couldn’t resist teasing, "Hey there, buddy, should I pay you wages?"

Qin Rongshi looked up at him and played along, replying, "Paid daily?"

Liu Guyu’s eyes darted around before he finally smiled and said, "How about I pay you in meals?"

At this, Qin Rongshi grew serious, pondering before asking, "Anything I want to eat? Can I choose freely?"

Liu Guyu nodded, but the next moment, he suddenly picked up a square piece of sugar pastry from the cutting board and brought it to Qin Rongshi’s lips, saying, "Want a taste? I just made it—it’s not even on the menu yet."

He crouched beside Qin Rongshi and fed him a piece of original milk-flavored snowflake crisp.

Qin Rongshi savored it carefully before asking, "Is this made with milk? The flavor is rich—it must be pretty pricey, right?"

Liu Guyu nodded, then stood up and selected a taro-flavored piece from the cutting board, continuing, "There are plenty of wealthy folks in town. My food stall caters to both ordinary people and the well-off! This one’s meant for the wealthy! Want to try this flavor?"

Slender, pale fingers extended before his eyes once more, the back of the hand dusted with two specks of flour. The nails were neatly trimmed, showing a healthy pale pink with faint white lunules imprinted on them.

Very attractive.

Even his hands were good-looking.

Qin Rongshi lowered his gaze and stared for a long time before finally leaning down to take the snow-white milk pastry between the fingers. His lips grazed the fingertips, a fleeting touch before he pulled away.

Liu Guyu withdrew his hand, and the next moment, he was spacing out at Qin Rongshi.

Qin Rongshi thought he was feeling that rare sense of shyness and embarrassment again, like yesterday, and would shut down again. For once, Qin Rongshi felt a strange, satisfied sense of victory.

But to his surprise, the next moment, Liu Guyu suddenly reached out with both hands, cupping Qin Rongshi’s cheeks left and right, then nodded and said in a tone full of pride, like a proud parent:

"As expected of someone I raised! You turned out so handsome!"