Chapter 125 City Streets 25

Chapter 125: City Life 25

The two set off from the Dan River, passing by a household with osmanthus trees whose fragrance drifted for miles, intoxicating them.

They returned just in time for dinner and moon viewing.

The sun had set and the moon had risen, but daylight still lingered. A large, silver-white disc hung in the sky, like a white hole torn in the pale blue expanse.

Liu Guyu sat in the boat, gently swaying with the current. The soft river breeze made him drowsy.

*Drowsy.*

*Sleep.*

Qin Rongshi felt a sudden weight on his shoulder. Turning his head, he found Liu Guyu asleep, leaning against him.

Liu Guyu slept soundly, his eyelashes fluttering slightly, casting small, fan-shaped shadows beneath his eyelids. His lips occasionally twitched, the upper lip full and crimson, though a little dry.

He must have talked too much earlier; he needed some water.

Qin Rongshi thought this as he continued to observe him.

Suddenly, Liu Guyu stirred on his shoulder. He rubbed against Qin Rongshi a couple of times, then tilted his head to nestle into his neck. The lingering sunset had caught his eyes, almost waking him.

Qin Rongshi spotted an old palm-leaf fan discarded in the boat. He picked it up and used it to shield Liu Guyu’s face from the sun.

The boatman gave an oar stroke and turned to smile at Qin Rongshi. Having rowed for years, the old man’s straw hat couldn't fully protect him from the sun's constant rays. His skin was dark and weathered, his face etched with wrinkles that made his teeth appear especially white when he smiled.

He teased, "Sir, is this your husband? Ah, young couples these days are so affectionate!"

Qin Rongshi’s hand, holding the fan, twitched. He immediately turned to the boatman, who was still smiling, his wrinkles deepening.

Qin Rongshi neither refuted nor explained. Instead, he raised a hand, making a shushing gesture.

The old boatman chuckled with amusement, nodding and whispering, "Alright, alright, this old man won’t say another word. Wouldn’t want to disturb the young master."

After that, he fell silent, rowing steadily with his wooden oar. Fifteen minutes later, they glided into Fruit Lane with the current.

"Sir, we’ve arrived."

The old boatman turned to Qin Rongshi, still rowing.

Qin Rongshi nodded and gently patted Liu Guyu’s shoulder, saying softly, "We’re here. Time to get off."

Liu Guyu’s eyes snapped open. He forced a dry laugh and said, "So soon?"

As he spoke, he rubbed his sore neck and hopped off the boat ahead of Qin Rongshi.

Qin Rongshi frowned slightly and followed, asking as he walked, "You weren’t asleep?"

Liu Guyu rubbed his nose and looked up at the sky, replying, "I was asleep! Slept really well, even had a dream."

Right after he spoke, he stepped into a puddle.

Looking down, he realized the bluestone brick under his foot had loosened, and the accumulated water splashed everywhere, dirtying the top of his shoe.

Qin Rongshi pressed his lips together, suppressing a laugh. He stepped forward to stand beside Liu Guyu and asked softly, "Then did you dream of someone speaking near your ear?"

Liu Guyu: "...Was there? No... I don't think so."

Qin Rongshi chuckled lightly and nodded, then stepped ahead of Liu Guyu and entered their courtyard through the back door.

Liu Guyu followed behind, glaring at Qin Rongshi’s back and gritting his teeth.

Damn it!

What had he heard?!

Liu Guyu hadn’t been in deep sleep. With the boat rocking, the occasional breeze, and the dappled sunlight, how could he have slept soundly?

He had woken up when Qin Rongshi used the fan to block the sun. Just as he was about to open his eyes and sit up straight, he heard the old boatman’s voice. Startled, he didn’t dare open his eyes or stir, so he stiffly continued leaning on Qin Rongshi’s shoulder, pretending to be asleep. His neck had grown sore from the strain.

Husband?!

Young couple?!

And that brat didn’t even explain?!

Good-for-nothing! Little bastard! No sense of respect!

As he cursed inwardly, Qin Rongshi, who was walking ahead, held the door ajar and looked back at him, calling out, "Hurry up."

Liu Guyu: "...Oh."

Liu Guyu looked dazed, his eyes wide open but unseeing as he stumbled forward, bumping his head squarely against the door.

"Ow... ouch, that hurts."

Fortunately, Qin Rongshi reacted quickly, putting his hand against the door to cushion the impact, but Liu Guyu still collided with it.

His forehead turned red, and the back of Qin Rongshi’s hand reddened as well.

Qin Rongshi: "...What are you doing?"

Qin Rongshi frowned at him, then noticed Liu Guyu vigorously rubbing his reddened forehead, though his ears were even redder.

...So he had been awake earlier.

Qin Rongshi fell silent for a moment, his brows furrowed as he prepared to speak. "You..."

But before he could say more, Liu Guyu widened his eyes and charged forward, bumping into him and saying, "Not awake yet!"

Well, his head was certainly hard.

Qin Rongshi sighed as he watched Liu Guyu barging recklessly into the courtyard.

"You’re back? Did you hire anyone?"

Cui Lanfang’s voice came from inside the house, followed immediately by Liu Guyu’s reply.

"Found them, a married couple. In their thirties, seemed decent. We’ll try them out for now."

Cui Lanfang: "Good, good! Come inside! Wash your hands, and it’s time to eat! It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival today—I made mooncakes and rice cakes! Come in! Hey... where’s Erlang?"

Hearing this, Qin Rongshi sighed and entered the house, saying to Cui Lanfang, "Mother, I’m right here."

Cui Lanfang beamed at the sight of him and urged, "Come quickly, wash your hands and eat. Banban, set the table!"

"Alright! I’m setting it now!"

Before long, the whole family had settled at the table.

The redness on Liu Guyu's ears had finally faded, and he didn't dare sit next to Qin Rongshi. But with only four people in the family, if he didn't sit beside him, he'd have to sit directly across from him. Every time he looked up, their eyes would meet, and Qin Rongshi's dark, intense gaze seemed as if it could draw him in.

The redness that had just faded from his ears rushed back, burning hot.

He began to make conversation, poking the soft, white mochi in his bowl with his chopsticks, and asked, "Where did these mochi come from?"

Cui Lanfang quickly replied, "They were sent over by the Li family next door. Aunt Chen said it's a tradition in the city to eat mochi during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so their family made some today. It was their son's wife who brought them over... Goodness, that Li family daughter-in-law, her belly is so round and full—I can’t believe they let her go out alone!"

Sure enough, no sooner had she finished speaking than the front door was knocked.

"Aunt Cui, are you home?"

Cui Lanfang immediately put down her bowl and chopsticks, turning to the others. "That sounds like Li Youliang from the Li family, doesn't it?"

Li Youliang didn't visit often, so Cui Lanfang didn't know him well. But Qin Rongshi nodded and said, "It's him."

To be honest, Qin Rongshi never cared for Li Youliang.

For one, Qin Rongshi wasn't the type to easily get close to others. Back at Luming Academy, he had become friends with Xie Baozhu and Li Anyuan only because they happened to hit it off—finding another like-minded friend was rare.

Secondly, Li Youliang's personality simply didn't sit well with Qin Rongshi; the two were not on the same wavelength. Li Youliang was stuffy, rigid, spineless, and selfish—none of which Qin Rongshi found appealing.

Not long ago, the two of them had come across Yang Su at the academy. Yang Su was being bullied again, and Qin Rongshi couldn't bear to watch and wanted to intervene, but Li Youliang stopped him.

Li Youliang said, "The leader of that group is named Ceng Wei. His sister is the favorite concubine of the Tongzhi of Jiangzhou! We can't afford to provoke him! Instead of keeping your distance, you want to go make waves? Aren’t you afraid of bringing trouble upon yourself?"

"Do you know why they're targeting Yang Su? It’s because Yang Su stuck his nose where it didn't belong, just like you want to do now! He earned their hatred!"

"If you want to go, go alone. I’m not joining you! If you get into trouble, don’t say I didn’t warn you!"

After saying that, he took off, leaving Qin Rongshi to step forward alone.

Ceng Wei was indeed as arrogant and domineering as Li Youliang had described, but Qin Rongshi had been personally recommended to the academy by Dean Zhou and was the top scorer in the county exams. Ceng Wei didn’t dare to easily offend him.

After that incident, Qin Rongshi distanced himself from Li Youliang.

But Li Youliang had no shame. He kept tagging along with Qin Rongshi, even waiting outside his house early in the morning as if the two were close friends.

Qin Rongshi was annoyed, but his mother had recently grown close to Aunt Chen from the Li family. He didn’t want to make things difficult for his mother, and considering they were living away from home, he was glad she had found someone to talk to. He didn’t want to ruin the relationship and upset her.

True to her nature, Cui Lanfang went right to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Lucky, who had been lying quietly in his doghouse, sprang up and began barking fiercely at Li Youliang standing in the doorway.

"Woof woof woof!! Woof woof woof woof!!"

"Lucky! Lucky!"

Cui Lanfang called the dog off, then turned to Li Youliang with an apologetic look.

Li Youliang, startled, hid behind his wife and scolded, "This out-of-control animal! Auntie, you really ought to discipline it better!"

Sun Yueqin, with her large belly, almost lost her balance when he yanked her, but she quickly steadied herself against the wall, and Cui Lanfang reached out to support her.

Cui Lanfang was displeased but hadn’t yet spoken when Qin Banban spoke up first.

Banban first calmed the dog down, then frowned at Li Youliang and said, "Don’t you dare call our Lucky a beast!"

She had raised this dog since she brought it home from Lin Xingniang’s house, feeding it bowl by bowl. It was affectionate and protective, no different from family, and she loved it dearly.

Li Youliang’s face showed displeasure, but for some reason, he bit his tongue and said with a tight smile, "Young lady, you haven’t had much schooling, so you might not know that pigs, dogs, cows, and sheep are all considered livestock. I wasn’t wrong. If you don’t believe me, ask your brother."

Qin Banban had grown quick to retort. Before Qin Rongshi could even frown, she shot back, "I may not have read the classics, but I know there’s a distinction between men and women. Tell me, Scholar Li, which of the Four Books and Five Classics teaches an unfamiliar man to address an unmarried girl as 'little sister'?"

Li Youliang stammered, "Well, I... your brother and I are..."

Before he could finish, Qin Rongshi’s expression darkened, and he said sharply, "Watch your language, Li."

Li Youliang fell silent, his face growing darker.

Finally, he thrust the plate in his hand into Sun Yueqin’s grasp, gave a curt nod, and snorted, "I'll be going!"

With that, he turned and walked away without waiting for Sun Yueqin, leaving her standing there, not knowing whether to go after him or remain.

Cui Lanfang exclaimed, "Hey!"

Lucky, who had just been calmed by Qin Banban, seemed to sense the unfriendly atmosphere and arched his back again, showing his teeth with a menacing growl.

Cui Lanfang was upset by the whole scene but worried the dog might frighten Sun Yueqin, especially since she was pregnant and any mishap could be serious.

She moved to shield the dog, her smile strained. "Yueqin, what can we do for you?"

Sun Yueqin didn’t dare enter and was now too embarrassed to know how to respond.

She stammered an apology, "Auntie, I’m so sorry! My husband didn’t mean it—he was just startled and spoke without thinking! Please don’t take it to heart! And Miss Qin, please don't take it to heart!"

Qin Banban pouted unhappily but, seeing Sun Yueqin’s large belly, couldn’t bring herself to make things harder for her and pretended not to hear.

Sun Yueqin continued, "It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival today, and my mother-in-law made some mooncakes for your family to try."

Cui Lanfang felt uncomfortable and initially didn’t want to accept them, but she considered her close relationship with Chen Qiaoyun. Today’s incident was Li Youliang’s fault, but Chen Qiaoyun had meant well. Refusing the gift might make her overthink it.

She glanced again at Sun Yueqin, who was looking at her pleadingly, her belly swollen like a large watermelon. She stood with one hand supporting her back, clearly exhausted.

Seeming to sense Cui Lanfang’s dilemma, Liu Guyu spoke up.

He said, "Thank you for your kindness. We’ll accept the gift this time. But we’ve also made mooncakes today—why don’t you take some back to try as well?"

"Please don’t go to any more trouble in the future, with mochi or mooncakes. We appreciate the thought, but there’s no need to spend extra. The sentiment is enough."

Sun Yueqin seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if she had completed a difficult task. She nodded awkwardly at them, exchanged her plate of mooncakes for another, and, supporting her belly, returned to the neighboring house.