Chapter 24 Gu Qingxu eagerly presents the zither

Upon seeing Yi Mingyu emerge, Feng Rongrong quickly forgot about Gu Qingxu and rushed to greet him.

"Young Master Yi, this is a zither I specially brought for you." Feng Rongrong's eyes were charming, and a flattering smile played on her lips as she carefully presented the zither with both hands.

She had originally planned to come and find Yi Mingyu today, but upon hearing that he had forgotten his zither, she rushed home to fetch her own and brought it over. At this moment, she stared intently at Yi Mingyu, her face full of anticipation, eagerly awaiting his acceptance of the zither and his admiring glance.

Upon seeing Feng Rongrong's sudden appearance, Yi Mingyu felt a surge of displeasure. He had repeatedly warned her that outsiders were not allowed to enter or leave the Zhongshu Academy at will, and told her not to come again. Yet, he didn't know how she had learned that he hadn't brought his zither, and had even brought one this time.

The lesson wasn't finished yet; he had only caught a glimpse of Gu Qingxu outside the door and, feeling surprised, came out to check.

Upon seeing Feng Rongrong in his way, he took a small step aside, not taking the zither she offered. He was more curious about why Gu Qingxu was there—was she looking for someone, or was there another reason?

"Miss Gu." Yi Mingyu turned his head, his gaze fixed on Gu Qingxu, his voice gentle yet tinged with inquiry, and slowly asked, "Why are you here?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Rongrong didn't seem to care that Yi Mingyu hadn't taken her zither in time. Instead, a look of schadenfreude appeared on her face as she looked at Gu Qingxu.

Yes, outsiders are not allowed to enter the Imperial Academy. She wants to see what she has to say.

Gu Qingxu paused slightly, her mind racing. No wonder the story of delivering the zither sounded so familiar; wasn't she also sent by the Cheng family to deliver a zither?

Her gaze inadvertently fell on the zither that Feng Rongrong was holding, and a wrinkle appeared between her brows. She couldn't help but scoff. When did Gu Qingxu become like Feng Rongrong, eagerly coming to deliver a zither?

A sudden chill ran through her, and she felt a pang of annoyance. She pursed her lips, reluctant to reveal that she had also come to deliver a zither.

She was just about to make up a lie to get by when the boy who had led her in noticed Yi Mingyu coming out and quickly walked over.

"Yi Xueshi, a young lady just came to deliver a zither to you." The page boy said, and was about to go to the courtyard to fetch her, but in the blink of an eye he found Gu Qingxu standing to the side.

His eyes lit up, and he quickly added, "It's this young lady; she's here to deliver the zither."

Upon hearing this, Yi Mingyu was slightly taken aback. He looked at Gu Qingxu in disbelief, his eyes filled with doubt. He even wondered if the pageboy had mistaken him for someone else, finding it hard to believe that Gu Qingxu would come to deliver the zither to him.

Feeling Yi Mingyu's probing gaze upon her, Gu Qingsu felt unusually uncomfortable. Although Cheng Shi had sent her to deliver the zither, for some reason, she felt a strange sense of shame. She was very reluctant to admit that she, like Feng Rongrong, had come to deliver the zither.

Upon hearing that Gu Qingxu had also come to deliver a zither, Feng Rongrong, who had been watching the scene unfold, immediately felt a strong sense of crisis. Her gaze towards Gu Qingxu instantly filled with hostility, as if Gu Qingxu were a formidable rival in her pursuit of Yi Mingyu.

In this awkward atmosphere, Gu Qingxu couldn't help but flusteredly explain, her voice slightly hoarse, reaching Yi Mingyu's ears.

"It was Madam Yi who mentioned that you didn't bring your zither, so my mother asked me to bring it over."

His mother had indeed been getting very close to the Cheng family recently, but he hadn't expected them to send Gu Qingxu to deliver the zither.

Upon hearing this explanation, Yi Mingyu felt a slight pang of disappointment, as if something in his heart had been gently poked. His eyes dimmed involuntarily.

But he quickly came to his senses. She was Gu Qingxu. If it weren't for the fake agreement she made with him and being forced by her elders, how could she possibly condescend to give him a small zither?

Holding her zither, Feng Rongrong felt a surge of displeasure upon hearing that Gu Qingxu knew Yi Mingyu's mother, her brows furrowing tightly. She herself had never even met Yi Mingyu's mother, and a flicker of jealousy crossed her mind.

She quickly moved her zither forward and said eagerly, "Young Master Yi, please use mine. My zither is made of the finest wood and has an excellent tone."

At this moment, Yi Mingyu's mind was not on Feng Rongrong at all. He was somewhat dazed, and Feng Rongrong's words sounded particularly noisy to him.

He subconsciously took half a step back, creating some distance between himself and Feng Rongrong, and said in a calm tone, "No need."

As he spoke, he glanced at Gu Qingxu, who seemed detached from the matter, and said in a low voice, "I'll accept what Miss Gu sent."

Feng Rongrong's face flushed red and then turned pale after being suddenly rejected. Feeling embarrassed, she could only try to remain calm and speak up to smooth things over, attempting to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"That's true, after all, that's what you're used to using."

That was indeed the only way she could convince herself. She had followed Yi Mingyu for a long time and had never heard of any connection between him and Gu Qingsu. Now, they were attending a banquet together and he was giving her a zither, which inevitably made her suspicious.

Yi Mingyu did not respond to Feng Rongrong's kindness.

Seeing that Yi Mingyu ignored her, Feng Rongrong felt extremely uncomfortable. Not wanting to lose face in front of Gu Qingsu and be laughed at, she quickly made an excuse and hurriedly turned and left.

Seeing Feng Rongrong leave angrily, Gu Qingxu subconsciously made way for her. Just as she was about to turn and leave herself, Yi Mingyu suddenly walked towards her.

"May I ask, Miss Gu, where is my zither?" Yi Mingyu stood steadily in front of Gu Qingxu and asked slowly, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

Gu Qingxu was momentarily stunned, then suddenly remembered that Qin and Ruan Xingzhu were still in that small courtyard.

The long willow vines fell down. Ruan Xingzhu sat for a long time, and seeing that Gu Qingxu had not returned for a long time, she was afraid that Gu Qingxu had forgotten her, so she got up and decided to go and look for Gu Qingxu.

But before he could take two steps, a page blocked his way.

"Who are you? Don't you know that one cannot enter or leave the Imperial Academy at will?" The page boy asked seriously, his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with hostility.

Ruan Xingzhu was momentarily at a loss, wishing she had just sat there quietly. Just as she was about to awkwardly explain, a steady voice suddenly came from behind her.

"I brought her with me."

Ruan Xingzhu quickly turned around and looked at him with a surprised expression. Why was he here?

Liang Yejing, dressed in a moon-white robe, walked slowly with unhurried steps. He exuded an air of refinement and said gently to the page, "She was brought by me. I didn't inform her in advance, which led to some misunderstanding."

Seeing that Liang Yejing had said this, the pageboy didn't know what else to say, so he simply nodded and turned to leave.

Ruan Xingzhu really couldn't understand why Liang Yejing would appear here, and even help her.

"Miss, are you lost?" Liang Yejing had just seen a pageboy lead her and another girl in, and now that he saw her alone, he couldn't help but ask with concern.

"I..." Ruan Xingzhu was about to answer when she heard Gu Qingxu's voice.

Gu Qingxu rushed over and saw that Ruan Xingzhu was still there, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, when she saw a strange man standing next to Ruan Xingzhu, and the two seemed to be talking, she couldn't help but feel suspicious.

"What is this...?" Gu Qingxu asked.

Upon hearing her speak, Yi Mingyu quickly stepped forward and introduced her, "This is Master Liang Yejing of the Central Academy."

Ruan Xingzhu was surprised to learn his name, as she had not expected that he and Yi Mingyu were both from the same academy and were colleagues.

Upon hearing Yi Mingyu's introduction, Gu Qingxu nodded slightly, only then suddenly remembering the zither.

"Xingzhu, where's the zither?" She looked at Ruan Xingzhu, her eyes filled with anxiety.

"It was in that little courtyard just now," Ruan Xingzhu quickly replied.

Gu Qingxu hurriedly walked to the courtyard, picked up the zither, and handed it to Yi Mingyu. For some reason, Yi Mingyu suddenly didn't want to take the zither. He could clearly feel Gu Qingxu's urgency, as if she would turn around and leave immediately if he handed the zither to her.

"Take it!" Gu Qingxu urged him when she saw that he hadn't reached out to take the instrument. The instrument was quite large, and her arms were getting sore from holding it.

Urged on by Gu Qingsu, Yi Mingyu seemed startled and hesitated, so he quickly and obediently took the zither.

He bowed slightly and said aloud, "Thank you, Miss Gu."

Gu Qingxu did not respond. She had been reluctant to deliver the zither in the first place, so she didn't feel anything about the thanks.

"Thank you so much for picking up my purse that day," Ruan Xingzhu said after hesitating for a long time.

Liang Yejing was surprised that Ruan Xingzhu still remembered him. Just as he was about to respond, he saw Gu Qingxu and Yi Mingyu return with the zither.

"Let's go, Xingzhu," Gu Qingxu called out.

Ruan Xingzhu glanced at Liang Yejing and quickly jogged to catch up with Gu Qingsu.

Watching Gu Qingsu leave without looking back, Yi Mingyu held his zither, his eyes somewhat vacant, his thoughts drifting away.

Suddenly, Liang Yejing spoke up, interrupting his thoughts: "What's that girl's name?"

Yi Mingyu snapped to attention, his heart tightening as if he had sensed something. He narrowed his eyes at Liang Yejing and asked warily, "Why are you asking a girl's name?"

Liang Yejing was taken aback by Yi Mingyu's gaze, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face.

Yi Mingyu instantly realized he was behaving too strangely, so he reluctantly began, "Her name is... Gu Qingsu, from the Gu family..."

Just as he was about to say that Gu Qingxu was the fifth young lady of the Gu family, Liang Yejing suddenly interrupted him.

"Didn't that girl just call her Xingzhu?" Liang Yejing asked suspiciously. Could it be her nickname?

Yi Mingyu paused slightly before realizing that he was asking about Ruan Xingzhu.

The hint of reluctance in his eyes vanished instantly, and he quickly changed the subject, saying, "Her surname is Ruan, and her name is Ruan Xingzhu."

Only then did Liang Yejing learn her name: Ruan Xingzhu.