Always beyond the friendship line
"Sir, you should explain things to Miss Su. If Miss Su dislikes even Tan Xi's identity, it will be difficult for you to get close to Miss Su in the future." Qian Jue made earnest suggestions.
Fu Xuechen's face changed, feeling that Qian Jue was really talking about things that were irrelevant, but he had to admit that Qian Jue had some truth in what he said.
…
Qi Jinqian lay in bed for some time before he recovered from the injuries he suffered that day.
Yin Han knelt respectfully beside the bed, "Master, are we really going to let Fu Xuechen go?"
Qi Jinqian clenched his fists, his eyes filled with hatred, yet he felt helpless. "So what if I don't let him go? Who has seen his face and can prove that he is Fu Xuechen?"
"Then the lady..."
"This traitorous woman actually followed Fu Xuechen shamelessly. Don't let me see her again, or I will torture her to death!" Qi Jinqian angrily threw all the things beside him at Yin Han.
…
Fu Xuechen sat in the pavilion waiting for Su Qingli until it got dark, and then she came back in small steps.
He immediately stood up and walked up to Su Qingli.
Su Qingli felt a little embarrassed when she saw him. She didn't know why he had such an inexplicable temper during the day.
How could she be so rude when Mr. Tan was so kind to her? Besides, he had done nothing wrong.
"Mr. Tan, I'm sorry. I was a little reckless today. I hope you don't take it to heart."
Hearing her say this, Fu Xuechen swallowed back the words of explanation he wanted to say.
How could she be jealous of Tan Xi? It seemed like she had misunderstood.
He smiled and said, "It's okay. I wonder if everything is going well for you in Zuichunlou?"
Su Qingli smiled and nodded, "I have known that nanny for a long time. She treated me very well and only let me serve two or three courtesans."
Serving two or three courtesans?
It must have been extremely hard.
Fu Xuechen pursed his lips, trying to say that she didn't have to work so hard.
Su Qingli obviously guessed what he was about to say and quickly interrupted him, "Mr. Tan, don't worry about me. I can't rely on you forever. Besides, eating your food and living your house these days is already quite a bother."
Fu Xuechen held his forehead and said with a wry smile: "You are always so polite to me."
"I support myself, there's nothing wrong with that." Su Qingli has long been accustomed to this kind of life.
Fu Xuechen stopped trying to persuade her. After all, he had secretly sent someone to protect her, so nothing would go wrong anyway.
The two gradually became silent, but Fu Xuechen was reluctant to leave. After all, they didn't spend much time together every day.
He racked his brains and came up with a topic, "I wonder what those courtesans are like? Did they criticize you?"
Su Qingli only heard the first half of the sentence and thought that he was asking her about the oiran and wanted to visit her again.
She felt extremely uncomfortable, but why did she feel this way?
It was obvious that she had never even seen Tan Xi's true appearance.
Thinking that the other person was Tan Xi, although Su Qingli didn't like this topic, she still said truthfully: "The Oiran ladies are all very beautiful. If Mr. Tan likes them, you can go and see them."
Fu Xuechen: "..."
The evening breeze swept across the courtyard, lifted a corner of Fu Xuechen's robe, and gently brushed Su Qingli's temples, which were deliberately painted with flowers.
There was a patch of mottled moonlight between the two of them, and neither of them spoke first.
Fu Xuechen's Adam's apple rolled a few times. "I'm not such a lustful person. I don't go to places like that often. If you don't like it, I won't go there in the future."
These words caused great waves in Su Qingli's heart.
He clearly said that he only considered himself a friend, so why did he always say things that went beyond the line?
"Mr. Tan, we are just friends. You don't have to do this for me." Su Qingli told him clearly not to say such ambiguous words anymore and let her misunderstand.
Her heart is very small, and if it accommodates one person, it will be hard to forget.
Just like Fu Xuechen, she was heartbroken and cried before she slowly let him go.
She didn't want to experience that kind of pain a second time.
Fu Xuechen only realized what was happening after he finished speaking, and couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.
He always forgets his identity as Tan Xi and always subconsciously speaks these words as Fu Xuechen.
"I mean..."
The powerful Prime Minister stuttered for the first time and didn't know how to make amends.
Su Qingli became more curious when she saw him hesitating, and she was very nervous.
Even if I tried my best to restrain myself, I couldn't hide my anticipation for what he would say next.
"You have a point. I crossed the line." Fu Xuechen sighed helplessly and swallowed back all the words in his mouth.
Su Qingli lowered her eyes in disappointment. After calming down her emotions, she raised them again. "If there is nothing else, I will go back and rest first. Mr. Tan, you should also go to bed early."
For the first time, Fu Xuechen felt the helplessness of having trouble expressing his suffering.
After working in Zuichunlou for a few days, Su Qingli finally found time to go home to visit her mother and brother.
Seeing Liu Pianran still in the mansion, Su Qingli was very surprised and asked directly, "Miss Liu has been out for so long, isn't her family worried?"
Su Zhaoming thought his sister was going to drive Liu Pianran away, so he quickly protected her and said, "Sister, didn't I tell you that you don't have to worry about this?"
Seeing this, Madam Su also advised: "Zhaoming is old enough to get married, why do you care so much?"
"I know, but it's not right to do this. If Miss Liu's family knew about it—" Su Qingli wanted to say something else.
Mrs. Su interrupted her abruptly, "It's good to know. This way, we can come and propose marriage."
Su Qingli glanced at Liu Pianran and Su Zhaoming, both of whom had a somewhat uncertain gaze.
She finally understood that these three people were probably hiding something from her.
Since they all treated her as an outsider, she didn't want to care about it anymore.
She has been too tired these years and it is time for her to live her own life.
Su Qingli stood up and said coldly: "If that's the case, then I won't care. But if anything happens in the future, I won't bother to intervene."
"How can you talk like that?" Mrs. Su was very shocked. Is this still her submissive daughter?
Seeing this, Su Zhaoming hurriedly tried to mediate, "Mother, my sister didn't mean it. Don't be angry. Don't worry about my sister's matter. I will take care of it."
Su Qingli glanced at Liu Pianran, only to see her hiding behind Su Zhaoming and giving her an apologetic look.
Su Qingli shook her head, feeling somewhat helpless, and turned to leave the mansion.
When Su Qingli returned to Tan Xi's residence, she saw him copying calligraphy in the middle of the pavilion, so she walked up to him.
The moonlight shone on the tip of his pen, drawing out silver-like ink marks.
"Mr. Tan, you are truly multi-talented." Su Qingli admired him inwardly.
Hearing her praising himself, Fu Xuechen couldn't help but smile.
In fact, he was just waiting for her to come back here, but he didn't want to do nothing, so he deliberately copied the calligraphy. Unexpectedly, he got her praise.
"If you like, I can copy a few calligraphy pieces for you." Fu Xuechen paused and said slowly, "Just keep them as a souvenir."
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