At this time, Yun Feiyang came in with a bottle of Huadiao wine and poured a small glass for everyone.
Just as Gu Youran was about to drink, her master gently held her wrist and said, "You can't drink much. Drink less."
"Master, you still remember," Gu Youran said with a smile, "When I was thirteen, I secretly drank your wine and ended up singing in the yard all night."
Yun Feiyang immediately responded, "Not only did you sing, you even hugged the pomegranate tree in the yard and said you wanted to marry it!"
Everyone laughed.
Shi Heng raised the corners of his lips slightly, reached out and gently pinched Gu Youran's rosy cheeks, his eyes so gentle that tears could drip out.
The master shook his head, his eyes filled with kindness. "You were only this tall back then," he gestured with his hands, "and you're already married now."
After saying this, he looked at Shi Heng deeply.
After dinner, the master said, "Shi Heng, how about playing a game with me?"
"It's my honor." Shi Heng nodded.
The two moved to the chess table in the living room.
Yun Feiyang quickly packed up the chessboard, and Gu Youran brought out the freshly brewed Longjing tea.
“Bang!”
Master's white piece landed firmly at the Tianyuan position.
He stroked his graying beard and said, "It's your turn."
Shi Heng held a black chess piece between his fingertips and slowly scanned the chessboard with his eyes.
He noticed that although his master's opening move seemed normal, it actually contained a murderous intent.
After a moment's contemplation, the black piece landed crisply on the upper right star position, just cutting off the white piece's potential retreat.
The master narrowed his eyes, "Young man, your chess moves are very aggressive."
"Master, thank you for your praise." Shi Heng said calmly.
The two of them moved back and forth, and the chessboard was soon filled with black and white pieces.
Shi Heng's attack was swift and fierce, while his master's defense was impenetrable.
Gu Youran was watching with her chin in her hand, fascinated, while Yun Feiyang was explaining in a low voice.
"Youbao," Shi Heng suddenly said, "Go ask Mark to bring the gift."
"Gift?" Gu Youran was stunned. "We didn't prepare any gifts."
"I asked Mark to bring it." Shi Heng said without even looking up, "A set of purple clay tea sets, and an inkstone for Senior Brother Yun."
The master winked at Yun Feiyang and said, "Feiyang, go and help."
After the two men left, the master's white piece fell heavily on the chessboard.
"I heard that you were checking that portrait?" The master's voice turned cold.
Shi Heng calmly placed a piece, "A painting from three hundred years ago is exactly the same as yours."
"There are so many similar people in this world." The master snorted coldly.
Shi Heng's black piece hovered above the chessboard, and he suddenly changed the subject, "Master, when you taught Youbao how to play chess... did you ever let her lose?"
The master raised his eyes, his amber pupils shrinking slightly under the light. "Why do you say that?"
"because--"
The black piece landed heavily, cutting off the white piece's last chance of survival. "I never let my woman lose."
On the chessboard, the white pieces were surrounded in an instant.
The master pinched a white piece with his skinny fingers and suddenly chuckled, "Youthful vigor is a good thing..."
The white piece broke in two in his palm, "But in some games, you have to lose to survive."
"Best of three." Shi Heng stood up, "Thank you."
The master slowly raised his head, "The more you know..."
He tapped the chessboard with his fingertips, and a crack spread silently. "The sooner you die."
Shi Heng narrowed his eyes and was about to respond.
"Master, look!" Gu Youran came in holding a gift box. "This tea set that Ah Heng picked out is so beautiful!"
Yun Feiyang followed closely behind, glanced at the broken white pieces and the cracks on the chessboard, and immediately interrupted with a smile.
"Junior sister, we are out of tea. Let's go to the warehouse and get some Longjing tea."
Gu Youran didn't reply, but blinked. "What's wrong? What were you talking about just now?"
The coldness on the master's face instantly dissipated, and he returned to a kind smile, "Nothing, Shi Heng is a good chess player, we had a very pleasant chat."
Shi Heng also smiled slightly and reached out to take the gift box from Gu Youran's arms. "Indeed, Master has taught me a lot."
Gu Youran looked at the two of them suspiciously, turned around and followed his senior brother out of the room.
The two left again.
"Shi Heng, you are very smart." The master slowly stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to him, "But there are some things that you cannot interfere with."
Shi Heng's expression remained unchanged. "What do you mean, Master?"
The master did not answer directly, but whispered: "You'er's wedding must be grand and glorious."
"Of course, I will give her the best."
The master turned around, his eyes dark, and said, "I hope you can protect her when the time comes."
This sentence sounds like a warning and also like a hint.
Shi Heng said, "Master seems to be very concerned about the wedding?"
At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the door, and Gu Youran walked in with a tea tray, "Master, the tea is ready!"
The master immediately smiled broadly, "The tea our You'er brews is soothing just by smelling it."
Gu Youran arranged the teacups one by one, handed them to the master first, and then held them to Shi Heng.
Shi Heng took it and gently rubbed the back of her hand with his fingertips, causing the tip of her ear to turn slightly red.
The master lowered his head and took a sip, but the smile on his lips did not reach his eyes.
"It's getting late," the master put down the teacup and said gently, "You'er, take Shiheng to your old room to rest. We can talk tomorrow."
Gu Youran nodded, took Shi Heng's hand and stood up, "Good night, Master!"
The two walked out of the room side by side, and the master stared at their backs in a daze.
Pushing open the door at the end of the corridor, Gu Youran turned on the light.
The room is not big, but it is clean and warm, and there are a few yellowed fairy tale books on the desk.
"This is the room I lived in when I was a child," Gu Youran said, a little embarrassed. "Maybe it's a little childish..."
Shi Heng's gaze swept across the stuffed bear by the window, the glass vase with dried flowers on the desk, and finally stopped at the photo on the bedside.
The little girl with pigtails was held high by her master. The sunlight filtered through the branches of the pomegranate tree, casting mottled shadows on them.
"Did your master teach you medical skills?" Shi Heng rubbed the edge of the photo with his thumb.
"Yeah!" Gu Youran hugged his waist from behind, pressing her cheek against his back. "When I was nine years old, I had a high fever. Master held me in his arms for three days and three nights..."
“At that time, I thought that I must become someone like my master.”
Shi Heng turned around and hugged her in his arms, "You are better than anyone else now."
Gu Youran suddenly broke free from his embrace and took out a quilt embroidered with pomegranate flowers from the closet.
Shi Heng pressed against her from behind, his chest pressed against her back, his warm breath spraying against her ear, "So virtuous?"
The tip of his nose brushed against her red earlobe, his lips almost touching the skin of her neck.
"Stop it..." She shrank her neck and tried to hide, but he grabbed her waist and pressed her into his arms.
Shi Heng buried his face in her shoulder and took a deep breath, "Let me recharge for a while."
There was a fatigue in his voice that he had never shown during the day, as if he had finally let down all his defenses.
Gu Youran softened her heart and leaned obediently in his arms.
The moonlight outside the window was like water, casting the overlapping shadows of the two people on the wall, making them so entangled that they could not be distinguished from each other.
"Heng..." she suddenly whispered, "Are you and Master... hiding something from me?"
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