Chapter 16 The Petite Young Man and the Cold Beauty "Girl, your big guy..."
Li Yaoguang secretly glanced at Gu Shanyue's reaction out of the corner of his eye, and seeing that she was quite pleased with herself, he chuckled.
“I knew it. You’re different from those old-fashioned men. Men go to brothels to do business and socialize. Why is it improper for me to indulge in pleasure? I dare admit that I’m addicted to men. Aren’t I better than those hypocritical scoundrels?”
Gu Shanyue thought about it for a moment, following her logic, and agreed, "You're right."
“That’s right, I knew you understood me,” Li Yaoguang slapped his thigh with delight and called out, “Come on, come on, feed me some good wine and food, where’s Nanxing? It took you so long to change your clothes? Come up and sing!”
Look at her, it's like she's never had anyone to play with before, and now that someone has accepted her, she can't wait to share all her toys with her new friend.
Nanxing finally made her grand entrance, dressed in a costume with heavy makeup, making her eyes appear even more expressive, each glance captivating.
As the drums sounded and the singing was melodious, Li Yaoguang, with women on his left and right, listened with a broad smile.
Perhaps out of gratitude for Gu Shanyue's rescue, or perhaps for some other reason, Nanxing kept glancing at Gu Shanyue, intentionally or unintentionally.
Gu Shanyue also kept staring at him, but compared to Li Yaoguang's bewitching and sneaky way of touching the handsome young man's hand, Gu Shanyue only glanced at him a few more times, which was quite upright.
As Nanxing sang, she stepped closer, her water sleeves fluttering like blooming flowers, a breathtaking sight.
Gu Shanyue was admiring the scene intently when, unexpectedly, Nanxing stumbled and fell towards her with a cry of "Ah!"
She was quick and agile. She wanted to dodge, but there were two delicate young boys sitting next to her. Gu Shanyue was afraid that Nanxing would be crushed, so she had no choice but to reach out and calmly catch him.
Water sleeves fluttered and fell around the two of them, fluttering down like snowflakes.
Nanxing, with her gentle, watery eyes, said in a soft, feminine voice, "Thank you, young lady, for saving my life..."
Gu Shanyue got goosebumps listening to this: "You..."
Just then, there was a creaking sound.
Gu Shanyue turned around, and the young man was still feeding her wine: "Girl, drink up~"
Gu Shanyue pushed the boy's hand away and then saw Qi Baitong standing in front of the window. The anxiety on his face had not yet faded, and he was carrying several food boxes in his hands, with sweat on his forehead.
The two looked at each other and were both taken aback.
Qi Baitong's gaze slid inch by inch from the young man in Gu Shanyue's arms and the boy beside him, before finally settling back on Gu Shanyue's face.
"The girl was hiding in a world of gentle pleasures; it was easy to find her."
Gu Shanyue felt unusually guilty. She had promised to wait for him on the rooftop, but she not only changed the location but also forgot about Qi Baitong.
"You've been looking for me for a long time, haven't you?" Gu Shanyue waved to him, "Come and rest for a while."
Qi Baitong stared at her for a while, then walked over carrying the food box.
He was dressed in black, with a cold and stern face, which didn't quite match the luxurious and magnificent building, and was even more different in temperament from the supple young actress.
He stopped in front of the small table and looked down at Gu Shanyue.
Gu Shanyue looked embarrassed and pointed to the side: "Sit."
Qi Baitong's gaze remained fixed on Gu Shanyue's eyes: "Where should I sit?"
“You…” Gu Shanyue looked around. There were two boys around her, and there was indeed no room for Qi Baitong.
Nanxing was still nestled in her arms, her eyes sparkling as she looked over. When she met Qi Baitong's cold gaze, she trembled slightly: "Miss, your big guy is so fierce."
Gu Shanyue: "Hmm?"
She lowered her head, and Qi Baitong's eyes grew even more serious. He called out to Gu Shanyue, "Miss, where should I sit?"
"Please sit down..."
"Miss, did I sing well just now?"
"Singing..."
"Young lady, would you like some more of this congee and side dishes?"
"I'll eat..."
"Miss, I..."
"Girl, I..."
Gu Shanyue: "..."
She felt as if two ducks were quacking in her ear, which was incredibly annoying.
Gu Shanyue slammed her hand on the table: "Alright, all of you shut up."
Qi Baitong and Nan Xing fell silent, both looking at her with eyes that seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words.
Li Yaoguang, who had been watching the whole thing from the opposite side, burst into laughter without any restraint.
"Even you have moments of dilemma. It seems you're quite strict with your pet at home, since it's followed you all the way here?"
She spoke in a teasing tone, pointing her fan at the two of them.
Gu Shanyue clicked her tongue, completely missing the point of the sentence, and raised her chin, saying, "Who can control me?"
Qi Baitong remained silent, showing no change in expression even when called a pet, and did not even utter a word of denial.
Li Yaoguang found it amusing and chuckled, "You just stood up for Nanxing, and I thought you liked delicate, handsome young men. I didn't expect you to have a cold beauty with broad shoulders and a narrow waist at home. Which one do you prefer?"
Gu Shanyue matched "a handsome young man with a slender willow in the wind" with Nanxing, and "a cold beauty with broad shoulders and a narrow waist" with Qi Baitong.
After a brief consideration, she said, "I'd rather be the cold beauty; I don't like people who talk too much."
Nanxing's eyes dimmed instantly in her arms, and she said with a wronged tone, "I'm an actress, and I sing opera. Does that count as talking too much?"
Qi Baitong's cold expression softened slightly, and he glanced indifferently at Nanxing.
Li Yaoguang covered his mouth with a fan and laughed silently.
Who would have thought that she would actually get to see gossip about Gu Shanyue in her lifetime?
She thought that someone like Gu Shanyue would spend his whole life wandering the world alone with his sword.
Gu Shanyue looked down, and was hit by the strong scent of perfume. She waved her hand in front of her and said to Nanxing, "You smell too strong, it's pungent."
Before he finished speaking, Nanxing's expression changed slightly.
Qi Baitong had already reached out his large hand, grabbed Nanxing by the collar, pulled him out of Gu Shanyue's arms, and threw him aside, his movements rude.
Nanxing tripped and fell on her backside, and was helped up by the young man who was serving her drinks, her flower crown askew.
He gritted his teeth and forced out a layer of tears, but Gu Shanyue's attention was not on him at all, and she did not see his tears.
Li Yaoguang waved her fan at him and said, "Alright, go back to your opera."
Even she could tell that Gu Shanyue cared more about the cold beauty in black than about Nanxing.
One of the three handsome men who were with Gu Shanyue left, leaving two on either side of her, one holding a wine glass and the other feeding her.
With a soft, sweet voice, the inexperienced young man pressed his waist against Gu Shanyue.
Gu Shanyue, however, did not find it offensive.
Qi Baitong noticed this and stopped talking. He sat down at Gu Shanyue's small table, opened the food box, and laid out the food he had bought one by one. There was not only the promised congee, side dishes, soup noodles, and warm milk, but also pastries and snacks.
"These are all from the same store. I thought you liked the taste of this store, so I bought more for you to try and see if there's anything else you like."
On stage, Nanxing's singing was as melodious as a nightingale's, while Qi Baitong's voice was deep, steady, and magnetic, resonating in the ears.
Gu Shanyue's attention fell on the side dish in Qi Baitong's hand.
Just as Qi Baitong was about to hand the chopsticks to Gu Shanyue, she saw the green-clad boy beside her staring expectantly, the chopsticks already outstretched, probably about to pick up a pastry and feed it to Gu Shanyue in the next instant.
The moment the boy's chopsticks fell, Qi Baitong quickly moved the pastry away, causing him to miss his target.
These people have dubious origins; do they even deserve to personally feed Gu Shanyue?
Qi Baitong put away her chopsticks, picked up a pastry, and fed it to Gu Shanyue's lips: "Here."
Gu Shanyue opened her mouth and ate it, her eyes lighting up: "It's osmanthus flavored, so sweet."
"It's osmanthus cheese, a new autumn pastry. If you like it, I'll go buy some more tomorrow."
Qi Baitong's straight lips finally loosened slightly, but he didn't mention how popular this osmanthus cheese was in Shengjing City. The line to buy the cake stretched for two miles, and even high-ranking officials and nobles couldn't get any if they arrived late.
"OK."
As soon as Gu Shanyue responded, the green-clad boy beside her offered a trembling, snow-white dumpling to Gu Shanyue's mouth.
"Young lady, this is sweet osmanthus rice balls in fermented rice wine. If you like the fragrance of osmanthus, you must try this."
Gu Shanyue ate it, her mouth was full of fragrance. The outer skin of the glutinous rice ball was soft and chewy, and the filling was sweet with a rich aroma of wine.
"This one is good too."
“Miss,” Qi Baitong called to her. Gu Shanyue turned around, and another piece of pastry was in her mouth. “This is their new chestnut sweet cake.”
Just as Gu Shanyue finished eating, the boy in green brought her a piece of pastry. He almost snuggled into Gu Shanyue's arms, his sleeve brushing against Gu Shanyue's casually falling hair.
Qi Baitong stared at that strand of hair.
That was his hair, which he had personally washed and dried, and it was now wrapped around someone else's sleeve.
An indescribable emotion was brewing within him, making it impossible for him to calmly observe everything as usual.
"Girl, have some chestnut cake."
"Girl, try my brown sugar chestnut cake."
"girl……"
"girl……"
Gu Shanyue, whose cheeks were stuffed full of pastries: "..."
He opened his mouth to say something, but choked and coughed.
The boy in green hurriedly served tea to Gu Shanyue, but Qi Baitong seized the opportunity and quickly tapped the boy's shoulder with her finger. The boy's hand went numb, and the whole cup of tea spilled into his own arms.
"Clumsy and clumsy, yet you dare to serve our young lady?"
Qi Baitong grabbed him by the back of his neck, threw him aside like a sack of potatoes, and moved to take the place of the green-clad boy next to Gu Shanyue.
At the same time, he scooped up the warm milk from the food box, gently patted Gu Shanyue's back with one hand, and fed her the warm milk with the other.
Gu Shanyue gurgled.
Qi Baitong said gently, "Miss, drink slowly..."
Li Yaoguang was peeking out from the opposite side, watching with great interest. When she saw the green-clad boy get up and try to move forward again, she pulled him back.
"Come on, can't you see how much they love each other? Why are you getting in on the action?"
She didn't say how engrossed she had been in watching it.
While feeding Gu Shanyue warm milk, Qi Baitong wrapped her other arm around her back, taking care of her in a way that completely embraced her.
The pink-clad boy on Gu Shanyue's other side also wanted to come closer. Gu Shanyue had his back to him, and as soon as he approached, he was greeted by Qi Baitong's icy gaze, as if he were about to draw his sword and kill him.
Even more bizarrely, he stared at the boy with murderous intent, while gently coaxing Gu Shanyue, "Don't choke, take another sip..."
The boy in pink ran away in fear; the girl's pet seemed to be mentally unstable.
After a while, Gu Shanyue drank a few more sips of milk to suppress the feeling of choking in her throat.
Are you feeling better?
Qi Baitong put down the bowl and wiped the water stains from the corners of her mouth with a cloth.
"Um."
Gu Shanyue looked up and saw that the table, which had been crowded just moments before, was now empty, leaving only Qi Baitong and herself. What had happened?
Where are they?
A note from the author:
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