Chapter 62: Three Male Guests
Xie Huailing really did book a private room.
On one hand, she couldn't let Gong Jiu and Di Feijing stay together. After all, Di Feijing was still a member of the Six and a Half Hall, and Gong Jiu's identity was indeed very troublesome. If the two of them had any friction, whether it was good or bad, as long as it had an impact, Su Mengzhen would probably hold her accountable. On the other hand, although she was shameless, she was still unable to accept being laughed at by passersby. In the end, she was a very arrogant person.
All I can say is that, fortunately, Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou has great influence in Bianjing, so finding a restaurant belonging to Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou is easier than drawing a lottery ticket.
...Ultimately, why did she use this analogy? She just wanted to find a way to shift the blame. Once she shifted it, it wouldn't be her problem anymore. Even if she didn't manage Di Feijing's misdeeds, was she really not at fault? Xie Huailing, too lazy to care, thought to herself.
Just after she booked the private room, she bumped into a cat belonging to one of the waiters at the restaurant. So she used petting the cat as an excuse to send Di Feijing and Gong Jiu into the private room first, and then took the cat to the manager to deliver a message back.
Xie Huailing already knew who to call; given the situation, it was bound to be you.
Before she could finish thinking, the cat she had kidnapped slapped her face with its paw.
.
Dead silence. The private room was utterly silent.
When Xie Huailing returned after delivering the message, this was the scene she found. Without Xie Huailing, Di Feijing didn't want to talk to Gong Jiu, and Gong Jiu didn't want to talk to Di Feijing either. The two of them were like two stone statues covered in snow. The silence had lasted for so long that it felt as if snowflakes were falling into the room. The stifling air carried the weight of their silence, making it hard to breathe, pressing heavily on one's lungs.
The cat in her arms let out a loud growl, its soft voice, completely out of character, cutting a rift in the air, allowing the air to flow again. Two pairs of eyes turned to look at her, and she immediately felt much more relaxed. Xie Huailing ignored her and walked up to Gong Jiu, instructing, "Go order the food and pay the bill."
Upon hearing this, Gong Jiu stood up. Not only did he have no objection, he even leaned closer and said, "Okay. What dishes do you like?"
Xie Huailing coldly picked up the cat and moved it to the side. The cat struggled and almost fell over, but luckily she couldn't hold it back: "I don't like any of them. Pick whatever you want."
So Gong Jiu went out, not feeling that leaving Xie Huailing and Di Feijing alone was anything wrong. It was quite a blessing to be so carefree. Xie Huailing hugged the cat tightly. The two were sitting on opposite sides, so she had no choice but to sit between them and put the cat on her lap. The cat then slapped her again.
"Don't move." Xie Huailing rubbed the cat's face, his fingers sinking into its furry skin, and said, "If you move it again, I'll sell you to the market. You're just a little cat, you know that?"
Grandpa Cat clearly knew he was a kitten, and he knew he was no ordinary kitten. He had black and white fur, white gloves on his paws, resembling dark clouds covering snow, and a face almost indistinguishable from a picture doll. This endearing appearance could fool most humans who were attracted to him at first sight, and then, in their lustful descent, make them overlook a painful truth:
It was a black and white cat. Xie Huailing was suddenly kicked twice by it on her way back.
Fortunately, although she had a terrible personality, she also had a good temper. Xie Huailing was still calmly coaxing the old man to play, slowly stroking his chin, her tone softening, so soft that it seemed to melt into the tea. How could she treat a cat the same as she treated a person? She said, "Okay, that's it. You're very good. Don't kick me anymore."
After she finished coaxing him, Xie Huailing noticed that Di Feijing was looking at her.
The young man, who didn't want to pay attention to Gong Jiu, seemed to have lost some weight since their last meeting. His dark eyes seemed to be constantly raining, making his appearance appear even more sorrowful, as if veiled by a layer of mist, like a wisp of smoke softly calling her surname: "Miss Xie."
This "Miss Xie" was even lower than the one he used in front of Gong Jiu. Of course, he could pretend that nothing had happened between them, but such hypocrisy and self-deception were not things that Di Feijing would do. In any case, both he and she knew his loyalty to Lei Sun.
...even though he was still suffering.
Xie Huailing stroked the cat, put his hand under the cat's belly to warm it, and replied, "Master Di, if you have something to say, it's best to speak frankly."
Di Feijing didn't hesitate any longer. He had lost weight, but she hadn't changed. He was amazed that he could remember how she looked every time they met, and that made him feel even worse. He had seen her face, and every feature was so perfect. He also wanted to hear her voice again. However, when the time came to speak, all he could say was, "A batch of goods from Six and a Half Hall has gone missing."
Xie Huailing readily admitted, "I did it, so what?"
Di Feijing said rather bluntly, "Liufenbantang hasn't touched Jinfeng Xiyulou recently. Miss Xie's unauthorized interception of goods is probably not in line with the security of Bianjing, is it?"
“In Bianjing, only the Divine Marquis’s Mansion has the right to be concerned about security in front of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion.” Xie Huailing was even more impolite than him.
The old cat licked her arm, and she took the opportunity to rub the cat's head, feeling quite pleased with herself and very carefree: "It's my skill to intercept the goods, but whether you can take them back or resolve this matter is your problem. Forgive my bluntness, but Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou and Liu Fen Ban Tang don't have much of a relationship."
Di Feijing's expression remained unchanged. With the most composed face, he uttered the sharpest words: "So that's how Miss Xie sees it. It's a pity that Miss Xie can't inquire about whether the marriage arranged between Master Su and the eldest young lady counts as a matter of friendship."
Xie Huailing scoffed.
She suited this expression perfectly; it only concealed her harshness, turning even her shrewishness into arrogance. She wasn't afraid of moral blackmail: "You can't say that. It would make it seem like Chief Lei, as an elder, is being disrespectful. Oh dear, this isn't what Chief Di meant, is it? Besides, I didn't say there was anything wrong with the marriage. If something were to happen to Chief Lei, having my cousin here would ensure there's a successor."
After cursing, Di Feijing was about to speak again, but Xie Huailing had no intention of exchanging harsh words with him. She calmly shut him down with a single sentence, saying, "Instead of worrying about other people's marriages, Master Di should find someone to act as a matchmaker for you. You're already this age. If I were your age and still single, my cousin would be worried sick."
"..."
Di Fei was speechless and remained silent.
He couldn't just not accept it; his heart ached terribly. Xie Huailing, completely oblivious to his melodramatic act, was still playing with the cat on her lap. In the brief moments when she ignored him, his fingertips went numb, as if he were suffocating.
Xie Huailing. He murmured her beautiful name in his heart.
A beautiful name couldn't fill the void in his heart; on the contrary, he felt more and more miserable each day.
“Miss Xie,” he began to pronounce her surname again, “if a contest is necessary, Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou may not be a match for Liu Fen Ban Tang.”
Xie Huailing ignored him, focusing on playing with the cat, and was kicked by the old man again: "What do you mean by that?"
Di Feijing fell silent again. She clearly knew what he meant. These words were not harsh words; in fact, they were the most straightforward thoughts he could express.
The conversation ceased, and the only sound in the room was the old man's snoring as he was being pampered. Gong Jiu returned shortly after. He had also copied a menu, and the first thing he did upon returning was not to sit down, but to give the menu to Xie Huailing.
The heir of the Prince of Taiping should be picky about his daily life, but Gong Jiu's habits are far from ordinary. Fortunately, he also knows that he is far from ordinary, so he ordered everything according to the waiter's recommendation, saying, "You can take another look and order whatever you want to eat."
When Xie Huailing saw the menu, it was as if she had seen the Eight Great Tortures of the Qing Dynasty. She closed her eyes and pretended not to see it: "That's fine, don't add anything."
Gong Jiu agreed, and then Xie Huailing stopped talking and focused on fighting with the old man. When the food was served, she didn't eat it. The only thing she did was pick up a small piece of fish and feed it to the old man. When he wouldn't eat it, she tried to force it on him. When she tried to force it on him, he would jump around on her knees repeatedly.
She had clearly withdrawn from the conversation at the table, refusing to respond to anything. Di Feijing, mindful of his own thoughts and genuinely wanting to ask Gong Jiu some questions, turned his gaze to him. This young man was strikingly handsome, and his refined manners upon sitting down suggested a distinguished family background; he was clearly not someone unskilled in martial arts. Di Feijing asked calmly, "I've never seen this gentleman before. And who are you?"
“My name has the character ‘nine’ in it,” Gong Jiu replied casually. “Just call me Young Master Jiu.”
Di Feijing calmly sized him up, his eyes lowered, his demeanor quiet and somewhat frail: "Is Ninth Young Master from the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion?"
Gong Jiu answered quickly. It wasn't that he couldn't detect the probing, but rather that probing didn't matter to him, and he didn't need to hide his thoughts: "That's right, I am pursuing Miss Xie."
The unvarnished words made Di Feijing's lowered head even more reluctant to lift. Seeing Xie Huailing move away a little, not wanting to get close to Gong Jiu, he was able to continue breathing. His voice rang out again, his tone shrouded in the gray dust: "Is that so? But pursuing Miss Xie will not be an easy thing."
Gong Jiu replied, revealing a hint of burning passion beneath his refined exterior, saying, "A beautiful woman is the object of a gentleman's affections. It's normal for me to be troubled by a beauty like her. My heart is as firm as a rock, unyielding. Young Master Di, there's no need for further words."
He added, "There are some things in this world that you should never back down from. I really despise the behavior of not being able to pursue the woman you like openly and then regretting it for the rest of your life."
The unintentional remark was so offensive that Xie Huailing, who was the center and protagonist of the conversation, originally didn't want to look at it, but couldn't help but look up to observe Di Feijing's expression because of this sentence.
Gong Jiu's attack was unintentional, but it was precisely this unintentionality that resulted in the highest damage. If this were a game, Di Feijing's health bar would be instantly debuffed. Every word felt like a red-hot iron, searing his heart, sizzling and throbbing with pain, making his eyelashes tremble. All the food tasted bland; many unspeakable emotions lingered in his heart, which he couldn't savor—savoring them would be self-torture.
Just as Xie Huailing was starting to find this interesting, the door to the room was pushed open forcefully from the outside, and a chill swept into the room.
The person she had summoned to pass on the trouble finally arrived.
Clad in blood-red robes, his figure slender yet upright as a pine tree, exuding a sickly air yet brimming with heroic spirit, he could be none other than Su Mengzhen. Wrapped in a thick fox fur coat, his pale face appeared even more stern in the twilight corridor, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over the three in an instant before finally settling on Xie Huailing.
Su Mengzhen did not enter the house. His authority was unquestionable, and he didn't even need to take those few steps. Even in a gathering of the head of the Six and a Half Hall and the heir of the Prince of Taiping's mansion, Su Mengzhen's expression remained unchanged. He said politely yet distantly, "It would be inappropriate to interrupt your conversation. However, it is still early. If you two have anything else to say, please continue. I will take my sister back first."
His gaze shifted to Gong Jiu, his deep eyes devoid of warmth, leaving Gong Jiu with a profound scrutiny: "Thank you for taking care of my sister today, young master. However, there is a difference between men and women, so it is best to keep your distance. My sister is not yet married, and I have no intention of letting her get married, so it is inconvenient for me to stay any longer."
Immediately, his gaze shifted to Di Feijing, and his voice suddenly turned cold as he addressed his opponent and someone he knew all too well who dared to harbor ill intentions towards his confidants: "Furthermore, the young lady of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, my sister Su Mengzhen, has no personal matters that require the intervention of anyone from the Six and a Half Halls. Please remember this, Master Di. If there is any offense—"
Su Mengzhen spoke slowly and deliberately, intending to draw an insurmountable chasm between Di Feijing and Xie Huailing, and he succeeded: "That was exactly what I meant."
After saying that, he didn't look at the two of them again, but stretched out his hand to Xie Huailing, palm up, and softened his voice a little: "Let's go home."
Xie Huailing reluctantly put down the cat, patted its head, and then unhesitatingly placed her hand in his cool palm. Su Mengzhen gripped her hand tightly, led her out of the room, and without saying a word of farewell, turned and left, his red robes flying in a resolute arc. He thus brought the tangled scene to a close with just a few words.
Gong Jiu stood there, watching the two figures walk away hand in hand, his face showing no anger whatsoever. He even had the leisure to politely cup his hands to Di Feijing: "Young Master Di, then I will also take my leave."
To him, Su Mengzhen's warning was nothing more than a gentle breeze; he had his own path and patience. After taking a deep look in the direction Xie Huailing had disappeared, Gong Jiu also turned and left.
Di Feijing was left alone in his seat. He glanced in the direction of the door and saw his own winter within his thin frame.
What did Su Mengzhen mean?
"The cousin of Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou, my sister Su Mengzhen"—this was a reminder to him that, separated by enemy and friend and Su Mengzhen herself, the distance between him and her was far too great, and Su Mengzhen would never allow it.
"Her personal business" - meant that Di Feijing should be mindful of his distance. Su Mengzhen didn't care what Xie Huailing did, but only whether Di Feijing had done anything inappropriate.
"There is no need for the people of the Six and a Half Hall to speak" – this is the most thorough way of drawing a line, meaning that as long as Su Mengzhen is alive, Di Feijing should never have any unrealistic ideas.
But once the mortal world traps a person, it never gives them any control.
Unless one day he too burns out, he will never stop yearning to be filled.
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