Lu Zhaoan silently calculated in his heart—
He shouldn't have invited Gu Yaoniang to go boating on the lake and prepared a painted boat, but instead used such a small awning boat, making Gu Yaoniang feel neglected? But he always felt that the painted boat inevitably carried a gaudy air, while the awning boat seemed more casual and carefree.
Shouldn't he have pretended not to know that the oars were placed on the awning? But since it was so hidden, wouldn't it be reasonable for him not to know?
Or perhaps we shouldn't have brought Lu Jing'an along? After all, Gu Yaoniang and Lu Jing'an always bicker whenever they meet. Could it be that Jing'an and I have misunderstood, and Gu Yaoniang genuinely dislikes Lu Jing'an, rather than just arguing as they believe?
It was probably a mistake that caused the boat to crash into the shore while rowing, which also startled her.
Thinking of this, Lu Zhaoan's eyes lit up. That's it! Yao Niang had lifted the curtain earlier because their awning boat had bumped into the shore. She must be upset about that.
He carefully observed Gu Yaoniang's expression and secretly considered his words: "I shouldn't have brought the boat ashore."
Gu Yaoniang quickly lowered the curtain again.
Lu Zhaoan touched his nose, somewhat puzzled.
But then he heard Gu Yaoniang's soft laughter coming from inside the cabin. Only then did he feel relieved. If she could still laugh, she probably wasn't particularly angry.
Although Gu Yaoniang was unhappy, she was only annoyed by Lu Zhaoan's presumptuous decision. Besides, what business was it of Lu Zhaoan that Qin Yuxiu spoke so offensively? He insisted on trying to smooth things over. Thus, she could no longer have a proper argument with Qin Yuxiu to vent her anger.
The phrase "brought the boat ashore" sounded so ridiculous that she couldn't help but laugh.
That smile completely dispelled the previous unpleasantness.
Gu Yaoniang lifted the curtain and went out, seeing Lu Zhaoan outside looking somewhat at a loss, even a little silly. She had never seen Lu Zhaoan so flustered before. Thinking this, she chuckled softly.
Her skin was fair, and when she smiled, her eyes held a hint of moisture, making her appear exceptionally radiant in the sunlight.
Lu Zhaoan stared blankly at it.
Gu Yaoniang didn't look at him, but went straight to sit at the bow of the boat and looked at the shore.
The summer sun shone brightly on the water, and as she felt the occasional breeze blowing across the surface, the heat seemed to dissipate considerably.
She deals with all sorts of people every day and knows that when interacting with others, one must speak out what is on one's mind in order to have long since lost any sense of bashfulness.
"Jinchuan, I'm not happy today."
Lu Zhaoan felt somewhat uncomfortable. He had many sisters in his family and knew that most women preferred to keep their thoughts to themselves, either saying the opposite or remaining silent.
He didn't interact much with women; Ruining and Gu Yaoniang were the only two he had private relationships with. Ruining was a princess and also his younger sister, and had never had any romantic feelings for anyone, so naturally she didn't need to pry into everything. Ruining, on the other hand, was always pampered and had no inhibitions, and rarely kept things to herself.
As for Gu Yaoniang… in the past, their interactions were mostly business-related, between two merchants, and her identity as a woman was downplayed. This was the first time they had set aside business dealings and simply enjoyed themselves.
But once he began to see the person before him as a delicate woman, Lu Zhao'an didn't know how to interact with her. He had brought Lu Jing'an along because Lu Jing'an was a womanizer and knew far more about women than he did; he was hoping Lu Jing'an could offer him advice.
Seeing that Lu Zhaoan was standing there dumbfounded and didn't speak, Gu Yaoniang raised her voice slightly: "Jinchuan? Are you even listening to me!"
Lu Zhaoan suddenly came to his senses. The awning boat was moored under the shade of the trees. The little girl turned around to look at him. Her face was not clearly visible in the backlight, but the downy hair on her cheeks could be seen. With a soft halo, her cheeks were coated with a bright shell.
It was almost dazzling.
He suddenly felt relaxed. It was all the better that Gu Yaoniang was willing to speak frankly.
"I'm listening. Go ahead and speak."
The little girl raised her chin and looked up at him.
"Firstly, the princess had something to do today and couldn't come. Since you knew that, you should have told me. But you had so many opportunities to tell me on the way, yet you kept quiet until I asked you at the estate. I'm not happy about that."
Similarly, since Young Master Lu is with us today, you should also tell me.”
She paused, waiting for Lu Zhaoan's explanation.
“If you don’t come today, I’m afraid that if you know Ruining isn’t coming either, you won’t come either.”
Lu Zhaoan blushed slightly.
"Then why are you worried that I won't come?"
Gu Yaoniang asked.
Why else? Lu Zhaoan was somewhat puzzled. If Gu Yaoniang knew that it was just the two of them and him, whether out of politeness or because she found it boring, she probably wouldn't want to leave the city, right?
However, Lu Zhaoan didn't secretly think he was boring.
Gu Yaoniang's face hardened: "You yourself also feel that if it were just me alone, I wouldn't want to travel with you, right?"
Lu Zhaoan replied somewhat guiltily, "Of course."
Gu Yaoniang's tone became increasingly stern: "So, you did this on purpose. You knew it was improper and inappropriate for you to come, yet you still kept it from me and let me go out with you alone."
"No! I've noticed that you don't usually pay much attention to these outdated customs. Besides, many women nowadays have left their homes and no longer need to be judged..."
Lu Zhaoan watched as Gu Yaoniang's smile grew increasingly stiff, and as she spoke cautiously and haltingly, she finally decided to stop arguing: "It was my fault."
He couldn't tell whether Gu Yaoniang was angry or how angry she was, and he felt a little uneasy.
Gu Yaoniang sighed and shook her head: "Perhaps I don't care about these things, or perhaps I won't be criticized. Even now that there are new policies to support us, people's hearts are hard to change in a short time. How many people still think that a good woman should stay at home and never leave her house?"
Even though I have no ulterior motives, Jinchuan, since you have concerns, it means you understand that if someone really wants to slander me, my boat trip with you on the lake today is irrefutable proof.
What angers me isn't that the matter was particularly outrageous, nor is it that I'm upset that you did something that put me in a difficult position. It's you. You clearly felt it was inappropriate, you clearly cared about it, yet you didn't give me a chance to decide for myself; you made the decision for me.
Lu Zhao'an sensed that Gu Yaoniang's phrase "without distracting thoughts" had a hidden meaning. Was she implying that he himself had distracting thoughts?
He seemed to understand Gu Yaoniang's delicate thoughts, yet he remained somewhat bewildered. The ruthless and decisive head of the Lu family seemed to have reverted to his childhood days, when he faced his teacher with timidity.
"Okay, I won't do it again next time."
Even though he didn't understand, he knew that Gu Yaoniang disliked it. So he would stop doing it from now on.
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