The two of them continued to ascend the mountain.
Soon, they arrived at a mountain spring. Su Rong broke off a large leaf, shook it off to clean it and handed it to Zhou Gu, "Roll it up like this to catch the water and drink, can you do it?"
After saying this, she demonstrated with her own leaf.
Zhou Gu watched as she naturally performed the task, showing no disdain for the untreated mountain water. Droplets trailed from the corner of her mouth, which she casually wiped with her sleeve. He averted his eyes, mimicked her actions, and drew water for himself to drink too, remarking, "This water is sweet."
"Well, it’s mountain spring water; it’s sweet and nourishing. Regular consumption may prolong your life," she replied.
"Really?"
"Yes, really," Su Rong looked at him and continued, "Have you not noticed after wandering the Night Market for several days that the people living in this part of Jiangning enjoy a long lifespan?"
Upon reflection, Zhou Gu agreed, "Indeed they do."
He took a few more sips of water, discarded the leaf, and found a rock to rest on, saying, "Let’s rest for a bit!"
Su Rong had no objections and casually sat down beside him.
Not long after they sat down, a group of people descended from up the mountain. The leader of the group was a young man who, upon seeing Su Rong, immediately leaped up and shouted angrily, "Su Rong, you dare to show your face?"
Recognizing the man as Chen Zhou, Su Rong thought to herself, Who on earth has such terrible luck? Last night it was Jiang Yunying, and today Chen Zhou?
For the first time, Su Rong felt entirely safe with Zhou Gu at her side.
She remained seated and tugged at Zhou Gu’s sleeve to get his attention.
Zhou Gu glanced at her, wondering why she was tugging on his sleeve again. He gestured for her to speak, "If you have something to say, just say it, stop pulling my sleeve."
"Well..." Su Rong released her grip, feeling a bit embarrassed, "This guy, he and I have had disagreements."
Zhou Gu was intrigued, "So, you’ve had feuds with both men and women?"
Su Rong was chagrined, "This one is a recent enemy."
Zhou Gu eyed her skeptically, "Explain."
Speaking in a low voice, Su Rong explained, "About a fortnight ago, while I was out having fun, I happened to run into him. He became infatuated and started to flirt with me, suggesting I should marry him if no one else would. I was outraged when I heard this and slapped him. He pushed me after I hit him, causing a cut on my forehead. That’s when I got really angry and beat him to a pulp."
Zhou Gu: "..."
Well, that was quite a fight.
He took a closer look at Su Rong’s forehead, but didn’t see any hints of scars from her injuries.
Quickly, Su Rong explained, pointing at her forehead, "I had a huge bruise here. I used a scar removal cream, a very expensive one - Ningzhi Yuduan Cream."
Zhou Gu nodded. If she had indeed used the cream, there would be no scars.
As they were talking, Chen Zhou came right up to Su Rong, glaring at her with rage, "Su Rong, I’m talking to you. Are you deaf?"
Su Rong rolled her eyes at him, "Even if you talk to me, do I have to talk back? Annoyed much, or did you not get beaten enough?" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Chen Zhou fumed, "I was just going easy on you that day. Or else, do you think you could have hit me?"
Only now did he seem to notice Zhou Gu sitting next to Su Rong. His face instantly changed at the realization, his voice dark and threatening as he pointed at him and asked, "Who is he? How come you’re here alone with him?"
Disgusted, Su Rong replied, "My fiancé."
"You have a fiancé?" Chen Zhou was both shocked and angry, "Stop lying to me!"
"Why would I lie to you?" Su Rong sneered, "Why would you be worth lying to?"
Chen Zhou choked, seeing the fire in Su Rong’s eyes, "If you have a fiancé, why were you leading me on? You really are a flirt."
Su Rong knew Chen Zhou was never going to say anything nice. When they were children, he was simply arrogant because he was the legitimate son and felt his status was higher than hers, a concubine’s daughter in the Governor’s Residence. A few years ago, he left to study in a county controlled by his maternal grandparents and was spoiled by them with no parental discipline. Now, he had turned into this annoying, self-righteous character. She wondered if his brain was filled with water and he had lost all sense.
Her face hardened, "Chen Zhou, are you crazy? When did I lead you on? Explain yourself."
"That day, when I saw you and complimented your looks, you didn’t mention having a fiancé," Chen Zhou responded self-righteously, "If that isn’t leading me on, what is?"
Su Rong was speechless, "Am I supposed to boast about having a fiancé every time I meet someone?"
Fed up with his talk, she pointed at Zhou Gu, "Let me introduce you to someone, my fiancé, Young Master Zhou Gu of Duke Residence. Why don’t you take a good look in the mirror? I have such a wonderful fiancé, do you think I am out of my mind? Instead of attracting him, why would I attract you?"
Zhou Gu: "..."
Chen Zhou: "..."
Chen Zhou stared in disbelief, his face turning pale, "D-Duke Residence? Zhou Gu?"
Zhou Gu kicked him lightly, obviously going easy on him considering his injured face, before proclaiming unhappily, "Chen Zhou, I assume? You dare provoke my fiancée, you really have guts!"
Chen Zhou stumbled, holding onto a tree trunk for support, his already injured face turned ghostly pale, "I-I didn’t know she was... She didn’t say..."
He was in disbelief, "Y-You are really Duke Residence’s Zhou Gu? Her...Her fiancé?"
"Absolutely genuine."
Chen Zhou seemed to digest the news for a while, his face shifting with his emotions. Gathering his courage, he stiffened his neck and opened his mouth to speak again, "Weren’t you... a few days ago... fighting with the young prince of Rui’an King Residence over a woman? Are you... didn’t you care about the engagement with her, which is why you did it?"
He hurriedly finished his thoughts, "Are you here to break off the engagement?"
Su Rong: "..."
This bastard!
Zhou Gu raised an eyebrow, "Whether I care or not, is it any of your business?"
"It-it’s not my business," Chen Zhou stuttered, summoning the courage to look at Su Rong. His previous arrogance and anger were completely gone as he started apologizing to her. "Su Rong, I was wrong that day. I didn’t know... I didn’t know you were... you were so hot-tempered... I... I was just teasing you... I... You have beaten me already. When my mother wanted to confront you, I stopped her. Can you... can you forgive me? I... I forgive you too. Let’s just put the whole thing behind us. If... if he breaks off the engagement, I... I..."
Su Rong dumbly stared at Chen Zhou, thinking that the man must indeed have water for brains. From the sound of it, he hadn’t given up hope yet, even in front of Zhou Gu. Did he still wish to... marry her?
If she hadn’t heard wrong, that was his implication, correct?
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