Chapter 396 Lord Xie has changed
The July mornings were still bright and passionate, carrying the reckless energy of summer as it was about to burn out.
Although the dog days of summer are not yet over, Song Chunxue could already feel the breath of autumn.
The sunlight shining on the roof tiles was a deeper color, like the rich colors of autumn apricot leaves. The sun looked bright, but it couldn't help but make people feel sad.
Before everyone else had gotten up, Song Chunxue left the broth she had prepared in the pot. After everyone woke up and washed up, they could put the leftover noodles from yesterday into the pot.
The meat and vegetables from last night were still warm in the steamer; it was enough for them for breakfast.
Song Chunxue took the leftover meat from yesterday to Ren Haitang's house and gave her a chicken and several pounds of pork.
After that, she took a pork knuckle and several kilograms of pork belly to Mei Yang's house.
They helped me yesterday, and the leftover meat and vegetables at home are prone to spoiling, so I might as well repay the favor sooner rather than later.
On her way back from Meiyang's house, she saw a familiar figure at the nearest restaurant.
"Sister Song!" Liu Chunshu walked up to her with a smile. "Sister Song, where have you been?"
"I delivered something to someone." Song Chunxue had just said something when she saw Lord Xie standing by the second-floor window.
"Well," Liu Chunshu stammered, kicking his toes as he looked down, "we're leaving today, Sister Song, would you like to go up and sit with the adults?"
"Um?"
"Sister Song, come up and have a cup of tea."
Lord Xie waved his hand, his voice soft but just loud enough for her to hear, "Consider this a farewell gift for me."
Song Chunxue hesitated for a moment, but they were already drinking buddies, and he had helped her so much yesterday, it would seem disrespectful not to go.
When she came to her senses, she found herself standing opposite Xie Zheng.
"Please sit down, Sister Song." Xie Zheng handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Have something light."
Seeing the lentil noodles and fermented bean paste dumplings on the table, Song Chunxue took the chopsticks and sat down, not without surprise.
"You can eat our local noodles now?"
Xie Zheng raised his hand and lowered the window so that they wouldn't be able to see them sitting together from the outside.
He knew that most people in small towns knew each other, and if any rumors spread, it would probably be detrimental to her.
"I've had it a few times before, and I think it's delicious. Like the minced meat noodles, it's unique in its own way." As he spoke, Xie Zheng poured her a cup of tea. "You'll be going back to your family later, right?"
"Yes, they should go back after lunch."
The implication was that she couldn't stay too long.
"Then I'll make it short."
Xie Zheng took out a long, thin box from his pocket, opened it, and a calligraphy brush came into view.
"I just bought it on the street. I thought it suited me, so I bought it. It's not anything valuable."
Xie Zheng said earnestly, "I know why you were unwilling to accept those things before. The boxes seemed too formal and too precious. I'll keep this box. Surely you won't refuse?"
"..." Seeing his slender fingers holding a fine calligraphy brush, his nails round and full, and it was being offered to her right in front of her, she had no choice but to accept it.
She looked at Lord Xie with suspicion, a strange yet familiar feeling churning in her chest.
"What, you don't want what I give you, but you only accept what the Taoist priest gives you?"
When he doesn't use those flowery words, he's quite approachable.
Song Chunxue lowered her head. "No, thank you."
"So that's you. You're naturally close to the Taoist priest like family, but you're polite to me, Xie, and try to avoid me. Shouldn't drinking buddies be a little more open with each other?"
"..." She did have one, after all, her senior brother was family, but why was he so direct?
Xie Zheng today is different from before; something about him seems off.
He rarely uses direct words like "you are".
He always speaks and acts in a tactful and reserved manner.
"The Taoist priest is also a man, and you seem to trust him a lot. However, I know that you two have been in frequent contact over the years, and he has helped you in every way, even more than family."
At this point, Xie Zheng sighed, "Since coming to the Northwest, I'm only really familiar with you and the Taoist priest, but I always feel a bit out of place in front of the two of you."
"Sister Song, do you think that Xie is a difficult person to get along with and a troublesome person?"
"..." Song Chunxue's eyes widened, and she hurriedly stood up to explain, "Heaven and earth bear witness, if I were really like that, wouldn't I be ungrateful and ungrateful?"
"Did I neglect you yesterday and make you feel uncomfortable?" Song Chunxue asked anxiously. "Please speak frankly. I may have been unconsciously a little too polite because you are an official..."
"Xie is just an ordinary person."
"..." Good heavens, is he blaming her for being too distant from him? And constantly comparing her to her senior brother, isn't that something only children do?
"I went to see the Taoist priest today. You gave him a jade pendant, but didn't you give me one?"
Song Chunxue was taken aback, then thought, "So that's why. That makes things easier."
"I prepared it, I just forgot to give it to you."
"Then go home and get it, I'll wait here."
"I..." If her older sisters found out when she got home, she would be interrogated again.
"I can stay at the Ramadan Inn until tomorrow after I've seen my family off this afternoon."
Song Chunxue looked at him in surprise, "Aren't you in a hurry to go back and report? I'll go now, without delaying for another day."
"I'm not feeling well and want to rest for a day, take two doses of medicine, and then leave." Xie Zheng raised his eyes indifferently. "What, you don't want to give it to me again?"
Song Chunxue was both amused and exasperated. "No, how could that be?"
Why is he suddenly so calculating, just like the fourth brother?
Could Xie Zheng be possessed?
If she could feel the pulse in the middle finger, she could tell whether it was true or not.
The middle finger pulse is also called the yin pulse or the ghost pulse.
It is specifically used to determine whether a person is possessed by a spirit. The pulse is felt by grasping the cun, guan, and chi points, and then touching the palm of the hand and the first, second, and third joints of the middle finger.
The base of the middle finger represents a god, the middle joint of the middle finger represents an immortal, and the last joint of the middle finger represents a ghost.
But if she were to take his pulse first, it would not only seem presumptuous, but it might also anger him.
"Why is Sister Song looking at me like that?" Lord Xie looked at his hands. "Is there something wrong?"
Song Chunxue took a sip of tea, lowered her eyes, and said bluntly, "Something's wrong with you. In front of others, you're always self-disciplined, polite, and gentle; you rarely speak like this."
Lord Xie smiled slightly, "Aren't we drinking buddies? We talked about everything last time, so I thought we wouldn't need to be so formal in the future."
His calm tone carried a hint of obvious disappointment, "So even after sobering up, Sister Song still felt we weren't close?"
"..." He's not only straightforward now, but also quite articulate. She wondered if he'd received some kind of expert guidance.
Moreover, she had never felt that being called Sister Song was so awkward.
Song Chunxue smiled generously, "How could that be? You helped me so much yesterday, even the county government officials came to the wedding banquet because of you. You really made me look good."
"What about my things?"
"..." Is it really necessary? She put down her teacup. "Since you're not in a hurry to leave, I'll give it to you this afternoon."
"Alright, then go ahead and get busy, it's almost noon." Having achieved his goal, Xie Zheng lowered his head and ate his noodles. "Ramadan Inn, don't get it mixed up."
On her way home, Song Chunxue was completely baffled.
"My lord, am I not mistaken?"
With a smile on his face, Liu Chunshu said in a low voice, "Actually, Sister Song doesn't understand these things. Since the adults haven't given up, why not try to get to the bottom of things gradually?"
Xie Zheng's ears burned, and he gripped his chopsticks tightly to hide his slightly trembling fingers. "Go away, who asked you for bad advice? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
