Just asking?
Zhou Chenyu looked at him, then smiled and pointed to Chen Ping'an waiting in the distance, "Here, this is for him. He's my future business partner, so I need to win him over."
Business partner?
Yang Xi looked up and saw a man hiding in the crowd with his head down. He looked somewhat familiar and said, "Oh, it's him."
Zhou Chenyu stared intently at him as he muttered to himself, a half-smile on her face, and asked, "Yang Xi, then who did you think it was?"
Yang Xi met her questioning gaze and stammered, "I didn't think of you as someone important."
Zhou Chenyu raised an eyebrow, a shimmering smile appearing in her eyes. "Oh, so can I assume that you're jealous of that person?"
"Me!" Yang Xi exclaimed, his voice rising with emotion, but he quickly regained his composure and refused to admit it, saying, "I didn't."
The shopkeeper chuckled as he listened to their conversation and replied, "Miss, your pastries are ready. Here you go."
"Thank you." Zhou Chenyu smiled as she accepted the pastries from the shopkeeper. Looking at the bewildered man beside her, she coaxed him, "Chief Yang, that young master over there is in a hurry to go back to his hometown for the New Year. I need to deliver these boxes of pastries to him first. Please be kind enough to wait for me a moment. I'll explain everything to you later."
Yang Xi glanced at Chen Ping'an over there, then looked back at her, nodded and smiled, "Then go ahead, I'll wait for you here."
"Okay, I'm going now. I'll be right back."
After Zhou Chenyu finished speaking, she immediately picked up two boxes of pastries, walked through the dense crowd, and stood in front of Chen Ping'an. "Ping'an, I bought these for you."
"You bought this for me?" Chen Ping'an glanced nervously at the other side, then stared at the thing being handed to him. "Chen Yu, why did you do this?"
"Oh, why so many questions?" Zhou Chenyu saw him dawdling and reluctant to accept the gift, so she quickly stuffed it into his hands. "Aren't we going to open a shop together soon? We're practically friends now. You're going back to your hometown for the New Year, and I don't have much to give you, so I bought a few boxes of shortbread as a gift for your parents. Please give my regards to them when you get home."
Chen Ping'an looked at the pastry in his hand, tears welling up in his eyes. He had been working hard in Qingshui Town for several years, either outwitting his peers or being criticized and disliked for being too weak and pale. No one had ever treated him so sincerely and kindly.
He clutched the pastry tightly, wiped away his tears with his sleeve, and sniffed. "Chen Yu, then I thank you on behalf of my parents."
Zhou Chenyu smiled faintly, "What are you thanking me for? Alright, your fellow villagers are still waiting for you. Hurry up and meet them, then go home to see your parents."
"Okay, I'm leaving now." Chen Ping'an carefully picked up the pastry in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man in the distance, suddenly came to his senses, and asked anxiously, "Chen Yu, you and... Yang Ban Tou seem to know each other very well? Do you two know each other?"
Zhou Chenyu looked at his expression, which seemed to want to ask but dare not, and glanced back at Yang Xi.
The shopkeeper looked at the handsome young couple in front of him and smiled. "Alright, young lady! I'll wrap it up for you right away. Please wait a moment."
Zhou Chenyu stood to the side, watching the shopkeeper's quick movements, and asked, "Shopkeeper, how much silver is it in total?"
The shopkeeper looked up amidst his busy work, glanced at Yang Xi beside him, and replied with a smile, "Miss, it's thirty-two coins in total. But you look unfamiliar, so this must be your first time buying something from our shop. I'll round it up for you, so it'll only be thirty."
Looking at the shopkeeper's kind face and honeyed words, Zhou Chenyu said, "Thank you so much. From now on, I'll definitely choose your shop first when buying pastries, and I won't go anywhere else."
"Okay, okay."
As Yang Xi listened to the two men's back-and-forth flattery, he subtly raised the corners of his lips, then switched the horizontal sword to his left hand, freeing up his right.
Seeing his movements, Zhou Chenyu was one step ahead and took out some silver, saying in a muffled voice, "Yang Xi, this is something I bought for someone to take back to greet his parents, you don't need to pay for it. Shopkeeper, here you go."
Yang Xi closed his eyes briefly, his gaze following hers, and tentatively asked, "Insult his parents? Chen Yu, whose parents are you going to insult?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?" Zhou Chenyu replied casually, and Yang Xi looked away uneasily. "I was just asking."
Yang Xi looked at her across the vast sea of people, a smile playing on his lips.
She laughed. "Yes, we know each other."
"Huh?" Chen Ping'an thought about how he always had to say a few words to the officials, and wouldn't they hear everything? He became nervous, "Chen Yu, so, is Yang the head constable your older brother? No, your surname is Zhou, and his surname is Yang, so you can't be siblings. Is he your cousin?"
Cousin? Zhou Chenyu looked at him, smiled and shook her head, "No, guess again."
Not cousins?
Chen Ping'an secretly glanced up and saw that Yang, the squad leader he always feared, was actually smiling. He abruptly looked away, staring at the smiling woman before him. An absurd yet plausible thought exploded in his mind, "You... Shen Yu, you and Yang, you two..."
Seeing his terrified expression, Zhou Chenyu suppressed a laugh and refused to tell him.
She quickly gave him a push, "Alright, aren't you in a hurry to go home? If you don't leave now, it'll be too late. What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and take him away."
Upon hearing her words, several fellow villagers hurriedly sent two people over to grab Chen Ping'an, saying, "Alright, hurry up and leave. Aren't you in a hurry to go home?"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't hold me back. I'll go, I'll go by myself, okay?" Chen Ping'an carefully protected the pastry in his arms, suppressing his curiosity. "Chen Yu, then I'll go. See you after the Lantern Festival."
Yang Xi looked at her across the vast sea of people, a smile playing on his lips.
The man behind her was still waiting, and Zhou Chenyu was getting a little anxious. "Well, let's go, I should go back too."
Chen Ping'an looked away and met up with his fellow villagers. "Hey, let's go."
Zhou Chenyu watched him turn around and hurriedly returned to Yang Xi's side, "He's already gone, so don't look anymore."
Yang Xi, holding his sword and arms crossed, watched the departing figure and smiled knowingly:
“I think I remember now. His name is Chen Ping’an. He’s from out of town. He came to Qingshui Town two years ago to run a rouge business. When he first arrived, he didn’t know the rules and insisted on staying. My men chased him away a few times. How did you meet him?”
Zhou Chenyu looked at him and spoke up for Chen Ping'an, saying, "Oh, no wonder he was so afraid of you guys in blue. So you two had a grudge against each other."
Yang Xi opened his eyes and explained, "How can that be considered a festival? Look, he's already acting according to the rules, why would we bother to cause him trouble?"
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