Chapter 211 Having Interests in Her
It was almost noon when we left the lotus garden.
Gu Jingxi took the little girl directly to a restaurant for lunch. After lunch, instead of going home, he took her to a theater to watch a play.
Meng Jinyao didn't want to listen to opera; she always felt drowsy when she did. But she felt that Gu Jingxi would like it, and considering how good he was to her, she felt it was only right for her to accompany him to the opera, so she didn't refuse.
The play began, and the performers on stage started singing.
Meng Jinyao focused intently on the performers on stage, listening carefully to the opera so she wouldn't fall asleep later.
Seeing her serious and earnest expression, Gu Jingxi assumed that she really enjoyed listening to opera, otherwise she wouldn't be taking it so seriously. He felt that bringing her to the opera house was the right decision. After spending the whole day there, she shouldn't be so sullen when she returned home.
However, in less than fifteen minutes, Meng Jinyao felt sleepy. In addition, she usually took a nap, and now it was nap time. Before long, she was yawning and drowsy.
Seeing this, Gu Jingxi began to reflect, realizing that what he had thought was just his own assumption. How could someone who truly enjoys listening to opera start to feel sleepy after such a short time?
He asked gently, "Madam, this play doesn't seem very good; it's quite boring. Why don't we go for a walk somewhere else?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao immediately perked up and asked, "Where to?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "Let's go outside and take a look. The sun isn't as strong today, and it's not as hot as it was a few days ago."
Meng Jinyao naturally had no objections. If she listened any longer, she would probably fall asleep. Going out for a walk suited her perfectly. It wouldn't hurt to get some sun. She could tolerate the temperature today; it wasn't too hot.
Gu Jingxi led her out of the theater. Looking at the bustling streets, he suddenly didn't know where to go. He had never taken a girl out to play before and had no experience in this area.
He pondered for a while, thinking of going to the bookstore to buy books, but then felt that the young girl probably wouldn't like them, let alone be interested in buying any books. He then remembered what his friend had mentioned: young girls like jewelry, cosmetics, and beautiful dresses.
He bought jewelry a few days ago, so he should buy some rouge instead.
Seeing him standing there motionless, Meng Jinyao asked in confusion, "Husband, what's wrong?"
Gu Jingxi shook his head: "It's nothing, let's go."
Meng Jinyao glanced at him with a strange expression, sensing that he was acting oddly, but she didn't say anything. She followed him around, going wherever he wanted to go. Anyway, she had plenty of time, and she was more than happy to have someone accompany her.
After walking for a while, Meng Jinyao looked up at the man beside her and noticed that his skin was even whiter in the sunlight, as white and smooth as jade. He was already twenty-nine years old, but there wasn't even a fine line at the corner of his eyes. He looked better than many twenty-nine-year-old women and looked only twenty-three or twenty-four. She wondered how he maintained his skin, but after spending some time with him, she didn't see him applying anything to his face. He must be blessed with natural beauty. It was truly enviable.
Gu Jingxi was skilled in martial arts and had more acute senses than the average person. He noticed the young girl staring at him with a direct and intense gaze that left him completely bewildered. He turned to look at her and asked, puzzled, "Why is Madam looking at me like that?"
"My husband has such beautiful skin."
Meng Jinyao sighed sincerely, her tone tinged with envy.
Gu Jingxi was immediately stunned. He had been praised for his talent and for his brilliant case-solving skills. Some people had also praised his outstanding appearance, but this was the first time he had heard someone say that he had good skin. It was one thing to use such an envious tone, but the other person was a girl.
A girl envied his good skin?
His mood was somewhat complicated; something about it sounded strange. Looking at the young girl's stunningly beautiful face with its flawless skin, he replied, "Your skin is also excellent; there's no need to envy me."
Meng Jinyao said sourly, "When I'm twenty-nine, my skin might not be as good as yours now. You don't even have a single fine line around your eyes."
Gu Jingxi listened and chuckled helplessly, but looking at the little girl's face, which still had a childish look, he secretly rejoiced that he didn't look old and had no wrinkles on his face. Otherwise, if he went out with the little girl, it would look like an old father taking his daughter out.
Meng Jinyao asked again, "Husband, you really didn't use any beauty or skincare formulas?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi shook her head and chuckled, "No, I'm not a young lady, what would I need these for?"
After he finished speaking, he thought that the young girl was a young lady, and young ladies cared a lot about their appearance and were afraid of aging. Otherwise, the concubines in the palace would not have asked the imperial physicians to develop beauty and health-preserving ointments and medicinal diets.
Or should he go to Physician Yang and ask for some beauty and skin-nourishing ointments?
But the girl is only sixteen years old. At this age, she is in the prime of her youth and probably doesn't need such a thing. Perhaps she can ask again in seven or eight years.
Meng Jinyao said "Oh" and didn't continue the question.
Not long after, Gu Jingxi suddenly stopped.
Meng Jinyao looked up at him: "What's wrong?"
Gu Jingxi said, "Let's go inside and see if there's anything you like."
Should we go take a look?
Where should we go for a look?
Meng Jinyao subconsciously looked to the left. Directly to her left was a rouge shop, and a famous one in the capital. Rouge shops cater to young women, which meant that Gu Jingxi was going to buy her rouge.
She asked, "Husband, are you going to buy me rouge?"
Gu Jingxi nodded slightly and replied truthfully, "Well, I don't know what you young ladies like. I originally wanted to take you to the study, but I guess you're not interested in buying books."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was surprised. So, the reason she took her out today was solely for her sake?
Upon entering the rouge shop, the silver-tongued female shopkeeper introduced Meng Jinyao to several popular rouges, as well as lip rouge and floral appliqués.
Meng Jinyao picked out a box of rouge, two boxes of lipstick, and also chose a floral decoration.
When Gu Jingxi paid for her bill, he saw that there were only so few items and asked, "Why didn't you buy more, Madam?"
Meng Jinyao replied, "That's enough. We'll buy this much and then buy more when we run out."
After leaving the shop, Meng Jinyao had nowhere else she wanted to go, so she headed back home.
On the way home, Meng Jinyao kept glancing at the man beside her, and her mind started to wander again.
He bought her jewelry, snacks, and rouge, took her out to play, and even secretly held her while they slept at night.
She had heard from A-Ning that when the young master of the Shen family went out with A-Ning, they would either go boating on the lake to admire the flowers, or go to rouge and jewelry shops, or buy some snacks. Now Gu Jingxi's behavior was similar to that of the young master of the Shen family when he treated A-Ning. If he didn't have those feelings for her, it was unlikely that he would treat her like this.
Gu Jingxi used to treat her well, but he never did anything like this to her. Is it because he spent a lot of time with her that he suddenly realized he had romantic feelings for her, which is why he acted so out of character?
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