Spring comes
Three days later, Cui Dongchi visited. Even though he hadn't finished his official duties, Lu Chang could only put them aside for the time being and returned to his residence after his shift.
The hall was already prepared with wine and dishes to welcome the guests. Cui Dongchi sat to one side, watching as Lu Chang ordered the steward to add another pot of fine wine.
The pot on the table is fruit wine made from green plums, which can only be considered a light drink. Since they have finally met, they should drink to their heart's content.
Dongchi laughed loudly: "Tonight, we won't leave until we're drunk!"
Behind him stood a woman, also young, but gentle in nature, who often made people overlook her presence. She was dressed simply, with narrow sleeves on her upper body and her long black hair was braided into a thick braid down the back of her head, with only a simple butterfly hairpin inserted behind her head.
All her attire was for convenience, clearly indicating her status as a maid.
Lu Chang, however, knew her well. He waved his hand and said with a smile, "Chunlai, sit with us too."
The woman who had summoned him smiled and curtsied, saying, "Thank you, Young Master Lu, but..."
Before she could finish refusing, Cui Dongchi pulled her to sit next to him, deliberately placing his own bowl and chopsticks in front of her and saying, "Eat!"
Chunlai smiled helplessly. She was a magnanimous person and did not refuse any longer, sitting comfortably by the East Pond.
While Lu Chang was talking to the steward, Dong Chi grabbed her hand, leaned close to Chunlai's ear, and said with a smile, "I told you that when you're out and about, you're not allowed to have any respect for me."
Spring came and gently tickled his palm as a response.
Lu Chang glanced outside the hall twice more and asked, "Why hasn't the young lady arrived yet?"
The usually meticulous old steward was uncharacteristically caught off guard, opening his mouth somewhat helplessly. He hadn't considered that the young lady would also be attending the banquet, and had completely forgotten to invite her.
Lu Chang's smile faded. Others couldn't tell he was angry, but the butler recognized him and heard Lu Chang say, "What? She's not qualified to sit at this table?"
The butler repeatedly apologized and, covered in cold sweat, went to personally invite Jingwan over. At that time, she was practicing her painting. Upon hearing the butler's invitation, she smiled and said, "A guest has arrived? Did my cousin send me?"
The housekeeper hurriedly agreed, and Jingwan put down her pen, washed her hands, and walked towards the hall.
Two unfamiliar guests were sitting in the hall. She was a little reserved when she first met a stranger. Lu Chang called her over, and she sat down obediently next to him as if she had found a friend.
When she looked up, the handsome man opposite her nodded to her and then politely looked away. The woman sitting next to her also smiled and nodded gently at her.
Jingwan nodded in response. Lu Chang glanced at her and, seeing her silly expression, laughed without realizing it.
Although Dongchi remained silent and pretended to be calm, he was inwardly exclaiming in surprise. When did Lu Chang get a beauty by his side? Then he thought, "She's so beautiful, no wonder she doesn't fancy my older sister. Ah! So it's because my sister lost out on her looks."
Lu Chang is only interested in pretty young women; my sister has misjudged him!
Hearing the girl call Lu Chang "cousin" again, Dong Chi began to doubt whether he was mistaken. Was it really just a cousin relationship? Did his older sister still have a chance?
His mind was in turmoil, but he pretended to be calm and chatted with Lu Chang about everything under the sun, without showing even the slightest bit of curiosity.
Lu Chang was the same; he didn't have many close friends, but Dong Chi was one of them. The two also had a father-son relationship, so they were less reserved when speaking to each other.
Seeing her cousin constantly talking to the guests while occasionally picking up some cooling dishes for herself, Jingwan took advantage of the opportunity to secretly eat the bowl of lychees on the table. Before long, her bowl was piled high with red shells.
The family was forbidden from buying lychees again, but today Cui Dongchi came to visit, bringing a basket of fresh fruit. As soon as he arrived at the house, he told the steward to take it to be chilled before serving it.
When Lu Chang noticed her again, he was surprised to find that she had eaten so many without his noticing. He angrily ordered the servants to remove the remaining lychees, and disregarded the presence of outsiders who scolded her for being greedy. He also said that she was not allowed to eat another one for three days.
Jingwan was dissatisfied. She watched as the lychees were taken away from her, snorted at him, and deliberately stacked two seats on one side of the table, far away from Lu Chang.
These past few days, she has been throwing tantrums at him whenever she is slightly dissatisfied. Lu Chang is both pleased and angry. He is pleased that she has finally restored their former intimacy, but annoyed that she is ungrateful and always feels that he is too restrictive towards her.
Seeing that she had moved away, he didn't know what else to say, so he could only turn to talk to Dongchi to ease his stiff expression.
With her leaving, she was closer to Chunlai. Chunlai came to see Dongchi, so she moved to the side and finally sat down with Jingwan.
The way people get along depends on first impressions. If you can click with someone the moment you meet them, you feel like you're seeing yourself in them. That's how it was with Jingwan and Chunlai. They started chatting away as soon as they sat down, and in the end, they left the banquet hand in hand.
Jingwan didn't care about the host's etiquette. She was bored and couldn't understand what Lu Chang was saying. She wasn't allowed to eat lychees either, so she couldn't get any good food. She didn't want to sit there as an accessory anymore and dragged Chunlai to go out and play.
Chunlai glanced at Cui Dongchi with some hesitation, and only left with Jingwan after receiving his signal.
Jingwan walked away happily, so happily that she didn't look at Lu Chang again. This time it wasn't that she deliberately ignored him, but simply because she had finally found a good friend she could talk to.
Having been in Chaozhou for many days, I had no friends of similar age with whom I could talk. Fangjuan was kind, but she only treated me as her hostess and never said anything that would overstep her status. Now that spring had arrived, I was really happy. I took her to the small building so that she could see the tabby cat I had raised.
They took off their shoes and socks and sat together on the terrace to play, leaving the kitten on the swing to rock and watch it doze off comfortably.
My smooth feet rested on the wooden board, and a cool breeze blew by. Although it was still stuffy, it was much more comfortable than during the day.
Chunlai pulled out three lychees from somewhere and placed them in front of Jingwan: "Here, eat! I see you really like them." She had deliberately grabbed a few before leaving.
She was like a kind older sister next door. Although she looked to be about the same age as me, she was always considerate and seemed to have an innate ability to read people.
Jingwan didn't stand on ceremony and wanted to share the three lychees with her, one for each of them, and then they would each have half of the last one.
It's a good thing Lu Chang wasn't there; he was so considerate. If he had seen his cousin being so thoughtful, he would have been annoyed with her for days. When Jingwan was at home eating lychees, she never even considered sharing one with him.
Chunlai waved his hand in refusal, pointing to his throat and saying, "I can't eat even half of it. Jianchuan also has lychees, but if I eat just one, my throat will hurt for three days."
Jingwan could understand this pain very well. She had eaten dozens of them at once and her throat had been sore for many days. So she stopped forcing Chunlai to share. But when Chunlai mentioned Jianchuan, she was hearing about this place for the first time and asked Chunlai where Jianchuan was.
Chunlai tilted her head and thought for a moment, then could only give a rough estimate: "It should be in the eastern part of Lingnan, quite far away. It took us two months to get here from there." She fanned herself with a round fan, extremely satisfied with the long journey, saying that it was her first time in Lingnan and she would stay for many days before going back.
"That's great! We can go out and have fun together now!"
Chunlai also took her hand and nodded repeatedly.
The two talked for a long time. Although they had just met, it was as if they had known each other in a past life. They had so much to say that Fangjuan came over and asked them to go back.
Chunlai hurriedly put on her shoes and said, "It is indeed late, my young master and I should go back now." Not wanting Cui Dongchi to wait any longer, she pulled Jingwan and hurried away.
When Jingwan and Lu Chang saw them off at the gate of the house, she was reluctant to let go of Chunlai's hand and repeatedly reminded him, "We promised to meet up and play together often, so don't forget."
Lu Chang pulled her hand away and soothed her gently, "Let her go back first. We'll see each other again sometime."
Spring came and waved goodbye to her.
After they left, Jingwan turned around and happily went into the house, without waiting for Lu Chang at all. Lu Chang strode forward, grabbed her hand, and wouldn't let her go any further: "Are you angry with me? Because I didn't give you any lychees?"
Jingwan deliberately avoided looking at him, raising her head with more pride than anyone else: "I wouldn't dare! I'm at the mercy of others now, how could I dare to give my cousin a hard time?"
He said he wouldn't dare, but he still looked incredibly bold.
Lu Chang laughed at her: "You've even learned the phrase 'depending on others'?"
She was easily swayed by Lu Chang's words: "That's right! I've been reading a lot of books these past few days."
Lu Chang took her hand and walked forward, pretending not to believe her: "Really? Then I'll have to test you properly!"
He pulled the person towards the study, where they had a rare moment of leisure under the bright moon.
Inside the carriage, Chunlai was also a little tired, so Cui Dongchi deliberately moved down a bit so that Chunlai could lean against him and rest.
He lowered his head and touched her pink lips. He was so reluctant to leave after tasting the sweet fragrance. Their lips and tongues intertwined, and Chunlai opened her mouth slightly to cooperate with him. They separated after a long time, and the girl leaned into his arms, breathing softly.
Cui Dongchi gently ran his fingers through her hair, reminding Chunlai of the tabby cat from tonight. When Jingwan stroked its fur like that, it would purr contentedly.
"Who is that girl next to Lu Chang? You've been talking to her for so long, you should know by now!"
Chunlai was still resting with her eyes closed. When he asked her a question, she just smiled slightly and said, "Jingwan has always called me cousin, so we are naturally cousins."
Cui Dongchi didn't respond to him, his mind preoccupied with Lu Chang's relatives in Pingdu.
He did indeed have cousins, and more than one. It was incomprehensible why his elders would allow their daughter to come to this desolate place with Lu Chang.
Recalling his friends' every move at the banquet, Cui Dongchi laughed and said, "I don't think so."
Chunlai never refuted his words. Upon hearing this, she simply smiled and remained silent.
Dongchi didn't wait for her reply, but sighed, "It seems that my sister is really determined to give up this time. If it weren't for family matters keeping her occupied, she would have been heartbroken to come with us this time and see her in person."
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