Chapter 23 What kind of person is she?
A cool night breeze gently stirred the corner of Ji Yun's purple-brown brocade robe and also ruffled a few strands of Meng Yutong's hair.
The two stood quietly facing each other, surrounded by a bustling crowd and slowly passing carriages. Ji Yun's voice was as clear and calm as ever, "Miss Meng, please feel free to ask."
"What kind of person do you think I am, Young Master Ji?"
The moonlight fell perfectly into her dark eyes, creating a shimmering, cool glow. The surroundings were clearly bustling and noisy, yet her eyes seemed to hold a deep loneliness.
He lowered his eyelids slightly, then raised them again, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before he parted his thin lips and said, "Your name is renowned, you are gentle and refined, generous and virtuous."
Ji Yun's words were pretty much what he had expected.
Meng Yutong nodded, her lips suddenly curving upwards into a bright smile, but her eyes held aloofness and indifference. "I may disappoint Young Master Ji, but I am not that kind of person."
“I come from a merchant family and have a stubborn personality. In the future, I may do many things that others find shocking, and I am not the choice of a virtuous bride.”
Ji Yun gazed at her quietly, and in the depths of his usually aloof phoenix eyes, a subtle ripple seemed to flash by.
Is this sharp and self-destructive attitude a true reflection of her nature, or a deliberate disguise?
What does she want to do?
"Girl!" A cry piercing the air suddenly broke the tense silence.
Bai Zhi rushed over from the direction of Zhenweilou and hugged Meng Yutong tightly, her voice choked with sobs: "Miss, where have you been! Your servant and Granny Gui and I have searched the entire Bazhenfang, we were so scared we almost lost our souls!"
Granny Gui followed closely behind, panting. She looked Meng Yutong up and down to make sure she was alright, then patted her chest and said repeatedly, "Amitabha, Bodhisattva, thank goodness! It's good that you're alright! It's good that you're alright!"
Meng Yutong gently comforted the two still-shaken individuals: "Don't panic. I just ran into an old friend and we chatted for a bit. I'm sorry to have troubled you."
After she calmed the maids and nannies down, she looked up again and found that Ji Yun had already left sometime earlier.
That's fine.
She felt indifferent.
That confession just now was merely paving the way for my grandmother to break off the engagement later.
His feelings—whether shock, anger, or relief—were none of her concern.
Perhaps, after this meeting, their lives, which should never have intersected, will go completely parallel.
“Miss,” Bai Zhi took the brocade box containing the jade hairpin from her hand and asked with lingering fear, “Where did Young Master Ji find you? He was a great help!”
"Found it?" Meng Yutong frowned slightly, catching the key point: hadn't she and Ji Yun met by chance?
“Yes,” Bai Zhi nodded vigorously and hurriedly explained, “Just now, this servant and Granny Gui couldn’t find you at Bazhenfang and were very anxious. Manager Zheng was only busy scolding the shop assistants and wouldn’t pay any attention to us. We happened to run into Young Master Ji on his way back to the mansion, and this servant had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask him to help find you… Young Master Ji agreed without saying a word.”
"So he was originally planning to go back, but you asked him to help find me, so he turned back to look for me?" Meng Yutong asked, somewhat surprised.
As far as I remember, he wasn't the type to meddle in other people's business.
Bai Zhi nodded. Seeing that Meng Yutong looked a little uneasy, Bai Zhi quickly said, "Miss, shouldn't we have invited Young Master Ji? This servant and Granny Gui were just flustered. This Imperial Street is so big, we really don't know where to look for him."
“It’s alright,” Meng Yutong comforted her. “Let’s go back first.”
At one end of Bazhenfang, Cui Ercheng and Mei San helped Liu Sijun stagger to the entrance of Bazhenfang.
Achang's face was ashen, and he huddled in the corner like a quail with his head down.
Zheng Hui was cursing until his mouth was dry, and he was drinking cold tea from a teapot in large gulps.
"Young Master Liu is back!" Achang was overjoyed and hurriedly went to take the teapot.
Zheng Hui wiped his mouth, and seeing Liu Sijun's completely drunk state, the fierceness in his eyes vanished, and a barely perceptible cold smile appeared on his lips.
He winked at Achang, signaling him to quickly prepare a new contract, while he himself greeted him with a smile: "Quickly, quickly help Young Master Liu in to rest!"
Liu Sijun was settled on a soft couch in the inner room and slowly "woke up." Zheng Hui attentively fanned him from the side: "On such a fine day, did Young Master Liu enjoy himself to the fullest?"
Liu Sijun suddenly leaned closer, and a loud burp shot straight into Zheng Hui's face. The foul odor made Zheng Hui take several steps back, almost vomiting.
"No...not enough!" Liu Sijun waved his arms and shoved Cui Ermei, "Bring...bring the wine!"
Zheng Hui spat inwardly, forcing a smile to suppress his disgust. "Young Master Liu, too much alcohol is bad for your health. You should stop drinking."
"Manager Zheng is right!" Liu Sijun suddenly shouted, slapping Zheng Hui hard on the shoulder. "I'll listen to the manager and not drink anymore!"
Zheng Hui seized the opportunity and said, "Since you're here, young master, why don't you just sign the contract that A-Chang asked you to complete? It will save you trouble later."
"Sign!" Liu Sijun slapped him hard on the back again. "Give me a pen!"
Zheng Hui grimaced as he was slapped, his face turning pale and then red, and he struggled to push him away.
Achang strode in with two drafted contracts, spread them out in front of Liu Sijun, and respectfully handed him the pen.
Liu Sijun grabbed the pen, his eyes glazed with drunkenness, and waved his hand, "This...this new contract is naturally no problem...but the old one...it has to be taken out and burned in front of us for it to be valid!"
Zheng Hui nodded repeatedly, patiently coaxing him, "Young Master Liu is right, but the old one is already discarded, isn't it? We can just sign the new one directly!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Sijun threw the pen in his hand far away, shook his head, and said stubbornly, "If I don't burn the old one, I won't sign this new contract."
Achang glanced at Zheng Hui secretly, and seeing him nod through gritted teeth, he hurriedly ran out again to find the old contract.
Before long, he ran in with the old contract.
The two burned the old contract in front of Liu Sijun.
"Can you sign now?" Zheng Hui had been worn down by the nagging all night.
Liu Sijun nodded vigorously, "Sign! Sign!"
The filth poured out like a fountain, instantly flooding the table.
Zheng Hui and A Chang, who were standing nearby, were the first to be splashed with filth.
"You brat, you've gone too far!" Zheng Hui roared in fury, pointing at Liu Sijun and cursing him.
After watching the commotion for a while, Cui Ercheng and Mei San slowly stepped forward and pulled him away. "Manager, please don't take our young master's words to heart. This is how the young master behaves when he's drunk! You two should go back first. Tomorrow, when he's sober, we'll take him to prepare a new contract and personally apologize to him!"
Seeing that Liu Sijun was already lying unconscious on the couch, there was no point in pestering him any further.
Zheng Hui looked at his disheveled clothes, trembling with anger. He stomped his foot angrily and stormed off.
Achang followed sheepishly.
After the two left, a loud, booming laugh suddenly came from inside the house…
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