Chapter 10 Heavy Rain
It was still early and the sky was clear.
Jiang Ran had a dream last night and woke up from it with a fright, and hardly slept any more. Now his eyes were red and he stayed in bed, unwilling to get up.
Maybe it was because I wanted to cook with Lord Lu yesterday, and I got my comeuppance tonight.
In the dream, she ordered a large table of dishes, but Lu Weiqing didn't like any of them. After commenting on each one and expressing his dislike for them, he told her not to waste food and to eat it all himself.
She didn't dare to disobey and could only eat hard. When she couldn't eat anymore, Lu Weiqing fed her personally.
It was so terrifying that Jiang Ran shuddered when he thought about it now.
She covered her head and was about to go back to sleep when she heard Taoli come to tell her that the owner of Jixian Bookstore had come to visit.
Jiang Ran quickly got up from the bed and quickened his washing speed.
Rubbing his eyes, Jiang Ran walked into the reception room and woke up from his drowsiness when he saw the serious expression of the shopkeeper.
"I remember the selection was about to end today, and I was planning to go there later. What happened?"
The shopkeeper stood up and saluted, "Miss, there is something I need to ask you."
"What's going on? Could it be that the top spot has changed hands?"
Jiang Ran became excited and ready to try. She wanted to see what young talent appeared in Chang'an whose popularity could surpass Lu Weiqing.
"That's not the case." The shopkeeper wiped his sweat. "It was the girl who got the most votes. She said her name was Jiang Ran, and that it offended the young lady's name, so she came to ask."
"Cough cough cough." Jiang Ran almost choked on a mouthful of water.
Jiang Ran...this is such a coincidence.
Forget it, whatever the sponsor says is what it goes.
Jiang Ran calmed down and waved his hand generously, saying, "It's okay, just follow the previous rules."
"Yeah." The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly and asked, "So, what do you think of this new book, Miss?"
Jiang Ran was stunned and his mind went blank for a moment.
She actually had her own selfish motives in opening this bookstore.
Jiang Ran can be considered an avid fan of storybooks. He once had a glorious record of staying up all night and reading ten stories in a row.
She had read almost all the books on the market before she started hiring someone to write new ones.
Perhaps it is her natural sensitivity that allows her to grasp the market and audience psychology very accurately. Every time she sets a theme, the new book that comes out is extremely popular.
Jixian Bookstore was founded thanks to a group of writers trained by her, who emerged out of nowhere and occupied a place in the world of vernacular novels.
The bookstore has developed well in recent years, and she has been less involved in it, but as a rule, the book that tops the list of "Chang'an Girls' Dream Lovers" is usually the one that decides the direction of the story by Jiang Ran.
Lu Weiqing, Jiang Ran, Lu Weiqing, Jiang Ran...
Lu Weiqing, Jiang Ran... No, no, no, Jiang Ran, Jiang Ran, Jiang Ran.
These two names circled in my mind for a long time, but I had no idea what to do.
It was over. Jiang Ran slapped her forehead a few times. Could it be that she had run out of ideas?
The shopkeeper couldn't bear it any longer and reminded her, "Miss, that girl also said that she wants to customize the story. If you write it according to her request, she is willing to buy a minimum of 500 copies when the new book comes out."
Jiang Ran's eyes lit up, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Just do as she says."
There is no need to worry about sales anymore, it is really a blessing from heaven.
Just when Jiang Ran was in a good mood and humming a song while having breakfast, De Ming, the servant of the Lu residence, was stopped at the gate by Tao Li.
"What are you doing?" Taoli was furious when she saw him and closed the door tightly, leaving only a crack.
Taking advantage of the fact that the young lady liked his master, De Ming often took things from the Jiang family.
But several times when she went to the Lu Mansion to deliver things, he always looked down on her and sometimes even pretended not to see her.
De Ming rubbed his hands awkwardly, "Sister Tao Li, it's me, De Ming beside Master Lu."
"No, no, no, don't try to get close to me. I'm not worthy of you calling me sister. Just tell me what you want to say." Taoli glanced at him and knocked on the door twice impatiently.
"It's just...my master wants to meet Miss Jiang at the lakeside pavilion at 5 p.m."
De Ming said it with gritted teeth, secretly praying that the relationship between the two would ease up soon, as he had been in the middle of the crowd these days.
Madam Lu forbad the young master to have any further contact with Miss Jiang. The young master looked absent-minded every day and had smashed countless cups, plates, and bowls. This time, he had barely managed to sneak out to deliver the message.
"What are you meeting for? What's there to meet for? Didn't you just send the returned items directly to our house as we said before?"
"What our young master means is that it would be better to count the things in person." De Ming replied with a stiff face.
Taoli's eyes rolled around, and she said, "Wait," and went in to pass on the message.
She kept all the things Lu Yu sent her carefully in a mahogany box, saving her the trouble of packing them up.
After listening to Tao Li's indignant accusation, Jiang Ran took a sip of porridge and said lightly, "Okay."
The gifts they gave to each other were carefully selected and delivered to each other personally. Now that they were returned in person, it could be considered a complete beginning and an end.
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It was not yet dusk, but thick clouds were rolling in, thunder was rumbling, and a heavy rain was about to come.
Taoli looked around and saw that all the tourists had fled to avoid the rain, but there was no sign of Lu Yu.
Soon, they were the only two people left nearby, still sitting in the pavilion with breezes blowing in from all sides.
"Damn it!" she cursed. She never expected this person to be so unreliable.
"Miss, why don't we go back?" Taoli rubbed her arms, shivering with cold, and regretted having delivered the message today.
Jiang Ran looked at the box beside him and frowned, "Wait a little longer."
In just half a minute, thick black clouds covered the sky completely, it was as dark as night, and heavy rain poured down.
In the strong wind, the heavy rain was pouring down at an angle, and the pavilion could not provide any shelter from the rain.
"Miss, I'll go find a carriage."
Jiang Ran tightened his wet cloak and suddenly felt sad.
The rain was as heavy as that day.
That day, she was also afraid that Lu Yu would come and not be able to find her, so she kept waiting and waiting.
Why doesn't she learn her lesson?
You deserve it.
Jiang Ran smiled helplessly and opened the mahogany box casually.
The first thing she took out was a pair of Dongzhu earrings he had given her last year. As she let go, the earrings fell to the ground, splashing water.
The second gift was a string of agarwood beads from the year before last. The third gift was a coral ruyi. The fourth gift was a glass cup, a scented sachet, a jade pendant, a wooden comb, and a hairpin.
Finally, she took out a white jade paperweight. When they first met, Lu Yu had spent all his New Year's money to buy it for her in order to coax her to write more.
The paperweight fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. The tears in Jiang Ran's eyes finally fell.
Fortunately, the rain was heavy enough that no one could see it.
Jiang Ran wiped his face, which was covered with rain. The more he wiped, the more uncomfortable he felt, so he simply closed his eyes.
The next second, the rain seemed to stop suddenly.
Jiang Ran tentatively opened her eyes, and saw a crane staring at her.
She tilted her head back and saw a crimson official uniform.
A hand with distinct joints and as smooth as white jade handed over a handkerchief.
Jiang Ran immediately took away the handkerchief and covered his red and swollen eyes.
She paused for a moment before complaining in a muffled voice, "Lord Lu, are you very free? Why do you always run into me?"
"If you don't always make things difficult for yourself, you won't meet me." A clear and slightly hoarse voice came from above his head.
Jiang Ran was a little unconvinced, "Haven't you ever done anything stupid?"
As soon as she said that, she felt like she was being stupid again.
This is the young genius Lu Weiqing, of course he doesn’t have it.
"Just pretend I didn't ask."
“Yes.”
Two voices sounded at the same time.
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