Chapter 23 I Want to Kiss Her
As soon as Ruan Xingzhu entered the Gu residence, she headed towards Huaiju, carrying some sweet cakes and pastries in her arms.
At Huaiju, Gu Yun'an had just returned from handling official business when he asked Ruan Xingzhu, who told him that she had gone out with Gu Qingsu again.
As soon as Ruan Xingzhu stepped into Huaiju, she saw Gu Yun'an sitting in the hall. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly took small steps to carry the pastries in her arms, saying, "Fourth Brother, these are sweet cakes and pastries I bought at the market today. I brought some especially for you."
As she spoke, she carefully placed the pastries on the table.
Gu Yun'an's dark gaze swept over and immediately spotted the colorfully packaged sugar cakes.
He raised an eyebrow slightly and couldn't help but ask, "Is the sugar cake for me too?"
Ruan Xingzhu paused in her action of opening the sugar cake. She knew that Gu Yun'an didn't eat sweets, but she was used to taking them from here and thought that she could eat them when she came to Huaiju.
She thought for a moment and quickly said nonchalantly, "If Fourth Brother doesn't want to eat it, he can just eat it when I come."
Seeing that she wasn't even going to act anymore, Gu Yun'an lowered his eyelids. Huaiju was practically hers now; she was taking everything from him. He just wondered if she would offer herself to him someday, which would be even more to his liking.
A slight smile played on his lips as he looked down at her, a hint of affection in his eyes. He couldn't help but recall the way she had gotten up from his bed.
As Ruan Xingzhu ate her pastries, her gaze inadvertently drifted to the purse at Gu Yun'an's waist. It was the very purse she had made; ever since she gave it to him, she had always seen Gu Yun'an carrying it with him.
A thought struck her, and she couldn't help but ask, "Um, does Fourth Brother need another purse? I'll make one for him."
A hint of doubt appeared between Gu Yun'an's brows. He looked down at the purse at his waist. The purse was exquisitely embroidered with fine stitches, showing that a lot of thought had been put into it.
He looked up at Ruan Xingzhu, his gaze probing. "Xingzhu, is there something you want to tell me?"
"No." Ruan Xingzhu shook her head, somewhat puzzled. A small beaded flower was pinned in her hair, swaying gently with the movement.
Seeing that Ruan Xingzhu didn't seem to be hiding anything, Gu Yun'an lowered his eyelids, thinking that she was thinking about finding a husband again.
"Then shall I make another one for Fourth Brother?" Ruan Xingzhu asked hesitantly, raising her eyes again.
"Okay," Gu Yun'an replied softly.
In response, Ruan Xingzhu mentioned that she wanted to make a purse with a certain pattern with him. Gu Yun'an didn't listen carefully, his gaze was fixed on the pastry crumbs on the corner of her mouth.
A ripple of emotion welled up in his eyes, and he suddenly felt a tightness in his throat, a strange impulse surging within him. He wanted to kiss it clean, little by little, just like his fleeting taste that night.
After that brief encounter that night, he couldn't help but think about it, to the point that he was now finding it increasingly difficult to resist the desire in his heart.
His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and he slowly leaned towards her. Ruan Xingzhu looked up at him as he approached, somewhat puzzled, but made no move to back away.
He slowly leaned forward, raised his slender fingers, and gently brushed across the corner of her lips.
When his dark eyes met Ruan Xingzhu's clear, watery eyes, Gu Yun'an forcibly suppressed the surging desire in his heart and shook off the lust.
Taking a deep breath, suppressing his impulse, he slowly raised his hand and gently wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.
"How old are you, still eating food that's barely touching your mouth?" His voice was low, deliberately carrying a hint of disdain, but he couldn't hide the slight trembling in his fingertips.
The faint scent of osmanthus wafted from Ruan Xingzhu's body, forcing him to suppress the strange flutter in his heart.
Hearing Gu Yun'an's disdainful tone, Ruan Xingzhu couldn't help but say, "Even if you're the oldest, you're still not as old as Fourth Brother!"
After speaking, Gu Yun'an remained silent, as if he was thinking about something.
A gentle breeze swept across the Huaihe River and pond, creating ripples that lingered for a long time.
These past few days, whether it was Madam Yi intentionally trying to curry favor or something else, she has been coming to the Gu residence every few days to talk to Madam Cheng. As a result, she and Madam Cheng have gotten along much better than Gu Qingsu and Yi Mingyu.
Today, Madam Yi came to visit again. She said that her relatives had brought some local specialties from Sichuan, and she had brought some for Madam Cheng to try.
After chatting for a while, Cheng suddenly remembered the incident of Yi Mingyu's zither falling and got up to leave.
“Mingyu was in such a hurry to leave today that he even forgot the zither he was teaching. I’ll have to have someone send it over later.”
"I heard that Young Master Yi is studying at the Zhizhong Academy?" Madam Cheng raised her eyes slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in them, and couldn't help but bring it up.
“That’s right,” Madam Yi replied quickly.
Cheng Shi's gaze shifted, lost in thought. The next moment, she looked at Gu Qing Su, who was sitting to the side drinking tea.
"Why don't we let Qing Su deliver it? She doesn't have anything else to do anyway."
Gu Qingxu was drinking tea with her head down when she heard this and almost choked. She looked up abruptly, her eyes wide. What? What did she mean by saying she was fine?! She was filled with helplessness and resistance. The scholarly atmosphere of the Imperial Academy was the last place she wanted to go. The Cheng family really was trying every trick in the book to get her to absorb some scholarly air.
Madam Yi was somewhat surprised and sat back down, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face, "How can we let Fifth Miss deliver this..."
Cheng raised his teacup, took a small sip, and spoke softly yet with a touch of authority.
“Why not? Qing Su, you can take the zither to the Central Academy for Young Master Yi in a moment.”
Gu Qingxu instinctively wanted to refuse outright, but then she remembered how Yi Mingyu had helped her at the flower-viewing banquet. After a moment's hesitation, she finally agreed.
Cheng Shi had expected Gu Qing Su to refuse and was thinking about how to put pressure on her, but to her surprise, Gu Qing Su agreed. This was beyond her expectations.
However, before Gu Qingxu went out, she also took Ruan Xingzhu with her.
When Gu Qingsu found Ruan Xingzhu, she was puzzled and tilted her head to ask, "Didn't Fifth Sister mention that she dislikes anything too scholarly? Why did you agree to go to the Imperial Academy?"
Gu Qingxu also realized that she was indeed acting strangely and had agreed too quickly. She quickly rolled her eyes and immediately brought up the Cheng family as an excuse.
"It was my mother who asked me to deliver the piano; I had no choice."
Anyway, the person who asked her to deliver the zither was Cheng Shi, so she wasn't exactly lying.
Ruan Xingzhu didn't think too much about it and obediently followed Gu Qingxu to the Central Academy.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the Central Academy, Gu Qingxu looked up at the plaque hanging high above and couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. Looking at the plaque, she truly felt she had made a difficult trip for herself.
She frowned slightly and reluctantly stepped across the threshold. Just as she was about to leave with the maid putting down the zither, the page called out to her again.
"Otherwise, we can wait for Yi Xueshi to come and confirm later," the page said, his face respectful.
The zithers that the masters usually brought with them were very valuable, so they were extra careful to avoid any problems that might arise.
Gu Qingxu frowned slightly, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes. "How long do we have to wait?"
"Soon, Yi Xueshi will be able to come out after finishing this lesson," the page said, leading the man to sit down in the courtyard.
After sitting for a while, Gu Qingxu listened to the sounds of poetry coming from the courtyard, which felt like a lullaby, making her a little sleepy. She yawned and couldn't help but get up and wander around, trying to perk herself up.
Ruan Xingzhu, on the other hand, enjoyed the tranquil atmosphere inside. Accompanied by the sound of students reading aloud, she felt very relaxed.
But when she turned around, she found that Gu Qingxu, who had been sitting on the stone bench, was gone. Turning back, Ruan Xingzhu sighed softly, thinking that Gu Qingxu must have gotten restless and gone off to play somewhere.
The layout of the Central Academy is extensive, consisting of concentric circles forming a perimeter, with a large pond in the center, where lotus flowers and goldfish are kept.
As Gu Qingxu walked, she unknowingly arrived at the courtyard where the classes were held. Just as she was about to leave, fearing that her presence might be a disturbance, she vaguely saw Yi Mingyu's figure through the window.
For some reason, she couldn't help but stop and look up. When she saw Yi Mingyu's serious face, Gu Qingxu was sure that it really was Yi Mingyu.
Yi Mingyu, dressed in a dark blue robe, looked exactly like someone from the Central Academy. He sat upright in the hall, nodding slightly as he listened attentively to the students reciting the texts in their hands.
This brought to mind the scene of Yi Mingyu reciting poetry for her at the flower-viewing banquet. Suddenly, she felt that some literary things didn't seem so bothersome anymore. She just stared at it, slightly lost in thought.
But the next second, Yi Mingyu, who was intently watching the students below, suddenly turned his head, glanced out the window, and abruptly met her gaze.
In that instant, Gu Qingxu felt her breath catch in her throat. A sudden pang of guilt rose in her heart, as if she had been caught peeping.
Yi Mingyu, standing in the main hall, paused for a moment. He had only turned his head casually, but somehow he seemed to see Gu Qingxu.
For a moment, he almost doubted whether he was seeing things or hallucinating. In his subconscious, Gu Qingxu could appear in all sorts of lively occasions, but she would never appear in this scholarly academy.
He shifted his body, trying to confirm if she was Gu Qingxu. Seeing him move, Gu Qingxu snapped out of her reverie, quickly averting her gaze.
Yi Mingyu stood up, and a splash of bright red caught his eye. Gu Qingsu loved wearing red dresses, and the one she wore today stood out especially in the otherwise plain Zhongshu Academy.
Her skirt billowed slightly with her movements, and Yi Mingyu stared intently at her figure, confirming that she was indeed Gu Qingxu.
Gu Qingxu turned around, her heart beating a little fast for some reason. She was about to go back to find Ruan Xingzhu when someone came towards her.
"Why is Miss Gu here?"
Feng Rongrong saw a bright and beautiful woman standing there from afar. Just as she was wondering about her, she saw her turn around and discovered that it was Gu Qingxu.
But why is Gu Qingxu here?
Upon seeing the person who came, Gu Qingxu frowned slightly. "What does it matter to you where I am?" she said, and then turned to leave.
Feng Rongrong thought she was feeling guilty, so she quickly spoke up: "Miss Gu, don't you know that outsiders are not allowed to enter and leave the Zhongshu Academy at will?"
She wore a smug expression, as if she were a stranger who had suddenly barged in, and that she would be kicked out if she made a sound.
Gu Qingxu truly didn't know, but she had never heard of any female students or teachers at the Central Academy. She narrowed her eyes, crossed her arms, and asked, "Then why are you here?"
A smug smile appeared on Feng Rongrong's face, and her tone was slightly raised.
"I'm here to present the zither to Lord Yi." She said this with a smug look on her face, as if she were a head above Gu Qingxu.
Sending a zither?
Gu Qingxu frowned slightly; this sounded so familiar. Before she could figure it out, Feng Rongrong seemed to have seen something and immediately walked past her.
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