Chapter 4, Chapter 4: Fourth Brother is Good at Everything
Yi Mingyu had no time to feel melancholy. She saw that the waiter was still waiting for her to pay. For a moment, she looked a little flustered, not knowing where to put her hands. She subconsciously touched the hem of her clothes one moment and nervously twisted her fingers the next.
After a while, he finally spoke up, saying, "Young man, it seems my purse has been stolen..."
He looked nervous, and his voice carried a hint of embarrassment: "Otherwise, I'll go back and get it for you."
As he spoke, he deliberately avoided Gu Qingxu's gaze, his eyes darting around. After all, as a man, he couldn't very well let the two young ladies pay for it. That sense of pride made him feel ashamed at the moment.
The waiter was taken aback, a troubled look on his face. He was just a waiter; he couldn't make the decision. He scratched his head, his eyes filled with difficulty, and stammered, "Young master, this..."
Seeing his predicament, Yi Mingyu was about to speak up and assure him that he would definitely come when he heard a voice calling him from the side.
"Brother Yi!"
What are you doing here?
Yi Mingyu took a look and recognized him as You Yemeng, a former classmate. Although You Yemeng was not close to Zou Di, he couldn't care less at the moment; at least he was someone he knew.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yi Mingyu, with a look of anxiety and embarrassment on his face, quickly spoke up.
"Brother You, I came here for tea, but when I went to pay, I found that my purse had been stolen."
He said somewhat anxiously, "Could you lend me two taels of silver to help me out of this urgent problem?"
You Yemeng greeted Yi Mingyu out of curiosity and a desire to tease him, because he saw that there were two girls with him.
He was asking for money now, not because he was stingy, but because it was the end of the month and he didn't have much money left. He frowned slightly, feeling hesitant, his eyes shifting back and forth between Yi Mingyu and the two girls.
However, seeing the two young ladies present, in order not to lose face, You Yemeng gritted his teeth and took out some silver to pretend to be generous.
However, before the silver could be handed to Yi Mingyu, a hearty shout suddenly came from the side.
"I've paid the money."
The two looked up and saw Gu Qingxu nimbly take out a money pouch from her waist, take out two taels of silver, and hand it to the waiter.
Looking at him, Yi Mingyu inexplicably felt that he looked rather dashing.
Gu Qingxu didn't notice his gaze. She simply put away her money pouch and didn't want to say a word. She just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
When Yi Mingyu went looking for his purse and said it had been stolen, she was already suspicious. When someone happened to appear and asked to borrow money, she was already convinced that this person was resorting to such underhanded tactics to avoid paying.
She couldn't stand these tactics anymore and didn't want to deal with them any further, so she simply paid the money and parted ways. That way, even if Cheng Shi found out, she wouldn't say anything bad about her.
Ignoring Yi Mingyu's situation, Gu Qingxu grabbed Ruan Xingzhu's hand and tried to leave.
She had just lifted her leg to take a step when Yi Mingyu suddenly felt anxious. His face flushed red and then turned pale because of what had just happened. He quickly took a few steps and blocked their way.
"Well, I'll return the silver to you when I get back," he said somewhat embarrassedly, not daring to look Gu Qingxu in the eye.
Actually, it wasn't really a matter of "returning" the tea, since it wasn't just for him; she and Ruan Xingzhu both had some. She just really didn't want to beat around the bush with him anymore, so she quickly agreed and pulled Ruan Xingzhu downstairs.
Ruan Xingzhu was pulled along as she jogged away from Guanyue Tower. Seeing Gu Qingxu as if there was some raging beast behind her, she couldn't help but burst out laughing when Gu Qingxu slowed down.
Hearing Ruan Xingzhu laugh at her, Gu Qingxu felt inexplicably embarrassed. What kind of people did the Cheng family find for her?
Seeing that Ruan Xingzhu was still smiling, she glared at Ruan Xingzhu in annoyance and slapped Ruan Xingzhu's arm.
"You're still laughing? It's all because of you, otherwise I wouldn't have come to see him."
When Ruan Xingzhu saw that Gu Qingxu had misunderstood her again, she sighed helplessly and explained, "Fifth Sister, I was just laughing at how you escaped him like you were escaping some kind of wild beast. What were you thinking, Fifth Sister?"
Gu Qingxu let out a sigh of relief. Well, Ruan Xingzhu is too simple-minded to see that Yi Mingyu was deliberately trying not to pay. Saying that he would return the money to her was probably just a face-saving gesture and shouldn't be taken seriously.
"Xingzhu, can't you see that Yi Mingyu is deliberately trying to avoid paying the money, which is why he's making such a fuss?" She frowned, looking earnest, and lectured Ruan Xingzhu like a little adult.
Ruan Xingzhu was taken aback. She recalled Yi Mingyu's appearance in her mind. His embarrassment at the time didn't seem fake. She hesitated for a moment: "I'm afraid... no way."
Regardless of whether he is that kind of person or not, he was selected by the Cheng family, so how could he dare to cause such trouble?
Gu Qingxu couldn't help but shake her head and gently tapped Ruan Xingzhu's forehead. This little sister Xingzhu was still being protected too well and was too naive.
On the street, Gu Qingxu complained about Yi Mingyu the whole way, and Ruan Xinzhu listened the whole way until her ears were practically calloused.
I couldn't help but recall Gu Qingxu's complaints about the previous people, but none of them were as numerous as Yi Mingyu's. Now, Yi Mingyu has probably been omitted as well.
She just didn't expect that Gu Qingxu would dare to say these words to Cheng Shi.
Upon entering the Gu residence, Gu Qingsu went straight to Cheng's room and recounted the teahouse incident to Cheng with embellishments.
She spoke so quickly that she almost portrayed Yi Mingyu as utterly wicked.
However, Madam Cheng was somewhat suspicious. It wasn't that she didn't believe Gu Qingxu, but Gu Qingxu was already resistant to the idea of a marriage proposal.
She seriously suspected that Gu Qingxu was just spouting nonsense to ruin the matchmaking process. She narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze scrutinizing, trying to see through the truth in Gu Qingxu's words.
Seeing that Madam Cheng didn't believe her and was still suspicious of her, Gu Qingxu became a little anxious and raised her voice a bit: "It's true, Yi Mingyu not only arrived late and made us wait for a long time, but he also lied and said that his purse had been stolen when it came time to pay, so that our young lady had to pay in the end."
"Tell me, how can a man leave a girl to pay for everything on the first meeting? It's only a small amount now, but if it's like this, what will happen when I get married? Will I have to pay for everything myself?"
"And it even saves him money to support mistresses." Gu Qingsu became more and more insistent as she spoke, as if she wouldn't stop until she had completely dissuaded Cheng Shi from having any thoughts of keeping her.
Cheng Shi's head ached from listening, so she raised her hand to rub her temples, interrupting Gu Qing Su's output, and looked at Ruan Xing Zhu beside her.
She said with a slight headache, "Xingzhu, you tell me."
Ruan Xingzhu was stunned when she heard this, and her expression faltered when she was suddenly called on. Gu Qingxu secretly gave her a wink, and she immediately found it difficult to speak.
However, what Gu Qingxu said wasn't exactly a lie; she just exaggerated a little. So, if she continued talking about it, it wouldn't be considered a lie either.
With her mind made up, Ruan Xingzhu lowered her head slightly and said softly, "Young Master Yi is indeed a little late. He said his money pouch was stolen when he was paying."
If Gu Qingxu dared to lie to her, then Ruan Xingzhu wouldn't dare even if she had ten times the courage. But would that young master of the Yi family really dare to do such a thing? Cheng Shi wondered suspiciously, her expression turning cold.
Seeing that Madam Cheng was starting to believe him, Gu Qingxu quickly seized the opportunity to press the matter.
"I knew it! Even Xingzhu said so, so Yi Mingyu must really be like that!"
Cheng was somewhat helpless; Gu Qingxu seemed neither downcast nor at all, and even appeared somewhat excited. She knew Gu Qingxu's personality.
Cheng didn't want to argue with her, so she waved her hand and said that she wanted to be alone, and then chased the two of them out of the house.
"Xingzhu, you really didn't disappoint me." As soon as they were out of sight, Gu Qingxu smiled broadly, put his arm around Ruan Xingzhu's shoulder, and praised her.
Ruan Xingzhu was somewhat worried that Gu Qingxu had gone too far. If the Cheng family investigated further and found that the facts were not as exaggerated as Gu Qingxu described, wouldn't Gu Qingxu have suffered a loss?
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with worry, and she said, "But what if Madam goes to confront Young Master Yi?"
Gu Qingxu paused for a moment, then quickly regained her cheerful demeanor, tossing her head and saying nonchalantly, "Who cares! Anyway, it's a fact that he's being pretentious for being late, and it's not something I made up."
Gu Qingxu raised her eyebrows, as if she wanted to say something, but suddenly someone came towards her and made a sound.
"What are you talking about? What are you being so dramatic about?"
Gu Qingxu and Ruan Xingzhu looked over at the sound and saw Gu Yun'an, who was usually very busy, making a rare appearance. He was dressed in a black robe with gold accents, the black fabric embroidered with exquisite gold patterns that shimmered in the sunlight, as dazzling as he was.
He walked over slowly, his figure seemingly carried by the wind, the hem of his clothes fluttering gently in the breeze.
Ruan Xingzhu was one of the closest people to Gu Yun'an in the mansion, so she quickly spoke up to explain, "Fourth Brother, we were talking about Fifth Sister's potential partner today."
A hint of inquiry flashed in Gu Yun'an's eyes. He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "Oh, Xingzhu went too?"
"What does Xingzhu think?"
Before Ruan Xingzhu could reply, Gu Qingsu eagerly chimed in, adding fuel to the fire by criticizing Yi Mingyu.
As she spoke, she gestured exaggeratedly and complained.
Gu Yun'an listened quietly without responding.
As they talked, Gu Qingxu couldn't help but look at her innocent little sister and said, "If you ask me, Fourth Brother is still the model among young masters."
"Sister Xingzhu should marry someone like Fourth Brother in the future."
"Am I right?" Gu Qingxu tapped Ruan Xingzhu's round head.
Though spoken unintentionally, her words struck a chord with Gu Yun'an. A slight smile crept onto his lips, and a hint of pleasure flashed in his eyes as he turned his gaze to Ruan Xingzhu.
Gu Qingxu spoke too quickly, but when she heard this sentence, she suddenly paused. In addition, she had recently been looking for a husband, so these words made her blush slightly.
She knew Gu Yun'an was good, but not everyone could compare to such a noble and talented person as Gu Yun'an, especially since she only relied on him as an older brother.
Thinking of this, her flushed face cooled down. When she looked up, her gaze met Gu Yun'an's eyes, who seemed to be waiting for her answer.
To make him happy, Ruan Xingzhu readily said, "I think Fifth Sister is right, Fourth Brother is good in every way."
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