Chapter 7 Pretending to Agree
After climbing halfway with all my might, I peeked out and saw a brightly lit house with two figures talking inside.
In the center of the house, Yi Mingyu knelt upright. Beside him stood a middle-aged woman, who, though middle-aged, still retained the charm of her youth, and whose eyes exuded an air of authority.
At this moment, her face was full of anger. Pointing at Yi Mingyu, she scolded, "Tell me, what can I say about you? I repeatedly told you that the matchmaking is of great importance. How could you ask the girl to pay?"
"This not only damages your own reputation, but also leaves the Yi family with no way to save face!"
The reprimanding voices were particularly loud in the quiet night.
The words bombarded Gu Qingxu's ears, making her momentarily anxious. Her eyes darted around in a panic, and before she could come up with a plan to stop them, the usually taciturn Yi Mingyu slowly spoke.
Her heart leaped into her throat, fearing that her explanation would be exposed.
In that moment of urgency, Yi Mingyu's voice reached his ears.
“Mother, I was wrong to do this, and I am willing to be punished.” Yi Mingyu stood up straight, and his words were neither humble nor arrogant.
Gu Qingxu, who was clinging to the wall, suddenly stopped, her pupils widening in shock and surprise. She never expected that Yi Mingyu would not say a single bad word about her or expose her flaws.
He was as cowardly as she saw him during the day, and that's how astonishing he is now.
"Alright, tonight you'll kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment to reflect on your actions. Tomorrow you'll come to my door to apologize."
After speaking, Madam Yi casually threw down the ruler, the sound of it hitting the ground being particularly crisp in the silence. Then she turned around angrily and walked out.
After seeing Madam Yi leave, Gu Qingxu kept her eyes fixed on Yi Mingyu kneeling in the hall, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
Ultimately, he was punished because of his extremely disrespectful words. A strange sense of guilt welled up in her eyes, like a mist that gradually obscured her bright gaze.
Gu Qingxu has always been someone who dares to take responsibility for her actions, but now she has let someone else take the blame, which makes her feel like a huge stone is stuck in her heart, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Time passed second by second, and Gu Qingxu's body, clinging to the wall, became somewhat numb. She was about to climb down when she forgot that the wall was very high, and she had only been able to get up here by using trees as cover.
In her panic, she stumbled and her body suddenly lurched upwards, then she uncontrollably fell straight into the courtyard wall.
"Ah-yi-yi"
As the exclamation subsided, Gu Qingxu's body suddenly fell into the grass at the corner of the wall.
In the quiet night, Yi Mingyu suddenly heard this sound. His head, which had been hanging down, instantly rose, and a hint of vigilance and doubt flashed in his eyes.
He slowly turned around and saw that the trees in the courtyard were shaking violently, their leaves rustling. Suspicion arose in his heart, and he subconsciously stood up and walked towards the sound.
The footsteps drew closer, and Gu Qingxu was terrified. She wanted to find a place to hide, but her feet seemed to be stuck on something, making her unable to move for a moment.
"Miss Gu?" Yi Mingyu slowly approached, and when he saw Gu Qingxu lying sprawled on her back, he was taken aback. How could Gu Qingxu be here?
That usually calm face was now filled with astonishment, his mouth slightly open as if he wanted to say something, but he was speechless for a moment.
"Why is Miss Gu here?" His words revealed a hint of confusion and bewilderment.
If he remembered correctly, this was the Yi residence. Gu Qingxu's sudden appearance really puzzled him.
Gu Qingxu had never lost face like this before. She felt so embarrassed that she could dig her toes out of a three-bedroom apartment. Looking at Yi Mingyu, who was standing to the side with a blank expression, she was both angry and anxious. Why didn't this idiot help her up?
She struggled to lift her head to look at him, her voice not as assertive as it was during the day, carrying a hint of weakness and embarrassment.
"Could you help me up first?"
Yi Mingyu then seemed to wake up from a dream, and hurriedly stepped forward, reaching out his arm to help Gu Qingsu up in a somewhat flustered manner.
After regaining her footing, Gu Qingxu tossed her disheveled hair to make herself look less disheveled. She then looked at Yi Mingyu, forced an awkward smile, and said dryly, "Um, thanks."
Yi Mingyu was still in a daze, his mind seemingly not yet back to normal, and subconsciously replied, "No need to be polite."
Seeing his dazed expression, Gu Qingxu wanted to slip away before he could recover, but after looking around, she decisively asked, "Your family..."
The words were on the tip of her tongue when she suddenly realized, "Wait, where's the back door?"
If she walked out through the main gate and people found out that she had climbed over the walls of the Yi family mansion, that would be terrible.
"Yes..." Before he could finish speaking, Yi Mingyu suddenly realized something was wrong, and his mind cleared up instantly.
His gaze sharpened instantly as he stared directly at Gu Qingxu. "Wait, how did Miss Gu end up falling in my backyard?"
As expected, it finally happened. Gu Qingxu forced a friendly smile and said somewhat hesitantly, "Would you believe me if I said I accidentally fell?"
He fell down.
Yi Mingyu looked up at the high wall, his brows furrowed. He first nodded subconsciously, as if he thought it wasn't entirely impossible, then shook his head, clearly having doubts about the explanation.
Seeing his dawdling, Gu Qingxu grew impatient. She raised her voice and said bluntly, "Do you believe me or not? I need to go home; I don't have time to waste. Where's your back door?"
Although Yi Mingyu was full of doubts and didn't understand why she had accidentally fallen, seeing her somewhat angry look, he still obediently led her to the back door.
With Yi Mingyu leading the way, and because it was late at night, the entire Yi residence was quiet, and no one except Yi Mingyu knew about her night raid on the Yi residence.
Once outside, Gu Qingxu was no longer sneaky; she stood up straight, showing no sign of wanting to do anything wrong.
Looking at Yi Mingyu's blank expression, she couldn't help but recall his act of taking the punishment alone. In fact, he could have simply told the truth, and then he wouldn't have been punished. Besides, most men care about their reputation, and if this matter got out, his face would definitely be damaged.
The figure that was about to leave finally stopped. Gu Qingxu turned around, her eyes fixed on Yi Mingyu, a hint of confusion in them, and asked, "Why do you admit that you kept the story that I paid for the meeting?"
Yi Mingyu lifted his eyelids, his gaze darting away before lowering it again.
"It was originally the money from the young lady's residence, that's a fact." His voice was soft, but it carried an inexplicable firmness.
“But that’s different.” Gu Qingxu was even more agitated than Yi Mingyu, who had been punished.
Meeting Yi Mingyu's clear eyes, he seemed to be asking, "What's different?"
Gu Qingxu was both amused and annoyed by Yi Mingyu's antics, so she decided not to argue with him about the matter any further.
She bit her lip lightly, her tone quickening: "This time it's my fault, I'm sorry!"
However, Yi Mingyu was stubborn and only believed that it was his fault. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Gu Qingsu continue talking.
"It was me. I didn't want to see you, so I resorted to this tactic, which also caused you to lose face."
After Gu Qingxu finished speaking in one breath, it felt as if half of the weight in her heart had been lifted. Her eyes were filled with a hint of guilt and honesty as she looked straight at Yi Mingyu.
She thought Yi Mingyu would stubbornly argue with her, but for some reason, he suddenly fell silent. The light in his eyes seemed to have dimmed as well. He lowered his head slightly, his long eyelashes obscuring the emotions in his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Gu Qingxu was at a loss for words. After all, she had wronged him and was about to make amends when Yi Mingyu raised his head.
"That was my fault. I shouldn't have gone to find a partner because my mother pressured me, which only caused the girl more trouble."
His voice was calm, yet carried a subtle hint of bitterness.
Hearing this, Gu Qingxu was a little confused. She tilted her head and looked at Yi Mingyu with a puzzled expression. She really didn't understand why he insisted on taking the blame upon himself.
But wait, what did she just hear? She heard Yi Mingyu say that he shouldn't have gone to the matchmaking meeting because his mother was forcing him!
"You don't want to even look at it?" Gu Qingxu's tone suddenly became agitated, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
She took a step forward, staring intently at Yi Mingyu, afraid of missing any expression on his face.
Yi Mingyu rolled his eyes, feeling conflicted. He couldn't say he didn't want to meet the Gu family, but the Gu family's social standing was too high, and he felt he wasn't good enough for them.
Thinking of this, his brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of remorse appeared on his face. He honestly said, "My mother said that the Gu family is very prosperous, so she paid special attention to the young lady's selection."
Gu Qingxu had seen straightforward people and stupid people. But this was the first time she had seen someone so direct yet somewhat adorably silly. She couldn't help but find it amusing, and at the same time, she thought Yi Mingyu was rather cute.
But this was just right. She suppressed her excitement, blinked her eyelashes, and moved closer to Yi Mingyu like a cunning little fox.
He said in a somewhat sly tone, "Look, neither of us wants to meet. How about we pretend to be attracted to each other, so neither of us will be forced to meet?"
Yi Mingyu paused. He understood all of these words, but for some reason, he couldn't quite understand them when they came from Gu Qingsu's mouth.
He frowned slightly, his eyes full of doubt, trying to understand the meaning behind Gu Qingxu's words.
Gu Qingxu could tell at a glance that he didn't understand, so she changed her words: "It's like I pretend to like you, and you pretend to like me, creating an illusion."
I am delighted.
For some reason, Yi Mingyu's body tensed up when he heard this word, especially when Gu Qingsu said she loved him; something in his heart seemed to be gently touched.
Her radiant face flashed in his eyes, making the word "pretend" all the more striking, and the flutter in his heart subsided. Someone as radiant as her, how could someone of equal social standing possibly be interested in him? Therefore, it could only be a pretense.
After waiting for a while without his reply, Gu Qingxu became a little impatient. She stamped her foot and asked anxiously, "Well, will you agree or not?"
"I agree."
The person who had never lied and scoffed at lies agreed to the task rather hastily.
As soon as he said it, he was surprised, but for some reason, he just didn't want to refuse Gu Qingxu.
Gu Qingxu didn't expect him to agree so quickly; she thought that scholars like them would be resistant to this.
A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, meaning she no longer needed to worry about finding a partner.
"Then it's settled!" Gu Qingxu suddenly patted his shoulder and arm, the force wasn't heavy, but it was a little ticklish.
Night returned to stillness the moment Gu Qingsu turned and left. However, the usually law-abiding person stood still, watching the direction she left in until she disappeared from sight, before returning to the ancestral hall to continue kneeling as punishment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
