Chapter 53: That's settled, everyone go home.
Xiao Tao stood at the entrance of the teahouse, feeling a little lost.
She had just been ordered by her mistress to boldly stop the handsome young man on a white horse. Before she could even finish her sentence, her heart was pounding with fear. The young man's eyes were initially indifferent, but for some reason, after hearing a sentence from her mistress upstairs, he actually dismounted, casually handed the reins to the teahouse waiter waiting nearby, and then... just like that, without saying a word, he walked steadily upstairs.
He didn't even glance at me, nor did he ask which private room it was, as if he had already decided on the direction.
Xiao Tao looked up at the row of tightly closed carved wooden windows on the second floor of the teahouse, wondering to herself: "My wife saw this gentleman upstairs just now, didn't she? They... know each other?" But her wife's tone sounded strange.
The young girl scratched her head, deciding to stop thinking about it. Since her mistress had told her to wait downstairs, she would wait. But she couldn't help glancing at the stairwell again. The young man had been upstairs for a while now, and there wasn't a sound from upstairs.
Inside the private room, Yu Man closed the window until she heard the door behind her being gently pushed open and then closed again.
She spoke too quickly at the time, and now she doesn't know what to do.
She felt the gaze fixed on her back, heavy and carrying a presence she couldn't ignore, before she slowly turned around.
Pei Ji stood by the door.
You can see things more clearly when you get closer.
After several months, he seemed to have lost some weight, and the features between his eyebrows and eyes appeared even more defined.
The only difference was his eyes, like a deep, still pool, reflecting the moonlight on the surface, but with turbulent currents beneath. When he looked at her, his eyes held too many emotions for her to discern at that moment.
Yu Man pondered in his heart, but remained outwardly calm.
She walked to the table and sat down, picking up the still-warm teapot and smoothly filling two cups with tea. The sound of tea being poured into the white porcelain cups was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
Pei Ji watched her fluid movements, and with a slight shift in his feet, he instinctively wanted to sit down next to her as he always had.
"Go sit across from me."
Yu Man didn't even raise his head, his voice was steady and calm, as if he were simply stating something extremely simple.
Pei Ji's outstretched hand paused almost imperceptibly in mid-air, then he withdrew it as if nothing had happened. He glanced at her lowered eyes, then silently walked around the corner of the table and sat down properly in the pear wood armchair opposite her.
Yu Man then gently pushed one of the full teacups towards him with her fingertips before sitting down in her seat. She raised her eyes, her gaze calmly falling on his face, a faint, almost polite smile playing on her lips, and pointed to the teacup:
"Young man, please have a drink."
This young man.
Four words, light and airy, yet they weigh heavily on one's breath.
Pei Ji's fingertips twitched almost imperceptibly when they touched the slightly hot cup. He looked up at her, but she remained calm and composed, as if she were truly just entertaining a stranger he had just met.
He remained silent for a moment, then picked up the cup of tea. The tea was warm, with a delicate aroma. He lowered his eyes, looking at the clear tea in the cup, and then, under her calm gaze, slowly drank the tea in one gulp.
The slightly astringent tea slid down my throat, leaving an indescribable taste.
"I'm done drinking." He put down the empty glass, his voice low.
Yu Man looked at the empty bottom of his glass, and the polite smile on her face deepened slightly. Then, it seemed to slowly fade away, and her expression calmed down. Her clear gaze went straight to him.
Her words were like a barrage of arrows, fired one after another, swift and precise, aimed directly at him:
"Weren't you leaving?"
"Didn't you say you weren't going to drink?"
She leaned forward slightly, her voice rather cold: "How come I never noticed before," she paused, then said, enunciating each word clearly, "that you're a cold and aloof gentleman who keeps everyone at arm's length?"
After she finished speaking, she met his gaze.
However, Pei Ji simply looked at her.
He sat there quietly, his deep gaze fixed on her face, unwavering.
The air in the private room seemed to freeze, leaving only a silent struggle between the two. The more silent he remained, the more the nameless fire in Yu Man's heart surged.
"Say something," she finally urged.
Pei Ji seemed to be startled from some deep thought by her voice. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he forcibly suppressed the surging emotions in his eyes. He spoke in a low voice, his tone hoarse with an almost bewildered tone: "...What?"
He actually asked "what"?
Yu Man was instantly speechless with anger, her chest heaving slightly. In her mind, she frantically cried out to the system: "Is he provoking me? He's definitely doing it on purpose! He clearly heard me!"
The system responded slowly, with a hint of schadenfreude: "What do you think? Maybe they genuinely didn't hear me and were just too busy watching you?"
Yu Man took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her surging anger, and forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Her tone was barbed: "After so many months, has Pei Jieyuan's hearing become less sharp? Or is it that the feng shui of Xunyang has affected his memory as well?"
These words were spoken with anger.
Pei Ji finally lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath them, concealing all the turbulent emotions within. He remained silent for a moment, his hands resting on his knees tightening slightly, his knuckles turning white.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, his voice low and gentle.
He just hadn't seen her in a long time.
The apology came abruptly, yet it also seemed somewhat expected.
Yu Man was stunned.
She expected him to explain, to defend himself, and perhaps even to use his gentle and refined words to appease her, but she never expected such a straightforward "I'm sorry."
What was he apologizing for? Was he apologizing for not hearing from him for months? Was he apologizing for "not drinking" downstairs just now?
Yu Man fell silent. The interrogative tone suddenly crumbled in the face of his unexpected apology.
She turned her face away, avoiding his overly direct and complex gaze, her mind in turmoil.
Yu Man picked up the slightly cooled tea and sipped it slowly, as if the bland tea were some kind of nectar that needed to be savored. In reality, she just needed to do something to cover up her inner turmoil.
The system, always eager for drama, commented: "Tsk tsk, one of you is staring at the other with such intense gaze that it's practically drooling."
Yu Man rolled her eyes inwardly and immediately retorted, "It wasn't me!" Her tone was tinged with embarrassment and anger at having her thoughts exposed.
System: 【…Why are you in such a hurry? I didn't say who it was.】
Yu Man decided to block out this noisy guy. She couldn't help but secretly lift her eyelashes, wanting to steal a glance at the person opposite her. Unexpectedly, as soon as she raised her gaze, she met a pair of deep eyes—Pei Ji had been quietly watching her the whole time.
Caught red-handed, Yu Man's ears burned. She immediately looked away nonchalantly, placing the teacup back on the table with a soft "tap." With her eyelashes lowered, she spoke as if casually, posing her first question:
"You've come to the capital to participate in the imperial examinations?" The voice was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.
"Yes." Pei Ji's answer was concise and to the point.
Yu Man asked scrutinically, "...Is there a problem with your identity?"
Pei Ji's expression remained unchanged, still displaying his gentle and composed demeanor. He simply nodded slightly and said, "It's nothing."
Yu Man suddenly realized, lowered his head and took a small sip of tea, his tone carrying a hint of understanding, as well as a barely perceptible bitterness: "It seems that in Xunyang... you have gained quite a bit." These words were full of meaning, referring not only to connections and influence, but also presumably to a brand-new identity document that was convincing enough to pass official inspections.
Pei Ji did not respond, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Yu Man unconsciously rubbed her fingertips against the cool glass, and continued to ask, this time with a hint of inquiry: "How many days have you been traveling?" She saw that he looked travel-worn, with a barely perceptible weariness in his eyes.
“Three days,” he replied.
Three days? From Xunyang to the capital? That's practically traveling day and night. Yu Man's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't show it on her face. She simply followed up on the conversation, asking casually, "You came directly from Xunyang to the capital?"
“No.” Pei Ji’s answer surprised her. He looked at her calmly and said slowly, “I came from Dongqing County.”
Dongqing County?
Yu Man looked up, a clear look of surprise flashing in his eyes. He... went back there first?
Before she could think it through, Pei Ji's next words followed, his tone still calm: "I just happened to hear," he paused slightly, as if choosing his words carefully, or as if simply stating a fact, "that you left with Zhang Jian."
Yu Man: "..."
She was taken aback by his words, "I just happened to hear that you left with Zhang Jian." Although his tone was calm and his expression didn't change, there was a sense of unease in his words.
She pursed her lips, suppressing the strange feeling in her heart. She didn't intend to explain that Zhang Jian had only given her a ride, nor did she bother to mention that she had deliberately chosen a different route to avoid him. She picked up the now-cold teacup, drank the last bit of tea, then put the cup down and gave him the order to leave: "Alright, the tea is finished, Pei Jieyuan can go now."
Pei Ji looked at her deliberately aloof demeanor, his fingertips almost imperceptibly curling on the table, but his expression remained gentle: "Where do you live now?"
"An inn," Yu Man answered readily, then, as if remembering something, quickly added, with a hint of wariness, "It's very comfortable, I don't plan to change." She didn't want to get involved with his accommodations.
“It’s a pity,” Pei Ji sighed softly, his tone revealing little genuine regret, “I didn’t have a place to stay.”
Yu Man immediately and subtly covered the cuff of her pocket with her hand, her eyes wary: "Then go find one."
“With the imperial examinations just around the corner,” Pei Ji said calmly, with a good reason, “the inns in the capital that are even slightly clean are already packed with people.”
Yu Man recalled what the innkeeper and waiter of Yuelai Inn had said earlier, and knew that what he said was true, but she still couldn't help but tease him: "Then go find a guild hall, squeeze into a large dormitory, and experience the hardships of a poor scholar." The thought of this person in front of her, who had an air of nobility and whose clothes were so meticulously folded, having to squeeze into a large dormitory with five or six other people made her smile involuntarily.
Pei Ji: "..." He looked at her little bit of smugness, a trace of helplessness flashed deep in his eyes, but he did not refute her.
After a moment of silence, he asked a seemingly random question: "Do you live alone?"
This question immediately drew a suspicious glance from Yu Man, who scrutinized him from head to toe: "Me and Xiao Tao." Is this guy ever going to stop? What does he want by asking so many questions?
Having received an answer, Pei Ji did not continue the topic. Instead, he turned to look at the still bright sky outside the window and casually reminded him, "Let's go back, it's going to rain."
Yu Man subconsciously followed his gaze and looked out the window—the afterglow of the setting sun was still there, and there wasn't a single dark cloud in the sky. It didn't look like it was going to rain at all.
She was about to retort, "Who are you trying to fool?", but as soon as she turned around, before she could even speak, she felt her wrist suddenly gripped by a warm and strong hand.
Caught off guard, she was pulled along by him, staggered, lost her balance, and fell straight forward—
The next moment, she fell into an embrace that carried a cool, refreshing scent.
Yu Man could hear his heartbeat clearly, and the warmth from his embrace seeped through her thin spring clothes—both strange and familiar—making her panic instantly.
A moment later.
"Have you hugged enough?"
Yu Man's muffled voice came from his arms, and at the same time, she struggled and pulled hard on her hands.
Pei Ji's arm stiffened slightly, but he eventually complied and loosened his grip.
Yu Man immediately jumped back to a safe distance, straightened her slightly disheveled clothes, and tried to put on a forced smile: "We've had our tea and talked, so let's all go home now."
After saying that, she stopped looking at him, turned around, and strode quickly downstairs, her steps almost creating a gust of wind. As she passed the counter, she called out to the waiting waiter, "Waiter, settle the bill for the private room upstairs with that young master in black!"
Then, he pulled up Xiao Tao, who was still looking around in confusion on the first floor, and plunged into the deepening twilight outside the door without looking back.
Xiao Tao stumbled as she was pulled along, jogging to catch up while panting, "Mother, mistress, do you know that young man upstairs just now?"
Yu Man didn't even turn his head, and snorted through his nose: "Hmm, creditor."
Xiao Tao suddenly realized, then became nervous again: "Is it the creditor? We have to hurry, I think he's chasing after us!"
Yu Man paused, then corrected her impatiently, "I said I'm his creditor!"
Wait—they caught up?
She instinctively stopped and looked back. In the bustling crowd, Pei Ji was leading his conspicuous white horse, following her at a leisurely pace about ten feet behind. Seeing her turn around, he stopped and gazed at her silently.
Yu Man felt a sudden tightness in her chest, immediately turned around, and pulled Xiao Tao along even faster, almost fleeing back to Fengsheng Inn.
She hurried upstairs, and just before entering her room, she couldn't resist glancing down from the corridor.
The lanterns at the inn's entrance were already lit, and Pei Ji was indeed still there. He was talking to the innkeeper, who seemed somewhat troubled and pointed roughly in the direction of her room on the second floor.
Yu Man immediately looked away, losing all interest in watching.
Back in her room, she seemed to release all her energy, collapsing onto the couch with a slight heave, her chest rising and falling, whether from exhaustion or anger, she couldn't tell.
Xiao Tao closed the door and leaned over to ask in a low voice, "Wife, shall we set off back to the prefecture tomorrow?"
Yu Man looked at the gray-blue canopy above her head, took a deep breath, and said decisively, "Yes, we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."
She didn't want to stay in the capital for even a moment longer.
She turned over, facing inward, not wanting to say anything more. Seeing this, Xiao Tao quietly went to pack her things.
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