When Chen Shi entered with the sobering soup, Lu Chengxiao was still muttering the name Liu Yu. Chen Shi overheard it but didn’t catch it clearly. She asked Babao, “What did Chengxiao say?”
Babao, facing away from the door and unaware that Chen Shi had arrived, was startled by the question. Without thinking, he quickly covered Lu Chengxiao’s mouth with his hand.
Lu Chengxiao felt uncomfortable being muffled and struggled slightly. Facing Chen Shi’s inquiry, Babao quickly improvised, “Ah? Third Young Master said… said fish, yes, he wants to eat fish!”
“Why is he stuttering about wanting to eat fish?” Chen Shi placed the still steaming sobering soup on the table, furrowed her brow, walked towards the bed, and wondered why Chengxiao returned from the county so quickly and in such a drunken state. Seeing Liu Zhang bringing Chengxiao’s horse back, it was evident that he drank in town. Since he returned to town, why hadn’t he entered the house?
As Chen Shi pondered these matters, she approached Lu Chengxiao’s bedside. Babao, anxious, tightened her grip on Chengxiao’s mouth. Calculating Chen Shi’s footsteps, Babao thought, “Third Young Master, you’re on your own,” and quietly withdrew the hand covering Chengxiao’s mouth.
Lu Chengxiao, freed from restraint, moved his lips, and a low murmur escaped.
Babao’s heart raced as expected when she saw Chen Shi approaching.
It was fortunate that Lu Chengxiao had almost spent the night without sleep yesterday, and today, under the exhaustion of wind and dust and a saddened heart, he drank heavily. After being muffled by Babao, the struggles had gradually tired him out. The murmurs from his mouth were now low and indistinct. When Chen Shi approached to listen, she indeed only caught the word “fish.”
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Gp Ubld Fbk zlqv, Jycys calyvble y pktb sq alzklq.
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~
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He opened the door to find that someone was already awake, and his eyes brightened. “Third Young Master, Madam just asked about you. How was the hangover? This breakfast was specially prepared for you by Madam.”
“Place it in the outer room,” Lu Chengxiao nodded. As he walked towards the outer room, he glanced through the window and observed the morning sunlight. He asked Babao, “What time is it now?”
Babao arranged the items on the tray onto the table. He replied, “It’s towards the end of Chen Shi (early morning, around 7:00 to 9:00 a.m.). Madam asked you to have breakfast and then go to the main courtyard.”
Upon hearing it was towards the end of Chen Shi, Lu Chengxiao paused in adjusting his clothes, walked to the table, and sat down. While eating, he asked Babao, “Did Huaigeng and the others bring me back yesterday?”
Babao nodded, and Lu Chengxiao didn’t say much, starting to eat his breakfast using a small bowl.
Babao sneakily glanced at him, then again, and again. Lu Chengxiao found it hard to ignore her gaze and looked up at her. “What do you want to say? Speak up.”
Babao was now more direct. She reached for a chair next to Lu Chengxiao, pulled it over, and sat down. Leaning in, she glanced outside the door first before turning her attention back to Lu Chengxiao. “Third Young Master, do you know whose name you were calling all night after getting drunk yesterday?”
Lu Chengxiao’s hand holding the soup spoon paused, and his gaze shifted to Babao’s face. “What are you talking about?”
“You were calling the name Liu Yu. I counted for you. You repeated it thirteen times before finally quieting down and falling asleep. Then, I woke you up to have the sobering soup, and you called it fourteen more times.”
Lu Chengxiao was stunned.
Babao continued, “It was quite risky. Madam brought the sobering soup over and heard it!”
Lu Chengxiao, unconsciously, touched his lower jaw with his thumb, asking, “Did my mother hear it?”
Babao chuckled, “She didn’t hear it clearly. You were really drunk, speaking unclearly. Just as you were about to fall asleep, Madam heard the word ‘fish.’ I quickly figured it out, saying you wanted to eat fish. You wait, there’ll definitely be bass, your favorite, in today’s lunch.”
Lu Chengxiao lowered his gaze and nonchalantly murmured in agreement. After a while, as if casually, he asked, “What else did I say?”
Babao shook her head. “Nothing else.”
“No more?”
Babao nodded. “Young Master, rest assured, there’s nothing more.”
Lu Chengxiao remained silent, not expressing any concern. However, deep down, there was a vague sense of inexplicable loss.
After hastily finishing a few more bites, he set the bowl aside and said, “You can tidy up. Tell Madam I have something to attend to and will go to the main courtyard later.”
With that, he got up and headed towards the door.
Babao, anxious, quickly asked, “Third Young Master, where are you going? What if Madam asked… What should I do?”
” You can just stroll around, return whenever you feel like it.”
Babao: “…” Third Young Master, at this rate, I might really end up being sold by Madam.
~
In the early moments of the hour of Si Shi (09:00 – 11:00), on the second floor of a tea house in Changfeng Town, Lu Chengxiao sat in his usual spot by the window. Diagonally to the right was Ji Xian Zhai, and diagonally to the left, at the end of the street, was the inevitable route Liu Yu would take from the north of the town to Ji Xian Zhai.
Lu Chengxiao didn’t know how he ended up here. He hadn’t been able to sort it out, or perhaps he subconsciously didn’t want to. Nevertheless, he found himself seated on the second floor of this tea house, absentmindedly toying with a delicate porcelain cup. The cup was empty, it has not been filled with tea.
Never before had Lu Chengxiao so urgently wished to see someone, yet he also didn’t want to see Liu Yu at this moment and in this place. Because if Liu Yu did come here, it would undoubtedly be to “coincidentally encounter” another man.
It used to be an exclusive treatment for him.
Lu Chengxiao’s heart felt as if it were split in two, conflicting with itself. No matter how the inner struggle played out, his gaze remained fixed at the end of the street, refusing to miss even a single detail.
Almost the moment Liu Yu appeared, Lu Chengxiao’s body straightened up. His involuntary forward tilt ceased, and the empty cup he had been idly playing with was instantly grasped. He watched as the figure he had yearned for day and night, refusing to spare him even in dreams, entered the bustling street. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the delicate porcelain cup.
The pain surged much more forcefully than he had anticipated. He stood there in a daze, and in that instant, the two conflicting thoughts that had been battling within him both surrendered. As he watched Liu Yu approach, her image went from blurry to clear, and only when he could see her features clearly did he finally emerge from the haze.
Could he truly forget her, let her go, and watch her marry someone like Chen Sheng or anyone else?
No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t forget, couldn’t let go, couldn’t accept it.
Lu Chengxiao suddenly stood up and headed towards the staircase leading to the first floor.
A waiter, holding a plate of snacks, was about to bring it up to him. Surprised to see Lu Chengxiao hastily descending the stairs, he exclaimed, “Young Master Lu…”
Lu Chengxiao tossed a piece of silver onto his tray, saying, “Tea money,” and left the tea house, his clothes trailing in the wind.
The tea house waiter stood there in a daze, glancing at Lu Chengxiao’s departing figure, then looking back at the silver coins and snacks on the tray. He turned to the innkeeper and asked, “Boss, what about these snacks…”
The innkeeper smiled, waved his hand, signaling the waiter to return to the kitchen. The money had already been paid; it was a more profitable outcome.
When the waiter went back upstairs to tidy up, he discovered not only had the snacks not been delivered, but the tea that had already been brought up remained untouched. It hadn’t even been poured into the cups. So, what was the purpose of coming to the tea house so early in the morning?
The world of the wealthy is truly hard to understand. He shook his head and got to work efficiently.
Lu Chengxiao’s impulsiveness was suppressed by reason as he walked out of the tea house. The words he spoke to Liu Yu that day in the narrow alley still echoed in his ears, clear as if it had happened yesterday.
He had thought he was exercising extreme restraint that day, but if he put himself in Liu Yu’s shoes… Lu Chengxiao’s fingertips trembled lightly. Liu Yu probably wouldn’t want to see him again.
As this thought arose, the courage to approach Liu Yu vanished. His steps gradually slowed, and after a few steps outside the tea house, he stopped. He no longer dared to move forward, only able to watch her approach step by step.
Under the pressure of time and preoccupied with her own thoughts, Liu Yu hadn’t initially noticed Lu Chengxiao. It wasn’t until she drew closer to Ji Xian Zhai that she sharpened her focus. When she raised her eyes, she saw Lu Chengxiao standing firmly outside the tea house.
Encountering Lu Chengxiao here was something Liu Yu hadn’t anticipated. She was momentarily stunned, and her steps almost imperceptibly faltered.
This was the first meaningful encounter between the two since their parting that day. Lu Chengxiao still remembered that the second time he saw Liu Yu was here, even the positions they stood in were similar to today. Time seemed to backtrack and overlap in this moment, sweeping his memories back to that day when he joyfully rushed towards her. However, at this moment, he had lost the courage to approach her again.
As for Chen Sheng, he had been waiting for Liu Yu in the study for quite some time. Yesterday, when Liu Yu entered the rouge shop, she hadn’t come out since. When he inquired again, he found out she had left through the back door. The shopkeeper of the rouge shop gave him an even stranger look.
Chen Sheng figured out something. He assumed that Liu Yu had noticed him following her, considering him a stalker. Tormented by this thought throughout the day and not waiting for Liu Yu to arrive, he decided to walk to the entrance of the study and gaze towards the bustling street.
As he looked, he saw Liu Yu and then noticed Lu Chengxiao outside the tea house.
Liu Yu had originally intended to walk past, but the corner of her eye caught sight of Chen Sheng at the entrance of Ji Xian Zhai. Her gaze shifted, and her steps slowed slightly.
From Chen Sheng’s perspective, he saw that Liu Yu had stopped upon seeing Lu Chengxiao. Both of them stood still, gazing at each other from a distance.
Chen Sheng’s heart skipped a beat. When he saw Lu Chengxiao outside the rouge shop yesterday, he felt that Lu Chengxiao’s expression was somewhat peculiar. So, Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yu knew each other?
His breath quickened, and he nervously looked towards Liu Yu.
As for Lu Chengxiao, he didn’t notice Chen Sheng’s presence at all. Seeing Liu Yu stop in her tracks, his heart raced, and a faint hope stirred within him. Summoning his courage, he was about to approach her.
However, in the next moment, Liu Yu shifted her gaze away from his face, calmly lifted her foot, and departed.
Lu Chengxiao, unaware of Chen Sheng’s existence, had just brushed past Liu Yu. It was as if they were strangers, and she never looked at Lu Chengxiao again from start to finish.
Lu Chengxiao’s expression froze, and he stood there, stunned.
Sansukini: Thank God it finally came back to it’s normal length.
By the way, I started a new novel, Interstellar Dad. Please check it out, bookmark it and read it if you’re interested. Thank you.
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That was so angsty! I hope we get her POV on this encounter!
I love a little more angst. There will be more later.
Thank you for this chapter!