“Sir?” The waiter felt extremely uncomfortable under Yu Yuan’s sharp gaze, “Pack all the xiaolongbao and steamed buns, right, sir?” He repeated again.
“……Mmm,” Yu Yuan indifferently said.
The waiter let out a long sigh of relief, then hurriedly took out an oil paper to wrap the food.
After packing it up, he handed it to Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan’s gaze remained fixed on the waiter.
The waiter felt numb all over from his stare, so he smiled apologetically and said, “Is there anything else, sir?”
Yu Yuan retracted his gaze and coldly said, “Have you seen a girl?”
“What girl?” The waiter realized that Yu Yuan had been staring at him because he was too embarrassed to ask, so he immediately felt relieved, and his face showed a few hints of a smile, “I’ll definitely tell you everything I know1Full idiom: 知无不言, 言无不尽 (zhī wú bù yán, yán wú bù jìn) – not hiding anything he knows, not stopping before he has said it through (idiom); say all you know and say it without reserve; frank; outspoken.”
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Mbl oykvla qlzv y nbkzz awd wr bkp prkdl qsa ds alypsd.
Mbl xyd kd qasdv sq bkx oyp vss pvaydtl.
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Thinking this, the waiter looked at Yu Yuan vigilantly.
“Sir, Lady Yan said she is betrothed,” the waiter said nonsense.
Lady Yan was nice, and spoke kindly to him without the attitude of a spoiled girl.
Besides, Yan Mu and his sister were similar in age, so the waiter subconsciously protected her.
Who knew that as soon as he spoke, the teenager in front of him couldn’t contain himself anymore.
“……Betrothed?” The teenager lowered his head, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his cup.
His hand seemed to tremble slightly, but he quickly calmed himself down again.
“Who is it?” The teenager slowly raised his head, his expression was calm to the point of being a little strange, and the crazy look in his eyes was spreading wildly.
“This……” The waiter was at a loss.
Yan Mu hadn’t said anything about being betrothed at all, this was originally a lie he’d made up for fear of the teenager’s bad intentions.
The waiter recalled the back of a figure who’d followed Yan Mu yesterday and casually said, “She said her fiance is the one who followed beside her yesterday.”
Followed beside her? Why don’t I know about this?
How dare he get close to Yan Mu right under my nose?
The corners of Yu Yuan’s eyes turned red, and he almost crushed the teacup.
“What did that man look like?” Yu Yuan had an imposing and threatening aura, and his stare made the waiter break out into a cold sweat.
“It was late when he and Lady Yan returned yesterday, I only saw that the man was dressed in gray,” the waiter said tremblingly.
Came back with Yan Mu last night and wearing gray clothes?
Yu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then the madness in his eyes gradually disappeared.
He picked up his cup to drink.
The jealousy that was almost on the verge of making him lose his mind had disappeared, and was replaced by a wild joy from deep inside his heart.
He was dressed in gray yesterday, and it was also him who’d accompanied Yan Mu back.
It seemed like Yan Mu was not interested in this waiter, otherwise, she wouldn’t have used him to block her peach blossom3桃花 (táohuā) – (fig.) love affair.
“Then I’ll excuse myself first, sir?” the waiter carefully asked as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
When he saw Yu Yuan nod, he immediately felt a weight off his shoulders4如释重负 (rúshìzhòngfù) – as if relieved from a burden (idiom); to have a weight off one’s mind and ran away.
Lady Yan is so pitiful to have such a person take a fancy to her.
The waiter sighed inside.
Naturally, Yu Yuan wouldn’t know what the waiter was thinking about.
He took the wrapped up buns, then went to find Yan Mu in high spirits.
Yan Mu knew nothing about the incident just now, and she was still torn over whether Yu Yuan knew about her stealing a kiss from him or not.
Perhaps she was thinking of him too deeply, when she finally looked up after finishing all the fish food on the plate, she saw Yu Yuan leaning against the pillar, looking at her with a smile.
Yu Yuan rarely revealed his emotions so clearly on his face.
“Why are you here?” She clapped her hands and handed the plate back to the shopkeeper.
“Can’t I come?” Yu Yuan’s eyes were filled with smiles, looking to be in an extremely good mood.
“What’s wrong?” Yan Mu’s mood also improved a little under Yu Yuan’s influence, “Why do you look so happy?”
“It’s nothing.” Yu Yuan didn’t mention what had happened just now.
If he mentioned the fiance matter, it would inevitably drag in the matter of him interrogating the waiter.
If Yan Mu found out, she would definitely think that he was a petty and easily jealous man.
He couldn’t leave a bad impression in Yan Mu’s heart.
With that in mind, Yu Yuan struggled to suppress the smile on his lips, afraid that Yan Mu would discover it.
With Yu Yuan being like this, I’m afraid he has his own secrets of adolescence.
Yan Mu smiled and shook her head, considerately5善解人意 (shànjiěrényì) – to be good at understanding others (idiom) not mentioning it again.
However, seeing how happy Yu Yuan looked, he probably hadn’t noticed that he’d been secretly kissed.
With such a thought, Yan Mu’s heart was at ease.
She and Yu Yuan watched the fish by the pool.
As they were watching, Chu Cong and Father Yan had already come down.
Everyone ate quickly to hasten their journey.
Yan Mu and Yu Yuan didn’t drag on for too long.
The inn’s waiters all came out to help move things, including the one who’d been chatting with Yan Mu just now.
Yan Mu smiled and waved goodbye to him, only to see his face stagnate for a moment when he looked over, then he lowered his head with an extremely odd expression.
Yan Mu’s waving hand suddenly stopped in mid-air.
She looked at Yu Yuan at a loss6不知所措 (bùzhī-suǒcuò) – not knowing what to do (idiom); at one’s wits’ end; embarrassed and at a complete loss and said, “Is there something on my face?”
“No.” Yu Yuan was very happy inside, but he couldn’t show it.
“Then why did he hide when he saw me?” Yan Mu was puzzled.
“Maybe he’s too busy.” Yu Yuan held Yan Mu’s hand and helped her into the newly rented horse carriage.
This time, the carriage was big and spacious, but unfortunately, it wouldn’t be just him and Yan Mu sitting in it anymore.
“But……”
Yan Mu still felt like the waiter’s expression was somewhat strange. She still wanted to open her mouth and ask again, but her attention was diverted by what Yu Yuan was holding.
“Hurry up and eat some.” Yu Yuan held up the oilpaper packages in his hand. “These are the xiaolongbao and steamed buns I asked the waiter to wrap up. You didn’t eat anything just now, so you’ll definitely be hungry on the road later.”
Yan Mu opened the oilpaper, the buns were already a little cold, but it was summer, so they were still okay to eat.
Yan Mu ate a basket worth of xiaolongbao and half a steamed bun.
Yu Yuan looked at the way Yan Mu was eating, and somehow, he remembered the time when she used to bring him food.
Back then, Yan Mu also carefully wrapped the food in oilpaper, then quietly stuffed it to him.
Yu Yuan’s eyes grew softer.
He wrapped up the rest of the buns, then put them back into his bundle.
Chu Cong finished checking his luggage and got onto the carriage, along with Ah Bu and Qi Er.
“Where’s my dad?” Yan Mu couldn’t see Father Yan and hurriedly asked.
“There’s a boy whose father works as a gardener in the residence. Your dad wants to find out more about the gardener’s job, so he’s chatting with the boy in the carriage behind,” Ah Bu said.
“Dad, he…… does he look okay?” Yan Mu hesitated for a while before asking.
Father Yan probably didn’t know about last night, right?
“Is Lady Yan worried about what happened last night?” It was like Chu Cong could read minds. He put down his book and smiled flirtatiously.
“…… Did you do that on purpose?” Yan Mu was stunned.
At that, Yu Yuan also frowned slightly.
But Yan Mu couldn’t see any expression on his face, so she didn’t know what kind of mood he was in.
“How can it be intentional?” Chu Cong shook his head, “Our guards are all men, none of them want to sleep in a big bed with their fellow male comrades, so they will naturally pick the rest.”
“That’s right Lady Yan. We were surprised too, so we decided to help you two hide it from your father,” Qi Er also came forward and said.
“It was thoughtless of us, Lady Yan, don’t blame us.” Even Ah Bu, who had always been steady, apologized.
After all, Chu Cong was the Second Prince. Because of his status, Yan Mu couldn’t blame him any further, so she could only say, “You can’t do that again tonight.”
“Naturally.” Chu Cong’s attitude was extremely sincere.
Seeing that Chu Cong had spoken, Yan Mu let it go.
She hadn’t gotten much sleep yesterday. Although her physical constitution had gotten better, she would still feel sleepy.
So, she tilted her head and leaned against the carriage to take a rest.
The moment Yan Mu closed his eyes, Chu Cong suddenly revealed a mischievous smile to Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan turned his head and saw Ah Bu looking apologetic, and even Qi Er scratching his head and laughing mischievously.
Yu Yuan slightly raised an eyebrow.
As expected, he’d guessed correctly. What happened yesterday was really done by Chu Cong.
He didn’t care what Chu Cong’s purpose was, but he did benefit from it.
Besides, last night, Yan Mu had kissed him again.
Remembering the softness and sweet scent of the young girl’s lips, Yu Yuan’s heart quivered.
His Adam’s apple rolled up and down. Yu Yuan ignored Chu Cong and closed his eyes to rest as well.
This fellow!
Chu Cong was angry, but he also found it laughable.
He’d put down his pride7放下身段 (fàngxiàshēnduàn) – to get off one’s high horse (idiom); to dispense with posturing (and adopt a more humble or empathetic attitude) to kindly be a matchmaker, but this fellow, Yu Yuan, actually had such an attitude.
Chu Cong decided not to help Yu Yuan tonight.
It was a long journey, but luckily the road to the capital was relatively smooth.
Unexpectedly, the rocking of the carriage actually lulled Yan Mu to sleep.
Her head unconsciously slid down, and her whole body tilted too.
Just at the moment her body lost its balance, someone seemed to steadily support her head.
Someone carefully helped her up.
Then, her head rested on that someone’s shoulder.
A familiar scent hit her, which was extremely similar to the scent of the person who’d slept beside her on the same bed.
An inexplicable sense of security surged in Yan Mu’s heart.
Like a kitten, she nuzzled against that person’s shoulder, finding a comfortable angle to lean against.
Above her head, there seemed to be a gentle voice, “Ah Mu, just sleep. I’m here.”
The teenager’s words seemed to have some kind of magic.
In a moment, Yan Mu’s consciousness fell into darkness.
She fell into a deep sleep.
Chu Cong, Ah Bu, and Qi Er were looking at them enviously.
“Your Highness, why do you think they haven’t married yet?” Qi Er was twenty-five this year, and his mother, who was at home, had been urging him to get married, but he wasn’t able to find a partner.
Seeing the lovey-dovey scene between Yan Mu and Yu Yuan, he suddenly felt extremely sour inside.
“Qi Er, you mustn’t be presumptuous.”
Although Ah Bu reprimanded him, his ears were perked up high, looking like he wanted to listen to gossip.
Chu Cong was reading The Art of War, he looked up from the book at Yan Mu who was sleeping.
He revealed a mischievous smile, deliberately speaking at a volume that Yu Yuan could overhear, “You should ask Yu Yuan about this, why he doesn’t dare to confess to her after secretly liking her for so long.”
Yu Yuan’s body stiffened and he opened his eyes.
His eyes were clear, without the slightest hint of drowsiness in them.
He sharply looked at the other three.
Except for Chu Cong, Ah Bu and Qi Er felt uncomfortable being stared at.
Just when they thought Yu Yuan was about to say something shocking, Yu Yuan softly said, “Speak softer, you guys will disturb Ah Mu’s sleep.”
……
The other three people slightly froze, then they shook their heads in unison8不约而同 (bùyuē’értóng) – to agree by chance (idiom); taking the same action without prior consultation.
He’s done for.
Yu Yuan can’t be saved anymore.
Edited by: Gaze
I wonder what the waiter was thinking ಠ ͜ʖ ಠ