Chapter 41

After Xiao Xinyue contacted someone familiar, she felt reassured, yet at the same time, she fell into the anxiety that anyone could be suspected of betraying her. After returning to the courtyard where Zhou Shuren and the others were staying, she thought that she should move elsewhere, lest she implicate them.

She was just about to speak to Zhou Shuren when she discovered that Zhou Shuren was extremely enthusiastic. “Miss Yun, have you eaten dinner? If not, perfect. I was just about to eat. Let’s eat together!”

Xiao Xinyue: “…”

To be honest, Zhou Shuren’s behavior made her feel a little uneasy. This was no longer merely enthusiasm. It was enthusiasm with a trace of flattery mixed in.

“I haven’t eaten yet,” Xiao Xinyue said hesitantly.

As the saying went, when something was abnormal, there must be something strange going on. Zhou Shuren’s bizarre change in attitude truly made it difficult for her to lower her guard. However, she indeed had not eaten dinner, and she had no proper reason to refuse Zhou Shuren. She could only first see what the other party was up to.

When Xiao Xinyue saw a table filled to the brim with Henan cuisine, her vigilance instantly reached its peak. “Did Miss Zhou make these Henan dishes?”

“No. I found a cook to make them. If you want read the original at bailiantales.comto eat food I made, I can also go learn.” After Zhou Shuren said this, she gave Xiao Xinyue a bright smile.

Xiao Xinyue felt that Zhou Shuren had been possessed. For a long while, she did not dare pick up her chopsticks.

“Hurry and taste it. It won’t be good once it gets cold.” Zhou Shuren picked up food for her.

In a moment of inspiration, Xiao Xinyue asked, “Where are Ayou and the others? Why haven’t they come back yet?”

“They’re back. They’re writing a business proposal!”

“What business proposal?”

“Aren’t they planning to open a shop and do business? I provided them with a direction, but I think if they want to actually open the shop, they still need a plan. So I told them to discuss and plan it out. If I look at it and think it’s feasible, then I’ll help them.” Zhou Shuren paused. “Although they don’t want to trouble me, they don’t have much capital and need my investment.”

Xiao Xinyue: “You know about this?”

Zhou Shuren asked back, “So you knew about this too. unauthorized copyLooks like I was the only one being kept in the dark.”

Xiao Xinyue smiled awkwardly and asked, “Then how did you find out?”

“I saw them wandering around on the streets, asking about other people’s businesses here and there, so I figured they wanted to do some business.”

Xiao Xinyue thought that Zhou Shuren’s thoughts were rather meticulous. If someone so clever and sensitive could be drawn over to Moshan Sect’s side, that would be good.

Seeing that Zhou Shuren had already picked up her chopsticks and started eating, Xiao Xinyue knew that if she still did not eat, she might make Zhou Shuren suspicious. So she also picked up her chopsticks and slowly began eating.

There did not seem to be anything wrong with the taste of the food, so Xiao Xinyue gradually relaxed. She saw that Zhou Shuren ate a large mouthful of rice with every bite of food, and remembered that this person’s tastes were on the bland side. Thus, she said, “Miss Zhou, if you are not used to Henan cuisine, why did you still find a cook to make it?”

“Isn’t it because you wanted to eat it? At noon, we ate Huaiyang cuisine according to my wishes, so naturally, tonight we should eat Henan cuisine according to yours.”

Xiao Xinyue had not expected her to take this matter to heart. Because she had troubled the other party, she felt somewhat embarrassed. “You are my life-saving benefactor. A life-saving grace is far from something one meal can repay, so why be so polite with me?”

“You tell me not to be polite with you, but aren’t you being polite with me right now? You don’t need to feel burdened. If I saved you, then it must be a mission bestowed upon me by the heavens. It also means that we are fated.”

More importantly, hugging the female lead’s thigh well was one of her ways to save herself!

Xiao Xinyue froze for a moment, then smiled in relief. They were both daughters of the jianghu. It was enough to remember kindness in one’s heart and repay it when the chance came. It did not mean she was inferior to the other party. What was she acting awkward for?

“Then I won’t be polite with you.”

“Right, I also bought wine. Want to drink?” Zhou Shuren asked again.

Xiao Xinyue asked, “If you want to drink, I can accompany you for a proper round.”

Zhou Shuren happily brought over a wine jar and said, “Actually, I’ve wanted to try the taste of wine for a long time. Unfortunately, before coming here, I was still underage and couldn’t touch a drop of alcohol. After coming here, I could drink, but no one drank with me. Drinking alone has no flavor.”

Xiao Xinyue still only understood half of what she said. She did not press her on what it meant and only said, “Miss Zhou’s way of speaking is truly interesting. I have also traveled north and south, yet I’ve never heard such words before. However, from your accent, I can hear traces of several different regions mixed together.”

As Zhou Shuren opened the wine jar and poured the wine, she said, “The place I come from is very far and also very near. It is so far that I may never be able to return, yet also read the original at bailiantales.com so near that as long as I find the method, I can return in the blink of an eye—just like when I came here, in the blink of an eye.”

Xiao Xinyue felt that Zhou Shuren had not even started drinking yet, but she was already drunk. What far and near? It sounded like some rather philosophical talk of “life and death.”

However, judging from Zhou Shuren’s words, she had never drunk wine before, so her alcohol tolerance was probably poor. If she got drunk later, would she speak the truth and reveal her origins?

Although scheming against her life-saving benefactor was not good, Xiao Xinyue believed that she had done nothing. The one who took the initiative to suggest drinking was Zhou Shuren. The one with poor alcohol tolerance was also Zhou Shuren. She was merely a listener.

“This wine has a very beautiful name. It is called ‘Qionghua Dew.’ It is said to be brewed using dew gathered from qionghua blossoms.”

Speaking of dew, Zhou Shuren enthusiastically brought up a joke. “Fairies drink dew, so do we count as half fairies?”

Xiao Xinyue: “…”

She asked, “Why do fairies drink dew?”

Zhou Shuren was chilled by her own joke and explained, “Uh, because they do not eat grains?”

“Oh.”

The atmosphere gradually grew awkward.

Fortunately, the fragrance of wine slowly spreading out eased this awkward atmosphere. Zhou Shuren gently took a sip, and then her face scrunched up.

Xiao Xinyue was so amused by her appearance that she almost sprayed the wine in her mouth. Fortunately, she was experienced. She swallowed the wine first, then covered her mouth and coughed lightly to avoid being rude in front of others.

“You also think this wine stings the nose?” Zhou Shuren quickly said.

“Qionghua Dew has a lingering and sweet taste. It truly lives up to its reputation.”

Zhou Shuren: “…”

It was as if they were not drinking the same liquid.

In the end, Xiao Xinyue could not help revealing a faint smile. “I did not expect Miss Zhou to truly have never touched a drop of wine before. The first time drinking wine, it is inevitable that you won’t be used to the taste.”

Zhou Shuren ate a bite of food to lessen the lingering taste of wine in her mouth. She said, “How old are you? Why are you speaking as if you can already drink a thousand cups without falling?”

Xiao Xinyue said, “It has already been two years since I came of age.”

Zhou Shuren counted on her fingers. In ancient times, girls came of age at around fifteen, so the female lead was only seventeen now?!

Zhou Shuren quickly took the wine back. “You’re still underage. You’re not allowed to drink.”

Xiao Xinyue was stunned. “Ah?”

“You should have said earlier that you were underage. Then I wouldn’t have brought out this wine.”

“By underage, do you mean not yet having reached [stolen content]the coming-of-age ceremony? I have already had mine.”

“Where I come from, anyone under eighteen still doesn’t count as having come of age.”

Xiao Xinyue smiled and took the wine back. “Then I am already eighteen.”

Zhou Shuren became serious with her. “Didn’t you say it has only been two years since you came of age?”

“Yes. I only held my coming-of-age ceremony when I was sixteen.”

Zhou Shuren counted again. It was nearly the fifth month now. She had transmigrated here last year, which meant that she was actually already nineteen now.

An eighteen-year-old and a nineteen-year-old drinking wine was completely in accordance with laws, regulations, public order, and good customs.

“Oh. Then it’s fine.”

Xiao Xinyue looked at her with curved brows and eyes. “You really are interesting and strange.”

Zhou Shuren thought, How could I be more interesting than you? You are the female lead, with countless fans and supporters.

“Not drinking anymore?” Xiao Xinyue asked her.

Zhou Shuren looked at the wine cup she handed over and hesitated for a moment. Although she had just discovered that drinking wine was not interesting or cool, and the taste of wine was not good either, this was wine handed over by the female lead! Even if the female lead handed her poison, she would have to struggle to drink it down, let alone a cup of wine.

So she accepted it and took another small sip. Although the taste of the second sip was not as unfamiliar and stimulating as before, she felt that she would never like drinking wine in this life.

Xiao Xinyue said, “Since you cannot drink, then forget it.”

“Wine numbs the brain and nerves. It is better to drink less. But if you like it, I’ll give you this jar. Having a small cup now and then is fine, but don’t drink greedily.”

Xiao Xinyue shook her head. “Drinking wine can indeed delay important matters, so I also rarely drink. Let us seal this jar away. One day, when Ayou and the others’ business opens, we can take it out again to celebrate.”

Zhou Shuren said happily, “Good idea.”

Thus, this jar of wine that had not been open for long was sealed again.

After dinner, Xiao Xinyue took the chance to bring up the matter of leaving this place. The moment Zhou Shuren heard this, she immediately objected. “No!”

If the female lead left, wouldn’t she have nowhere to grind favorability? When they met again later and the female lead learned that she was the Demon Sect Leader, wouldn’t she die miserably?

As for life-saving grace? The female lead’s family had more than a dozen people die unjustly. Her two acts of saving her life could only count against two lives. For the remaining dozen or so lives, wouldn’t she have to be killed a dozen times over?!

“Why not?” Xiao Xinyue was puzzled.

Zhou Shuren had used “no,” not some forceful word like “you can’t,” so Xiao Xinyue did not feel repulsed.

Zhou Shuren: “…”

Why not? She could not tell the truth!

“Because, because aren’t you being hunted? It’s so dangerous outside. If you live alone and something happens, what will you do?”

Xiao Xinyue said, “It is precisely because I am being hunted that I cannot continue staying with you, lest I implicate all of you.”

“I’m not afraid. Besides, with me around, your personal safety can have an extra layer of protection.”

“I have already troubled you many times. I do not want to drag you into this danger again.”

Seeing that Xiao Xinyue would not listen no matter how she persuaded her, Zhou Shuren could only take the soft approach. She directly grabbed Xiao Xinyue’s hand and stared at her with burning eyes. “But I can’t bear to part with you!”

Xiao Xinyue did not know whether it was because of her affectionate gaze or because those words touched the depths of her heart, but her heart trembled slightly, and a few goosebumps rose on her arm.

“Miss Zhou, you…”

“To tell you the truth, although Miss Yun and I have known each other for only a month or so, after this short month of getting unauthorized copy along, I have already come to regard Miss Yun as a close friend. I cannot stop worrying about your injury, I cannot bear to part with you, and I cannot forget the time we spent together. As soon as I think that you are about to leave me, I become unsettled, unable to sleep or eat in peace. You can definitely understand this sorrowful feeling, right?”

Xiao Xinyue: “…”

When she listened to the beginning, she felt she had been moved by the other party’s sincerity. But as she listened further, the more she heard, the more it sounded like the sweet words those romantic men in plays used to coax ignorant young girls.

Author’s Note:

The Cult Leader’s mouth is a lying ghost.