GTB Chapter 20

Chapter 20: I’ll Wait for You Tomorrow at Noon

Although Song Fuge’s words were a question, his tone was certain. After speaking, he pushed the wooden box containing half a box of foreign berries towards Jiang Jiuchu.

“Take them back and eat them yourself! These aren’t really for a man like me.”

Jiang Jiuchu didn’t expect Song Fuge to see through her so quickly. She had indeed only tasted two or three, found them delicious and rare, and then sent them all over.

“I’ve already eaten some. I specifically brought these for Brother Fu as a token of my appreciation. Brother Fu mustn’t refuse.”

As she said this, she pushed the wooden box back again, “Besides, Brother Fu gave me such a valuable painting, and I didn’t refuse. I’m just bringing you some fruit; is Brother Fu going to reject even that?”

Seeing that Jiang Jiuchu wouldn’t accept it, Song Fuge couldn’t bear to refuse. After thinking for a moment, he said:

“But I just drank tea and I’m full. These things don’t keep for long anyway. How about this, you accompany Brother Fu and we’ll eat them together!”

As he spoke, he picked up one and offered it to Jiang Jiuchu, his voice low and gentle, a shallow smile in his eyes as he looked at her.

Jiang Jiuchu looked at the foreign berry being offered to her, but her gaze couldn’t help but fall on the fingers holding the berry – clean, slender, with distinct joints, very beautiful.

“Alright then!” she slowly reached out and took it.

She didn’t know why, but when she heard Brother Fu refer to himself as Brother Fu, she felt a little strange. She didn’t feel that way when she called him that herself.

She removed her veil and ate it in small bites, but as soon as she finished, another one was offered to her.

When the fourth one was offered, Jiang Jiuchu was too embarrassed to eat anymore, so she wanted to refuse, but then she heard Song Fuge say, “We agreed to eat them together. One each, no cheating.”

Hearing this, she had no choice but to take it again. And so, Jiang Jiuchu finished one, and Song Fuge offered another, taking one for himself as well. For a moment, the room seemed a little quiet, neither of them speaking, just quietly eating the sweet foreign berries.

And this atmosphere gradually made the expression on Jiang Jiuchu’s face become unnatural.

Song Fuge glanced at the somewhat uneasy little girl and suddenly felt that the fruit in his mouth tasted even sweeter.

There wasn’t much fruit to begin with, and even though Jiang Jiuchu ate slowly, Song Fuge also ate slowly, but they quickly finished it all.

The more Jiang Jiuchu ate, the more uneasy she felt. Seeing that they were finished, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and immediately stood up and said, “Well, I have something to do… I’ll go back first.”

Song Fuge seemed to be still enjoying it, and sighed softly, “It’s still more fragrant to eat with Chu’er. Brother Fu, my appetite hasn’t been very good these past few days. How about Chu’er… accompany Brother Fu for lunch again tomorrow, okay?”

Jiang Jiuchu had just stood up when she was startled by the address of Chu’er. The expression on her face became completely unnatural, and her tone was a little stuttering.

“I… I’m going to Ning Yin Temple with my mother tomorrow.”

“Ning Yin Temple?” Song Fuge thought for a moment, and then asked, “Are you going to attend the Blessing Ceremony!”

“Yes, my sister-in-law is pregnant, and my mother is taking me to pray for my future little nephew.”

Hearing this, Song Fuge’s eyes turned, and then he said thoughtfully:

“Then I’ll also go pray for blessings tomorrow. I remember there’s a peach forest on the west side of Ning Yin Temple. This is the time when the peach blossoms are in full bloom. Tomorrow, you accompany Brother Fu to enjoy the peach blossoms together!”

After he finished speaking, his deep eyes looked straight at Jiang Jiuchu, not missing every expression on her face.

Jiang Jiuchu’s eyes widened instantly, and the surprise on her face slowly turned into a blush. What did Brother Fu just say? Asking her to accompany him to enjoy the peach blossoms?

Song Fuge looked at the little girl’s expression and continued, “Brother Fu doesn’t know many people in Kyoto. I’m just asking you to accompany me to enjoy the peach blossoms. You have to think about it for so long. Forget it, if you’re willing to accompany me, come over at noon tomorrow. If you’re not willing, I’ll enjoy them by myself.”

Although he said it that way, Jiang Jiuchu wasn’t stupid and could still see that Song Fuge seemed to want to ask her out.

“Well, I might not be able to get away. I have something else to do, I’ll go back first.”

“Wait,”

Jiang Jiuchu hadn’t even reached the door when Song Fuge’s voice came from behind, startling her and making her suddenly stop. She turned back and looked at Song Fuge in confusion.

Song Fuge smiled and looked at the veil on the table, “You forgot your veil.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jiuchu quickly turned around in embarrassment, walked back to the table, picked up the veil, and quickly left the room.

As soon as she reached the door, she saw Leng Da standing there. She suddenly realized something and quickly put on her veil and went downstairs.

Seeing Jiang Jiuchu’s flushed face and hurried steps, Leng Da sighed inwardly. Such a simple and beautiful little white rabbit, encountering his master, this big bad wolf, would probably not be able to escape.

As Jiang Jiuchu hurried downstairs, her mind was in a mess. Why did Brother Fu suddenly ask her out? Did he have those kinds of thoughts about her?

Or did he just treat her like a little sister, with no one to accompany him, so he simply asked her to keep him company?

She was pondering with her head down when suddenly, a sharp pain came from her forehead. She looked up and saw a fan blocking her way, followed by a man’s low, cold, and indifferent voice, “Watch where you’re going.”

Jiang Jiuchu reacted for a moment and immediately stepped back, “I’m sorry, young master, I didn’t mean to.”

Shí Yan coldly glanced at the girl walking with her head down. Seeing that she seemed unintentional, he simply lifted his foot and walked inside.

Jiang Jiuchu turned back and looked at the two people going inside, raised her hand and rubbed her forehead, which had been hit painfully by the fan ribs, and turned around to continue walking outside.

She thought to herself, he was really good-looking, but also really impolite. What was that expression? She didn’t do it on purpose, wasn’t she blocked by his fan? Did he have to glare at her coldly?

“Seventh Brother, you’re too unromantic. Such a beautiful girl, and you have to block her with a fan, see, you’ve made her forehead red.”

Shí Yan closed his folding fan and said in a calm voice: “I was already being very polite.”

After he finished speaking, his phoenix eyes stared at Shí Yuanchen as if examining him, “What? Are your eyes X-ray vision? You can tell she’s good-looking even when she’s dressed as a man, making you fall in love at first sight? You can tell she’s good-looking even with a veil on? Are you starting to be romantic again?”

“Why don’t you go after that girl just now? You don’t have to wait for some kind of love at first sight to appear. Anyway… I’m tired of drinking tea at this Mo Feng Pavilion.”

Shí Yuanchen quickly grabbed Shí Yan, who was about to turn around and go downstairs, and explained:

“No, no, no, being romantic is just my gentlemanly demeanor. Love at first sight is the destined person you need to meet, nothing to compare with.”

“Oh! Are you saying that I don’t have a gentlemanly demeanor?”

“No, no, no, that’s not what I meant. You have a lot of demeanor, you just don’t take it out easily.”

As soon as Shí Yuanchen said those words, he realized that something was wrong, and thought to himself, why can’t he change the habit of telling the blunt truth!

Hearing this, Shí Yan didn’t mind, and lifted his foot to continue walking upstairs.

Downstairs, Lǜluó in the carriage saw her young lady coming up and asked in surprise:

“Miss, why is your forehead red?”

“It’s nothing, I accidentally bumped it when I went downstairs. Let’s go back to the mansion! We’re not going to the Jade Shop.”

Jiang Jiuchu’s mind was still thinking about Song Fuge’s repeated invitations, and a kind of confusing emotion was spreading in her heart. She no longer had the heart to go anywhere else.

“Oh!” Lǜluó instructed the coachman outside and then looked at her absent-minded young lady, feeling a little puzzled in her heart.

She didn’t understand why her young lady seemed to be in a bad mood after just delivering a meal. Could it be that her forehead wasn’t accidentally bumped?

But it couldn’t be that the two of them had some kind of conflict and Young Master Fu pushed her, right!