GTB Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Does Chu’er Have Someone She Likes?

Chapter 32: Does Chu’er Have Someone She Likes?

The boat wasn’t very large, but it was the most expensive and luxurious two-story pleasure boat in Kyoto.

Song Fuge took the lead in stepping aboard, then reached out to take Jiang Jiuchu’s hand, leading her to the upper deck. “Have you ever sailed on a lake?”

“Once,” Jiang Jiuchu raised her hand and pointed to the ordinary small boats in front. “I rode in a small boat like that.”

As Jiang Jiuchu was replying, she didn’t notice that Green Luo, who wanted to follow them, was stopped by Leng Da.

Leng Da glanced at the two who had already gone up and said to Green Luo, “Green Luo, just stay below! Don’t go up there and disturb Master’s enjoyment of the scenery.”

Green Luo glanced at the somewhat cold Leng Da, nodded, and turned to sit at the bow of the boat.

Song Fuge looked at Jiang Jiuchu, who was standing by the railing looking at the scenery, and said, “Let’s go inside and sit for a while! We’ll come out to enjoy the view later when we reach Pingqing Lake.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jiuchu turned her head in surprise and asked, “We’re also going to Pingqing Lake?”

“Yes, we are. We came so early today, of course, I’m going to take you for a whole day’s ride. Otherwise, wouldn’t just enjoying the scenery of the Magpie Bridge Lake be boring?” Song Fuge said as he walked towards the tea room behind him.

Jiang Jiuchu quickly followed and asked, “A whole day?”

Song Fuge picked up the teapot and poured tea. “We can return in the afternoon.”

“Oh!” Jiang Jiuchu looked at the fruits and snacks on the table, reached out, took an orange, and started peeling it.

But in her heart, she was thinking about how to open her mouth later to dispel Brother Fu’s thoughts.

Originally, when she left the Jiang residence, she thought she would ask him as soon as they met, but now…

Looking at Song Fuge’s gentle smile and gentlemanly demeanor, she couldn’t help but doubt her own thoughts again, or rather… she suddenly didn’t know how to open her mouth?

Song Fuge watched Jiang Jiuchu peeling the outer skin and then tearing the inner skin of the orange, finally managing to eat a segment after all that trouble.

He couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. It was the first time he had seen someone eat an orange like this. Wasn’t she afraid of getting internal heat?

Jiang Jiuchu ate the orange while thinking about her opening lines, and finally, before she finished the last segment, she found a way.

She took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, looked at Song Fuge, and asked:

“Brother Fu, it must be difficult for you to be alone in Kyoto. Is there anything you need help with? If there is, please tell me, Brother Fu, don’t be polite. If I can’t help, there’s my brother, and if my brother can’t help, there’s my father.”

Listening to Jiang Jiuchu’s sudden question, a deep glint flashed in Song Fuge’s dark eyes, and he chuckled.

“What, is Chu’er so eager to repay my life-saving grace? But… what if I don’t need any help? What does Chu’er plan to do?”

Jiang Jiuchu didn’t expect Song Fuge to know her intention and ask so directly. Her face was a little stunned, and she didn’t know how to open her mouth for a moment.

Seeing her silence, Song Fuge continued, “Since Chu’er wants to repay my kindness so much, why not imitate the storybook from yesterday… and offer yourself in marriage?”

Jiang Jiuchu looked at Song Fuge beside her, who suddenly leaned towards her. Her face flushed, and she quickly leaned back, immediately saying, “No, I… I still want to marry someone in the future. I can’t… I can’t offer myself in marriage.”

“Oh! Does Chu’er have someone she likes?” Song Fuge didn’t expect her reaction to be so big. He could clearly feel that this little girl had feelings for him.

“No, no, but I’m going to marry someone eventually. Even if I don’t marry, I can’t just… just lose my virginity like this.”

As Jiang Jiuchu spoke, her eyes unconsciously turned red. She couldn’t believe that Song Fuge would really treat her like this.

Hearing this, Song Fuge was stunned. Looking at Jiang Jiuchu’s aggrieved face and tearful eyes, it took him a long time to realize the meaning of her words.

He was both amused and distressed. “Chu’er, have you misunderstood something? What I meant was, can I go to the Jiang residence to propose marriage?”

“Propose marriage?” Jiang Jiuchu was completely stunned.

“Yes, propose marriage.” Song Fuge leaned closer, his eyes fixed on Jiang Jiuchu. “Is Chu’er willing to agree to Brother Fu’s proposal, in consideration of my life-saving grace?”

Looking at the handsome face so close, and facing his direct question, although she already had an answer in her heart, she was too embarrassed to say yes.

“Chu’er doesn’t want to?”

Song Fuge moved closer again, their breaths mingling, his eyes gradually deepening, as if suppressing some kind of desire.

He knew that from the first time he saw this little girl, he had an impulse to abduct her. That strange feeling in his heart fascinated him and made him feel that life had become interesting.

Seeing the handsome face getting closer, Jiang Jiuchu quickly leaned back, but Song Fuge grabbed her and pulled her in front of him.

“Don’t run, tell Brother Fu, are you willing or not?”

Song Fuge stared at the little face in front of him with fiery eyes, his gaze falling on her watery eyes, then passing over her small, delicate nose, and finally landing on her pink lips, the darkness in his eyes churning constantly, before he lowered his head.

Jiang Jiuchu’s eyes widened, and she immediately turned her head, her small hand blocking in between, closing her eyes and saying:

“That, the marriage must be decided by my parents, I… I can’t decide myself. I still need my parents to agree.”

Song Fuge reached out and took down the small hand blocking in front of him. Looking at Jiang Jiuchu, who had turned her head, he said in a low, slightly hoarse voice, “Then, I’ll choose an auspicious day, bring betrothal gifts, and propose marriage at your residence, is that alright?”

Jiang Jiuchu slightly turned her head back, her crimson cheeks like a budding peach blossom, delicate and charming, her voice barely audible: “Alright.”

Seeing her nod, Song Fuge’s lips curved up, but his gaze remained on her lips, and he coaxed in a low voice, “Then… can Brother Fu have a kiss first?”

He didn’t understand why he, who had never been one to indulge in beauty, couldn’t control his desires so much. As long as he looked at her, he couldn’t help but want to kiss her deeply.

Jiang Jiuchu’s heart was pounding, she had never known that her heart could beat so fast, so violently.

She wanted to reach out again to block him, but Song Fuge was holding her hands, and she couldn’t pull them away.

Her face flushed, and she said urgently, “No, we’re not… we’re not married yet, we can’t… we can’t be so intimate.”

Seeing this, Song Fuge was afraid of scaring her, so he had to settle for second best, quickly planting a kiss on Jiang Jiuchu’s cheek. “Then we’ll kiss after we get married.”

Jiang Jiuchu’s eyes widened in shock at the kiss, and after a moment of stunned silence, she looked at Song Fuge with shame and annoyance. “Brother Fu, you… you said after we get married, but you still… still kissed me.”

“Hey, there are many kinds of kisses. I’m not talking about this kind of kiss, but…”

Song Fuge raised his hand, his slender fingers gently covering Jiang Jiuchu’s lips, the softness from his fingertips darkening his eyes, and he continued, “Kissing here… is a real kiss.”

Jiang Jiuchu’s breath hitched at Song Fuge’s actions, and she stared blankly at the person in front of her with wide eyes.

Their eyes met, and perhaps the passion in Song Fuge’s eyes was too fiery, she couldn’t bear the atmosphere any longer, and quickly turned her eyes away, “Brother Fu, you’re too bad, I’m ignoring you.”

After she finished speaking, she quickly got up and ran out of the tea room, looking at the few scattered small boats on the river, her face burning.

A gentle breeze brushed her face, as if helping to dissipate the blush on her cheeks, and dispel the heat in her heart.

Looking at the back standing at the bow of the boat, Song Fuge picked up the teacup in front of him and took a light sip, a suppressed smile rising on his lips. The little girl was shy, let her stand outside for a while!

Jiang Jiuchu stood by the boat, as if she could feel the gaze from behind, her back a little stiff. She pretended to look left and right, but didn’t dare to turn her head, let alone go back and sit down.

Song Fuge peeled a pomelo on the table, and seeing that she was still standing outside, he couldn’t help but chuckle, took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, and got up to leave the tea room.

Jiang Jiuchu was holding the boat railing with both hands, and as she heard the footsteps coming from behind, just as she was getting nervous, she heard the voice behind her say, “Chu’er, aren’t you tired of standing here all the time?”

The hand gripping the railing tightened slightly, then she pretended to be nonchalant, turning her head and smiling at Song Fuge as he walked up. “I’m not tired.”

“Let’s go back! We’ll come out to see the lake when the boat merges into Pingqing Lake.” Song Fuge said, reaching out and taking Jiang Jiuchu’s small hand that was holding the boat railing, leading her back to the tea room.

After he sat down, he placed the plate of peeled pomelo in front of Jiang Jiuchu. “Do you like it?”

Jiang Jiuchu looked at the cleanly peeled pomelo flesh and nodded. “I do.” After saying that, she felt a little strange and immediately repeated, “I like it.”

Song Fuge smiled, then turned to open the cabinet on the side, took out a folded chessboard, unfolded it and placed it on the table, asking, “Does Chu’er know how to play chess?”

Jiang Jiuchu was eating the pomelo in small bites. Hearing this, she nodded. “I know a little.”

“Then Chu’er play a couple of games with Brother Fu!” Song Fuge said, placing a can of white pieces in front of Jiang Jiuchu. “Chu’er goes first.”

“Okay.” Jiang Jiuchu replied softly, picked up a white piece and placed it in the middle of the chessboard, the feeling of tension fading away.

Time flowed slowly on the chessboard. Jiang Jiuchu ate the pomelo in small bites while holding the chess piece and staring at the chessboard.

In the end, she didn’t even eat the pomelo, focusing all her attention on studying the chessboard, and after a long time, she finally placed a piece.

She raised her eyes and looked at Song Fuge, who looked composed, thinking, as expected, chess reflects character. Brother Fu is too cunning, very bad, actually digging a hole for her, huh! Did she not see it?

A look of appreciation flashed in Song Fuge’s eyes. He knew that this little girl looked soft and obedient, and even sometimes a little naive, but she was actually very smart. But he didn’t expect the little girl to be even smarter than he thought, with a keen mind and good at observing and pondering.

However, was she thinking too much? Some of his chess moves weren’t intended to be traps, but she blocked them in advance. She was really seeing ghosts everywhere!

Song Fuge smiled, his slender, beautiful fingers pinching a black chess piece and slowly dropping it, starting to do the opposite, having substance in the void and void in the substance.

After a few rounds, Jiang Jiuchu was completely confused, and could no longer distinguish between reality and illusion, feeling that every step was dangerous. Helpless, she had to clear her mind and place the piece in what seemed to be the safest place.

However, the next moment, Song Fuge’s black piece fell, and she instantly lost the entire game.

She looked at the chessboard in front of her in disbelief, then raised her head to look at Song Fuge, “Brother Fu, do you have any friends?”

Hearing this, Song Fuge was stunned, not understanding why the little girl suddenly asked this. “Why does Chu’er ask this?”

He knew a lot of people, but that was all, just knowing them. For him, without a heart-to-heart connection, they couldn’t be considered friends.

Jiang Jiuchu sighed truthfully: “Have your friends ever said that you are… very treacherous?”

“Haha…” Song Fuge looked at the chessboard and said with a smile, “Chu’er is not polite at all. I am clearly being smart, how did it become treacherous in your eyes?”

“Brother Fu is treacherous.” Of course, she couldn’t say he was smart. If he was smart, wouldn’t she be stupid…?

“Alright, alright, I’m treacherous, then let’s play another game and see if Chu’er can break Brother Fu’s treachery.”

“Okay.” Jiang Jiuchu quickly took back the white pieces. She must make Brother Fu lose, make him bully her so much just now, she must get back at him.

However, the situation was that Song Fuge was playing easily, while Jiang Jiuchu’s state was clearly more strenuous than the previous game.

She couldn’t seem to figure out Song Fuge’s intentions with each move, no matter how she thought about it, and in the end, she lost even more embarrassingly than the previous game.

Song Fuge looked at Jiang Jiuchu, who was frowning and looking miserable, and asked, “Do you know why you lost?”

“Why?” Jiang Jiuchu didn’t understand. Wasn’t it because she couldn’t accurately judge his thoughts?

Song Fuge leaned closer and said, “Because Chu’er… is too smart.”

Jiang Jiuchu paused for a few seconds, and after realizing it, she immediately became unhappy. “Brother Fu, you’re saying the opposite, you’re saying I’m stupid.”

Song Fuge looked at the little girl glaring at him, immediately pushed himself away, shook his head, “Look, just like this sentence, I’m clearly telling the truth, but you think I’m saying you’re stupid.”

“Playing chess is the same. I was clearly just randomly dropping the pieces, but you repeatedly pondered them, so you lost to yourself.”

Listening to Song Fuge’s words, Jiang Jiuchu instantly fell into contemplation, thinking, so Brother Fu saw through her chess style and deliberately did the opposite?

And that sentence was saying that she was too smart, but, but wasn’t that still the meaning of stupid?

Jiang Jiuchu paused, and once again put away the chess pieces on the table, “One more game.”

Song Fuge put the chessboard away and placed it aside: “No more, it’s almost noon, let’s have dinner first, and I’ll play with you when we return in the afternoon.”

“Oh! That’s alright!” Jiang Jiuchu asked in confusion, “Is there lunch on this boat?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Leng Da walked in with a food box.

Song Fuge opened the food box and took out the food one by one, “These were all ordered in advance and are being kept warm with charcoal below.” He handed over the chopsticks: “Eat! After eating, I’ll take you out to see the lake.”

“Okay.” Jiang Jiuchu took the chopsticks. It was her first time having a meal on a boat, and it felt like a special mood.