GTB Chapter 37
by VolareJiang Jiuchu paused, looking at the young man who suddenly ran up to her. She initially wanted to point at herself but, realizing it was inappropriate, quickly gestured towards Green Luo beside her. “Are you calling her?”
Shí Yuánchén looked at Jiang Jiuchu, his heart involuntarily leaping. He found even her voice incredibly pleasing.
Suppressing the joy that threatened to burst forth, he spoke with a hint of eagerness mixed with excitement, “No, I’m calling you.”
“Calling me?”
Jiang Jiuchu sized up the handsome and elegantly dressed Shí Yuánchén. After searching her memory, she couldn’t recall ever meeting him. She didn’t understand why he acted as if he knew her.
“Young master, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I don’t know you.”
Shí Yuánchén shook his head, hastily explaining, “I haven’t mistaken you. I remember you, Miss. Didn’t you attend the Mo Feng Pavilion auction a while ago? And didn’t you have your purse stolen?”
“Yes, what’s the matter?” Jiang Jiuchu nodded, not understanding what her lost purse at Mo Feng Pavilion had to do with him. It felt as if he stopped her for something, yet also for nothing.
Shí Yuánchén tried his best to present the image of a refined gentleman, maintaining a respectful distance and refraining from stepping forward. He slightly bowed his head and said:
“Greetings, Miss. I am Shí Yuánchén. Upon seeing you at Mo Feng Pavilion, I felt an inexplicable familiarity, as if we were destined to meet. May I know your name?”
He didn’t dare to rashly speak of love at first sight, so he tried to phrase his words as reasonably and properly as possible.
Although his words were restrained, they still caused Jiang Jiuchu’s clear eyes to flicker slightly.
The surname Shí? Apart from members of the royal family, she had never heard of anyone with that surname. So, without a doubt, if his name was genuine, he was either a prince or a son of a noble family.
His words were very clear: they didn’t know each other, and Mo Feng Pavilion was where he first saw her.
Jiang Jiuchu immediately became vigilant and didn’t reveal her name. “Since young master has nothing else, and we are strangers, I won’t disturb you further.”
After speaking, she quickly exchanged a look with Green Luo, raised her foot, and quickly walked forward.
Shí Yuánchén was stunned and quickly turned to follow. “Miss, um… I…”
Seeing that the young lady clearly didn’t want to pay attention to him, he didn’t know how to speak again for a moment. He could only keep following, fearing that if he missed this opportunity, he wouldn’t know when he’d see her again.
Seeing that the man was following, Jiang Jiuchu didn’t dare to say much. After all, she didn’t dare offend a prince or someone of that status, but she especially didn’t want him following her back to the residence!
After all, if this person took a fancy to her, and found out her name, things could get complicated.
She suddenly stopped and looked at the roasted goods shop selling melon seeds and peanuts. She winked at Green Luo and said:
“Oh dear! Green… Little Grass, did you bring any money? Go buy me some melon seeds and peanuts.”
Upon receiving the wink, Green Luo didn’t quite understand her young miss’s intention. But remembering that her young miss knew she had brought money, asking this question probably meant she wanted her to say she hadn’t brought any.
She paused, then said, “I’m sorry, I forgot to bring it again.”
Hearing Green Luo’s answer, Jiang Jiuchu breathed a sigh of relief. She was truly afraid that she would foolishly say she had brought some.
“Why do you always forget!” Jiang Jiuchu said, glancing helplessly at the shop. Then, she prepared to turn and leave.
“I have some, I have some.” Shí Yuánchén quickly took out the purse from his waist and handed it to Jiang Jiuchu. “Miss, I have money here.”
“This is your money, how can I take it? Young master, please take it back!” Jiang Jiuchu said, preparing to raise her foot and walk forward again.
“It’s okay, just consider it a loan. You can return it to me later.” Shí Yuánchén suddenly felt that lending her the money wouldn’t be bad. Then they would have some kind of connection.
“No need, I’m not used to borrowing money from others. Besides, it’s not like I absolutely have to buy any. It’s just that the way home is long, and it wouldn’t be boring to eat some melon seeds or something along the way.”
Seeing that she didn’t want it, Shí Yuánchén’s eyes darted around. He then said:
“I also like eating melon seeds. Coincidentally, I’m also going in that direction. I’ll buy some, and we can eat them together.”
“This…” Jiang Jiuchu looked somewhat hesitant.
“It’s okay, it’s just a handful of melon seeds. Wait for me, I’ll go in and buy some.” Shí Yuánchén said, stepping into the roasted goods shop and calling out, “Boss, one pound each of melon seeds and peanuts.”
After calling out, he turned his head to look at the outside of the shop, and then gave Jiang Jiuchu a bright smile.
Jiang Jiuchu pursed her lips and returned the smile. Then, seizing the opportunity while he was paying, she pulled Green Luo and started running, directly turning into a nearby alley and taking a detour back to the residence.
Leaving Shí Yuánchén standing dumbfounded in front of the roasted goods shop, holding two bags of melon seeds and peanuts, unable to see anyone.
Inside the study of the Seventh Prince’s residence, Shí Yan was listening to the news secretly transmitted from the Lan Ji Pavilion, lost in thought.
Then, the corner of his mouth curved into a cold smile. In the end, it was dog eat dog.
His fourth brother’s heart to be the fisherman probably didn’t succeed. The Second Prince ultimately escaped unscathed.
Shí Yan instructed the hidden guard, “Go, reveal Shí Yu’s movements to Shí Jìn.”
After he finished speaking, he took out a sheet of rice paper. Upon seeing this, Mu Feng, who was nearby, quickly stepped forward to grind the ink.
The setting sun in the sky, reflected through the window lattices onto his painting, a faint golden light, but it couldn’t illuminate the swirling clouds of change under his brush. This world… was ultimately going to change.
“Seventh brother…” Shí Yuánchén’s voice came from outside the room. The guards at the door, seeing that no sound of rejection came from inside, allowed him to enter.
Shí Yuánchén was still holding the two bags of melon seeds and peanuts. As soon as he came in, he said with a grievance, “Seventh brother, I was deceived, no… I was played.”
“No, no, it’s me…, it’s me who lost the person.”
Listening to Shí Yuánchén’s words, Shí Yan didn’t understand what this guy was talking about for the first time. Thinking, could it be… that he had drunk too much?
Shí Yuánchén dragged a chair and sat opposite Shí Yan, placing the two bags of melon seeds and peanuts on the desk, opening them separately, and grabbing a handful of melon seeds, he began to eat.
Every time he looked at these melon seeds and peanuts, he felt annoyed, wanting to throw them away, but then he felt that they were also what that girl wanted to buy, wanted to eat, although it was an excuse…
Shí Yan looked at Shí Yuánchén, who was silently eating melon seeds with his head lowered, seeming to get angrier and angrier as he ate.
“Hey, what happened to you? Or did drinking ruin your brain?”
Although the words weren’t pleasant, Shí Yuánchén felt a bit comforted that his seventh brother took the initiative to ask him.
He put the melon seeds in his hand back, and said with a grievance, “Seventh brother, I was…, I lost the person.”
“Is it the girl you saw at Mo Feng Pavilion last time?” Shí Yan asked uncertainly.
Shí Yuánchén nodded. “Yes, I ran into her on the street earlier, but, but she doesn’t seem to like me very much. I even gave my name, but she refused to tell me her name, and took advantage of my inattention… ran away.”