Zhan Chun - Chapter 82
He looked her up and down, a teasing and ambiguous smile in his eyes. For the first time, Zuixue felt her face burning like a rosy cloud, and she couldn't help but lower her head, her knees trembling slightly.
He sniffed the incense a few times, then smiled and said, "Oh, it has styrax oil added, and there should also be tonka bean. Not bad, I like this scent. You have skillful hands."
Like many young girls, Zui Xue thought he was a nobleman, mysterious in identity, handsome, elegant in speech, rich and affectionate.
After the incense appreciation banquet, she boldly expressed her love for him, not even asking for a lifetime together, but only for a night with him. For a passionate and unrestrained young woman in the martial world, that was enough.
Shu Jun smiled mockingly under the moonlight, his hands behind his back, and asked her, "Who do you think I am? A royal who wanders around aimlessly? Or a rich, amorous young master? Let me ask you, if I were penniless and filthy, would you be standing here talking to me today?"
Zui Xue said urgently, "I never thought about these things..."
"When you look into my eyes, I know what you're thinking."
His warm fingers suddenly and gently touched her eyelids, forcing Zuixue to close her eyes, her heart filled with infatuation.
"I've had enough of those looks. Stay away from me and don't annoy me, understand?"
He murmured.
The warmth on her eyelids disappeared, and Zui Xue opened her eyes in disbelief, only to see a patch of cold moonlight on the ground; he had already vanished.
"After two or three years, I grew tired of wandering the world alone. For a woman, it's not a pleasant thing to be alone and compete for power with those men. So I planned to raise money to open a perfume shop, and then I met him again."
Zui Xue smiled, somewhat unwilling: "I know he's not some nobleman or aristocrat, just a wealthy man with a mysterious background, and his business is quite shady, specializing in loan sharking. I borrowed two thousand taels of silver from him to open Xiangxiangzhai, also to tell him that no matter who he is, I don't care. I don't care even more about whether I have to be with him forever, just one night is enough, to fulfill my beautiful dream."
Zui Xue was also full of confidence at that time. In the past two or three years, she had been paying close attention to Shu Jun's news and knew that there were quite a few women like her who were like moths to a flame, but without exception, they were all ruthlessly rejected.
This made her feel inexplicably fortunate, probably because she wasn't the only one who had been dumped, and at least she could save some face.
When she saw him, she said, "You can give me 50%, 60%, or 70% interest, it doesn't matter. You know what I want."
Shu Jun was finally somewhat moved. He sighed softly, turned his head away, and said indifferently, "I'm not a good person, there's no need for this."
"I don't care." She remained as stubborn as ever.
He seemed to suddenly get angry; his brows furrowed, and his voice was cold: "Use your stubbornness where it's needed! Stop bothering me!"
Having said that, he got up to leave, but Zuixue was still unwilling to give up and chased after him, asking again, "What kind of celestial being would catch your eye?"
He really thought about it for a while, and finally showed a mocking and lazy smile.
"I don't know." He shrugged. "She'd probably have to be a fairy. She'd have to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and also have a lot of money. I hate poor people."
Clearly, she didn't meet any of the criteria and had to leave the stage in disappointment.
She also thought that Shu Jun would live like this for the rest of his life, having ambiguous relationships with different women, and dying while rotting away with his gold mine.
But he still didn't find her. Someone did catch his eye, but she wasn't a fairy. The word "beauty" probably didn't apply to her at all. Besides... she was very poor. She ate egg pancakes without a care in the world, her hands covered in oil, and she was quite rude.
Zui Xue took a breath, her heart still mostly filled with bitterness.
The tragedy of women lies in this: they are ultimately unable to act on their emotions. Even though the Third Young Master of the Yan family is chasing after everyone who has had contact with Shu Jun, she should leave Jiankang as soon as possible and find a safe place to live.
But she clearly heard her own mouth say, "...Miss Ge, in your eyes, what kind of person is Shu Jun?"
Yichun grabbed a wet wipe and vigorously wiped her hands, her expression natural, without any dreamlike look. She spoke with the warmth of someone mentioning an old friend, and said with a smile, "He's an oddball, but a very nice person."
That's all?
Zui Xue didn't believe it.
"He...is handsome and rich..." I couldn't help but remind her.
Yichun nodded: "Yeah, he's good-looking and quite rich, but he's too stingy."
Zui Xue had nothing more to say.
Shu Jun protected her and stayed by her side. Was it simply because she was unusually slow to understand?
No, that's not it.
Many women, when mentioning Shu Jun, always say first that he is witty, or handsome, or that he is a heart-wrenching little devil.
No one ever said he was a good person.
Because judging from all his actions, there is not a single good thing about him; it would be more accurate to call him rotten to the core.
Shu Jun also takes pride in others saying bad things about him.
Zui Xue regretted not being born with a pair of good eyes, like hers, to see through all the illusions of appearances and reach the heart.
She instantly understood why Shu Jun had taken a liking to Ge Yichun.
"You and him must live well."
Zui Xue suddenly stood up, leaped from the window, and like a large purple butterfly, landed lightly beside the man surnamed Du.
The ropes tethering the large boat were chopped with an axe, and the boat quickly drifted away with the current. Yichun stood by the window waving goodbye to her, when suddenly Zuixue cupped her hands to her mouth and whispered, "Go find Shujun quickly! If you're too late, he might be snatched away by another woman, and you'll be crying!"
What does that mean? Yichun was dumbfounded.
Seeing her cunning expression, he pointed to the beautiful buildings on the shore and told her with his eyes: Shu Jun is currently lingering in a gentle embrace.
She clearly knew where Shu Jun was! She'd been fooled!
Yi Chun almost had the urge to jump out of the window and chase after her to ask where Shu Jun was, but suddenly she heard footsteps behind her, as if many people rushed into the teahouse and surrounded her.
She immediately gripped her iron sword, turned around, and saw a group of unfamiliar young men behind her, each with a long sword at their waist, standing tall and straight, clearly skilled in martial arts, and quite adept at it.