"I know what you mean," Qiu Su replied understandingly. "Have you caught them?"
"They ran away, probably to gather information. But Susu, do you want me to move in with you?"
No sooner had He Zhuo finished speaking than a scream reached Qiu Su's ears. At the same time, a black shadow darted like an arrow into the bushes from the shadows at the village entrance, followed by a white shadow, and then a person darted out, clutching their head, and tumbled down the stone steps. The black shadow had no intention of giving chase, and the white shadow, to maintain its proud and clean image, never pursued. Thus, only two figures, one black and one white, sat side-by-side facing each other at the entrance. Qiu Su clearly saw that their heads, rather in unison, tilted to the left. That was a common gesture of the village lord when he was in a good mood.
Zhou Tong stroked his chin and sighed, "Black Whirlwind is indeed formidable. Huh? When did the Mountain Lord agree to travel with Black Whirlwind? Didn't it bare its teeth as soon as it got close before?"
Before Zhou Tong could figure it out, he saw the dark figure lean down and touch the white figure's mouth, then look up at the moon, howl like a wolf, and disappear into the bushes. The mountain lord paced back and forth a few times, hummed twice, and then trotted back to Qiu Su's side, with something else in his mouth—an ear.
Qiu Su patted the mountain lord's head, shook her head, and gently scolded, "Bloodshed. Don't be reckless next time. Tell Blue Eyes to distinguish friend from foe before biting. If you hurt your own people, it'll be in big trouble. Go, bury it!"
This time, the mountain lord was straightforward. He remained seated, his mouth opening and closing, then tilted his head back for Qiu Su to examine. Qiu Su was speechless. Sure enough, he still preferred to bury the little thing directly in his belly. A leopard can't change its spots; that's the truth!
Qiu Su waved her hand, "Everyone, disperse." After speaking, she put her hands behind her back, slightly raised her chin, and led the mountain lord, who had four legs and light, shuffling steps, with his white head slightly raised, back to the small building.
Zhou Tong stroked his chin and laughed, "The Mountain Lord has imitated the young lady very well. It's true that children resemble whoever raised them."
"Don't try to change the subject." He Zhuo said with a straight face, "Do you really like snatching men from the mountains? Are you genuinely interested in Su Su's marriage or do you have other motives? The previous ones were one thing, but this one is definitely suspicious. Don't think I won't do anything just because you're an elder. Let me find out the details before we talk in detail."
"Yo~~ yo hehe." Zhou Tong raised his hand to pat He Zhuo, but He Zhuo dodged to the side. Zhou Tong didn't mind and said with a smile, "Good lad, insightful! You have ideas! Hehe, but the real masters do things quietly behind the scenes and then catch their opponents off guard. Kid, you still have a long way to go~~ haha."
He Zhuo narrowed his eyes as he watched Zhou Tong stroll away like a carefree immortal. Su Su's unreliable nature was something she learned from this Zhou Tong—misleading young people and harboring a wicked heart!
He Zhuo stood there for a moment, then pursed his lips and headed towards Qiu Su's small building.
The lights were on upstairs. Since the mountain lord shared a room with Qiu Su, the downstairs door was never bolted, as was customary, especially since Huang Tao also lived on the side of the first floor. Speaking of Huang Tao, He Zhuo gritted his teeth. He had finally managed to coax away all the uncles, aunts, and other idle people today, so he could spend some time alone with Qiu Su and chat. He was just describing how to make braised dog meat, making Qiu Su's mouth water, when this guy shamelessly and arrogantly brought tea into the room. Once he was in, there was no reason for him not to leave. He even said he would fan Qiu Su, but with this chilly mountain wind blowing, why would he need to fan her? Sigh, who knows what he did to offend her.
He Zhuo tiptoed up to the second floor, only to be stopped at the top of the stairs by the Mountain Lord, who bared her teeth. He Zhuo wasn't exactly doing well, as he had offended almost all of Qiu Su's key advisors, including the Mountain Lord. His feud with the Mountain Lord stemmed from his idiotic act of trying to steal Qiu Su's attention. The Mountain Lord had been raised by Qiu Su since she was pulled from a cave and given to her; Qiu Su was the first person she saw when she opened her eyes. Their bond was as strong as the ear she had just eaten—inseparable. Before Blue Eyes came along, the dog was inseparable from Qiu Su, even waiting for her at the outhouse. He Zhuo naturally wanted the dog's head in Qiu Su's arms to be his own, and had threatened the Mountain Lord with bared teeth several times, disregarding his image. Thus, the man and the dog began their feud.
The way the mountain lord and He Zhuo were irreconcilably opposed was quite peculiar, as could be seen from what they were doing. The mountain lord neither barked nor howled, but simply sat at the top of the stairs, blocking He Zhuo's path. When He Zhuo lifted his leg to the left, the mountain lord shifted its front paws to the left; when He Zhuo lifted his leg to the right, the mountain lord shifted its front paws to the right; when He Zhuo tried to step over it, the mountain lord remained perched high on its back, tongue lolling out. Its rear end, like a compass, followed He Zhuo's every move without falling behind. Its head, however, remained slightly tilted back, maintaining a haughty, disdainful gaze towards He Zhuo.
The man in white, whose bed faced the stairwell, found the contest between the man and the dog quite amusing. With a smirk, he said to the mountain lord, "Mountain lord, make way."
These words carried a distinctly masculine air. He Zhuo's displeasure was written all over his face, and Qiu Su couldn't hide her surprise either, simply tapping her legs as she lay on the couch, looking back at the man in white. The Mountain Lord, on the other hand, was somewhat stunned. After a moment of meeting the man in white's smiling yet cold gaze, he snorted and shifted his position to the side. Well, he had an aura of domineering arrogance about him; discretion is the better part of valor, as Blue-Eyed had taught him.
The man in white smiled gently, "Susu, what are you looking at? Hurry up and greet the guests."
Could this be the legendary combination of subtle flirting, overt flirting, and repressed flirting? Qiu Su frowned slightly, but still got up and poured a cup of tea, placing it on the table. Just as she was about to sit down, the man in white patted the bed beside him and said, "Su Su, sit here."
Qiu Su glanced at He Zhuo's expression, thinking she still needed to add fuel to the fire and quickly find him a good family. Only then would she feel at ease, and her role as an older sister wouldn't have been in vain. So she walked to the bedside and sat down next to the man in white, saying, "What brings you here in the middle of the night?"
He Zhuo suppressed his anger and smiled innocently, "Su Su, is it alright if I stay here?"
"Of course not." Qiu Su refused without thinking. Seeing He Zhuo's face getting worse, she coughed lightly and said, "Well, look, there's only one room upstairs. Who sleeps here? The Mountain Lord also lives here. If you move in, where will you sleep?"
"Pei Yuan, Su Su, you really have a bad memory. You forget what you've said as soon as you're told." The man in white said affectionately.
“It’s okay, I can sleep on the floor.” He Zhuo walked to the small couch and plopped down. “I can also sleep on the couch. Su Su sleeps on a couch too, right? We can sleep side by side like when we were little.”
Sigh, who has ever slept side-by-side with you? It was just that once when your wet nurse went down the mountain and had no one to keep her company, Aunt He took her in and let her sleep with you, right? Back then, someone was losing teeth, and didn't Aunt He kick that loose front tooth out in the middle of the night? How come you don't hold a grudge?
“Brother He, you’re mistaken. Su Su and you are like siblings; it’s only natural that you slept side by side as children. But now that Su Su is my wife, she can no longer have any intimate interactions with outsiders. Brother He, you should go back and rest early.”
Qiu Su nodded, "He Zhuo, hurry back." I don't want anyone putting their arm around my waist either. I'll be relieved once you leave.
When one trick didn't work, He Zhuo tried another, looking at Qiu Su with a pitiful expression, "Su Su, what if I say I can't sleep? Can you tell me a story?"
The man in white—oh, it's Pei Yuan. Pei Yuan's lips twitched. He was speechless at this big man pretending to be cute. He frowned slightly with impatience and said, "Brother He, stop fooling around. My wife and I need to rest." With that, he pulled Qiu Su down to one side.
He Zhuo's eyes blazed with anger, but he couldn't retaliate. He stood there fuming for a long time before asking, "Brother Pei, why haven't you gone down all day?"
"Hehe, I guess I won't be able to go down for a few more days." Pei Yuan looked at Qiu Su ambiguously and stroked her hair, saying, "You know, last night, I went a bit too far and accidentally fell and hurt my back. Hehe, let's not talk about it."
He Zhuo looked at Qiu Su, and Qiu Su nodded and said, "He Zhuo, you should go to bed early too."
He Zhuo pursed his lips into a thin line, looking at the white dog and then at the two people lying side by side on the bed, his eyes growing increasingly moist and bright. Qiu Su thought this was a sign that he was about to leave, but to her surprise, He Zhuo pounced on her and hugged her tightly, pulling her away from Pei Yuan's embrace. He said in a coquettish voice, "I'm not leaving. I want to stay here with Su Su. I won't leave even if you try to drive me away."
Su Su was speechless. She looked down and exclaimed, "Chicken feathers everywhere!"
***********************************************
Qingfeng Theater:
He Zhuo: So, you can't afford to offend a woman or a dog. Also: I despise those who take someone else's bed!
Naked man… Pei Yuan glanced sideways.
Cough, man in white... glance sideways again.
Um, Pei Yuan... hmm.
Pei Yuan: Is this a man? Are you sure? Isn't it just a pug? P.S.: I despise those who play dumb!
Author's Note: Thanks to babysarahg for the landmine!
Thanks to Sangma for the landmine
Thanks to the landmines from Shili Daohuaxiang
Thanks everyone for commenting, meow~~~~
5
5. The devil is one foot taller...
She didn't sleep well. Logically, a thin blanket on the mountain should be neither too hot nor too cold at night, but this night was exceptionally chilly. Pei Yuan, unperturbed, treated it as an extra remedy and insisted that Qiu Su sleep beside him. Looking at Pei Yuan's captivating yet enigmatic smile, Qiu Su gritted her teeth and got into bed. Before she could even lie down, He Zhuo appeared between them. Helpless, Qiu Su climbed back onto the small couch. Thus, the arrangement became two men on one bed, one woman on one couch, and one dog on the floor.