The most foolish in the world

Chapter 28

Then, inside the door, he buried his face in the blanket, feeling both embarrassed and ashamed. This was partly due to his unwarranted disappointment, and partly due to her overly direct laughter.

Finally, regarding the incident of "Master died again," it's worth mentioning that when Qiu Yi arrived at the Shu family's house with the doctor, the scholar had already gone out to eat with Fan Qingbo. After learning the situation from the students of the private school playing nearby, due to her modesty and principle of not showing her face in public, she gave up on immediately chasing after Shi Li Xiang and decided to come back the next day to ask him about his opinion on the marriage.

They haven't seen each other since they "confirmed their feelings for each other."

Qiu Yi had no idea that her decision to give up this time would prevent the "tomorrow" she had planned from ever coming to pass.

Author's Note: Why is the update so late...? Because I thought of a lot more things that need to be explained, so there are still two or three chapters left in the first volume =v=

There's some juicy stuff coming in the next chapter...

P.S.: Some girls asked what the extra chapters are about. They are actually just the scholar's monologues during his episodes, which can fill in some gaps in the perspective.

19

19. We're already engaged...

It's bizarre, extremely bizarre!

Fan Qingbo and the scholar walked towards Shili Xiang. This was her first time out in town since the palace banquet. It had only been about seven or eight days, but those seven or eight days had been so full that they felt like an eternity, giving her a strong sense of being in another world.

She keenly sensed that although the pedestrians on the street were still glancing at her, there was a distinct eeriness in their gazes.

The moment those people saw her, they began whispering and exchanging knowing glances, each one tacitly waiting to see what would happen. Fan Qingbo felt a chill run down her spine.

Lu Xun wrote a story called "Diary of a Madman". If you replace all the subjects in the madman's younger brother's diary with the three words "Fan Qingbo", it will be a perfect representation of the current situation on the street and her inner thoughts, with zero sense of incongruity.

So, during the few days she stayed indoors, what exactly happened in the city that she should have known but hadn't had time to find out? Her intuition told her that it was definitely not as simple as a rival company, Hongxiuzhao, appearing across from Huanxitian.

"Scholar, don't you feel the atmosphere on the street is a bit strange?"

Fan Qingbo looked straight ahead, a casual smile still on his face, and tilted his head slightly to ask the person next to him.

Receiving no answer for a while, she grew puzzled. Turning around, she saw the scholar staring blankly at her, his gaze as deep, complex, and unsettling as that of passersby on the street. She immediately realized she had asked the wrong person. Ever since she had argued with him during her episode, this man had been watching her with strange eyes, as if he were studying something, or perhaps trying to ascertain something…

Being stared at like that didn't make her uncomfortable, but the thought that this guy might be thinking about things that earthlings couldn't possibly understand made her feel weak all over.

The scholar, who had been staring at her blankly, felt a little uncomfortable when she turned around, but surprisingly, he didn't look away.

He blinked, as if trying to convey some message with his eyes.

Her lips twitched, and her eyes blinked unconsciously. Then she saw his eyes suddenly light up, and he blinked twice more. She was momentarily dazzled by the light and involuntarily blinked a few times in response.

I blink.

I blinked too.

I blinked frantically.

I blinked faster.

As they blinked at each other more and more, the scholar's expression grew brighter, his gaze more intense, and his face redder. Finally, Fan Qingbo couldn't take it anymore and gave up, calling a halt. She sadly pressed her twitching eyelids, feeling heartbroken that she had actually joined him in this silly blinking contest.

"Oh! Isn't this Manager Fan?"

A string of silvery laughter rang out behind her. She turned around, and a fragrant breeze wafted over, drawing everyone's attention to the stunning woman in a sheer veil. Well, except for the scholar who was inexplicably excited in front of her.

"So it's Miss Yanyan. It's been many days, but Miss Yanyan's radiance is still breathtaking."

Yanyan was a courtesan in a brothel in Hongfen Lane, which happened to be right next to Qingmo Fang, so Yanyan was practically Fan Qingbo's neighbor. In addition, she was a frequent visitor to Huanxitian and was a nude model for the master of erotic art, Jin Huashi. They would often end up in bed together while he was drawing her, so it was hard for Fan Qingbo not to know her.

As for how she found out about their affair, well, that's all thanks to that stingy guy.

Jie Dongfeng was extremely stingy; Huanxi Tianzhong only had two cramped offices, and both had terrible soundproofing. Fan Qingbo, who originally held the triple roles of writer, manager, and waiter, had one all to herself, but later, the painter Jin, citing "not wanting to be disturbed while painting," sent Feng Yan to work for her. Of course, everyone knew perfectly well that she "didn't want to be disturbed while making love."

The daily live sex shows next door, aside from being a bit noisy, have their advantages, such as broadening her writing scope. No one knows that most of the female-perspective side stories in Feng Yan's recent erotic novels are actually practice pieces. Ironically, some people began to question Feng Yan's gender, a topic that was hyped for a while and even sparked a sales boom.

Fan Qingbo's only complaint was that the female protagonist in the live sex show had a really limited vocabulary and her moans were completely unoriginal, just the same old "Big sister, you're so great" and "Great, you're so big" day after day for years.

The painter Jin is not in the city right now, and this beautiful girl is dressed like this in broad daylight. I wonder which scoundrel she is trying to seduce.

"Manager Fan really knows how to talk, haha."

Yanyan was delighted by Fan Qingbo's flattery, her fawning smile causing her breasts to sway wildly, a truly seductive sight. Almost every man on the street stopped, their faces contorted with lewd expressions. I say almost, because there was one exception.

"Manager Fan, won't you introduce this young master?"

Seeing her gaze at the scholar with a flirtatious and provocative look, Fan Qingbo frowned almost imperceptibly. For a moment, she wanted to block the woman's seductive gaze, but instead, she calmly took a step back and lazily nudged the distracted scholar. "He's asking you a question."

"Huh? Oh."

The scholar finally came to his senses. He turned to look at the newcomer and saw that she was bare-chested and backless. His brows furrowed undisguisedly, and his gaze immediately shifted upwards. He also noticed her heavy makeup, and now even the corners of her mouth drooped, barely able to maintain a polite smile. In the end, he could only look at the hairpin on her head and nod slightly in greeting: "My surname is Shu. Greetings, young lady."

Seeing that he was completely unmoved by her, Yan Yan's expression changed. Just as she was about to use her charm to win him over, she saw Fan Qingbo behind him with a smile on her face, and suddenly realized what was going on. "Oh dear, how rude of me! No wonder this man didn't even glance at me. So he's the legendary new favorite of Manager Fan. Tsk tsk, you've taught me so well. When will you teach your sister a few tricks?"

The legendary... new favorite...?

May I ask, when did the dynasty become a matriarchal world? And who exactly told whom this?

Fan Qingbo found it absurd, but simply smiled noncommittally, too lazy to explain to someone unrelated.

Her smile was interpreted as tacit approval by those around her. The scholar was overjoyed, and even found Yan Yan more pleasing to the eye, though the use of the phrase "new favorite" was quite inappropriate. "Miss, you've made a mistake. I am not Miss Fan's... um." He really couldn't bring himself to say something like "favorite."

Fan Qingbo crossed her arms and squinted. Was this idiot trying to distance himself from her?

Although she had always tried to distance herself from the situation, it just didn't feel right coming from his mouth.

"Huh, not a new favorite? Could it be an old flame?"