He Zhuo sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead, saying, "I'm afraid she'll run away alone again. Women, how much life do they have to run back and forth across the Central Plains?"
Qiu Su smiled, her eyes narrowed. "Isn't Qin Qin nice?"
He Zhuo rolled his eyes. "It has nothing to do with love."
"Oh, oh, oh, oh." Qiu Su sat up in a good mood. "If you ask me, He Zhuo, you should seize the opportunity. How many five-year periods does a girl have to wait for? If you lose it, you'll regret it a few years from now."
He Zhuo sighed again, "We'll see, I don't like her anyway."
Qiu Su shrugged. "You fell in love with her after just one meeting in Southern Xinjiang? Ask yourself. Do you think she might develop feelings for Tara over time? If you don't like her, you can talk to Ivan. I think it would be a pity if Qin Qin ended up with someone else."
"Naive!" He Zhuo snorted, jumped off the stone horse, picked up Mo Mo who was running over on her short legs, placed her in front of Qiu Su, and asked with a smile, "Has Mo Mo already given a lesson?"
Mo Mo nodded, staring wide-eyed at Qiu Su and said, "Mo Mo saw Father."
Qiu Su's smile froze for a moment. "You can see it every day."
He Zhuo's lips twitched. "He might be on this mountain. He's too timid to let him get away with it so easily."
MoMo asked in a serious tone, "Who benefits?"
He Zhuo laughed, "Your dad got off easy."
Where is Father?
"Didn't you say it was on this mountain?"
Where is Father?
He Zhuo shrugged. "Ask your mother."
Mo Mo looked up at Qiu Su, "Where is Father?"
Qiu Su touched his face. This child was doing it on purpose; he could ask this question dozens of times a day. Even at night, nestled in her arms, he would ask it several times. After asking, he would sleep soundly, leaving Qiu Su alone, conflicted.
"Mother, Momo wants Father."
Qiu Su pouted, "Your father, your father has gone to become the emperor."
"What emperor?"
"He's a very capable person."
Mo Mo smiled, her eyes narrowed, "Daddy is amazing."
He Zhuo laughed along, looking at Qiu Su and saying, "You know there's no such thing as three emperors ascending the throne in the capital. Why do I feel like he's in Pingcheng?"
Qiu Su's face flushed slightly, and she glanced at He Zhuo without saying a word.
He Zhuo turned around and saw Ruan Hu pulling Lu Mingcheng and talking to him. They were too far apart to hear what they were saying, but the situation looked extremely strange.
Lu Mingcheng was seen slapping Ruan Hu's hand that was gripping his arm, saying something excitedly, and even stomping on Ruan Hu's foot. He Zhuo shivered, picked up Mo Mo, waved to Qiu Su, and quietly hid in the bushes to the side. Qiu Su nimbly jumped off the stone horse and followed him in.
After the three of them looked around for a while, Ruan Hu indeed pulled Lu Mingcheng over here.
"Hide and seek!" Mo Mo excitedly wiggled her short legs, but He Zhuo covered her mouth.
"Shh!" He Zhuo whispered, pressing his cheek against Mo Mo's. "Be good, don't talk. It won't be good if we get caught."
Mo Mo quickly covered her mouth, but she still couldn't help laughing, and her little body trembled slightly.
"You're shameless!" Lu Mingcheng, his face flushed, tried to kick Ruan Hu, but Ruan Hu jumped to dodge and pinned Lu Mingcheng's hands behind his back onto the stone horse.
"Damn it, now you're calling me shameless. What were you begging me for when you were building the academy? You've forgotten who helped you build those buildings! You ingrate!"
Confucius said...
"Fuck your father! You were all smiles when you were begging me, but now you're kicking me for my life!"
Lu Mingcheng's face turned even redder. "Who's kicking me while I'm down?"
"You! Damn it, if I really get serious, I'll just crush you and see what you do then."
"I...I...you...you're shameless!"
"How am I shameless? There are stories of sharing peaches and homosexual relationships in history. Don't try to fob me off with some nonsense about gifts."
Lu Mingcheng stared wide-eyed. "Where did you learn that?"
Ruan Hu looked very awkward, and it took him a while to say, "I read it in a book, what's so shameful about it? If you agree, I'll tell the eldest young lady that I'll marry you properly, and you'll be the eldest daughter-in-law of the Ruan family."
He Zhuo's face turned purple from holding his breath, and Qiu Su wasn't much better off. She tugged at He Zhuo's sleeve, trying to leave. He Zhuo momentarily carelessly released his hand from Mo Mo's mouth, and Mo Mo giggled twice, clapping her hands and saying, "Kiss, play kiss!"
He Zhuo gasped. Ruan Hu, who was vigorously biting Lu Mingcheng while pinning him to the stone horse, suddenly pulled away. Lu Mingcheng's legs went weak and he sat down on the ground.
He Zhuoqiu and Su looked at each other in bewilderment. When they saw Ruan Hu walking over, they crouched down and jumped down the stone steps in a few steps, then ran away along the path behind the mountain.
Mo Mo hadn't played like this in a long time, and her face was flushed with excitement the whole way. When the two of them stopped and leaned against the stone wall to catch their breath, she was still grinning foolishly with her mouth open.
He Zhuo was panting for a while. Thinking of Ruan Hu pressing down on a man, he couldn't help but shiver and said in a trembling voice, "Male-female sexual intercourse, male-female sexual intercourse, it's blown up the mountain."
Qiu Su's face was contorted into a bun as she stared at the stone wall in silence for a long time.
"I'm going to wipe them out!" He Zhuo jumped up and down.
"What gives you the right?!" Qiu Su bit her lip and said, "Homosexuality, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it. It's just that it looks weird."
He Zhuo glared, "They're all out playing with men, what's the point of having women?"
After saying that, he couldn't help but laugh. "Damn it, Ruan Hu actually did this. Tell me, what happened during the years we were gone? And that Lu Sheng, a teacher, well, hehe, just wait to be cursed behind his back by the people down the mountain."
Qiu Su patted her cheeks, frowned, and muttered, "Well, He Zhuo, it's not a big deal. There seem to be many records of it in history. Ruan Hu likes it, and he's following the aristocratic path anyway. Well, let's not embarrass them."
"What does it have to do with me? I'm just too shocked." He Zhuo rubbed his temples, wrinkled his nose, and pointed at Mo Mo, who was still grinning. "You brat, you've given yourself away."
“Hide and seek.” Mo Mo looked at Qiu Su with sparkling eyes. “Uncle Ruan Hu Hu (Master) kisses Master Hu (Master).
Qiu Su blinked, took the covers from Mo Mo, and covered his eyes, saying, "Good boy, you didn't see anything, okay?"
“I love my dear teacher, the tiger.”
Qiu Su turned to look at He Zhuo, who shrugged and turned his head away.
Qiu Su felt guilty and avoided Ruan Hu all afternoon. That evening happened to be a gathering on the mountain; a bonfire was lit, and a group of people sat around eating barbecue. Mo Mo loved these gatherings; she would always play until she lay down on the bed and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.
Lu Mingcheng deliberately sat away from Ruan Hu. Only then did Qiu Su realize, recalling the past, that the two had seemed very close. She had thought they were just good brothers, but it turned out they really were. This, sigh, is still a bit hard to accept.
Ruan Hu seemed a little embarrassed when Qiu Su looked over, but he still insisted on pulling the sweet potato next to Lu Mingcheng aside and sitting down next to him. Perhaps it was the firelight, but Lu Mingcheng's face looked even redder. Qiu Su pouted as if her teeth ached, and looked away to focus on grilling the meat.
Fortunately, Mo Mo didn't say anything more about being close to her teacher, and just held onto Qiu Su's hand while she grilled the meat, occasionally glancing over casually. Huang Tao had already noticed the strangeness between the group, her gaze shifting between Qiu Su and He Zhuo, but she couldn't figure it out after trying to guess for a long time.