Xie Qinyun heaved a heavy sigh and said, "Oh well, it serves my second brother right, his fate... is so bitter!" With that, she covered her face with her handkerchief and started to cry melodramatically.
Lin Qianqing laughed heartily and said, "Do you have to be so dramatic, like you’re at a funeral or something?"
Discarding the handkerchief, Xie Qinyun grabbed Lin Qianqing’s sleeve and wiped it across her face, saying, "Right, just like a funeral, and now I’m crying into your sleeve, I’ll ruin your sleeve and see how you face people when you go out..."
After all, they were young girls, and soon enough, she had forgotten about her troubled second brother.
In the midst of their playful scuffle, they finished their meal.
After wiping her mouth and rinsing her mouth, Gu Youyou stood again by the window.
The location of Miss Du’s residence was really good, especially this window, which offered a wide view.
But... Gu Youyou thought she saw a familiar figure acting all sneaky.
"Huh? It’s Yue Rujing!" she muttered to herself softly.
"What? Cousin, what did you say?" Lin Qianqing, who was playing with Xie Qinyun, thought she heard Gu Youyou mumbling something but didn’t catch it clearly.
Turning her face with a smile, Gu Youyou said, "It’s nothing, it’s lively outside. You haven’t eaten your fill yet, keep eating, keep drinking, today there’s no mother watching over you, eat lying down, eat sleeping, all sorts of poses, just eat however you like."
With that, Gu Youyou walked from the window toward the door, adding, "I’m going to step out for a moment; you do as you please!"
In her relaxed state, Lin Qianqing was so happy she didn’t notice anything unusual about Gu Youyou.
Gu Youyou left the T-shaped room on the second floor and headed straight downstairs.
She crossed the street beside the Manxiu Building and saw Yue Rujing in front of a fabric store.
This rare time, he wasn’t wearing his usual White Moon Robe with the crane motif but a dark green outfit instead.
No matter what he wore, he couldn’t hide his charm, which attracted women like bees to honey; even buying fabric, he made the shop girl blush a deep red.
"Young Master, this is the finest fabric in our store, and I think this plain white color suits your temperament very well."
Yue Rujing smiled and said, "Your eye for detail isn’t bad, girl; how could you tell that this white fabric suits me?"
"Young Master, you..." The girl acted coyly, blushing and lowering her head shyly, said, "You glow with a brightness like the moon, young master. In a suit of white, you’d resemble the Moon Celestial even more. Moonlight pouring down, a ground full of silver frost, none shines as brightly as you."
Gu Youyou thought to herself: Someone needs to deal with Yue Rujing, this enchanting troublemaker; his mere presence is bewitching this shop girl, who will likely suffer from lovesickness for a long time.
She was about to step into the shop when she heard Yue Rujing’s voice again, causing her to reluctantly draw back her advancing foot.
"You sure have a way with words, girl; you’ve touched my heart. Your words have deeply moved me. However, lately there’s been an issue weighing on my mind, preventing me from peace, so I can’t stay and chat with you. Just wrap this fabric up for me."
"Oh, okay!" The girl paused, visibly hesitant and bashful. She slowly wrapped the fabric, her movements sluggish as if she was planning to wrap it the whole day.
"Young Master, could you share with Wanwan what’s troubling you?"
Yue Rujing sighed, effortlessly flicked open his folding fan and waved it twice, then said, "My mother has a cousin who vanished on her wedding night more than ten years ago. Her family searched everywhere but couldn’t find her, and after two years, they gave up the search. But recently, my mother hasn’t been feeling well and suddenly remembered her cousin, whom she was quite close with, so she asked me to make some inquiries."