He pointed at his own nose and stared disbelievingly at her. “Uncle?”
Lin Qingyuan paused and sized him up. “Was I wrong? May I ask how old you are this year?”
“Twenty-nine,” Chu Yi puffed up his chest and replied with a frown.
He was only twenty-nine this year, much younger than his master.
Even the Empress had never addressed his master as ‘Uncle’. How can this girl be so rude?
She had made him sound old!
Lin Qingyuan replied, “I’m fifteen this year. If you’re twenty-nine…”
She waved her fingers. “You’re fourteen years older than I am. There’s no mistake with calling you ‘Uncle’.”
Chu Yi, “…”
“I don’t mind you calling me big brother.”
After he said those words, even Chu Qi and Chu Jiu, who were focused on eating, could not help but shoot him a look of disdain.
Chu Yi’s skin was thicker than the city walls!
Lin Qingyuan’s lips twitched. “I don’t have the habit of calling someone else ‘big brother’. Besides, your age isn’t suited to be referred to as a ‘big brother.”
Chu Yi felt like he was struck by a violent blow. He clutched his heart and glared at her, unable to say another word.
When Lin Qingyuan saw this, she quickly shifted to sit on the other side of Youyou.
Was there something wrong with this man? He looked terrifying.
Besides, she was stating the truth, not nonsense.
Chu Yi put his arm around Chu Qi’s shoulders and looked at him. He asked seriously, “Chu Qi, tell me honestly. Am I really that old?”
Chu Qi pushed his hand away without giving him a look.
Chu Yi sighed and turned toward Zhao Qian.
Zhao Qian swallowed the food in his mouth and spoke before Chu Yi said anything. “Chu Yi, why are you even taking this seriously?”
He patted Chu Yi’s shoulder while he said this. “We’re all already old. It would be inappropriate not to admit it.”
Chu Yi, “…”
He must have been crazy to seek the consolation of a dumb eunuch.
“Don’t you drag me down with you if you’re admitting you’re old. We’re not in the same category, thank you very much!”
Zhao Qian did not take this to heart. “I know. You’re still thinking about getting yourself a wife. Don’t worry. I’ll put in lots of good words for you in front of Master when I return.”
Chu Yi shot him a look and suddenly felt slightly wistful.
All he wanted was to get a wife. Was that really so difficult?
With that in mind, he drank a few more cups of alcohol gloomily.
Lin Qingyuan bumped Chu Jiu on the arm and gestured toward Chu Yi’s direction with her chin. She asked, “Is something wrong with that guy?”
Chu Jiu darted Chu Yi a look and nodded. “Yup.”
Lin Qingyuan’s eyes widened. “Huh? Is there really something wrong with him?”
Chu Jiu put down her chopsticks. “I’m done. The rest of you enjoy yourselves.”
With that, she stood up to leave.
Lin Qingyuan quickly placed her chopsticks down as well when she saw this. “Jiu, wait for me.”
Chu Yi glanced at both of them. Did they think he was deaf? Why would they be so loud with their conversation?
“I’m pretty sure they are the ones that have something wrong with them! They shouldn’t be acting so intimately even if they are both girls, right? Just look at them, putting their arms over each other’s shoulders like that. What sort of action is that? How inappropriate!”
Zhao Qian’s mouth twitched. “Can you not sound like sour grapes with your tone? What’s wrong with them? I think it’s fine. You shouldn’t jump to such filthy conclusions about them just because you have a filthy mind.”
Chu Yi was upset. “Fine, fine. Just treat it as if I’ve said nothing. That said, Jiu isn’t getting any younger. Shouldn’t you be helping her find a husband since you’re her godfather?”
Zhao Qian began to feel worried at the mention of this.
Women were different from men. Jiu was eighteen this year and was basically considered an old maid already. If she did not get married soon, it would become increasingly difficult for her to marry into a good family.
He picked up his cup of wine and clinked it against Chu Yi’s cup, gulping the contents in one go.