Opening her little claws, Old Fan whispered in her ear, "Little disciple, want to see your elder sister beat someone up?"
Xiao Linshuang’s eyes whirled around and her little head bobbed up and down like she was nodding vigorously; that pretty sister was indeed beautiful, but she just wasn’t likable to look at.
Old Fan’s white beard cocked up as he muttered a few words into the little thing’s ear...
The pastries from Fuman Building were indeed exceptional; even Su Qiuyu, who was accustomed to the delicacies from the Imperial Kitchen, couldn’t help but eat two more pieces, to the point that Yaner was somewhat astonished.
Her young mistress was extremely picky: besides being a germaphobe, she was also very particular about food. She wouldn’t eat things that weren’t pretty, weren’t delicious, or were prepared by someone she disliked. It was unexpected that her mistress broke her own rules today; setting aside the quality of the food, the last point was especially notable, since it was that little wretch Lin Yuan who handed it to her.
Yaner’s surprise didn’t draw Lin Yuan’s attention; the Osmanthus Cake she made was naturally excellent, so Su Qiuyu liking it was within her expectations.
After talking with Xia Zheng for a while, Shopkeeper Liu’s voice suddenly came from outside, "Boss, the old boss just sent word through someone, saying he ran into some trouble outside and would like for you to go deal with it."
Xia Zheng was having fun playing with a certain person’s little hand and hummed impatiently, "I’m not going! It’s better for him to be in trouble; the best is if he never comes back!"
Lin Yuan, however, was even more worried about Xiao Linshuang, after all, she went out with Old Fan.
"Is there anything wrong? How is my sister?"
Shopkeeper Liu shook his head, "I specifically asked; they said there’s no harm, merely some people picking a quarrel."
Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief; it must have been someone bullying them on purpose, seeing Old Fan and Xiao Linshuang as an easy target, an old man and a child. At this time, Xia Zheng couldn’t afford not to go.
Before Lin Yuan could speak to persuade, Su Qiuyu across the table suddenly put down her piece of Osmanthus Cake and said with some concern, "Brother Zheng, you should still go and look. Old Mr. Zhen has no children and has always treated you as his own grandson. You definitely won’t feel good if something happened to him."
Xia Zheng looked downcast and ignored her. Old Fan in trouble? It’s more likely that he bullied someone else; he wouldn’t be in any trouble.
Rebuffed by Xia Zheng, Su Qiuyu’s face struggled to maintain composure. In fact, even before Shopkeeper Liu came to ask Xia Zheng, she had been thinking of how to get him to leave. Some things could only be said alone to this village girl and couldn’t be overheard by Xia Zheng.
Lin Yuan didn’t catch on to Su Qiuyu’s little schemes at first, but after she repeatedly urged Xia Zheng to leave, Lin Yuan also realized that this girl had something she wanted to say to her alone.
With a smile, Lin Yuan patted Xia Zheng’s arm, "I’m not worried about Old Fan, but I am a bit concerned about my little sister; could you go check on her for me?"
Upon hearing Lin Yuan say this, Xia Zheng readily agreed, but when he saw Su Qiuyu sitting opposite him, he couldn’t help but feel a bit worried. Though he wasn’t concerned about Lin Yuan facing any intimidation, if Su Qiuyu said something to hurt Lin Yuan’s feelings, he wouldn’t be at ease.
"Don’t worry, go on. Miss Su and I hit it off at first sight; it’s the perfect opportunity for some girl talk." Lin Yuan gave him a reassuring look, and Xia Zheng finally nodded his head, extensively instructing her before he followed Shopkeeper Liu out.
Seeing that no matter what she did, she couldn’t persuade Xia Zheng, yet Lin Yuan managed to send him away with just a few words, Su Qiuyu felt like there was a heavy stone pressing on her chest, almost suffocating her.
No sooner had Xia Zheng walked out the door than Su Qiuyu’s beaming face changed dramatically, and even Yaner’s expression dropped as if Lin Yuan owed them a fortune in silver.