This is outrageous.
Wh-what is going on here?
Didn’t they say they weren’t familiar with each other? Then why—why is she tugging on his ear?!
The simple and honest Old Zhang felt like his brain was in a daze. He stared blankly at the scene in front of him.
The two people inside also stared blankly back at him.
The atmosphere was extremely awkward. No one spoke first.
In the end, it was the experienced Old Zhang who regained his senses first. He cleared his throat and said, “You two, uh… I’ll just step out for a moment.”
After saying that, he hurriedly let go of the curtain in his hand, turned around, and walked out—fleeing as if his life depended on it.
The moment the curtain fell—
The faint light that had just brightened the room instantly dimmed again.
At that moment, Li Qinyuan, who had been stiffly staring at the curtain, completely stuck in a mental jam, finally snapped back to reality.
Recalling what had just happened, his handsome face first turned an intense shade of red, then, as if he had stepped on something shocking, he immediately jumped to his feet.
Gu Wuyou hadn’t even reacted yet.
Li Qinyuan suddenly stood up, and she, still holding onto him, almost lunged forward due to inertia. To avoid falling, one hand clung to Li Qinyuan’s arm, while the other still gripped his burning-hot ear. Her delicate little face was still slightly dazed, as if she hadn’t fully processed the situation.
“You—!”
Li Qinyuan was about to explode. He wanted to shake her off, but he was afraid she’d fall. Stiffly rooted to the spot, he was both furious and embarrassed, gritting his teeth as he shouted at her:
“Let go of me!”
“Hurry up!”
This woman is completely shameless!
She actually grabbed his ear!
Did she not know that a man’s ears are not to be touched so casually?!
And someone even saw it happen!
Li Qinyuan felt like his reputation had been utterly ruined today. And to think—just earlier, he had confidently told Old Zhang that he and this woman weren’t close at all.
Now look at this—
He could already imagine what Old Zhang must be thinking right now.
And thank goodness it had only been Old Zhang. If it had been one of the neighborhood aunties instead, by this afternoon, they would’ve crafted a full-fledged gossip story out of it. If that story were told in a teahouse, it’d be packed for three or four days straight.
He had been standing there for so long, yet the little girl still had that dazed look on her face.
Li Qinyuan was fuming. He glared at her, thinking he looked fierce. “Are you still not letting go?!”
Unfortunately, his face was so red that he had absolutely no intimidation factor.
Luckily—
Gu Wuyou, who had been spacing out, finally snapped out of it. She looked a little embarrassed, softly uttered an “Oh,” and quickly released her hand. Then, she stood up straight, hiding her small hands behind her back, lowering her head—her face bright red.
After hesitating for a moment—
She peeked up at Li Qinyuan, whose face was even redder than hers, and, in a shy and timid voice, whispered,
“I—I didn’t mean to.”
“…Really.”
She had only wanted to point out that she had caught him lying—who would have thought Uncle Zhang would walk in?
“I didn’t expect Uncle Zhang to come in,” she said, looking completely innocent.
Li Qinyuan was so furious he nearly exploded. Listen to her! Just listen! What kind of reasoning was that? So if Old Zhang hadn’t come in just now, she would have thought she was in the right? Shameless! Brazen!
He kept his stern face and, across the table, glared daggers at her.
He had never encountered a person like this before, nor had he ever been in a situation like this. Besides glaring at Gu Wuyou, there was nothing else he could do—he couldn’t possibly hit her, could he?
After a long silence.
He finally withdrew his gaze, huffing in frustration as he sat back down, venting his anger by biting into a steamed bun.
“Um…”
Gu Wuyou stood in place, watching Li Qinyuan as he drank soybean milk and ate steamed buns. Suddenly, she felt a little hungry too. She wasn’t actually someone who liked to order others around, but for some reason, every time she looked at Li Qinyuan, she just couldn’t help but want to act a little spoiled toward him.
“I… I haven’t had breakfast yet.”
Li Qinyuan was livid. Without even looking up, he shouted, “Go get it yourself!”
Oh.
So fierce.
Gu Wuyou was so startled that her hands, which were clasped behind her back, trembled slightly. She pouted pitifully, murmured an “Oh,” and turned to leave, looking back three times with every step she took.
She had only taken her first step, and before she could even turn back for the second, Li Qinyuan—who had just been sitting—suddenly slammed his chopsticks down and stood up.
He glared at Gu Wuyou, gritting his teeth as he barked, “I’ll go get it! You sit down and stay put!”
Who knew what nonsense this little girl would spout to Old Zhang if she went out there?
“Huh?”
Gu Wuyou stared at him blankly, still processing his words when she saw her great general storm off like a gust of wind, lifting the curtain and disappearing outside.
She watched as the curtain fluttered in the air, spun slightly, and then fell back down.
The cold morning breeze gently brushed against her face.
And then—
She smiled, a wide, toothy grin filled with joy.
See?
She had been right about him.
Even though the young general was hot-tempered, easily angered, and not the easiest person to talk to, deep down, his heart was still as kind as before.
Even now—
Even though he was so furious, he still went out to get her breakfast.
Gu Wuyou stood in place, happily basking in the moment for a while before finally turning around and taking a seat, waiting for her great general to bring her food.
The moment Li Qinyuan stepped out from behind the curtain, he regretted it.
What kind of madness had possessed him to come out and get breakfast for that shameless little pepper?! It’s not like she didn’t have hands or feet! He hadn’t even figured out how to face Old Zhang himself!
Standing there, fuming, he glared at Old Zhang’s back, feeling an overwhelming urge to just turn around and march right back inside.
But before he could make a move, Old Zhang seemed to hear something and turned his head.
The moment he saw Li Qinyuan appear, an awkward smile flashed across his face. Then, with continued awkwardness, he said, “Ahem, so you came out.”
Great.
Now he couldn’t run away.
Li Qinyuan braced himself and, with dragging steps, made his way over to Old Zhang. He cleared his throat lightly, then cleared it again before saying, “Uncle Zhang, I’m here to get breakfast.”
For some reason, Old Zhang’s brain seemed to freeze for a moment. He blurted out, “You’re getting her breakfast?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how it sounded. His face instantly flushed red, and he hurriedly turned away, grabbing the breakfast from the steamer and handing it to Li Qinyuan. “Go on, go on, it’s still hot.”
“…Mm.”
Li Qinyuan took the tray, pressing his lips together. He didn’t even know why he felt the need to explain, but he still muttered, “There’s nothing between us. Just now…”
Just now, what?
Even he couldn’t come up with an excuse.
That little pepper really knew how to mess with him!
He clenched the tray tightly, grinding his teeth, nearly snapping it in half on the spot.
“Ahem, no worries, I get it.” Old Zhang patted his shoulder in an understanding manner, smiling like someone who had been through it all. “Alright, head back in.”
Li Qinyuan looked at Old Zhang, opened his mouth to explain, but realized that no matter what he said, it would sound weak and unconvincing.
Deflated, he lowered his head, turned around, and headed back inside.
When he reached the curtain, he took a deep breath as if trying to suppress or prepare himself for something.
But the moment he lifted the curtain and saw the culprit—the very source of his predicament—sitting leisurely in her chair, looking completely at ease, and even smiling at him in greeting when he entered…
Li Qinyuan felt like he simply could not let this go.
Here he was, running back and forth, picking up breakfast, suffering misunderstandings.
And her?
She was just sitting there, completely relaxed, like nothing had happened!
With a dark expression, he strode over, suppressing his irritation as he set the breakfast down in front of her. Seeing that she was still staring at him without blinking, Li Qinyuan finally lost it.
“Eat!” he growled.
Then, without another word, he returned to his seat and started eating, head down.
Aww.
So fierce.
But Gu Wuyou wasn’t scared at all.
She beamed at Li Qinyuan, and just before he could explode again, she quickly withdrew her gaze and happily dug into the breakfast that her great general had specially fetched for her.
It was delicious.
Even better than breakfast had ever tasted before.
While eating, neither of them spoke, nor did Gu Wuyou continue to stare at him.
Li Qinyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had never thought women could be so terrifying.
That little pepper was just like Fu Xian had said—an absolute handful.
No.
She didn’t just torment people—she messed with his heart.
Just now, when that little pepper’s soft hand had grabbed his ear, his breath had stopped, and his mind had completely shut down.
All that remained was the rapid pounding of his heart, beating so fast it felt like it was about to leap out of his throat.
Even now—
He could still feel the lingering echoes of that heartbeat.
Thump-thump.
Thump-thump.
He glanced up at the little pepper sitting across from him. When she wasn’t talking, she actually looked very well-behaved, not annoying at all… Well, to be fair, even when she did talk, she wasn’t exactly annoying.
The sunlight streaming through the lattice window fell softly on her.
From where Li Qinyuan was sitting, he could see her fan-like eyelashes fluttering, long enough that if she blinked too fast, it almost felt like they could brush against her face.
Sometimes, when she felt ticklish, she’d even reach up and impatiently flick them away.
Her eyes were beautiful.
Even though they were downcast now, he could still picture them—clear and bright, like a sunny day. Looking into those eyes, even the worst irritations seemed to melt away.
Her nose was small and well-shaped, and on the right side of her nose wing, there was a faint mole—so light that one wouldn’t notice it without looking closely.
Her lips had a naturally perfect curve, the corners subtly upturned, making it seem like she was always smiling, even when she wasn’t.
She was… really pretty.
Prettier than any woman he had ever seen.
Then, suddenly, the little pepper across from him stopped eating.
Li Qinyuan quickly averted his gaze, pretending to focus on his steamed bun.
“Mm?”
Gu Wuyou wiped her lips with a handkerchief as she curiously looked at him.
“What?”
Guilty as a thief, Li Qinyuan—who had absolutely been staring just now—was the one to break the silence first, his voice tense.
Gu Wuyou, unaware of his thoughts, just looked at him in confusion. “Why haven’t you finished eating yet?”
Earlier, before she had even started, he had already eaten more than half his food. Now, she was done, and yet the great general still hadn’t finished.
“…Are you sick?”
The thought made Gu Wuyou’s face fill with concern.
Oh. That would explain it.
Now that she thought about it, the great general really did look unwell today. His face seemed paler than usual, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes.
Worried, she immediately stood up, reaching out to check his temperature.
But before her hand could even touch him, Li Qinyuan instinctively leaned back, dodging her touch like his life depended on it.