You've Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale

Chapter 31 - Rumours

Chapter 31 — Rumours

Edited by DancingDolphinsYo

Travelworn, it was two days till the New Year when they reached Qingcheng County. Adviser Wu truly had no skills at riding, and Guan Shanjin was also afraid of tiring him out. As such, they did not go very fast.

Having been away from home for over a month, Wu Xingzi felt a sort of relieved ease when he pushed his door open. The tables and chairs were covered with a thin layer of dust. Fortunately, the house had been repaired rather meticulously before winter. No matter how much rain fell during winter, there had been no leakage in the roof.

Unable to be concerned with how weak his legs felt after riding a horse for a long period of time, Wu Xingzi rolled up his sleeves to start tidying his house.

After feeding the horse and tying it up in the stable of the magistrate’s office, Guan Shanjin arrived at Wu Xingzi’s house to see him having already collected a basin of water, and wiping his furniture down.

Naturally, Guan Shanjin could not watch Wu Xingzi being all sweaty and exhausted during a cold winter day. What if he caught a chill because of the wind? Guan Shanjin walked forward and took over what Wu Xingzi was doing. Then, as if afraid of him being unable to sit quietly by the side, he sent Wu Xingzi out to buy some groceries for cooking.

“I’ve already asked Su Yang to prepare the New Year goods for us. He’ll send them over tomorrow, before noon, so there’s no need to buy too many things.” After briefing Wu Xingzi, Guan Shanjin pushed him out of the house, not even giving him a chance to struggle.

Blankly, Wu Xingzi looked at the door that had shut behind him. He scratched his nose, feeling a little secretly delighted.

Humans were not made of stone. Having travelled together by themselves for the past dozen or so days, Wu Xingzi could see that Guan Shanjin’s care towards him was extremely meticulous. He was always worried that he would be cold, would be hungry, would be uncomfortable, and always managed to arrive at a village just before sunset. Before they left, Mint and Osmanthus had secretly told Wu Xingzi that the general had never allowed anyone to ride his horse, Zhuxing. Even Mr. Lu had never had the fortune to take a ride on Zhuxing’s back, not even once.

“I believe that the general must really like you.” Mint covered her smile with her hand.

Osmanthus chimed in, “Exactly! The general is even going back home with you for the New Year! He’s never returned to the capital for Mr. Lu before.”

Wu Xingzi could only smile wryly. He completely did not wish to bring the Great Southern Garrison General back home with him to pray to his ancestors! How was he going to account to his ancestors about him?

Father, Mother, my ancestors, This is the… pengornis I’ve been thinking about. I’ll be living with him temporarily for a period of time. Please bless this pengornis with the best wishes possible, that it can reach its utmost potential, garner great achievements, and let it be forever unyielding and filled with perseverance.

Wu Xingzi was afraid that his parents and his ancestors would immediately enter his dream that night and teach this unfilial son a lesson!

As such, he remained conflicted throughout the entire journey home, but Wu Xingzi still did not manage to come up with a good suggestion that could strike a happy balance.

Gripping his little money pouch, Wu Xingzi strolled over to Auntie Liu’s house. By this time, most of the stalls along the street had already packed up, and he could only purchase the groceries that he needed directly from the farmers.

Auntie Liu had two sons, and so, she had sufficient food at home. She should have no problems selling him a little.

On his way there, he happened to walk past a few villagers. Wu Xingzi greeted them, smiling brightly, but their expressions were all very entertaining. First, they came to an abrupt stop, staring at him, then they revealed a face full of either schadenfreude or pity. Finally, they would give him a complicated, twisted smile. No matter how sedate and placid Wu Xingzi was, after walking past a few people, he too registered that something was not quite right.

Finally, almost as though he was hiding from everyone, he arrived at Auntie Liu’s place. Knocking on the door, he heard Auntie Liu shout her acknowledgement from within. The wooden door opened, and after seeing that it was Wu Xingzi, Auntie Liu’s eyes rounded. She did not speak, but just held his hand and started crying.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” Auntie Liu’s eldest daughter-in-law, Ah Xiu, ran out in a panic. After seeing Wu Xingzi who had an awkward expression on his face, she too started wiping her tears.

“Sister, Mother, what’s wrong?” The second daughter-in-law, Ah Bao, too came over.

For the next fifteen minutes, the door to the Liu’s home was full of sobs. Helplessly, Adviser Wu looked at the three women. His mouth was wide open, yet he did not know what he should say.

In the end, it was still Old Mister Liu who came and called everyone to enter the house. Gently, he patted Wu Xingzi’s shoulder. “Good boy, it’s fine that you’re back.”

Huh? Wu Xingzi was baffled. He could guess that this definitely had something to do with the villager’s strange behaviour along the way. However, the men of the Liu family were all born taciturn. The two sons of Old Mister Liu had yet to return, and Old Mister Liu was already sitting by the side, smoking. To persuade the three women to stop crying, Wu Xingzi alone was powerless to do so.

With no other choice, he could only pat Auntie Liu’s hand, repeating wanly. “Don’t cry anymore, don’t cry. Crying too much is not good for the eyes.”

Women were truly made of water! Wu Xingzi coaxed them till his mouth was dry, his throat nearly aflame. Only then did the three people gradually stop crying, giving him water and dried fruit in a fluster.

Drinking a large bowl of water in one gulp, Wu Xingzi sighed in satisfaction, but he could not bear to touch the dried fruit. Just as he was about to buy some vegetables from Auntie Liu, Auntie Liu spoke first. “Xingzi, you pitiful child. Have you lost weight again? That young lord looked like he was born from wealth, yet he’s so heartless; did he not even give you a good meal?”

“Hmm?” Wu Xingzi did not understand, looking even more lost. In Auntie Liu’s eyes, it seemed as though he was enduring his sorrow, hiding his injured heart, looking like a pitiful victim.

“Ah, Xingzi! It’s all my fault. I should have stopped you from leaving with that heartless son of a bitch!” Seeing how Auntie Liu was filled with righteous indignation, as well as how Ah Xiu and Ah Bao were staring at him with pity and heartache in their tear-filled eyes, Wu Xingzi finally reacted.

He sighed, waving his hands in a fluster. “No no no, Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. Haiwang is extremely good to me. He did not let me go hungry for even a day, and I could even plant cucumbers in the yard I was staying at!”

“Planting cucumbers during this season? It’s no good, they won’t grow well!” Upon mentioning crops, Auntie Liu immediately got distracted. “In such cold weather, you should plant carrots.”

“Yes, yes. I didn’t think of it at that time. I only felt that the people there had a more explosive temper, and so, I planted some cucumbers to eat. They would be able to calm their temperament, remove heatiness in the body and help to detoxify the body. They’ll be nice as gifts.” Of course, they had another use as well. Wu Xingzi was shy and easily embarrassed, and he would never let Auntie Liu know about it. After all, that was something he had seen in the erotic drawings Manager Rancui had given him.

They all said cucumbers were good for eating, and any “mouth” could eat them.

“Mother, at this time, planting cucumbers or carrots is not the key point.” Ah Xiu could not carry on listening to this conversation. She took in a deep breath, then looked at Wu Xingzi. “Xingzi-ge, don’t try to conceal this from us! Everyone has been saying that after you were taken away by that young lord, you were cleanly forgotten in only a few days. There are countless beauties in that young lord’s house, and they said that the one in his heart is so beautiful as though he is a fairy. Auntie Li and the rest said that you had definitely been discarded, and that, how could the young lord ever like you?”

“Hmph, wicked people with their wicked tongues. Auntie Li and those people are born with nasty mouths, and they just can’t stand to see Xingzi-ge living a happy life.” Ah Bao was a lot more direct, pursing her lips and scolding them.

“However, that is all they’ve been talking about recently. They’ve even said that Xingzi-ge might even be chased home before the New Year.” Ah Xiu closed her mouth, glancing at Wu Xingzi cautiously. “If that young lord is good to you, why didn’t he ask you to stay for the New Year?”

“He said…” Wu Xingzi’s face flushed a bright red, looking a little awkward. This was after all a matter of praying to his ancestors together!

“What did he say? Don’t leave me on tenterhooks!” Auntie Liu could not bear waiting, urging him on hurriedly.

“Uh, he said, he would come home with me for the New Year and make the offerings to my ancestors.” By this time, every inch of Wu Xingzi’s exposed skin was reddened. He was extremely shy about it, but he too felt so sweet as though he had been coated with honey.

He knew that there would not be any future between Guan Shanjin and himself, and he too had always been firm on his direction of life, which was to collect even more pengornis drawings. However, he had still been somewhat moved by Guan Shanjin’s care and concern. There was no need to start thinking about solemn pledges of love, but a few tastes of sweetness here and there could still be rather enjoyable.

“Are you saying that you’re really in a relationship with him?!” The corners of Auntie Liu’s eyes were still reddened from crying, and yet in an instant, she started smiling so widely that her eyes could not be seen. “The heavens have blessed you, the heavens have blessed you! You’re a good child, and if that young lord has eyes, he should know how to cherish you. Hah! Early tomorrow morning, I’m going to go to the Li’s place, and ruthlessly deal with that group of old women to take revenge on your behalf!” Making offerings to ancestors was a huge matter, and outsiders naturally had no possibility nor rights to participate. Since the two of them were now at this stage, they would definitely have already declared their intentions to each other. Although becoming life partners was not as fussy as getting married, and all they needed to do was to go to the magistrate’s office to register their household, most would still invite their families and friends for a banquet to celebrate.

“Where will you be holding your banquet? When would it be?” Wu Xingzi was overwhelmed by Auntie Liu’s barrage of questions.

He waved his hands. “Auntie! Auntie! We did not become life partners! He’s only here to accompany me for the New Year and make the offerings to my ancestors. He has to return to Bastion City before the tenth day of the New Year.”

“What?! He’s already here to make the offerings, becoming life partners is only a matter of time.” With a wave of her arm, Auntie Liu turned to go into her kitchen. Soon, she came out with a chunk of preserved meat, a few carrots, a large cabbage and four eggs, shoving them all into Wu Xingzi’s arms.

“Here, this is my gift to you. In the future if you’re bullied in Bastion City, just come back and look for me. I’ll definitely settle it for you.”

Wu Xingzi stared at the food in his arms. That chunk of preserved meat had streaks of fat running through it, looking shiny and tempting. The layers of meat were delineated clearly, without any blurring or melding. Swallowing his saliva, he pushed the meat back into Auntie Liu’s hands.

“Auntie, I’m here today to buy some rice, vegetables and things like that, just enough to make a meal for Haiwang and me. The New Year goods that he had asked his friend to prepare will be here tomorrow, so keep this meat for yourself. I know very well that you’ve always doted on me.”

“That young lord is truly meticulous.” Listening to Wu Xingzi, Auntie Liu was delighted. She did not refuse to take the preserved meat back, but no matter what, she did not accept any payment for the rest.

With no other choice, Wu Xingzi could only accept Auntie Liu’s goodwill. He left with the vegetables, eggs, and some rice, bumping into Guan Shanjin along the way. Guan Shanjin took the items over, having come out in search of Wu Xingzi, as he had yet to return after Guan Shanjin was done with the cleaning of the house.

“Are these enough for you?” Teasingly, he looked at Wu Xingzi’s tummy. Wu Xingzi blushed faintly, lowering his head. This image lit a flame within Guan Shanjin. If not for the fact that they were on the street, with the odd people around them, he really wanted to pull him into his arms and kiss him to his heart’s delight.

“There’s only some salt left at home, I’m afraid you’ll feel unwell after eating it.” Recently Wu Xingzi seemed to have been getting used to his situation. When walking next to Guan Shanjin, he would unconsciously hold on to his arm. Their postures were fairly intimate, and people who saw them started muttering amongst themselves.

After all, earlier on, Auntie Li had sounded very convincing. She talked about how that Adviser Wu would be discarded, how tragic his life would be, how celestially beautiful the sweetheart of the god-like man was, and apparently, that sweetheart was even a successful scholar in the imperial examinations! Apparently, they all said that the god-like man had been unable to woo that sweetheart of his, and so, he took Wu Xingzi as a substitute and kept him by his side. However, the two of them had recently accepted each other’s feelings, and Wu Xingzi was naturally now an eyesore. If not for the kindness of that sweetheart, he would have long been abandoned in that city.

“Hah! If Wu Xingzi has a sense of shame, he’ll run back home soon!” This was Auntie Li’s conclusion, and many old women chimed in with their agreement. This was probably one of the most hotly discussed topics in Qingcheng County over the past two weeks.

But what they saw now was not the disheveled appearance of the main character in that topic, walking all alone. Instead, with him was that elegant, graceful young lord who looked like an immortal. The two of them were even exchanging whispers intimately on the street.

Look at that Wu Xingzi. Shouldn’t he take a look at how old he already is? How shameless!

Forget it, Auntie Li must have gotten a huge bite of sour groups, and so, she created such rumours.

Hah! Did this god-like man really get enchanted?! With Wu Xingzi’s appearance, you’ll only despise him even more when you take an extra look at him, how did the god-like man start liking him?

Yo! Someone is clearly thinking that he’s not attracting enough attention, someone needs to teach him a lesson!

Everyone had something to say. But their voices were all very soft, as they did not dare to let the parties hear what they were saying. However, Guan Shanjin had a very strong inner force. Without paying any attention, he ended up hearing all the rumours going around, and a cold unhappiness rose in his eyes.

There was too much overlap between the rumour and the truth, and Mr. Lu’s existence was almost shining visibly in front of everyone. He would definitely not believe that no one was deliberately working behind the scenes of this incidence.

Who could it be? And what was the objective of these rumours? If Wu Xingzi was to hear of them, would he… have any opinions? The last point made him inexplicably shudder. Looking down, he glanced over to the chattering Wu Xingzi next to him. That ordinary face was tinted a slight red, and there was not a single trace of Mr. Lu’s stunning beauty. However, no matter how he looked at it, it was still pleasing to the eyes.

He even could no longer remember, at the start, exactly which feature of Wu Xingzi was a shadow of Mr. Lu?

If he were to discover that Guan Shanjin’s intimacy and care all started because he had treated him like Mr. Lu’s substitute, would he still be able to smile at him like how he was doing now? Would he still blush upon seeing him? Would he… completely not be bothered, instead sighing in relief, and return to the Peng Society, continuing to make friends through the pigeon express?

Guan Shanjin started feeling inexplicably upset. He held everything safely with just one hand, then wrapped his other arm tightly around the thin person next to him. He ignored the eyes of the crowd, lowering his head and placing a deep kiss on that pair of sweet, honeyed lips. Curling his tongue and using the tip of his tongue, he continued licking at the pooling saliva in his mouth. Only when the other party was weak-limbed and panting did Guan Shanjin then release him.

That pair of eyes were sparkling, looking at him foolishly, and only he existed in those eyes.

“Are you hungry yet?” Guan Shanjin asked gently. His voice was tender, and there seemed to be little hooks in them, clinging onto Wu Xingzi and making his heart pound.

Gulping his saliva down, he realized that there were still traces of Guan Shanjin’s flavour in his mouth. Wu Xingzi’s mind was still flustered, and he answered blankly. “I’m hungry already, can I have you?”

An intoxicating smile bloomed in front of him, and a kiss fell onto his ear. “It’s all up to you.”