Chapter 12: What Child Bride… Ah No, Feudal Bad Habit…
Silence.
Silence was tonight’s Cambridge.
The dining room’s overhead lights cast a soft glow, illuminating the oil painting on the wall.
After listening to Lin Zhile’s explanation, in the face of the other’s horrified expression, Gu Jingxiu calmly took another bite of his wonton.
Jin-jie’s culinary skills were as consistent as ever, and the taste didn’t seem to have much of a difference.
However, after Lin Zhile said those words, he felt that things seemed slightly different.
Gu Jingxiu stated, “So actually, if you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have known about the fact that I was eating someone else’s saliva.”
Lin Zhile: “…”
That seemed true.
Lin Zhile felt his toes gripping the floor in embarrassment. He slowly slid down from his chair, shrinking entirely under the table, leaving only a tuft of a cowlick poking out over the edge of the dining table.
Gu Jingxiu felt a bit like laughing.
He really had become a rabbit.
“Since I’m eating the food you made, I don’t seem to have any reason to be angry, right? What are you hiding for? Your wontons are going to get cold,” Gu Jingxiu said.
In reality, he also felt some hidden astonishment. Knowing that he and Lin Zhile had used the same cutlery, he surprisingly hadn’t generated any feelings of repulsion.
Hearing this, Lin Zhile sat back up in his chair and buried his head in his wontons.
After finishing their meal, Gu Jingxiu said, “Just leave the bowls here; Jin-jie will clean them up tomorrow.”
Lin Zhile didn’t dare make a sound, merely presenting his furry crown to him. He nodded.
Gu Jingxiu couldn’t resist and gently ruffled his hair: “Go to bed early after you finish, and remember to brush your teeth.”
Only after hearing the sound of the master bedroom door closing did Lin Zhile dare to slowly lift his head.
QAQ This was just too shameful.
The next day, Lin Zhile slept until 8:00 AM before waking up.
He walked downstairs and saw Gu Jingxiu sitting by the dining table. The memories from last night rushed back to him all at once, and his footsteps on the stairs paused.
It was still a bit difficult to face him.
The two downstairs hadn’t seen him. He heard Gu Jingxiu telling Jin-jie: “Han Zhao, Ji Mingyuan, and the others will be coming over later. They’re eating here for lunch. They said they wanted to eat your tomato beef brisket.”
Jin-jie replied, “Alright, I haven’t seen those young masters in a long time either.”
Gu Jingxiu: “Mm. Add whatever other dishes you see fit.”
Jin-jie said “okay” and then added, “Xiao Lin-xiansheng hasn’t woken up yet. Should I go call him?”
Hearing his own name, Lin Zhile couldn’t pretend any longer and hurriedly walked down the stairs.
“Morning,” he said.
Gu Jingxiu also bid him good morning.
Seeing that he was all freshened up, Jin-jie served him his breakfast. As usual, there was a stewed pear on top.
Lin Zhile was very happy, while simultaneously wondering if he was being too much of a bother.
It was unknown whether Jin-jie had seen through his thoughts, but she said from the side, “I hear your voice has gotten a bit better. Eat one more pear tonight, and you’ll be completely healed.”
Lin Zhile then looked up and smiled at Jin-jie, saying thank you.
Gu Jingxiu asked, “No schedule today?”
Lin Zhile nodded.
Not having a schedule was good too; he could just take a day to rest.
Gu Jingxiu said, “I have a few guests coming over at noon. You don’t need to bother with them, just do your own things.”
Lin Zhile bit his soup spoon: “Are they your friends?”
Gu Jingxiu let out an “Mm”: “Pretty much grew up playing together since we were kids.”
He added, “These guys are all the only sons in their families, so they’re used to being willful. You don’t need to pay attention to them. If they say anything to you, come straight to me and tell me.”
Although it sounded like he was putting them down, his words were full of protectiveness toward his friends.
Lin Zhile let out an “Oh”, wondering what kind of people Gu Jingxiu’s friends would be.
After breakfast, Lin Zhile returned to his room and found that his phone had messages from Teacher Mei and his parents.
Thinking of Dongjing, whom he had run into yesterday, he was a little curious.
But after a moment of consideration, he decided to let it go. This was his teacher’s privacy, after all; the other party had no obligation to satisfy his curiosity.
His teacher asked how he was doing recently, so he gave a brief account of his experiences joining the show.
Teacher Mei said: “That circle is just like that. You haven’t taken the stage yet; when the time comes, you will definitely win. Don’t be discouraged.”
Lin Zhile said: “Teacher, you have too much faith in me.”
Teacher Mei said: “I have faith in myself. My student will not be subpar.”
Lin Zhile: “Mm-hmm, I absolutely won’t let you down!”
Ending the conversation with his teacher, he saw that Father Lin had sent him a private message:
[Lin Zhile, you little traitor, where is my secret stash of money]
Father Lin: [That was for buying a birthday present for your mother]
Feeling guilty, Lin Zhile replied: [I gave it to Mom, and she even split half the informant fee with me]
Father Lin: […]
Father Lin: [I hid it to buy your mother a coat. Her favorite coat is worn out, so I was going to buy her a new one right on her birthday]
Lin Zhile: [Ah? I thought you were going to financially support Eldest Uncle’s family again]
In his early years, Father Lin was left disabled from an injury, and life was tough. Eldest Uncle had even urged Mother Lin to remarry, just for a bit of a matchmaking fee.
With such bad blood in the past, even though Eldest Uncle was now a lonely old man, Mother Lin didn’t want to give a single cent to his family.
Father Lin was rendered speechless: [I’ve only ever given him a sack of taro before, alright]
Father Lin: [Now the money is gone, and the coat is gone too, what do you suggest we do. The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up soon. If the students’ parents give gifts then, maybe I should just accept some]
Lin Zhile immediately sat bolt upright: [You can’t do that, Dad! Are you throwing away your reputation in your twilight years?]
[Don’t worry, I will solve this.]
Although Lin Zhile was a university student who relied on his parents, he would sometimes take on composition and arrangement commissions, earning some pocket money. It would definitely be enough to buy a coat.
Father Lin: [Alright, I’ll trust you this one last time]
On the other side, Mother Lin walked out carrying a basin of laundry, placing it in front of Father Lin who was sitting in the yard sunbathing: “Hang these clothes up later.”
Father Lin stood up: “You got it.”
Seeing his expression, Mother Lin couldn’t resist asking: “Who are you scheming against now? Look at that smile on your face.”
Father Lin merely shook his head and said nothing.
Mother Lin clicked her tongue. If you won’t say, then don’t.
The noon hour passed in the blink of an eye. Just as Lin Zhile was typing away on his mini MIDI keyboard, doing the homework his teacher had assigned, a knock sounded at the door.
It was Jin-jie.
She held a plate of fruit and a pot of floral tea in her hands: “Eat some fresh fruit.”
Lin Zhile hastily took off his headphones and hung them around his neck, accepting the tray with both hands.
Since the door was open, he suddenly heard the sound of people talking and laughing downstairs. It turned out those friends had already arrived.
Jin-jie asked Lin Zhile again if there was anything he wanted to eat for lunch.
He thought about it. Since Gu Jingxiu’s friends were over today, there would definitely be no shortage of good dishes, so he said, “No, I’ll happily eat whatever Jin-jie makes.”
After Jin-jie went downstairs with a smile, Lin Zhile sat back at his workstation and popped two cherries into his mouth. As the sweet and sour juice flowed over his tongue, he suddenly took off his headphones, placed them on the desk, and stealthily opened the door to step out.
Standing by the second-floor railing, he could see four people sitting facing each other in the living room.
Gu Jingxiu was wearing loungewear. He was indeed much more relaxed in front of his friends. Propping his long legs on the footstool, he supported his forehead as he listened to the person beside him speak.
The person beside him was wearing a baseball jacket, with three piercings in one ear, all adorned with earrings. The two sitting with their backs turned were wearing casual suits.
Lin Zhile could hear that these friends were all Jinghua locals. Although their tone was the same, some of their word choices differed from standard Mandarin.
However, Gu Jingxiu didn’t seem to have this accent.
Han Zhao, the one with three piercings in one ear, sat directly facing Lin Zhile’s position. He silently exchanged glances with the Ji Mingyuan and Ji Mingzhi brothers sitting opposite him, then suddenly looked up and made eye contact with Lin Zhile.
Startled, Lin Zhile whooshed behind the pillar.
But it was already too late. He heard a voice say, “Hey, handsome little brother, you’ve been watching for so long, come down and chat!”
Having been discovered, it would be impolite not to go say hi.
Gu Jingxiu shot a glance at Han Zhao, but the latter pretended not to see it. Watching Lin Zhile walk down step by step, he even patted the seat beside him: “Handsome little brother, sit here.”
Lin Zhile would absolutely not sit next to this person.
He saw Gu Jingxiu move the throw pillows on the sofa aside slightly, so he took the opportunity to sit on the sofa next to him.
The Ji brothers exchanged glances. They had their backs turned earlier and hadn’t gotten a good look at Lin Zhile’s face, but seeing it clearly now—
How good must the Lin family’s genes be?
They had seen Gu Jingxiu’s mother a few times; she was a stunningly radiant beauty, and her son was even more so.
And now this distant relative popping out from the countryside surprised them all even more.
Gu Jingxiu casually poured a cup of tea for Lin Zhile.
Han Zhao let out an “Yo”: “First time seeing people, huh? You’re afraid of strangers?”
Ji Mingyuan kicked him from across the table: “With that face of yours, is it possible he’s just afraid of you.”
Han Zhao ignored him: “What’s your name?”
Gu Jingxiu said, “Before asking someone else, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?”
Han Zhao curled his lip: “My surname is Han, Han Zhao. The two across from me, the one on the left wearing glasses is named Ji Mingyuan, the one without is Ji Mingzhi. They are cousins.”
After he finished, Lin Zhile also introduced his own name.
He didn’t know what it was, but he kept feeling that this Han Zhao was targeting him a bit.
After chatting for a while, the group shifted to the card and chess room in the basement.
Han Zhao lifted his chin toward Lin Zhile and said, “Let’s just play Fight the Landlord. Little Le-didi probably wouldn’t understand bridge or anything else.”
Lin Zhile: “…”
It’s just playing cards, and he’s still looking down on people. Lin Zhile secretly went ptui at him in his heart.
However, when it came to card games, Lin Zhile genuinely wasn’t familiar. They rarely appeared in his environment growing up.
Fortunately, he picked up the rules very quickly, was very good at memorizing cards, and could analyze the playing styles of the other players.
Thus, he quickly taught Han Zhao what a ‘slap to the face’ was.
Lin Zhile didn’t join the card table; he simply sat next to Gu Jingxiu and watched, each person having a stack of chips by their hand.
He watched one round, then quietly leaned close to Gu Jingxiu’s ear: “Next round, call for Landlord and furiously double the stakes.”
The air disturbed by his speech puffed against Gu Jingxiu’s ear. His jawline abruptly tightened, and he gave a low “Mm”.
Watching their little movements from across the table, Han Zhao let out a very soft “Tsk”.
The second round was won without any suspense.
Moving forward, Lin Zhile was in charge of memorizing cards and whispering, while Gu Jingxiu was in charge of calling for Landlord and doubling the stakes. Four stacks of chips quickly converged in front of one person.
From his initial smugness, Han Zhao was now getting a bit flustered and exasperated.
His chips were completely gone, and right now, a turtle had been drawn on his face. The Ji brothers couldn’t hold back their laughter every time they looked at him.
Opposite them, Lin Zhile had absolutely nowhere to hide, so he could only duck his face behind the towering stack of chips, revealing only a beautiful pair of smiling eyes.
The only calm one was Gu Jingxiu, who dropped a “Serves you right.” Suddenly, his phone rang. He swiftly and viciously ruffled Lin Zhile’s hair, withdrawing his hand under the other’s condemning gaze: “I’m going to take a call. You guys play first.”
Seeing Gu Jingxiu leave the room, Ji Mingyuan stood up, sat down next to Lin Zhile, and smiled with a face full of parental affection: “Little Le-didi, do you like skiing?”
Lin Zhile didn’t know why he was asking this, shaking his head honestly: “I’ve only seen it, I haven’t done it before.”
Ji Mingyuan laughed heartily: “Skiing is very fun. I own several ski resorts. When the season opens this year, I’ll take you skiing; going abroad is fine too. Flights and hotels all covered, you just have to show up. How about you help me win a few rounds later?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, before Lin Zhile could even express a stance, Ji Mingzhi and Han Zhao pointed at him and scolded, “You brat! Can’t beat him so you start resorting to bribery, huh!”
And Lin Zhile, who was highly interested in the skiing he had never tried before, said verbally, “Going back on my word and betraying my morals feels a bit wrong…” yet his body was already sitting beside Ji Mingyuan.
And so, when Gu Jingxiu returned from his phone call, he discovered that his military advisor and cheap little cousin had been stolen.
Standing beside his empty chair, he curled his index finger and tapped on the card table: “What’s going on?”
Ji Mingyuan said smugly, “As you can see, Little Le-didi has forsaken the darkness for the light, haha.”
Meanwhile, Lin Zhile hid behind Ji Mingyuan, only daring to stealthily steal glances at Gu Jingxiu with his eyes, not daring to turn his face over.
Gu Jingxiu gave him a deep look: “Fine.”
Lin Zhile: … I have a very bad feeling about this.
The card game continued.
Indeed, with Lin Zhile’s massive assistance, Ji Mingyuan managed to survive a desperate situation right on the verge of having a turtle drawn on him.
On the other hand, Ji Mingzhi fell victim to foul play. A vindictive Han Zhao drew a six-legged turtle on him. He repented, “If I had known, I would’ve bribed him too. Does Little Le-didi want to go horseback riding? I’ll take you to the equestrian club to play.”
Gu Jingxiu cast a glance at Ji Mingyuan, who was laughing so hard he was staggering, entirely oblivious to the impending danger. He mentally noted a mark against this brat.
Having already betrayed his master once, it was hard for Lin Zhile to agree again right in front of his Ge, so he shook his head in refusal with regret.
Following this, the loser switched to Gu Jingxiu. Seeing Lin Zhile lean close to Ji Mingyuan to whisper to him, his eyes darkened.
Subsequently, he remained entirely unruffled as he started throwing the game, playing cards haphazardly, and his chips steadily dwindled to the bottom.
He wasn’t anxious, but Lin Zhile was getting a little anxious. Those chips were all won by him!
Gu Jingxiu looked at his cards on the surface, but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen Lin Zhile’s little expressions.
Curling the corners of his lips, he deliberately sighed: “Now all my chips are going to be lost.”
Han Zhao grunted evilly: “It’s fine. Later, I’ll definitely help you draw a better-looking turtle. We’ll even take a group photo as a souvenir, frame it, and put it in your living room.”
Lin Zhile stood up, pretending to go next to Gu Jingxiu to grab his own cup, and whispered, “Do you want me to help you?”
Gu Jingxiu raised his eyes to look at him: “Now you remember me?”
Lin Zhile let out an awkward “hehe” laugh, holding the cup in his hand and taking a sip.
Watching him, Gu Jingxiu said slowly, “That is my cup.”
Lin Zhile: “…”
With a mouthful of water held in his mouth, he instantly couldn’t swallow it, nor could he spit it out.
Seeing his turned military advisor run off again, Ji Mingyuan let out an “Eh”: “Little Le-didi, you don’t want me anymore?”
Opposite him, Han Zhao scoffed at him: “What do you know? The husbands are of one mind. Go stand in the corner.”
Gu Jingxiu raised his eyes to look at him: “What husbands? What are you talking about?”
Han Zhao used a look that saw through everything: “Still pretending? Isn’t Little Le-didi just the child bride Aunt Lin raised in the countryside for you…”
Before he could finish his sentence, with a pfft, his words were terminated by the mouthful of water Lin Zhile hadn’t swallowed.
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