Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 569 I have a husband

Shi Chun doesn't drink much because he's not a person who indulges in pleasure. He's never had the right to be sober since childhood. So, after a drinking session, he only drank about half a jar, and that was only because he had to keep the company.

Li Hongjiu patted his round belly as he stood up, satisfied. He had drunk three jars of fine wine all by himself. Although the jars were not large, they were still quite a lot.

Their feigned affection became increasingly tangible; they left the house arm in arm, calling each other brothers.

As soon as the courtyard gate opened, Xiao Sheng had already prepared a carriage for them. After the two entered the carriage, he personally drove off.

After wandering through the streets and alleys, the carriage finally stopped not far from Bai's Rice Shop, where it could be seen from the side by lifting the curtain.

The rice shop lowered its door panel, seemingly reopening.

Inside the car, Shi Chun pointed to the rice shop outside the window and said to Li Hongjiu beside him, "Brother Jiu, just go through the motions and come back quickly."

After a few drinks, Li Hongjiu, who had clearly gained courage, suddenly became a little timid when the moment came.

He hesitated and said, "If you like someone, you just like them. You don't have to say it out loud. Why do you have to confess?"

Shi Chun was somewhat helpless. Hadn't they already agreed on this? Now that things were about to happen, why were they pulling this stunt again? He immediately began to patiently persuade her, "Don't you need to cover up my excuse for getting Bai Qiru out? If you hadn't gotten your lover out, why would you agree to take on a disciple? You and Bai Qiru have never had any contact before, and you'll never have any contact with each other again. What kind of nonsense is that? At least when people ask Bai Qiru about it, will Bai Qiru at least say 'yes' and confirm that it's true?"

"No." Li Hongjiu, reeking of alcohol, said somewhat puzzledly, "I'm saying, brother, can we do something normal and good when we meet in the future? Is it appropriate to get together and do things secretly, cheating and swindling?"

Shi Chun chuckled, inwardly cursing. "You're making it seem like I corrupted you!" he thought. "When the Divine Fire Domain left, we had a plan we had discussed. Don't think I don't know what you've done. If I hadn't kept some backup, I'd probably be killed by your Yanbao Sect."

On the surface, he deliberately burped and patted his stomach, saying, "I can't agree with that. Getting some fine wine to drink is an elegant affair, how can it be called cheating and swindling?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hongji smacked her lips and decided to let it go. She immediately raised her hand and cast a spell to forcibly expel the smell of alcohol from her body, leaving the carriage filled with the aroma of alcohol.

After the Qingming Festival, he was about to get out of the car when Shi Chun grabbed his arm and pointed at him, saying, "Don't make it so that when people confront you in the future, they won't even recognize who Li Hongjiu, who once liked them, is. Go back to your original appearance."

Li Hongjiu quickly tidied herself up, rubbed her face with both hands, and then lifted the carriage curtain and climbed out without hesitation, showing a sense of "better to be straightforward than hesitant."

Shi Chun watched from behind a curtain that was slightly lifted.

Li Hongjiu, full of youthful courage, plunged headlong into the rice shop and bumped into the smiling shop assistant.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" the waiter asked with a smile, his nostrils twitching as he caught a whiff of alcohol on the man.

Li Hongjiu looked around the rice shop and found only one employee and no one else. She immediately said, "I'm looking for the proprietress."

The waiter was slightly taken aback, a hint of wariness appearing on his face. He tentatively asked, "What business does the gentleman have with the proprietress?"

Li Hongjiu said, "Please inform them that Li Hongjiu requests an audience."

Shi Chun had told him that he had already informed the rice shop owner that he liked her, so the owner naturally knew about him.

"Li Hongjiu..." the waiter muttered, vaguely feeling that the name sounded familiar. He immediately bowed and said, "Please wait a moment."

After saying that, he quickly ran to the back room.

Not long after he left, he quickly ran out again, extending his hand to invite him, "Mr. Li, the proprietress invites you in. You can go inside yourself; I still need to watch the shop outside."

Li Hongjiu nodded her thanks and went inside, observing the surroundings.

After passing through the passageway lined with stacks of rice bags on both sides, one arrives at the inner room, which is a back room that serves as a warehouse.

Even before entering, I could vaguely smell the smoke. Once inside, I discovered the source of the smoke: behind a long table, a beautiful, voluptuous woman with a lovely face, dressed in white as snow, was radiant and captivating. She held a smoking pipe in her mouth, creating a scene with a touch of mystical beauty.

The woman sat motionless behind the table, observing the newcomer. The lighting was poor, but it couldn't hide the sunny disposition on the visitor's face. His smile was bright and cheerful, with a hint of languidness from being in the sun. He was quite good-looking.

Is this Li Hongjiu? Because Shi Chun had reminded her, she was now in a bind, unsure of how to face him. She never expected him to come to see her in person.

In the end, the two stood and sat, facing each other across a table. The host did not greet the guest, and the guest did not greet the host.

To be honest, at first glance, Li Hongjiu felt that Shi Chun wasn't lying. He actually found the woman's energy quite pleasant, at least it lacked the affectedness of most women. In short, it was quite pleasing to his eye.

Finally, Li Hongjiu spoke first, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect, "I am Li Hongjiu, a disciple of the Yanbao Sect, greetings to the proprietress."

Bai Qiru then came to his senses and quickly stood up to return the greeting, "I have long admired Mr. Li's name. Bai Qiru greets Mr. Li."

Li Hongjiu: "I heard you suffered a lot in prison, are you alright?"

Bai Qiru said somewhat awkwardly, "It's alright, it seems like everything is fine for now."

"It's good that you're alright. Then I won't bother you any longer. Farewell." Li Hongjiu cupped her hands in greeting and turned to leave.

Bai Qiru was taken aback. If Wang Ping hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have known how this person felt about her. She never expected that the reason for his first appearance was to inquire about her well-being. Her heart warmed a little.

At this moment, she even had a vague suspicion that Li Hongjiu was behind Gao and the others' efforts to get her out.

But she still instinctively blurted out, "Mr. Li, I have a husband."

This was what she intended to tell him when she heard the report from the waiter.

"I know." Li Hongjiu waved with her back turned, then left without looking back.

As for confessing his feelings, he changed his mind after coming in. The main reason was that he felt that Shi Chun was unreliable and he couldn't let her lead him by the nose. If he really confessed, wouldn't that give her something to talk about? Anyway, he could just express his feelings by coming over.

His effortless and carefree departure left Bai Qiru slightly dazed. Some things can't withstand comparison; he was far more handsome than her own husband, Huang Yingying, that old geezer, while this was Li Hongjiu, hailed as the world's number one rising star. Bai Qiru was actually very curious about one thing: when exactly had they met before?
In short, it's about when you start to like yourself.

Could it be before I met Huang Yingying?

But I couldn't bring myself to ask.

He didn't see the guest off. After sitting down, he gently lit a cigarette and slowly flipped through the account book, acting as if nothing had happened. In reality, he was not at peace. Some people are destined to stir up waves in your heart from the very first meeting.

I also know that some regrets are destined to last a lifetime, and as an adult, I can accept that.

After leaving the rice shop, crossing the street, and getting into the carriage, Li Hongjiu shrugged at Shi Chun, who was staring at him expectantly, and said, "Alright, as you wished, let's go."

Shi Chun chuckled and called out, "Let's go to the library."

So the carriage chugged along, winding through the streets and alleys, as the sun began to set.

When the carriage stopped again, just like when it went to the rice shop, it didn't stop at the entrance, but rather at a place diagonally opposite, some distance away.

In the end, Xiao Sheng drove away, leaving Shi Chun and Li Hongjiu by the roadside.

The teacher and Li went straight to the library.

As soon as Li Hongjiu stepped into the hall, he smelled the familiar aroma of wine. When he passed the counter, he saw a woman in red lying on her side, pretending to be asleep. He probably guessed something, turned his head to look at Shi Chun, and saw Shi Chun nod slightly, so he knew that he had guessed correctly.

As he looked around the old and run-down environment of the library, he followed Shi Chun directly inside and upstairs.

Upon reaching the second floor, just as the second young lady, Dong Liangyu, who was sitting behind a desk, nodded in greeting, Shi Chun leaned close to her and whispered, "It's me."

Dong Liangyu was taken aback, then realized what was happening and looked at Li Hongjiu.

“My friend,” Shi Chun said simply, then asked, “Has Mr. Fu left?”

Dong Liangyu glanced at the bookshelf and whispered, "It's still there, it hasn't been downstairs."

Shi Chun exclaimed "Whoa!" thinking to himself, "It's been several days already, and they still haven't left."

He immediately turned to Li Hongjiu and said, "The bookstore is still open for business. My family is busy. Let's talk after it closes. I'll show you around the bookstore first. The collection of books here is absolutely rare. I feel more energetic from being influenced by it."

"Oh, I'd like to see it for myself." Li Hongjiu followed him with great interest.

Neither of them paid; they had already informed each other, so naturally there was no need for them to pay again.

Dong Liangyu coughed softly and began to drift off into thought, turning his head to look at the bookshelf every time he turned a page.

Li Hongjiu was indeed surprised to see the vast collection of books in the library, and lingered there, reluctant to leave.

As the sun sets and the library empties out, people begin to tidy up and clean, while the kitchen in the backyard is also bustling with activity.

The woman in red, who sat lazily behind the counter, had no sense of propriety whatsoever and ignored the busy siblings Dong Liangying and Dong Liangze.

Instead of offering any help, she pulled out a mother-child talisman from behind the counter and sent it to Shi Chun: "I miss you again, where are you?"

At first, I felt a little awkward sending these kinds of messages, but I gradually got used to it after a while.

She'd figured it out: the more similar messages she sent, the more thoroughly that guy would be erased from the picture.

These days, she can send Shi Chun similar sweet nothings three times a day.

There's no other reason than that Shi Chun keeps replying that he's going to find Situ Gu and Li Hongjiu, so we need to confirm whether Shi Chun has left Jukuzhou. As long as he can still reply to messages, it means he hasn't left yet, and even if he has, we can roughly grasp the time period when he sneaked out.

With Xunmen conducting strict checks, she secretly strengthened control. If someone leaves but Xunmen doesn't react, then it's something to think about.

Shi Chun, who was upstairs flipping through a book, took out the message, smiled, and replied: I miss you more. I'm still busy with the things you asked me to do.

The woman in red was tired of seeing the same old "I'm trying my best" replies every time, so she casually replied: "Who knows if you're just saying nice things while actually having fun somewhere else."

Shi Chun glanced at Li Hongjiu, who was engrossed in reading at the other end of the bookshelf, and felt more confident in his reply. He smiled and said, "I not only speak well, but I also act well. I'll go and bring Li Hongjiu to you today."

The woman in red behind the counter instantly flashed her eyes. She had a grasp of the real-time situation of both Situ Gu and Li Hongjiu. At this moment, Li Hongjiu was being reprimanded by her master and was ordered to go into seclusion. Shi Chun was obviously still in Jukuzhou. Could a simple greeting make Li Hongjiu come out of seclusion?

She immediately sent a message asking: Are you going to pick me up in person?
To show off his diligence, Shi Chun casually sent her a flattering message: "I'll do whatever you ask me to do, even if my legs cramp up from exhaustion."

The woman in red was surprised and suspicious. How could she possibly get out after such a strict check? Or was it that one of the top experts could break through the void to help her?

She sent another message to confirm: Are you sure you can pick up Li Hongjiu today?
Shi Chun had intended to give a full guarantee, but the way the other party confirmed the time made him subconsciously wary. It was a habit, so he subconsciously left himself some leeway and gave a reply that allowed for flexibility: If it doesn't work today, then tomorrow.

Upon hearing this, the woman in red immediately ruled out the possibility of a master breaking through the void. However, the time span of the next two days was quite large, and she had not found any clues at the Xunmen. She could not allow the other party to be fully prepared. She immediately replied: "I knew your words were unreliable. If you're so capable, invite Li Hongjiu over before midnight tonight. If you do, I'll agree to be your woman."

It's essentially about trying to shorten the opponent's action time. The more eager the opponent is to act, the easier it is for them to reveal their true colors.

Looking at the message on the mother-child talisman, Shi Chun froze, then looked up at Li Hongjiu reading a book on the other side, and muttered to himself with self-doubt, "That's it?"

I was originally planning to wait until the library was finished and the Dong Wenshu family had all gathered for dinner before having Li Hongjiu make an appearance.

(End of this chapter)