Tea-flavored Romance

Faced with this perplexing situation, everyone, after much deliberation, almost unanimously came to the same conclusion: Old Master Gu was using himself as bait to lure a few foolish fish who were too preoccupied to act while the Gu family was preoccupied with other matters. A wave of cursing and lingering fear washed over many. Some were glad they had managed to hold back, while others who had tentatively made a move were annoyed by Old Master Gu's insidious scheme. So, on the 29th and 30th of the lunar year, they brought gifts to the Gu family to express their apologies. But to their surprise, the Gu family was already bustling with visitors, and the line of people waiting to come was almost reaching the Jiang family's door.

When Old Master Gu was nearing the end of his life, his house was deserted and quiet. But when he returned in high spirits, the scene was bustling again. The saying "the fickleness of human relationships" is always true, regardless of the social class or era. Old Master Gu hasn't revealed the reason for his recovery yet, not even to the Gu family, leaving it all to outsiders to guess.

It must be said that this is also an excellent strategic deterrent. If such a situation occurs again, there will likely be far fewer people with ulterior motives who want to cause trouble.

While the Gu family was still reeling from the shock and joy of the old man's return, Master Ning, as a distinguished guest, naturally didn't need everyone to be busy making arrangements. Besides, frankly, he wasn't qualified to do so at the moment. At the very least, his name wouldn't be recognized beyond the Gu and Jiang families until his cooperation with the Gu family reached its second phase.

Before that, he also had to deal with his girlfriend's scrutinizing gaze...

Olaf: Stare...

While Grandpa Gu and Master Ning were chatting, Gu Guanxue maintained maximum restraint and silence, obediently and quietly gathering information on the side. Although Xuebao seemed to be indifferent all the way, behind the scenes, the hand of a certain scumbag had been squeezed again and again by the smiling young lady of the Gu family.

You kept such a big thing from me... Do you think I wouldn't be angry with you at all?!

They walked upstairs hand in hand, and after entering the room, Xuebao casually locked the door, gradually approaching the guilty scumbag.

"Well... I know you must have a lot of questions right now... but I think we can talk about them and discuss them. There's no need to resort to violence..."

Full Moon's little fists are so fierce, so it goes without saying that Snowball's fighting power is even greater; she'd probably be just as strong, if not weak, in dealing with Ning Yuan. Although Ning Yuan is no longer being beaten to a pulp by his girlfriend, there's a certain kind of fighting between men and women that seems to be less about strength and technique…

For example, right now, as Gu Guanxue walked into the house, unbuttoning her coat and tossing it onto the coat rack, radiating murderous intent, Master Ning suddenly felt that he might be doomed tonight…

"Snowball... let me explain... I didn't want to hide this from you at first..."

Master Ning swallowed hard, his eyes quickly glancing at the window. Seeing that he had drawn the curtains quite a bit earlier, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then he turned his gaze back to his girlfriend's perfect upper body encased in her coffee-colored wool sweater...

The first thing a northerner does upon entering a room is to take off their coat, something Master Ning, being from the south, could understand, given the room was so warmly heated that a humidifier was practically necessary. However, Xuebao's next action forced him to entertain a wicked thought—the hexagonal, war-like beauty in front of him approached step by step, pinning him to the edge of her bed, cupping his face, staring at him for a moment, and then suddenly kissing him.

This kiss was completely different from the one at the stairwell of the sanatorium. If the latter was the excitement and joy of a long-awaited reunion, then the former was the comfort and lightness of letting go of all burdens. Of course, no matter how different the emotions were, the soft and sweet scent of the girl's lips was the same.

Master Ning's inner monologue: Thank goodness the curtains were drawn earlier, otherwise I really would have been under the moonlight...

With her exquisite face so close, her breath sweet as orchids, Ning Yuan could even feel Xue Bao's eyelashes gently brushing against his cheek. She moved downwards, her small, soft tongue tracing across his skin, finally leaving a small hickey on Master Ning's collarbone.

Master Ning: ? ? ?

Olaf ruined me, Olaf ruined me!

The victim's grief and regret ultimately fueled his desire for revenge. He quickly turned around and pinned the girl down in front of him, looking down at Gu Guanxue, whose expression resembled that of a little lamb. A desire to conquer surged into his heart, and he responded to her soft posture with even more ardent actions.

One second the little lamb was pitiful and coy, the next second the big bad wolf took the bait and a sly smile appeared on her lips. She hooked her arms around her beloved's neck and let his kisses fall on her lips and her smooth, alluring collarbone.

The weak groans were Master Ning's best reward. Xuebao was weak and powerless to resist, nor did she want to. The passive effect of the lust card made the curious little girl who was pretending to be a little lamb truly become a little lamb at this moment, quietly waiting for the big bad wolf to eat her up little by little.

The room was the one the girl had grown up in, and a faint, sweet fragrance wafted through the air, urging Master Ning to continue his assault. He had initially thought the softest part of a girl's body was her lips, but he soon realized he was wrong.

If we only consider the above, then Olaf's figure is second only to Jiu Jiu. If we consider the overall picture, then she is undoubtedly the most beautiful girl.

Looking at Gu Guanxue now, all one could see was a cute, beautiful girl with watery eyes, who seemed to know exactly what was going to happen next, biting her lip and remaining silent.

"Xiaoxue, your Grandpa Jiang is here. Would you like to come down and say hello?"

The mother-in-law's voice from outside the door instantly snapped the two people on Xuebao's bed back to their senses. Master Ning and Xuebao jumped up as if electrocuted, shouting back:

"Oh...I'll be right down..."

The voice sounded weak and feeble. The mother-in-law, being an experienced woman, seemed to sense something. She didn't say anything, but simply reminded the guests waiting downstairs before going downstairs.

Master Ning: "..."

Olaf: "..."

The lingering soft touch in his palm made the scumbag feel a little nostalgic. He glanced at Gu Guanxue, who looked slightly resentful, and coughed twice, saying, "Ahem... Xuebao, the heating in the north here is really quite intense, isn't it..."

"It's not like you're blaming the heating system entirely." Gu Guanxue didn't have time to tidy her messy clothes, so she grabbed a cushion and threw it at the scumbag who was acting innocent after getting the benefit.

“It’s not impossible, is it? This is my first time wintering in the North as a Southerner, so it’s quite reasonable for me to encounter this situation…” Master Ning said seriously, “After all, I’m usually a very upright gentleman, and when we agree to kiss, it’s just a kiss… Take just now, for example, I just wanted to give you a strawberry back…”

"Hmm, did you really only think that far ahead?" Gu Guanxue blinked her watery eyes and said, "I thought you were going to take advantage of this opportunity to eat me up completely."

"How is that possible!"

"Ah~ so it was just a one-man show by me~"

"Of course not... Olaf, what do you mean by that?"

Master Ning was slightly taken aback, and before he could even process what she was saying, the girl had already revealed a sly smile and hummed happily, "I don't know, guess for yourself?"

"No...it turns out that just now..."

Am I really only one step away from that level? So should I blame myself for wearing too many clothes in winter or for my mother-in-law arriving just in time?

On that day, Master Ning entered the realm of a terrestrial immortal for the first time!

Wait, it's not that simple... Is Olaf trying to trick me again?

"Alright, that's enough." Gu Guanxue reached out her hand to Ning Yuan, who had stood up, her smile bright and beautiful: "My legs are weak, carry me up."

"Should I carry you downstairs?"

"Hmm, I have no objection if you have the guts." Gu Guanxue chuckled, "If Grandpa Jiang comes, Jiang Manyue might be downstairs too, you know?"

"Ahem... I think we should respect our elders... Okay, come here."

"Help me tidy my clothes."

"Don't you have hands?"

"Whoever makes the mess is responsible."

"..."

"Actually, I was mentally prepared for this." Gu Guanxue was held in Ning Yuan's arms, and he whispered in her ear, "Following the procedure we just went through, you could have easily pushed me down, you know?"

Master Ning: "..."

It's hard now, its fist is hard.

"Hey... what are you doing..."

"Wait a moment before going downstairs." Master Ning placed the girl he was holding back on the bed and said viciously, "Collect some interest to make up for my losses first!"

"Mmm...mmm..."

……

The process of collecting interest didn't take too long, but the results were remarkable. The smug little fox finally toned down his attitude. The two tidied up and went downstairs. The people in the living room had been cleared out, leaving only Grandpa Jiang and Grandpa Gu drinking tea.

Those social interactions can never compare to long-standing friendships, and the anticipated scene of Jiang Xihua waiting downstairs didn't materialize. Seeing this, Master Ning breathed a slight sigh of relief and followed Gu Guanxue downstairs. Old Master Jiang noticed them, put down his teacup, and gave Ning Yuan a deep look:

"You little rascal...you've really fooled me...tell me, when did you come up with this plan?"

Chapter 335: Ningyuan's problem cannot be solved by a mere collaborator.

"I didn't hide it from you, mainly because you didn't ask me."

"Such a big thing and you still have to wait for me to ask you? Are you asking for a beating? Come on, let's have a go?"

"Alright, Old Jiang, to be honest, it was me who decided to keep it from you." Old Master Gu said calmly, "He never intended to take this on himself in the first place."

"Grandpa Gu, you're flattering me too much. Of course I'd like to claim credit for it, but at the time I didn't know what you were planning to do, so I decided to keep quiet."

Ning Yuan walked to the side seat and sat down. Gu Guanxue naturally picked up the purple clay teapot and brewed a pot of fresh tea. With nothing else to do, Master Ning relaxed and picked up some fruits and snacks and put them in his mouth. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything since he got off the plane. Even with his excellent physique, he couldn't withstand such a dry diet.

Grandpa Jiang's curiosity was mainly focused on how Master Ning secretly administered the medicine to Old Gu without everyone's knowledge. He wasn't particularly interested in getting involved in the cooperation. Unlike the Gu family, the Jiang family had always followed a very steadfast path. Perhaps it was precisely this purity that allowed the Jiang family to develop so smoothly.

Fantasy novels often say the same thing: only with a clear and enlightened sword mind can one attain the Great Dao. The Jiang family doesn't need these other factors to increase their influence and power; too many complicated relationships are sometimes not a good thing.

With his old friend recovered and he having companions for chess and fishing again, this was undoubtedly a joyous occasion for Grandpa Jiang. His tone became cheerful and radiant with happiness. Seeing that Grandpa Jiang was so pleased with himself that he might forget their previous agreement, Master Ning couldn't help but cough lightly to remind him:

"Well... Mr. Jiang, didn't you tell me before that you wanted to co-host the New Year's Eve dinner with the Gu family? The reason you gave before was that you wanted it to be more lively, but in my opinion, now is the time to be even more lively... Have you informed Mr. Gu?"

Old Master Gu was slightly taken aback, put down his teacup and looked at his old friend: "Is that so?"

Grandpa Jiang: "..."

Xuebao, who was making tea nearby, was speechless.

"That's true." Old Jiang glanced at Master Ning meaningfully and said loudly, "Before, I was mainly thinking that it was your last New Year, and we old buddies should spend it together. But now... you've recovered from all your old injuries, so it seems reasonable to change the reason for spending it together to a celebration."

Grandpa Gu pondered for a moment, seemingly recalling how his recent stay in the sanatorium had cast a shadow over his family's mood. He felt that having more people around for the New Year was perfectly reasonable. Besides, the Jiang and Gu families were old friends, and the younger generations of their families often visited each other, so having New Year's Eve dinner together was both appropriate and reasonable.

With that in mind, Old Master Gu no longer hesitated and asked, "I have no objections, Old Jiang, what about you?"

"Me? Of course I have no objection, it's just that these two families will have to keep an eye on their tastes..."

"That's true..."

"That's easy," Master Ning patted his chest and guaranteed, "I can cook it. I can make any dish from all over the country as long as I have the ingredients, whether it's sweet or savory. In short, it's all arranged!"

Seeing Master Ning's enthusiastic efforts to get the two families to have New Year's Eve dinner together, Old Gu and Old Jiang exchanged a glance and nodded.

"Then let's try your cooking first. If everyone is satisfied with the food, you can be the head chef, and everyone else can assist you."

"No problem! Leave it to me!"

"Grandpa, have some tea."

Gu Guanxue, who had been brewing fresh tea with her slender hands, finally came over with the tea. After pouring it for the two old people, she walked towards the scumbag with a smile. While bending down to pour the tea, she used her body to cover herself and pinched Master Ning's waist hard.

No wonder you were so confident that you wanted to have New Year's Eve dinner with me; it turns out you had this plan all along!

I couldn't believe your lies! I knew it! A scumbag's words are just a bunch of lies!

"hiss……"

"what happened?"

“This tea… is really fragrant…” Master Ning replied with a grin.

"That's natural. I've learned how to brew tea, but if I had to say, I brew tea better during the full moon."

“Manyue is a bit quieter than Xiaoxue, and the choice of tea depends on one’s mood.” Old Master Gu took a sip of tea and continued, “Speaking of which, why didn’t Manyue come over to visit?”

"I'm just practicing calligraphy at home," Grandpa Jiang said casually.

"That's good, it helps with self-cultivation."

"Hey, Lao Gu, that's not very kind of you. You never give your Xiaoxue's dad a good look when he's practicing calligraphy and painting at home all day, but now that he's a month old, you're praising him?"

"That's because Man Yue has a sense of propriety, but he doesn't." Old Master Gu sneered, "Have you ever seen anyone who spends all their time practicing calligraphy and painting as their main occupation, neglecting to eat and sleep?"

"Alright, alright, you still can't let go after all these years? You've been through hell and back, think positively. At least he has a good daughter, doesn't he?"

Master Ning: ?