Chapter 888 - 493: Li Zhibai Wants to Drink (Double - , Part 2)

"Hmm... If you give me a kiss, I might not mind your rejection of me at all," Zhu Pingniang said with a playful smile.

Just a little closeness with Ah Bai, and any heart demon would dissipate in an instant.

"Such behavior," Li Zhibai sighed helplessly. She truly couldn’t understand her younger sister, not knowing how many of her words were jokes and how many were true.

However, that didn’t really matter.

"Don’t be mad, have a cup of tea, I was just teasing you," Zhu Pingniang brought over a cup of Wen Cha. "I’ve arranged it all; the tidal crab is cold, Midday Grass Tea is warm, it can dispel chill and grease, and also..."

Zhu Pingniang chuckled lightly.

It also showed her care for Ah Bai.

"Cold?" Li Zhibai held the teacup, smelling the faint herbal scent.

Tong Jun was comparing her to those daughters of hers?

"Ah Bai, you usually don’t like to use cultivation powers, so it’s reasonable for me to treat you like an ordinary person, right?" Zhu Pingniang asked.

Li Zhibai gave her a surprised look and nodded.

The power of habit was immense, and it was the same for Li Zhibai. She used to live alone in the mountains, and it was uncomfortable at first when Zhu Tongjun invaded her life, but she got used to her noise.

Initially, she couldn’t get used to Zhu Pingniang’s frankness in expressing every thought in her heart, but now, smelling the faint tea aroma in her cup, she smiled.

Always the dear little sister.

Cradling the teacup, Li Zhibai thought, sometimes wishing Tong Jun could be a bit more clever.

She sipped the warming tea gently, then suddenly put it down.

Zhu Pingniang was startled.

"Ah Bai, you... don’t like it?"

"No," Li Zhibai shook her head, glanced in Xu Chang’an’s direction, and asked, "Do you have any wine?"

Zhu Pingniang: "..."

Zhu Pingniang stared as Li Zhibai tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing fair skin and bright blue eyes, utterly stunned.

Ah... Ah Bai... wants to drink?

With me?

Huh?

She couldn’t have heard wrong.

Was it her wanting to drink, it was Li Zhibai wanting to drink, right?

Didn’t she know she was drinking the Jade Dew she once gave her?

And... Tea Clear Heart.

Since she didn’t want tea, doesn’t it mean...

Zhu Pingniang’s heart rate suddenly skyrocketed to an unbelievable level.

"Ah Bai, what did you just say?"

"The drink in the cup, don’t understand?" Li Zhibai said helplessly.

Zhu Pingniang "...!"

She hadn’t prepared wine from the start, because she knew with Yun Qian, Xu Chang’an, and Wen Li, such juniors around, rule-abiding Ah Bai... would never drink with her.

So, even though she had a wish to have a good drink with Li Zhibai upon reuniting, she held back.

But she had not expected to hear Li Zhibai asking of her accord.

Indeed... was she dreaming this?

’This girl.’ Li Zhibai shook her head, adjusting Zhu Pingniang’s slightly messy clothes.

Zhu Pingniang snapped back to reality.

"Yes, yes, of course, whatever you want, we have it all."

"Not here," Li Zhibai reminded.

"I know, I’ll arrange it right away, up to the top platform!" Zhu Pingniang said, her eyes brimming with emotion, as if a lost girl had finally found a pursuit as passionate as a fireball.

She hurriedly stood up, lifted her black skirt, pitter-pattered in embroidered shoes, and rushed downstairs.

"...?"

At this moment, Zhu Pingniang’s sudden departure from the gathering left everyone surprised, unaware of what had happened.

Li Zhibai and Zhu Pingniang conversed in whispers, that was something they wouldn’t listen in on.

"Continue eating," Li Zhibai shook her head, tidied up the dining setup in front of her and Zhu Pingniang, and smiled, "I’m just going to chat with Tong Jun for a while."

Xu Chang’an blinked.

For some reason, while looking at his teacher now, he suddenly got the feeling of ’father’ saying ’going out for a smoke’ after a meal.

Li Zhibai didn’t elaborate, smiled at Miss Lu on one side, then turned and left.

She was deliberately sending Zhu Pingniang away.

You see, the feeding session was finally over, and afterward?

With Zhu Pingniang looking all excited, who knows what she’d come up with if she didn’t find a way to distract her.

Rather than let Zhu Pingniang cause a disturbance in front of the juniors, it was better to go out for a walk directly.

Besides, Li Zhibai wanted to take a closer look at Tong Jun’s Flower Moon Building.

Learning that Tong Jun was serious about moving the entire Flower Moon Building up to Muyu Peak made Li Zhibai have a change of heart towards the girls here.

There was another thing.

At a good dinner party, old relics like herself and Tong Jun shouldn’t linger too long, it was better to go out for a stroll, leaving the ambiance and space for the younger folks, so they can speak without the elders overhearing, wasn’t it a good thing?

Tong Jun’s older daughter wasn’t enjoying the feast very much; hopefully, she seizes the opportunity.

Li Zhibai quite liked Miss Lu, obviously Zhu Pingniang reined herself in a bit due to having this daughter by her side.

’Oh... she’s not the eldest daughter, Qinling is.’

Such a Li Zhibai didn’t descend, instead, she walked the corridor of the high platform to a place with a broad view. It was from the height of the painted boat, leaning on the railing, looking at the bustling rainy night of Beisang City in the distance.

Through the curtain of rain dripping from the eaves, another kind of landscape came into view. The lakeside was flooded with hues of red and white, and the lights on the green waves reflected with the willow trees on the shore, while red and white plum blossoms stood gracefully along the banks, akin to beauties.

Moreover, quite a few young women, despite it being a rainy night when they should be resting, were out in groups, laughing and strolling by the lake with umbrellas.

Clearly, that lakeside path was intentionally set – should any girl feel down, walking in such a place would alleviate her cares naturally; indeed, it was an excellent place for relaxation and leisure.

Li Zhibai looked at the line of plum trees, curving her lips slightly, a tinge of nostalgia coloring her face.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?" Zhu Pingniang came over, standing by her side.

Li Zhibai nodded.

Plum blossoms, naturally beautiful.

Zhu Pingniang stretched her body and said, "Alright, stop brushing me off, don’t I know you, Ah Bai..."

She said, a bit annoyed.

"Ah Bai, you never really wanted to drink, it was just... just a ruse to lure away the tiger... or lure me away, rather."

Zhu Pingniang realized her heart was so stirred up she had left, but the more she thought about it on the way, the more it felt wrong, and soon she realized Li Zhibai didn’t mean to drink, but wanted to send her off.

Obviously, after feeding, she was worried about what kind of disturbance she might cause, losing face in front of juniors.

Despite her pride in her unfailing strategies, she had been bewildered by one sentence from Li Zhibai.

Zhu Pingniang clenched her fists.

From now on... From now on, she would never again get lost because of just one sentence from Ah Bai.

"..." Li Zhibai looked at Zhu Pingniang empty-handed, an expression of seeking accountability.

"What? I’m not falling for it, let’s go back to the banquet." Zhu Pingniang pursed her lips.

"Tong Jun."

"Hmm?"

"When I said I wanted to drink, I meant it."

Zhu Pingniang: "..."

At this moment, the calm lake continually rippled under the rain, Li Zhibai leaning on the railing, her petites vêtements draped over with scattered rain speckles, those rain curtains like snowflakes falling into the lake, disappearing unnoticed.

A drop of rain fell from the sky, bypassed the eaves and melted on Zhu Pingniang’s flushed face, not cooling it a bit, instead... evaporating entirely.

Zhu Pingniang’s face turned an instant shade of red.

The inner vow just made was completely cast aside again, being thrown off by merely a word, so what, she reasoned.

"I... I’ll go and prepare, really this time." Zhu Pingniang left a sentence, again lifting her skirt and ran off.

Li Zhibai sighed helplessly.

This girl, in such a rush, where was there an ounce of a woman’s grace?

Was she really capable of being a mother?

Li Zhibai doubted.

After pondering, she descended from the platform, intending to meet the ladies in the hall.

Li Zhibai doubted.