Chapter 45: Zhi Wan Feels So Awkward

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Zhi Wan Feels So Awkward

Zhi Wan looked at her in surprise.

’I didn’t expect Zhenzhu to be so perceptive, even though she seems so carefree.’

Ouyang Zhenzhu’s somewhat serious expression suddenly shifted into a suggestive smile as she looked Zhi Wan up and down.

Zhi Wan felt a little creeped out by her stare. She frowned and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Ouyang Zhenzhu leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Mr. Lu wasn’t worried about Wei Jinyi drowning, but he was worried *you* might fall into the water."

The sudden closeness made Zhi Wan’s ear tickle. After hearing Zhenzhu’s words, her lovely eyes widened in astonishment. "Of course he’d be worried about me falling in the water. Isn’t that normal? You get attached to a pet kitten or puppy, don’t you? And I’m a living person who’s lived with him in the same mansion for five years. He wouldn’t just stand by and watch me fall in, would he?"

Ouyang Zhenzhu was taken aback. She scratched her head and said, "Well... you have a point."

"You’ve been reading too many of those romance novels. Now you’re seeing things that aren’t there," Zhi Wan chided righteously.

Ouyang Zhenzhu was speechless.

’Have I really been reading too many romance novels? Am I seeing romance in everything now?’

Seeing her friend’s look of self-doubt, Zhi Wan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though she felt a little guilty.

’It’s not like I can tell her that I fell into a pond once and my cousin was the one who saved me.’

’Besides,’ she thought, ’when I was helping Wei Jinyi, my cousin was actually some distance away. I don’t know when he got behind me, but he grabbed me just in time, right as I was about to fall.’

At this thought, she subconsciously touched her left arm.

His hand had felt like a branding iron, gripping her arm tightly.

Even now, she thought she could feel a faint ache where he had held her.

"Come on, let’s go back and rest for a bit," Zhi Wan said, collecting her thoughts.

"Okay."

The two of them passed through the Moon Cave Gate and had just stepped onto the covered walkway when they heard a voice call out, "You little brat! Looks like you’re having so much fun you’ve forgotten all about going home!"

They turned to look and saw several people sitting and drinking tea in a nearby pavilion.

Lu Zhan, Duan Ling, and Ouyang Lei—all three of them were there.

Ouyang Zhenzhu immediately ducked behind Zhi Wan.

Ouyang Lei laughed in exasperation. "Stop hiding, I saw you ages ago. You’re coming home with me today, no matter what. How can you just keep freeloading at someone else’s mansion?"

"Mr. Lu and Wanwan aren’t ’someone else,’ they’re my people! What’s wrong with hanging out at my own people’s house?" Ouyang Zhenzhu argued, stepping out from behind Zhi Wan since she could no longer hide.

Ouyang Lei’s hands started to itch; he really wanted to smack someone.

’Other men’s sisters are all gentle, virtuous, and sweet. Why is mine so willful and headstrong?’

He turned to Lu Zhan. "Old Lu, I don’t want this sister of mine anymore. I’ll trade you for your cousin."

Lu Zhan shot him a look and said coolly, "Not a chance."

Ouyang Lei was at a loss for words.

Zhi Wan glanced at Lu Zhan in surprise. ’He refused without even a moment’s hesitation.’

A strange sense of joy bloomed in her heart.

’Does my cousin really see me as one of his own?’

Duan Ling laughed. "I wouldn’t make that trade either! Zhi Wan is so well-behaved. Your sister is just a male version of Ouyang Lei."

Ouyang Lei was speechless.

Ouyang Zhenzhu’s face darkened. She pointed at Duan Ling and shot back, "You’re the male version of Ouyang Lei!"

Duan Ling raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "I don’t mind being your older brother. Why don’t you try calling me ’Brother’ and let’s see how it sounds?"

Ouyang Zhenzhu’s eyes widened in anger. ’This scoundrel! How dare he try to get one over on me!’

She whirled on Ouyang Lei, fuming. "Are you just going to let that bastard bully me? I’m going to tell Mom and Dad when I get home!"

Ouyang Lei frowned. "Duan Ling is much older than you. It’s only right that you call him ’Brother.’ You’re going to run to Mom and Dad over something so trivial?"

Seeing his friend take his side, Duan Ling decided to press his advantage. "That’s right, little sister Zhenzhu. Be a good girl and call me Brother!"

But Ouyang Zhenzhu, for some reason, was no longer angry. Instead, she looked at him with an expression of pure pity. "You have a point. At your ripe old age, I guess there aren’t many young girls like me willing to call you ’Brother.’ You probably hear ’Uncle’ a lot more, don’t you? You really shouldn’t try to pull rank just because you’re old!"

The smile vanished from Duan Ling’s face. He pointed at himself and said through clenched teeth, "Ouyang Zhenzhu, I’m only twenty-five!"

"As if we didn’t know?" Ouyang Zhenzhu scoffed. "That’s a full ten years older than us! To people our age, you’re an old man!"

Duan Ling’s handsome face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Old man?" His voice seemed to be squeezed through his gritted teeth.

Ouyang Zhenzhu was about to deliver another blow, but Zhi Wan tugged on her hand and whispered, "Zhenzhu, that’s enough." ’My cousin is also twenty-five this year,’ she thought.

’When Zhenzhu called Duan Ling old, wasn’t she including my cousin too?’

Zhi Wan felt terribly awkward and just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

But just then, Duan Ling turned to her and asked directly, "Zhi Wan, do you also think we’re a bunch of old men?"

Zhi Wan was speechless.

’Ouyang Zhenzhu was clearly only talking about him, but he just had to drag my cousin and Ouyang Lei into it and make me answer!’

Sensing the gazes of all three men in the pavilion fixed on her, she felt immense pressure and stammered, "Of course n-not."

Duan Ling clutched his chest dramatically. "You sound so hesitant! In your heart, you must think we’re old men too."

Zhi Wan’s eyes widened, and she rushed to explain, "I don’t think that at all! You’re not old in the slightest, really. Zhenzhu was just joking."

’They’re only twenty-five. I truly don’t think that’s old at all.’

Duan Ling felt a little better. "Really? You’re not just trying to make us feel better?"

"That’s enough. Why are you putting her on the spot?" Lu Zhan’s cool voice cut in.

Duan Ling rubbed his nose sheepishly. "That little brat Ouyang Zhenzhu had the nerve to call us old. Aren’t you even a little bit angry?"

Lu Zhan reminded him, "She was talking about you. Don’t drag us into it."

"But you’re twenty-five this year too," Duan Ling said, looking at him earnestly.

Lu Zhan glanced at him. "Yes. So what?"

Duan Ling was speechless.

Lu Zhan looked at Zhi Wan, his voice cool. "Go on back."

"Yes," Zhi Wan replied, feeling as if she’d been granted a royal pardon. She grabbed Ouyang Zhenzhu and hurried away.

"You brat, I’ll be waiting for you outside the main gate! Pack your things and hurry up!" Ouyang Lei shouted after them.

"I know, I know!" Ouyang Zhenzhu called back.

Perhaps because she had gotten the better of Duan Ling, she was in a great mood, humming a tune all the way back to Yaoguang Pavilion with Zhi Wan.

She had come to the Duke Dingguo Mansion on a whim, so she hadn’t brought anything with her.

After sitting for a little while, she figured Ouyang Lei must be getting impatient. She took Zhi Wan’s hand and warned her, "That Wei Jinyi has tried to pull her tricks time and again since yesterday. She didn’t succeed today, but she’s not one to give up. I’m afraid she’ll try to use you again, so you have to be careful. I should get going, or Ouyang Lei will be hopping mad."