Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 101: Design

Two months had passed since she last attended the Ji family's wedding. Feeling that she had saved enough money, Ji Meiqing's palms began to itch with desire again.

After rummaging through drawers and cabinets at home for a while, I still couldn't find what I was missing, so I could only sit on the floor in frustration.

There was nothing she needed to add… She rubbed her hair. A strange irritation flared within her; she had a large sum of money on hand and didn't know where to put it.

When Lu Yu returned and saw this scene, he felt a little strange and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"I want to buy something." She stared listlessly at the ceiling.

"Then let's go buy it."

"Unfortunately, there's nothing I need to buy."

She got up from the ground, brushed the dust off her clothes, and stretched.

"I'm going to cook now." She walked towards the kitchen, rubbing her neck to relieve the soreness.

Lu Yu seemed to be deep in thought.

The next day, several women from the village took Ji Meiqing to town.

There wasn't anything I wanted to buy along the way, so I just listened to them chatting about everyday things and gossip.

She listened attentively from the back, when the women suddenly shifted the topic to her, asking with gossipy eyes, "How are things going between you and Lu Yu lately?"

"Huh?" She looked completely bewildered. "What do you mean, 'how'?"

"Oh my, you silly girl. You're usually so clever, but you become a completely different person when Lu Yu is mentioned. When are you and Lu Yu planning to get married?"

Ji Meiqing lowered her head, trying to change the subject, but she forgot how sharp-tongued Madam Xianxia was.

"This girl is probably shy. It looks like they're about to have a good time together."

"No...nothing like that." She stood with them in front of the fabric stall. Her head was bowed low. They exchanged a few more words before moving on to other topics.

Just then, Rouge came up to buy rouge and slowly walked over to Ji Meiqing.

"Wake up." She shook Ji Meiqing's shoulder, and Ji Meiqing came back to her senses and looked at her.

"How did you start hanging out with these aunties and grandmas? What, are you going to settle down and become a respectable woman?"

"What did you eat to have such a sharp tongue?" Ji Meiqing retorted without holding back.

Rouge looked disgusted and didn't bother to argue with her. She just couldn't stand seeing her face and her outfit, so she pulled her into a cosmetics shop next door.

"No wonder you haven't been able to win Lu Yu's heart after all this time. If I were a man, I wouldn't even give you a second glance." She shook her head and led her to the rouge table to go on a shopping spree.

Ji Meiqing was too lazy to do any of that, so she let him do as he pleased and stood aside looking at the things in the shop.

Unfortunately, Ji Tianzhuo brought his newly found girl here to buy things, and Ji Meiqing immediately turned around as soon as she saw him enter.

Seeing that she suddenly became interested, Rouge couldn't help but tease, "What, trying to seduce a man?"

"No." She looked at what was in front of her, constantly watching for any movement behind her. The two of them seemed to be getting closer, and instinctively Ji Meiqing wanted to pull Yan Zhi away.

However, the people around her didn't notice anything. Instead, they pulled Ji Meiqing to look at the colors of the rouge. There were peach blossom colors, light red, and bright red.

She was dazzled by what she saw.

The two men were standing right next to her, which made Ji Meiqing nervous and her heart pound. But to make matters worse, the two men turned their heads and their eyes met.

"It's you." Ji Tianzhuo squinted at her, while Yan Zhi stared blankly at her. Ji Meiqing, however, kept her eyes closed, not wanting to turn around at all.

The girl next to her also looked at Rouge, and her hostility immediately surfaced upon seeing her.

"What a coincidence, young lady."

Rouge stared blankly at him, lying through her teeth: "Never seen you before, don't recognize you."

Then he pulled Ji Meiqing and walked out. Ji Tianzhuo was too lazy to chase after them. He had no interest in her anymore. But when they went out, he remembered the girl next to him... Ji Meiqing.

He lowered his gaze, and the smile on his lips disappeared.

Seeing him like this, the girl next to him couldn't help but feel jealous. She lightly punched him twice and said, "What's wrong with you? Have you fallen for someone else?"

"You go back first, I still have things to do." Ji Tianzhuo let go of her and casually tossed his wallet to her.

The girl said she was unhappy when she saw the silver, but her face didn't light up with a smile. Ji Tianzhuo didn't bother to talk to her anymore and strode away.

He hurriedly returned to the Ji residence and went straight to his study. Upon hearing the news of his return, Xiao Cui immediately left the courtyard and ran to him.

Ji Tianzhuo found Old Master Ji in the study.

Since the last incident, Old Master Ji has not given him a kind look.

When she saw him coming over, she immediately lowered her head.

"Grandpa, I have something to tell you." He leaned closer, trying to pique his interest, but Grandpa Ji only glanced at him indifferently before looking away.

"Ji Meiqing was behind that incident last time. Grandpa, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"You're saying that Ji Meiqing orchestrated the whole thing to embarrass our Ji family last time?" Old Master Ji said meaningfully as he stood up from his chair. "It's truly a case of raising a tiger only to have it become a threat."

"Then Grandpa..."

"There's a family dinner at the end of this month, invite her over."

Ji Tianzhuo immediately understood his meaning and nodded slightly.

Ji Meiqing and Yanzhi were out of breath from running. They stopped in a small alley by the roadside, and Yanzhi looked back in fear.

Seeing that no one was chasing after her, she straightened up and said, slightly out of breath, "Your brother over there is really something else..."

Ji Meiqing gave her a blank look. "That's obvious."

"Luckily, he didn't catch up." She leaned against the wall and waited until things calmed down before slowly starting to walk forward.

The two slowly walked towards the street. There were many people on the street, so she went to a clothing store and picked out a few clothes.

Seeing her pay, Ji Meiqing was somewhat surprised, "Shouldn't you be short of money?"

"Oh, this is what they gave me when they kicked me out last time. It was probably a hundred or two taels." She paid the money casually.

Ji Meiqing glanced at her silently, and at the money pouch.

"The Ji family is quite generous," she commented aptly.

Ji Meiqing remained silent. Back when she was kicked out, the Ji family had only given her a body riddled with injuries, a daughter treated worse than a stranger. The Ji family was truly ruthless.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly so resentful?" Rouge poked her, looking curious. "What grudge do you have against the Ji family?"

"This is none of your business." Her voice turned completely cold, and Rouge quickly shut her mouth.

She took the clothes, and the two left together. Having bumped into Ji Tianzhuo earlier, her interest in shopping had vanished; all she wanted now was to go home.