Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 79: Awkwardness

Lu Yu listened to her talk the whole time, and seeing her radiant expression, he couldn't help but smile as well.

"Let's eat first, and then get some rest."

"Oh, okay." She picked up her chopsticks and started eating. The food on the table wasn't very plentiful. Ji Meiqing ate three bowls of rice with the meat broth, then put them down, clutching her bulging stomach and grinning foolishly.

"You seem to be in a good mood," he said with a faint smile, tidying the table as he spoke to her. Ji Meiqing was in a great mood and answered directly.

"I've assigned all the tasks, so things will be easier from now on. How could it not be great? Just thinking about getting a good night's sleep and having sweet dreams tomorrow makes me so happy..." She shook her head contentedly, almost beaming with pride. "Being a boss is great, sitting in a chair counting money."

"That's true." Lu Yu smiled silently, unsure of what to say. To be an ordinary person and live happily in this world—that was probably Ji Meiqing's thought.

She got up only after her stomach felt less bloated.

"I'm going out for a walk, do you want to come along?"

Lu Yu didn't refuse. With a faint smile, he pointed to the pile of bowls and chopsticks and said, "Wait for me."

“Okay.” She continued sitting, but feeling bored, she picked up a book. In ancient times, there weren't many taboos, and erotic novels were still circulated and read in private. She randomly picked one; it was about a courtesan and a poor scholar.

The plot is clichéd, but the descriptions are subtle. There wasn't much explicit content at the beginning, but it started to include physical descriptions later on.

She was so engrossed that her face flushed.

Lu Yu came out of the kitchen and saw her looking at the book in her hands with great interest, so he curiously went over to her.

"What are you looking at?"

A whispered sound made Ji Meiqing tremble. She hurriedly put away the book, her ears already burning red.

"N-nothing...it's nothing." She looked at Lu Yu with a guilty conscience, covering the book in her hand, but in her haste, she covered the wrong place.

"My past with prostitutes?" he read aloud softly, then chuckled twice. "I didn't expect you to like this kind of thing."

"Who...who said that?" she retorted loudly. "I just picked up this book casually...By the way, how come you have erotic novels here?"

Lu Yu thought for a moment before saying, "My father loved reading and had made an agreement with the bookstore before he passed away. This book was probably sent here unintentionally."

"Oh." She put the book away and slowly carried it back to the study.

"Do you want to go out and take another look?"

"No!" Ji Meiqing fled back to her room, closing the door tightly. She was probably feeling the same embarrassment as someone caught secretly watching porn in their room by an adult.

Moreover, this book is bold and straightforward; you can already tell what it's about just from the title...

Her stomach was a little bloated, so she sat by the window and looked at the scenery outside. But her mind kept replaying what she had just seen; the content, though not intense, was so detailed that it was easy to remember.

That's too much... Ji Meiqing's face couldn't help but turn red again, as hot as a tomato, so hot that it felt like she could roast meat if she touched it.

After sitting for a while, I went to the kitchen to get some water.

When she saw Lu Yu, her face still turned red, which was quite embarrassing.

"I'll get the water."

"Hmm." Lu Yu acted as if he hadn't seen anything at all, just like usual.

She squatted down and, pretending nothing had happened, carried the two buckets of hot water back to her room.

I took a hot bath and then got ready for bed.

When she woke up the next day, her bones felt sore. She took a deep breath before getting out of the soft bed.

"Brother Lu..." She walked around outside but couldn't find Lu Yu. Helpless, she called out twice, but no one answered.

But it was Li who suddenly arrived.

"What's wrong? Is there anything you don't understand?"

Li sighed, "Li Ming is not young anymore, but his marriage is still undecided. I was thinking of going to town to find a matchmaker to talk to him."

"You want to take a day off? Sure." Ji Meiqing assumed she was just too tired.

But after a while, seeing that she still hadn't left, he became a little puzzled: "Is there anything else you need?"

"I..." she hesitated, then, seeing that Ji Meiqing didn't show any particular expression, continued, "Miss Ji is also of marriageable age. A woman can't wait. She's getting old..."

"Li Shi." Ji Meiqing's expression turned serious, and her face was no longer as warm as before. Looking at Li Shi, she felt a sudden panic. Ji Meiqing said solemnly, "I have my own plans for this marriage. You don't need to worry about me."

"I... it's not that I'm worried, it's just that I'm getting older and single, so it's inevitable that people will gossip about me."

"Me?" She chuckled twice. "But what did you hear again? Li, you need to clean your ears. Don't listen to all sorts of garbage all the time."

“Yes…” Madam Li hurriedly lowered her head, “I’m sorry for overstepping my bounds.”

"It's alright, you can go back now. As for your son, don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who would lead him astray."

Li didn't respond, a result he was pleased with. Having received Ji Meiqing's agreement, Li thanked her awkwardly before leaving.

Ji Meiqing rubbed her forehead and went back to her room. Her mood was inexplicably low, as if everything was going wrong.

After a moment of blankness, she cheered herself up again.

Putting everything that just happened behind me, I went out for breakfast and then got back to work.

What Mrs. Li said wasn't entirely unreasonable; as she ate, her mood darkened. The food on the table suddenly lost its flavor.

Lu Yu didn't know when he returned. Seeing her listless appearance, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong? You look so dejected so early in the morning?"

"Am I a jinx? No one has a good time when they meet me."

She seemed a little off.

Lu Yu sat down next to her. "Did you hear something upsetting again? Don't worry about it."

"I'm fine." She laughed twice, then her face fell again.

"I am a useless person."

"Meiqing." He said solemnly. No one understood Ji Meiqing's significance better than him, so she didn't need to blame herself. She shouldn't have to bear the consequences of her own actions. She only needed to live according to her own wishes, without needing to consider the wishes of others.

"You are you, why should you do what others say?"

“I…” Ji Meiqing was speechless. “You’re right. But…”

She rested her chin on her hand and looked outside, and in an instant, she understood. "I think I know."