To read the next chapters of this book for $3, please visit P@treon.
[email protected]/Nora02
Zhu Zhuqing's face flushed crimson, and she glared at him fiercely, but was too lazy to explain.
After more than a day of interaction, she had somewhat understood that this man loved to quip and was never serious!
She quickly finished washing up, and as soon as she stepped out of the washroom, she found Jiang Yunzhou leaning against the doorframe, watching her with a leisurely air.
"Wh-why are you standing here?" She instinctively took half a step back.
"Isn't it time to eat? What else could I be doing? Aren't you hungry?"
Jiang Yunzhou spoke with righteous indignation, not forgetting to add, "Oh, right, old rules, your treat."
Zhu Zhuqing almost choked.
The words, 'I'm almost out of money,' nearly slipped out, but she swallowed them back.
Forget it, forget it, for saving her life, she'd accept it.
She said testily, "Fine, fine, fine! I'll treat! Happy now!"
She was determined to leave today, no matter what; if she stayed any longer, her pitiful gold coins would truly hit rock bottom!
The two did not leave the hotel, eating lunch directly in the hotel restaurant.
After the meal, they found a relatively quiet corner in the lobby and sat down, ordering several exquisite pastries and drinks.
Zhu Zhuqing watched Jiang Yunzhou, who was eating with relish, and couldn't help but think, How could a dignified Spirit Saint be so stingy?
When she ordered earlier, she had deliberately placed her deflated money pouch in the most conspicuous spot on the table, hinting that she was almost out of money!
Why was he still ignoring it?
She still had to pay for the desserts and drinks!
Jiang Yunzhou, meanwhile, felt perfectly justified: Why spend my own money when I can spend someone else's?
When it comes to women, you have to be stingy when it's appropriate!
"Jiang Yunzhou."
Zhu Zhuqing put down her fork and said seriously, "I really have very important matters to attend to. Can you let me go deal with my business first?"
Jiang Yunzhou leaned back in his chair, old-fashioned and composed, slowly took a sip of his drink, and shook his head slightly: "If you leave, where will I find you? Don't rush, just wait a little longer."
His gaze swept over the hotel entrance, a smile playing on his lips, "Who knows, with a bit of luck, we might even get to watch a good show for free."
Looking at his nonchalant demeanor, Zhu Zhuqing felt a surge of frustration in her chest, yet she was helpless.
He was truly an annoying fellow!
Jiang Yunzhou's patience was not in vain.
Just as Zhu Zhuqing was bored and Jiang Yunzhou was about to get creative with his dessert, the light at the hotel entrance was blocked by two figures.
A lively girl in a pink dress with a long scorpion braid was chattering animatedly as she walked in shoulder-to-shoulder with a young man in simple blue clothes with a middle-parted hairstyle.
They walked directly to the front desk.
The girl skipped and bounced, full of vitality, while the young man appeared steady, but his brows also carried a youthful Spirit.
Jiang Yunzhou's eyes lit up, and he whispered to Zhu Zhuqing, "Disciple, do you see that girl in pink? Remember her face."
Zhu Zhuqing, who was bored, subconsciously looked over and asked in confusion, "What do you mean? Who is she?"
"Oh, nothing special."
Jiang Yunzhou smiled mysteriously, "You'll understand in due time."
This way of speaking, half-revealing and half-concealing, made Zhu Zhuqing experience a frustrating 'edge-of-your-seat' feeling!
She was exasperated; his words made her itch with curiosity, and this man definitely had a serious problem!
On her current list of most hated people, 'The Riddler' had already topped the charts!
"You are really annoying!" She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him again.
Just then, Jiang Yunzhou gestured towards her with his chin, a look of anticipation on his face: "Look, the show's starting."
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head again towards the entrance in confusion, and at that sight, she felt as if struck by lightning!
At the lobby entrance, three more people walked in.
Leading them was a tall, handsome young man with golden hair draped over his shoulders, dressed in luxurious white clothes.
He had a lazy demeanor, a cynical smile on his lips, and was casually embracing two beautiful, curvaceous, almost identical twin women, one on each arm!
That golden-haired young man was none other than Dai Mubai, her fiancé, whom she had traveled thousands of miles and endured pursuit to find!
Jiang Yunzhou said nothing more, only his gaze quietly fixed on Zhu Zhuqing, closely observing her reaction.
Zhu Zhuqing clenched her hands beneath the table!
The familiar tremor from deep within her Spirit meant she needed no further confirmation!
This was the fiancé she had been yearning for?
This was the fiancé she thought was struggling alone in a foreign land?
Looking at his frivolous posture, his practiced movements, the accustomed ease with which he embraced the twins… this was hardly a newcomer!
He was clearly a regular here, a seasoned patron of pleasure!
A cold chill mixed with fury swept through Zhu Zhuqing's entire body!
She gritted her silver teeth, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Traveling thousands of miles to find her husband?
What a ridiculous and ironic endeavor!
It turned out he had long been lost in a land of soft comforts, indulging in pleasure, having cast his fiancée, far away in the Star Luo Empire, to the back of his mind!
What exactly did she mean to him then?
A heavy burden? A ridiculous encumbrance?
At the peak of her rage, she actually wanted to laugh.
It was a self-deprecating, desolate laugh, tinged with blood.
She forcefully suppressed her resentment and sorrow, turning her head to stare at Jiang Yunzhou: "You! You deliberately delayed me just so I could see this?"
Her eyes were filled with shock and confusion, "All of this seems like a coincidence, yet it's as if it was all within your expectations. How did you know?"
Jiang Yunzhou neither admitted nor denied it.
He merely met her gaze calmly, his eyes deep.
Maintaining an air of mystery only makes people want to explore, doesn't it?
He stood up and straightened his clothes: "I said I'd give you three days to think. Now, I want to go for a stroll. Are you coming?"
He glanced at the somewhat distraught Zhu Zhuqing, "Never mind, you can do as you please."
He understood Zhu Zhuqing.
Given her pride and calmness, she would never rush up to stage a scene of tearing apart the other woman.
She would only be like a wounded beast, silently licking her wounds, digesting this humiliation and pain alone in a corner.
Indeed, Zhu Zhuqing just sat there silently, watching Dai Mubai and Tang San's group get into a conflict over room issues, watching them eventually seem to reach some agreement.
She watched Dai Mubai swagger away with the twins, until the lobby was empty again.
She stood up, dazed, and slowly made her way back to the hotel suite.
All she wanted now was to be alone, to think things through properly.
Persevere? Was there still any meaning in persevering?
Jiang Yunzhou, meanwhile, strolled out of the hotel, blending into the afternoon bustle of Suo Tuo City.
Of course, he wasn't just aimlessly wandering.
He was searching, searching for that unassuming shop.
He had promised to cause trouble for Tang San, hadn't he?
Then let's start now!
Doing nothing? That would be too boring.
Jiang Yunzhou simply treated Suo Tuo City as a sandbox map, leisurely exploring every inch of it, familiarizing himself with the terrain.
Finally, in a secluded and quiet corner of a small street, he found his target.
An inconspicuous small shop, and on a lounge chair at the entrance, a middle-aged man with a flat face, wearing glasses, a hooked nose, and an overall rather distinctive appearance, was resting with his eyes closed.
Hu Lande!