In Xiaoyao's first confrontation with Nangong Suxin, he had already been branded with the word "shameless," and now it was happening again, naturally his shamelessness level had risen further.
"Sigh, we servants sometimes have to be this shameless. it's necessity, our master's necessity!" Xiaoyao shook his head.
"Kid, are you asking for a beating,’ The Young Miss raised her fist.
"Oh, I'm going to play with flower lanterns. You all take your time,” Xiaoyao said and bounced away wanting to leave.
For Xiaoyao, his mission was now complete. He could retire after success.
"Stop!!" Both the Young Miss and Nangong Suxin shouted simultaneously, then looked at each other with sparks seemingly flying between their gazes.
This is my person, what right do you have to shout "stop"!
Can't I shout if I want to?
"Young Miss, is there anything else?" Xiaoyao didn't notice their expressions and only asked the Young Miss. He completely didn't care about Nangong Suxin.
The Young Miss, with victorious pride, glanced at Nangong Suxin then said: "What flower lanterns are you playing with? Things here aren't finished yet!!"
"Young Miss, it's already finished. Things should be taken slowly. You can now eat late-night snacks with Third Miss. There are just a few more lanterns, that's all. Develop things further in the future and you'll be alone together," Xiaoyao picked up his small flower lantern again and spun it.
"That makes sense. Fine, go play then," The Young Miss felt Xiaoyao spoke very reasonably.
"Thank you, Young Miss," Xiaoyao said respectfully.
"Wait. Little servant, how about you play with us? Playing anywhere is the same." Nangong Suxin suddenly said. Her words were surprising. This was an invitation.
Though the other party was just a small servant, he was also a man. When has Nangong Suxin ever shown a good face to any man?
What no one expected was that this small servant who had been hit by this windfall actually refused, so decisively and directly!
"No! The flower lanterns you bought are obviously different from mine. I need to find ones like mine, and you should find ones like yours. This is a kind of fate!"
"Right! I forgot, flower lanterns all come in pairs!" The Young Miss remembered this. "Look at mine, Susu. I think we're a pair!"
Tonight's Lantern Festival flower lanterns were all different, with each pair being distinct from any other pair. Even if the style was the same, the poems written on them differed.
If couples came, they would buy a pair. But if single people came, they would buy one. If they had the fate to encounter someone holding the other one and they were of opposite gender, love's spark might ignite.
If they encountered someone of the same gender, then…
That would naturally develop into friendship.
Different ages had different flower lanterns. Children had children's ones, elderly had elderly ones - situations with large age gaps wouldn't occur.
"Impossible! Mine is 'Though lacking colorful phoenix wings to fly together,' yours is 'The Yang family has a daughter newly grown!' " Miss Nangong Third immediately shook her head, stating both lanterns.
Generally, women were given first lines, rarely second lines. So for the Young Miss to match Miss Nangong Third was basically impossible.
"Let me see, mine is 'Flowers bright, moon dim, veiled in light mist...' " Nangong Suxin also said.
"Mine is 'If two hearts' love endures...' " one Nangong miss said.
"A single glance and smile enchants all!"
"..."
"Xiaoyao, what's yours?" the Young Miss asked.
"Right, little servant, why is your lantern so strange - white and furry..." Nangong Suxin looked at the flower lantern in Xiaoyao's hands, very puzzled.
"What?! Damn, Chi Chi, what are you playing on the lantern. Sorry, I held it backwards, this is the right side!!" Only then did Xiaoyao realize he'd held the flower lantern backwards, while Chi Chi happened to be hanging on it playing, making people mistake it for the lantern.
"Chi chi..." Chi Chi jumped down and bounced around Xiaoyao's feet, looking very cute and immediately attracting the gazes of nearby girls, including the Nangong sisters.
"Look at mine!" Xiaoyao picked up the small flower lantern, found those few small characters, and froze. His was actually—
"Damn! Mine is the universal second line..."
"??" The girls were confused.
What universal second line? No one had heard of such a thing. Was there such a second line?
"What universal second line? Let me see!" The Young Miss snatched the small flower lantern from Xiaoyao's hands, then read puzzledly: "A single red apricot branch leans over the wall?"
"..."
"How is this a universal second line?" Nangong Suxin couldn't understand.
"Very simple. Read your first lines with this second line, doesn't it all make sense and sound somewhat smooth..." Xiaoyao said with a smile that made him seem very punch-worthy, very cheap, very lewd.
"..."
"Though lacking colorful phoenix wings to fly together, A single red apricot branch leans over the wall... Though a bit strange, it seems to make sense!" Miss Nangong Third recited.
"..." Xiaoyao was silent. You actually said it out loud, I was just joking.
"I'm leaving. You keep that flower lantern. I'll go play for a while!"
Better leave first. If they really treated this as a universal second line, wouldn't they all have fate with me? I was just joking.
"Hey hey, kid, why are you running so fast..."
This time, even the Young Miss couldn't stop Xiaoyao. In a few moves he disappeared into the crowd - couldn't be found!
Only his voice could be heard—
"Third Miss, though my Young Miss is a bit strange, she's still a good person. Don't mind it too much, just treat her as an ordinary friend and ignore her special hobby for now..."
Mm, if not for that special hobby, perhaps she'd still be a good friend!!
"Hmph!" Nangong Suxin was very disdainful of this. She didn't think the Young Miss was any good. If not for losing the bet, if not for accompanying her third sister, she definitely wouldn't be with the Young Miss.
"Let's go eat late-night snacks. What do you want to eat?" The Young Miss came to Miss Nangong Third's side, shamelessly getting close.
"Eating anything is fine. Miss Mo Yu, please don't do this - can we keep some distance?" Miss Nangong Third said weakly.
"Isn't this more intimate..." the Young Miss said shamelessly. If it were a man, he would probably have been beaten and kicked away long ago!
Speaking of which, women definitely had certain advantages. "Near water gets the moon first" - whether this saying could apply to such situations was unknown!!
"Alright, if you want intimacy, let's be intimate!" Nangong Suxin directly cut off the connection between the Young Miss and Miss Nangong Third. She wasn't afraid of being taken advantage of by the Young Miss.
Just as Xiaoyao said, treat her as a woman and everything would be fine.
The Young Miss waved her hand, tilted her head back, and said very disdainfully: "Go away! I don't want to be with women like you, violent temperament and no figure!"
Nangong Suxin's face immediately darkened as she chopped a palm toward the Young Miss.
Being told by a woman that she had no figure was a fatal weakness, especially when said by another woman, even more unbearable.
"Damn! Just saying it casually, why get physical!"
The Young Miss dodged the attack, using Miss Nangong Third as center while maneuvering around Nangong Suxin. In this situation, she felt she shouldn't fight back, otherwise what if Miss Nangong Third got angry?
"Didn't you say I have a violent temperament?" Nangong Suxin said coldly.
"Mm, and no figure!" The Young Miss nodded in agreement. Even more speechless was that she actually continued supplementing the "no figure" evaluation.
"You're seeking death!!" Nangong Suxin said angrily, sweeping a leg over.
"Hehe, also, your legs seem a bit thick and short!" The Young Miss dodged while provoking, but she wouldn't face Nangong Suxin head-on because she didn't want to really seek death. She was just angering Nangong Suxin.
"My legs are thick and short? Let you see what perfect long legs are!!" Nangong Suxin angrily lifted her skirt, displaying her beautiful legs.
Indeed, these beautiful legs couldn't be connected with short or thick legs at all. Even girls who considered themselves to have beautiful legs would feel ashamed seeing these.
Though these legs weren't fully exposed and still wore pants, the fitted tailoring showed their beauty beyond doubt.
Of course, this somewhat affected the view, but even so, they could still defeat the vast majority.
Natural endowment plus martial arts training gave Nangong Suxin world-rare beautiful legs - this had always been her pride.
Not one girl present could surpass Nangong Suxin, including the Young Miss. Though she was also a martial artist with enviable beautiful legs, they weren't as good as Nangong Suxin's.
If the Young Miss didn't drink all day and constantly eat rich foods, she could possibly have a figure surpassing Nangong Suxin's.
However, this didn't matter to the Young Miss because she liked women, she didn't see herself as a woman.
She felt her figure was passable, and since it was quite good, she didn't need to care even more. So she continued drinking and eating meat.
Her figure was already one in ten thousand, also enviable by others, though she constantly ate, drank, and played...
The Young Miss's evaluation of Nangong Suxin originally wouldn't have happened, but at this moment she was displeased with Nangong Suxin. Even though she was Miss Nangong Third's elder sister, she was still displeased and would attack and provoke.
Of course, at this moment, the Young Miss felt Nangong Suxin's display would make everyone think her words were just jealousy and become meaningless, since she herself was inferior to Nangong Suxin.
So the Young Miss kicked out a certain unlucky fellow, because this matter was originally said unintentionally by that unlucky one.
(End of Chapter)
Xiaoyao’s Lantern: A single red apricot branch leans over the wall
Meaning: This line describes a red apricot branch extending over a garden wall, a classic Chinese poetic image. It often symbolizes hidden or forbidden love, as the branch “reaches out” beyond boundaries, hinting at a lover’s allure or a secret romance.
Flexible Imagery: The image of an apricot branch leaning over a wall is versatile. It can symbolize love, beauty, or longing reaching out, which complements the romantic themes of the upper lines
Poetic Compatibility: In Chinese poetry, couplets need to “match” in tone, theme, and sometimes structure. Xiaoyao’s line is vague enough to fit as a response to many upper lines. For example: