#377 - How dare you?
“How have you been since that year?”
As Zhu Cici's words fell, everyone lowered their heads, silently eating their food, not daring to say a single word.
Apart from Ling Bisheng's affection for Zhu Cici, others, despite having some fondness for her, only admired her beauty; it hadn't reached the level of "love."
So when Zhu Cici said these words, only Ling Bisheng felt heartache.
Although Zhu Cici had indeed kept her distance from him, and he had been decisively rejected every time he confessed his love, he and Zhu Cici had no relationship at all; it couldn't even be called a failed love.
But now, Ling Bisheng wanted to drink, to gulp down a few mouthfuls and get himself drunk.
It hurt, it really hurt!
Ling Bisheng thought he might lose, but he never imagined he would lose so completely.
The other person hadn't said anything, merely appeared before Zhu Cici, and Zhu Cici's whole heart had flown to him.
As for the others, they felt like they were superfluous.
They shouldn't be at the table; they should be under it.
And for some reason, they felt as if the private room was filled with the sour stench of "love."
“I've been doing well,” Xu Ming nodded and replied, “Not long after you left that year, Cici, I went to the Blood Floatation Pagoda. I remember writing you letters then, Cici, you knew that.”
Zhu Cici nodded, recalling the other poem Xu Ming had written her at the time, and her cheeks flushed even redder.
Zhu Cici looked at Xu Ming with concern: “Is the Blood Floatation Pagoda very hard?”
Xu Ming nodded: “Actually, it's alright. The Blood Floatation Pagoda of Wu is like that; everyone ties their head to their belt. Being able to survive is already lucky enough; a little hardship is nothing. Moreover, the harder the training, the greater the chance of survival when you encounter desperate situations.”
Zhu Cici pursed her lips tightly, her mind already conjuring up the various life-and-death experiences Xu Ming had gone through in the Blood Floatation Pagoda, and she couldn't help but feel heartache for him.
“What about you, Cici? I heard you went to White Deer Academy and became a closed-door disciple of the Academy's Dean,” Xu Ming asked, “How have you been these years?”
“Um…”
Zhu Cici nodded, her shy expression like that of a young woman waiting to be married, on a blind date, even, and this young woman had already fallen for the other person at first sight.
“I'm very used to life in the Academy. The senior brothers and sisters inside are very good to me, and the teachers and uncles are also very caring. Sometimes I'm a little capricious, and they all tolerate my little temper.”
“Not only that, but after Cici grew up, I don't know how many people proposed marriage to Cici, but Cici refused them all, even putting up a sign at her door… hiss!”
Just as Yu Wenxi was halfway through his sentence, Miao Feng stepped directly on Yu Wenxi's foot.
Yu Wenxi gasped, looking at Miao Feng in confusion, his eyes seeming to say, “Why did you suddenly step on me? What did I do wrong?”
Miao Feng gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: “No one will think you're mute if you don't speak!”
Yu Wenxi: “…”
“It's good that you're doing well,” Xu Ming said, pretending not to have heard Yu Wenxi's words, “I remember when I first saw you, you were still so small.”
Zhu Cici pouted a little unwillingly: “I'm two years older than you.”
Xu Ming smiled as he looked at Zhu Cici's slightly stubborn expression: “That's true.”
“But even then, I couldn't have imagined that Miss Zhu would grow up to be so graceful and elegant,” Xu Ming praised.
Hearing Xu Ming's praise, Zhu Cici's small face turned even redder, and she even shyly picked up her wine glass and took a sip.
Everyone looked at Zhu Cici, and their hearts couldn't help but feel some emotion.
There are definitely not a few people in the world who praise Zhu Cici. Regardless of gender, almost everyone who sees Zhu Cici is amazed by her outstanding appearance.
But Zhu Cici faces those praises with a confident and calm smile, and doesn't have much reaction.
But now, it's just a casual compliment from Xu Ming, and Zhu Cici is blushing.
If this isn't love, what is it?
“Did… did that princess of your Wu come?” Zhu Cici asked, her fair and slender fingers gently rubbing under the table.
Hearing Zhu Cici take the initiative to mention her rival in love, the others were originally just afraid to speak, but now they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
They really wanted to make an excuse to leave this place.
But, they really wanted to hear what kind of answer Xu Ming would give next.
“The Princess has things to do in the court, so she didn't come,” Xu Ming explained, without saying too much.
“Then, how did you… how did you and that Princess meet?” Zhu Cici raised her head, looking at Xu Ming timidly.
They could even feel Zhu Cici's breathing becoming a little rapid due to nervousness.
“This… it's a long story. When I was in the Blood Floatation Pagoda, I met a few brothers, one of whom was the Princess disguised as a man to train in the Blood Floatation Pagoda. Only after leaving the Blood Floatation Pagoda did I know she was the Princess of Wu,” Xu Ming said, trying to keep it short.
“What kind of girl is she?” Zhu Cici continued to ask.
“Uh…” Xu Ming thought for a moment and said, “She has a cold appearance, but she is very concerned about others in her heart. She is a bit reckless and a bit silly, but she is very reliable at critical moments. She is also a very powerful martial artist. If there is anyone who can forge a new path for martial artists, then I believe that person is her.”
“…”
Listening to Xu Ming's words, everyone was dumbfounded.
Dude! You're praising another girl in front of a girl.
Even if everything you said is true! You can't say it!
How dare you!
… …
… …
[I came back after watching the iron flower show, and I didn’t have writer's block today, so the writing went relatively smoothly.
It’s just that, I didn’t expect writing 10,000 words a day to be such a tiring thing. I originally thought that updating 10,000 words a day was just 2.5 times the amount of the previous update, but in reality, it doesn’t seem to be calculated that way.
Because I have to write an outline, and I also have to pay attention to the rhythm, and when I write to the back, my head will even feel a little muddled, and the efficiency will be reduced, and the time spent will be longer.
Maybe it’s because I’ve only written 10,000 words a day for two days, and I haven’t adapted yet.
Let’s persevere more and see how many days I can write 10,000 words this month.]
