Chapter 14: Stolen Kisses

The Qu Le Fang was a front-shop-rear-residence style establishment, with a spacious and expansive backyard.

In the middle of the courtyard was a circular flower bed, displaying a dozen pots of blooming flowers of various kinds, swaying in the breeze, their fragrance permeating the courtyard and intoxicating people. Beside the flower bed stood a red maple tree over two meters tall, its branches pruned to a moderate density, making the entire courtyard appear even more elegant and lively.

Following the corridor to the east, there were decorative rockeries and lotus ponds along the way, with a few cool pavilions by the pond for enjoying the scenery and avoiding the summer heat.

Entering the banquet hall, all the meals were already prepared, and they only needed to take their seats.

As soon as Lu Yuner sat down, thinking that she still had classes tomorrow and had to keep an eye on things as a teacher, she looked at Su Qingwan and said, “Sit next to me.”

Su Qingwan obediently walked over and sat down. Because of the closer distance, the faint cold fragrance that accompanied him to sleep every night lingered around his nose, and Su Qingwan’s cheeks grew slightly warm.

Suddenly, that cold fragrance became extremely strong. He subconsciously glanced to the side with the corner of his eye, coincidentally catching those extremely beautiful apricot eyes, the surging clarity in her pupils scalding Su Qingwan’s heart and making it tremble.

At this moment, Lu Yuner’s voice sounded in his ears, “Young Master Su, remember that you still have classes tomorrow! Don’t act recklessly again!”

Her lowered voice was accompanied by a warm breath, teasing his sensitive nerves bit by bit.

“Mm.” Su Qingwan tried hard to restrain his emotions, lowering his eyes and forcibly calming his disordered heartbeat to maintain composure.

Liu Lan and Xie Nanxi looked at the two of them, then smiled at each other as if they had a tacit understanding.

Although it was a birthday banquet, it also turned into a time for good friends to chat freely. The three of them began to converse slowly, while Young Master Su sat obediently on the side, dining.

Although Lu Yuner was chatting with her friends, her hands didn’t stop. From time to time, she took care of the restrained Young Master Su. Seeing that he had no dishes in his bowl and was too embarrassed to take more, only eating white rice, she would help him pick some dishes and change his plate.

This feeling was like when she followed her parents to pay New Year’s visits as a child. Because she was slow to warm up and had a thin face, when eating at relatives’ homes, the adults would drink and chat, laughing and talking, while she could only keep eating the dishes in front of her, afraid that any movement would disturb their conversation and suddenly turn the topic to her.

Fortunately, as she grew up, her skin became thicker and she became much more talkative.

After a while, Xie Nanxi suddenly stood up, walked to Su Qingwan’s side, and said with a smile, “I never thought that on my birthday today, I would have the honor of meeting Young Master Su. However, I happen to have a gift I want to give to Young Master Su, which Young Master Su will definitely like. Come, come, come!”

With that, he pulled Su Qingwan’s hand and walked to the other side, not allowing Lu Yuner to interrupt as he quickly took him away.

In the corridor.

“Oh! I didn’t know Young Master Su was so clingy!” Seeing the reluctance in his eyes, Xie Nanxi teased. With his words, the tips of Young Master Su’s ears turned red as if dripping blood.

Xie Nanxi stopped joking and continued, “Don’t worry, we’ll just chat for a bit.”

Su Qingwan let him lead the way into another elegantly clean room. It was very large, with shelves displaying various expensive calligraphy and paintings by famous people, as well as antique jewelry.

It seemed that, as Xiao Yuan said, there were indeed quite a few women who would spend a fortune on him. To be honest, when he first saw him, with his delicate and pretty face and charming demeanor, he realized that the phrase “full of charm” was completely embodied in him.

Who wouldn’t be moved by such a beautiful and charming man?

At first, he was a little jealous in his concern, but later discovered that they were just friends, so he felt much more at ease.

Xie Nanxi said generously, “Young Master Su, take a look and pick whatever you like.”

Then, a hint of an inexplicable smile flashed across the corner of his mouth, and he continued, “Young Master Su was born into a noble family and must have seen many rare treasures. However, there must be something in this room of mine that Young Master Su will like.”

He was right. He had indeed seen many of these precious items, but he wasn’t interested in them.

Su Qingwan took a casual glance around, and suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, a painting of a woman admiring flowers caught his attention. He stepped forward to take a closer look.

The scene was full of spring, with peach blossoms in the garden competing to bloom. Under one of the peach trees, a woman had a small bamboo basket on her right arm and was picking peach blossoms with her left hand. The simple action seemed to have a natural, uncarved charm of its own.

“Does Young Master Su like this painting?” Xie Nanxi asked knowingly.

“I like it,” Su Qingwan said, somewhat entranced.

Xie Nanxi followed up with another question, “Does Young Master Su like Sister Yuner?”

“I like her,” Su Qingwan blurted out, suddenly waking up from his reverie.

“I also like Sister Yuner.” Xie Nanxi looked at him and smiled happily.

Su Qingwan was visibly startled, his gaze colliding with Xie Nanxi’s, his eyes revealing a clear sense of possessiveness.

“No need to be jealous. That’s all in the past.” As a fellow man, Xie Nanxi naturally understood his reaction. He turned his gaze to the woman in the painting and smiled brightly, “Sister Yuner is a good woman. Who wouldn’t like her?”

Xie Nanxi’s tone became solemn, “But such a good woman is not attached to the mundane world!”

Su Qingwan frowned, not understanding, and asked, “What do you mean?”

Xie Nanxi said earnestly, “Do you know that the world-famous ‘Longing Thoughts’ was composed by Sister Yuner? The lyrics and melody are so lingering and affectionate, yet she is a person who doesn’t concern herself with love and affection.”

Su Qingwan’s heart trembled. He had seen the lyrics and melody of “Longing Thoughts” in folk storybooks and had been moved by it.

Xie Nanxi continued, “Since I’ve known Sister Yuner, she has always kept her interactions with friends to a minimum, as if deliberately keeping her distance from people and not forming too many ties. In the past, apart from attending court and returning to the residence, she would occasionally come to my Qu Le Fang to sit when she had nothing to do. Sometimes she could sit alone for a whole day, and her gaze was always pure and clean. For some reason, it always made me feel like she could disappear at any moment.”