Ji Zhaoxi stared at the man until beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Watching the two of them gaze at each other so intensely, Fu Xianyan suddenly felt his chest tighten. He stared at Ji Zhaoxi without blinking, his face slightly pale.
The man said awkwardly, “Cousin, I even carried you when you were little…”
Ji Zhaoxi gave a short laugh, her tone firm. “Impossible!”
The man was about to argue, but Ji Zhaoxi said smugly, “My father told me that whenever I cried as a child, I was so loud that no other child on the entire street could compare. No one was willing to carry me.”
Apparently, even her half-deaf grandmother had been startled whenever she heard Ji Zhaoxi cry. That showed just how powerful her voice had been.
The man fell silent at once.
Xu Ancheng’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.
When Fu Xianyan heard this, he let out a sigh of relief. “Crying loudly is a good thing. It means you were full of life.”
He had almost believed that the man really was her cousin.
Ji Zhaoxi stared sternly at the man and continued, “My family has always been small. Even if you count back three generations, we couldn’t gather enough people to fill a single table. Every New Year, we don’t even know whose home we should visit.”
She reached her conclusion. “You’re not my cousin!”
Fu Xianyan immediately stepped forward and stood beside her, his expression turning cold. “Get lost!”
Xu Ancheng frowned. “Since you’re not Miss Ji’s cousin, please leave.”
Seeing that his identity had been exposed, the man stopped pretending. He simply threw himself onto the ground and began to wail. Just as he was about to hug Ji Zhaoxi’s leg, she silently drew her sword.
The man froze, rolled away, and then wrapped both arms tightly around Xu Ancheng’s trouser leg instead.
Xu Ancheng was badly startled. “Absolutely not, Young Master!”
Seeing how shameless the man was, Qin Qiwu’s face flushed with anger. She tugged hard at Xu Ancheng.
“Young Master Xu, kick him away!”
Xu Ancheng’s face turned bright red. “But… but…”
Fu Xianyan was much more relaxed now. He stood beside Ji Zhaoxi with his eyes curved in amusement.
The man opened his mouth and wailed, “Kind lady, kind sir, please, spare a poor man a coin or two! Cousin, you can’t abandon your younger cousin just because you’ve made it big!”
Xu Ancheng grew frantic and lightly kicked at him. “Please, Young Master, don’t do this. A man’s knees are worth gold…”
As though he had realized Xu Ancheng was softhearted, the man clung even tighter. Crying so hard that his nose ran, he wailed, “I don’t care! You can’t abandon all your poor relatives!”
More and more people gathered around them, pointing and whispering.
Ji Zhaoxi tugged desperately at the man, snapping angrily, “You’re not allowed to hug Young Master Xu! Only Miss Qin can hug him!”
The moment Qin Qiwu heard this, her face turned scarlet. Embarrassed, she immediately released her grip on Xu Ancheng.
“Miss Ji…”
She lowered her head awkwardly.
Miss Ji really was something…
Without Qin Qiwu supporting him, Xu Ancheng’s situation became even more difficult. He grabbed Fu Xianyan with one hand while Ji Zhaoxi held the other, using every ounce of strength he had.
“Young Master, if you have that much strength, why not find a proper job instead of resorting to crooked schemes?”
The older woman watching from the side really couldn’t stand it anymore. She picked up a radish from her basket and hurled it at the man’s head.
The man didn’t dodge at all. Instead, he took a few bites out of the radish.
“Kind sirs, kind lady, please show some mercy!” he shouted indistinctly.
Just as the man was reaching the height of his performance, a sharp shout suddenly rang out from the edge of the crowd.
“Who’s causing trouble?!”
A constable pushed through the crowd and strode in with a stern expression.
The moment the man saw the constable, he began crying even louder.
“Help me, Your Honor!”
The constable wiped her mouth. She had finally reached mealtime, only to be called away to work halfway through her meal.
Irritated, she asked, “What happened?”
The man clung to Xu Ancheng and sobbed so hard that his nose ran. Pointing at Ji Zhaoxi, he cried, “She’s bullying her poor relative and refuses to give me any money!”
Ji Zhaoxi planted her hands on her hips. “Hurry up and let go of Young Master Xu!”
“I hate poor relatives most of all! I’ll beat up every one of them!”
Fu Xianyan drawled lazily, “That’s right.”
The constable was silent for a moment before frowning. “First, let go of that person’s leg.”
What kind of behavior was this in broad daylight?
The man hugged even tighter. “No!”
The constable nodded. “Fine.”
She waved to the people behind her. “Take him away.”
The two constables behind her seized the man’s arms and forcibly peeled him off Xu Ancheng’s trouser leg.
Xu Ancheng clutched his trousers tightly, terrified that they might accidentally be pulled off.
“Help me—!”
The man’s voice echoed along the street.
The four of them silently watched the group disappear into the distance.
Ji Zhaoxi was panting from exhaustion. “That man was incredibly strong.”
Because of what had just happened, Xu Ancheng stood there in mortified silence.
Qin Qiwu kept looking at him worriedly.
Fu Xianyan, on the other hand, was in an excellent mood. He looked at the others and smiled. “Are you hungry? Shall we eat first?”
Of the four of them, only Fu Xianyan looked perfectly fine. The other three were all in a state of disarray.
Fu Xianyan fanned Ji Zhaoxi, unable to suppress his delight.
“Ma’am, which restaurant nearby serves the best food?” Fu Xianyan asked politely.
He was rarely this courteous.
As it turned out, when a person was extremely happy, they really could become more polite.
The older woman immediately became enthusiastic and began recommending restaurants to him.
“Young man, you came to the right person! First, tell Sis how much silver you have in your pocket. I can recommend a restaurant at any price point.”
Fu Xianyan smoothly changed the way he addressed her. “Sis, just recommend the best food. Don’t worry about the price.”
The woman slapped her palm excitedly. “If money’s no issue, then go to Golden Jade Tower!”
“Go straight this way, turn left at the fork, then keep going straight and turn right. Continue straight, then turn right again. Go through an alley, and you’ll reach a main road. Turn left, then count the shops from left to right—the third one. That whole area belongs to Golden Jade Tower.”
“Thank you, Sis.” Fu Xianyan tactfully gave the woman a tip.
The smile on the woman’s face grew even wider. “Oh, no, no, there’s no need for that!”
Her mouth refused, but her hands swiftly tucked the silver into her pocket.
“You’re too generous.”
Fu Xianyan took Ji Zhaoxi’s hand and led her in the direction the woman had indicated.
Ji Zhaoxi was parched with exhaustion, so Fu Xianyan bought three bowls of mung bean soup. Her complexion finally improved.
“Fu Xianyan, did you remember the route that woman gave us?” Ji Zhaoxi asked doubtfully.
Looking at the loose strands of hair around her face, Fu Xianyan reached out and tidied them for her. With a soft laugh, he said, “Don’t worry, Miss Ji. I remembered it.”
Qin Qiwu drank her mung bean soup and smiled. “Young Master Fu has an excellent memory.”
That woman’s directions had completely confused her.
Xu Ancheng’s face flushed slightly. “I remember it too.”
“Miss Qin…”
Qin Qiwu nearly choked. She forced herself to remain calm and said softly, “Young Master Xu is impressive too.”
After turning who knew how many corners, they finally arrived at Golden Jade Tower.
The moment they entered the restaurant, the fragrant aroma of food wafted toward them.
Numerous square tables filled the main hall, and nearly every one was occupied.
A waiter with a white cloth draped over his shoulder hurried through the crowd. The moment he spotted Ji Zhaoxi and the others, he quickly came over.
“Esteemed guests, please come in!”
