How could a granddaughter not even know her own grandfather's name? What a filial granddaughter she is!
But... it's really not Wu Guanyue's fault, okay?
After all, that man isn't even her real grandfather. All the information she has about him came straight from the game's background lore, and his name never even popped up there... right?
Wu Guanyue blinked her big, round eyes, looking perfectly blank and innocent.
Bai Yunsheng: "............"
Miao Langjun: "............"
Blood Demon Ancestor: "............"
Bai Yunsheng stayed silent for a long while before saying, "...That, seems to be your grandfather's name."
Wu Guanyue suddenly realized, "Oh! So that's my grandpa's name... Wait a second, Bai Yunsheng, how do you know what my grandpa is called?"
Bai Yunsheng: "............"
What do you think? I looked it up back when you threatened me so badly I lost my mind and wanted to get back at you! What other reason could there be!
Faced with a question he couldn't easily answer, Bai Yunsheng just shut up.
Luckily, Wu Guanyue didn't actually care enough to dig for the full answer.
She calmly turned her head away, acting completely nonchalant as she said to Miao Langjun, "My grandfather has already passed away. What did you need to see him for?"
Is it a quest? Is it a new game quest?
To tell the truth, she was actually pretty curious about her grandfather's past too!
Miao Langjun: "............"
Wait, isn't this development a little off? Isn't this girl's attitude way too weird?
But... Wu Guanyue could act however oddly she wanted, Miao Langjun couldn't afford to misbehave right now. After all, he was the one trying to cozy up to her, not the other way around...
So Miao Langjun immediately adjusted his expression, putting on a look of utter shock as if he couldn't accept the news at all. After a long moment, he let out a long sigh and said wistfully, "It's been fifteen years since we last met. I never imagined Old Master Wu would have already left this world!"
Wu Guanyue: O-O
And then? What happens next? Is a new event about to trigger?
Wu Guanyue's eyes went wide, she stared at Miao Langjun with full, serious focus, and suddenly bright, sparkling light burst out of her gaze!
Miao Langjun: "............"
A huge sweat drop popped up over Miao Langjun's head.
But the mood had already been built up this far, he couldn't just drop the act now. So Miao Langjun stood with his hands behind his back, moping in sad reverie for a while, before suddenly cupping one fist in the other in a formal salute to Wu Guanyue. "Old Master Wu once did me a great kindness. I have traveled here today specifically to repay that debt. If Little Shopkeeper Wu ever needs anything, I will go through fire and water to help you, no matter what!"
He said this with a completely serious, earnest expression. Miao Langjun was born with a dashing, flirtatious look that made everyone who saw him think he was never the settling-down type... but when he put on this solemn, sincere air, he looked like a completely different person.
This was all part of his plan to win Wu Guanyue's trust, get closer to her, and make her think he was a loyal, righteous man.
Sure enough, Wu Guanyue looked at him, and a gradually growing touched expression spread across her face.
She asked tentatively, "Anything at all?"
Miao Langjun spoke with unwavering moral righteousness, "Of course! Little Shopkeeper Wu, whatever troubles you have, just say the word."
Wu Guanyue: "Then can you give me all the money you have on you?"
Miao Langjun let out a hearty laugh, "Of course no probl—ga?!! What did you just say?!"
Miao Langjun finally snapped out of it once he processed what Wu Guanyue had said, and he was so shocked he almost squawked like a goose.
Wu Guanyue blinked her eyes innocently, "Give me all the money you're carrying... Oh right, it can't just be a free handout. How about this, that dish right there will cost you one thousand taels of silver!"
That way it'll count as the inn's operating revenue according to the game's rules, hehehe~
Little Shopkeeper Wu doesn't only have silly girlish daydreams, you know! She cares a whole lot about building up her inn too~
Miao Langjun: "............"
Miao Langjun went dead silent.
...This girl was way more different from what he imagined than he thought.
Who even asks for something that bold? That can't be right, can it? That's not how this is supposed to go!
But could Miao Langjun really say no?
Miao Langjun's money -5000, Little Shopkeeper Wu's inn revenue +5000.
Hell yeah~
Wu Guanyue happily carried all her cooked dishes up to Miao Langjun's guest room—after all, the guy just dropped five thousand taels on five dishes, making him a total, fully-fledged sucker. She might as well be nice to him, right?
Little Shopkeeper Wu: "Enjoy your meal, dear guest~"
Little Shopkeeper Wu skipped off happily, leaving Miao Langjun behind in the room, his heart dripping blood.
His money... his hard-earned money that he tricked people out of with so much effort!!!
Miao Langjun sat there in a daze for a long time, until he finally grabbed his chopsticks and started shoveling food into his mouth like crazy. C'mon, he already spent all that money, if he didn't eat the food too he'd lose twice over!
He took the first bite—wait, this actually tastes amazing!
Of course it does. After all, the player's cooking skill is set by the game system. As long as she doesn't mix random weird ingredients together, the food she makes is guaranteed to taste great.
As Miao Langjun ate, he thought to himself, These dishes... weren't they originally supposed to be sent up to Wenren Ying?
...Wu Guanyue really is such a dutiful little wife to him!
But... if Wenren Ying's going to keep being distant and hot-and-cold with her, then don't blame me for seizing the chance to step in.
Miao Langjun polished off every last bit of the food, straightened himself up, and headed back downstairs to look for Wu Guanyue again.
Meanwhile, Wu Guanyue had cleaned herself up nice and fresh, put a cloud-patterned cat-ear headpiece on her head, grabbed her fishing rod, and was all ready to go fishing.
Right then, Miao Langjun came down the stairs, saw her all dressed for the trip, and smiled. "Little Shopkeeper Wu, are you heading out to fish?"
Wu Guanyue answered loudly, "Yep yep!"
Miao Langjun clapped his hands and laughed, "The morning sun has burned off all the dust of the world, and you head to the green river with your fishing rod in hand*. What a wonderful pastime you have, Little Shopkeeper Wu. When I came into the city earlier, I saw the Suwen Pond just outside the town, its waters clear as a mirror—it's the perfect spot to go fishing. Why don't we go together?"
As he spoke, he pulled out a fishing rod from his mustard seed pouch, proving he was a fellow fishing enthusiast.
To tell the truth, he was actually really good at fishing.
After all, a guy with no fun hobbies at all could never pull off the whole "seduce a woman to run away with him" thing. Miao Langjun didn't know much about poetry or calligraphy, but every fun pastime out there—arrow tossing, card games, fishing... you name it, he's mastered it.
Bai Yunsheng: "............"
Bai Yunsheng watched the whole scene unfold, and stroked his chin with an amused look.
This Miao Langjun... he's definitely up to something. He's never been this pushy and attentive to anyone before.
No one offers you favors for no reason, they're either scheming or stealing from you.
Wait, you're asking what if he's actually genuinely fallen for Wu Guanyue and that's why he's being so nice? C'mon, other than that blind fool Wenren Ying, who on earth could ever fall for the Evil Twin-Tailed Girl? That whole five thousand tael incident just now should've been more than enough proof of how chaotic she is!
But hey, that works out perfectly... Wu Guanyue was just looking for some poor sucker to take advantage of, wasn't she?
This is exactly what they mean by, Heaven has a wide road he refuses to take, but the gates of hell he runs straight right through.
Sure enough, the Evil Twin-Tailed Girl kept her bright, cheerful expression, and readily agreed to Miaolangjun's request to travel together. Then she turned back and winked at Bai Yunsheng, gesturing for him to hurry over and find Wenren Ying... Truly evil, absolutely evil!
Bai Yunsheng happily went along with this "evil" plan.
After all, he was in for a real show now!
***
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Wenren Ying was still lying on his bed.
For what felt like the hundredth time that day, he glanced toward the door.
His door was left open, and the autumn sunlight spilled across the small courtyard. The gate at the far end was tightly shut—there was no suspicious sound of someone prying the lock, nor any pair of pretty big eyes peeking sneakily inside...
To be honest, Wenren Ying couldn't even tell if he was looking forward to her coming, or dreading it.
He was... torn.
He had already fully sorted out his own feelings, but there was one thing holding him back from following his heart.
That day, Little Yue had invited him to stay at the inn to recuperate from his injuries, and Wenren Ying... had turned her down.
Part of the reason, of course, was that lately Wenren Ying had nothing to do but lie around resting, and he was very close to letting his more unseemly urges get the better of him. He didn't want Little Yue to see that unflattering side of him.
The other part of the reason was that he thought if he couldn't end up with Little Yue, he shouldn't keep stringing her along and wasting her time.
When he looked at Little Yue's bright, sparkling eyes, he simply felt... completely unable to face her.
But after he rejected her, the disappointed look in her eyes was even harder for him to bear.
So he chose to avoid her. He averted his gaze from her face.
In the days that followed, his attitude stayed strangely distant. Even when he could tell that Little Yue was a little hurt or upset, he never said a word to comfort her.
Maybe that was why Little Yue, after being met with this cold shoulder from him, had barely come around these past few days.
Sigh...
Wenren Ying let out a long, heavy breath.
Fine, fine... Maybe this was for the best anyway.
His whole attitude toward Little Yue—never willing to fully commit, yet never able to let go—was far too indecisive. This kind of wavering was unfair to everyone, and he really should start putting some distance between them.
Wenren Ying lay motionless on the bed, looking so listless he seemed half dead...
Just then, he caught a faint little noise coming from the doorway!
It definitely wasn't the sound of someone prying a lock—since Wenren Ying had stopped locking his courtyard gate these past two days. It was the sound of the door being pushed open.
Wenren Ying sat bolt upright in an instant, and his hands moved so fast they were a blur as he smoothed out the messy rumpled blankets on his bed. A soft, faint smile even tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The door swung open, and Bai Yunsheng stepped inside.
Wenren Ying: "............"
Wenren Ying: ".................."
Wenren Ying snapped at him directly, "Get out!"
Bai Yunsheng: "............"
Bai Yunsheng said, "Your face changes faster than the weather, you know that?"
Wenren Ying stared at him blankly, and casually picked up his saber—though it was hard to say whether that move was a veiled threat or not.
But that wasn't the important part. The important part was...
Bai Yunsheng called out his secret straight away: "...You move that fast, what are you still doing lying in bed 'resting from your injuries'? You're just faking it so that little rascal will come dote on you, aren't you?"
