books44 Chapter 304: Lu Yu's Heartbreak
Chapter 304: Lu Yu's Heartbreak
Chapter 304: Lu Yu's Heartbreak
Shen Bin went straight to the second floor, and Ji Meiqing followed. The furnishings upstairs remained unchanged, and Shen Bin seemed to quite like the arrangement. Ji Meiqing was also very pleased.
“Young Master Shen, I’d like to change the name of this place to ‘Drunken Immortal Pavilion’,” Ji Meiqing said, looking at the silent Shen Bin. Shen Bin remained silent, just staring outside. Ji Meiqing took this as an agreement.
"There's another matter," Ji Meiqing said to herself, "I hope you can go to the brothels and buy some women. They need to be good at singing and dancing. Buy a few women who don't sell their bodies, and they need to be proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting." She didn't notice Shen Bin's already darkened face. After saying so much, she felt thirsty and quickly drank some water, waiting for Shen Bin's reply.
"That won't do. What are you going to do with buying prostitutes?" Shen Bin's face darkened as soon as he heard that Ji Meiqing wanted to buy prostitutes. It turned out that she still wanted to turn his perfectly good restaurant into a brothel. He immediately refused.
"Calm down, calm down. I never said I wanted to turn your restaurant into a brothel," Ji Meiqing said, toying with the cup on the table. Shen Bin, as if his thoughts had been exposed, immediately lowered his head and remained silent. He had no choice but to agree to Ji Meiqing's request.
After dealing with her business, Ji Meiqing returned to the inn. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Lu Yu sitting alone on the bed, looking dejected. She wondered what had happened to upset him.
She walked straight over and sat down next to Lu Yu, looking at him and saying, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?" Before she could finish speaking, Lu Yu suddenly hugged her tightly, catching Ji Meiqing off guard. Just as she was about to speak, Lu Yu preemptively said, "These past few days you've only been focused on making money. I've disappeared for so many days, and you haven't even thought about where I went, not even asking about me." Lu Yu's low, husky voice made Ji Meiqing's heart flutter. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say. Should she offer comfort, or apologize?
Seeing that Ji Meiqing remained unmoved, Lu Yu felt a chill in his heart. He loosened his grip on Ji Meiqing, but she held on tightly, and Lu Yu remained in her embrace. Lu Yu looked down at the person holding him. He loved Ji Meiqing, and no matter how she treated him, he would not blame her.
"I'm sorry, I...I..." Ji Meiqing didn't know what else to say, her voice choked with sobs. She wouldn't make excuses for herself; after all, that was the truth. She had been so focused on making money that she had neglected him.
"It's alright, it's okay now," Lu Yu said, gently patting Ji Meiqing's back to comfort her. Ji Meiqing leaned against his chest, refusing to leave. Lu Yu didn't know what to do, so he could only let her hold him.
After an unknown amount of time, Ji Meiqing finally released her grip on Lu Yu, looked up at him with slightly red eyes. Seeing this, Lu Yu gently wiped away the tears still clinging to her face with his fingertips.
"Brother Lu, once I've settled things in Jiangnan, we'll go home and live a normal life," Ji Meiqing said sincerely to Lu Yu. Lu Yu looked down at Ji Meiqing and softly said, "Okay!"
Suddenly, the two fell silent again. Ji Meiqing leaned against Lu Yu, each lost in their own thoughts. The room was so quiet it was almost suffocating. Lu Yu said somewhat irritably, "Go ahead and do your thing. We'll go home when you're done."
Ji Meiqing looked up at Lu Yu, trying to glean something from his face, but to no avail. She had no choice but to leave. As she reached the door, she saw Lu Yu lying on the bed, asleep with his eyes closed, and turned to leave as well. Watching Ji Meiqing's departing figure, Lu Yu felt an indescribable sadness. He had tried not to overthink things, but since their marriage, Ji Meiqing had always been busy, neglecting the person who loved her.
Ji Meiqing wiped her eyes as she left the room; she didn't want anyone to see her crying, even her red eyes. She went to Yin Lie's room and pushed the door open. Yin Lie, who was sitting on the bed meditating with his eyes closed, opened them and looked at the visitor. Seeing it was Ji Meiqing, he closed his eyes again. Uncle Lin, who was wiping his erhu with a cloth, quickly put down his things and poured her a glass of water.
Ji Meiqing sat down and sipped her tea, looking at Yin Lie who was meditating. She hadn't intended to disturb him, but Yin Lie, with his eyes closed as if he could see everything, said, "Miss Ji, what brings you here?" Seeing Yin Lie speak first, Ji Meiqing said, "Uncle Yin, I've arranged something for you. Would you be willing?" As she spoke, Ji Meiqing looked at Yin Lie, but after a long while, Yin Lie didn't answer. Ji Meiqing was somewhat disappointed. She lowered her head and remained silent.
"Could you tell me what task Miss Ji has assigned me?" Yin Lie opened his eyes, got out of bed, and sat down opposite Ji Meiqing. Seeing there was still hope, Ji Meiqing told him it was to become the manager of Zuixianlou Restaurant, and then looked at Yin Lie expectantly. Yin Lie thought for a moment and then said, "Okay." Ji Meiqing smiled happily; she felt she was getting closer and closer to success.
Ji Meiqing led Yin Lie to Zuixianlou. Upon arriving at the entrance, she saw that the signboard had been changed to "Zuixianlou" according to her wishes. She was secretly pleased; it seemed Shen Bin was still a reliable person. As soon as they entered the restaurant, it was as empty as before. The waiter sat alone at a table, and he looked at Ji Meiqing with hostility.
This made Ji Meiqing somewhat disapproving of the humility in his words, but the waiter scoffed at it.
"I was wondering why we suddenly let Old Liu leave. Turns out you wanted to bring people over yourself. You've got some powerful connections," the waiter said sarcastically. Ji Meiqing ignored him; the Old Liu he mentioned was probably the former manager. Yin Lie, who was standing nearby, was about to explode, but Ji Meiqing turned and gave him a wink, so he could only lower his head and remain silent.
"I don't like hearing that. I'm the boss, and I make the decisions. What right do you have to boss me around? If you're not going to do it, then leave. The door is right there," Ji Meiqing said defiantly. For her, kindness is often taken advantage of, and she could never be subservient to others. She had to show them respect so that no one would dare to mess with her.
The once arrogant waiter deflated like a punctured balloon, standing silently to the side. Ji Meiqing let Yin Lie familiarize himself with the surroundings before going upstairs herself.
Upstairs, seeing Shen Bin drinking tea as usual, I was speechless for a moment. Just how much did he like tea, or was his tea really that good? I walked straight over and sat down, saying, "Young Master Shen, all you do all day is drink tea. I wonder if you've resolved the matter I asked you to handle?" I rested my chin on my hand, waiting for Shen Bin's reply.