Chapter 6

After thinking it over carefully all night, Zhu Yu had come to a profound realization: a man as strong and gentle as Li Wu would be the sort of man plenty of girls would be thinking about.

As Lu Xun once said, anything you don't get your hands on will sooner or later become someone else's!

Just imagining Li Wu walking past her arm in arm with some other girl made Zhu Yu feel like a kettle on the boil. Jealousy gurgled up inside her until she was furious at herself.

She was certain she liked Li Wu. She just didn't know what he felt about her...

Might as well probe him a little!

"Li Wu, I just realized you never call me by my name," Zhu Yu said.

Li Wu thought about it and realized that was true enough. He had never been much of a talker, and there was no real need to call someone by her given name all the time. Still, he said, "Didn't I call you that the first time we met?"

Zhu Yu let out a little "ha" and said, "Does one time count?"

"Then what do you call me now?"

"Zhu Yu," Li Wu answered.

Who would have thought Zhu Yu would shake her head and pout. "No. You have to call me Yu Niang!"

Yu Niang? Li Wu paused. That was the kind of name only family could use. How could he say it? So he replied, "That's not appropriate."

Zhu Yu started acting spoiled, bracing both hands on the table. "No, you have to call me that! If you don't, then I won't answer you!"

"..."

Li Wu had nothing to say. The little girl's thoughts were as wild as the wind, and maybe this was just a passing whim. If he indulged her and agreed, what if it damaged her reputation later? So he stayed silent and let her make a fuss.

Who would have thought Zhu Yu would actually take it seriously? She ignored him for the entire day and even ran off into town by herself to go shopping. When it was time to change her medicine, Li Wu knocked on the door and called out once, then again when no one answered. Only then did the person inside answer slowly.

"Who's there?"

"Me," Li Wu said.

"Who are you calling for?"

"For you."

"And who am I?"

Li Wu said, "Zhu Yu."

"Wrong, wrong. Think again."

"It's time to change your medicine," Li Wu said, choosing to ignore the question.

"Say it! What should you call me?" The girl's voice drifted out from inside, carrying a spoiled, self-important tone. "If you don't call me the right name, I won't open the door."

Li Wu sighed and stood helplessly outside the door.

When Zhu Yu saw that Li Wu wasn't answering, her eyes rolled, and she swept the teapot off the table. Then she shouted, "Ow! My hand!" and immediately put on a show of crying miserably.

"What happened?" Hearing the commotion in the room and the sound of crying, Li Wu thought something had really gone wrong and was about to smash the door open.

Zhu Yu hurriedly shouted, "You can't come in! If you don't call me by the right name, I won't let you in!"

"And you're still hung up on this at a time like this!" Li Wu ignored her and drew breath into his qi, ready to break the door down.

"This is a huge deal to me! Hurry up and say it!"

Li Wu saw that she still had enough energy to say so much, and the force in his hand dissipated. Could she be fooling him?

"It hurts! Why is there blood now!" Another cry of pain came from inside.

"Blood?!"

"Hurry and call me, then I can let you in!"

"..."

"Quick! I can't stop the bleeding!"

The anxious voice urged him on.

Li Wu closed his eyes and could only force out, "Yu Niang."

The cries from inside vanished at once. Then the latch clicked open, and a bright little face squeezed out. "Hee. Wouldn't it have been easier if you'd said that from the start?"

Li Wu's face darkened. "You put on all this theater just to trick me?" With that, he turned and was about to leave.

Having gotten what she wanted, Zhu Yu rushed over to grab his hand and coaxed him, "No, you haven't changed my dressing yet!"

"Ah, Li Wu~ Good Li Wu~ Don't ignore me." Zhu Yu shamelessly clung to him in the corridor, apologizing over and over, though only she knew how much sincerity those apologies actually held.

The innkeeper's servant chuckled. "Sir, your young lady is already being so sincere. Forgive her."

As soon as the words were out, both of them flushed red to the ears.

Zhu Yu had wanted to explain herself, but when she turned and saw Li Wu blushing too, she laughed instead and deliberately said, "What the little brother said is right!"

After a long struggle to coax Li Wu into a better mood, the two of them finally sat down peacefully to change the dressing.

Zhu Yu looked at her own hand resting in Li Wu's. She could feel the old calluses on the larger palm, as if they were quietly telling her how much wind and rain this man had endured.

"Say, Li Wu, are you married?"

Li Wu glanced at her, not knowing what kind of mischief she was up to this time, and replied, "Not yet."

Even though that answer had already been hovering on the edge of her mind, hearing it confirmed still filled Zhu Yu with delight.

She said happily, "Then your mother never urged you?"

Li Wu said, "I have no family. Only my master raised me."

...Zhu Yu could have slapped herself for asking such a fatal question.

"I'm sorry..." she muttered, awkwardly apologizing for her rudeness.

In truth, Li Wu wasn't especially saddened by that. After all, to him his master had been like both father and mother.

Still, this little girl had softened his heart. A trace of a smile appeared in his eyes, carrying a tenderness he himself hadn't noticed, as he answered, "It's fine."

Zhu Yu looked at his face and naturally didn't miss that expression.

It felt as if a spring breeze had brushed across her cheeks. Before she knew it, her face had gone red. She looked at the man before her with care, thinking that Li Wu's looks were nothing remarkable, but his bearing and character made it hard for him to fade into the crowd. He was like a jar of clear wine; time would not wear him down, only deepen him, and the closer one got, the easier it was to drown in him.

Zhu Yu traced the man's features carefully with her eyes. Suddenly, she felt as though the sword-like brows across his face were green hills, the eyes were a rippling lake, and the bridge of his nose was a tall pillar carved by history...

Those thin lips seemed to hold an irresistible pull, taking over her entire field of vision. In that instant, she couldn't think of anything else...

A pair of pink cherry lips drifted quietly closer, and with a strange little sound of "pop," the girl's cheeks flushed like ink blooming across paper.

Those starry eyes fixed on him as she asked, "Li Wu, what do you think of me?"

...

A soft touch landed on his lips. Li Wu, who had always stood unshaken no matter what he faced, now felt as if a string had snapped in his head. He actually froze, standing there in stunned disbelief that he hadn't yet had time to collect.

Zhu Yu had been shy at first after coming to her senses, but seeing Li Wu's expression, she found it strangely funny. So she decided to go all in.

Her arms slid around Li Wu's neck like a pair of snakes, and her whole body seemed to tumble awkwardly into his lap. Her soft breasts pressed tightly against his heated chest as she leaned in. Catching him off guard, she slipped the tip of her tongue into his mouth, playfully twining with his in a dance.

"Mm."

Li Wu was kissed so thoroughly that gooseflesh rose all over him. His head felt packed with glue; it wouldn't turn, empty and blank. He even couldn't remember that if he only lifted his arm, he could push her away.

Zhu Yu closed her eyes, lost in the kiss. His thin lips seemed to carry some kind of potion, soft and warm, just like Li Wu's heart, and that only made her more entranced.

Wet smacking sounds followed, mixed with the saliva she hadn't yet swallowed. It slid from Zhu Yu's collarbone and into the depths of her clothes. She suckled lightly at his lips, her arms tightening around him until almost her whole body was pressed to his.

No one knew how long it was before a sharp crackle burst from the lamp oil, flashing a spark and startling Li Wu awake.

He hurriedly pulled Zhu Yu away and hissed, "What are you doing?!"

Zhu Yu looked innocent. "Kissing you."

"You! You!" Li Wu couldn't even find the words for a moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself to calm down.

"Sit properly first. Let's talk this through."

"Okay."

Li Wu chose his words carefully and slowly said, "Have you thought about this? Maybe it's because I've been taking care of you these past few days, even saving you a few times, and that's why you've mistaken gratitude for liking me."

He reflected on his own actions, wondering where he had made Zhu Yu misunderstand. To seduce an ignorant young woman like this, his conduct was truly vile and disgusting.

Zhu Yu looked blank. "No, I can tell the difference very clearly."

"You can't tell the difference!" Li Wu shot back in exasperation.

All right, that line of reasoning wasn't going anywhere. Time to change tactics.

Li Wu said again, "Do you even know how old I am? I'm already nearly thirty, and you're only eighteen. There's more than a ten-year gap between us, and that's not even mentioning the fact that I don't have the looks of some elegant, handsome, refined gentleman. I'm just an ordinary nobody."

"I don't mind. I think you're handsome enough," Zhu Yu replied simply.

Li Wu added, "I don't have an official post, either, and I have no wealth. I live a rootless, penniless life." He might as well have said directly: following me will only mean hardship for you.

"It doesn't matter."

She even looked proud of herself, patting her chest as she promised, "I'm not that delicate. I can eat sweet potatoes, and I can eat coarse steamed buns too!"

Looking at Zhu Yu's expression of "whatever, I don't mind," Li Wu's veins were practically standing out at his temples. He had to calm down. He shot to his feet. "It's late. Let's get some sleep."

"Oh, okay. Then you sleep too! Good night!~" Zhu Yu waved at him. Watching the figure that was nearly fleeing in defeat, she collapsed over the table laughing, feeling an unprecedented joy.

What was she supposed to do? It felt like something strange was awakening inside her!