The Powerful Minister I Forcefully Married Won't Warm Up; After Rebirth, I Give Up the Chase - Chapter 46

Wen Qingheng burst into laughter. “No need to worry! I will definitely scour the books and find the most difficult question for you.”

Qin Lang followed, smiling nervously. “No one can out-compete Shizhang‘s literary talent.”

Gu Ci also wore a smile on his lips.

The atmosphere seemed relaxed.

Only Pei Jian remained, his expression stern, tinged with cold and faint mockery, refusing to engage in the conversation.

He deliberately left Gu Ci hanging.

Qin Lang put his arm over Pei Jian’s shoulder, smoothing things over with a loud laugh. “Jinghe‘s questions can’t be too tricky; look, even Shizhang is hesitant to promise easily.”

Gu Ci spoke up with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It doesn’t matter if he promises or not. Nianxi will marry me regardless.”

Pei Jian finally spoke up then, his face pale and calm. “She won’t.”

Gu Ci’s expression changed slightly. He looked straight at Pei Jian. “What did you say?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Pei Jian remained seated, looking at Gu Ci with open provocation.

The rage he had suppressed all night finally found an outlet to vent. Perhaps it wasn’t just one night; the accumulation of emotions since meeting Nianxi again at the Duke Zhenguo’s mansion months ago had finally erupted.

He spoke deliberately, every word crystal clear. “I said, she will not marry you.”

Gu Ci’s face completely darkened, and he sneered, “If she won’t marry me, is she going to marry you?”

“Exactly.” Pei Jian maintained that infuriatingly calm tone. “I will marry her.”

Pei Jian sought to recoup all the coldness and sense of defeat he had experienced from Nianxi earlier, by taking it out on Gu Ci. He watched as Gu Ci’s anger was slowly stoked, and he continued wickedly, “The safety talisman on your chest, the pouch on your waist—they should all be mine.”

Gu Ci had never known that a person could be so utterly absurd. Even if they weren’t good friends today but mere strangers, Pei Jian should not have dared to covet his Nianxi.

“Does Nianxi love you?”

Gu Ci stared back equally intensely. “Did you manage to give her the Mohelo dolls? Did she want them?”

The last thing Pei Jian could stand to hear right now was Nianxi’s choice. They shared thirteen years of history; how many good times had they had?

What did Gu Ci understand?

If it weren’t for the sudden rebirth, if Nianxi hadn’t been avoiding him, how could Gu Ci have found an opening?

He was clearly a thief, yet he dared to boast in front of him.

Pei Jian didn’t raise his gaze, full of contempt and sarcasm. “I will definitely marry her.”

No matter what method it takes.

Gu Ci had been provoked repeatedly. Even a statue of Buddha wouldn’t be able to tolerate this.

He leapt up, throwing a punch straight at Pei Jian’s face.

He had been restraining this punch for a long time.

He had wanted to do this back on the Duanwu Festival, when he personally saw Pei Jian appear in Nianxi’s private room, saw him close the window, and saw the pair of white jade earrings in the corner.

The only reason he endured was that he didn’t want to lose Pei Jian as a brother.

That was why, on the night of the Duanwu Festival, he had sought out Pei Jian.

It was both a warning and a reminder.

He had known all along that Pei Jian’s earring girl was his Nianxi.

His best brother had fallen for the woman in his heart.

Gu Ci never thought such an absurd thing would happen to him.

And Pei Jian’s shamelessness and lack of virtue were far beyond his expectation.

For men, joy can be shared in many ways, but anger has only one most direct expression.

The two quickly engaged in a brawl.

Although Pei Jian was a scholar, the Duke Zhenguo’s family was established by military generals. He had been urged by his father to practice martial arts from a young age, and even after his father’s death, he had never stopped training over the years.

In addition, the two had grown up together, and Pei Jian often sparred with Gu Ci, so for a time, they were evenly matched.

However, this time was different from all previous times.

It was no longer a friendly spar. Both sides were seeing red, their reason gone, their anger constantly magnified by the alcohol. Both wanted to kill the other.

Every time Gu Ci thought of his beloved Nianxi being coveted, spied on, and entangled by Pei Jian in the dark, his insides burned with fury. He wished he could burn Pei Jian and all his wicked thoughts to ashes.

Pei Jian was even more so!

While he was toiling and worrying about the Gu family’s affairs, Gu Ci had seized the opportunity to get close to Nianxi, hold her hand, embrace her, share a bowl with her, and perform all manner of intimate acts… He viewed Gu Ci as an enemy and showed absolutely no mercy.

Tables, chairs, bowls, and dishes crashed to the floor, leaving the room in a mess.

The restaurant waiter tentatively knocked on the door. Only then did Qin Lang snap back from his shock.

It wasn’t that he was slow; it was that everything happened too suddenly. One moment the atmosphere was fine, and they were all smiling, and the next they were fighting violently.

He glanced at the still-stunned Wen Qingheng next to him and said gently to the waiter, “They’ve had too much to drink, forgive them. I’ll compensate you for the cost in a moment. You should go down, lest you get hurt.”

The waiter wasn’t someone who hadn’t seen big scenes before. Seeing that the young gentlemen were finely dressed and distinguished, he said no more, closed the door, and left.

Qin Lang then rushed forward to break up the fight.

His greatest fear had come true. He was most afraid of things escalating and becoming uncontrollable.

But the reality was even more maddening and frustrating than he imagined.

These two were fighting fiercely, their fists hard and fast. Not only could he not pull them apart, but they fought with a righteous fervor as if eliminating a traitor.

He was hit several times. He yelled at the dumbfounded Wen Qingheng, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pull them apart!”

Wen Qingheng’s mind was in chaos.

The earring girl turned out to be his sister?!

That damned Pei Jian was even more immoral than Gu Ci, coveting his sister for so long!

Qin Lang had thought that inviting Wen Qingheng tonight would help control the situation, as he was the sister’s elder brother. Who knew that he would be the most unstable element!

Not only did Wen Qingheng take sides, but he also joined the fight, throwing punches!

The two fighters were already desperate to beat the other to death, and this provocation only made the fight worse. Crucially, Qin Lang himself was frequently hit by accident. He roared at Wen Qingheng, “Stop confusing things!”

Wen Qingheng completely ignored him, swinging his fists even more viciously.

Qin Lang, desperate, helped Pei Jian ward off blows while shouting loudly, “Do you have to make a scene out of this? Will it sound good when word gets out? A top civil scholar and a top military scholar brawling over a woman!”

“You two might not care, but what about the sister’s reputation?!”

The three men, who had been fighting fiercely, simultaneously stopped when they heard this.

The world was harsh on women.

People might criticize Gu Ci and Pei Jian for their temper in competing for love, but they would definitely curse the woman for being fickle and immodest.

Qin Lang exhaled, clutching his bruised abdomen, muttered a curse, and was the first to leave the room without looking back.

The entire private room was a sight to behold.

The table had a broken leg and was half-collapsed, and chairs were scattered and overturned. The wine and dishes were mixed together, repeatedly crushed, and the smell was highly unpleasant.

Both Pei Jian and Gu Ci were bruised and cut on their bodies and faces.

Now that they had calmed down, they still regarded each other as enemies, but neither bothered to acknowledge the other.

They walked out of the restaurant one after the other.

Only Wen Qingheng was left behind, to bear the consequences of the fight and pay for the damage to the entire private room’s furniture.