The Powerful Minister I Forcefully Married Won't Warm Up; After Rebirth, I Give Up the Chase - Chapter 53

In the days leading up to the opening of “Fúshēng Bàn Zhǎn,” Nianxi came to the shop daily to check on the preparations.

After his duties were done, Gu Ci would come here to escort Nianxi back to the manor.

As the frequency increased, Wang Muyi naturally could not resist teasing them.

One time, she had a sudden thought, “Could it be that some other gentleman is interested in you recently, giving Gu Ci a strong sense of crisis? Is that why he’s so nervous and attentive towards you?”

Nianxi, not wishing to explain, tried to change the subject, “Who said that? Gu Ci has always been very good!”

“With his family background and talent, you can’t find many like him in the entire capital. A man who could make him feel like he’s facing a formidable enemy…” Wang Muyi was not easily fooled and continued talking to herself, “Could it be Pei Jian?!”

Nianxi tried to refute her, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Wang Muyi leaned closer and said mysteriously, “Aren’t you even a little curious? I always feel that Pei Jian treats you differently.”

Nianxi cast a sidelong glance at her, “I’ve only met him a total of a few times; how could you know?”

Wang Muyi was very confident, “When a person is in love, the look in their eyes cannot be hidden.”

“Tsk!” Nianxi frowned, “Speak properly.”

“I am speaking the truth,” Wang Muyi nodded solemnly, and after a moment’s thought, continued,

“However, I believe that a person like Pei Jian does not easily become emotional. Once he falls in love, it could very well be an earth-shattering event. He would burn himself to ashes, and the person he loves would similarly be tormented and suffer the heat…”

Nianxi thought to herself, ‘Then you are quite wrong. Based on his demeanor toward Cousin Xu, it hardly seems like an earth-shattering scenario.’

“Have you been reading too many storybooks lately? Why does your speech have such a scholarly, sentimental tone? You sound just like my elder brother.”

Since the night of the Qixi Festival, Wen Qingheng had occasionally spoken to Nianxi in vague, ambiguous terms, aiming to encourage his sister to live authentically and not be disturbed by external factors.

“You compare me to your brother?!” Wang Muyi resented Nianxi’s lack of romantic sensibility, yet she added—

“Is Auntie still arranging matches for your brother? I happen to know a few excellent young ladies…”

Having finally managed to change the subject, Nianxi breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether Pei Jian was an emotional person or if he would burn himself to ashes, what did any of that have to do with her?

As long as he stopped looking for her.

Gu Ci picked up Nianxi and, on the way back, let her lean against his shoulder, gently asking her, “Are you tired?”

She mumbled in response, “I am! But being able to accomplish this—opening the shop of my dreams—makes any exhaustion worthwhile.”

He affectionately stroked her head, “It’s a shame it only caters to female guests; otherwise, this servant of yours would certainly come in to help you.”

Nianxi chuckled, rolling her face into his shoulder, “Have you forgotten you are my Older Sister Ci?”

Gu Ci saw that she had her eyes half-closed and was already getting drowsy.

Fearing that she would fall asleep now, lose her sleepiness, and then struggle to sleep well at night, he squeezed his voice and said into her ear, “Then tomorrow, this humble one shall come to pour tea and water, begging the shop owner to take pity on me.”

“My place is a respectable teahouse.”

“This humble one is also a respectable person!”

Nianxi laughed so hard that she nearly tumbled over, sliding straight off Gu Ci’s shoulder. Gu Ci quickly used his large hands to support her, holding her tightly in his arms and stroking her back to help her calm down.

“Are you still sleepy now?”

Nianxi had laughed enough. Fearing she might mess up her hair, she climbed out of his embrace.

Gu Ci helped tuck the stray strands of hair behind her ear.

Nianxi accepted Gu Ci’s care with peace of mind. Only after he finished did she give him a sweet smile, “Thank you, Older Sister Ci.”

Gu Ci was usually good-natured. Seeing Nianxi’s cheeks flushed from laughter, he couldn’t resist leaning in for a kiss.

Initially, it was just a gentle touch, but once he kissed her, he couldn’t bear to leave, lingering and turning the kiss. After kissing her lips, he suddenly got up, squatted in front of Nianxi, placed his hands on either side of her in a circling posture, and fixed his phoenix-like eyes on her crimson lips. He said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Call me Gege (Older Brother).”

“Jiejie (Older Sister).”

Nianxi laughed, and he punished her with another heavy kiss.

Pulling back slightly, he continued to urge, “Call me Gege.”

“Older Sister Ci~”

He kissed her again.

He took a slow breath, his throat moving intensely, and his voice low and husky, “Be good, call me Gege.”

“Ci-Gege.”

Nianxi finally gave him what he wanted, but before the last word was fully spoken, he protected the back of her neck and aggressively pressed his lips to hers…

In these recent days, Gu Ci had become more clingy. Every moment, he wanted to know where Nianxi was and what she was doing.

He was like a lion, constantly alert to everyone who appeared near Nianxi.

Overly suspicious, he had been severely provoked by Pei Jian.

Nianxi was willing to soothe his restless emotions, using the method he enjoyed.

However—

Gu Ci resettled himself upright, elbows resting on his knees, slowly exhaling, trying to conceal his awkwardness. Nianxi felt that he was simply bringing misery upon himself.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of the Wen Manor on Yiqiao Street.

Nianxi pretended not to notice anything, alighted the carriage by herself, and bid farewell to Gu Ci.

Gu Ci remained seated inside the carriage, blushing, which was rare for him, and asked awkwardly, “Are you still going to the shop tomorrow?”

Nianxi nodded, “Today was just the soft opening; tomorrow is officially the first full day of business. I still need to go and look over things.”

Gu Ci agreed, “I will still come to pick you up tomorrow.”

The days flowed by in this busy yet simple manner.

Later, Nianxi chose a hairpin of equal value and asked Cousin Muyi to return the gift to Xu Wanxin.

Xu Wanxin was naturally polite and refused to accept it, but Wang Muyi was not a soft-spoken person. “You are welcome to come to my shop to eat and drink; we are open for business. But there is no custom for a guest to send such an extravagant gift to the shop owner. We know this is your kind gesture, but we can’t accept it without reciprocating. Otherwise, if word gets out, people will say that our ‘Fúshēng Bàn Zhǎn’ is taking advantage of others, which would be quite undesirable.”

With these few firm yet gentle words, Xu Wanxin could only blush and accept the gift, “It was my lack of propriety; I have caused Sister Wang trouble.”

The matter was thus settled.

Since then, Xu Wanxin often came to the shop with her confidantes to drink tea and refreshments. Coincidentally, Nianxi was present every time. This made a few polite exchanges unavoidable.

After several visits, even Gu Ci noticed and asked Nianxi, “This Miss Xu certainly seems to enjoy tea and refreshments.”

Nianxi had just managed to escape from the private room where Xu Wanxin was sitting.

She complained to Gu Ci, “She does, but she pulls me aside to talk for a long time every time she comes, and we aren’t even close.”

It was especially irritating because Xu Wanxin was such a gentle and virtuous person. This rare show of enthusiasm meant she was extremely supportive, praising “Fúshēng Bàn Zhǎn” incessantly within her circle of noble ladies and promoting it very diligently.

Since the shop was open for business, Nianxi couldn’t be cold toward her.

This was why she felt so bothered.

Gu Ci, however, thought more deeply about it.

Xu Wanxin is Pei Jian’s cousin and has always been deeply devoted to him. Previously, Xu Wanxin was never seen associating with Nian’er. Now, Pei Jian has gone to Lanjun, and as soon as he left, Xu Wanxin eagerly came to get close to Nianxi.

Although Gu Ci believed that no matter how much a person loved someone, they wouldn’t necessarily befriend their rival for that person’s sake.

But what if Cousin Xu was that one-in-a-million oddity?

So hopelessly in love with Pei Jian that she only wished for his happiness, willing to sacrifice everything for her beloved, even acting as a matchmaker between Pei Jian and Nianxi!

As cunning as Pei Jian is, what could he not do?

He had to be cautious.

“Nian’er, everything is running smoothly with the fragrant drink shop now. You’ve been working hard recently; why don’t you take two days off to rest at home? When I have my day off after tomorrow, we can go sightseeing on Tu Mountain. What do you think?”

Any suggestion Gu Ci made was always followed by “What do you think?” or “How does that sound to you?”

He always showed respect and would never lightly make decisions for Nianxi.

“That sounds good.”

Nianxi also did not want to continue dealing with Xu Wanxin’s polite insincerity and immediately agreed.