69novels Page 124
Page 124
In previous years, conditions were even worse; ice was scarce. Here, there's plenty.
I don't know why, even though I should feel refreshed, I tossed and turned for half the night last night. Either I put in too much and felt dry and cold, or I put in too little and felt it had no effect. I felt embarrassed for bothering the maid, so I could only lie down and tough it out.
I finally drifted off to sleep in the latter half of the night as it gradually cooled down, but I felt an emptiness in my chest that I wasn't used to.
"That's strange..."
Chapter 80 Who was fooled?
In the following days, after Gu Yu told them to go and have fun on their own, the sisters deliberately stopped bothering him while he was studying.
After finishing her studies each day, Gu Yu would frequently visit the rooms of Mengzhi, Keqing, and the You sisters. In just a few days, each of them became dazzlingly beautiful. However, what Gu Yu didn't expect was that one of them was even more jealous than Daiyu.
Watching Xiangyun's retreating figure, which seemed to be showing signs of displeasure, Gu Yu thought for a moment and told Xiangling and the others not to leave the door open. After the appointed time, they would sneak into her room.
Xiangyun tilted her hips towards the inside, recalling Gu Yu and her sisters' laughter and chatter during the dinner tonight. She felt uneasy and couldn't help but let out a resentful snort, though she didn't know where her snort came from.
The next moment, a familiar chuckle came from behind, the bed sank slightly, and she was pulled into someone's arms.
"What's wrong, Sister Yun? Is she perhaps upset that I haven't treated her well?"
"You! Let go of me first! -- Ah!"
Gu Yu turned her over, smiling as he looked at her flushed cheeks and evasive eyes, and then gently took her small hand and kneaded it.
"My sister left at dawn that day... she must have figured things out by now? Why is she so timid and hesitant?"
Xiangyun's heart pounded. Her previous doubts seemed to be answered at this moment, but she preferred not to know.
"Let me go first..."
Seeing her unusually submissive demeanor, Gu Yu didn't completely give in, but he also didn't push his luck.
"Now my sister should have figured things out. She should just say what's on her mind instead of keeping it inside and getting angry with herself."
"Anyway, you are destined to be my good match."
Gu Yu slowly added another sentence, and then saw Xiangyun's pretty pink face turn bright red. She quickly tried to break free from his embrace.
But lying on the inside of the big bed, where could she run to?
?
Looking at Xiangyun huddled in the corner, Gu Yu couldn't help but chuckle mischievously:
"Go ahead and run, let's see if you can—uh cough cough!"
Afraid of further upsetting the little pushover in front of her, Gu Yu stopped talking in time. But Xiangyun understood the unspoken meaning perfectly well. Feeling both ashamed and angry, she gritted her teeth and tried to push Gu Yu away.
Unexpectedly, that strong body suddenly collapsed under the push, but its hand still managed to hold her back.
"If my sister wants to make a fuss, that's fine, since I was in the wrong first. But once we've made a fuss, it'll be over. Do you agree?"
Seeing that Xiangyun's expression softened, Gu Yu continued:
"Here's what we'll do! When you get back, you can get together with your sisters and say you want to have a contest with me. If either of you wins, I'll apologize to Sister Yun and won't do things that make her unwilling anymore. How about that?"
"If I lose, I will still apologize to my sister, but from now on this matter will be over, and my sister is not allowed to deliberately ignore people."
Xiangyun was taken aback, and subconsciously began to consider the feasibility of this method. It is said that three mediocre generals are equal to one Zhuge Liang, so how could her many sisters not be able to outwit one? What's more, she could also ask Sister Lin to spy on military intelligence!
"By the way, it can't be something like needlework."
"understood!"
Xiangyun pouted, deciding to abandon this fantasy.
"Then let me go first..."
"No."
"? You're just... Ugh... "
……
The next day, Xiangyun, full of energy, pulled Daiyu, Baochai, and the other sisters aside, but the meaning behind her words was completely different.
"He dared to say that none of us sisters could surpass him in any talent, and that if we lost, he would grant each of us one wish!"
Baochai exchanged a glance with Daiyu without making a sound, but didn't dwell on it, after all... they were also tempted!
Just then, Gu Yu walked in with a half-smile. Xiangyun was startled and nervously turned her head away, not daring to look at him, for fear that he had just heard her.
Gu Yu exchanged a glance with Daiyu and Baochai, their eyes sparkling with mischievousness, but instead of exposing Xiangyun's true intentions, she simply smiled and said:
"Have all the helpers that Sister Yun found been gathered?"
Daiyu's eyes darted around, and she suddenly glanced at Yingchun, a smug smile playing on her lips, which she then tried to conceal.
"Brother Yu, are you really that confident?"
"Of course! It doesn't matter how many people my sister invites, but everyone who participates will get a prize. If you win, everyone gets a reward, and if you lose..."
Gu Yu deliberately glanced around with a wicked smile. Tan Chun and Xi Chun were about to say they wanted to leave, since they really couldn't think of any skill that could defeat Gu Yu.
In terms of scholarship, he was a proper scholar; in terms of poetic fame, he was well-known in Shengjing; in terms of calligraphy, he was skilled in the "Slender Gold" style; and in terms of painting, he could teach Xichun many things.
Seeing that he had taken the bait, Daiyu finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, and pulled Yingchun and Xichun aside to discuss the matter.
"Third sister, fourth sister, don't be afraid. I've finally come up with a foolproof plan. We all need to beat him at least once!"
Seeing Daiyu's confident smile, the sisters nodded in agreement with smiles. After hearing Daiyu's choice, Xiangyun and the others were also very reassured, thinking that the advantage was in their hands!
"Have you all forgotten about Yu-gege's chess game with Second Sister last year? He was clearly a terrible chess player! I asked him about it later, and Yu-gege would never lie. Every time he plays chess with his friends, he gets so angry that he can't eat!"
"real?!"
Everyone became excited, and Daiyu, seeing Yingchun's hesitant expression, quickly went up and nudged her.
"This time, we're all counting on Second Sister!"
"but I…"
Yingchun blushed as she faced the gazes of so many sisters, feeling both shy and hesitant. What if she lost?
"Second sister, don't be afraid! Brother Yu said he's going to defeat all of us. We'll be there to help you out!"
"Brother Yu and his fellow scholars always value a fair and just style of play in chess, and Second Sister is exactly the same. She won right from the start, so what is there to worry about?"
"Go, go, go!"
After a bit of pushing and shoving, they finally emerged from the side, laughing and joking.
"Brother Yu, let's play chess today!"
Gu Yu's expression tightened, then a hint of amusement appeared on her face, as if her scheme had succeeded. She said with a strange look:
"Sisters, have you made up your minds? Once you've decided, there's no going back..."
However, the sharp-eyed Daiyu and Baochai naturally noticed his earlier panic and quickly smiled and pushed him to sit down in front of the chessboard.
"Brother Yu said he's going to beat all of us, so we'll be here to cheer him on!"
"But you really—"
"Oh! It's really confirmed! We're not going to back out!"
"Brother Yu can punish us however he wants, we will have no complaints!"
Seeing that Gu Yu was getting restless and wanted to get up, Daiyu and the others playfully held him down to prevent him from escaping, so Gu Yu could only sigh.
"You asked for this!"
"Alright, alright~ Let's see who's the real deal, but Brother Yu, you have to let us make the first move!"
Daiyu and the others didn't see the mischievous smile in Gu Yu's eyes. They didn't care and ran over to surround Yingchun, whispering and gossiping, each word carefully considered by all parties.
As time passed, and Gu Yu's seemingly hopeless situation turned around, the once-promising large dragon was suddenly cut off by a few white stones next to it. For a moment, the sisters looked at each other in bewilderment, and the scene fell silent.
Chapter 81 Truth or Dare
In just over ten moves, the situation reversed dramatically. After Gu Yu wiped out the dragon in one fell swoop, the outcome of the battle became clear.
"Looks like I won?"
Yingchun and the others couldn't help but look at Daiyu, their eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Girl, what's wrong with you? Is this the terrible chess player you were talking about? Did you deliberately set us up?
Daiyu stared blankly at the chess pieces on the chessboard, then, provoked by the looks from her sisters, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.
"Hey hey hey~! What's with this attitude, little sister? Is she a sore loser or something?"
Gu Yu was about to make a few more teasing remarks when he saw that Daiyu was really about to cry. He panicked and quickly stood up. He didn't care about being in front of so many people and rushed to her side to try to stop her tears.
"Don't worry, little sister! Just treat it as a joke and it'll pass. Why bother—hey, don't go!"
Seeing that he still did not repent, Daiyu's tears flowed even more fiercely. She opened her mouth but could not utter a single word. She sobbed and was about to turn and leave.
Gu Yu was startled and quickly chased after her, managing to stop her at the door.
"What's wrong with my sister? Your crying like this is killing me! I want to die knowing why!"
Seeing that he still didn't realize what he had done wrong, Daiyu was even more heartbroken. But seeing his sincere expression, her heart softened, and she finally sobbed out:
"Why did you lie to me? Waaaaah! Not only have you embarrassed us, but were all those words you said before just to fool me? Waaaaah—!"
"When have I ever lied to my sister? I'm truly innocent!"
Gu Yu finally understood why Daiyu was crying, but he felt extremely wronged. He hadn't even hidden which sisters he wanted to win over, so what else could he have lied to her about?
"You previously claimed that your chess skills were poor and that you were completely outmatched when playing against your friends. Now it seems you were just fooling us!"
"..."
Gu Yu opened her mouth, feeling a huge weight lifted from her heart, and couldn't help but grin.
"You still have the nerve to laugh!"
Seeing that he was still grinning and joking, Daiyu became even angrier and turned to leave.
Hearing footsteps approaching quietly behind him, Gu Yu thought for a moment, then quickly took two steps to stop Daiyu and decided to explain everything at once.
"When have I ever lied to my sister? It's just that my two best friends are unbeatable in the academy, so naturally I've lost to them time and time again. But I never said I was completely incompetent..."
"My sister thinks I deceived you without even asking, isn't that also because she doesn't trust me? Sigh—!"
Hearing Gu Yu's disappointed sigh, Daiyu's heart trembled. She couldn't care less about anything else and quickly turned around to look at him nervously, appearing somewhat at a loss.
"Brother Yu! I didn't distrust you, I just... I just..."
After stammering for a couple of minutes and unable to say anything else, Daiyu's pretty face turned pale, and she finally threw herself into Gu Yu's arms with tears streaming down her face.
"I was wrong just now! Brother Yu, I'm so sorry, sob sob sob~!"
"Uh……"
Gu Yu's expression stiffened. She was just joking around, so why was Lin Meimei taking it so seriously? Was this supposed to be a karaoke bar?
"Don't cry, little sister. I forgive you, okay? If you keep crying, I'll start crying too."
Knowing that there were people behind her, Gu Yu was too embarrassed to be too unrestrained. She gently patted Daiyu's pink back to stop her, but it had little effect.
Seeing Daiyu's face full of self-blame and resentment, clearly blaming herself for misunderstanding him for a moment, Gu Yu felt a little embarrassed. He really didn't mean to trick her!
"Why don't you just promise me one more time, and we'll call it even? Besides, it was my vagueness that made you doubt me in front of the other girls. It's only natural that you reacted this way. I really don't doubt your feelings for me!"
Fearing that Daiyu might feel embarrassed, Gu Yu lowered his head and whispered in her ear, his words full of sincerity.
After all, Daiyu is so intelligent that she will surely understand her previous words in retrospect. It's better to take a small, harmless advantage now and then laugh it off later.
The two women stayed outside for a while before they composed themselves and came back in. It was unclear whether one of the sisters had run too fast or Daiyu had heard their footsteps. Her face flushed, but she didn't say anything, taking it as a way of explaining things to everyone.
"Alright, alright! The duel is over. Is there anyone else who's still not satisfied?"
Gu Yu smiled and looked at each of them one by one. All the women blushed and avoided her gaze. Xiangyun, in particular, lowered her head in a flustered state, her face flushed and seemingly lost in thought.
"I think it's still early, how about we play something else with the ladies?"
It's not even dinner time yet, it's too early to go back," Tan Chun said with a smile as she stood up.
"I wonder what kind of bets there will be this time? If there are any, I dare not play. It would be no fun to lose for nothing."
Seeing that they were all staring at her, Gu Yu quickly explained: