“Uhh……right!” Thin Monkey hastily nodded. He guessed that Lou Zhenming wanted to avoid the blame.
“Is that so? Before you promised to give me 100,000 RMB.” Xiao Chen said.
“Euh……there was this matter?” Lou Zhenming stared blankly. He didn’t think that Xiao Chen would actually follow up with his lie, but he also couldn’t exactly say that he didn’t say it before, right? He had just said that he had been possessed, so if he rejected this, wouldn’t that mean that he was exposing himself? Thinking up to here, Lou Zhenming turned to look at Thin Monkey.
“Umm……I had diarrhea, so I don’t know?” Thin Monkey wasn’t sure whether to agree or disagree.
“Young master Lou, could it be possible that you want to renege on your debt and was pretending to be possessed to deceive me?” Xiao Chen immediately shook his head with a disappointed face and said: “Forget it, you aren’t trustworthy. In the future, I won’t hang out with you, don’t look for me after we finish tomorrow’s exams.”
“Hey, don’t……” Lou Zhenming was frightened. If he didn’t find him after tomorrow’s dismissal, wasn’t that the equivalent of not going to go underground illegal boxing? Then wouldn’t his previous arrangements become null? It couldn’t be helped, Lou Zhenming could only clench his teeth to say: “Fine, 100,000 RMB, but I don’t have it right now, can you wait several days? Next month, my father will give me an allowance, I’ll give it to you then!”
“That’s good enough. Then I’ll go and look for you to hang out tomorrow.” Xiao Chen nodded and turned around to leave.
“****!” Lou Zhenming angrily gnashed his teeth as he watched Xiao Chen’s departing back, then glared at Thin Monkey: “See? This is what you brought about. In the future, if you eat whatever stinky tofu again, I’ll throw you into a manure pit and leave you there!”
When Xiao Chen returned to his seat Deng Xiaokun was in the middle of saying something to Tang Tang. When he saw Xiao Chen, he asked: “What was Lou Zhenming looking for you for? I didn’t think he would even use such a low-level method, trying to frame you of cheating? Is he not aware that you’re a bookworm?”
“When I went there just now, he didn’t acknowledge it and said that he was very forgetful, not knowing what had happened. This person is sick, so we don’t need to manage him.” Xiao Chen shook his head. He certainly didn’t believe that Lou Zhenming was sick, but between 100,000 RMB and exposing him, 100,000 RMB was more important.
“Ah?” Deng Xiaokun was instantly surprised: “He’s still able to speak these words? Lou Clan’s future is hopeless. Oh right, Tang Tang and I were thinking of going to the bookstore to buy some review materials, want to come with?”
“I won’t be coming.” Xiao Chen was currently thinking of rushing over to the pharmacy to buy some medicines in order to reach a higher strength as soon as possible.
“That’s fine, when we’re done buying, we can lend it to you for you to take a look. In any case, you aren’t far from us.” Deng Xiaokun nodded.
On the other hand, Tang Tang gave Xiao Chen a somewhat helpless look and used a finger to point at Cheng Mengying. Clearly, she misunderstood Xiao Chen and thought that he was following his goddess home.
Xiao Chen wanted to rebut, but it wasn’t easy to explain, so he put his backpack onto his back and left the classroom.
But before he walked too far, the sound of a text message sounded from his cellphone. He took it out for a look and saw that it was from Jin Beibei: “Brother-in-law, cousin Mengying asks whether or not you want to ride with us?”
This incoherent text message could only be sent by Jin Beibei; one moment, brother-in-law, the next, cousin Mengying, but in reality these two people didn’t have any relationship.
“No need, I’m going to buy a bit of medicine, you guys go back first.” Xiao Chen returned a text message, then casually erased the message. The less people knew of the relationship between him and Cheng Mengying, the better.
Xiao Chen jogged ahead and noticed Jin Beibei’s red Beetle from his peripheral vision. It seemed like it slowed down a bit, then disappeared at the corner of the block.
Regarding Xiao Chen’s early arrival at the pharmacy today, Hong Yan was evidently quite astonished. Her big eyes sparkled as she looked at Xiao Chen: “Are you here to buy medicine? Should I call grandfather?”
“Yes, I’ll be troubling you.” Xiao Chen withdrew his vision on Hong Yan and gave a smiling nod. Every time he came to the pharmacy, he felt that seeing Hong Yan was a delightful matter. This girl was a very classical beauty, a contrast to the modern aura of the city, yet didn’t appear incompatible. Instead, she seemed like a corner of tranquility in a noisy area.
Hong Yan placed down the book in her hand to go call for her grandfather. Xiao Chen’s vision fell onto the book that Hong Yan placed down, 《Thousand Medicinal Herbs Imperial Edict》? This name made Xiao Chen slightly distracted, what ancient book was this?
Those ancient medicine books, Xiao Chen had heard of to some extent, like Compendium of Medical Herbs 1596, Yellow Emperor’s Internal Canon, but he had never heard of this ‘Thousand Medicinal Herbs Imperial Edict’! Compiler Lin Dongfang? What kind of person was this Lin Dongfang? Could it be that this person was a medical expert?
While Xiao Chen was marvelling over this, Hong Yan was already bringing over old Chen. When Hong Yan saw that Xiao Chen was stealing a glance at her book, she faintly knit her eyebrows: “Peeping at another person’s thing isn’t good.”
“I was just curious, what you, as a girl, was reading, I thought you would be reading some romance novel……” Xiao Chen said with an awkward smile.
“What’s a romance novel?” This answer made Hong Yan slightly puzzled.
“Romance novel?” Xiao Chen didn’t know how to explain this. Was this classical beauty before him truly unaware or purposefully playing him? But seeing her big eyes filled with innocence and curiosity, seemingly like she wasn’t lying, could it be that she was really unaware? “Well, books that describe stories of men and women’s love……”
“You mean…..Jin……** Mei1?” Hong Yan’s, who didn’t use any cosmetics, face immediately blushed as she widened her eyes at Xiao Chen, looking at Xiao Chen as if looking at a lecher.
“Pfff……” Xiao Chen slapped his own forehead, was Jin ** Mei a romantic novel? Fine, it could be considered an ancient times love, but……he wasn’t referring to this!
“Okay, Yanyan, go and read, I’ll go get his prescription.” Grandpa Chen chuckled as he spoke to Hong Yan, not explaining it either.
In Hong Yan’s childhood environment, there simply wasn’t any romantic novels. Inside the Hidden Scriptures Pavillion, there were only cultivation and medical records. As for classical masterpieces, there were only a few and Jin ** Mei was one of them. Hong Yan was disobedient as a child and felt that medical records were boring, so she stealthily went to steal some story books to look at. By casually stealing like this, she stole a book of Jin ** Mei……thus, Jin ** Mei became little Hong Yan’s young lady enlightenment teacher2……
However, Hong Yan ultimately didn’t have the courage to finish it. Every time she read it, she felt like a fire was burning inside of her body. There was a kind of unspeakable feeling, comfortable, yet uncomfortable? In any case, when she read it for too long, she would feel an electric shock go through her. Sometimes, she would even leak a little and it made her feel ashamed, as if she was doing some very evil wrongdoing!
As a result, she didn’t look at it afterwards. When she grew up a bit, she slightly understood some things and became more embarrassed to look at it.
This matter was a secret hidden away at the bottom of Hong Yan’s heart with no one knowing about it. But today, Xiao Chen’s sudden words made Hong Yan subconsciously think that Xiao Chen was speaking of Jin ** Mei. This type of secrets-being-seen through feeling made Hong Yan’s heart pound incessantly.
Hong Yan was thinking: Could it be that Xiao Chen has also read it? Did he deliberate speak of it and is thinking of ** me?
Hong Yan’s original good impression of Xiao Chen instantly placed him into the ranks of lechers. If Xiao Chen knew of this, he would be crying ‘injustice, injustice!’
When Hong Yan was leaving, she didn’t forget to glare at Xiao Chen. A classical beauty’s glare had a special bearing, but Xiao Chen was confused, when did he tease this little classical beauty?
“Old gentleman, this is 120,000 RMB.” Xiao Chen placed the 120,000 RMB that he earned from that wealthy woman in the morning onto the counter: “I’ll be troubling you to grab the medicine!”
“Oh? You collected it so quickly? Young fellow, you can’t be deliberately pretending to be poor before me?” Old Chen looked at the money on the counter with amazement. Of course, he was just joking, from observation, he could make out that Xiao Chen was truly short of money.
“How could that be possible……” Xiao Chen was immediately embarrassed: “This is earnings from helping a person in the morning.”
Old Chen nodded and didn’t ask any further. Instead, he received the money and rapidly helped Xiao Chen take the medicine, finally taking special care to cover the medicinal herbs before handing it over to Xiao Chen.
“Many thanks.” Xiao Chen nodded. This auxiliary medicine being worth 120,000 RMB as the price after a discount, so Xiao Chen couldn’t thank the old gentleman enough.
“The following auxiliary medicine will be worth 200,000 RMB, this is also the lowest price.” Old Chen gazed at Xiao Chen and said: “Although I am the manager of this pharmacy, I am not the boss, so I can’t do too many transactions that make a loss.”
“I understand, you’ve already taken care of me a lot. I will try to think up a solution.” Xiao Chen didn’t feel the slightest bit of surprise, but this price of 200,000 RMB made him suck in his tongue. This was an astronomical figure for the current him.
Old Chen didn’t speak any further. Xiao Chen left the pharmacy and quickly walked home.
Cheng Mengying and Jin Beibei were playing a new movement video game in the living room. When Xiao Chen entered the entrance, he immediately saw those shaking breasts, much more real than whatever DoA3; Jin Beibei was truly impressive. Xiao Chen thought: Before, if I really married Cheng Mengying, would Jin Beibei be the dowry? It appeared to be right, freely shaking around, it would certainly be very pleasurable.
Marring the older cousin and getting the younger cousin as the dowry, this wasn’t a rare matter within these ancient martial aristocratic clans which retained ancient traditions and customs. A dowry was normal, but naturally, this was only limited to weak clans. For Jin Beibei, the eldest young lady of Jin Clan, she simply didn’t need to be dowry.
“What are you looking at, your eyeballs are about to fall out. Is it very attractive?” When Cheng Mengying saw Xiao Chen’s foolish, starry-eyed look, she instantly felt unwell in her heart. Is this young lady that unappealing? In First High, you looked at Shen Jinxuan, in Second High, you look at Tang Tang, now at home, you look at Jin Beibei, what kind of venting is this?
“Uh……it’s not bad……” It was hard for Xiao Chen to answer; if he said it was attractive, the young lady would scold him, but if he didn’t say that it was attractive, Jin Beibei would be unhappy, so he could only compromise.
“You’re looking at me?” Jin Beibei used her hands to support her chest, her face red with excitement4: “Brother-in-law, am I more attractive than cousin?”
References:
- TLN: Jin Ping Mei, translates as ‘The Plum in the Golden Vase’ or ‘The Golden Lotus’, I prefer the latter. Link: Jin_Ping_Mei ↩
- TLN: Quite hard to translate into English. It’s sort of like how modern-day parents teach their children roles of men and women, as well as sex education(sometimes, usually taught by schools). ↩
- TLN: Reference to Dead or Alive breast physics. ↩
- TLN: Excitement from exercise. ↩