Chapter 181: Torn, Seen Through?
Bai Ruozhu hastily said, "No, no, I just want to start a business in town. I saw a good booth to register for. I couldn’t bother the officer with this little matter."
Knowing Bai Ruozhu was Bai Zepei’s sister and that Bai Zepei and Officer Li are close, Wang Luji enthusiastically led Bai Ruozhu, "Come on, I’ll take you to register. It’ll be done quickly."
This put Wan Minglu on edge. He had no idea that Wang Luji knew Bai Ruozhu, and as Wang Luji was an official officer, Wan Minglu felt outdone.
"Alright, thank you, Brother Wang." Bai Ruozhu smiled at Wang Luji.
Now, Wan Minglu was even more anxious. He ran between the two and with a strained smile said, "Brother Wang, aren’t you busy? She and I are from the same town, I can take her."
Wang Luji, unaware of Wan Minglu’s thoughts, furrowed his brows, thinking to himself, ’Does this newcomer also want to impress Officer Li and build connections? Can he compete with me, as a certified official?’
"I’m not busy. Have you done your job yet? Better get to it." Wang Luji hardened his face, showing a commanding demeanor.
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly said, "Brother Wan, if you have any tasks, go ahead, don’t delay your duties." She then turned to Wang Luji and smiled, "Brother Wang, soon my family and Brother Wan will be connected by marriage, his sister is going to marry my elder brother, so please take extra care of Brother Wan in the future."
On hearing that they were going to be in-laws, Wang Luji quickly softened his attitude, laughing and saying, "Sure thing, Wan Minglu is diligent and competent, I’ve always thought highly of him."
Wan Minglu grimaced secretly, muttering to himself, ’You’re just a minor officer, not the constable, what use is your regard? Quit the act.’ But he no longer had time to linger and had to excuse himself to attend to his duties.
As Bai Ruozhu and Wang Luji went to register, Jiang Yichun emerged from his hiding place, gazing at Bai Ruozhu’s retreating figure with a deep and thoughtful look.
With Wang Luji’s guidance, Bai Ruozhu quickly completed the registration. She thanked Wang Luji, also promising to treat him to a pancake when her stall was up and running. As Bai Ruozhu was polite and respectful, Wang Luji agreed joyfully.
It wasn’t until Bai Ruozhu had left the County Government Office that Jiang Yichun snapped back to reality. It turned out that the woman was just looking for a booth in the market, and here he was, assuming she had come to see him. Remembering how she had hesitated before thanking him, he realized she must have been laughing at him.
Returning to his room, he angrily discarded his mask, where it crashed against the wall, leaving a crack.
In the evening, Officer Li invited Jiang Yichun to dinner. Seeing a crack in the bottom of his mask, he expressed his surprise, asking, "Officer Jiang, have you been attacked? Even your mask is cracked. Are you injured?"
Jiang Yichun, feeling uneasy, gave Officer Li a cold glance at his words, causing Officer Li to shudder as if thrown into a snowy landscape. He wondered to himself, had he said something wrong?
Meanwhile, Bai Ruozhu, in high spirits, bought some dimsum and made her way to the Du Family Pharmacy. Since the shopkeeper Zhou, Zhou Fu, and Zhou Gui had helped her out greatly, she always brought some snacks when she visited.
"Mrs. Bai is here. How timely, the young master was just talking about you," shopkeeper Zhou cheerfully remarked. He saw Bai Ruozhu place the dimsum on the counter and said, "Why are you spending so much again? You’d better save your silver for Dengdeng in the future."
"Dengdeng is not that old yet to eat these. We’ll discuss when the time comes," Bai Ruozhu smiled in response, then turned her attention to the back room, "Is the young master back? Is he inside? I wanted to thank him."
Just then, the curtain rustled, and a smiling young man appeared. Wasn’t it Du Zhongshu, who she hadn’t seen for days?
Bai Ruozhu looked at Du Zhongshu and saw that he seemed to have lost weight. Since he had been staying at home, he appeared paler and seemed slightly taller than when she had last seen him. They were the same age, and at this age, people continued to grow.
Bai Ruozhu quickly bowed to Du Zhongshu, saying, "Master Du, thank you for saving my life that day. Otherwise, I might not have survived."
A smile spread across Du Zhongshu’s face, "It was only a few pieces of old mountain ginseng, you don’t have to be so bothered. If it were any other acquaintance of mine, I would have done the same."
From his words, there didn’t seem to be any extra meanings, but Bai Ruozhu sensed an underlying attempt from Du Zhongshu to distance himself. She thought it was probably because he had just arrived and there were still guests at home; it wasn’t convenient to chat with her.
"Master Du must be tired from his journey and need to rest. I won’t disturb you anymore. Tomorrow, I will bring the new toothpaste and formulas for you to review," Bai Ruozhu excused herself.
At that moment, a sense of urgency flashed across Du Zhongshu’s face. As Bai Ruozhu was about to leave, he stretched out his hand and called out, "Wait!" Bai Ruozhu turned around and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Caught in a dilemma, Du Zhongshu paused before speaking, "It’s almost lunchtime. How about I treat you to a meal at the restaurant, and we can discuss how to conduct further promotion?" The word ’promotion’ was a term he had picked up from Bai Ruozhu and found it quite unique.
This puzzled Bai Ruozhu. One moment, he had seemed a bit uneasy, and then suddenly he invited her to lunch. However, considering that he had helped her out tremendously in the past, she decided to agree.
"Alright, as long as it won’t interfere with Master Du’s business," she nodded her head.
Du Zhongshu felt frustrated. Given Bai Ruozhu’s intelligence, she must have speculated that he had other things on his mind. Sighing, he wondered what he could do.
During this visit home, he had learned a lot. Especially when Aunt Frost saw his nervousness, she had subtly reminded him about a few things. With his family’s status, there were many things that he wouldn’t be able to decide for himself. He didn’t want Bai Ruozhu to end up being implicated because of his actions.
But when he tried to distance himself from Bai Ruozhu, he felt pained seeing her about to leave, hastily calling her back and inviting her for a meal.
Sighing again, he thought, ’This wasn’t part of the plan. What is happening to me?’
Seeing Du Zhongshu’s anxious and restless behavior, Bai Ruozhu wondered quietly, ’What’s wrong with him? He seems unusually troubled. I hope he hasn’t encountered any problems? I suppose he might have something to ask for during the meal.’
However, during the entire meal at the restaurant, Du Zhongshu seemed to be preoccupied. He often avoided Bai Ruozhu’s gaze and seemed lost in thought. Eventually losing patience, Bai Ruozhu asked directly, "Master Du, is something bothering you?"
"Ah?" Du Zhongshu was taken aback. He assumed Bai Ruozhu had seen through him and became so flustered that he couldn’t sit still, "No, nothing’s wrong. I just remembered something urgent back at the shop. I’ll pay the bill first before leaving. You continue eating."