A Current of Intimacy

"Aren't you going to the palace? If you're not going to change your clothes, at least wash up."

Xu Weibei washed his face with Gu Wanning's basin, shook off the water, but didn't use her towel.

Gu Wanning found a clean one and handed it to him. "I was worried you'd use mine."

"We've lived under the same roof for so long, how could I not know your flaws?" Xu Weibei sneered.

He had previously used Gu Wanning's handkerchiefs and noticed that every time he used one, Gu Wanning would give it to him and replace it with a new one.

Her disdain for him was blatant and she acted with impunity.

It's probably because I trust her character and know I won't hold it against her.

She wouldn't be so relaxed with anyone else, Xu, the love-obsessed girl, thought to herself, and that made her happy.

Gu Wanning was initially too embarrassed to say anything, but when she saw Xu Weibei laughing to himself, she was completely baffled.

Xu Weibei went even further, asking Gu Wanning to comb his hair.

Gu Wanning gritted her teeth. "Believe it or not, I'll cripple your hand and then help others?"

This guy's shamelessness is just too much.

Chapter 188 Ambiguity Flows

Xu Weibei looked at Gu Wanning and smiled.

He knew very well why he liked to "ask for trouble."

Even when eating cold leftovers, seeing her makes one feel relaxed and happy from the inside out.

He tried to comb his hair, but instead of combing it, his scalp was pulled and he gasped in pain.

Later, she simply stopped combing her hair and just tied it up.

Gu Wanning couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she picked up a comb and started combing his tangled hair. "How many days has it been since you washed your hair?"

"It's been five or six days." Xu Weibei looked at the little things she had placed on the dressing table, then secretly glanced in the bronze mirror at the way she frowned in disdain but carefully helped him untangle his hair, and felt a warm glow in his heart.

"So busy?"

"Busy, so busy I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow." Xu Weibei wasn't lying about this. "If I had even a little time, I wouldn't have gone so long without coming to see you and bothering you."

Gu Wanning: "..."

Fine, she herself said she's annoying. We've already taken her words; what can she say now?

"You're going to the palace all packed up? The Emperor won't be angry with you for doing this, will he?"

"No, my father-in-law is also in the palace. If there's anything wrong, he'll speak up for me."

Gu Wanning rolled her eyes. "That Lord Xie is really kind."

"Don't bring that up to disgust me," Xu Weibei glared at her in the bronze mirror. "I've already taken care of it."

"Why don't you set fire to the Xie Residence and burn it down?"

"You think I can't? If the Xie family doesn't know what's good for them, I really can do it."

"Do you think you're a bandit?"

Gu Wanning finally untangled his hair and shoved a comb into his hand. "Do it yourself, hurry up. If you don't get into the palace soon, the gates will be locked."

Xu Weibei knew when to stop and tied his hair up.

"What have you been busy with while I've been away?"

"I'm busy playing matchmaker for you," Gu Wanning said irritably.

"Say that again, Gu Wanning? Let me tell you, I want to get back together with you, but don't do anything rash. I have a temper."

"You have a temper, but I do too. Keep your voice down, don't disturb Zhi Nu's homework."

Xu Weibei thought to himself, "What lessons should I review?"

That kid's a shrewd fellow; he's secretly peeked at him through the curtain eight hundred times.

Luckily, he was perceptive and didn't come in.

"What exactly happened? Explain yourself clearly."

In other matters, Xu Weibei would always give in to Gu Wanning.

He's already emotionally involved; if he wants to pursue physical intimacy, then he'll have to lower his stance.

However, matters of principle cannot be ambiguous.

For example, the idea of pushing him onto other women is absolutely out of the question; that's a minefield that Xu Weibei cannot touch.

Gu Wanning said, "I brought this up to remind you. Gu Xiaoxiao wanted to marry you, although she's not talking about it anymore, but she's clever but lacks a sense of right and wrong, and I'm afraid she might do something to you."

"If she dares to lay a hand on me, then I'll chop off her claws!" Xu Weibei said, his voice laced with coldness, his eyes sharp and murderous.

"She probably doesn't have the ability to scheme against you. If she were that capable, she wouldn't have remained unmarried for so long."

To put it bluntly, Gu Xiaoxiao is just a country girl whose abilities don't match her ambitions and who doesn't know her place.

She was incompetent at achieving anything, but more than capable of causing trouble.

Gu Wanning was worried that in the end, the Gu family would have to clean up her mess, resulting in a lose-lose situation for everyone.

"Just keep this to yourself. If you spread it around, my dad will lose face; and if she takes a liking to you, you'll only be laughed at."

"Knew."

Xu Weibei really didn't have time to stay any longer. Before leaving, he took a purse from his pocket, threw it on the table, and left.

"The cost of the meal," he said curtly, though he couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

"What?"

"See for yourself." Xu Weibei's voice came from inside the courtyard, slightly unsteady from the wind, but the laughter could still be heard in it.

Gu Wanning opened it and found a huge pearl, as big as a longan, round and lustrous, with a faint yellow tinge under the candlelight.

Gu Wanning had seen a similar-sized one at Baoji's before, but that one had a slight flaw and cost eight thousand taels.

That one would cost at least ten thousand taels.

Did Xu Weibei's silver all come from the wind?

If she wasn't mistaken, this item should also be from Baoji.

Did Baoji give Xu Weibei VIP treatment?

They're just stupid and have too much money.

"Girl, this is so beautiful!" Er Ya exclaimed, her eyes wide with admiration. "I'll make you a warm hat with this in the middle later; it would look absolutely gorgeous."

"With ten thousand taels of silver on my head, I'm afraid it would crush me." Gu Wanning played with the pearl for a while before putting it away.

"You're not planning to return it to the Marquis, are you?"

"We'll retreat, but not now. With his temper, when he gets angry, I'm afraid he'll just smash the pearl."