Caught in the middle, Huo Wushuang looked from one side to the other and laughed awkwardly.
"All right, all right. We're all friends here. Let's drink."
He raised his cup toward Fang Fan, then patted Feng Xiaotian on the shoulder.
Feng Xiaotian forced a smile and lifted his cup. The wine tasted bitter as it went down, making him frown.
He set down his cup and stole another glance at Zhu Zhuqing.
She was peeling a shrimp for Fang Fan, her head lowered. With a light twist of her fingers, she slipped the meat cleanly from the shell and placed it on the plate before him.
Her face showed little expression as she did it, but there was something so natural about the gesture.
Feng Xiaotian looked away and tapped his chopsticks twice against the rim of his bowl.
A thought had been circling in his mind for some time. With every turn, it grew clearer.
Feng Xiaotian set down his cup and slowly ran a fingertip around its rim.
He had made up his mind: Fang Fan had driven back Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong only because that old man Du Busi stood behind him.
The green-robed old man was the real powerhouse. Fang Fan was merely enjoying his shade.
Pacifying-the-State King? The talk of Heaven Dou? He was nothing but a drunk with a grand title.
Someone else had earned all those achievements for him and given rise to all those stories. The more Feng Xiaotian thought about it, the more certain he was that he had seen through Fang Fan.
He looked up. Fang Fan was leaning to one side, letting Zhu Zhuqing put food on his plate. To Feng Xiaotian, that lazy manner made him look even more like a man living off a woman.
He