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A sudden rush of heartbeat froze them both where they stood, making them forget their original purpose as they stared dazedly at each other, completely at a loss for how to handle the accidental friction of the moment.

Her cheeks felt burning hot after being gently brushed by those two jade-like lips.

She was dressed in men's attire and still held tightly in Li Chenjing's embrace. Although it was a forced hold, as for the kissing and whatnot, she was the one who had acted shamelessly by standing on her tiptoes and rushing forward.

Raising a hand to cover her lightly violated cheek, she didn't dare look at Li Chenjing for even another second, pushing him away with all her might before turning to run.

Yet only two steps into her dash, she wheeled back around, raised the love letter in her hand, and slammed it fiercely into Li Chenjing's grasp with an expression of intense fury.

"You said that if I let you hold me, you'd accept my love letter! A man of his word stands by his promise! Take it, you jerk!"

Having thrust the letter down with all her might, she didn't forget to let out a loud huff before turning on her heel and fleeing in a panic, Zhu Bafu making a run for it...

That deliberately bold and awkwardly swaggering tough-guy act drew a light, mocking arch of Li Chenjing's handsome eyebrows.

Watching her fleeing back, Li Chenjing raised a sleeve to cover his mouth, his gaze darkening slightly as his peripheral vision drifted up to find that Liu Rongrong's figure was already gone from the windowsill.

He let out a scoff, thinking that his own actions just then had indeed been both comical and ridiculous.

Lowering his gaze to see the love letter forcefully shoved into his hand, he grew a bit curious about what that tough-guy-like fellow had actually written to him.

His fingers flicked open the letter paper, revealing several lines of graceful handwriting written across the page.

Deep forest aged greenwood, loving scenery yearns to cling to the branch,

Gazing far to the utmost heights of Chen, not knowing of my lovesick yearning.

An unexpected, gentle impact struck his heart.

He never imagined he would receive a love poem from a man.

He never imagined that punk wasn't just spouting uneducated nonsense, but actually possessed a fair bit of literary talent.

He never imagined... that his own name could be used this way when embedded in a love poem.

Blushing and heart pounding, running a long way without looking back, Zhu Bafu panted heavily, leaning against a dim wall to calm her churning emotions. Raising a sleeve to wipe away sweat, a faint, serene scent of Aged Greenwood Sandalwood drifted lightly from her fingertips—it was picked up just now, from Li Chenjing's person.

Lifting a hand to sniff that lingering scent and recalling the scene from moments before, she bared her teeth in dissatisfaction and kicked the wall to vent her frustration.

She had truly been entirely swallowed up inside Li Chenjing's embrace, her nose filled with his aura, left with zero ability to resist as he squeezed her tighter and tighter, as if she were desperately needed.

Damn that fellow, was being the Prime Minister's Son all that great? How could he completely disregard others and do whatever he pleased? Arrogant, willful, and overbearing! Just a moment ago in front of Unnamed Young Master he put on such a polite and modest attitude, so why did his temperament completely change the moment he faced him, suddenly reaching out to hold him? He even put on a benevolent expression and reluctantly accepted his love letter.

Was he, Young Master Ba, trying to throw himself at the Prime Minister's Son? Did he think he was super into him and dying to write to him? Pfft! What did he know about being driven by the pressures of life?

It seemed market rumors couldn't be entirely discounted after all—the Li Household's Prime Minister's Son must have some unspeakable private quirks, and specifically targeted tender, green young boys like him. But... why was he interested in men while hanging out in a brothel? From the looks of it, his relationship with that top Courtesan Liu Rongrong was ambiguous and unclear as well, wasn't it?

Could this be what they called being indiscriminate about meat and veg, swinging both ways?

Oh heavens! That's a terribly heavy taste!

Zhu Bafu shuddered all over, her scalp turning numb at the mere thought of being held and rubbed against in his embrace earlier, and she hurriedly raised a sleeve to brush down her clothes.

"I didn't catch some unclean virus from that, did I? Oh heavens! I need to hurry home and wash, wash, wash!"

Zhu Bafu's home... wasn't really much of a home, just a dilapidated shack in the remote slums on the outskirts of the capital, tucked away in a twisting, turning alleyway.

The alley leading home was exceptionally narrow—so narrow that two people passing each other had to turn sideways to get by. There were no paved stone paths either, only a bumpy road that kicked up yellow dust on sunny days and turned to yellow mud on rainy ones, forcing her to roll up her sleeves and trouser legs every time she came home, and scrape the mud off her feet before stepping through the door.

As for the person at home, there was currently only one...

"Where have you been?" A purposely lowered voice carrying a scolding tone rang out right at their doorway.

"Huh? Uh... th, that..." The fact that she had just returned from a brothel must absolutely not be spoken of.

"Coming home this late, dressed in this wretched state with your sleeves and trousers rolled up—have you given any thought to your father's feelings?"

"...X, Xiaojiu."

"The couplet you pasted by the door? I ripped it down."

"Hah? Why did you tear down my meal ticket? I was planning to take it to Wuya Bookstore to hang up tomorrow!"

"You tell me why I should tear it down. What on earth did you write on it?"

"False name, false surname, false address... scamming meals, drinks, and affections... Banner: Willing fish take the bait."

"Such a vulgar and despicable couplet—did I tear it down right?" She crossed her arms and raised her slender brows.

"Right... right!" Right my foot! How noble was this sincere and open psychological approach toward consumers? Which merchant was as honest as her?

"Hmph, as long as you know you were wrong. I've made dinner, come on in and eat."

"Oh..."

"Go change your clothes before eating. A girl with zero manners or deportment, running around dressed in men's clothes all day long, reeking of jianghu vibes—I keep forgetting you're a young lady. Sigh!" With that, he let out a deep sigh, shook his head, flicked his sleeve, and turned to push the door open and go inside.

"I almost forgot you're only nine years old, little friend Zhu Xiaojiu!"

Zhu Xiaojiu, male, related to the head of the household as younger brother, having just wasted nine springs and autumns, standing shorter than Zhu Bafu's chest, yet holding absolute life-and-death power over the Zhu household. All earned silver was under his management, and all expenses for firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar were controlled by him. Usually expressionless with a paralyzed face, the maximum degree of facial expression he ever showed was a dry smile revealing four teeth, and even this expression was extremely rare, generally only seen when Zhu Bafu held out her hand to ask for money to buy snacks.

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Historical Romance

Cross-Dressing