Cantarella: A Younger Man Wouldn't Be Bad Either

Kexi's figure disappeared at the doorway, and the sound of her footsteps gradually faded away.

The hall fell silent again.

But the peace was soon broken by Cantarella's laughter.

"Puff."

Cantarella laughed out loud.

She covered her mouth with the back of her hand, her shoulders trembling slightly, and her laughter was particularly clear in the empty hall.

This is the first time I've seen you lose control of your emotions.

Changli did not turn around, but slowly put away Blazing Brilliance.

Her back remained straight, but the lines of her shoulders were taut, so taut that Cantarella could feel the stiffness even from several steps away.

Cantarella stood up, her footsteps neither hurried nor slow.

She walked to Changli's side, leaned slightly forward, and tilted her head to look at Changli's expression.

Changli her face away, but Cantarella had already seen the faint blush at the corner of her eye that she hadn't had time to hide.

"Oh dear." Cantarella straightened up, hands behind her back, her tone filled with pure pleasure. "It seems this kid has really stirred up the minds of our important figures in Huanglong."

Changli remained silent. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her gaze was fixed on the empty wall in front of her, as if there was something extremely important on it that deserved her focused attention.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, each tremor very subtle, but Cantarella could see it clearly.

"To be honest," Cantarella walked around to Changli, sat back down in her chair, crossed one leg, and adopted a relaxed posture as if watching the sunset, "I thought you'd leave disappointed after you found out the truth."

After a long silence, Changli finally spoke.

"Disappointment."

She repeated the word, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

The curve was very shallow, so shallow that it was almost invisible unless you looked closely, but Cantarella noticed it.

Do you know what those letters mean to me?

Changli finally turned his head and looked directly at Cantarella.

Her eyes were slightly red, but she tried her best to keep her voice calm.

"Those letters were the courage that kept me going."

Cantarella's smile faded slightly.

She didn't interrupt, but simply waited quietly.

"Tell me now that it was just a mass message he sent." Changli's voice trembled slightly, then she forcefully suppressed it again, "I was just one of them."

"No one could accept this, would they?"

Changli's fingers slowly clenched, his nails digging into his palm.

When she said those words, her voice finally stopped trembling, but that calmness was more heartbreaking than any trembling.

Neither of them spoke.

The silence lasted for a long time.

Changli was the first to break the silence.

She raised her head, her gaze shifting from self-pity to scrutiny, staring directly at Cantarella.

And what about you?

Cantarella tilted her head.

"Didn't you say he was just a little kid?" Changli's voice regained its sharpness, as if she were using this question to re-arm herself. "Why do you want him too?"

Cantarella's lips slowly curled up into a smile.

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she picked up the cup of coffee, which had gone completely cold, took a slow sip, and then put the cup down.

He uttered a statement that shocked Changli.

"Eating a young girl isn't bad either."

Changli Li's expression froze.

Her brow furrowed slightly as she looked at Cantarella's nonchalant attitude, momentarily at a loss for words.

"You..." Changli took a deep breath, "When did your skin become so thick?"

"Just kidding." Cantarella waved her hand, her tone suddenly becoming more serious.

Her gaze passed over Changli, and her eyes became somewhat distant.

"I'm a drug dealer."

"You know, who wouldn't tremble at the mere mention of my name? Even if someone approaches me, it's only because I'm the head of the Fisalia family, because they need my resources, my power, and my poison skills."

She tapped her fingers lightly twice on her knee.

"Kexi is different."

When she mentioned that name, Cantarella's lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

"He liked me since he was little. Back then, he was just a little kid wearing open-crotch pants. The first time Francis brought him to Porto-Vino Castle, everyone else avoided me, but he climbed all over me."

As she said this, a genuine smile appeared in her eyes.

"He never cared who I was or my age. The cheesy things he wrote in his letters to me, though a bit disgusting, I could tell he was genuinely unafraid of me."

Changli looked at her and remained silent for a long while.

When Cantarella said these words, she used a tone she had never used at any negotiating table. It wasn't scheming, it wasn't testing, she was simply talking about someone.

Changli's gaze shifted slightly. The change was subtle, but her eyes were no longer as sharp as before.

Cantarella stood up, straightened her skirt, and paused when she walked to Changli's side.

"Certainly."

She turned her head and gave Chang Changli a sly smile.

"There's also the reason I want to date younger men."

"Shameless."

"So what? If you don't like it, you can choose to leave."

Are you going to argue with me?

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Cantarella waved her hand, but the smile in her eyes grew deeper. "But I just heard you say that Jinhsi —that is, the magistrate of Jinzhou, and your apprentice—seems to have some unclear relationship with him. So, are you going to compete with your apprentice for him?"

"She dares?!" Changli blurted out, her voice louder than ever before.

Cantarella laughed even harder, put her hands behind her back, and slowly strolled around Changli.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong with our Changli? Why is he acting so unlike himself? Is he really going to break ties with the disciple he raised himself over some unknown brat? Tsk tsk tsk."

Changli's face turned pale and then flushed.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something in rebuttal, but every word Cantarella uttered hit the very spot she least wanted to face.

She had dealt with countless complex situations in her life, but none had ever felt so difficult.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Cantarella straightened up, shook her head, and her expression was full of exaggerated regret. "If Jinhsi knew, she would be heartbroken. Her master is even stealing her own disciple's man."

"Shut up!" Changli turned her head sharply, her eyes slightly red, her voice filled with the anger of someone cornered against a wall, "Jinhsi is someone I raised myself, she's more important to me than anyone else!"

"Oh?" Cantarella raised an eyebrow, her tone nonchalant. "Then withdraw."

Changli choked.

Her chest heaved violently, her fingers clenched and unclenched repeatedly, her lips moved several times, but she just couldn't bring herself to say the word "retreat."

Cantarella looked at Changli was so conflicted he was about to explode, and her eyes were practically overflowing with pleasure.

She sat back down in her chair, crossed her legs, and swung her toes, looking relaxed.

"See, you're unwilling too," Cantarella said, holding up a finger. "On one side is your precious apprentice, and on the other is someone you can't let go of. You can't bear to part with either of them, and you don't want to let go of either. Changli, Changli, how are you any different from that fickle little brat now?"

"I'm not like him!" Changli practically shouted.

"What's different?" Cantarella asked calmly.

"He wrote to everyone, but I only—" Changli stopped mid-sentence.

Cantarella raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to finish the sentence.

Changli's lips moved, but in the end, she didn't say anything.

Because she suddenly realized that if she said, "I only care about him," then she would be admitting that she was indeed competing with her apprentice for a man.

If she says, "He's the one who provoked me," it would sound like she's making excuses for herself.

Regardless of the circumstances, she has already placed herself on the opposite side of Jinhsi.

Cantarella watched as the expression on Changli's face changed from anger to struggle, and from struggle to helplessness, before finally letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Changli," she stood up, walked to Changli's side, and her tone unusually serious, "If we're talking about who came first, I met him when he was just a little kid in open-crotch pants. If we're talking about the depth of your feelings, you've never even met him, it's all based on a few letters. If we're talking about your stance, you're Jinhsi's master. If word gets out that you're competing with her for a man, how can you still be Lord Changli in Huanglong's eyes?"

She paused for a moment, turned her head to look at Changli, and the corners of her mouth slightly turned up.

"So you see, no matter how you look at it, you don't stand a chance. You might as well let me have it."

Changli raised his head and stared at Cantarella.

Are you finished speaking?

Cantarella raised an eyebrow slightly.

Changli a step back, creating distance between herself and Cantarella. She took a deep breath, and when she looked up, her expression had returned to calm.

"First, Jinhsi is indeed my apprentice, but she is also an independent person. Who she likes is her own business. Who I like is also my own business. There's no question of competing or fighting."

"Secondly, you say I don't understand him, only based on a few letters. So what? Those letters accompanied me through one of my most difficult days. You don't understand what those letters mean to me. Their significance doesn't diminish just because he wrote to others. I acknowledge it; it exists."

"Third." Changli raised his head, looking directly at Cantarella, his eyes filled with an undeniable certainty. "I don't care who he truly loves, I just want his attitude."

"Yeah."

Cantarella's tone was light and airy, but her smile didn't fade; instead, it became even brighter, and the interest in her eyes was so intense it was almost overflowing.

"Let's see who he chooses the day after tomorrow."

Changli met her gaze without flinching.

"Then let's take a look."

Cantarella watched Changli.

Cantarella was left alone in the hall.

Her gaze fell on the spot where Changli had just stood, where a faint scent of sandalwood seemed to linger.

"The day after tomorrow."

"It should be very lively the day after tomorrow."