Li Yaonan lost interest and said, "Okay, go down. I'll call you if there's anything else."
"Okay, sir, enjoy your meal. I won't bother you any more." The waiter naturally saw that he was not interested. Although he didn't know why the young man changed his face, he had the money already in his hands, so why bother him
Li Yaonan ate his food bit by bit. Although his manners were casual, he had an indescribable elegance. This was why the waiter took a liking to him at first sight and was particularly enthusiastic towards him. Facts proved that the waiter's vision was correct, for the guest he took a fancy to reward him with one or two ounces of silver right from the start.
Li Yaonan was wearing a green Confucian robe. Although he looked thin, he had a sense of elegance when he walked and looked around. The elegance and laziness that inadvertently revealed between his brows gave people the illusion of being luxurious and impressive.
"Excuse me, can I share a table?" A teenager sat down opposite, and he looked like a rich kid from his clothes.
Li Yaonan looked around and found that Zuixianlou was full. He turned around, rolled his eyes at the young man and said lightly, "Please feel free." He had already sat down, so why was he asking? He had almost finished eating anyway. Although the food in Zuixianlou was good, for someone who was used to going to five-star hotels, the taste was still a little lacking.
"What's your name, brother?" The young man smiled and didn't care about Li Yaonan's cold face. He poured himself a cup of tea without hesitation.
Li Yaonan was speechless. He had never seen anyone so familiar.
The young man continued, "My surname is Yang, my given name is Yi, my courtesy name is Qinglan, I am from Luozhou, and I have just arrived in Yangzhou not long ago. How about you?"
It is said that you should not hit a smiling person. Facing Yang Yi's sincere face, it was really hard for Li Yaonan to refuse. However, he did not intend to make close friends with him, so he said lightly: "My last name is Li."
Yang Yi clapped his hands happily: "So your last name is Li, the same as the second son of the Li family."
The corners of Li Yaonan's lips twitched. He is the second son of the Li family, okay
Yang Yi did not wait for him to respond and continued, "I heard you guys talking about the Li family just now. Brother, you seem to disagree. Do you know the second son of the Li family?"
"I don't know him." Li Yaonan remained calm, but a slight sense of vigilance arose in his heart.
"I don't know him either." Yang Yi smiled, his lively eyes darted around, and he leaned close to Li Yaonan's ear and whispered, "I don't believe it. The stepmother will definitely not treat the original wife's child well. My uncle's daughter is so miserable. She is only 28 years old, but her stepmother forced her to marry an old man."
Li Yaonan was stunned. He didn't expect that this was what he was talking about. But when he thought about it, with his current identity, what could others do to him? What's more, the original owner didn't know anyone, let alone make enemies. The vigilance in his heart gradually faded.
Yang Yi looked disappointed. "It's a pity that I was too young to help. My cousin passed away within two years of her marriage, leaving behind only a child who now lives with my aunt."
Li Yaonan was wondering if this kid was too casual to bring up such a private matter.
However, this is someone else's business after all, Li Yaonan didn't take it to heart, and said lightly: "Don't be sad, maybe she can be reincarnated into a good family in the next life." Isn't that what he does? Although time travel is not as good as reincarnation, the situation is similar.
"Well, you're right. My cousin is such a good person, she will definitely be reborn into a good family." Yang Yi nodded affirmatively, the haze on his face disappeared, and a bright smile appeared on his lips again. He looked at Li Yaonan curiously and asked, "What do you think of the marriage of the second young master of the Li family?"
Li Yaonan frowned, feeling a little conflicted. How should he respond
Yang Yi didn't seem to care about his answer and continued, "I heard that the day before yesterday, the second young master Li was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted. He was dissatisfied with his marriage. That's why I said that a stepmother can't be good to her ex-wife's children."
Heard? Li Yaonan felt annoyed. He had never expected that the matter of the Li Mansion would be known to everyone. "What else did you hear?"
Yang Yi shook his head, looking innocent: "That's all. Who cares about this? It's just a little rumor."
Li Yaonan breathed a sigh of relief and glared at Yang Yi unhappily, not knowing what to say to him.
Yang Yi then asked, "What do you think of Shuang'er?"
"I don't have any opinion." Li Yaonan answered lazily. What he said was actually the truth. Although he felt that Shuang'er was a little weird, he did not have any prejudice against her. Shuang'er was just a human being.
"What if I let you marry Shuang'er?"
Li Yaonan sneered: "How is that possible? I won't marry Shuang'er." He didn't like men. Li Yaonan had obviously forgotten that the wife he was about to marry was Shuang'er.
Yang Yi was furious and very dissatisfied with Li Yaonan's perfunctory response: "I mean, if, if you were asked to marry Shuang'er, would you be dissatisfied? Would you vent your anger on him?"
"Just marry her, it's the same thing." Li Yaonan didn't care. To him, it didn't matter who he married, it was just the same.
Yang Yi asked anxiously: "Will you vent your anger on Shuang'er? Will you treat him badly?"
Li Yaonan frowned, but he was suspicious. Why did Yang Yi's words revolve around Shuang'er? He looked him up and down and found that Yang Yi had red lips and white teeth, like a girl. If it weren't for the Adam's apple on his neck, he might have mistaken his gender. He hesitated for a moment and said, "If he is innocent, why are you angry with him? Since you have married a wife, you have to be responsible for him. Are you facing any problems?"
"No, remember what you said." Yang Yi stood up excitedly, not even eating, and patted Li Yaonan on the shoulder: "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first. I'll treat you to dinner another day."
After Yang Yi finished speaking, he ran away, leaving only the anxious voice of the waiter: "Hey! Sir, your meal is ready, but you haven't paid yet..."
Li Yaonan was puzzled and shook his head helplessly, thinking that Yang Yi was just a child. Although he traveled to ancient times, his thinking had not yet changed. A 14 or 15-year-old child was still a middle school student in modern times. He did not take today's encounter seriously. Seeing the waiter looking at him eagerly, Li Yaonan touched his nose and could only think that he was unlucky. He asked, "How much silver, let's settle the bill."
When the waiter saw someone paying the bill, he immediately smiled and said, "The total is seventeen taels and eight cents."
Li Yaonan smacked his lips, feeling that he had lost a lot today. He glanced at the food that had not been touched yet, took out his purse in frustration, and took out eighteen taels of silver: "No need to change."
"Thank you, sir. Welcome to come again next time." The waiter smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits. He bowed and sent him out the door.
Li Yaonan didn't know at this time that after leaving Zuixianlou, Yang Yi ran towards South Street at a very fast speed and stopped in front of a three-story house. On the plaque of the house, the two big words "Lin Mansion" were written in bold.
As soon as the doorman saw him, he came over to greet him.
Someone else joked with him, "My cousin is back! Why are you here so early today?"
"Go, stop talking nonsense to me. Where is your ninth brother?" Yang Yi scolded with a smile, and pretended to hit him.
The man stepped aside, pointed to the garden, and said with a smile: "The Ninth Young Master and the Fourth Young Master are playing chess."
After hearing this, Yang Yi said nothing and hurried towards the garden.
It was now August, the golden season, and the osmanthus flowers in the garden were in full bloom. Yang Yi could smell a faint fragrance from a distance. His anxious mood suddenly calmed down, and he unconsciously slowed down his pace, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
In the pavilion in the garden, two young men were sitting opposite each other. On the stone table in the middle was a white jade chessboard.
The man in purple was holding the black piece. His brows were furrowed, his eyes fixed on the chessboard, and he was undecided about the black piece in his hand. He was about twenty years old, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a handsome face. His sculptured features contained sharpness, and he gave people a feeling of calmness and reliability.
The young man in white holds the white pieces, and without thinking, he moves forward step by step, and is about to eat up half of the black pieces. Looking at his elegant appearance, no one could imagine that his chess skills are so ruthless.
Suddenly, the situation on the chessboard changed. The black pieces were in a desperate situation and then survived, instantly overshadowing the white pieces.
The white piece made a prompt decision, cut off one of his arms, and then approached the black piece again.
Yang Yi quietly walked behind them and watched the game in silence. He knew that Ninth Brother didn't like others to interrupt him when he was playing chess.
After a long while, the man in purple sighed and said, "I lost."
The young man in white lowered his head and frowned, gently fiddling with the chessboard. The black pieces that were apparently lifeless suddenly showed a ray of hope: "You didn't lose, you just can't bear to be ruthless."
"You just have to..." The young man in white held the black piece in one hand and the white piece in the other. In less than a moment, the white piece was forced into a dead end.
"Xuan'er." The man in purple called out with concern, and his broad palm gently slid across the boy's face, as if trying to soothe all his sorrows.
"I'm fine." The boy called Xuan'er smiled faintly. Although he looked so young, he seemed to have experienced countless hardships. He looked up at his fourth brother with a gentle look in his eyes: "It's just playing chess. What are you thinking about?"
Lin Zhiyuan smiled bitterly. How could he not think too much? Ever since that incident, Xuan'er seemed to have become a different person. He acted decisively and ruthlessly, leaving no room for himself or others. He was ruthless to himself and even more ruthless to others, just like the game of chess just now. How could he not worry
"Fourth brother, ninth brother." Yang Yi was unwilling to be ignored and called out crisply.
Lin Yixuan raised his eyelids and pretended not to hear.
Lin Zhiyuan looked at him in surprise: "Hey! Why are you back?"
Yang Yi was so angry that he jumped up and down. They were bullying him.
Lin Yixuan laughed, his simple smile blooming like a flower, even making the autumn colors in the garden lose their color. When facing this little cousin, his heart was always especially soft.
Lin Zhiyuan stopped teasing him and asked with a smile: "Tell me, what's the matter?" As soon as his little cousin lifted his tail, he knew what he was going to do.
"Guess who I met today?" Yang Yi had a mysterious look on his face and his voice was drawn out.
Lin Yixuan looked indifferent, with an indescribable indifference on his handsome face.
Lin Zhiyuan was quite helpless. His little cousin had been out of the house these days and the servants had already reported to him where Yang Yi had been these days. If he hadn't sent people to escort him, his little cousin was a twin after all. Although he was raised as a boy, did he really think he could fool around in Yangzhou city without getting into trouble
"I met my brother-in-law today." Yang Yi said to himself without waiting for them to speak.
Lin Yixuan’s face darkened: “What brother-in-law? Don’t call me that.”
"Why can't you scream!" Yang Yi stared at Lin Yixuan stubbornly, his eyes emitting a dazzling light, so complex that it was hard to tell the emotions in them: "I've been to see him. Although Gefu is a little short and thin, he is definitely not as incompetent as the rumors say. If you have someone in your heart, tell him. I will help you fulfill your wish even if I risk my life. But if that man is a coward and doesn't dare to stand up, then you should live a good life. Otherwise, I will feel bad."
Lin Yixuan turned his face away, trying hard not to let his tears fall. He thought his tears had dried up. He had already told himself not to cry anymore, so why did he still feel so sad
Lin Zhiyuan fell silent. Actually, he was also very curious about who that man was. His younger brother was gentle and kind, and always behaved himself. But a month ago, he was suddenly found to have eloped with someone, and they agreed to meet in the willow forest outside Beijing. The man was not caught at that time, and his brother refused to tell them who he was, which made them anxious but helpless.
But since then, my brother's temperament has changed.