Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 3

Ignoring the quality of the massage, Cheng Jinyang told everyone about the situation and then realized something was wrong.

“Where’s Miss Wang?”

“Chatting with Xie Lingjiang,” Xing Yuanzhi replied.

Xie Lingjiang… Cheng Jinyang was slightly stunned.

So how many girls have these noble families thrown my way?

Considering that Xie Lingjiang was just a little girl at the moment, there was naturally no concern about her reputation. So Cheng Jinyang planned to go directly to Wang Wanrou to discuss the matter and see if she was willing to go.

At this time, Wang Wanrou and Xie Lingjiang were sitting on a bench by the lake in the clan’s land. The two beauties, one big and one small, were lazily basking in the sun, playing a game of poetry matching.

“White,” Wang Wanrou began.

“Red,” Xie Lingjiang responded.

“Linked stems of white.”

“Half a touch of red.”

“Delicately carved cattail, linked stems of white.” (Cattail, referring to white dandelions)

“Richly dyed ink plum, half a touch of red.” (Ink plum, referring to dark-colored plum blossoms)

Cheng Jinyang listened for a while, then felt inspired and approached them with a grin, saying:

“Heavy snow flurries, what does it resemble?”

The two girls were momentarily stunned, then heard Cheng Jinyang continue:

“Not as good as willow fluff stirred by the wind.”

Xie Lingjiang: ??

Wang Wanrou chuckled and said:

“Where did you read that line?”

“I made it up,” Cheng Jinyang shamelessly replied.

“Using fluff to describe snow is quite elegant,” Xie Lingjiang said seriously, “But if brother Jinyang made it up, then what does ‘not as good’ mean? There should be another one or two lines in between.”

Cheng Jinyang: …………..

“Don’t believe him; this guy is quite sly,” Wang Wanrou said lazily, “So, what do you want?”

“Miss Wang is so astute; can’t you guess my intention?” Cheng Jinyang asked, feeling indignant.

“Lingjiang, what do you think?” Wang Wanrou didn’t answer directly but turned to ask.

“Since brother Jinyang suddenly recited poetry, using fluff to describe snow, I guess it’s about the Cui family’s snow viewing event,” Xie Lingjiang pondered for a moment and said.

“Goodness, I would call you ‘Little Miss Xie,’ only second to Miss Wang in my heart,” Cheng Jinyang praised in admiration.

Xie Lingjiang was a bit pleased, but Wang Wanrou sneered and said:

“Speak quickly.”

Cheng Jinyang didn’t mind because he knew that the better Miss Wang’s mood was, the worse her attitude. If she were in a bad mood someday, she would instead be all smiles.

“It’s nothing much, just informing you. By the way, Wanrou, you should be going too, right?”

“Do you want me to accompany you?” Wang Wanrou countered.

“Why not? You have nothing to do here anyway.”

“Then I won’t go,” Wang Wanrou said.

Xie Lingjiang covered her mouth and laughed while Cheng Jinyang thought for a moment and said:

“To be honest, I hope you can accompany me, Wanrou.”

“Reason?”

“You see, it’s my first time visiting the Five Great Families…”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Wanrou, if I embarrass myself, won’t you also be embarrassed?”

“Why would your embarrassment be mine?” Wang Wanrou sneered.

Cheng Jinyang glanced at Xie Lingjiang and whispered:

“I heard many noble families are looking for live-in sons-in-law lately.”

“Live-in sons-in-law?” Xie Lingjiang asked in confusion, “Does brother Jinyang want to become one? I think it’s unnecessary…”

“I got it,” Wang Wanrou sighed, “I’ll go.”

“Alright, I’ll arrange for the clan to send a carriage to pick you up then,” Cheng Jinyang said with a smile.

After Cheng Jinyang left, Xie Lingjiang curiously asked, “Sister Wanrou, why are you so worried about brother Jinyang going alone to visit when many noble families are recruiting sons-in-laws?”

“Because he reminded me of something,” Wang Wanrou replied calmly. “It’s not just me; even he himself is probably uncertain about whether he might do something foolish at the Qinghe Cui family.”

“I understand now,” Xie Lingjiang nodded. “If he impulsively agrees to marry into one of those families, all the investments you’ve made in him will go down the drain.”

“Lingjiang,” Wang Wanrou, surprisingly, did not refute but remained silent for a long while before asking softly, “Do you think… anyone could be that foolish?”

“I think such people exist,” Xie Lingjiang said smartly. “But brother Jinyang isn’t one of them.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Intuition.”

“Intuition…” Wang Wanrou pondered for a long time. “Hmm, my intuition agrees with yours.”

“But it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

…

Having resolved the matter with Miss Wang, Cheng Jinyang was in a great mood. He returned to Shishou Mountain to find Li Qingwan and continue today’s lesson.

From afar, he saw Li Qingwan sitting on a bench by the training ground, wiping the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.

Was she crying?

“Teacher Li!” Cheng Jinyang ran over to greet her.

“Jinyang,” Li Qingwan stood up, showing a gentle and graceful smile.

When it came to classical ladies, Li Qingwan probably had the most classical temperament of them all. From his straight male aesthetic perspective, both Ah Zhi and Miss Wang had some “princess syndrome” characteristics to some extent, while Miss Qingqing, Cui Xiaoniang, and Xiao Wangshu were too easily unrestrained.

Only Li Qingwan maintained the best sense of distance, neither too delicate nor overly familiar, so much so that Cheng Jinyang’s impression of her was even less than that of Lu Qingyun, who spoke with hidden barbs last time.

But this was the normal interaction between people!

There were just too few normal people around him besides his family.

“I noticed you seemed a bit off just now,” Cheng Jinyang asked with concern.

“Yes,” Li Qingwan sighed. “My father told me he would take me to the Cui family tomorrow, so I’m asking for a leave in advance.”

“The Cui family?” Cheng Jinyang laughed. “Surely not just to enjoy the snow, right?”

“You’re invited too?” Li Qingwan suddenly understood. “Yes, the Cui family should have invited many people…”

“With so many noble children attending, your father isn’t planning to find you a husband on the spot, is he?” Cheng Jinyang joked.

Li Qingwan bit her lip and remained silent.

“Sorry,” seeing her expression, Cheng Jinyang realized he had hit the mark. “Though it’s your family matter and I don’t know enough to comment, it’s usually better for family members to sit down and have a proper conversation… By the way, Qingwan, do you think I have a chance of being invited to marry into a noble family at the Cui family gathering with my qualifications?”

Li Qingwan, who had been feeling down, was amused by his words. “Didn’t you say you’d never marry into a family?”

“Me not marrying in and no one inviting me to marry in are two different things,” Cheng Jinyang said seriously. “The former is my dignity; the latter is a recognition of my abilities.”

“It’s not a recognition of your abilities, but your bloodline talent,” Li Qingwan picked up a stone from the ground and casually threw it far away. “Tell me, gender, background, bloodline talent… why are so many things decided from birth?”

“Sometimes I think this world is too harsh on those it does not favor…”

As the stone rolled down the slope, Cheng Jinyang said, “Not everything is decided from birth.”

“Bloodline talent,” Li Qingwan said lightly, her tone hiding a barely perceptible sense of loss. “It determines the potential height you can reach as a supernatural, which in turn determines the family’s level of importance placed on you, which eventually decides the resources the family will provide you. This leads to you and those favored by the heavens, even though born in the same family, leading completely different life paths.”

“The most ridiculous thing is, this bloodline talent, which is so crucial it can determine one’s success or failure, is set from birth, leaving no room for change through effort.”

“That’s why I say this world is too harsh.”

“Hmm…” Cheng Jinyang pondered for a while. “No possibility for change at all?”

“None,” Li Qingwan said decisively.

“What you mean by ‘none’ is just because there’s no possibility seen yet,” Cheng Jinyang laughed. “But who can guarantee that there won’t be a turnaround in the future? After all, nearly infinite possibilities are one of the charms of the future, right?”

“I wish I could be as optimistic as you,” Li Qingwan shook her head and smiled. “Thanks, Jinyang.”

“I feel much better now.”