Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 39

In the dining hall.

Cheng Jinyang was eating congee while Chu Qingqing sat opposite him, propping her chin up with her hands and staring at him.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Jinyang, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, couldn’t help but ask.

“Nothing, just looking,” Chu Qingqing replied nonchalantly.

“Oh,” Cheng Jinyang said, taking a large sip of his congee.

“By the way,” Chu Qingqing said again, “Father mentioned that he hopes to relocate the entire clan to Lin’an and would like to use the route through Jingkou, asking for the protection of the Northern Army.”

“That’s fine,” Cheng Jinyang said. “So the debate about moving the capital hasn’t been settled yet, right?”

Due to the demon invasion in the southern part of Jiankang, it was no longer suitable to remain the capital.

The subsequent decision was whether to move the capital to Wuchang or Lin’an, an important issue going forward.

From a geographical standpoint, Wuchang is well-buffered by important towns like Xiangyang, making it easier to accept northern refugees and more suitable for launching a northern expedition. In contrast, Lin’an has the ruins of Songjiang to the north, which is much weaker in this regard. However, Lin’an’s eastern part has Qiantang Bay, allowing maritime connections with Jiangzhou and Guangzhou, making it more suitable for economic recovery.

In summary, the central government’s strategic direction is: if the focus is on offense, choose Wuchang; if the focus is on defense, choose Lin’an.

Given that Yu Yuanrui took the Emperor to Wuchang, it seemed they were leaning towards a northern expedition. However, the aristocracy had differing opinions, with many preferring to use the Jingkou route and move towards Lin’an.

It appeared that the Chu family had made their choice…

“Actually, Father’s decision is because I’m here,” Chu Qingqing said with a bitter smile.

“You being here, what does that mean… oh, I see.”

Cheng Jinyang realized: it wasn’t really about politics but purely because of him!

If the capital moved to Wuchang, the political focus would shift upstream along the Yangtze River, weakening Jingkou’s position further.

Conversely, if it moved to Lin’an, northern migrants would have to pass through Jingkou.

Thus, Chu Jiye’s choice to go to Lin’an, on a larger scale, aligned with the future son-in-law’s faction; on a smaller scale, perhaps he found Cheng Jinyang more reliable compared to Yu Zhongshu.

“Alright,” Cheng Jinyang nodded in agreement. “I’ll let Wang Changshi know to arrange the Chu clan’s travel plans.”

“Mm-hmm,” Chu Qingqing continued to rest her chin on her hand, saying, “Also, after Father arrives at Jingkou, he wants to assess the Northern Army’s situation… can you host him?”

“Ah, does Uncle want to provide military donations?” Cheng Jinyang’s eyes brightened. “Recently, the Northern Army’s supply shortage is quite severe. It would be great if the Chu family could offer support.”

“Um, sort of,” Qingqing said awkwardly.

In fact, ever since she admitted to her father that she liked Cheng Jinyang, her father had been wanting to meet this prospective son-in-law.

But she hadn’t told him about it yet!

However, with Miss Qingqing’s sharp mind, she was certain that Cheng Jinyang must know she liked him. He was just pretending to be clueless.

Dealing with someone pretending to be clueless required setting up traps like a hunter and persistently cornering them until they had no escape.

“But actually, Father has been hesitant,” Miss Qingqing stirred her congee, pushing the stray hair from her face, “because I’m older and don’t have a marriage contract. He thinks it’s not good for me to stay in Jingkou for too long.”

“How are you older?” Cheng Jinyang said, wide-eyed in disbelief. “You’re not even 20 yet!”

“Someone who isn’t even 20 already has a marriage contract,” Miss Qingqing remarked pointedly.

Cheng Jinyang: …………

“Qingqing,” he asked quietly, “what kind of man do you prefer?”

Translated, it essentially meant, “What do you like about me?”

Chu Qingqing answered seriously: “I like a man who, when facing life and death, will unhesitatingly come to save me, and whom I can trust completely, entrusting my life and safety to him.”

“Can you give an example?” Cheng Jinyang laughed.

When did I ever save you?

“Do you remember?” Miss Qingqing looked at him with a hint of melancholy. “Once, when we went to the Wujing Industrial Zone for a Tianluo mission, Yuanzhi and I were chased by a mechanical dog equipped with high-energy cutting lasers.”

“Oh,” Cheng Jinyang recalled as she spoke. At that time, he was patrolling in the air and saw Miss Qingqing and Ah Zhi fleeing desperately below.

Miss Wang said there was no need to intervene, as according to her calculations, Miss Qingqing and the others were likely to hold on until other support arrived.

But Cheng Jinyang didn’t trust probabilities, so he recited a poem and dove down to assist them without hesitation.

“Later, I asked Wanrou why you only came to save me at that time and not earlier,” Miss Qingqing continued softly. “Because, several times before, I almost couldn’t hold on—one more mistake and I would have been cut in half by the high-energy lasers.”

“Then she told me that she hadn’t issued a rescue order; you acted on your own to save me.”

“Well, I didn’t think much of it,” Cheng Jinyang said, a bit embarrassed. “I just saw that you were in a dangerous situation and seemed like you couldn’t hold on, so I went down to help.”

“Wanrou must have told you,” Miss Qingqing said, reaching across the table to hold his hand, “the reason the enemy was chasing us so intentionally was to set a trap to lure you in. Why did you still come down to rescue us even though you knew this?”

“Actually, at that time, I was overconfident,” Cheng Jinyang said, lying a bit. “I thought they hadn’t set a trap.”

“Liar,” Miss Qingqing chided, “your pulse is racing even faster.”

So you’re holding my hand to check if I’m lying?!
Cheng Jinyang was taken aback.

“But it doesn’t matter,” Miss Qingqing said, releasing his hand and smoothing her hair. “What’s important is not what you thought, but what you did at that time.”

“Is that so?” Cheng Jinyang pondered, “If I had followed Miss Wang’s orders back then, would you not have fallen for me?”

“Ugh, who said I like you!” Chu Qingqing blushed at the remark, spat at him, and then put on a serious face. “I just think that if we spent the rest of our lives together, it wouldn’t be unacceptable.”

Isn’t that the same as liking me?
Cheng Jinyang was speechless.
How did you suddenly become so proud?

But remembering how Cui Xiaoniang and Ah Zhi were extremely proud before they recovered, only to become fierce after they changed their ways… Qingqing’s current proud demeanor did indeed have its own charm.

“Enough of this,” Miss Qingqing said, picking up her utensils and standing up. “When my father arrives, you figure out how to talk to him yourself.”