Chapter 202: Fishing

Su Yaoguang stood up and picked out a few snacks to store away.

Zhou Wangshu saw this and said, "They won’t taste good when they’re cold. If you like them, fresh ones will be delivered tomorrow, so there’s no need to save them for later."

"I was thinking of sending some to my aunt and uncle."

"There’s really no need. I just sent a portion over." Zhou Wangshu put down the items in her hand. "You clearly love eating them, so prioritize yourself first. Don’t always consider others."

Su Yaoguang touched Zhou Wangshu’s hair: "Wang Shu truly lives up to being a future scholar, you’ve really grown up, sister is very gratified."

Zhou Wangshu: "..."

He swatted her hand away, glaring at her with annoyance, and said to the two spectators nearby: "Are you done eating?"

Zhong Chushan swallowed his last bite elegantly and nodded, "Finished."

Chen Buyu stuffed a small bun into his mouth, mumbling, "Don’t rush, it’s still early, others probably haven’t gotten up yet."

"Do you think everyone’s as lazy as a pig like you?" Zhong Chushan mocked.

"Hey, do you find it amusing to attack me like that? In the county, people like us are called ’dual useless’, you know that? When you talk about me, you’re actually talking about yourself too."

Zhou Wangshu kicked one of them, expressing immense disdain: "Looks like you quite enjoy the title, shouting it so loudly, afraid others won’t hear?"

Su Yaoguang sat in the courtyard, watched the three of them bicker and follow each other next door, pulling the overly tense Wang Huanzhi out.

Wang Huanzhi was taking the imperial exam again after many years, a bit older compared to the young lads nearby, tightly wound with tension. Actually, being too nervous was counterproductive.

It was still early, and many shops hadn’t opened yet, so she wasn’t in a rush to go out.

She first tidied up the room, collected Zhou Wangshu’s dirty clothes from yesterday to wash, and hung them in the courtyard.

When she was done and about to find Cui Rong, she saw the Cui Family’s carriage parked outside the courtyard gate.

"Yaoguang, do you want to go for a stroll today?" Cui Rong descended from the carriage.

Su Yaoguang called out, "Wait for me a moment, I was just tidying things up and haven’t had a chance to change clothes."

"No rush, take your time tidying up, I’ll wait for you here." Cui Rong’s eyes flashed with joy when he saw she wanted to go out.

Looks like Zhou Wangshu isn’t here!

With him gone, he could have some alone time with Yaoguang. He refused to believe that in any aspect, he was inferior to Wang Shu, being a year older, surely enough reason for Yaoguang to choose him.

Su Yaoguang was changing inside, while Cui Rong scrutinized the nearby houses. Seeing the room barely bigger than a bird’s belly, his gaze was filled with disdain.

"Yaoguang really prefers to live with her brother in a small house instead of a big one. If she lived with me, she’d have servants and wouldn’t need to worry about trivialities."

Jiang Yihuan came out with a basket of vegetables, walking out of the yard, her footsteps staggered as she passed by Cui Rong, causing her to fall in his direction.

Cui Rong moved slightly aside, avoiding her touch.

Boom! Jiang Yihuan fell to the ground.

"Ah..." Moaning in pain, she clutched her bumped head and slowly got up, her eyes looking resentfully at Cui Rong. "Young Master Cui, why didn’t you help me up, I’m hurt."

"Did I bump into you?" Cui Rong replied indifferently.

"Even though you didn’t bump into me, we aren’t strangers, and we used to have quite a good relationship. When you see me fall, can’t you lend a hand?" Jiang Yihuan complained.

"Used to have quite a good relationship? I don’t remember that." Cui Rong showed utter disdain. "Oh, you used to tell me our Jinle Square business was bad because Yaoguang schemed against us and said Yaoguang deliberately climbed over our Jinle Square to succeed, becoming a leader in the cosmetics industry. You said so much bad about Yaoguang, trying to make me resent her. If that’s your idea of a good relationship, should I be grateful for your advice?"

Originally, Cui Rong wasn’t in the county but later got transferred by his family to manage the county business, that’s when he met Jiang Yihuan, the troublemaker, leading him to resent Yaoguang.

Luckily, at the time, there was a disaster in the county, and before he could do anything against Taoyao Square, he got caught up in the relief efforts. By the time he finished, he’d gained an understanding of Su Yaoguang’s character. Just then, troublemakers from the palace came, demanding tributes from the Cui Family. Knowing these people were hard to deal with, he thought to direct the trouble towards Taoyao Square to handle the eunuchs.

Afterward, things played out that way.

Su Yaoguang not only didn’t resent him but helped him out, pulling him out of danger. That moment filled him with deep regret and made him remorseful for his petty thoughts.

Now, no one could sway him; he definitely wouldn’t harm Su Yaoguang.

Jiang Yihuan’s face turned pale.

She thought Young Master Cui would be easy to sway, aiming to string him along, but it seemed he became clever.

Su Yaoguang walked out, just in time to see Jiang Yihuan quickly run away with her basket. She wondered aloud: "Is that woman having another episode?"

Cui Rong nodded: "I was standing here just fine, then she suddenly fell towards me, claiming to feel dizzy, wanting me to help. I didn’t, and she briskly ran off."

"Young Master Cui doesn’t quite know how to cherish beauties!" Su Yaoguang teased. "That Jiang Yihuan is a well-known sick beauty, fainting at the sight of handsome men, claiming it’s dizziness. Today she must have fallen ill again, upon seeing that Young Master Cui’s looks rival those of ancient beauties causing her old condition to flare up. We shouldn’t blame her, it’s a condition she was born with."

Cui Rong laughed: "Yaoguang’s mouth is really unforgiving. Luckily I haven’t offended you."

"Let’s go, let’s see how the big shots in this provincial capital do business." Su Yaoguang said, "No one knows me here, my face won’t do, we’ll have to use yours."

Xiao Yanci stood by the window, watching Su Yaoguang and Cui Rong chat cheerfully and board the carriage.

In his past life, he never saw Su Yaoguang smile so brightly and openly. With him, she was always cautious, immediately showing a worried expression if his face turned sour.

This life was different, she became dazzling, interacting with people confidently and gracefully.

Instead, Jiang Yihuan grew increasingly sullen, lacking any of the cleverness she once displayed, transforming into someone dull and uninteresting.

Once he became a scholar, he could leave this place and head to the Capital City to prepare for the academy and palace exams, discarding everything here. He could even marry a high official’s daughter, relegating Jiang Yihuan, from her humble origins, to the status of concubine.

This time, he couldn’t be foolish again, couldn’t refuse a high-ranking official’s daughter for a village girl.