After the greetings were over, I successfully shook hands with my handsome Cousin.
The moment I remembered that he was my actual cousin, the little flutter of romantic thoughts in my heart vanished like a bubble. I immediately lost interest.
I listlessly sat back down, picked up the tea beside me, and without bothering to maintain any sort of refined elegance, tipped my head back and gulped down a large mouthful.
In this ancient era, the choices of beverages were truly monotonous. There was only tea in all its various forms. Whether it was the freshness of green tea, the mellow richness of black tea, the light elegance of white tea, the crispness of yellow tea, or the strong flavor of dark tea, I still felt that something was missing.
At that moment, I couldn’t help thinking about modern yogurt and orange juice again. Their sweet-and-sour flavors danced merrily across my tongue.
“Yuan’er, take your Cousin from the Chu Family around the residence. You young people have plenty to talk about, and Father still has to attend to matters at the shops. Your Cousin will be staying in the guest rooms for the next few days, so you must show him proper hospitality on my behalf and take good care of him.”
“Got it, Father. Go take care of your work!”
I answered brightly, while secretly grumbling to myself. Playing host really wasn’t my strong suit.
After Father left, I rose and led Cousin out of the front hall, slowly making our way toward the residence’s garden.
A gentle breeze brushed past us along the way, carrying wisps of floral fragrance.
“Cousin, how old are you this year?”
“Cousin, I’m two years older than you. I’m seventeen this year. You don’t remember?”
Cousin turned his head slightly to look at me, a trace of puzzlement in his eyes.
“I remember, I remember. I was just worried it would be awkward, so I thought we’d chat about something random. Hehe~”
I laughed it off, but secretly muttered to myself: Sorry, I really don’t remember. After all, I’m not the real Song Yuan. I’m just a soul who accidentally wandered into this ancient world.
“Cousin, are we going to the rear garden to admire the flowers?”
“That’s right. Don’t you ancient people go admire flowers whenever you have nothing else to do? The garden has been kept beautifully, and the flowers are in full bloom. It would be a real shame not to go take a look!”
“We ancient people?”
Cousin’s ears were truly sharp. He immediately seized on the key phrase.
“Cousin, you heard me wrong. I said ‘old friends,’ not ‘ancient people.’”
My heart tightened, and I hurriedly corrected myself. It seemed I’d have to be more careful with what I said from now on. Ancient people had incredibly sharp ears—I couldn’t let anything slip and expose me.
When we arrived at the garden, Chu Ci’s gaze was instantly drawn to the lotus flowers filling the pond.
He stood beside the railing at the water’s edge, his figure straight as a pine. His focused gaze rested on the blooming lotuses, as if the entire world had been reduced to that single lotus pond.
Then he slowly turned his head and gave me a radiant smile. It was like the sunlight of spring—warm and bright.
Good heavens! This was a direct assault by a beautiful face!
I felt my heart pounding uncontrollably, while my face grew burning hot, as though it had been roasted over a fire.
That single smile over his shoulder had actually awakened the girlish heart that had left home an unknown number of years ago.
“Cousin, I never expected the lotuses in the residence’s pond to be so captivating.”
“Mhm, mhm. Are lotuses your favorite, Cousin?”
I suppressed the fluttering in my heart and asked the question.
“Yes. I admire the lotus for its pure and noble character.”
Chu Ci’s gaze remained fixed on the flowers, as though he were engaged in a silent conversation with them.
“Rising from the mud unstained, washing in clear ripples yet remaining unadorned?”
The words slipped out instinctively. It was a line I’d memorized until I could recite it backward when I was in school.
“Rising from the mud unstained, washing in clear ripples yet remaining unadorned. Cousin, you have quite a talent for literature. You captured the character of the lotus so wonderfully in a single sentence. You must have read many books over the past year—your Cousin truly sees you in a new light.”
Chu Ci finally shifted his gaze from the lotuses and looked at me, his eyes full of admiration.
Ah… this was awkward! How could this be my literary talent? I had to thank the nation’s education system. It was simply a passage we were required to memorize and tested on in school.
“Cousin, you flatter me. I was merely showing off!”
“Cousin, shall we sit in the waterside pavilion for a while?”
“Of course. After you, Cousin.”
Chu Ci walked ahead of me. His back was straight and graceful, seeming to carry a charm all its own.
Watching him from behind, I couldn’t help sighing inwardly. A handsome man was a handsome man—even the sight of his back as he walked was enough to entrance me. The longer I looked, the more I craved him. What was I supposed to do?
“Baibao, can I pounce on my Cousin?”
I secretly began communicating with Baibao through my spiritual sense.
“Master, of course you can.”
“Forget it, forget it. I was only thinking about it. I can’t get past that mental hurdle. Things ingrained in your bones since childhood aren’t so easy to change. Marriage between close relatives is illegal!”
I helplessly let out a sigh. Although there was no such law against marriage between close relatives in this ancient era, the mindset of a modern person like me couldn’t be changed overnight.
“Master, you and Cousin aren’t related by blood!”
“What? We aren’t related by blood? Did my mother cuckold Song Deli?”
My heart jolted, and I nearly shouted aloud.
“No, Master. Chu Ci isn’t the biological child of the Chu Family. I don’t know the specific reason either. I can only sense that the two of you aren’t related by blood.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier? And why didn’t you activate that function for testing men?”
“Master, you rejected Chu Ci in your mind the instant you saw him, so I didn’t activate the test.”
“Then hurry up and test him now. What do I need to do?”
“Master only needs to stay within two meters of him. I will automatically scan and test him.”
Baibao really was powerful. It was practically a cheating device for finding men!
“Master, good news. Chu Ci’s test result is excellent. He’s a top-tier man.”
Ah, I was so excited! A top-tier man was right in front of me. I had to hurry up and use some tricks to win him over.
“Cousin, what do you usually like to do?”
“I usually enjoy reading. Occasionally, I practice calligraphy or play chess. Nothing else in particular. Why do you ask, Cousin?”
“Cousin, have you ever read any books on philosophy?”
My eyes lit up. This was a perfect opportunity to show off my “talent.”
“Philosophy? What school of thought is that? I’ve never heard of it.”
Chu Ci looked utterly bewildered. That was exactly what I wanted—a bewildered expression. Otherwise, how was I supposed to keep up the act?
“Philosophy, simply put, means ‘the love of wisdom.’”
“The love of wisdom? I’ve never heard of that before. What does it mean?”
His curiosity was easily hooked by this unfamiliar subject.
“Philosophy means using reason to pursue the most fundamental and universal questions.”
“I think I understand a little. But what exactly does philosophy ask?”
At that moment, Chu Ci’s eyes were full of a desire for knowledge. Hehe, excellent. The beauty had taken the bait.
“Philosophy has three questions: What is the world? How do people come to know the world? How should people live?”
I spoke with eloquence, as though I truly were a great philosopher.
“Cousin, you usually read such abstruse books and ponder questions of such depth. I truly pale in comparison.”
Sure enough, stars immediately appeared in Chu Ci’s eyes as he looked at me with admiration.
Hmph, getting you to admire me was easier than expected!
I secretly reveled in my success, then reined in my emotions and pretended to be profound. I raised my head and gazed into the distance, my eyes unfocused, as if I were contemplating the true meaning of life.
“Thinking about philosophy allows me to see the essence of complex problems without being led astray by my emotions. It also helps me find order within my heart and meaning in life when I’m lost.”
I slowly delivered the words. Sure enough, this performance of posing as a cultured intellectual left Chu Ci completely stunned.
He gazed at my profile as I looked forty-five degrees into the distance, sinking into deep thought as though my words had carried him into an entirely new world.
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