Chapter 20.2: Wonton Noodles

After hanging up, Ye Tianhui still felt a little upset: “I wanted to treat him to a meal to thank him, but why is he acting like this? It’s as if I owe him 800 dollars!”

“Although I owe him a favor, I’m not ungrateful. Why does he have to be so cold to me? Why should I lower myself? Did I offend him?”

Ye Tianhui thought of the unpredictable emperor from back then, snorted coldly: “You’re not him! I’m not afraid of you!”

At this moment, she heard the public phone ring again, clearly someone was calling back.

This kind of public phone can be used by anyone walking by, and usually, people call back only if they’ve arranged to do so. No one would call back to an unknown public phone, so it was almost certain that this return call was from Gu Shizhang.

However, Ye Tianhui was still a little annoyed.

This annoyance wasn’t just directed at Gu Shizhang, but at the emperor who had once made her fear and submit.

In front of the Sage, she would always bow her head. The family teachings she had received from a young age had ingrained in her a loyalty to the emperor, making her submit to the emperor’s authority and endure the emperor’s unpredictable moods willingly.

But this tolerance only applied to that exalted emperor, not to anyone else.

Even if Gu Shizhang resembled him so much, so what? He wasn’t him!

Ye Tianhui was very irritated. Hearing the phone ring, she turned and walked away.

She wasn’t going to answer the phone!

After walking a little distance, and no longer hearing the phone ring, she finally stopped.

She stood on the street, where a fruit vendor had a stall, setting up a red checkered tablecloth with bunches of red, glistening grapes. A sign stood beside it that read “Pearl Grapes, 10 HKD per pound.”

She stared at the pearl grapes for a while.

Actually, she wasn’t really looking at the grapes; she was just feeling a bit frustrated and needed something to focus on.

After staring for quite a while, she finally let out a sigh and walked back.

When she returned to the public phone, the phone was naturally silent, with no ringing.

She looked at the phone, took a deep breath, and told herself, “He really has helped me a lot, teaching me this and that, even helping me find a job. I am a person who repays kindness, a person who doesn’t hold grudges, and with my open and generous personality, why should I stoop to the level of such a petty man?”

Having comforted herself, she reached for the phone.

But to her surprise, when she dialed, there was a busy signal—it said the line was in use.

She sighed helplessly, thinking to herself that it seemed like fate.

“Well, if that’s the case, I won’t bother with him!”

She hung up the phone and started walking away.

However, just after taking seven or eight steps, the phone rang again.

Without hesitation, she rushed back and picked it up.

The call connected, but there was no voice on the other end. All she could hear was a faint buzzing sound, followed by the steady, rhythmic sound of a man’s breathing, even and calm, as if it could spray across her face through the phone line.

She felt something odd stir in her chest, and everything suddenly seemed to shift into a delicate balance.

Her face even felt slightly warm.

She bit her lip and looked at the street ahead, speaking in a somewhat annoyed tone: “Why would someone deliberately call and not speak? If no one’s talking, I’m hanging up!”

She made a move to hang up.

Then the man’s deep voice came through: “Don’t hang up.”

Ye Tianhui: “Oh, who are you? Who is this?”

Gu Shizhang’s voice was low, with a hint of a grinding sound: “Stop pretending! You just said you were going to treat me to a meal, so what’s this? Not treating me now?”

Ye Tianhui looked up at the sky, her tone a little reserved and indifferent: “Wasn’t it you who said you didn’t have an appetite? Naturally, I’ll wait until you feel like eating.”

“An ‘honored benefactor’…”

Gu Shizhang was speechless for a moment, then spoke in a tone that seemed half amused, half helpless: “What ‘honored benefactor’? What kind of phrase is that?”

Ye Tianhui lazily replied, with no care for formality: “Isn’t it? You helped me a lot, and I’m very grateful. I’m thinking of how to repay you.”

Gu Shizhang’s voice became serious: “Did I ask you to repay me?”

Ye Tianhui: “You didn’t ask, but a person should repay kindness!”

Gu Shizhang: “I only helped you because I consider you a friend. If you keep calling me ‘honored benefactor,’ don’t bother asking me for anything in the future.”

Ye Tianhui: “Fine… I was just joking with you!”

Gu Shizhang: “Just call me by my name. Don’t call me ‘Mr. Gu.'”

Ye Tianhui thought for a moment: “Okay.”

Gu Shizhang: “Say it, I’ll listen.”

Ye Tianhui: “Gu Shizhang.”

Gu Shizhang: “Aren’t you a bit lacking in manners? How can you call your friend by both their first and last name?”

Ye Tianhui: “…”

She thought for a moment and tentatively said, “Shizhang?”

As soon as she said those two words, she felt a bit embarrassed.

It was as if everything suddenly became more intimate.

On the other end of the phone, Gu Shizhang’s breath paused for a moment before he said, “Alright, just call me by my name.”

Ye Tianhui wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but his voice sounded lower, tense, and tight.

She was puzzled, but Gu Shizhang had already shifted the topic: “So what did you want to treat me to just now?”

Ye Tianhui replied, “Just some random street food, a casual meal.”

Gu Shizhang: “Oh, just this?”

Ye Tianhui: “I’m on this kind of budget.”

She had originally intended to treat him to something nice, even considering whether to take him to that upscale seafood restaurant she liked last time—the one that looked very expensive.

But with the situation turning out like this, street food was all she could offer, no higher tier than that!

Gu Shizhang’s voice turned a little colder: “Is that so? Seems my worth has dropped.”

Ye Tianhui: “Yes! Are you eating or not? If not, then we’ll do it next time.”

Gu Shizhang replied firmly: “I won’t eat.”

Ye Tianhui snorted: “I knew it, you must be rich, with such high standards. Eating street food with me must be beneath you! I really pity you, having to lower yourself to be friends with someone like me, suffering such a huge grievance!”

Gu Shizhang: “Did I ever say something like that?”

Ye Tianhui: “You didn’t say it, but I can tell!”

Gu Shizhang: “It’s just your overthinking.”

Ye Tianhui: “Then just eat at the food stall! You don’t want to eat, but I’m already offering to treat you, and you still complain!”

Gu Shizhang: “Address.”

Ye Tianhui didn’t understand: “What?”

Gu Shizhang: “The location of this public phone.”

Ye Tianhui looked around at the nearby streets and gave him the address.

Gu Shizhang: “Hang up for now, wait for me.”

Then he added, “Don’t run around.”

Ye Tianhui furrowed her brows and muttered under her breath, “I’m not a child!”

She had only spoken halfway when the call was abruptly ended on the other side.

She stood waiting under the corner of a nearby wall. By now, the sky had darkened, and the city lights had come on, with the streets bustling with cars and crowds.

She replayed the conversation in her mind, recalling the tone of his voice. For a moment, she had a strange illusion that the person on the other end of the line wasn’t Gu Shizhang, but the Sage.

The voice she heard was clearly one that belonged to the Sage.

Ye Tianhui leaned lightly against a golden camphor tree, her eyes half-closed as she pondered her thoughts. She also reflected on the faint stir of emotions she had felt earlier.

She realized that this illusion stemmed from the fact that she couldn’t see the person on the other end of the phone. Relying solely on his voice, she had subconsciously imagined him as someone she thought he might be.

Reflecting on her own feelings, she began to regret her actions. She shouldn’t have been so open with a man she didn’t really know. Yet, subconsciously, she still did it.

Why was that?

Were they really that familiar with each other? He wasn’t someone close to her.

Then, she saw a truth she had never realized before.

Her instinctive trust and closeness to him were, in the end, due to the fact that he resembled the Sage.

Because he looked like the Sage.

That was what made Ye Tianhui find it hard to believe.

After all, that was the person she feared and revered the most in her heart.

While she was lost in these chaotic thoughts, she heard a voice: “Why are you standing here?”

The voice was deep and pleasant, and when it reached Ye Tianhui’s ears, she had the vague sensation that she had returned to her past life, back to the Imperial Stables.

She liked horses, and the Sage liked them too. The Sage’s Imperial Stables collected all kinds of famous horses. After she returned to the capital and took care of her other matters, the Sage would often invite her to the stables to admire the horses with him.

After such a long time, she could even recall his appearance from back then.

He wore a golden silk crown to tie his satin-like long hair, standing tall with grace. His noble composure, effortless charm, and unparalleled elegance made him shine like a star in the sky.

His gentle and tolerant laughter couldn’t conceal the dignity that came from his long reign in a high position.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked at the man before her.

The illusion of the Sage faded, and what she saw was Gu Shizhang.

He was dressed in an exquisite suit, with his hands in his pockets, carrying an effortless and lazy aura.

He wasn’t smiling, and his dark eyes were cool, observing her with a hint of curiosity.

Ye Tianhui felt that strange sensation return to her chest. She pursed her lips slightly and averted her gaze.

Gu Shizhang took a step forward, closing the distance between them, and stopped when he was just an arm’s length away.

He was very tall, his slender figure standing before her like a solitary mountain peak, blocking the sunset that was falling in the distance.

Ye Tianhui could feel his gaze on her face, unwavering.

Then, he finally lowered his head slightly and said, “You were clearly looking at me just now, but I felt like you were looking at someone else.”

Ye Tianhui stubbornly retorted, “No, I wasn’t…”

Gu Shizhang smiled faintly. “It seems like you’re blushing.”

Ye Tianhui: “I’m not!”

She touched her face. “It must be the glow of the evening sun.”

In fact, she could feel her face burning.

Seeing this, Gu Shizhang decided to let it go. He smiled softly and asked in a low voice, “What do you want to eat?”

Ye Tianhui bit her lip, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness. “Wonton noodles, I guess.”

It was cheap and something you could get at any street stall.

Gu Shizhang silently gazed at her for a long time, his dark eyes eventually lighting up with a smile.

In a very low voice, with a touch of helplessness, he said, “Why are you so stingy with me?”

Ye Tianhui: “So what if I am stingy?”

Gu Shizhang looked at her with an expression that seemed to say she was deliberately teasing him. “Tianhui, you’re just being mischievous, purposely bullying me.”

He said her name.

The tone was lazy and nonchalant, yet there was a hint of affection in it.

Although he didn’t use the more intimate “Hui Hui,” just hearing her name from his lips still made Ye Tianhui’s heart race.

She pressed her lips together, suppressing the feelings rising in her chest, and said defiantly, “This is just how I am. If you don’t like it, then don’t be friends with me.”

Gu Shizhang chuckled lightly, the sound casual and carefree.

She felt as though he saw right through her thoughts. “You—”

Gu Shizhang had already laughed and said, “Let’s go, let’s get wonton noodles.”