Chapter 46

Wen Qingheng burst into hearty laughter, “No need to worry. By then, I’ll definitely scour through books to find the most difficult question for you.”

Qin Lang followed with a nervous laugh, “With Shizhang’s literary talent, who could possibly outperform him?”

Gu Ci had a faint smile lingering on his lips.

The atmosphere seemed quite relaxed. Only Pei Jian remained silent with a stern and cold expression tinged with mockery. He deliberately left Gu Ci out in the cold.

Qin Lang slung an arm over his shoulder, laughing heartily to mediate the situation, “Jinghe’s questions can’t be too tricky. Even Shizhang dares not take them lightly.”

Gu Ci smiled in response, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Whether I accept or not doesn’t matter. In the end, Nianxi will marry me.”

At this point, Pei Jian finally spoke, his face calm as he stated, “She won’t.”

Gu Ci’s expression shifted slightly, staring directly at Pei Jian, “What did you say?”

“Didn’t you hear?” Pei Jian remained seated, looking provocatively at Gu Ci. He had endured a night of suppressed anger, finally finding an outlet for his frustration. Perhaps it wasn’t just one night—ever since reuniting with Nianxi and meeting again at Duke Zheng’s residence, months of pent-up emotions had finally erupted. He spoke slowly and deliberately, each word clear and distinct, “I said she won’t marry you.”

Gu Ci’s face darkened completely, and he sneered, “She won’t marry me? Then is she supposed to marry you?”

“That’s right.” Pei Jian, still with that infuriatingly calm tone, replied, “I’m going to marry her.”

The cold reception he experienced at Nianxi’s place earlier that night, all his feelings of defeat, Pei Jian directed entirely at Gu Ci. Watching Gu Ci’s anger being provoked little by little, Pei Jian maliciously continued, “The talisman in your pocket, the sachet at your waist—those were supposed to be mine.”

Gu Ci never thought a person could be this outrageous. Even if they weren’t good friends today and had become strangers, Pei Jian still shouldn’t have dared to covet his Nianxi.

“Does Nianxi love you?” Gu Ci asked, staring at him intently. “Did she you take your treats? Does she even want it?”

What Pei Jian had grown most impatient with was hearing about Nianxi’s choices. Thirteen years of relationship between him and Nianxi—how many beautiful moments had they shared?

What could Gu Ci possibly understand?

Had it not been for his rebirth or Nianxi avoiding him, how could Gu Ci have taken advantage of the situation?

He was clearly a thief, yet he still had the audacity to flaunt it in front of him.

Pei Jian, his gaze cold and scornful, declared, “I will marry her.”

No matter what it takes.

Gu Ci, continually provoked, couldn’t hold back any longer—even a saint would lose patience at this point. He leaped up, fist raised, aiming straight for Pei Jian’s face.

That punch—he had been holding it back for a long time.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, he had seen Pei Jian appear in Nianxi’s private room, saw him close the window, and noticed the pair of white jade earrings in the corner. He had wanted to act on it then. He held back because he didn’t want to lose Pei Jian as a brother.

So, on the night of the Dragon Boat Festival, he sought out Pei Jian.

It was both a warning and a reminder. He had long known that Pei Jian’s “earring girl” was his Nianxi.

A good brother had fallen in love with the woman he cherished.

Gu Ci had never imagined such an absurd thing would happen to him.

And Pei Jian’s shamelessness and lack of morals were far beyond his expectations.

For men, there are many ways to share joy, but anger has only one most direct expression. The two quickly got into a fight.

Although Pei Jian was a scholar, Duke Zheng’s family had a martial background. Since childhood, his father had urged him to practice martial arts. Even after his father’s death, he had never stopped training. Moreover, the two had grown up together, and Pei Jian often sparred with Gu Ci. For a while, it was hard to determine a winner.

But this time was different from all the others. It was no longer a friendly sparring session. Both had bloodshot eyes, their reason abandoned, and their anger magnified under the influence of alcohol. Both wanted to kill the other.

Whenever Gu Ci thought of his beloved Nianxi being coveted, spied on, and entangled by Pei Jian in the shadows, his entire being burned with rage. He wished he could turn Pei Jian and his vile thoughts into ashes.

Pei Jian felt the same!

While he had been exhausting himself for the Gu family’s affairs, Gu Ci had taken the opportunity to get close to Nianxi—holding her hand, putting his arm around her shoulder, sharing a bowl with her, doing all sorts of intimate things. To Pei Jian, Gu Ci was no less than an enemy, and he showed no mercy.

Tables, chairs, bowls, and dishes crashed to the ground, leaving a scene of utter chaos. The restaurant’s waiter nervously knocked on the door, and only then did Qin Lang snap out of his shock. It wasn’t that he was slow to react; everything had just happened too suddenly. Moments ago, the atmosphere had been pleasant, everyone still smiling at each other—then, in the blink of an eye, a brawl broke out.

Glancing at Wen Qingheng, who stood frozen like a wooden statue, he turned to the waiter and gently said, “They’ve had too much to drink. Don’t worry about it. We’ll pay for everything later. You can go now and avoid any accidental harm.”

The waiter wasn’t someone unfamiliar with big scenes. Seeing how these young men were dressed in fine clothes and carried an air of elegance, he refrained from further comments, closed the door, and left.

Only then did Qin Lang hurriedly step forward to break up the fight. He had feared exactly this: things spiraling out of control, becoming irreparable. But reality was even more maddening and chaotic than he had imagined.

The two men, consumed with rage, were throwing punches—hard and fast. Not only were they impossible to separate, but they fought with an almost righteous fervor as if driven by a sense of moral duty.

Qin Lang took several punches himself and shouted at the dazed Wen Qingheng, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help break them apart!”

Wen Qingheng’s mind was in turmoil. The “Earring Lady” turned out to be his sister?!

Pei Jian that scoundrel was even worse than Gu Ci—he had been coveting his sister all this time!

Qin Lang had thought bringing Wen Qingheng tonight would help keep things under control. After all, he was the older brother of the sister in question. Who would have guessed that Wen Qingheng would be the most unstable?

Not only did he intervene on the wrong side, but he even joined in, throwing punches!

The two of them already wanted to beat each other to death, and this only escalated things further. What made it worse was that Qin Lang himself was frequently getting hit by accident. He shouted angrily at Wen Qingheng, “What chaos are you stirring up!”

Wen Qingheng completely ignored him and swung his fists even harder.

Left with no choice, Qin Lang tried to help fend off Pei Jian while loudly yelling, “Are you all determined to blow this out of proportion? Does it sound great to have it spread around? A top scholar and a military champion fighting over a woman!”

“You two might not care, but what about Nianxi’s reputation?!”

The three of them were still fiercely fighting when they suddenly stopped upon hearing this.

The world is always harsher on women. While Gu Ci and Pei Jian might be labeled hot-headed or passionate for their quarrel, the woman would inevitably be scorned as fickle and lacking decency.

Qin Lang let out a breath, clutched his bruised abdomen, cursed under his breath, and stormed out first without looking back.

The entire private room was a mess. A table had a broken leg and was half-collapsed; chairs were scattered and overturned. Food and wine were trampled into a horrible mix, filling the room with an unpleasant stench.

Both Pei Jian and Gu Ci bore bruises on their faces and bodies. Now that they had cooled down, they still regarded each other as enemies but had no intention of speaking to one another. One after the other, they walked out of the restaurant.

Left alone was Wen Qingheng, the last to leave, who took responsibility for the aftermath of the fight and paid for all the damages to the tables and chairs in the private room.