Zhou Yanan had seen Xu Youyi from a distance countless times.
Under that silver-white mask, he put away his timidity.
But today, he didn't expect to be so close to her, nor did he expect that one day, she would really step into this jewelry store opened for her.
"Girls, calm down. This is the owner of our store. He has dealt with countless rare items. Maybe he can find more suitable jewelry for the two girls."
"Stop talking nonsense. The first thing I like about this girl, no matter who she is, grab it from me."
Xu Youyi raised her chin slightly, uttered a cold word with her red lips, and then moved the hand holding the whip.
The girl in front of her was Ye Wanqiu's former good friend, but after what happened to the Ye family, the girl was afraid that being friends with her would affect her reputation, so she quietly distanced herself from her.
Now, although she spoke ill of Ye Wanqiu outside, Xu Youyi has always been at odds with them.
Especially the one in front of me, the official daughter who once had a crush on Zhou Yanan.
The Zhou family was once one of the most popular people in Kyoto City.
Zhou Yan'an's father, the Marquis of Yong'an, originally held a high position, but after marrying the lord of Pingyang County, he gradually handed over some of his rights and could only live quietly in front of his old Marquis.
As for the second son of the Zhou family, in addition to Zhou Yanan who left in the fire, the eldest son Zhou Jianli also serves in the Ministry of Industry.
At that time, Xu Youyi and Zhou Yan'an were childhood sweethearts, but some people just wanted to attack Zhou's family because they didn't have the foresight.
"Wrap it up for me and send it to..."
"Xu Youyi, what are you so arrogant about? You just got closer to the eldest son of the Pei family at the beginning, but after returning to Beijing for so long, has the eldest son done anything else?"
The woman was so angry that Xu Youyi turned red, but she was being looked at and refused to admit defeat.
"so what?"
Xu Youyi sneered lightly and said nonchalantly, "Besides, what does it have to do with you whether the eldest son of the Pei family does anything else? Could it be that at that time you only knew how to make other people's ideas? Now that you see that I have contact with the eldest son of the Pei family, you also Want to take advantage of the Pei family? But your status may not be enough."
"You! Do you understand what integrity is?"
The woman completely lost her mind and spoke loudly to Xu Youyi: "I'm just a barbaric, rude and disrespectful person. I don't know how many people laughed at me behind my back! I really thought I was so powerful...ah, I I almost forgot that when you followed Zhou Yanan for so long, he didn’t seem to have taken a liking to you, right? Tsk, tsk, this is a former friend of the young master of the Zhou family, I don’t know..."
"Who allowed you to mention him?"
Hearing this name, Xu Youyi's face suddenly turned cold.
The sharp light in his eyes also completely dissipated, leaving only a cold silence.
"You recruited me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Youyi raised the hand holding the whip and prepared to throw it at the person.
But the next moment, one end of the whip was held by someone.
"Girl, no."
The person who came was tall and tall, with long hair tied high, and a silver mask on his face, with a faint cold light coming out.
But when those eyes looked over, there seemed to be an overflowing light inside, which made people slightly stunned.
"If the girl makes a move first, no matter what the reason is, it cannot be justified."
It took Xu Youyi a while to come to his senses.
Her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, but the next moment, she frowned again because someone was holding the whip.
"Get out of the way! This matter has nothing to do with you. If I damage everything in your store today, my Xu family will pay for it!"
"The girl doesn't need to pay for the things in the lower berth. What the girl should worry about is her own reputation. Be careful of others using this matter to throw dirty water on you."
Zhou Yanan's voice was a little low. Because his throat was injured in the fire, his voice was also a little hoarse and not as gentle as before.
At this moment, he was afraid that she would be disgusted after hearing too much, so Zhou Yanan only said a few words and didn't know how to speak.
"What a master who bullies the weak and fears the strong!"
The woman next to her heard the message of mutual protection and became even more angry when she saw the person stopping next to Xu Youyi as soon as he arrived.
"I think you opened this shop with a shameless smile to please me! Or have you fallen in love with our young lady Xu and want to use your identity to rise to the top? It's a pity... Although your mask looks a bit... It’s strange, but the one I’m close to is the heir apparent of the Pei family, so it’s not like you, a lowly businessman like you, can get it!”
The end of the whip was grabbed by someone and could not be pulled back.
Although Xu Youyi didn't take others seriously, he didn't want this person to be ridiculed because of him.
But before she could speak, she saw the man's hand holding the whip moving up. Then her wrist went numb, and as soon as her fingertips loosened, the man took the object in her hand.
The next moment, the man moved slightly, raised his hand, and the long whip went straight to the woman like a dragon, and wrapped around her neck in the blink of an eye.
With a gentle pull, the unconvinced woman in front of him fell to the ground. Only her head was still stretched upward, fearing that her neck would be strangled. It was funny and ridiculous.
"You, how dare you..."
Before she finished speaking, the long whip swayed for a moment. The woman finally did not dare to be arrogant anymore and cried out loudly, her face covered with rouge and gouache.
"The girl said that I bully the weak and fear the strong, and I admit it. Do you have anything else to teach me?"
"No, I don't dare anymore!"
Life is in the hands of others, how can a woman dare to be quick and easy?
"Young Master, please don't kill me. I was just angry for a moment and spoke uncontrollably. Young Master, please don't kill me..."
This is not bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Even a noble lady dares to do anything at her word, which is no different from thieves who kill without blinking an eye.
"But when you get angry, you can talk about other people's past. I'm afraid it's unnecessary to keep this girl's mouth."
"I will never dare to do it again! I will be cautious in my words and deeds, and I will be an honest person!"
The man's voice was so gloomy that it was difficult for him to speak. Even when he stood there and looked down at the woman kneeling on the ground, he was completely different from the man who was talking to Xu Youyi just now.
The shopkeeper and the waiter next to him were stunned on the spot.
The owner has always been low-key and never stands up for anyone. He doesn't want to get involved in other things on weekdays. He even keeps track of the shop's account books and doesn't care at all.
But today, the boss actually took action directly, and it was to protect a girl from the Xu family that few others dared to mess with.
The shopkeeper didn't know Zhou Yanan's original identity, but he felt that his boss seemed to be a different person at this moment, which made him feel uneasy.
When the entourage who came from behind saw the eldest daughter of the Xu family, their hearts skipped a beat.
The words he originally wanted to persuade stopped and he just stood aside silently.
The woman in front continued to beg for mercy.
Together with her maid, she was so frightened that her face burst into tears, her body was trembling, and she admitted her mistake again and again.
In the life and death situation, I no longer care about competing for face with others, I just want to keep my life in front of this person who is like a thief.
And it was this crying that suddenly awakened the woman's heart, and she also became afraid.
She just got angry and confronted Xu Youyi.
Although she bet that Xu Youyi's whip was just a thing to scare others, General Xu was someone her father did not dare to provoke on his face.
Thinking of this, the woman quickly looked behind the man. The girl seemed to be stunned and kept pleading.
The farce finally subsided with the woman's apology, which she cried until she became hoarse.
The jewelry shop also closed its door because of this, fearing that others would see what was going on inside, which would affect Xu Youyi's reputation.
"From now on, the Kyoto Heike family and their branches are not allowed to enter any of my shops."
When the voice fell, everyone in the shop was stunned.
The woman staggered for a moment as she was being helped out, and she was able to stand steady while holding on to the wooden door.
Although this jewelry shop was only slightly famous, she heard that the owner had quite a few shops, and if this news got out, the speculation from others would be enough to keep her head down for a long time.
Even when her family asked about the reason, they found out that she had offended Xu Youyi, perhaps because of her father's family rules.
But there was no turning back, and the regret in the woman's heart turned into tears, soaking the veils one after another.
"Thank you, sir."
Although Xu Youyi didn't know why the person would stand up for her, no matter whether she accepted the favor or not, she still had to thank her.
But she was full of doubts, and her brows were slightly wrinkled when she left.
The man's words just now touched her for a moment. Even when he appeared, she felt like she had seen him before, and there was an indescribable throbbing in her heart.
But she hadn't felt this way for a long time.
Her heart had only beat wildly and passionately when that person was still there.
As far as the eye could see, an old man was cutting candy bars.
Xu Youyi came back to her senses after listening to the cries, and suddenly remembered the time when Zhou Yanan was covering up in Zhuya Courtyard, while she secretly took Song Jinyin out of the Duke's Mansion.
The two sneaked to the market.
One of them doesn't often eat these gadgets, and the other has never been out at all, so everything seems strange to him.
The two of them stuffed a whole bag of these small candy bars. After eating them, they felt nauseous and had to call the doctor.
She remembered the joy of that day clearly.
Now that I think about it, how could she, a girl from another mansion, have brought Song Jinyin out of the huge Duke's mansion without Pei Yanzhou's tacit consent.
Not to mention that after playing for a whole day, even the last doctor was a doctor from the Duke's mansion.
Thinking of this, Xu Youyi suddenly smiled, but his eyes gradually became hollow.
It turns out that they were all wrong.
Pei Yanzhou's thoughts have always been on Song Jinyin, but their self-righteous redemption has ruined everything that should have changed for the better, and also ruined her and Zhou Yanan's future.
Now, by mistake, she is involved with Pei Yanzhou. I wonder if Zhou Yanan will be dissatisfied if he knows about it.
"Go home."
Xu Youyi suddenly quickened his pace and left the market.
From the moment the imperial edict granting marriage was suppressed, Xu Youyi knew that the marriage would probably not happen, but she didn't care, so she never mentioned it.
But now, she thought she had to let her father know.
She was also unwilling to marry Pei Yanzhou.
She has liked Zhou Yanan for so many years. If she really marries into the Pei family, every time she thinks of Zhou Yanan in the future, it will only be painful.
And Song Jinyin.
Her hatred for Song Jinyin was not enough to support her to stay in the Pei family's backyard for the rest of her life, and the only one who would be bothered by it would be herself.
After thinking about it, Xu Youyi's empty eyes regained consciousness a little.
The unconscious smile finally brought a bit of warmth.
"There has been no news for so long. I think Pei Yanzhou will suffer a lot from Song Jinyin this time."
