When she saw Chu Chuyanâs ambiguous smile, Xie Daoyun immediately panicked. She quickly moved away from Zu An. Then, she punched her little brother to get rid of her embarrassment. She pulled on his ears and dragged him off to the side, saying, âThe capital isnât Brightmoon City! Stop messing around.â
Their father was in charge of Brightmoon City, so they could always scrape by somehow no matter what he did to girls. However, the capital was different. Any random person might have a higher rank than their father! If something happened, then there would be no saving the situation.
âAaaah! Sis, please let go! I didnât do anything bad!â Xie Xiu screamed. Who wouldnât be embarrassed by having their ears pulled in public?
Zu An was just about to laugh at him when Chu Chuyan quietly moved to his side and pinched his waist without anyone noticing.
Zu An inhaled sharply through his teeth. In the past, when Chu Chuyan hadnât immediately lashed out from jealousy, he had actually felt a bit upset. He had felt that perhaps she didnât care that much about him. But now that she acted jealous, he realized that she had been a bit cuter before. Sigh, am I not just a piece of shitâ¦?
The group chatted for a while before heading to Zu Anâs residence. Xie Xiu and Xie Daoyun looked around his house with curiosity, and even Jiang Luofu gave it a few looks.
âHaha, looks like we have a base in the capital now. Weâll come over to play whenever thereâs some free time,â Xie Xiu said with a laugh.
For the sake of properly fostering these two, their father had deliberately chosen not to purchase any property here. He had made them live in the academy dormitory so they could study properly. But even though the academy dormitory wasnât so bad, how could it compare to a house outside?
Zu An said with a smile, âYouâre welcome anytime.â He looked at Xie Daoyun as he spoke.
Xie Daoyun felt her heart jump. Why am I like this? Donât tell me he said that specially to me? This guy is a pervert after all! Even though she was unhappy, she didnât show any anger. Instead, her cheeks were flushed red, making her look even more charming than usual.
Chu Chuyan had been ordering some servants to set up a fire pan by the entrance and didnât notice what was going on. âEveryone, please cross over this fire pan to burn away bad luck,â she urged everyone.
Zu An couldnât help but chuckle. He didnât expect this different world to have so many customs too. He crossed the fire pan, but right when he was about to enter the room, Chu Chuyan stopped him.
Chu Chuyan said, âRemove all of your clothes and burn them in the fire pan. Donât bring the imperial prisonâs bad luck back home.â
Zu An frowned. âWe donât need to go that far, right?â
âAbsolutely not; you must do this.â Chu Chuyan was extremely stubborn on this matter.
Jiang Luofu smiled and said, âEven though this thing called luck is a bit vague, it indeed exists. Thereâs no harm in being more careful.â
Helpless to resist, Zu An could only remove his clothes and toss them into the fire pan.
âAh!â Murong Qinghe blushed. She quickly covered her eyes with her hands. However, there were small gaps between her fingers.
Chu Youzhao told herself that she was a man right now, so she couldnât act like a little girl in front of everyone. However, if someone looked at her from behind, they would notice a ring of bright red around her neck.
Jiang Luofu was the one who acted the most naturally. As a mature woman, she obviously wouldnât be as shy as these little girls. She looked at Zu Anâs body with appreciative eyes.
Xie Daoyun was the most ladylike person in the group. She immediately turned around and refused to look at Zu An. However, the image of his masculine body was already imprinted in her mind.
Xie Xiu looked at Zu Anâs muscles enviously and remarked, âBrother Zu, how do you train your body? I didnât expect you to be so big!â
Zu Anâs muscles werenât only robust; they didnât bulge like other peopleâs. His bodyâs lines were flowing and smooth, yet the group could all feel the explosive power contained with them.
As a pretty boy, even though Xie Xiu believed that he was unmatched in terms of facial features, he still felt his build was a bit lacking. For example, he felt his abs had already been developed to the highest level possible. Even though he normally mocked more muscular men, he still couldnât help but admire someone like Zu An who had both looks and strength.
Zu An said proudly, âItâs not something you can learn. This is called having strong genes!â He couldnât just say that those muscles had been obtained by getting beaten up, right? That would be way too embarrassing.
Chu Chuyan then said, âTake off your pants,â leaving Zu An speechless.
Jiang Luofuâs expression also became a bit unnatural. She subconsciously turned to the side and pretended to be looking somewhere else.
Xie Xiu felt even more pained and humiliated. He had finally freed himself from what he had seen that day in the dungeon. Did he really have to see it again? I donât want to!
Xie Daoyun sighed inside. There had been rumors that Chu First Miss and Zu An were husband and wife only in name. But judging from how things looked, they were clearly already a proper couple!
Chu Youzhao turned Murong Qinghe around, saying, âLittle Qinghe, you canât look at something like that.â However, that scene of Zu An and Chu Chuyan appeared in her head, and her heart rate immediately quickened.
Zu An laughed in embarrassment. âThat wouldnât be too good, right?â
âIâm not telling you to take them off in front of everyone.â Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes. She ordered a servant to set up a makeshift changing room.
Zu An sighed in admiration. His wife really was meticulous! For the sake of preventing awkwardness, he changed behind cover while asking, âHuh? Where did all of these maids come from?â
Chu Chuyan replied, âDid you forget already? I said I was going to help you with that. You were worried about the people here, so I found some of the clanâs servants to bring here. They finally arrived, so there are people to help you with your everyday life now.â
Zu An felt warm inside. âI was going to say that these fellows looked familiar. Right, why donât I see that brat Cheng Shouping?â he asked.
Chu Chuyan replied, âI donât know either. My mom said that even the Reader Elder doesnât like him, that heâs the most annoying person. Thatâs why she didnât send him. Now that weâre on the topic, who is Reader Elder?â
Zu An was stunned and said, âI have no idea. But even though that kid is a bit slow, heâs quite the lucky star.â However, he didnât argue.
After changing into new clothes, he invited Jiang Luofu and the others inside. A feast had already been prepared. Now that these fellow townsfolk had gathered together, the atmosphere became more and more lively.
Zu An took the opportunity to pour a glass for Jiang Luofu. âBig sis principal, I really have to thank you this time. Itâs all because of your esteemed father that I was able to safely make it through this matter.â
Jiang Luofu thought to herself that this kid was too embarrassed to call her âgorgeous principalâ in front of his wifeâs face. She replied, âMy father has always been an upright and plainspoken man. He wouldnât act out of selfish intentions just because of me. He must have taken care of you because he felt that you were innocent.â
Zu An said with a smile, âYour fatherâs moral integrity is truly worthy of admiration. However, I still have to thank you. You tried to help me when I was captured by the Embroidered Envoys before as well.â
Jiang Luofu felt her cheeks grow warm. âI donât dare to claim credit for that. Even though I tried to do what I could, it wasnât of any use.â
Zu An shook his head. âJust the intent alone is already something Iâm extremely grateful for.â
Chu Chuyan was incredibly shocked and also raised her cup. âI didnât expect Principal Jiang to have helped us so much. Iâll also drink a glass out of respect.â
When Jiang Luofu looked at Chu Chuyanâs clear and cold, but smiling eyes, she couldnât help but feel like there was more behind her gaze. Her own expression became a bit unnatural. âWhat do you mean âintentâ? It was mainly because Liuyu wanted to save you. I was so annoyed that I finally couldnât take it anymore and asked my father for help.â
Jiang Luofu ended up selling her friend out in the end. But she wasnât even here anyway, so it didnât really matter.
âTeacher Shangâ¦â The woman in that gazebo appeared in Zu Anâs head again, and he entered a momentary daze.
Chu Chuyan had an ambiguous smile on her face. âAh Zu, I didnât expect your network to be that wide. Even the academyâs mysterious Teacher Shang views you favorably?â She had chosen him as a drafted husband mainly because of his ordinary and slow personality. Yet in the end, he had ended up being a womanizer! She had been completely fooled.
Zu An was alarmed and said, âTeacher Shang is kind-hearted by nature. She couldnât bear to see her student be wronged. Please ask father and mother-in-law to help me express my thanks.â
âSure.â Chu Chuyanâs expression immediately softened considerably.
The already tipsy Xie Xiu moved over. âAh Zu, do you have a little sister or someone like that?â
Zu An was stunned. âNo, why would you ask that?â
Xie Xiu looked disappointed. He gave his older sister a look and said dejectedly, âI feel like Iâm really losing out hereâ¦â