sjar Chapter 135 You only like this face?
Chapter 135 You only like this face?
So when they arrived at the pleasure boat, Jiang Lin specifically asked for Qingdai.
Jiang Lin: "Can you answer this question?"
Qingdai thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "The beauty painted on the fan I'm holding today is my former friend, Jiaoyu."
Recalling her friend's voice and smile, Qingdai sighed, and tears fell silently.
"She was like me; on nights when there were no guests, we would sleep side by side to get through the cold night. She was my only support on this lonely boat."
Qingdai never spoke of these things.
“The winter before last, Jiaoyu’s younger brother fell seriously ill. Knowing… knowing… she still went for that fifty thousand taels of gold.” Qingdai’s lowered eyes held a sorrowful look towards Jiaoyu.
The fans sold in town were all inferior; the real fans were sold by Jin Lushan to powerful and wealthy families at high prices, and the last one was collected by Jin Lushan.
As a flower maiden, Qingdai could only see her dearest friend through the beauty fan when she performed her dance each year.
They are like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
We can only meet once a year.
Qingdai stroked the pink hairpin in her hair and smiled through her tears, saying, "You don't know, Jiaoyu's hands are very skillful, and the hairpins she makes are the most exquisite."
The clues along the Qingdai trail overlapped somewhat with those of the old beggar, so the night's gains were minimal. After leaving the pleasure boat, Jiang Lin and Ji Xingyi took a stroll outside Jin Lushan's residence.
The Jin Mansion was incredibly luxurious, its area equivalent to four neighboring mansions, and its walls were three meters high, completely impenetrable, as if concealing some secret.
Ji Xingyi: "Want to go in?"
"No need to rush. You'll advance tomorrow, and you'll have another chance to go in." Jiang Lin turned around.
Ji Xingyi asked in surprise, "How do you know I'll definitely advance?"
Jiang Lin stopped and patted the man's face, teasingly saying, "I say, Young Master Ji, you really have no self-awareness at all!"
The fish were so excited they jumped onto the bridge; you can imagine how much the creatures underwater loved it!
Jiang Lin sighed: "Please, sir, could you please restrain your supernatural powers from time to time?"
Sharpening knives is also tiring work.
Ji Xingyi chuckled, grabbed Jiang Lin's arm, and hoisted the young man onto her back: "You just like this face, don't you? Would you still like it if you had a different face?"
Jiang Lin thought for a moment and said, "That's true."
Ji Xingyi's eyes darkened: "You only like this face?"
Jiang Lin wrapped her arms around the man's neck and bit his ear: "What do you think?"
Not long after Jiang Lin and Ji Xingyi left, Guo Xinwen and her two teammates, Zeng Chenxuan and Liu Qian, arrived at the Jin residence.
The three of them had investigated during the day and had deliberately hidden a ladder in a nearby alley, planning to climb over it at night to investigate.
"You two be careful!" Guo Xinwen said, her face slightly tense.
"Don't worry, same old rules! We'll scout ahead first, but not go too deep!" Liu Qian grinned and then nimbly climbed the ladder.
The initial stages of the dungeon are relatively low-risk, so their team's strategy is the same as the Jingkang team's: while things are still relatively safe, they should gather as many clues as possible. Since they're going to take risks anyway, they might as well do it sooner rather than later.
Ji Xingyi first sent Jiang Lin back to Qingshui Inn, then went back to Xishui Inn to exchange information with Chen Jiangqiao, and finally returned to Qingshui Inn to find Jiang Lin.
As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the Creek Inn, they saw Chen Jiangqiao leaning against the wall.
After throwing away his cigarette, Chen Jiangqiao gave Ji Xingyi a resentful look: "I thought you weren't coming back! Did you guys find anything?"
The two entered the house, closed the door, and exchanged clues.
In the afternoon, Chen Jiangqiao and Wang Zhe went to collect information on the other two contestants besides the players, Liu Zhi and Feng Zhenzhu.
"Neither Liu Zhi nor Feng Zhenzhu are from Qingxi Town. They both came to participate in the fan-shaped beauty contest for the 5 taels of gold. Wang Zhe and I followed them separately but found nothing unusual. There were indeed no other clues on them."
Ji Xing nodded and recounted his and Jiang Lin's findings.
"If you hadn't gone up the bridge today, none of this would have happened!" Chen Jiangqiao couldn't help but complain.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Chen Jiangqiao opened the door, thinking it was a player looking to exchange clues, but it turned out to be the shopkeeper.
Chen Jiangqiao's expression changed drastically when he saw the Qingxi tea brought by the waiter.
The waiter bypassed Chen Jiangqiao and placed the cup in front of Ji Xingyi with a strange smile: "Honorable guest, you haven't had any tea today. This cup was specially sent to you by the manager! You can't refuse it!"
Ji Xingyi's expression shifted slightly. He had drunk a bowl of Qingxi tea for Jiang Lin at the Qingshui Inn, but the people at the inn did not know about it. So, according to the rules, the waiter left the cup of Qingxi tea for him.
Chen Jiangqiao also knew about this. After meeting up with Wang Zhe that morning, he specifically asked if anyone at the Qingshui Inn had drunk Qingxi tea. Knowing that Ji Xingyi had already had some, Chen Jiangqiao declined the waiter's offer, saying, "He has already..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ji Xingyi ignored Chen Jiangqiao, picked up his teacup, and drank it all in one gulp. If he didn't drink it, he would have to give it to Jiang Lin, so he might as well drink it himself.
The waiter looked at the empty teacup, smiled with satisfaction, and left.
Chen Jiangqiao was furious and muttered, "Are you crazy?!"
Ji Xingyi knew that Chen Jiangqiao meant well and didn't take it to heart. He casually replied that he was fine and then went downstairs.
"You're going back to Qingshui Inn? You're going to see Jiang Lin again?" Chen Jiangqiao quickly chased after him: "Hey, Ji Xingyi!"
The chase led them all the way to the Three Lives Bridge.
Ji Xing turned to look at Chen Jiangqiao, who was still following, and said with a hint of impatience, "What are you still doing following me?"
"I just can't stand your love-struck brain!" Chen Jiangqiao gasped as he cursed.
"Do you know what's been put in this tea? How dare you drink a second bowl!"
"Why are you taking such a risk for Jiang Lin! Please, we've all drunk it, what would happen if Jiang Lin drank it too?"
"You insist on drinking it for him? If the poison in this tea is calculated according to dosage, you'll die, you know that?!"
Ji Xingyi's expression darkened slightly: "What's it to you?"
Ji Xingyi's act of drinking the bowl of Qingxi tea for Jiang Lin wasn't impulsive. He had considered it; since the boss of this instance had already chosen him as the fan-shaped beauty, drinking another bowl wouldn't kill him. And Jiang Lin would be in less danger.
This was a well-considered choice by Ji Xingyi, and he did not admit that it was what Chen Jiangqiao called a "love-struck" episode.
"Chen Jiangqiao, you're meddling too much," Ji Xingyi said coldly.
What's it to you? You're meddling too much! Hearing these two replies, Chen Jiangqiao felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, chilled from head to toe, with his heart feeling the coldest spot.
"Ji Xingyi, there's something I didn't want to tell you," Chen Jiangqiao said, lighting a cigarette. "I was afraid of hurting you if I told you, but I'm still angry if I don't. I do like you, but I genuinely consider you a friend. Can you please stop hanging yourself on Jiang Lin?"