Drunken Flower Room - Chapter 33

Su Rong was speechless. 

With a look of utter disdain, she scolded Chen Zhou, “You’re delusional! Even if he breaks off the engagement, I still wouldn’t marry you. Get lost! Don’t think you’re off the hook just because your wounds have healed!” 

Chen Zhou glanced at Zhou Gu, noticing the latter’s increasingly grim expression. Fear crept in, but he refused to leave. Letting go of the tree trunk, he squatted on the ground, crossed his arms, and pitifully said, “Su Rong, I’ve liked you since we were kids… I’m not leaving.” 

Su Rong: “…” 

Thanks a lot for that, really! 

Zhou Gu was thoroughly amused. Of all the grievances Su Rong could harbor, this one turned out to be particularly ridiculous. Still, he admired how persistent Chen Zhou was. Standing up, he approached him, asking, “You’ve liked her since childhood?” 

Chen Zhou nodded timidly at first, softly muttering, “Mm.” Then, as if realizing he needed to emphasize his sincerity, he nodded again, louder this time, “Mm!” 

Zhou Gu found it intriguing. “What do you like about her?” 

“She’s pretty.” 

“There are plenty of pretty women in the world. Do you like all of them?” 

“Of course not! She’s also clever, wicked, and a bit ruthless. She bullies people…” Chen Zhou listed off a string of Su Rong’s ‘virtues,’ concluding with, “The worse she behaves, the more I like her…” 

Su Rong: “…” 

Damn it, I should’ve beaten him to death that day! 

“Oh, my friend,” Zhou Gu chuckled, pulling Chen Zhou to his feet. “Come on, let’s sit down and chat. I’d like to hear more about this.” 

Chen Zhou froze, asking in disbelief, “You… You’re not going to hit me?” 

“Why would I hit you? I’m a gentleman; I never fight unless someone really deserves it, someone I find utterly irritating, like Xie Lin. But you’re different. I think you’re quite agreeable.” Zhou Gu led him to sit down, casually wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “If you tell me everything you know about her, maybe I really will break off the engagement. Who knows, I might even refuse to marry her.” 

Chen Zhou’s eyes lit up. “Really? Then I’ll tell you everything!” 

Clearly gearing up for an extended conversation, Chen Zhou prepared to spill every detail about Su Rong. 

Su Rong watched this unfold, her teeth on edge. She reached out to tug at Zhou Gu’s sleeve again. 

Dodging her hand, Zhou Gu smirked, offering a warning, “Behave yourself.” 

Su Rong withdrew her hand and shot Chen Zhou a warning glare. 

Chen Zhou glanced at her, ignored her warning entirely, and launched into an enthusiastic recount, “When she was little, she didn’t like playing with us. She called us all stupid and ugly, said she wouldn’t play with idiots or ugly people. I was so heartbroken that I asked her how I could get her to play with me. She said, ‘Only if you have silver.’ So, I gave her two taels of silver, and she agreed to play with me for an hour. 

“She gathered a bunch of kids, made someone pile up dirt, and had everyone play with mud while she sat on top of the pile supervising. She said whoever made ugly mud sculptures would be kicked out and never allowed to play with her again. I was afraid she wouldn’t let me play anymore, so I obediently made mud sculptures for a whole hour. When the hour was up, she left, saying time was up and I’d have to wait for next time. So, the next time, I gave her another two taels of silver, and she did the same thing. Gathered everyone to play with mud. By the time I ran out of New Year’s money, she stopped playing with me.” 

Zhou Gu: “…” 

Su Rong was stunned. “When did this happen?” 

“When you were three. I was six.” 

Su Rong thought hard. It did seem familiar. At the time, she was too young to sneak out on her own. After crawling through the dog hole twice, the matriarch had it blocked and strictly ordered no one to let her out. Desperate, she bribed the old gatekeeper with her allowance, but his drinking habit quickly depleted it. Just as she ran out of silver, Chen Zhou happened to come along, problem solved! 

Chen Zhou continued, “And then, she didn’t like studying. While the other girls in the Lord’s household were reading, she hated it. But since the matriarch was strict, she had to sit through lessons every day. She couldn’t be bothered to do her homework, though, so she made me do it. I even had to imitate her terrible handwriting! I spent so much time doing her homework as a kid that my own handwriting still hasn’t improved…” 

Zhou Gu: “…” 

Su Rong: “…” 

Chen Zhou wasn’t done yet. “And for birthdays in the Lord’s household, she always had to prepare gifts. But since she never had money, she’d gather us ‘idiots’ to brainstorm ideas. We suggested embroidery, but she said she didn’t know how. We suggested copying scripture, but she said her bad handwriting would offend Buddha. When we told her to just say a few kind words, she said that lacked sincerity. We brainstormed for days and couldn’t come up with anything. In the end, we all pooled our silver to buy her gifts to give away. Before I left Jiangning to study at my grandparents’, this went on for years. My entire allowance went to her for birthday gifts!” 

Zhou Gu: “…” 

Su Rong: “…” 

Finally, she snapped, “Did I ever do anything decent in my life?” 

This is it, my engagement is doomed! 

Chen Zhou pondered hard. “Well, there was one thing. You somehow learned how to fish and would share the fish with us. I brought the fish home, and my mom thought I’d gone to the river myself. I told her you caught them, but she didn’t believe me. She said, ‘How could a little girl catch a fish that big?’ and gave me a beating, warning me never to go near the river again. After that, she restricted my outings from the household.” 

Su Rong: “…” 

Grinding her teeth, she said, “See? I had a conscience. At least I compensated you with fish! Anything else?” 

“Hmm…” Chen Zhou thought deeply, then slapped his forehead. “Oh, I remember! When you were seven, shortly after your mother passed away, you found a travelogue somewhere. You became obsessed with the grasslands beyond Jibei Pass. Coincidentally, a caravan from Zhenwei Escort Agency was heading there. You left a note and joined them. You were gone for six months. 

“Su Taishou and his wife sent people everywhere to find you. They couldn’t find you and thought you were dead. They cried buckets of tears. Then, six months later, you strolled back on your own and gave me a hand drum from the grasslands. I was so touched.” 

Su Rong: “…” 

He had exposed everything! 

Exasperated, she said, “Shut up already!”