Chapter Thirty-Three Mutual Responsibility

  The Hongchen Guest House had an average business today, with only three to five tables of guests, similar to most small wine houses.

  A woman in plain clothes walked in from the entrance, the woman was very beautiful, her face was like a jade plate, her lips were red and her eyes were bright, she walked quickly without losing her feminine charm.

  At the counter, the woman asked Nie Lingdang: "Nie's wife, where is Song Kai?"

  Nie Lingdang raised his head and saw that it was Liu Yuyan. He was taken aback for a moment, then pointed directly to the backyard and said: "It seemed like his voice just now, he should be in the backyard now."

  Liu Yuyuan nodded towards Nie Qingtong and walked towards the backyard.

  Nie Ling glared at Liu Yuvan's back, pouting her mouth. "Hmph, isn't she just a bit fairer than me? If I had lived in this Jiangnan water town since childhood, I would be even fairer and prettier than her!"

  Liu Yuyuan went to the backyard and, without looking around much, walked familiarly towards Song Kai's room. The relationship between her and Song Kai had long surpassed that of ordinary friends, but it was absolutely not a romantic relationship either; it was more like a deep and intimate friendship.

  Although Song Kai has changed a lot recently, Liu Yuyan still regards Song Kai as her best friend, only that her mindset has changed somewhat. In the past, no matter what happened, Liu Yuyan always stood in front. For example, when they were young, Song Kai and Liu Yuyan went to the outskirts of the city to steal watermelons together. When they were discovered, it was always Liu Yuyan who pulled Song Kai away and escaped, being chased by a dog, Liu Yuyan would stand behind and scare the dog away, and so on.

  Now, Song Kai seems to be no longer so weak. He has his own ideas and does not need Liu Yujuan's protection anymore. Instead, he needs her protection on the issue of engagement. This feeling is terrible, making Liu Yujuan feel a little heartbroken.

  With a confused mind, Liu Yuxuan directly pushed open Song Kai's door.

  The sound of water splashing echoed inside the room.

  Liu Yuyuan had just taken a step into the room when she stopped, only to see Song Kai standing in the wooden bucket, holding a ladle and pouring water over his fully naked body.

  "You..."

  Song Kai and Liu Yuwan spoke at the same time, pointing at each other.

  Then Song Kai covered his lower body with both hands, while Liu Yuxuan covered her eyes with both hands.

  "It's all over! I'm going blind!" Liu Yuying cried out anxiously, "What are you taking a bath for in broad daylight?"

  Song Kai squatted down and said gloomily: "I just... never mind, how did you come here."

  Liu Yuyan turned around and closed the door. She covered her eyes and sat down in the corner of the room, with her back to Song Kai.

  Song Kai saw that this woman did not leave, and was somewhat puzzled. Liu Yuxian didn't seem like a woman who would behave in such a way; how could she tolerate being naked with him in the same room?

  Song Kai didn't know that the owner of this body and Liu Yuwan were indeed good friends who grew up playing together naked. When they were young, not only did Liu Yuwan see Song Kai's bare butt, but Song Kai also saw Liu Yuwan's fully nude body. Liu Yuwan had a natural affinity for water, which she developed from a young age. At that time, she often ran to the riverbank with Song Kai, where Song Kai would take out his books to study while Liu Yuwan would jump into the water to swim. Since she didn't dare let her family know about going down to the river to bathe, every time Liu Yuwan would take off her clothes and wear Song Kai's clothes to go down to the river. After swimming, Song Kai would wear his wet clothes back home, while Liu Yuwan would change into her own dry clothes to return home.

  Once, Song Kai had to lend his clothes to Liu Yuxiang to wear, so he could only sit on the grass with his butt exposed and read a book. As a result, his little brother was stung by a hornet and became swollen, unable to even urinate, but was cured by the doctor at Chuntang Hall.

  Thinking of this, Liu Yuvan suddenly covered her mouth and burst out laughing. Over the past decade or so, she had taken care of Song Kai a lot, but also bullied him a lot. In the blink of an eye, both people have grown up like this. Song Kai's body...also seems to be more handsome than when he was young...

  Liu Yuyan's face turned red for a moment.

  Song Kai splashed and washed in the bathtub, looking at Liu Yuyan with a puzzled expression as she laughed and covered her belly. "What's so funny? It's not like I've never seen you before, why are you so happy?"

  "Who cares!" Liu Yuyan said with disdain, holding back her laughter. "Hurry up and wash, I have something important to tell you."

  "What's up?" Song Kai flew quickly to take a shower and wiped his body.

  "Yang Huaiyan seems to have found out that the cancellation of the engagement was your doing, and he might take revenge on you, so be careful," Liu Yuyan said seriously, no longer smiling. "His power is surprisingly great, these past few days, both my father and I are shocked, our family's business has plummeted."

  "What's going on? Tell me in detail," Song Kai also became serious, casually found a robe, put it on and asked.

  "Before, my father knew that Yang Rongguang was the county lieutenant and had some power, but he didn't pay much attention to it. After all, the county lieutenant is just a small official, and there are still the county magistrate, the governor, and the imperial censor above him. However, during this period of time, my father's raw materials were repeatedly seized by the government for containing contraband, although they were eventually returned to us. But it delayed our schedule. These are just the obvious things; the hidden forces are even more formidable. Within ten days, all the goods that left our house and traveled by land were robbed by bandits. Now many old customers dare not do business with us again." Liu Yuxiu said quickly, sighing.

  Song Kai was startled and walked over to Liu Yuxiu's side, sat down and said: "It's that serious! I've been exercising recently and didn't know about it. What is your father going to do?"

  Liu Yuyan turned her head, glanced at Song Kai and said: "Originally my father was also worried and planned to bring some gifts to the Yang family to apologize, but this morning, my father suddenly received a letter saying that my uncle had died of a stroke and asked my father to return to Beijing to take care of the family business."

  "What? Your great aunt?" Song Kai was a bit stunned, unable to understand what was going on. Liu Jiqian didn't seem to have any background after all.

  "Uh, in Chang'an City, the Liu family's fabric store was not very large, of course, it was much larger than our current business. More than ten years ago, my aunt used her methods to frame my father, causing my mother's death, and forcing my father and me to come to Suzhou City. At that time, although I was very young, I still remember that our family was not doing well, thanks to your father's help, our fabric store was able to expand quickly." Liu Yuxuan smiled gently at Song Kai, "So, when your father and my father arranged for us to be engaged, I didn't object. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, we've both grown up so much?"

  Song Kai also burst out laughing and reached out to tweak Liu Yuxuan's nose.

  Liu Yuyan didn't dodge, but smiled and said: "Look, Song Kai, you've really changed a lot. In the past, it was only me who would pinch your nose, and you never dared to touch me because you always said that men and women should not be intimate, and gentlemen do not look at what is not proper."

  "I... I'm such an idiot," Song Kai muttered, "Having a beautiful woman like her as a friend and not being moved to action, it's truly... unthinkable."

  "What are you talking about!" Liu Yuxiu hit Song Kai once and continued: "Anyway, it was all over ten years ago. But not long ago, when Eldest Uncle passed away, Grandfather revealed the truth of what happened back then. Now that Eldest Uncle is dead and Grandfather is getting old, he sent someone to find my father and asked him to return to the family and take over the business."

  "......Your great uncle doesn't have children?" Song Kai found it strange.

  "It's probably because my eldest aunt has done too many bad things, not to mention causing the death of my mother, but also harming several concubines of my eldest uncle. She didn't even leave behind a son or daughter," Liu Yuyan said with hatred, clearly still holding a grudge against her eldest aunt.

  Song Kai nodded, "So you...you're leaving!" Song Kai suddenly reacted, looking at Liu Yuxiang.

  Liu Yuyuan looked at Song Kai, her eyes filled with a hint of reluctance. "I don't want to leave you either, Song Kai, but this is the best outcome for now. Leaving Suzhou, my father and I won't have to fear Yang Huaiyan's revenge anymore. Returning to Chang'an City, taking over the business, I will also become a true lady of a wealthy family."

  "But... but... but I haven't married you yet!" Song Kai glared at Liu Yuxuan with a sullen face.

  "Silly!" Liu Yuwan laughed, "Really want to marry me? If you really want to marry me, then come with me to Chang'an, I'll let you become a son-in-law of the Liu family."

  "I... I'm so frustrated," Song Kai was really annoyed, he had always considered Liu Yuwan as his future wife, although this wife didn't truly like him, at least she was willing to marry him. But now, the cooked duck was about to fly away, he had put in great effort to rescue her from Yang Huaiyan's clutches, and now...

  "Alright, Song Kai, I'll wait for you. If I still can't find that lifesaver from back then within three years, I'll marry you," Liu Yuxiu said seriously, "Who made you take a look at my body already? You have to take responsibility."

  "Me... have?" Song swallowed his saliva, his eyes lingering on Liu Yuxiang's chest, "I... don't remember anymore, or else, let me take another look..."

  "Die, you've gone bad, Song Kai!" Liu Yuxiang burst out laughing. "Oh, right, you must be careful of Yang Huaiyan. After I and my dad leave secretly, he will definitely vent all his anger on you, so be extremely careful."

  Song Kai nodded, "Don't worry, Yu Cai, you must take good care of yourself and never marry someone else. You've seen my body just now, so you have to be responsible for me."

  Liu Yuyan found herself no longer a match for Song Kai.

  "Don't worry, take care of yourself, if you have any difficulties, write to me," Song Kai stood up.

  Liu Yuyuan also stood up, looking at Song Kai, "Alright, you too. If you can't make a living in Suzhou City, go to Chang'an City and become a part of my family. When we were young, you always stole chicken legs from home for me to eat. In the future, I'll share my chicken legs with you."

  Song Kai was moved by what he heard, and he reached out and hugged Liu Yuxuan, who also stretched out her arms to hug Song Kai.

  Song Kai really wanted to kiss Liu Yuxuan's tempting lips, but he was afraid of ruining the relationship between him and Liu Yuxuan, a mysterious, complicated, male-female, brotherly affectionate relationship.

  "I'm leaving, see you later," Liu Yuxiu let go and turned around to leave.

  As she walked to the door, Song Kai suddenly spoke up: "Yu Xian!"

  "Huh?" Liu Yuxuan turned her head, beautiful eyes looking at Song Kai with anticipation.

  Song Kai took big strides forward, his hands grasped Liu Yuxuan's head, and his mouth fiercely kissed Liu Yuxuan's red lips...