Chapter 97: Pre-nuptial Jitters
After Chengfeng Shan said he would take them to a good place later, he didn’t continue speaking. Instead, he changed the topic, diverting Gu Yu’s attention and starting to talk about business matters instead.
Although Chengfeng Shan and Gu Yu had exchanged many thoughts through letters, face-to-face conversations were much more detailed. As soon as Chengfeng Shan started to speak, both of them began to discuss seriously.
Gu Yu was very concerned about the future development of the chili pepper and wine businesses, after all, he had already invested. As Chengfeng Shan’s business grew, he would also receive more dividends.
They shared the same goal: to earn a lot of money.
Therefore, Gu Yu didn’t hold back and shared the marketing strategies he knew from modern times to help Chengfeng Shan understand more and make their business more prosperous.
“Haha, it seems I’m late! Brother Gu, you’re here too. Are you planning to go to that place together?”
“That place?”
“Didn’t Chengfeng tell you, it’s that…”
“Go, go, go, you talk too much! We’ll discuss it when we get there. If I tell you now, there won’t be any anticipation! Since Brother Tang is here too, let’s not delay any further and go directly! I’ve already asked the servants to prepare the carriage, and we can go to that place now.”
After Maoyuan Tang arrived, he was not surprised because he had already learned from the servants that Gu Yu was coming.
However, the first moment he saw Gu Yu, Maoyuan Tang smiled slyly and mentioned “that place,” which made Gu Yu very confused.
Chengfeng Shan had previously said he was going to a good place, and now Maoyuan Tang said the same, which piqued Gu Yu’s curiosity. He really wanted to know where this good place was!
However, Chengfeng Shan did not let Maoyuan Tang reveal the location directly. He hit Maoyuan Tang’s mouth with his fan, stopping him from saying anything further. Maoyuan Tang, feeling annoyed, rolled his eyes, thinking that Chengfeng Shan was up to his usual tricks again.
Gu Yu was already married. If he went to such a place, his wife might beat him to death when he got home!
At this moment, Chengfeng Shan raised his eyebrows at Maoyuan Tang, signaling with his eyes not to reveal the location. Otherwise, if Gu Yu refused to go after hearing it, a lot of the fun would be lost!
Last time, he didn’t keep Gu Yu for dinner, so he definitely couldn’t fail this time!
As for Gu Yu’s wife… A true man should not be controlled by a woman. Gu Yu needed to reassert his authority as the husband.
Even if he wasn’t afraid of Lin Yue knowing, even though they were getting married in a few months… At most, if he was discovered, he would be beaten up by Lin Yue.
He couldn’t back down!
Perhaps wanting to have one last wild time before marriage, Chengfeng Shan felt fearless. In this excited mood, he naturally wanted to drag his two friends out to experience something new.
Gu Yu didn’t say much. After all, he was quite curious about the good place Chengfeng Shan mentioned, so he didn’t refuse. He got into the carriage and headed to the destination.
Then…
“This is the good place you were talking about?”
Gu Yu looked at the four large characters ‘Exotic Charm’ written on the plaque. Then he looked at the women walking back and forth inside. They had blonde hair and blue eyes and wore revealing clothes, completely different from the local black hair and black eyes.
It was precisely because of this that people in the capital were very curious.
When Gu Yu saw that the good place was here, he couldn’t help but twitch his mouth, thinking that Chengfeng Shan was really not afraid of Lin Yue skinning him alive.
Gu Yu was no stranger to Lin Yue. With her fiery personality, if she knew about this, it would be a big deal.
Chengfeng Shan had even mentioned that he was getting married in a few months, but now he had brought him to such a place. Gu Yu couldn’t help but admire Chengfeng Shan’s boldness…
Anyway, he didn’t dare to go in.
With a sudden thought of chopping off a wolf’s head and punching a tiger to death, Gu Yu’s feet became like mountains, completely unwilling to go in.
“Brother Gu, we’re already here, don’t hesitate!”
“Brother Cheng, I don’t know if you want to have one last fling, but don’t drag me into it! If my little wife finds out I’ve come to such a place, she’ll beat me to death.”
“Women can’t control what we men want to do. What if they find out? Don’t be afraid! I’ll cover for you if anything happens.”
Seeing Gu Yu’s reluctance to go in, Chengfeng Shan quickly spoke, trying to persuade Gu Yu to go in with them.
It would be such a pity not to go in when they were already at the entrance!
However, Gu Yu shook his head at Chengfeng Shan, indicating that he still wanted to keep his life!
Even though Chengfeng Shan was patting his chest and saying that he would take responsibility, Gu Yu didn’t dare to believe Chengfeng Shan’s assurance, as Gu Mengyao could kill him with just a little finger.
Besides, Gu Yu wasn’t interested in the blonde-haired, blue-eyed women inside. They all looked quite old. As a thirteen-year-old boy, he felt he would be at a disadvantage.
“Haha, Brother Gu, Chengfeng didn’t explain clearly to you… This is a recently opened opera house, with performances by a group of Westerners. It’s very popular and has recently become very fashionable in the capital! Today, it seems they are performing something called ‘Twilight Dawn Love,’ which tells the story of a man who fears light and meets the woman he loves, ultimately having to stand in the sunlight. It’s worth going in to see how the performance is.”
Although Maoyuan Tang had been worried earlier that Gu Yu would be scolded by his wife, it would be too unfortunate to turn back now that Gu Yu had reached the entrance!
So, at this moment, Maoyuan Tang had to speak up, wanting to persuade Gu Yu to stay and watch.
The situation was similar to what Maoyuan Tang described. This was indeed a place to watch Western opera, but it also accepted other businesses privately. This attracted many young masters with a taste for adventure, who would spend a fortune and then try to experience the taste of Western women.
However, these were only conducted secretly. Ostensibly, this was just a place similar to a theater.
Even though the reception area on the first floor had many beautifully dressed women throwing seductive glances at passing men, it was not like a brothel where one could directly take them to a room for some intimate activities.
It required negotiation and then arranging a time.
After hearing Maoyuan Tang’s introduction and learning that this was not a brothel, Gu Yu no longer refused.
His relationship with Chengfeng Shan and Maoyuan Tang was not shallow. Previously, due to Gu Mengyao’s departure to the battlefield, Gu Yu had directly refused their invitations and had no mood to eat and drink.
After Gu Mengyao returned to the capital, his family also returned to Lian Town…
Therefore, this was a good opportunity to strengthen their relationship, and he couldn’t keep making excuses… Gu Yu had business dealings with Chengfeng Shan and Maoyuan Tang. Although they didn’t have to drink themselves into a stupor at the table every day, they still needed to communicate more to maintain good relationships.
Furthermore, since this was just a place to watch opera, Gu Yu, under the risk of being beaten by Gu Mengyao, followed Chengfeng Shan inside.
Gu Yu had seen many foreigners in modern times, so he was not interested in the Western women before him. Even when they enthusiastically approached him, Gu Yu skillfully dodged to the side.
Compared to these women, Gu Yu was more curious about how the opera would be performed later.
However, after staying for a while, Gu Yu looked at the enthusiastic Western women with some confusion, curious that they had not spoken.
Could it be that all these Western women were mute?
“Brother Gu, you must be curious why they don’t talk! It’s actually because their language is not the same as ours, so there are communication barriers… That’s why they avoid speaking and communicate only through gestures and eye contact.”
“What’s the point of that? Is it just because their appearance is different, so they think it’s good even if they don’t speak?”
“It’s more or less like that! After all, people are curious about rare things.”
While Maoyuan Tang was being pulled away for tea by a few Western women, Chengfeng Shan stayed by Gu Yu’s side and answered his questions.
Although Chengfeng Shan had appeared very enthusiastic about coming here, he felt a sense of ordinariness once he entered.
Chengfeng Shan genuinely liked Lin Yue, so he didn’t intend to seek pleasure with other women.
He just wanted to vent.
Chengfeng Shan was very satisfied with getting married in a few months, but after the joy, he felt a sense of fear towards marriage, which had kept him awake for several consecutive nights.
After marrying Lin Yue, it also meant the appearance of family responsibilities, and the happy single days would be gone forever, making Chengfeng Shan feel uneasy.
However, Chengfeng Shan did not not want to get married.
In short, it was a very conflicted emotion that led Chengfeng Shan to take such a bold action at this time.
If Gu Yu knew what Chengfeng Shan was thinking, he would definitely reach out and pat Chengfeng Shan’s shoulder to comfort him.
Chengfeng Shan was suffering from pre-nuptial jitters!
However, this kind of thing would be resolved after marriage.
As for now, he would continue to be conflicted!
Gu Yu didn’t want to get involved with the Western women, so he was looking around the hall, wanting to see if there was anything different here.
Since the performance area on the second floor was not ready and people were not allowed to enter, Gu Yu could only wander around on the first floor.
As a result, even the fruits and tea placed on the table were produced in Linfeng Kingdom.
This greatly disappointed Gu Yu. Finally, after saying a word to Chengfeng Shan, he headed to the latrine in the backyard, preparing to relieve himself.
“You can’t do that…”
However, just as Gu Yu arrived at the latrine and before he could unbutton his clothes, voices suddenly sounded from outside.
Especially, it was fluent English.
This made Gu Yu twitch his mouth, thinking it was too much of a coincidence that as soon as he arrived, he heard voices outside.
Those Western women didn’t speak, but when they did, it was in English?
No wonder no one in Linfeng Kingdom could communicate with them…
But that didn’t include Gu Yu.
Listening to the English, which was quite similar to modern English, Gu Yu didn’t make a sound to disturb them, but prepared to listen to what they would say next.
Fortunately, his academic performance was good, and he didn’t fail at this moment.
