Everyday Romance After Becoming a Billionaire

"I told you not to go feed them a kill, but you wouldn’t listen. You just ditched me and ran. Such a dirty move."

"Why did you have to add those extra brushstrokes? I don’t care. You have to make it clear that there’s nothing between us."

"Just me coming to Hangzhou to meet you for dinner was already impossible to explain to my family. And now this? They think this painting is some kind of pledge of our love. How am I supposed to talk my way out of this?"

"Ugh, this is all your fault! Why did I even bother coming to meet some guy from the internet? This is so annoying."

"My fault?"

"And it’s not?"

’Fine... Women really are unreasonable creatures.’

"If it really comes to it, Su Ran, just say we broke up. You can even say you dumped me. I don’t care, as long as we clear up this misunderstanding."

"Fine."

Su Ran put down his phone and thought for a moment. ’Since the more I explain, the messier it gets, I’ll just use ’facts’ to put a stop to this ’rumor’ once and for all.’

He then said in all seriousness, "Sister Piaopiao, everyone, please stop guessing and listen to me for a second. Uh... I’ll lay my cards on the table... Yes! That’s right! Shan Weizi and I have a past! But... *sigh*... the good times didn’t last. Our personalities weren’t a good match, so we broke up. I swear we never even held hands. It was a purely online relationship. Now we’re just regular friends, so please don’t let your imaginations run wild."

Liu Piaopiao: "So... you dumped the future Sect Leader of the Spirit Sword Mountain Sect? Is that what happened?"

Wait, what?!

’My mind’s gone blank!’

’She’s a future Sect Leader?’

’Oh my god, doesn’t that mean getting Shan Weizi is as good as getting Spirit Sword Mountain?’

"Hahaha..." The old man laughed. "You young people know how to handle your own affairs. I’m not concerned, and you don’t need to explain anything to us. I’m very interested in your painting skills. Come on, let’s go inside, have a couple of drinks, and talk about art."

"Maybe not. Next time, for sure."

Su Ran didn’t want to step through their door. ’If I go in, I might not be able to get out.’

"Didn’t you want the painting? You already completed the old man’s task—bringing back something ’you like best, that also fits what the old man loves best’—all for that painting. What are you afraid of now? Let’s go, let’s go back and talk."

After saying this, Sister Piaopiao walked ahead toward the house. Since she was willing to lead the way for him, giving him both respect and a way out of his awkwardness, Su Ran couldn’t refuse any longer and followed the family inside.

As he walked up the steps and was about to enter, he tripped on the threshold and nearly fell. Fortunately, Sister Piaopiao reached out and steadied him in time.

"Are you okay? Do you not watch where you’re going?"

"I was."

"You were watching and you still tripped?"

"The threshold to your house is too high. I can’t get in."

Sister Piaopiao scoffed lightly and said with amusement, "If the threshold is so high, why did you stir up trouble in the first place? Stop being a smart-aleck. Let’s go~"

They returned to the courtyard and headed toward the dining hall.

At night, bathed in the glow of Chinese-style lanterns, Peach Blossom Nunnery had the air of an ancient, scholarly estate. ’That makes sense,’ he thought. ’This family really does come from a long line of scholars.’

The courtyard was filled with all sorts of flowers, all neatly tended. Liu Piaopiao mentioned that Weizi was responsible for all of them. Whenever she saw beautiful plants and flowers outside, she would buy them and bring them back to plant and fertilize them herself.

Passing a small path, Su Ran glanced over at the small building again. Shan Weizi was leaning against her window, staring blankly into space. When she saw Su Ran looking at her, she immediately turned her head away. ’I don’t want to talk to you.’

The two of them had nothing to say to each other.

In the antique-filled dining hall, Liu Piaopiao prepared some late-night snacks for Su Ran.

"It smells amazing. Sister Piaopiao, you’re a great cook."

"Such a sweet-talker. You guys eat first. I’m going to get a jug of good wine so we can all have a drink."

Liu Piaopiao swayed her curvaceous figure and gracefully left for a moment. When she returned, she was carrying a dusty earthenware jug of wine and began pouring it for everyone.

Su Ran wasn’t much of a drinker, but the wine had a rich aroma. He took a small sip and praised it, "This wine is excellent. It’s so fragrant, with a sweet aftertaste. Where did you buy it? I’ll have to get some to take back to Jiangning."

"This is the first time we’re drinking this today, too. You can’t buy it anywhere." Liu Piaopiao wagged her index finger, then tapped it against her chin as she said, "Weizi brewed this wine herself."

Su Ran’s eyes lit up, his admiration for her growing even more. "She even knows how to brew wine? I’m thoroughly impressed."

"Of course! When Weizi was thirteen, she followed the Song Dynasty classic, the *Wine Scripture*. She insisted on doing it all by herself and wouldn’t let any of us help... uh, not that we could’ve been much help anyway. Every day after school, she’d lock herself in her courtyard to study the *Wine Scripture*. It took her over a month of experimenting before she succeeded. She brewed dozens of bottles of this wine and buried them under the peach grove in the backyard. Back then, I asked her why. She said this wine was only for people she cared about. When she grew up and got married, she would take the wine with her. So, Su Ran, you’d better cherish this drink."

"..."

’A young maiden burying wine in a peach grove.’

’This woman is truly the epitome of poetry and art.’

Su Ran had to admit, a woman like Shan Weizi, who was proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, was the kind of girl who could easily capture any man’s heart.

This kind of girl yearned for a ’hold your hand and grow old with you’ kind of love.

’It would be such a shame if she ended up with a scumbag!’

The late-night snack lasted for half an hour. Su Ran was about to get up and leave, but the old man, who had drunk to his heart’s content but had not yet had his fill of talking about art, pushed him back down. He insisted Su Ran stay and chat, saying there were plenty of rooms in the courtyard and asking Liu Piaopiao to prepare one. Su Ran’s refusals were futile, so he had no choice but to agree.

He chatted with the old man until past nine o’clock. The old man finally gave up when he became too sleepy to continue. Shan Zhentian helped the old man back to his room, and Liu Piaopiao led Su Ran to his.

The room he was staying in was across from Shan Weizi’s small building. Liu Piaopiao had just finished cleaning it and had put on fresh bedding.