Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

6 A Rocky Start, Toward a Beautiful Future

Madam Yan pushed the door to the hall open with a smile. "Greetings, everyone. I sincerely apologize for letting you wait for so long."

Yu Huang Rong's brows twitched. She sincerely apologized? Hadn't she let them wait deliberately and even stood in front of the door to observe them? As expected, this woman really wasn't any good!

Madam Yan didn't seem to notice his dark look and happily continued. "The women have gathered in the garden by now. If you would care to follow me." She motioned at the door and stepped outside again.

Luan Chang Fu took the lead in following her and the other men trailed behind. Yu Huang Rong wanted to walk next to Zhang Shi Lan but before he had the time to approach him, Qian Mu Qing had claimed that spot for himself.

That guy ... Was he doing this on purpose?! Yu Huang Rong frowned but he could do nothing else but to bring up the rear. Well, at the very least, he could watch Zhang Shi Lan all he wanted from there. This scholar was really ... very beautiful.

He observed how his shiny black hair slightly swung from side to side with each step he took and how the sleeves of his robe swayed as if moved by an invisible breeze. Ah, he really had an elegant gait! This ... really made him want to make him stumble just so he could reach out and catch him. Wasn't that the kind of thing people thought of as romantic?

Before he had the chance to act on his impulse, Qian Mu Qing leaned closer to Zhang Shi Lan. Yu Huang Rong's eyes narrowed in response. That bastard even lowered his voice, as if he wanted to whisper some sweet nothings beside the scholar's ear! Yu Huang Rong clenched his hands into fists. Unacceptable! This was completely unacceptable! How dare he get so close to him! Let's see if he would still be so daring if he sent someone to bash him up after this event! This kind of behavior had to be suppressed at all costs!

"Scholar Zhang ..." Qian Mu Qing glanced behind them and met with the furious glare of General Yu. He gulped but forced himself to continue speaking. "Scholar Zhang, say, do you think either of us offended General Yu?"

"Mn?"

Qian Mu Qing glanced to the back again and broke out in cold sweat. Shit! Forget about Zhang Shi Lan. The only person that had offended this guy was obviously he himself! He gulped and turned back to Zhang Shi Lan. "He's been looking over here the whole time. And he doesn't look happy. It's as if I'm owing him a large sum of money!" And he never owed people money. He was the richest man in the capital right after His Majesty, alright? Who would he owe money to?!

Zhang Shi Lan's gaze flickered and he peeked behind them. It wasn't that he wanted to see General Yu, no, he was merely doing this because Qian Mu Qing looked so anxious. He couldn't disappoint him. He had to take a look at least before he reassured him. Otherwise, he would just be spouting empty words. Yes, that was definitely the reason.

His heart leaped though when he saw General Yu. Thankfully, the other man wasn't looking in their direction. Instead, he seemed rather interested in the garden. Ah, as expected of General Yu, he had such refined taste!

Zhang Shi Lan turned back to Qian Mu Qing and smiled. "You must be imagining things. General Yu isn't that type of person. Even if you owed him money, he'd surely be magnanimous and let you pay him back later."

"But ... I don't even owe him money! Why does he keep looking at me like this?!"

Zhang Shi Lan glanced back again and shook his head. "What are you even saying? He's admiring the view."

Yu Huang Rong nodded to himself. Ah, hearing the person he loved praise him ... His foul mood about that busybody Qian Mu Qing had already lessened. It didn't disappear completely though. It was just as Zhang Shi Lan had said: He was merely admiring the view. So why did that damned merchant have to look over every few seconds?! He glared at him just in time to meet Qian Mu Qing's gaze again.