Madam Yan's Matchmaking Pavilion for Men

20 Planning over a Cup of Wine, A Matter of Principle

Yu Huang Rong took a deep breath and gave a wry smile. "There's no need to look at me like this. I also know it sounds rather strange. But it's actually not as hopeless as it sounds."

Luan Xin snorted. "The man you love is afraid of you. How could that not be hopeless? I mean if he didn't like you or hadn't taken note of you — however that would be possible — we could at least try to turn hate into love or find some grand occasion to have you meet.

"But what are we be supposed to do with this? I mean there has to be a reason why he's afraid of you." Luan Xin froze and mechanically turned to his friend. Giving Yu Huang Rong a look from head to toe, his lips twitched. "Well, I somehow feel that the situation is even more hopeless than I thought. You're a general, for Heaven's sake! You're ... tall and imposing and you reek of blood and whenever you open your mouth, it feels like you're yelling commands. You're scowling all the time too. Honestly, what is there to love about you?" He shook his head and put his cup down, turning to the captain of his secret guards. "Ah Ning, I feel like we should open a flask of wine instead. Maybe if he gets drunk, it won't hurt as much. What do you think?"

She Ning got up and went to find a flask of wine, not bothering to comment.

Yu Huang Rong's brows drew together. "Could you not mock me like this? It's really not as bad as you think. He does like me. It's just that ... he's shy. So he doesn't dare to talk to me. But he definitely loves me!"

Luan Xin nodded with his brows raised in doubt. "Yeah. I'm sure about that." His tone suggested that he was sure of something entirely different.

Yu Huang Rong refused to let his friend's words get him down. "You might think I'm being too optimistic but the matchmaker said the same. Zhang Shi Lan definitely loves me. He just doesn't dare to admit it ... yet."

Luan Xin's brows raised even higher. "The matchmaker? Which matchmaker? Are you sure you should trust their words? Aren't they just doing everything they can to get somebody married?"

Yu Huang Rong's lips twitched. Well, he couldn't deny that he had also thought that Madam Yan was just a money-grubbing charlatan. But by now, he felt that he could trust her. Well, at the very least, he could trust her as far as her benefits were ensured. Luckily, him marrying Zhang Shi Lan was in line with them.

He sighed and leaned over the table. "Xiao Xin, I know this is hard to believe but I'm sure that Zhang Shi Lan likes me. I don't know how this happened and ... you're probably right about me so I'm not sure why he loves me either but he does. He definitely does. And that is why I can't just ignore this. I've loved this man for many years and I finally have the chance to be with him. If I don't use it, I would regret this for the rest of my life."

Luan Xin kept quiet but his expression finally turned serious. Yu Huang Rong had always been someone who liked to joke around as long as he wasn't training his martial arts. Seeing him with that kind of expression and hearing him say these kinds of words, he was sure that Yu Huang Rong meant everything he had said. Yes, he loved this person. Yes, he was serious about this. He wanted to marry him, he wanted to spend his life with him. As unexpected as this was, it was the truth. And as his best friend, he should help him.

Luan Xin finally nodded. "Alright, I'll help you as good as I can. I can't promise anything though. I don't know that Zhang Shi Lan personally and I doubt it would be a good idea to go and ask anyone about him. So since we can't inquire about him, we can only try our best and hope that it will help. It might not be enough though. I hope you understand that."

Yu Huang Rong nodded. "Whatever you can come up with is already more than I would be able to think of on my own. It's worth a try."

Luan Xin nodded and took the flask of wine that She Ning had brought back. He poured all three of them a cup and pushed them over. "Alright, let's drink a cup. We will definitely make a good plan on how to capture this beauty's heart for Ah Rong!"