Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Parting on Bad Terms
Ming Lingyi couldn’t miss the amusement in Li Yun’s voice. She stood up and made a show of pulling the stool out from under him.
"Ming’s Restaurant isn’t open in the afternoon. Get up."
Her actions clearly meant she was trying to kick him out.
Li Yun, who had been smiling just a moment ago, now had a dark expression.
’Was that really necessary?’
’All I did was speak the truth, didn’t I?’
’Is that Jiang Yuchuan so great that she’s always thinking about him? She won’t even let me say one thing about him?’
Li Yun stood up in anger. "What’s so great about him?"
Today, he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
He was the one who had shared a bed with Ming Lingyi last night, yet now her mind was occupied by someone else. How could Li Yun not be angry?
He even felt like he’d been used.
’Ming Lingyi slept with me while she has someone else in her heart? This is so frustrating!’
Li Yun’s mind couldn’t help but race. ’Could it be that when he was being intimate with Ming Lingyi, she was thinking of another man?’
The moment this idea surfaced, Li Yun’s expression turned utterly grim.
’A replacement.’
’A stand-in.’
These labels floated through his mind.
Ming Lingyi’s mind was a mess, too. Hearing Li Yun’s interrogation, she found it completely baffling.
She hadn’t been comparing Jiang Yuchuan to Li Yun.
But Li Yun just had to keep pestering her relentlessly.
"Better than you, at least." Ming Lingyi tossed out the four cold words, not even sparing him a glance.
In the end, the two parted on bad terms.
Li Yun waited, but no explanation from Ming Lingyi came. After standing frozen in place for a long while, he turned and left without another word.
After watching him leave, Ming Lingyi felt no sense of relief. She found a random seat, sat down, and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
She knew she had indeed let her feelings about Jiang Yuchuan get the better of her and had taken it out on Li Yun.
Making him angry was her fault, too.
She went back to the rear courtyard for a nap. When she woke up, Ming Lingyi was still a bit groggy.
Gazing at the canopy above her, Ming Lingyi suddenly remembered that the bed curtains at Li Yun’s place next door seemed to have a similar pattern.
She wondered if he had deliberately arranged it so she could sleep more soundly in an unfamiliar environment.
After a short nap, Ming Lingyi woke up feeling less troubled.
Initially, she had indeed been overthinking things because of Jiang Yuchuan. She couldn’t accept someone who wasn’t willing to run toward her with all their heart. Jiang Yuchuan’s hesitation and calculations had disappointed her, but it wasn’t enough to make her despondent.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand, but perhaps she was a bit greedy, always hoping for someone who would love her purely and passionately.
The moment the other person showed the slightest bit of retreat, she wanted no part of it.
A love born from careful deliberation and a weighing of pros and cons was not something she cared for.
But she couldn’t demand the same from others.
It could only be said that she and Jiang Yuchuan perhaps lacked a bit of fate.
After reflecting and admitting it was her fault, Ming Lingyi decided she would apologize to Li Yun the next time she saw him.
However, Ming Lingyi didn’t expect that for the next two consecutive days, she would hear no news of Li Yun at all.
But business at Ming’s Restaurant had been incredibly good these past two days.
Thanks to the last event, Ming’s Restaurant’s fame had practically exploded overnight.
Of course, the contribution from the Xie family had also been indispensable.
Thinking of Xie Ruijing’s expression when he settled the bill two days ago, Ming Lingyi couldn’t help but smile.
"What the hell is this Immortal Brew? It costs five hundred silver?"
Xie Ruijing’s incredulous voice still seemed to echo in the air.
But Ming’s Restaurant had clearly marked prices. The one who came to collect the payment was Shi Mingyue, who simply turned and pointed at the wooden plaque on the wall, her gaze telling Xie Ruijing that they weren’t overcharging him.
When Xie Ruijing saw the price written on the wooden plaque, the look on his face couldn’t be described as merely "ugly."
Thinking about how Xie Ruijing had actually walked back to his table and poured the entire pot of burned saber into his mouth, Ming Lingyi almost burst out laughing.
She couldn’t help it. No matter how many times she replayed Xie Ruijing’s one-man show from that day, she couldn’t stop herself from wanting to laugh.
"Miss, are we going to hold the same event again?" Xiao Chun asked curiously as she approached Ming Lingyi in the evening.
In truth, she wasn’t the only one who was curious. The diners who had come to Ming’s Restaurant over the past two days were all wondering the same thing.
Many scholars had shown up, in particular. They had likely heard that the Emperor himself had served as a judge for the poetry gathering at Ming’s Restaurant, and they were full of regret for not being able to participate in the last competition. They were desperate for another chance.
It didn’t even matter if the Emperor wasn’t the judge this time. At the very least, they could boast in the future that they had participated in a competition at the same poetry gathering the Emperor had once judged.
But for the past two days, there had been no news from Ming’s Restaurant, and many people were getting antsy.
Even a few of the students from the Imperial College who had participated before but weren’t selected, people who were acquainted with Ming Lingyi, had come by these past two days to ask when the second round of the competition would start. They could hardly wait.
"Mm, soon. Just wait a little longer," Ming Lingyi replied to Xiao Chun.
"Why do we have to wait?" Xiao Chun didn’t understand. Shouldn’t they strike while the iron was hot? Now was the perfect time to press their advantage, wasn’t it?
Ming Lingyi said, "The judges we can invite this time probably won’t compare to the first. Many people say they don’t care, but without powerful judges, some contestants will always feel it isn’t ’authoritative’ enough. We’re just a small restaurant. If someone really came to cause trouble, it would be a huge hassle to deal with."
Xiao Chun asked, "Then what should we do?"
Ming Lingyi smiled. "So we have to think of a way to make those capable people with official positions come to us of their own accord."
Hearing this, Xiao Chun’s eyes widened in surprise.
’Has my Miss gone crazy?’
’What she’s saying sounds like she’s talking in her sleep.’
’Making those old scholars and high-ranking officials with government posts come to them and act as judges for their little restaurant? Is that even possible?’
Ming Lingyi could see Xiao Chun’s astonishment; the question ’Are you dreaming?’ was practically written all over her face. Ming Lingyi laughed out loud.
"It shouldn’t be too difficult," Ming Lingyi said.
Just as she said this, Little Stone came dashing in from outside.
He found Ming Lingyi the moment he entered.
"Boss!" After the Crown Prince’s warning, even though Little Stone really wanted to be close to Ming Lingyi, he still very properly addressed her as such. "I’ve found out everything. There are two print shops in the West Market that can take on printing jobs. But their requirements are different."
Little Stone said excitedly.
