Eating the plum blossom pastries personally made by Aunt Rong, and taking another sip of Ice Crystal Flower tea, he instantly felt refreshed and carefree. It was simply a kind of enjoyment.
Deng Tianyu gently exhaled a breath of turbid air and put down his teacup: “Aunt Rong, how are the sales of the new style of intimate apparel?”
“Extremely good!”
“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the winner of this commercial dispute will be the faction of the Tongbao Merchant Guild.”
Qu Qirong’s brows and eyes held a smile. She took her handkerchief and gently wiped away the pastry crumbs clinging to the corner of his lips.
After the new intimate apparel came out, she first found a well-known female physician in Xuan City and had her issue a statement.
This statement said that the old style of intimate apparel brought various inconveniences and drawbacks, such as affecting development, among other issues.
Secondly, she found some socialites and noble ladies, as well as some women from common families. After letting them try the products, they promoted them within their respective circles.
Combining the two approaches, along with good quality and low prices, the new intimate apparel quickly became sought after by women.
In contrast, the faction from Mysterious Spirit Sect also launched a type of intimate apparel, and as always, targeted the high-end market.
Unfortunately, the silk provided by the family was ultimately a mundane item. No matter how you processed and decorated it to look luxurious, not many people were willing to pay for it.
Without a doubt, the two businesses formed a stark contrast—the winner and loser were clear at a glance!
Deng Tianyu asked: “In other words, we only need to wait for the results now?”
Qu Qirong responded: “Mm, it will be the same one month period again to see which side’s business yields the most profit.”
“Once again, it’s all thanks to Tianyu that we could win so easily.”
“With Aunt Rong’s methods, even without my suggestions, you could still win!”
To this, Deng Tianyu shook his head.
During his time interacting with Aunt Rong, he had gained a certain level of understanding of her.
Since Aunt Rong accepted this commercial dispute, she was certainly very confident.
Just like the cooperation between Spirit Treasure Pavilion and Purple Cloud Sect, Aunt Rong had always been in the dominant position.
Qu Qirong didn’t mention the commercial dispute again, instead changing the subject:
“Rarely do you have free time today; I want to paint a scene of ‘After Snow Clearing.'”
At this moment, the sky had cleared. The light of the rising sun, passing through the faint white clouds, sprinkled into the courtyard. It was exactly the picturesque scene of snow clearing and a sunny day.
Deng Tianyu smiled: “I’ll follow Aunt Rong’s arrangements!”
Facing an elder who cared for him so much, he had absolutely no reason to refuse.
In any case, it was just one principle: Filial Piety was the right path!
Before long, in the Orchid Pavilion, Qing’er cleared away the dishes and then turned to leave.
Qu Qirong set up the easel again, stood up, looked at the snowy scene outside, and began to sketch on the rice paper with her charcoal pencil.
But compared to when she was painting Deng Tianyu earlier, her strokes now lacked that certain flowing smoothness.
Deng Tianyu also noticed this scene and found it somewhat strange.
Logically speaking, Aunt Rong could paint him so well, grasping it entirely in her mind without needing to look up for reference.
So why did she seem so much more hesitant with the snowy scene right before her eyes?
Just like last time, Deng Tianyu took her hand and began to slowly sketch it out together.
Feeling the warm, moist touch pressing on the back of her hand, and the familiar masculine scent coming from her nose, Qu Qirong’s heartbeat quickened. Her jade-like face flushed slightly, and her breathing gradually became a bit hurried.
Before this, she had never experienced such a strange emotion, nor did she know if this emotion was appropriate for an elder to feel towards a junior.
She only knew now that she liked Tianyu being by her side, accompanying her, talking with her, holding her hand, and teaching her to paint.
A light, elegant, delicate fragrance lingered. Deng Tianyu’s heart also stirred restlessly. He inexplicably recalled the ambiguous intimacy of removing the Heart-Controlling Gu last time, and the faint, elusive scent of peach blossoms at the very end.
He quickly suppressed this restless feeling and began teaching with full concentration:
“Aunt Rong, the scenery of the courtyard is already drawn. Now let’s outline these falling snowflakes.”
“Mm.” Qu Qirong responded softly, her jade-like face growing even more beautiful and alluring. Even her crystalline earlobes were tinged with a rosy red.
It was entirely because the two were leaning closely together. When Deng Tianyu spoke, the warm breath from his words unavoidably brushed against the side of her face, causing ripples in her heart.
Under Deng Tianyu’s hand-over-hand guidance, the picture of ‘After Snow Clearing,’ which was relatively hard to paint, gradually appeared on the paper.
The frost-covered courtyard, the rockery and flowerbed, the lotus pond, and the scattered snowflakes…
However, Qu Qirong furrowed her delicate brows slightly: “Why do I feel the overall composition is somewhat slanted?”
“How could it be?”
Deng Tianyu glanced a couple of times but didn’t notice anything wrong with the ‘After Snow Clearing’ picture.
But then he looked more carefully and discovered the problem.
It turned out it was because he was standing sideways, leaning close to Aunt Rong, making the viewing angle inevitably tilted.
In this sideways position, anything drawn would naturally start to slant.
Qu Qirong naturally also discovered this point.
She furrowed her brows in thought for a moment and thought of a solution: “How about… Tianyu comes from behind and holds my hand? That way, this difference in angle won’t be an issue!”
Deng Tianyu was taken aback: “Is that alright?”
Coming from behind?
Wouldn’t that mean he’d have one arm around Aunt Rong’s waist and the other hand holding Aunt Rong’s soft hand?
But if so, the physical contact would be overly intimate.
“It’s fine. Tianyu is merely teaching me to paint; it’s harmless and doesn’t violate decorum!”
To this, Qu Qirong, as if impelled by some supernatural force, shook her head.
The moment she suggested coming from behind just now, she already felt it was somewhat improper.
After all, she was the elder, and Deng Tianyu was the junior. No matter what, they should observe the formalities between generations.
But when the junior inquired, Qu Qirong, as the elder, for some reason didn’t refuse and instead agreed to it.
Deng Tianyu asked: “Shall we start over on a new sheet?”
Since it was Aunt Rong’s request, he naturally had no reason to refuse.
And this shouldn’t be considered overstepping the bounds of filial piety, right?
After all, he and Aunt Rong simply wanted to properly paint a picture of ‘After Snow Clearing.’ It was just that the posture might be slightly more intimate.
Qu Qirong’s thoughts were now a bit chaotic. She felt that doing this wasn’t right, yet faintly, there was some inexplicable anticipation: “Start over on a new sheet!”
As she spoke, shrouded in shyness and nervousness, she didn’t look back at Deng Tianyu’s expression. She simply replaced the sheet with a new piece of rice paper.
“Aunt Rong, I’m coming then!”
Seeing this, Deng Tianyu walked behind Qu Qirong, slowly wrapped his arms around her slender, soft waist, and gently held her soft hand.
Even through the clothing, he could feel the plumpness and firmness of Aunt Rong’s body, and the warmth transmitted through the fabric.
It wasn’t his first time holding Aunt Rong, but he was still dazed by the soft sensation unique to a mature, beautiful woman.
Compared to Deng Tianyu, Qu Qirong, being held, trembled delicately. Her face burned hot, and her heart raced.
She could feel the palm on her waist, and at the same time, she could feel the warm chest pressed against her back. For some inexplicable reason, the roots of her ears began to heat up, and her body grew inexplicably weak and soft.
Especially that phrase: “Aunt Rong, I’m coming!”
It made Qu Qirong think once more of the intimate scene of removing the Heart-Controlling Gu, of her bosom being taken hold of…
