Chapter 162: Taming

Guihua, upon hearing Su Ruo's words, instantly became tense, but quickly she returned to normal and said: "It's just an ordinary little trinket, not worth much money, not something a young lady would care for."

Su Ruo had made up her mind to see it; how could she be put off by just two sentences? She said: "I just like it, I want to take a look."

"This..."

Guihua's face flashed with hesitation and difficulty; at this moment Yan Jiu also looked over, he was somewhat puzzled that Guihua, who always appeared generous, would not let Su Ruo see just a bell.

"Aunt Gui, you wouldn't refuse to let me see it, would you?" Su Ruo said with a smile, but her eyes held a deep, unfathomable coldness.

Guihua knew Su Ruo had made up her mind to see it no matter what, and she gritted her teeth and said: "It's not that I don't want to show it to you, miss; this bell is the keepsake of my deceased child, also his favorite thing while he was alive, the only thing he left me in this world, so I always keep it with me and never part from it."

Yan Jiu instantly understood Guihua; if that's the case, then this bell holds special meaning for Guihua, and it's understandable that she doesn't want to show it to Su Ruo.

The smile at the corner of Su Ruo's lips grew colder; to avoid letting herself see this bell, she really went to great lengths, even using the excuse of a deceased child.

Guihua hadn't expected that, having come this far, Su Ruo would still not let go, as if she had made some kind of determination, and said: "It's not going to be anything valuable anyway, miss, if you want to look, just look."

If it were someone else who had said all that, they would certainly not look.

After all, it's someone else's son's keepsake, and they clearly don't want to; insisting on looking would be impolite.

But Su Ruo smiled, took the bell from Guihua's hand, and said: "Aunt Gui, don't worry, I'll just look and definitely won't break it."

Yan Jiu was somewhat dissatisfied with Su Ruo's action, but Su Ruo was after all his most beloved disciple, always observant of propriety, rarely acting so childish, so he swallowed the words he had been about to say.

He thought, forget it; after all Su Ruo is still a child, she rarely encounters something she likes, let her be indulgent, just let her be indulgent!

Su Ruo didn't know what her master was thinking; she picked up the bell and examined it closely, it bore intricate dragon-and-phoenix floral patterns; although it was small, when she held it in her hand it felt substantial and icy cold to the touch.

Besides that, there seemed nothing special about it; Su Ruo waved it in front of her mistress, but the mistress showed no change.

Su Ruo tried several more times, but the mistress continued doing whatever she was supposed to do, completely unaffected.

Su Ruo furrowed her brows, not knowing whether she was overthinking or whether the bell was useless in her hands and only useful in the hands of someone special.

Just as Su Ruo was lost in thought, Guihua said: "Miss Su, can I have the bell back?"

Su Ruo then came to her senses, returned the bell to her hand: "Thank you, this gourd is very pretty."

"It's just a child's toy." Guihua said casually, but in a place unseen by others, the corner of her mouth curled with a mocking smile.

Yan Jiu saw Su Ruo still staring at the bell, smiled and said: "If you like it, let your Third Senior Brother find you some later; he's best at scavenging these odd and curious things."

Su Ruo knew her master had misunderstood, but without explanation she smiled and said: "Okay."

At night, Su Ruo lay in bed, turned on her side to look at the already asleep mistress beside her; the day's events still lingered in her mind.

Since the mistress woke up, she has been sleeping together with Su Ruo; one could say that aside from when Su Ruo is in class, the mistress hardly leaves her side; fortunately the mistress sleeps well and quietly, not disturbing Su Ruo.

At this moment, Su Ruo gazed at the mistress; even asleep, her near-perfect visage sank into contemplation.

If Guihua were a man, Su Ruo could still suspect her of harboring ill intentions toward the mistress, but since she is a woman, Su Ruo truly cannot fathom what her painstaking effort to get close to the mistress is for.

In the days that followed, Su Ruo observed Guihua more closely, but Guihua never used that bell again, behaving quite normally.

But Su Ruo's inner anxiety only grew; this matter caused her great distress, even seriously affecting her sleep.

When Su Ruo appeared before everyone with two huge dark circles under her eyes, everyone was startled.

Several senior brothers hurried to comfort her: it's just an exam, don't be nervous.

Even the master silently gave Su Ruo a calming medicine.

Su Ruo had something on her mind, but didn't know how to say it.

One day Su Ruo sat in the cafeteria, lost in thought as she pondered matters, when Si Yannian suddenly appeared before her and asked: "Is the cafeteria food not tasty?"

Su Ruo then came to her senses, realizing she had been stirring the food with her chopsticks for a long time without taking a bite.

"Oh, no." Su Ruo was about to move her chopsticks when Si Yannian snatched the food away, and in a few bites he finished the food Su Ruo had been stirring.

Then he pushed a food box toward Su Ruo; when she opened it, inside were indeed the dishes prepared by Master Wang.

Su Ruo smelled the aroma of the food, her eyes instantly brightened; the dishes made by Master Wang, she had thought about them for a long time after eating them last time.

After all, he had worked as an Imperial Chef in the palace; his culinary skill is absolutely beyond what ordinary people can match.

Now being able to eat Master Wang's dishes again, Su Ruo naturally wasn't polite; she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat, and at the moment the food entered her mouth, all her worries vanished.

Si Yannian watched Su Ruo, unable to stop himself from muttering in his heart: truly heartless, knowing he was angry, yet not even trying to cheer him up.

But upon seeing Su Ruo's dark circles, the resentment in Si Yannian's heart vanished instantly, replaced by pity.

Su Ruo quickly finished the two plates of food, she rubbed her round, full belly, feeling an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

Only then did Si Yannian ask: "Come on! What exactly is wrong with you?"

Su Ruo asked somewhat surprised: "Is it really that obvious?"

Si Yannian directly rolled his eyes and said: "With such huge dark circles, if I still couldn't tell you had something on your mind, would you think I'm blind?"

Su Ruo said with a smile: "I do have a matter I need your help with; my master hired a nanny to look after my mistress, I think she's problematic, and I want you to help me investigate."

If possible, Su Ruo wouldn't want to trouble Si Yannian, but she really has no suitable personnel for investigation at the moment.

Si Yannian asked Su Ruo for some basic information about Guihua, then said to let her wait for news.

Si Yannian actually agreed so quickly, surprising Su Ruo, who asked in astonishment: "You don't even ask why?"

Si Yannian countered: "Didn't you already say she has a problem?"

Su Ruo was momentarily speechless.

Si Yannian sat up more properly: "Or if you want to tell me about your confusion, I'm willing to listen."

It was rare for Si Yannian to be so earnest; Su Ruo also indeed wanted to find someone to confide in, so she told him all her discoveries and doubts from these days.

After hearing this, Si Yannian furrowed his brows: "You know, in this world there are things science cannot explain, such as some harmful techniques."

Su Ruo suddenly understood; she had been tangled over Guihua's motive and the reasonableness of this matter, but she had forgotten that in this world some things are inherently unreasonable.

Su Ruo almost immediately thought of Guan Yue; she had a feeling that perhaps Guan Yue could answer her doubts.

Su Ruo immediately said: "I understand, I'll go first." Then she hurriedly ran toward the dormitory.

Si Yannian watched Su Ruo's retreating back, the corner of his mouth slightly curved, silently muttering in his heart: "Truly heartless!"