My Wife Is The Final Boss

Chapter 1173 - 645: Ah Qing’s Fortuitous Success (Double - )

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As they reached the entrance, Xu Chang’an and Li Zhibai happened to bump into Ah Qing coming down from the banquet platform. From the way the food box in her hand was swaying, it seemed that whatever was inside had been delivered.

Both Li Zhibai and Xu Chang’an were somewhat surprised to see that... Ah Qing was in an exceptionally good mood, her steps were lively, and she was even humming a little tune.

Knowing that Ah Qing was the student of the Sect Leader and a ’Senior,’ both master and disciple paid close attention to Ah Qing and certainly no longer considered her a stranger. Seeing Ah Qing in such a state, they both stopped curiously.

"..."

Ah Qing simply wanted to avoid getting dragged into a conversation about her Gui Water by not staying too long, so after the topic on stage concluded, she went up to propose a toast.

She did her best to deliver the snacks, say what needed to be said, and offer her gratitude as well as she could.

Ah Qing was very pleased with her performance.

Especially when... previously tired Yun Qian opened her eyes and perked up to talk with her after she entered the room, even willing to eat the snacks she brought... Such a scene left Zhu Pingniang, Wen Li, and Miss Lu very surprised.

Especially Miss Lu, who wanted to serve Yun Qian as a maid, felt a pang of jealousy seeing Ah Qing serve Yun Qian snacks, and her gaze was notably conflicted.

It was clear they hadn’t expected her to have such a close relationship with Miss Yun.

Even Ah Qing herself hadn’t expected this. In her impression, she had merely held hands and escorted Yun Qian to see Xu Chang’an and hadn’t spoken much otherwise, but Miss Yun turned out to like her so much and even praised her earlier sword dance, expressing a desire to learn...

This unexpected gain made Ah Qing indescribably happy and excited... Even her steps felt a bit floating.

Celebratory drinks?

She hadn’t thought there was anything worth celebrating about a mere performance, but Yun Qian’s attitude made her feel it was necessary to have a good drink with that group of girls.

Ah Qing, made significant strides toward her goal of becoming a maid.

At this moment, Li Zhibai and Xu Chang’an saw her, and she, of course, saw them too.

There was only one path to the banquet platform, so they ended up having a narrow encounter on the stairs.

Uh oh...

How did she run into the Young Master? She was just too happy and forgot her surroundings.

Didn’t her humming just now get caught by the Young Master? Would he think she was being frivolous?

But there was no helping it.

Miss Yun, Miss Yun actually liked her that much.

Oh no, oh no...

Ah Qing’s body gradually stiffened as she met Li Zhibai’s gaze.

Her smile was hard to restrain.

Ah Qing lightly bit her lip, forced herself to calm down, took a deep breath, and bowed, trying to maintain her previous demeanor: "Ah Qing greets the young lady and young master."

Since Li Zhibai was present, Xu Chang’an couldn’t remain silent out of the rules. He nodded after Li Zhibai was startled: "...Hmm."

Xu Chang’an, standing behind Li Zhibai, then nodded gently at Ah Qing with a kind expression.

This was the girl Yun Qian said she liked, so Xu Chang’an showed her his utmost goodwill.

However, just that one look from Xu Chang’an made Ah Qing, whose heart was already hard to restrain, more restless, especially since... she knew that her previously unbecoming dance had been completely seen by him. At this moment...

Just having him watch made her body feel hot.

’Goodness...’ A blush crept onto Ah Qing’s earlobes. Despite her status as one above Qiankun, she found it hard to bear even one look, with little things making her so happy she lost her bearings...

Fallen.

Simply fallen.

For a moment, the atmosphere on the stairs grew awkward, and Xu Chang’an saw this and sighed lightly.

It was the teacher’s problem.

After greeting each other, they should have gone their separate ways... but Li Zhibai stopped, staring at Ah Qing, and being Ah Qing, the servant girl, she naturally couldn’t leave on her own.

Yet Li Zhibai just stood there wordless, only watching intently.

Xu Chang’an, of course, knew what Li Zhibai was looking at, wondering at a close distance how Ah Qing managed to be chosen as Shi Qingjun’s disciple, looking for something special about her.

But staring at someone like the teacher was indeed impolite, especially since she was in a high position without realizing how much pressure that gave to girls who were inherently insecure.

Thus, from Xu Chang’an’s perspective, Ah Qing became more nervous, even to the point of trembling slightly, and... looked to him with pleading eyes, begging him to help.

The poor Miss Ah Qing... was scared by the teacher.

Realizing this, Xu Chang’an felt even more helpless.

Ah Qing could develop her Sword Dao to a level that shocked Senior Wen, yet even so, her heart wasn’t different from the normal girls from Flower Moon Building, which was enough to show her vulnerability.

Well... Xu Chang’an suddenly thought, having Ah Qing be a bit more vulnerable might be a good thing too.

After all, currently, Ah Qing was the top candidate in his mind for being Yun Qian’s ’friend’ and ’bosom friend’... If she were too assertive, he wouldn’t like it. Now, Ah Qing was much improved over the ’sentimental gloominess’ she showed in front of him before.

Compared to the previous scene of Ah Qing standing dazed in the rain, Ah Qing’s vulnerability and seeking help now, and the girl-like joy from just now were plus points for Xu Chang’an.

As a husband, he always hoped these friends would have a positive influence on Yun Qian.

Consequently, his gaze grew softer.

"...?" Ah Qing, being perceptive, immediately noticed Xu Chang’an’s attitude shift towards her and became perplexed.

What... what had she done?

Why did she sense the Young Master’s gaze had grown warmer?

Ah Qing had no idea her unintentional actions had hit the mark; she glanced at Li Zhibai.

Li Zhibai hadn’t even seen enough yet.

Ah Qing continued looking to Xu Chang’an for salvation, hoping he would rescue her.

"Ahem..."

Finally, Xu Chang’an took the initiative to ask Ah Qing what brought her to the banquet platform, thus easing the tense atmosphere.

Hearing Xu Chang’an’s question, Ah Qing nervously and stammeringly replied, "Re-returning to the Young Master, I... came to propose a toast to Pingniang... No, to Ms. Zhu."

Xu Chang’an, hearing this, smiled again.

The girls from the Flower Moon Building, truly...

Behind closed doors, not a hint of ’respect’ for Ms. Zhu, no matter their size or position, they’d just call her "Pingniang." It was only in front of outsiders that they would address her as Ms. Zhu.

You could say, in some ways, it was similar to him, as he usually couldn’t manage to call someone "sister" either.

Xu Chang’an’s heart warmed, and he then spoke, "Senior Zhu indeed put a lot of thought into it."

Having experienced Zhu Pingniang’s machinations from start to finish, Xu Chang’an naturally knew how much effort she had put in. Ah Qing needed to properly express her gratitude.

Thinking about this, Xu Chang’an felt deeply ashamed.

When he first lived with Miss Yun, they were living so cluelessly that they didn’t pay mind to the etiquettes involved when Zhu Pingniang helped them extensively... Fortunately, Zhu Pingniang helped without expecting any returns, forgiving their ignorance, never even taking it to heart.

With such thoughts, Xu Chang’an became even more appreciative of Ah Qing.

She was a girl who understood the rules, knew to go and offer Ms. Zhu a drink – unlike his awkward self in the past.

She was thoughtful, understanding the grace, and repaying the kindness kind of girl.

Fitting for Yun Qian.

After giving Ah Qing a gentle smile, he looked at the still dazed Li Zhibai and softly reminded, "Teacher."

"...Hmm?"

Li Zhibai snapped back to reality, only then realizing her own impoliteness, and seeing the slightly trembling and highly nervous Ah Qing, finally let her pass.

Ah Qing hurriedly bowed and then headed down.

Once Ah Qing was far away, Xu Chang’an then asked, "Teacher, what were you lost in thought about just now?"

"Looking at her constitution." Li Zhibai said thoughtfully, "This child’s cultivation realm is similar to yours or even inferior, yet her control is so perfect... her constitution, however, showed nothing special, truly odd."

Ah Qing really didn’t have any special constitution.

When Xu Chang’an and Li Zhibai returned to the banquet platform, they were greeted by a harmonious, joyful scene.

They saw Zhu Pingniang sitting beside an empty wine jug, talking and laughing with Miss Lu, discussing Ah Qing’s next...