Chapter 307: 307. Fate only allows you to meet me.

Translator: 549690339

Lian Shun came back from outside and found out that his father and Gu Ling were still playing chess, which was quite surprising, “Gu Xiaoling is really patient!”

When Lian Shun entered the study room, he saw his father, who usually didn’t smile much, wearing a full smile on his face, looking at Gu Ling with even more affection than his own son.

The two of them had just finished a chess game and were now drinking tea.

“Father, did you actually win a game of chess against Gu Xiaoling?” Lian Shun was curious as he sat down beside Gu Ling.

His father smiled and shook his head, “Not a single victory.”

Lian Shun felt bewildered, “Then why are you so happy?

His father chuckled, “Xiaogu taught me two new chess techniques, very interesting. He’s not like you kids, always restless.”

The character of a person is visible through their chess skills. In Lian Shun’s father’s eyes, Gu Ling’s personality was simply excellent rational, steady, calm, yet not rigid. Gu Ling didn’t talk much, but he always managed to say exactly what was in his father’s heart, never making him feel uncomfortable.

Before, Lian Shun’s father thought Gu Ling was arrogant, which was understandable given his talents and looks.

But today, he discovered that Gu Ling had no arrogance in his bones, and he was in fact quite gentle. His true character was very similar to Su Liang’s, only displayed differently on the outside. No wonder the two could come together and marry; they were truly birds of a feather.

Before Lian Shun came in, his father had already expressed his opinions to Gu Ling.

Gu Ling was inspired and could now answer Su Liang’s doubts about his sudden change — he didn’t pretend, it had all happened because of her. All the changes in him were her “fault.”

Gu Ling decided that he needed to make Su Liang take responsibility…

“Uncle, I’ll go back first. We can have another chess match next time.” Gu Ling put down his teacup and stood up, wanting to see Su Liang immediately.

“Alright, alright.” Lian Shun’s father nodded with a smile, “Go back and rest.

Let Sunsun know if you have any preferences in food.”

“I’ll go as well, there’s something I need to tell Su Xiaoliang.” Lian Shun also stood up.

Gu Ling paused, “Just tell me.”

Lian Shun’s father hurriedly spoke, “Yes, General Su is so busy, don’t disturb her all the time. Telling Xiaogu is the same.”

Lian Shun scoffed, “I know you find me annoying. You really prioritize beauty over friendship! Just tell Su Xiaoliang that right now, there are many Yin

Country merchants trying to enter the city. Ask her if we should let them in. Previously, both sides frequently traded, but after the fight started, it stopped completely. I don’t think it’s time to reopen trade yet. Those people might have been intentionally arranged by Fan Gang for malicious purposes. We’ve already tried to drive them away verbally, but they refuse to leave.”

Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent, “Shoot arrows, but don’t hurt people. Drive them away.”

“Fine!” Lian Shun agreed, “We can’t let the Yin Country people think that we, Qian Country, lack courage and just forget about everything as if nothing happened and go back to the way things were before!”

Lian Shun hurriedly left the mansion again. Gu Ling returned to his and Su Liang’s residence. He reached the door and subconsciously lightened his footsteps. He stood outside for a moment, listening, and heard no noise inside.

“Su Liang?” Gu Ling called out softly.

“Wait a moment.” Su Liang’s voice quickly came from inside.

After a short while, Su Liang opened the door.

“Did I wake you up?” Gu Ling asked.

Su Liang shook her head, “No. I just woke up but haven’t gotten up yet.”

Seeing her slightly messy hair from sleep, Gu Ling said, “Let me comb your hair for you.”

Su Liang instinctively frowned and showed a strange and somewhat rejecting expression, “I have my own hands.”

Gu Ling: …He knew that, of course. He just wanted to get closer to her, but obviously, Su Liang still wasn’t used to it.

Hearing Gu Ling sigh, Su Liang helplessly explained, “Being in a relationship doesn’t have to go to that extent, don’t tell me you want to dress me and feed me too? That’s too horrifying.”

Gu Ling imagined that scene and shook his head, “I swear, I never thought about it.” Indeed, it was quite terrifying, as if Su Liang was paralyzed. It wasn’t necessary, really…

Thinking about it, Gu Ling specifically clarified why he wanted to comb Su

Liang’s hair just now, “Actually, I just wanted to touch your hair.”

Su Liang wordlessly walked over and stood beside Gu Ling, “Touch it quickly, and then I need to go change.”

Gu Ling silently reached out and rubbed the top of Su Liang’s head, “Alright.”

Su Liang immediately turned around and entered the inner room, “I’m changing, don’t peek!”

Gu Ling: …He wasn’t that kind of person, but explaining now would just seem to be covering things up.

When Su Liang came out after changing, Gu Ling brought up the matter Lian Shun had mentioned.

“The war isn’t over yet, we can’t resume trade.” Su Liang shook her head, “Let’s wait and see what the emperor thinks.”

Yin Country’s actions were either trying to send spies into the city, or “morally kidnapping” Qian Country, with a face that said, “Everything’s settled, I’m willing to come to your door, why are you still making a fuss? It’s not good for anyone.”

Ultimately, it was because Yin Country was sure that Qian Country didn’t want to fight. Even if Yin Country started the war this time, Qian Country wouldn’t strike back.

“I’ve asked Lian Ershan to drive them away.” Gu Ling said, “There’s one more thing. ”

“What?” Su Liang asked.

“You said you feel uncomfortable with my sudden change, right? I know the reason now.” Gu Ling looked at Su Liang seriously.

Su Liang nodded, “Tell me.”

Gu Ling’s eyes shone brightly, “It’s all because of you. If I hadn’t met you and lived with you, I wouldn’t have become what I am today. Su Liang, you changed me, making me unable to tolerate the loneliness and boredom of living alone anymore. Everything is because of you, and you need to take responsibility for me.”

This was also what Su Liang thought before falling asleep…She frowned at Gu Ling, “Wait, I have a question for you, and you mustn’t lie to me.”

Gu Ling nodded, “Alright.”

“Can you read minds, and have you been hiding it from me?” Su Liang snorted.

Gu Ling was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, a smile spreading in his eyes, “So what I said just now is the same as what you thought?” Su Liang: …She was confessing without being asked…

Seeing her not speaking, Gu Ling looked serious, “I swear I can’t read minds, we’re just a naturally in-sync couple.”

Su Liang rubbed her forehead, “I know you’re very proud, stop laughing!” Even the phrase “naturally in-sync” was said; there wasn’t much for her to refute. She had traveled to this world and became Gu Ling’s bride – perhaps it was really fate that they would be together?

“Don’t you like me smiling?” Gu Ling asked back, “You always wanted me to smile before.”

“It looks good, very good, stunningly beautiful,” Su Liang said with a touch of melancholy, “I’ve thought about it. Even if I were to leave you, I might be able to live on my own and take care of myself, but I would never have a better life than being with you, and I won’t find a better man than you.”

This “good” not only referred to appearance and talent but also the compatibility of their personalities, mutual understanding, and the tacit understanding with just a glance. It also included their very similar principles in dealing with people and handling matters.

Gu Ling immediately said, “I feel the same. I’ve thought about it; without you, my life would lose its joy. There’s no other girl in this world who can make me laugh and who I’d want to spend my life with.”

Su Liang scoffed lightly, “If you had confessed like this the night before, I would have agreed.”

Gu Ling: … Indeed, confessing itself isn’t difficult; it was his bizarre approach that added obstacles. How he wished to go back to two days ago…

“I have to admit, I’m not used to it. When I heard you softly saying you wanted to comb my hair, I thought, ‘Are you sick? Why are you being so cheesy? Go comb your own hair!’!” Su Liang candidly told Gu Ling her thoughts. “We can be in a relationship; neither of us has experienced it before, but we don’t need to learn from anyone else. Let’s just go with the flow.”

Gu Ling nodded. In fact, the hair-combing thing was something he learned from Xing Yusheng. He had unintentionally seen Xing Yusheng combing Lin Xueqing’s hair…

“It’s not a problem with the combing itself. Maybe it’ll be fine later, but not right now, do you understand?” Su Liang asked Gu Ling.

“I understand.” Gu Ling expressed his full understanding: Physical contact should come gradually. They can’t just sleep together without even holding hands, hugging, or kissing. Combing hair is a quite intimate act; it should be placed after holding hands, hugging, and kissing, or perhaps after sleeping together?

So, the first step, holding hands… Gu Ling silently set a three-step strategy for getting closer to Su Liang in his heart.

He took out the carefully prepared tour plan of Jiaye City made by Lian Shun from his sleeve, “We’ll wait for the imperial decree and follow Lian Ershan’s plan to have fun in Jiaye City first.”

“You keep it. Didn’t you say if I knew in advance, there would be no surprises?”

Su Liang didn’t look, “Let’s treat it as our first official date.”

Gu Ling immediately put the paper away and agreed, “All right.” He knew what a date meant and could feel that Su Liang was taking their relationship seriously. That’s great.

Gu Ling felt very fortunate that Su Liang was not an ordinary girl. Even after hearing his slightly rogue and bizarre confession the night before, she didn’t misunderstand him or dislike him. It only seemed that his previous careful concealment of his feelings and reluctance to confess were just “overthinking”. “There’s one thing, let’s sleep in separate rooms,” Su Liang said to Gu Ling. Gu Ling instinctively shook his head, “No.”

“It’s for your own good,” Su Liang explained, “At your age, it’s normal to like me and have urges towards me. But we’ve just started dating and haven’t progressed that far. It’s not very convenient to be in the same room at night. If you want to do it but can’t, it’s not good for your body.”

Gu Ling’s ears turned red again. Although he was a little excited by Su Liang’s straightforward words, he quickly grasped the key point, “You mean we don’t have to wait until 18? As long as… you think it’s okay, then… it’s okay?”

Su Liang paused for a moment and saw Gu Ling’s eager eyes full of expectations. Actually, when she said those words earlier, she didn’t consider the age of 18 at all, because her mental age had long surpassed 18.

The atmosphere became silent.

Su Liang knew if she answered yes, it might mean that they would soon progress to that stage with Gu Ling. After all, they were already very familiar with each other, and she obviously liked him. Previously, she didn’t consider that aspect just because they hadn’t made it clear. In fact, they were now legitimately husband and wife.

Su Liang also knew that if she said no, Gu Ling would definitely accept it and be able to restrain his desires.

“I think…” Su Liang hesitated.

Gu Ling hung on every word, feeling his heart skip a beat with each sound. He liked Su Liang, and as a normal man, of course, he wanted to be close to her and do that kind of thing. But if Su Liang was unwilling, he could wait, even though two years would be too long and unbearable…

“Let’s just go with the flow,” Su Liang continued.

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Ling visibly breathed a sigh of relief, “So it’s possible.” He said the last sentence with an upward intonation, specifically to avoid any ambiguity.

Initially, Su Liang only mentioned some rules from her previous world to Gu Ling, including that adulthood was at the age of 18, which was determined by many factors. Now living in a world where girls come of age at 15, she knew several friends who were already married and some even about to have children. She thought it was okay and not a big deal to do that kind of thing, and she knew explicitly telling Gu Ling what it meant…

But to say it was absolutely off-limits would have been too pretentious and unnecessary.

He had never felt this happy before; he could even laugh just from sitting quietly, feeling as though everything around him had brightened up a few notches, making the daylight even more beautiful.

Su Liang was going to the South City Gate to check on the situation. As the two of them stepped out, they ran into Che Yun face to face.

Che Yun still looked the same, his beard untrimmed for a few days, a bit messy, making him look even more rugged.

He was riding a horse, followed by a carriage.

Seeing Su Liang and Gu Ling walking out side by side, Che Yun got off the horse and bowed to Gu Ling, “Marquis.”

“How is it?” Su Liang asked.

A trace of a smile appeared on Che Yun’s tired face, “It’s him! I brought him back! He’s in the carriage with our parents!”

Not far away, Che’s parents had already gotten off the carriage with a young man. It was Ling Yun, who Su Liang had met in the valley outside Qianhu City a few days ago.

Ling Yun also saw Su Liang, and bowed deeply to her, expressing his gratitude. “Congratulations,” Su Liang smiled, ‘Your family is finally reunited.”

“Thank you for everything,” Che Yun said solemnly.

Su Liang shook her head, “What’s the need for thanks? Hurry up and take them home. There’s nothing urgent at work. Take care of your family.”

The Che’s house in Jiaye City was next to Lin’s mansion. When Che Yun brought his parents last year, Lian Shun’s wasn’t around, but Father Lin and Mother Lin welcomed Che Yun’s family and helped them arrange accommodation.

Che Yun nodded and saw Su Liang reaching out to take Gu Ling’s arm, “Let’s go.”

Gu Ling was still thinking about when to hold Su Liang’s hand when she took the initiative to come over, making him feel overjoyed.

The two walked over to the side, Su Liang let go of Gu Ling, and each got on their horse, heading towards the South City Gate.

Che Yun watched them leave before turning back to his parents, “Let’s go home.”

“I saw a black mist on Che Yun’s forehead that day,” Gu Ling suddenly remembered.

Su Liang nodded, “I gave him an antidote pill from my master. He’s fine now. Let’s ask Che Xiao what happened later.”

Gu Ling shook his head slightly, “No need to ask. Lian Ershan will definitely find out and come tell us.’

Su Liang chuckled, “You know him so well, why don’t you go sleep at his place for the time being?”

“No.” Gu Ling could barely accept sleeping next to Su Liang; any further was unacceptable.

The two arrived at the South City Gate, where Lian Shun had already driven away the merchants from Yin Country gathered outside the city and was about to go home.

Upon hearing that Che Yun had brought his brother back, Lian Shun’s face lit up with joy, “Really? It’s Che Xiao? That’s great! It’s destiny that Su Xiaoliang came across him! I’ll go have a look!”

As soon as Lian Shun finished speaking, he ran off. Gu Ling lowered his head and whispered in Su Liang’s ear, “Destiny only brought you to me. Nobody

else.”

Su Liang couldn’t help but smile, “Great God, you should have more confidence. You’re always hanging around me, how can I be interested in someone else? If only you had confessed earlier, it wouldn’t have been so complicated.”

With that, Su Liang once again took Gu Ling’s arm in full view, “There’s a mountain over there, let’s climb it and watch the sunset..”