Untouchable Lovers

When Chu Yu was looking in the direction of the commotion, from the corner of her eye, she saw Pei Shu practically sprinting. In a minute, they had gathered around with the crowd. Pei Shu then shouted at the three people who were walking on the same path, “You guys are finally here!”

Among the three who were coming down from the mountain path, one walked ahead while the other two shuffled behind. The one leading in front seemed to be familiar with Pei Shu. He said while chuckling, “Please forgive us. We were a little delayed by the beautiful scenery on the way up.”

Chu Yu almost scoffed out loud when she heard that. Beautiful scenery on the way up? Although this small mountain was considered beautiful, there was nothing much to see. The path on the way up to the mountaintop was rather complicated with many forks. To her, it seemed like the three of them had gotten lost.

No one knew if Pei Shu believed what the person said or if he was just playing along, but he patted the person’s back while smiling and bowed at the two people behind. “Brother Yizhi, Brother Yinzhi, it’s a pleasure to have both of you here.”

Chu Yu watched coldly as Pei Shu greeted them. Looking at Pei Shu’s demeanor, these two seemed to hold a remarkable place in his heart. She stood where she was and just got a good look at the two’s appearance and ended up squinting a little. She thought they looked ordinary at first, but after taking a better look, she could not help but exclaim secretly, ‘They sure are extraordinary!’

Although Chu Yu thought it was a gathering of beautiful men, it seemed that the appearance of this duo outranked the other beautiful men around them, especially the one standing on the left who looked like he was in his 30s. As opposed to others who wore their hair in a bun or were wearing a hat, he only tied his hair loosely behind. He had slanted almond eyes, but when he smiled, he seemed to have a relaxed manner.

If she were to compare his features alone, this man would be on par with the rest who were present. However, he had a charisma that was hard to look away from when he stood there. Although he was standing still, it gave Chu Yu the illusion that he was like flowing water, and one would not be able to hold him with their hands.

Meanwhile, the young man who stood on the right looked the same age as him. However, he was the complete opposite of the other man. He had a chiseled chin that made him appear arrogant. His presence was like a dangerous and steep, yet majestic mountain at the same time.

Their contrasting charisma complemented each other and created an odd ambiance when they stood together. It was so intense that it made one find it hard to breathe.

Chu Yu looked around but sadly could not find anyone who could beat these two. No, actually, there were two of them who could compare with them. One of them was the young man in blue who did not seem to notice the arrival of the two men who caused a commotion at all. He continued with the same facial expression as if frost covered his face while an intimidating aura exuded from his body.

The other person who could compare with them would be the man next to her. Huan Yuan’s elegant demeanor was a style of his own. Although his looks did not surpass the duo’s, they were comparable.

Naturally, both Chu Yu or Huan Yuan had no shallow intention to compare themselves with the others. The question that piqued Chu Yu’s interest was that among these two, who was the prince that Pei Shu mentioned the other day?

Pei Shu cleared his throat and gave a grand introduction to the crowd. The first one he introduced was the one that Chu Yu was looking at. “This is Wang Yizhi. I’m sure everybody knows him.”

“Wang Yizhi?” A man in the crowd pronounced the name wrong. “Which Wang Yizhi is he?”

Pei Shu glared at the person and scolded him with a little pride and disdain, “How many Wang Yizhis are there in the world? Of course, he’s the Wang Yizhi of the Langya Wang Clan.”

Immediately, the crowd exclaimed. They were only adoring the two’s appearances earlier, but now they truly admired them. Some of them could not help but call out to them while some even requested Wang Yizhi to autograph their clothes.

Chu Yu was shocked when she heard the announcement. Although she was bad at history, she knew a little about the Langya Wang Clan because the Wang Clan was nothing but very well-known, prominent, and honorary.

Looking at the history of China, there were almost no other prominent clans that could compare with the Langya Wang Clan. The clan was once prosperous with many titles and talents. Throughout the centuries of dynasties and political changes, the Wang Clan stood tall as they continued to prosper. Throughout the test of time, they produced hundreds of bachelors and over 90 Prime Ministers. There was no other clan that could beat them with such glamorous glory and outstanding history.

There was this sentence in one of the Tang poems: Where the swallows once knew the mansions of the Wangs and the Xies, they now fly to nest and mate in humbler homes.

The ‘Wangs’ mentioned in the poem was the Langya Wang Clan. It would not be an exaggeration to call the Wang Clan the No. 1 nobility and No. 1 clan.

At that very moment, Chu Yu deeply and truly felt that she really had time-traveled. She was witnessing the legendary Langya Wang Clan with her very own eyes!

Chu Yu knew about the Wang Clan, but she had no idea that Wang Yizhi was a legend himself. Nobody knew what talent he had. All they knew was that the master of the current Wang Clan was his uncle who planned to get Wang Yizhi to take his place to be in charge instead of giving the place to his own son. Despite being showered with such love and value, Wang Yizhi declined the offer with a smile. He tossed his bright future into the spring water and become a famous wanderer.

Although he indulged in his freedom, he was still a renowned explorer. His uncle had yet to give up the thought of getting him to inherit the clan, so he would get people to talk to him every now and then. Every time it happened, it would add a notch to Wang Yizhi’s fame.

Pei Shi then introduced the person who was standing next to Wang Yizhi. His name was Xie Yinzhi. Without having anyone to remind her, Chu Yu knew that he must be the ‘Xie’ in the poem judging by his name. It was a clan that was on par with the Wang Clan. Although they were not as renowned as the Wang Clan, they were also an outstanding noble clan.

After the arrival of Wang Yizhi and Xie Yinzhi, the people took their seats next to the flowing water one after another. Chu Yu came to a realization. It seemed like the two masters of the Wang and the Xie Clans were the highlight of the gathering of the beautiful men today. That was pretty much the climax of the event. She was just here to make up the numbers.

Later on, Chu Yu saw Pei Shu get someone to bring out some nibs and paper. She was surprised to see that and just recalled she was at a wine and poetry recital. The beautiful men outshone the event, making her almost forget about her real purpose here.

Accompanied by Liu Sang and Huan Yuan, Chu Yu took the vacant seats with fewer people around. They sat next to the flowing water. The snacks on the low table next to the cushions were incredibly delicate. Chu Yu put one into her mouth, enjoying the soft, sweet scent that melted at the tip of her tongue. Before she swallowed it, she saw Wang Yizhi who had created a commotion earlier out of the corner of her eye. He walked slowly and arrived not far from her, taking his seat in a relaxed manner.

Although they were sitting close to each other, Wang Yizhi did not pay attention to Chu Yu. Soon, the poetry recital began. The wine and poetry society was just a classy version of ‘pass the parcel’. When the music was played, a vessel with wine in it would be placed into the flowing water. They let it flow in the water and when the music stopped, the person at whom the wine vessel stopped would have to drink the wine and write a poem.

The young man in blue sitting in the pavilion, who Chu Yu had seen earlier, finally moved. He lifted his hands slowly and plucked the strings on the guqin as he then began to play.

The wine vessel flowed with the water whilst Chu Yu secretly prayed like she was chanting, ‘Don’t stop in front of me. Don’t stop in front of me.’ She completely did not have any talent in poetry!

Unsure if Chu Yu jinxed it herself or if destiny was against her, the wine vessel spun slowly in the swirl of water before her when the music stopped.

She could not escape since everyone was watching, so she picked the wine glass up while forcing a smile.