Zhou Zishu said, “That is indeed the saying, but it’s better to live when you have the opportunity to. The longer you live, the more times you can pass under the peony, don’t you agree? Plus, I don’t have the charm for you to pick me out from a crowd of thousands and insist on marrying me and only me; this humble one still has this bit of self-awareness, and this miss really thinks too highly of me. Why not make this more satisfying for both of us by cutting straight to the point of what it is that you’re after? Say it, and perhaps...we can still have a good discussion.”

The beautiful woman looked at him and sighed breezily. “If I didn’t go for you, who else could I have gone for? Amongst that group of you, if it’s not a girl, it’s a naive child, or a dumb idiot who’s head over heels for that silly girl, and the other one…”

She paused slightly. “The other one is even odder. Starting from the moment I walked in, he didn’t even glance at me once, but looked only at you, a ‘sleazy man’. Don’t you think it’s weird? Ai, looking around, you’re the only normal man; if I didn’t go for you, who else could I go for?”

Zhou Zishu coughed, immediately regretting his own question, and said in a straightforward manner, “If this miss is after the Lapis Armour, you can go back. I don’t have the Zhang family piece, but I heard that Hero Gao and Hero Shen each took out a piece yesterday. If you’re coveting it, you might as well pay them a visit and ask about it.”

The beautiful woman narrowed her eyes slightly. Letting go of the bead curtain in her hand, she said softly, “I will eventually get my hands on the full Lapis Armour, no matter whose hands it is in now. You say you don’t have it, but on what basis should I believe your words? Don’t you men like telling lies the most?”

Zhou Zishu leaned under the plum tree, neither nodding his head or shaking it, gazing at the beautiful woman’s face for a while with a calm expression, before he suddenly mused, “This miss’ demeanour and movements are outstanding, amongst those of the many women I’ve met.”

This was originally a compliment, yet for some unknown reason, once the beautiful woman heard this, she couldn’t maintain the smile on her face any longer, and screeched indecorously, “What did you say?”