My Wife Is The Final Boss

Chapter 1180 - 649: Li Zhibai Doesn’t Get Jealous (Two-in-One)

He wasn’t a fickle man, so there was no need for him to keep bringing certain things up, because he had already written "refusal" all over his face.

So it wasn’t that he hadn’t rejected Ah Qing; he had been rejecting her all along.

Thus Li Zhibai understood.

Even so, Ah Qing still hadn’t given up; she kept on quietly liking him, admiring him... and so, Chang’an was helpless.

After he had already made his stance of refusal clear, Xu Chang’an had neither reason nor right to grab Ah Qing by the collar and tell her not to like him.

"Distance yourself from her?" Li Zhibai suddenly said.

That would be a good option.

"Sir." Xu Chang’an lifted his head and looked toward the direction Ah Qing had left, and said helplessly, "Miss said she likes her; this is... the first time she’s ever seriously said she likes someone else."

"...Ah." Li Zhibai’s cherry lips parted slightly.

Then there was nothing to be done.

So this was a dead end.

Toward the ties of fate around him, Xu Chang’an’s attitude had always been very clear; leaving aside anything ambiguous, aside from Yun Qian, the only ones who could breach his "safe distance" were Liu Qingluo and Wen Li.

The Wen Li here meant the Wen Li from before she started growing out her hair; now that Wen Li was increasingly showing a woman’s air, Xu Chang’an, when spending time with her, would also start paying attention to Wen Li.

So, putting Miss Yun aside, only Li Zhibai could stand at his side, pinch his face, hold his hand, or even hug his arm without it being an issue.

Mm... if Zhu Pingniang were thick-skinned enough, she actually could as well; Xu Chang’an didn’t harbor any vigilance toward Zhu Pingniang.

But Zhu Pingniang herself harbored some slightly "unclean" thoughts, so she was embarrassed to take liberties with Xu Chang’an, and thus only Li Zhibai, whose mind was clear and spotless, did whatever she pleased.

As for Ah Qing liking Xu Chang’an, you didn’t even need any brains to see it.

It wasn’t a secret at all; among those in Flower Moon Building who knew Ah Qing, at least seventy or eighty percent were aware—after all, plenty of people in the building liked the young lord; she was hardly the only one.

Besides, Ah Qing had never concealed her feelings. Including just now, when she brought over snacks, when Zhu Pingniang deliberately mentioned Xu Chang’an in front of Yun Qian, Ah Qing hadn’t hidden that flush on her face.

So, Xu Chang’an could see it too—but he could only see it; there was nothing he could do.

Watching Xu Chang’an sigh, Li Zhibai also understood what he was thinking.

There really was no way.

Ah Qing already knew she had no chance; she knew Xu Chang’an would definitely refuse her, but she still liked him regardless... however you looked at it, that couldn’t be blamed on her Chang’an.

Li Zhibai felt that even if Xu Chang’an really did grab Ah Qing by the collar and tell her she wasn’t allowed to like or admire him, it wouldn’t have any effect.

She understood a little: once these Courtesans truly gave their hearts to someone... perhaps they wouldn’t forget him for the rest of their lives... mm, unless she herself made a move and erased a segment of Ah Qing’s memory?

To Tong Jun’s daughter, Li Zhibai had no grounds to do something like that.

"These girls, honestly..." Li Zhibai shook her head lightly. She really couldn’t quite understand: to fall for someone who absolutely doesn’t like you... especially someone whose nature might be extremely indifferent—was it worth it, to hurt themselves like that?

Xu Chang’an had just opened his mouth to speak when he saw Li Zhibai give a relieved smile. "I am not a fish—forget it; in that case, it’s your fault."

Xu Chang’an: "..."

He watched as Li Zhibai pointed a finger at him, a bitter smile on her face.

Was he at fault?

Xu Chang’an believed that these women, born into troubled times, who neither stole nor robbed, had nothing shameful or unclean about them.

Likewise, relying on themselves to earn silver and struggle to live carried nothing deserving of pity.

So, whether Ah Qing or the girls of the brothel, in his eyes they were all equal to her at most... at most with a few extra degrees of trust because of Zhu Pingniang.

That was all.

Compared to what he had done for Miss Yun, Xu Chang’an actually had never truly understood what was so likable about such a selfish person as himself.

He was only acting without betraying his own heart, not looking down on or pitying the Courtesans the way others did, and beyond that he maintained all the proper distances quite well... how could that be a fault?

Would he have to do things against his conscience for it to be considered "right"?

"Enough." As if she had seen through Xu Chang’an’s doubts, Li Zhibai’s gaze softened greatly for a moment; how could she bear to let her own student feel wronged? "You’ve done nothing wrong; don’t feel aggrieved. I was only speaking casually."

It was her fault; she shouldn’t have casually placed these burdens upon Chang’an.

Rather, with a student like this, Li Zhibai could hardly be happier... Now that her mindset was shifting toward that of a Mother, Li Zhibai instead felt that these girls liking him meant they had some discernment.

This was a way of drawing closer to Miss Yun’s way of thinking, and so it was right.

"I wouldn’t go so far as to feel aggrieved over something like this." Xu Chang’an shook his head. Through the stairway, he looked at the swallows and warblers in the hall below, drinking and laughing, and said softly, "Under this sky, no one is at fault."

"No one is at fault...?" Li Zhibai met Xu Chang’an’s gaze; seeing the calm and stillness in the boy’s dark eyes, she said no more.

Indeed.

This was her Chang’an, and it was precisely for this that he was worthy of being liked.

"...Mm." Looking out the window, Xu Chang’an thought it over carefully: the Courtesans were not at fault, and those who, out of propriety, looked down on them or pitied them were actually not at fault either.