Translated by Pure

Edited by Leilaz and cookiecrunch

Chapter 3: Gutang Bookstore (1)

What Tang Tianyuan couldn’t bear were the rumors.

"Have you heard? Miao Miao Sheng is going to write a boys’ love novel!" Early in the morning, Bang Yan excitedly reported news that caused Tang Tianyuan to feel dizzy.

Bang Yan looked at him sympathetically, trying his best to suppress the smile that was overflowing from the corner of his mouth. Tang Tianyuan accurately captured his schadenfreude from his twitching facial expressions which read: You also have those days hahahahaha!

Tang Tianyuan quickly regained his composure after his initial surprise. He sat in his chair and asked calmly, "Really?"

"I’m not sure. Some say it’s the truth, while others argue that it’s a lie. However, it’s a fact that some people want to read this genre and hope Miao Miao Sheng will do it." Bang Yan could finally no longer hold back. He covered his mouth and laughed while pounding the table excitedly.

Tang Tianyuan held his forehead and shook his head helplessly. Bang Yan's words made sense. In fact, regardless of whether the rumors were true or not, as long as there were many people who wanted to read it; Miao Maio Sheng would definitely write it considering his integrity. He was already a pervert who liked cut sleeves[1], so it wouldn’t be difficult for him to write this book.

Being chased and molested by a group of girls all day already made Tang Tianyuan very uncomfortable. If he added a group of cut sleeves... the picture would be so miserable he didn't dare think about it.

What's more, being written into a boys’ love novel as a cut sleeve was enough to make him feel as if he was continuously pricked by needles.

No, Miao Miao Sheng must be stopped.

Tang Tianyuan thought about it and decided he must first reason with Miao Miao Sheng. If that did not work, he would resort to coercion and lures. If that still didn’t work, then at least he needed to relieve his anger...

But first, he had to find this man.

Although Miao Miao Sheng acted in a low-key manner, Tang Tianyuan soon discovered a clue: all of Miao Miao Sheng's books were printed and bound in a place called "Gutang Bookstore". Therefore, the owner of Gutang Bookstore may know the whereabouts of that person.

In other words, if he wanted to find Miao Miao Sheng, he needed to find Gutang Bookstore.

This was not difficult because Gutang Bookstore was located in Tongling County of Chizhou Prefecture.

Tongling was nearly a thousand kilometers away from the capital. Even on a fast horse, it would take three or four days to get there. Tang Tianyuan asked his superior for a month's leave and told his family that he wanted to travel. He was embarrassed to disclose his true objective, but unfortunately, his little ‘motormouthed’ servant accidentally revealed the truth to his family.

"Are you going to Tongling?" Tang Ge Lao asked in surprise.

Tang Tianyuan felt a little guilty, "I want to go to the south to sightsee, although I’m not sure where exactly."

Tang Ge Lao didn't expose him but said, "Go, it's time for you to practice and gain new experiences…”

Probably due to an illusion caused by a guilty conscience, Tang Tianyuan felt that his father's eyes were rather profound.

Tang Tianyuan set off quickly, rushed to Tongling County without stopping, and found Gutang Bookstore immediately.

This bookstore was located near the county government office. In front of the door, there stood a big ginkgo tree that had a diameter of more than two meters. While the plaque of the bookstore had been inscribed by an unknown master. Their penmanship was similar to Huang Tingjian[2], but in addition to Huang's condensed and thin energy, it also contained a trace of Su Dongpo's[3] honesty, which seemed very interesting.

Tang Tianyuan stood at the door of the bookstore and admired the plaque for a while. He now saw this bookstore in a new light. They may have only printed Miao Miao Sheng's books, but they would not be vulgar like him. Thinking of this, he lifted his foot and walked in.

Inside, the room was chaotic, with a group of people shouting and gambling.

Tang Tianyuan: "..." What was ‘inconsistency’? This was it.

He stood still and raised his hands to the gamblers, "Excuse me..."

No one paid attention to him. The sound of the dice in the crowd was louder than his voice.

Tang Tianyuan frowned and looked at the people in front of him: three boys and a girl. The boys' faces were covered with notes, but the girl's face was clean. The girl was facing him. She had a lot of gauze wrapped around her right hand, as if she was wearing a large white glove. She was probably injured.

Well, apparently, even an injury couldn't stop the girl's enthusiasm for rolling the dice. Her shaking of the dice cup with the left hand alone was dazzling. After shaking it and revealing the dice, it seemed that she had won again. The girl slapped her legs and laughed wildly, revealing a row of neat, pearl-like teeth.

Thanks to Miao Miao Sheng, Tang Tianyuan had seen many women, but he had never seen one like her, lacking so much ladylike temperament.

They stopped to paste more papers on the loser’s face. Tang Tianyuan took this opportunity to ask, "Is the boss here?"

The scale of the bookstore was not small. Tang Tianyuan stood near the door and was more than seven meters away from them. The girl heard him speak, so she looked up, squinted her eyes, and searched for a while. Her eyes finally stopped on a large, man-height vase at the door, "The boss is not here. Do you need something?"

Disregarded in this manner, Tang Tianyuan really couldn't tell whether the girl had a problem with her eyes or her brain. When he got closer, the guys finally reacted. They tore the papers off their faces and came forward to greet him.

"What book is this gongzi[4] looking for? These are all of our new arrivals." A man held up a list.

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Footnotes:

[1] Cut sleeves- A homosexual. Originating from the History of Western Han, Emperor Han Aidi was in bed with his lover Dong Xian, and had to attend a court audience that morning. Not wishing to awaken Dong Xian, who was sleeping with his head resting on the emperor's long robe sleeve, Aidi used a knife to cut off the lower half of his sleeve.

[2] Huang Tingjian (1045-1105)- Song poet and calligrapher

[3] Su Dongpo- Another name for Su Shi 苏轼 (1037-1101), northern Song writer and calligrapher

[4]Gongzi- honorific for a son of an official /or a son of a wealthy family. Think gentleman.

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