Chapter 075: In the News Again

Qin Weiguo let out a soft “hmm,” his face filled with surprise. Lin Feng had actually answered correctly, which was far beyond his expectations.

“So, how many chapters does The Classic of Tea have? Do you know what each chapter discusses?” Qin Weiguo continued to ask.

“The Classic of Tea consists of three volumes—Upper, Middle, and Lower. If divided by chapters, there should be ten in total,” Lin Feng answered steadily. “The first is Origin, the second Utensils, the third Methods, the fourth Implements, the fifth Brewing, the sixth Drinking, the seventh Affairs, the eighth Production, the ninth Simplifications, the tenth Illustrations.”

“Uncle Qin, am I correct?” Lin Feng asked.

Qin Weiguo nodded. “I must admit, I am surprised that you have truly studied The Classic of Tea. For someone your age, that is quite rare.”

As he spoke, Qin Weiguo personally prepared the tea, poured out two cups, and handed one to Lin Feng and the other to Qin Ruolin.

“Thank you, Uncle Qin.” Lin Feng took the cup and sipped gently. The flavor was rich and mellow, smooth and soothing to the throat. After swallowing, a lingering sweetness remained—a sign of top-quality Pu’er tea.

Although Lin Feng now lived in a parallel world to Earth, history before the late Qing Dynasty was almost identical, so tea culture here followed the same lineage, with hardly any differences.

“Since you seem well-versed in tea, can you tell what kind this is?” Qin Weiguo asked again.

“It should be Pu’er, and among the finest. However, this Pu’er is from last year, so while the taste is excellent, it lacks the freshness of new tea,” Lin Feng replied calmly.

“Mmm, being able to discern that this is last year’s Pu’er is quite impressive,” Qin Weiguo nodded.

Lin Feng was amused. He thought to himself: It’s not even the season for picking new tea yet; it would be strange if it were fresh.

“Old man, you’re a sports bureau chief and he’s a professional basketball player. Shouldn’t you be talking about sports? Why are you going on about tea? My head is spinning!” Qin Ruolin complained from the side.

Qin Weiguo chuckled. “All right, all right, let’s not talk about tea. Let’s order food first. You must be hungry. Lin Feng, what would you like to eat?”

After their discussion about tea, Qin Weiguo’s impression of Lin Feng had clearly improved. His expression was no longer as grim as when they first entered the room.

“I’m fine with anything. Ask Ruolin,” Lin Feng replied with a smile.

Qin Weiguo nodded, feeling even more favorable toward Lin Feng. Though ordering food was a trivial matter, Lin Feng put Ruolin first in everything, always thinking of his own woman before himself—truly a sign of a real man.

Qin Ruolin called the waiter and randomly ordered a few of the restaurant’s specialties, saying it was for Lin Feng to try.

Soon, the dishes arrived.

Qin Weiguo didn’t pick up his chopsticks right away. Instead, he cleared his throat and looked at Lin Feng with a serious expression. “Lin Feng, I suppose you can guess why I invited you here today. Regarding your relationship with Ruolin, I do not support it. At first, I didn’t want to interfere, because I didn’t think your feelings would last. But now, your relationship has become widely known, so I have no choice but to step in. Of course, I’m not here to break you apart. I just want to ask: how do you plan to handle your relationship with Ruolin?”

“What do you mean by ‘handle’?” Lin Feng looked puzzled.

“Well, let me be blunt. Are you just dating for fun, or are you pursuing marriage?” Qin Weiguo asked.

“This…” Lin Feng scratched his head awkwardly. Qin Weiguo had come straight out with such a difficult question that Lin Feng was momentarily at a loss for words.

“Dad, isn’t it too soon to talk about marriage?” Qin Ruolin quickly interjected.

“You young people have a saying, don’t you? ‘Dating without marriage in mind is just fooling around!’ Of course I need to know if someone is just toying with my daughter!” Qin Weiguo barked, his face stern.

“You’re right, Uncle Qin,” Lin Feng said, taking a deep breath. “Ruolin and I are serious. We are together with marriage as our goal.”

“Is that so?” Qin Weiguo narrowed his eyes, staring at Lin Feng as if trying to see through him.

“Yes,” Lin Feng replied solemnly.

“Very well. Let me ask you another question: there’s an eight-year age gap between you and Ruolin. Do you really think you could end up together?” Qin Weiguo pressed.

“I’ve never considered age a problem,” Lin Feng said seriously. “Throughout history, older-woman-younger-man romances abound. Even if we don’t mention modern times, look at the past: during the Three Kingdoms era, the brothers Cao Zhi and Cao Pi both loved Zhen Fu, who was ten years older than Cao Pi and five years older than Cao Zhi. Empress Wu Zetian was four years older than Emperor Gaozong of Tang. In the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Xianzong adored Lady Wan, who was seventeen years his senior. When Lady Wan died, Emperor Xianzong passed away in the same year from grief. If age was not an issue in ancient times, why should it matter now? What do you think, Uncle Qin?”

Qin Weiguo couldn’t help but nod. He had never expected Lin Feng to know so much about history. As the sports bureau chief, he was well aware that professional athletes often lacked academic knowledge, and some lacked even basic qualities. But Lin Feng was quite the opposite—not only had he read the obscure Classic of Tea, but he also seemed quite familiar with history. This made Qin Weiguo look at him in a new light.

“No wonder Ruolin likes this young man. He really does have something special about him,” Qin Weiguo thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Qin Ruolin was also taken aback by Lin Feng’s words. She hadn’t expected him to so skillfully address the issue of their age difference.

She was especially curious as to how Lin Feng knew so many stories about older-woman-younger-man romances. Could it be that he had thought about this because of her…?

She turned her head to look at Lin Feng, only to find that he was looking at her, too. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly looked away.

“It seems you truly care for Ruolin,” Qin Weiguo said with a gratified smile. “Go ahead and eat, don’t stand on ceremony.”

“Mm.” Lin Feng nodded and grinned. “I’ve been dying to dig in. Just looking at these dishes makes my mouth water…”

“Look at you, such a glutton,” Qin Ruolin teased.

Sitting across from them, Qin Weiguo watched the pair, clearly affectionate toward each other, and shook his head with a smile.

…

The meal was a pleasant one. During it, Qin Weiguo asked Lin Feng about his family situation, and Lin Feng answered honestly.

After dinner, Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin drove back to the hotel.

“Lin Feng, I never thought you knew so much. You can even recite The Classic of Tea. I’m really impressed,” Qin Ruolin said with a cheerful laugh as they drove.

“It’s a coincidence. When I was a child, my grandfather really did keep a copy of The Classic of Tea by his bed,” Lin Feng replied truthfully.

“And those stories about older-woman-younger-man romances in history—where did you read those?” Qin Ruolin asked.

Lin Feng smiled. “I’ve always been interested in history, especially the more scandalous side. For example, the famous Ji Xiaolan was actually a notorious womanizer. He supposedly slept with women nearly every day and once said something extremely shameless: ‘I dare not sleep with the one who bore me, and I do not sleep with the one I bore…’”

“‘I dare not sleep with the one who bore me, and I do not sleep with the one I bore’? What does that mean?” Qin Ruolin looked puzzled.

Lin Feng shrugged and grinned mischievously. “I won’t explain it—figure it out yourself!”

“Hmph!” Qin Ruolin pouted. Just then, her phone rang. It was her agent, Kelly.

Qin Ruolin answered via the car’s Bluetooth, not bothering to avoid Lin Feng.

“Ruolin, where are you?” Kelly’s anxious voice came through.

“Driving, on the way back to the hotel.”

“You’d better not come back yet. There are reporters swarming outside the hotel,” Kelly said urgently. “News has leaked that you took Lin Feng to meet Director Qin.”

“What? How did that happen?” Qin Ruolin frowned.

“You two were followed. They even have photos of you and Lin Feng shopping for clothes together,” Kelly said helplessly. “My phone’s been ringing off the hook. Everyone wants to know if you and Lin Feng are about to get married…”

…