Chapter 124: The Tea House Proprietor

With the sound of a clear and pleasant female voice, the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside. Chen Hao immediately turned his gaze toward the entrance, and the moment he saw the person who had arrived, he was stunned. He finally understood why Guo Yunhai had told him earlier that he would be surprised when he met the owner.

First of all, the owner’s gender took Chen Hao by surprise. He had never expected that the proprietor of such a traditional, literati-style teahouse would be a woman. Moreover, the appearance of this female owner—or proprietress—left Chen Hao’s jaw on the floor.

The owner of a traditional, antique-style teahouse was dressed in a way that was so modern... no, "modern" didn't do it justice; it was downright avant-garde.

Her hair was cut into a sleek, clean pixie style, shorter than Chen Hao's own, and dyed a vibrant purple-red. Below the corner of her left eye, she had a small butterfly tattooed. While her right cheek was clear, her right ear was adorned with three shimmering studs, positioned not on the lobe, but along the cartilage of her ear.

Around her neck, she didn't wear a typical girl's necklace, but rather a... leather collar? Was she treating herself like a pet? And wouldn't those metal studs on the collar poke her?

Looking at her outfit, the right side of her top was a half-sleeve, exposing a fair, delicate arm. On her left, she wore a short-sleeved shirt layered over a long-sleeved one.

Her shirt wasn't tucked neatly into her pants or left to hang naturally; instead, one side was knotted into a small bunch, revealing her slender waist. Her pants were tattered, distressed "beggar-style" denim, and she wore a pair of canvas sneakers. On her exposed ankle, there was another beautiful butterfly tattoo.

Chen Hao had only ever seen this kind of attire on people involved in hip-hop or death metal scenes. His horizons had certainly been broadened today.

Perhaps many older people would find such an eccentric style off-putting, but Chen Hao found it quite interesting; it didn't strike him as repulsive in the slightest.

Of course, Chen Hao felt the main reason for this was that the proprietress’s appearance was simply impossible to dislike. Her face alone was enough to compensate for any perceived flaws.

To describe her as "overthrowing cities and kingdoms" didn't even cover a ten-thousandth of her beauty. Words like "drowning fish and falling geese" were insufficient. It was a face that shouldn't exist in the mortal realm; she looked like Chang’e descending from the heavens.

If Chen Hao were to rank everyone he knew by beauty, this proprietress would definitely be in the "enchantress" tier. In his view, only two figures from mythology could qualify for that level: Chang’e and Daji. And this woman reached that standard perfectly.

As for Gu Mengyan and Fan Yirou, they could barely be considered the second tier—"femme fatales"—and even that was a stretch. The only other person who truly reached that second tier was Vivian, whom he had met in the virtual reality game.

Then there was Dong Xin... she belonged to the third category: fresh and lovely. Below that were the fourth tier, the "girl next door" type, and the fifth tier, the "ordinary face." As for people like Sister Feng, they weren't worth mentioning.

Chen Hao had never imagined he would see a first-tier beauty in the real world. He didn't know if this was the blessing he’d cultivated over eight lifetimes.

With such a woman, even if one couldn't marry her, just being friends would be worth it. And if one couldn't be friends, simply knowing her or meeting her once was a stroke of immense good fortune.

The fact that Guo Yunhai could be friends with such a beautiful proprietress was a huge surprise. Despite being shocked by her beauty, Chen Hao remained composed. Aside from the initial look of surprise, he displayed no impolite behavior.

Soon, he adjusted his expression and let out a deep, reflective sigh.

Chen Hao was surprised by the proprietress's appearance, and she was equally surprised by his reaction. She knew all too well the impact her looks had on young men. She had witnessed countless expressions from them upon their first meeting.

Some were dumbstruck, some drooled, some had nosebleeds, some fainted on the spot, some collapsed and twitched, and others beat their chests in regret that they were already married. The most dramatic ones would even drop to one knee to propose on the spot.

However, very few had reacted like Chen Hao. Usually, those who recovered after a brief moment of surprise were older men or honest, married men with children. The only young, single man she had ever met who remained unmoved was Guo Yunhai.

Yet, judging by his age, Chen Hao shouldn't be married—at least, he wasn't wearing a wedding ring, and it was even less likely he had children. This meant he was a single young man, which left only three logical explanations.

First, Chen Hao was "late to bloom" and had no interest in girls. But in this day and age, everyone heard of kids maturing early, never late.

Second, Chen Hao was gay and simply not interested in women.

Third, Chen Hao already had someone in his heart—an object of such great affection that he was immune to others.

No matter which it was, it piqued the proprietress’s curiosity, especially the second and third possibilities.

If Chen Hao had a sweetheart, she was dying to know what kind of outstanding woman could be mentioned in the same breath as her. She wasn't bragging, but she had never seen a woman more beautiful than herself! She would be very interested in knowing such a person.

Furthermore, her own style was quite alternative, which actually detracted from her appearance rather than adding to it. If she were to wear her hair long and beautiful like other normal girls and dress with care, her "lethality" would easily double, whether she dressed as a cute girl or a mature queen.

And if he were gay, then they were... in a way, the same. Her own sexual orientation wasn't exactly conventional; she was a lesbian, which was why she dressed this way. She had never actually met a gay man before!

The proprietress looked at Chen Hao with great interest and took the initiative to speak: "Hey! Big guy, is this young man a friend of yours? It’s the first time I’ve seen you bring a friend here! Won't you introduce us?"

Guo Yunhai knew the proprietress’s style and was aware of her preference for women. He had also seen many men try to woo her in the past. Their own acquaintance began in such a scenario; Guo Yunhai had been passing through a small market in Kestar and saw the proprietress being harassed by a group of hooligans.

Although Guo Yunhai had a brash personality, he wasn't a bad person. Because he practiced martial arts, he naturally possessed a chivalrous heart. Seeing an injustice, he couldn't just sit by. He had stepped in and chased the thugs away, saving the proprietress.

Ever since then, they had been friends. However, the trope of the beauty offering herself to the hero who saved her, as seen in novels and TV dramas, never happened between them. The reason was simple: Guo Yunhai had always had eyes for Dong Xin. Besides, the proprietress’s androgynous, avant-garde style wasn't his type.

As for the proprietress, due to her sexual orientation, she naturally couldn't fall for Guo Yunhai. But that didn't stop them from being good friends. Both were straightforward, so they found it easy to talk. Since then, every time Guo Yunhai visited Kestar, he would stop by the teahouse to see her. Over time, they became very familiar with each other. This was why she had spoken so directly earlier.

Seeing her question, Guo Yunhai knew she was curious about Chen Hao's reaction, just as she had been curious about his own behavior back then.

Guo Yunhai shrugged. "A friend... well, maybe not quite yet. We actually only met this afternoon. And the process was a bit unpleasant; we even had a fight."

Hearing this, the proprietress noticed the medical bandages on Guo Yunhai’s hands and feet. She widened her eyes in disbelief. "You two had a fight? And you got hurt?"

In her mind, Guo Yunhai was the most formidable person she had ever met. When they first met, she hadn't just been harassed by one thug; she had been surrounded by seven or eight.

When Guo Yunhai stepped in, the thugs had swarmed him. Yet, he had taken them all down easily, single-handedly, without sustaining a single scratch.

At the time, Guo Yunhai had seemed like a god descending to earth, making the martial arts masters in movies and TV shows look like nothing.

But she hadn't expected that Guo Yunhai, who seemed nearly invincible in her heart, would be injured by Chen Hao, who looked like a pampered "house cat." Just how strong must he be?!

Chen Hao saw that she had misunderstood and quickly explained, "Owner, please don't get the wrong idea. Guo Yunhai’s injuries weren't caused by me, but by an elderly gentleman. We did spar, but it was a draw. As for our relationship, it is indeed as he said—we only met today."

"However, as Guo Yunhai said, we didn't know each other until we fought, so we can consider ourselves new friends!"

Guo Yunhai was well aware that his strength was likely inferior to Chen Hao’s. Although the fight ended in a draw, he was certain that if it hadn't been for the intervention of Old Master Fang, he would have eventually lost had they continued.

Now that Chen Hao was essentially flattering him in a roundabout way, Guo Yunhai felt a growing fondness for him. Plus, since Chen Hao didn't hold his reckless behavior against him and called them friends, Guo Yunhai felt quite happy.

He decided to be generous and admitted, "Chen Hao, you don't need to make excuses for me. Even though you didn't cause these wounds, I’m certain I’m not your match. There’s no point in hiding that."

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" the proprietress shouted in surprise.