“It’s nothing.”
Li Qingyuan suddenly felt a bit uninterested and couldn’t be bothered to ask further.
The servant didn’t understand what was wrong with him, but he had always been afraid of this unpredictable Seventh Young Master Li. Seeing his reaction, the servant hastily bowed and took his leave.
Once he was gone—
Li Qingyuan planned to continue walking forward. Since he didn’t have to attend class, he might as well return to his room to catch up on sleep. He hadn’t slept well last night and was feeling terribly drowsy.
If not for his habit of waking up early for breakfast, he probably wouldn’t have gone out at all today. But before he could take a few steps, a voice called out from behind.
“Qilang!”
Hmm?
Fu Xian?
He turned around and saw Fu Xian approaching with two others. Seeing the three of them, Li Qingyuan wasn’t particularly surprised, just a little resigned.
“What are you all doing out here?”
“To accompany you, of course.”
Fu Xian, dressed in a deep purple robe, exuded the energy of a youthful spirit. He patted Li Qingyuan’s shoulder and laughed loudly. “Aren’t you touched?”
Behind him, Qi Xu was catching his breath as he walked. He swallowed before speaking, “Old Pan has been getting worse lately, constantly comparing us to those people from Changrong Hall. Even if it weren’t because of you, we would’ve come out anyway.”
“Actually, everyone inside wants to leave, but… they’re all afraid of Old Pan.”
Li Qingyuan glanced at them, then shook his head.
Finally, his gaze settled on Jing Yubai, who was always composed and mature. With a sigh, he asked, “Even you are getting caught up in their nonsense?”
Jing Yubai merely smiled. “I wouldn’t call it nonsense. Lately, Mister Pan has been particularly resentful toward us, and he hasn’t been putting much effort into his teaching. I already went through today’s lesson in advance.”
“Later, I can go over it with you all.” Before Li Qingyuan could say anything else, he continued with a smile, “Come on, it’s freezing out here. Let’s go sit in your room.”
Since things had come to this—
Li Qingyuan couldn’t say much more. He nodded and agreed.
The four of them made their way toward Li Qingyuan’s room at the academy. Along the way, Qi Xu, the food enthusiast, finally noticed the candied hawthorn skewer in Li Qingyuan’s hand. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“Qilang, you bought candied hawthorn? I thought you didn’t like these kinds of things?”
He really didn’t like eating them. He was just curious.
“Mm.”
Li Qingyuan glanced at the skewer in his hand. The cold weather meant that even after walking for some time, the sugar coating on the hawthorn hadn’t melted. He hadn’t known what to do with it from the start and had carried it all the way back. Now, he was even more unsure of what to do with it.
Fu Xian also noticed and made a big fuss. “I remember you haven’t eaten this stuff since you were ten.”
He actually liked these sweet-and-sour treats. Seeing them now made him crave some. Unable to resist, he asked, “Where did you buy it? I’ve been going to the streets lately, but I haven’t seen anyone selling them.”
Li Qingyuan had no choice but to answer, “In an alley on East Street.”
“Then why did you buy it if you’re not going to eat it?” That alley on East Street was quite far—taking a carriage would still take two quarter-hours. Yet he had walked all this way without eating it? “If you’re not going to eat it, give it to me! I’m dying for some.”
As soon as Fu Xian finished speaking, he reached out to grab it.
But Li Qingyuan, for some unknown reason, instinctively dodged back, clutching the skewer tightly. Seeing Fu Xian’s wide-eyed expression, he cleared his throat lightly and explained, “I’ll buy you one next time. This one… I’ve carried it all the way back, it’s dirty.”
“I don’t mind, why do you?” Fu Xian pursed his lips but ultimately withdrew his hand.
Qi Xu, who normally only cared about food and nothing else, suddenly had a flash of insight. Without thinking, he blurted out—
“Qilang, don’t tell me someone gave you that candied hawthorn?”
Li Qingyuan, struck silent by the truth, suddenly shut his mouth.
“It really is?!” Fu Xian, noticing Li Qingyuan’s reaction, momentarily forgot about his craving for the candied hawthorn. His eyes widened with curiosity, and he hooked an arm around Li Qingyuan’s shoulder, grinning mischievously. “Who is it? Who? Which bold little lady dares to do this?”
Who?
That lawless Little Chili you’re talking about.
Li Qingyuan silently glanced at Fu Xian. After holding back his frustration all morning, he now had no desire to speak. Clutching the “hot potato” that was the candied hawthorn, he continued walking forward. But Qi Xu and Fu Xian kept chattering noisily beside him, making it impossible to find peace. Finally, exasperated, he muttered in a muffled voice, “No one gave it to me, I bought it myself!”
He paid for it himself—how could that count as being given something?!
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that carrying around something he had no intention of eating—something he even paid for himself—made him feel utterly foolish today.
No.
Not just a little foolish. Extremely foolish.
Fu Xian and Qi Xu both let out a long “ooh,” clearly unconvinced. But no matter how much they pressed him, Li Qingyuan refused to say another word.
At the back of the group, Jing Yubai, who hadn’t spoken this whole time, watched the scene unfold and shook his head with a quiet smile. If he remembered correctly, this morning, the Gu family’s Little Chili had also been carrying a skewer of candied hawthorn like it was some kind of treasure.
But… it was best not to bring that up.
Otherwise, Qilang would probably beat him up.
He pressed his lips together, following behind as he watched the lively exchange in front of him, amusement filling his gaze.
Although they had said they were going to Li Qingyuan’s place to rest, the next class was Mr. Lu’s lecture.
Fu Xian and the others might have complaints about Mr. Pan, but they still held a great deal of respect for Mr. Lu. Seeing that class time was approaching, after a short rest, they prepared to leave. Before going, Qi Xu hesitated, then couldn’t resist softly advising, “Qilang, why don’t you come with us? Lately, Mr. Lu has been mentioning you often.”
Li Qingyuan was exhausted. Just now, he had forced himself to stay awake and chat with them for a while. Now that they were leaving, he immediately collapsed onto the couch, not even bothering to open his eyes. He waved a hand lazily and said in a tired voice, “You guys go ahead. I’ll sleep a bit more.”
Fu Xian and the others had people to report to.
He didn’t. Whether he went or not didn’t really matter.
Qi Xu pursed his lips, looking somewhat unwilling, as if he wanted to keep persuading him. But Jing Yubai patted his shoulder and said to Li Qingyuan, “Then rest well. When it’s mealtime, we’ll come get you.”
“Mm.”
Li Qingyuan nodded, then turned over and fell asleep.
Fu Xian and the other two quietly shut the door behind them and walked outside. Unlike when they had come, this time, the mood was heavier.
Qi Xu drooped his head and sighed deeply. “Qilang can’t go on like this forever… He was the one who encouraged me to attend the academy back then, and now, he’s the one who’s turned into this…”
He had always lacked confidence.
Before meeting Li Qingyuan, he had always been the one getting bullied. But one time, Li Qingyuan had stepped in and saved him. Ever since then, he had followed him around.
On the surface, Li Qingyuan always seemed distant and indifferent to everyone. But in reality, he was a truly good person.
Not only had he driven away those who bullied Qi Xu, but he also constantly encouraged him.
Qi Xu had always wanted to become strong like him, so he worked hard to study.
But now, the person he admired so much had become like this… It made him both sad and distressed.
Even Fu Xian, usually the most talkative, remained silent, walking forward with his head down, saying nothing.
As they stepped out of the courtyard, Jing Yubai glanced at the room behind them and let out a sigh.
“He has a knot in his heart. No matter what we say, he won’t listen. Unless…” He sighed again. “Unless he unties it himself.”
“Or perhaps…” he finds someone to look forward to.
Because when you have something to look forward to, you want to try harder.
But looking at things now, both seemed unlikely.
—
When Li Qingyuan woke up, he had no idea how much time had passed. He glanced outside—the sky was still bright. Since Fu Xian and the others hadn’t come by yet, he figured it probably wasn’t noon yet.
After drinking a cup of water, he estimated the time and slowly strolled outside.
His residence wasn’t far from the dining hall.
At this hour, Buzhi Hall hadn’t finished class yet, but Pingshuo Hall had already let out, and from a distance, he could see students gathering in groups, heading toward the dining hall.
Li Qingyuan didn’t know what was on his mind, but he suddenly stood still and observed. His eyesight was sharp—even from far away, he could see clearly. But after watching for a while, as the crowd thinned, he still didn’t see that familiar red figure.
He hummed lightly.
Realizing that he had been waiting for that Little Chili to appear, he felt both ridiculous and incredulous.
He was probably still half-asleep. Must have gone crazy.
Shaking his head, Li Qingyuan changed direction and walked toward Buzhi Hall.
To get there, he had to pass through the border between Buzhi Hall and Pingshuo Hall—a plum grove separated by a decorative moon gate that served no real purpose.
He had always thought—
If any pair of young men and women at this academy had their eyes on each other, it would be incredibly easy to meet in secret.
It wasn’t unheard of before.
Some students fell for each other, met privately a few times, and then later sent a matchmaker to propose marriage—a far better option than those arranged by parental decree.
He had always disliked marriages arranged by elders, and even more so the kind where two people forced themselves into it out of duty and obligation, despite having no real feelings for each other.
Why did he hate it?
Because of his dear father.
A man who, despite not loving his mother, still married her just to fulfill his responsibility of continuing the family line.
He sneered. His expression turned mocking.
Just as he was about to continue walking forward, he suddenly heard voices nearby—
Two young women were talking.
“I heard earlier that Seventh Young Master Li talked back to the teacher again today and even coaxed Young Master Jing and the others into skipping class with him.”
“He’s already hopeless, but he just has to drag Young Master Jing down with him!” The other girl spoke angrily. “Young Master Jing must have the worst luck in eight lifetimes to have a friend like him!”
Such twisted words.
Li Qingyuan had heard far too many like them in the past. They didn’t make him angry anymore. He had no intention of teaching those two rumor-mongers a lesson. He simply kept walking forward.
But before he could take more than a few steps—
A feisty, furious voice suddenly cut through the conversation.
“What nonsense are you two spouting?!”
Hmm?
His steps paused.
He turned his gaze toward the nearby wall.
Why was Little Chili here?