Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with winning over Daiyu's favorability

Faced with the situation, Deng Zechen acted decisively in less than half a second, pulling the girl away quickly to the other end of the alley.

Finding no place to hide on the street, and hearing the approaching footsteps, Deng Zechen pushed the girl into another alley, then pressed his body against her to cover her.

Deng Zechen was already tall, and by deliberately concealing himself, he used this "wall slam" pose to completely block the girl from view in the alley. From the outside, all that could be seen was a tall young man being intimate with a woman.

In the cramped space, Deng Zechen could hear the two people's hearts pounding, but fortunately, the group only paused slightly before rushing off in another direction.

With the crisis averted, Deng Zechen used one hand to hold down the girl who was eager to come out, and with the other hand he straightened his clothes and leaned out halfway to observe his surroundings.

Only after confirming that there was no one else around did they allow the girl to leave the dark alley. Perhaps because Deng Zechen had just helped her, the girl was very grateful.

Thinking about how she had spilled Deng Zechen's things in her panic, and how he not only didn't ask for compensation but also helped her evade pursuers, the girl felt very embarrassed.

He's such a good person...

A new string of subtitles flashed across my eyes:

You have established an emotional connection with Ruizhu; her affection level is 10/100.

Although he had already learned the other party's true identity through the system, Deng Zechen pretended not to know:

"What's your name? Why are you hiding from those people?"

"I...I'm called Rui'er! They were a bunch of wicked servants who had their eyes on my family...I tricked my father into selling me to them, but I discovered it beforehand and that's why I ran away."

Seeing the stammering girl, Deng Zechen did not expose her lie, but simply waved for her to leave.

A hint of doubt flashed across the girl's face, but she quickly left. Deng Zechen quietly followed behind her, watching her turn several corners and enter a dilapidated courtyard on North Street, where she did not come out again.

Deng Zechen noted down the location, bought more food, and returned to the Li residence.

Guo Wenshao ate the breakfast Deng Zechen had brought back and asked in confusion:

"Why are you so late today?"

Deng Zechen swallowed the food in his mouth and told a lie to conceal the truth:

"Oh, I got up a little late this morning and ran into my senior brother who was coming back. We chatted for a while and that took up some time."

Guo Wenshao was startled and raised his voice a few decibels:

"Our senior brother is back?! He came back this morning?"

Deng Zechen didn't understand why Guo Wenshao was suddenly so agitated, so he explained what happened when he encountered his senior brother that morning:

"Yes, I ran into him just as I was about to leave this morning. He even praised me for my strong physique and offered to teach me martial arts, telling me to go see him this afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Guo Wenshao's face drained of color, and he looked utterly dejected. "It's over. Does that mean they know I didn't practice my morning exercises?"

"Huh? Is it a big deal that I didn't practice my morning exercises? I think my senior brother is a nice guy, so he probably won't be too harsh on me."

Guo Wenshao just shook his head with a wry smile, "You're new here, you don't understand how terrifying Senior Brother is yet. You'll understand later... Take your time eating, I'm leaving now..."

Guo Wenshao staggered away, leaving Deng Zechen with a belly full of questions.

After finishing his meal, Deng Zechen saw that he still had some time, so he decided to go out and find a suitable courtyard to rent as soon as possible. This would make it easier to advance Xiangling's mission and also prevent his debt from increasing further due to living in the Li residence.

For 26 taels of silver, Deng Zechen rented a decent-looking courtyard at the intersection of North Street and South Street, and paid a year's rent in one lump sum with the housekeeper as witness.

The courtyard is quite ordinary, but its location is excellent, making it convenient to go to either the Li residence or the Rongguo Mansion, which is what Deng Zechen values ​​most.

After tidying up the yard briefly, and seeing that it was almost time, Deng Zechen returned to the Li residence.

Du Feng examined Deng Zechen's studies and foundation, gave him a reading list, and instructed him to finish reading it over the next month. "Hmm, your foundation is very good, but your success in becoming the top scholar in the county was largely due to luck. Your writing style just happened to suit the examiner's taste; you might not have this kind of luck again."

Deng Zechen was well aware of the reason why he had become the top scholar in the county. Du Feng pointed out his shortcomings in just a few words and gave him directions for improvement, which made Deng Zechen very happy. This level was obviously much higher than that of the previous schoolteacher.

"Alright, that's enough for now! You can go back and rest, or you can stay and watch me teach your sixth senior brother his martial arts. Be sure to come here on time for morning lessons tomorrow."

Although Deng Zechen longed for martial arts, after all, what man doesn't dream of being a martial arts hero who can leap over rooftops?

Even as adults, we still fantasize about cultivating immortality and flying through the sky and disappearing into the earth.

However, by comparison, completing the strategy for Xiangling is more effective.

Moreover, it's uncertain when one will achieve any success in martial arts training, but completing the mission will yield rewards, and Deng Zechen has also developed some ideas about completing the mission...

"Senior Brother, I still have some things to take care of..."

"Okay, then go ahead and get busy. Not just academically, but if you encounter any problems elsewhere or need help, you can come to me directly."

"Yes! Thank you, Senior Brother."

Standing in front of the Rongguo Mansion again, Deng Zechen came this time to pick up Xiangling first, and also to tell Lin Daiyu the location of the courtyard he had rented, so that it would be convenient for future visits.

Deng Zechen explained his purpose to the gatekeeper, who lazily shifted his position against the door, his attitude extremely nonchalant, and glanced sideways at Deng Zechen:

"I know Miss Lin, but I've never heard of that fragrance."

With a forced smile, Deng Zechen pulled out a half-string of cash he had prepared and handed it to the gatekeeper, emphasizing once again the person he was looking for:

"I'm looking for Xiangling, who's next to Miss Lin. Could you please inform her?"

The lazy gatekeeper grabbed a handful of copper coins and stuffed them into his pocket, grinning so wide his teeth were showing. "Looking for Xiangling, huh? Wait here, I'll go get her right now!"

"Thank you so much, sir."

Damn it, I thought I could save this money.

With the help of money, someone quickly opened the side gate of Rongguo Mansion and led Deng Zechen inside.

When Deng Zechen arrived at the hall where guests were received, he immediately saw Lin Daiyu and Xiangling waiting there. The two maids, Xueyan and Xiangling, were talking in hushed tones, and Jia Baoyu was also there.

Jia Baoyu was chattering incessantly with Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu, seemingly oblivious to the impatience on Lin Daiyu's face.

Apart from that, there were only two nannies whom Deng Zechen did not recognize accompanying him.

When Lin Daiyu saw Deng Zechen arrive, she went up to him and asked, "Have you settled in so quickly? Did everything go smoothly?"

Unlike when they first met, Lin Daiyu appeared more confident this time. With the addition of her light green silk shirt and white embroidered bamboo skirt, she seemed even more ethereal and otherworldly.

Jia Baoyu persistently pestered Lin Daiyu for a long time, but she ignored him. Instead, he took the initiative to talk to Deng Zechen. Remembering what the servants said—that this vulgar, greedy man had come to take Xiangling away—he became anxious and blurted out:

"How did such a cute little sister like Xiangling end up in your hands? This is outrageous!"