In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

"Oh, right," Zhou Xuan'an finally noticed him, "Brother Yutang, didn't you say you were going to Tianlin Study to buy paper and pens?"

Cui Yutang snapped out of his reverie and lowered his eyes: "Let's go now."

He bowed to the two of them to take his leave, then turned and left. His steps were somewhat hurried, and his back was straight in the morning light, yet it revealed a hint of stiffness that was barely perceptible.

After walking a few steps, I could still hear laughter behind me:

"Is it really delicious? I'd better try it..."

"Why would I lie to you! This is going to be delicious..."

The sound gradually faded into the distance.

Cui Yutang slowed his pace, but in the end, he couldn't help but look back.

At the academy gate, Xie Yige was looking up at Zhou Xuan'an, her eyes crinkling with a bright smile. Zhou Xuan'an chuckled and ruffled her hair, but she pretended to be angry and dodged away, her skirt swirling in a pale green arc.

So intimate.

That's...natural.

He withdrew his gaze and continued walking. The morning breeze was cool, blowing on his face, but it couldn't dispel the heavy, dull pain in his heart.

So this is how lively and relaxed she is when she's with Zhou Xuan'an.

Inside the carriage, Xie Yige held the empty food box, somewhat lost in thought.

"Miss?" Yu Chun called softly, "Are you tired?"

"No..." Xie Yige shook her head, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the handle of the food box.

"So his name is Cui Yutang."

"He likes to go to Tianlin Study..." she muttered to herself, her face flushing again.

When her brother spoke to her just now, she couldn't help but secretly glance back at his departing figure. His sky-blue straight robe and upright, pine-like figure gradually disappeared in the sunlight, elegant and noble.

Even her back view is beautiful.

Her heart started racing again. She hurriedly lifted the car curtain, letting the wind blow on her burning face.

The street scenes outside the window change, but what keeps replaying in my mind's eye are those deep, pool-like eyes.

Tianlin Study.

Cui Yutang stood in front of the bookshelf, holding a roll of Xuan paper in his hand, but his gaze was fixed on the void.

The scent of ink wafted in the air. The study was quiet, with only the soft clatter of the shopkeeper's abacus and the occasional whispers of a few scholars.

"Young master?" The shopkeeper approached and asked politely, "Is this paper to your liking?"

Cui Yutang snapped out of his reverie and lowered his eyes: "I need thirty."

My gaze then turned to the bookshelf with commentaries on the classics, when suddenly a commotion arose from the entrance of the study.

"Young man, you...you can't do this..." came the hesitant voice, tinged with difficulty.

Cui Yutang looked up.

On the east side of the bookshelf by the entrance, a thin scholar stood stiffly, his finger hovering above an open copy of the Analects, wanting to touch it but not daring to. He wore a faded blue robe, the elbows neatly patched, and it was very clean. The most jarring sight was his shoes—his right shoe had a hole in it, and his exposed toes were purple with cold in the chilly spring air, trembling slightly.

The bookseller stood to the side, looking embarrassed: "Sir, this book... if you're not buying it, it's best not to touch it. The owner loves books; if he touches the paper too much, it'll get fuzzy, and I won't be able to explain it..."

"I...I'll just take a look..." the scholar's voice was weak, but his eyes were glued to the pages. "I'll be very careful..."

"What are you looking at!"

An arrogant voice broke in.

A man in red brocade robes emerged from the inner hall, fanning himself, his expression frivolous. He walked up to the scholar, tapped the copy of the Analects with his fan, and sneered, "Can you afford to pay for it if you damage it? Get out!"

"I...I have no money..." The scholar's face turned pale, and he withdrew his hand as if he had been burned.

"Get out if you have no money!" The man in red kicked him.

The kick landed squarely on the scholar's stomach. The scholar, who had been starving for two days, groaned and curled up on the ground for a long time, unable to get up, his face ashen.

"stop."

Cui Yutang's voice was cold and clear, like icicles hitting the ground.

The man in red was still standing in mid-air when he turned his head, saw it was him, paused for a moment, and then sneered, "Who are you? What business is it of yours what happens at Tianlin Academy?"

"Tianlin Study," Cui Yutang said, enunciating each word clearly, "never does anything to bully students. Who are you?"

"Me?" The man in red pointed at himself with his fan, smugly saying, "The shop owner is my uncle. He's sick, so I'm in charge here now!"

A crowd gradually gathered, many of them students from Donglin Academy. Some recognized Cui Yutang and began to whisper among themselves.

Cui Yutang ignored him, first walking over to the scholar and squatting down to check his breathing. The breath was weak, but he was still alive. He looked up at the shopkeeper: "When did the shopkeeper adopt such a rule?"

The shopkeeper's face flushed red, and he rubbed his hands together, whispering, "Young Master Cui, this is the master's nephew, I really..."

"We all saw it with our own eyes; this scholar didn't touch your books," Cui Yutang stood up, his gaze sweeping over the man in red. "Is this the rule you've been in charge of?"

"You—!" The man in red looked grim.

"Under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, everything must be done according to the law," Cui Yutang said clearly. "You injured someone without cause and forcibly drove them away. Which of those laws is in accordance with the rules?"

"Well said!" echoed the crowd.

"Tianlin Study is a business catering to our academy's students. If they continue to operate like this, we will never come again!"

"Exactly! Go tell the teacher to stop everyone from buying books here!"

The man in red's face flushed red and then turned pale, the veins on his hand holding the fan bulging. Just as he was about to lash out, the curtain to the inner room was lifted, and a woman walked out.

She wore a pale yellow ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and her face was veiled, revealing only a pair of calm eyes. She was slender, yet her movements exuded a dignified air.

"Gentlemen," she said, curtsying gently, "my father has been ill for many days, and I apologize on his behalf. Today's events were indeed due to my oversight at Tianlin Study, and I apologize for making you all laugh."

"Qi-mei!" the man in red exclaimed anxiously, "What are you doing out here, a woman? My uncle's business will all be mine in the future, and I'll be the one making the decisions!"

It turned out to be the case.

Cui Yutang understood. He had met the owner of Tianlin Study several times; he was a kind and refined scholar who often discussed poetry and classics with the academy's teachers. This sudden change in behavior was indeed suspicious.

He stopped pursuing the matter and his gaze fell on the copy of the Analects on the ground.

"What was the original price of this book?" he asked the bookstore clerk.

The shopkeeper glanced at the man in red and whispered, "One thousand coins..."

"Two taels of silver now!" the man in red shouted arrogantly.

Two taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family to live on for several months.

Cui Yutang didn't speak, but took out a piece of silver from his purse, exactly two taels. He flicked his finger, and the silver flew through the air in an arc before landing with a "clang" at the shopkeeper's feet.

"I'll take the book." He bent down to pick up the Analects, dusted off the cover, and turned to his classmates who were watching. "Could you please lend a hand and carry this young man to the nearest clinic?"

Several students rushed forward and helped the unconscious scholar up.

Cui Yutang didn't look at the man in red and the masked woman again. Holding his books, he turned and walked out of the study.