Daily life in the academy

Bai Zhi scoffed, "So you've only grown taller, but not smarter? There's a rustling of leaves in your yard; of course it's windy."

She had thought Yan Qingchen would also unite with her, but unexpectedly, he did not pull back the corner of Mu Bailian's clothes that she was tightly grasping. Instead, he comforted her with a word: "It's just a story, don't take it seriously."

"Really?" Mu Bailian curled his lips, looking pitiful.

Yan Qingchen nodded reassuringly: "Really."

As if he had found a magic needle to stabilize the sea, Mu Bailian finally calmed down a lot. Because walls can hear, after listening to the story and finishing lunch, the four of them got up and went downstairs and left Xiyun Tower.

Xue Huaiming, who was sitting in the elegant room next door, did not move and continued to look at the music stage on the first floor. His eyes were full of interest. He waved his folding fan and said "interesting" three times.

I just don't know whether he was talking about the storyteller's interesting story or something else.

After saying goodbye to Mu Bailian and Wenzhe, only Yan Qingchen and Bai Zhi were left sitting in the carriage.

Seeing the person at the top of the table leaning against the wall of the car with his eyes closed, Bai Zhi hesitated several times, wondering whether she should open her mouth and ask.

Yan Qingchen suddenly spoke: "What do you want to say?" His face was calm and his eyes were still closed.

"I just want to ask, why is Bai Lian so afraid of ghosts?"

Yan Qingchen raised his eyebrows slightly, opened his eyes and looked at Bai Zhi, and said slowly: "Do you really want to know? Even Wenzhe doesn't know this."

Bai Zhi hesitated slightly: "A sad past? Or does it involve a secret that cannot be discovered?"

His words were always different, and Yan Qingchen was used to it. He just shook his head and said, "It's not a big deal. It's just that the general's mansion doesn't want to mention it. It's okay to tell you."

"Aunt Bai was pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl. Twins are considered auspicious in Yan State. The current emperor had a twin brother, who was also the crown prince of the previous dynasty. Then, for unknown reasons, a fire broke out in the Eastern Palace. Ever since then, rumors have spread among the people of Yan State that twins are a bad omen and will affect the nation's fortunes."

"These rumors are groundless. Furthermore, the Emperor himself is one of the twins. It's just that the Emperor had just ascended the throne, and the court was in turmoil. General Mu was fervently supporting the current Emperor, but was accidentally infiltrated by rebels. The wet nurse risked her life to protect her brother, and the younger sister was abducted and used to threaten General Mu. The rebels were later captured, but the child's whereabouts are unknown."

"Afterwards, the General's Mansion treated the wet nurse very well. However, what they never expected was that the wet nurse was actually bewitched by a ghost and believed the slander. Unable to bear the inner torment, she left a letter of confession and committed suicide in front of the young Bai Lian. When Bai Lian was found, his face was covered in blood, and he just stared blankly in the direction of the wet nurse. From then on, he cried every night, and even when he grew up, he was particularly afraid of ghosts and gods."

He never thought that there was such a past. He was still young at that time and may not have this memory, but it must have left a trauma deep in his heart.

Bai Zhi pursed her lips and said, "After that... I tried not to scare him." If he was timid himself, it wouldn't be anyone else's fault.

Yan Qingchen looked at Bai Zhi, his expression as if he had seen through him: "Even a rabbit will bite when it is cornered. You can't beat him with your small body."

Bai Zhi felt insulted, but what he said was true.

...

A few months were enough for Baizhi to fully adapt to school life. She no longer felt the urgency of survival, and for a moment she felt like she was back in her carefree school days, when she didn't have to worry about anything else except studying.

Bai Zhi was reminiscing about her wonderful life when she was blatantly interrupted by Mu Bailian.

"Azhi, please help me now. If I fail the test again, the old man will nag me all summer long."

"Did you learn the exercises I taught you yesterday? Did you review them?" Bai Zhi glared at him. "I reminded you a month ago, and tried to persuade you to make up for your shortcomings with hard work. You were busy fighting katydids with the people from Bingtang at the time. Are you worried now? It's too late."

"Okay, Azhi, just let me take a look during the test, just one look." Mu Bailian would only be particularly humble and submissive at this time.

Bai Zhi called out to Yan Qingchen directly: "Brother Yan, Bai Lian... um..."

Mu Bailian covered Bai Zhi's mouth with his hand, then turned to Yan Qingchen and smiled foolishly: "Brother Yan, it's okay, Ah Zhi and I were just joking."

Yan Qingchen raised his eyebrows, glanced at Bai Zhi who was covered tightly, curled his lips and chuckled, then ignored them and turned back to continue reading.

Mu Bailian said softly, "If you don't call me Brother Yan, I'll let you go, okay?"

Bai Zhi nodded and patted Mu Bailian's palm to signal him to let go quickly.

"Once you agree, you can't go back on your word." Mu Bailian confirmed again.

Bai Zhi rolled her eyes and nodded again.

"Huh—I'm almost suffocating."

Mu Bailian slowly let go of Bai Zhi, and was relieved to see that he really didn't call out Yan Qingchen again. However, he was keenly aware of the anger of the people around him and apologized decisively.

"Azhi, I'm sorry."

"You..." Bai Zhi's breath caught in her throat and was then choked back.

It was only before each test, when he needed help from others, that Mu Bailian would be so flexible.

"Impossible." Bai Zhi refused mercilessly, but seeing his pitiful puppy appearance, she softened her heart a little: "But if you follow me and study hard for the next few days, I can let you take a look."

Mu Bailian was delighted: "Okay, okay, I knew Azhi was the best, I'll listen to you." His eyes were shining, more like the big yellow dog in Xishi who shook his head and tail when someone threw a bone to him.

Even so, Bai Zhi still poured cold water on him mercilessly: "If the teacher finds out, you will have to bear the consequences alone. I will not share your hardship."

"Don't worry about that. I, Mu Bailian, am the most loyal person." Mu Bailian patted his chest and promised.

Anyway, as long as I pass, it doesn’t matter!

Time flies, and it is the end of June in a blink of an eye. The scorching summer heat is coming. There are many students in Yunlu Academy, and the heat in the classroom is unbearable. If classes continue, these delicate young men may suffer from heatstroke, so a one-month summer vacation is held at this time every year.

After the test, Yunlu Academy will close for the holiday. There are still three days left before the test.

Five days ago, Mu Bailian felt a lot of pressure. He admitted his mistake and came to Baizhi to tutor him in mathematics, and asked Wenzhe to tutor him in classics and law.

Maybe Mu Bailian was born with a simple mind and strong limbs, or maybe his intelligence was taken away by his sister whom he had never met. In any case, he would forget the previous part when he heard the latter part, and he would not remember the latter part when he reviewed the previous part.

After Xie Guan announced the start date of the test, they all moved into the academy, so Mu Bailian's teaching base was in Room 103, Block A, which was also the dormitory of Mu Bailian and Bai Zhi.

The precious Prince Yan couldn't stand the heat, so ice cubes were prepared in the house after school to relieve the heat.

The day before the test, Mu Bailian predicted the topic just like those students who cram at the last minute in his previous life. He insisted on asking Bai Zhi and Wen Zhe to explain it to him, and the ice cubes had melted completely by the end of the year.

"Mu Bailian, you...that's enough." Bai Zhi's back was soaked again, and she fanned herself helplessly.