cold clothes

After gently comforting the girls, Madam Hu told them to go and rest, but she called Leng Yi back.

"Ningbi, let's keep things separate. Why were you so rude to the headmistress this morning? And who is Zhao Ergou?"

Leng Yi had already prepared her explanation, but she couldn't appear too calm. These vicious women didn't want her to feel no fear in their hands. So, Leng Yi glanced nervously at the pale-faced headmistress and said timidly, "I didn't mean to speak rudely to you, headmistress. It's just that... my mind was a bit confused at the time, and I thought of the people who had bullied me before."

"Are you saying that Granny bullied you like that Zhao Ergou did?"

"No, no, no, it's just that I had a hard time sticking to it back then. I could only keep going if I thought of something that could motivate me," Leng Yi said, shaking her head.

"Hehe, that's interesting."

The ambiguous laugh sent chills down Leng Yi's spine, as if she had seen through Leng Yi's lie, or as if she simply found it amusing.

Cold sweat was almost soaking the back of her clothes when Hu's mother finally said, "That's enough, let's just let this matter go. You can go back now."

“Yes, Mom.” Leng Yi was eager to leave, but when she turned around, she felt as if the gaze behind her was frozen in place like a quagmire. She was forced to walk very slowly until she reached the corner and was finally freed from that oppressive feeling.

That's terrifying, but something even more terrifying awaits her ahead.

"Today is the fourth day of the ninth lunar month, and the big exam is on the first day of the twelfth lunar month. What should I do?"

As soon as Leng Yi returned to the dormitory, she heard the restless sound of a gentle breeze. Then, as soon as she appeared, she was met with intense stares from four people.

"You troublemaker!" Breeze said dismissively, then turned away from her.

Leng Yi was grateful for Wei Feng's quick wit, which gave her a chance to speak. So she pretended to be relaxed and said, "Why are you all so nervous? Isn't it obvious that I'll be last in the December exam? Do you really think I can match your three years of practice in just three months?"

“Of course not,” Xia Hua said coldly, walking up to Leng Yi as she spoke. “Even if you were given half a year or a year, you still couldn’t compare to us. You practice for a year, and we’ll have another year. You’ll never catch up to us.”

"So, Aunt Hu's new system is nonsense for you, but torture for me." Leng Yi met Xia Hua's gaze without flinching, appearing even more imposing. "Are you so confident you can always be above me?"

“I…have…!” Xia Hua said, enunciating each word clearly.

Just as the two were about to clash, Nongyue, who was sitting on the edge of the bed reading a book, closed the book and said, "It's not necessarily true, Xia Hua. Have you forgotten? We'll be learning seductive arts later, and then Ningbi will be on the same starting line as us."

"Ah!" The gentle breeze, who had been swaggering alongside Xia Hua, cried out in alarm, her expression turning fearful. She had witnessed the women of Warm Breeze Pavilion learning seductive arts when she was young, and the inhumane scenes had left a deep scar on her. Compared to what she was learning now, that was true hell!

So, it turns out she still had to learn seductive arts. Leng Yi had thought the courtesan was truly noble, pure, and untainted. Xia Hua's expression changed slightly, but she remained arrogant: "So what if it's seductive arts? Ning Bi, I'll show you that you can never compare to me." With that, she returned to her bedside.

I'll let you know I'm not someone to be trifled with. Leng Yi thought to herself.

This is terrifying... this is terrifying... The breeze sank into the shadows of the past, glancing at Wu Xue in the corner as if nothing had happened. She said incredulously, "Wu Xue, aren't you scared? There will be a punishment for last place! Our lives will be even more miserable from now on!"

Wu Xue, who had been silent all along, was surprised that Wei Feng had noticed her. Her eyes were blank as she slowly said, "I'm only good at dancing. If I come in last place, I have nothing to say."

"You're really useless, but that's fine, this way I won't worry about being at the bottom." Breeze said disdainfully to Wu Xue, then she felt relieved.

Then Xia Hua scolded him, "How can you be lazy? Mom said that we are facing more and more threats, and if we don't work harder, we won't be able to keep our position."

“…You’re right.” Wei Feng outwardly complied with Xia Hua’s accusations, but resentment grew in her heart. She had long been disgusted by Xia Hua’s superior attitude, always interfering in everything. What right did she have? She was no longer Xia Hua’s servant!

The lunch break was spent in this atmosphere of deteriorating relations. Thanks to Hu's mother, the five of them could not become friends, but could only be enemies.

This afternoon is instrumental music class, taught by Yun Qiu.

Yunqiu wore an orange maple leaf patterned overcoat, with a crimson high-waisted ruqun underneath. Her hair was piled high in a bun, adorned with a red jade hairpin. She truly resembled a fiery red maple leaf in autumn, bright and beautiful, radiating brilliance in all directions.

Seeing the pale faces of Leng Yi and the other four, she said with a coquettish smile, "Why are you all wearing such sour faces? Don't you like my class?"

"Of course I like it." Yunqiu's words startled the four girls, who all shook their heads.

The girls took their seats in front of the guzheng one by one, and their personal maids helped them put on their fingernails.

Yunqiu chuckled lightly a few times, then got straight to the point and introduced today's lesson, "Today you will learn a new guzheng piece called 'Return Home,' so let's read the score first."

Upon hearing this, the other girls opened their sheet music to read, but Leng Yi looked at Yun Qiu with her bright blue eyes.

No one could resist a kitten's pleading eyes. Yun Qiu walked happily to Yun Mei's side, stroked Leng Yi's hair, and praised, "You really look like a Persian cat, so cute."

Leng Yi: "..." I've been petted like a cat.

"Let me teach you how to read sheet music and basic fingering," Yun Qiu smiled gently at Leng Yi, then guided her hand to demonstrate the fingering for the sheet music. Her voice was as sweet as honey, and her hand, resting on Leng Yi's, was warm and delicate.

"For now, just learn the two basic finger techniques, the large and small pinches, and harmonize with them. Make sure your hand gestures are correct, otherwise the sounds will be terrible. Don't be lazy, my ears are very sharp."

With such a beautiful older sister teaching me, of course I won't slack off, meow~ In just a few minutes, my lazy cold clothes have already turned into the shape of Yunqiu's cat, and I can't help but meow in my heart.

Next, they began to play a new piece of music. Xia Hua and the others, having a good foundation, were able to try playing it after reading the sheet music a few times. Yun Qiu instructed the five of them to play together, with each person playing a part, while Leng Yi only played the harmonies where Yun Qiu had just pointed out.

At first, Leng Yi's performance was full of flaws, but she gradually improved. Yun Qiu could always pinpoint everyone's shortcomings, such as the lack of precision in the gentle breeze's sweeping motion, the insufficient strength in Nong Yue's singing, and the missed vibrato in Wu Xue's singing. Of course, Leng Yi received the most criticisms. It must also be admitted that Xia Hua was the most outstanding girl among them; even with Yun Qiu's strictness, she couldn't find any fault with Xia Hua.

In the blink of an eye, an afternoon passed, and darkness fell quickly. Leng Yi's knuckles were stiff and sore from playing the guzheng all afternoon, but she had only learned two simple finger techniques, while the others had already practiced almost the entire piece. The gap between her and the others was truly appalling.

"Little Ningbi, are you a little sad?" Yun Qiu said to her with a smile after class, whether it was to comfort her or to tease her, it was hard to tell.

Leng Yi snorted somewhat unconvinced: "It's all temporary. Who will be superior in the future is still uncertain."

"Not bad, that's ambitious." Yun Qiu was amused by Leng Yi's stubborn little appearance, but the next second her gaze suddenly became deep: "There's a reason why your mother favored you."

"Little Ningbi, if I told you I could make you number one in the big assessment in four months, would you be willing?"