On this day, many of Yan Pingsheng's friends came to wish him a Happy New Year.
One of his teammates from the mountain expedition team had even used the silver he earned during the expedition to start an escort agency. Having made a small fortune, he came specifically to thank Yan Pingsheng and presented a generous gift, hoping to have Yan Pingsheng affiliate with his agency.
He was a bit superstitious, hoping to use the luck of the human Koi to take his business to the next level.
However, Zhuang Xun politely declined.
At the same time, almost everyone who came to visit advised Yan Pingsheng not to punish himself with confinement, but Zhuang Xun refused them all with some righteous and high-minded words.
This only made Yan Pingsheng's friends admire his character even more.
As for Bai Yujing, without his permission, no one dared to set foot on the side cliff.
Zhuang Xun was more than happy with this arrangement. After paying his New Year's respects to the Principal and Guan Ren'ai, he practiced his martial arts quietly and alone, training from dawn until late into the night.
“Phew... That's enough for today.”
Zhuang Xun stretched his limbs and stepped out of the courtyard. Seeing the quiet and lonely academy below, he couldn't help but pause.
He looked further into the distance, where the market was brightly lit and bustling. He could hear the laughter of children from afar, which reminded him that today was a festival, and most of the disciples had gone home.
He stood at the edge of the side cliff for a long time, letting the cold wind blow against him.
He looked up, trying to find that familiar blue planet in the brilliant starry sky, fantasizing in his heart about breaking through the world barrier to go home and become a superhero once his martial arts reached a profound level.
If I'm unhappy, I'll just...
And then I'll see what it feels like to punch a nuclear bomb with my bare hands and be the king of the century for once.
He then imagined the surprised look on his parents' faces when they saw their son, who had been missing for years, return home. With a sudden surge of motivation, he returned to the courtyard and continued his training.
...
The next day.
In a private room inside the Wanfu Restaurant.
Yan Pingsheng's former friends from the Lower Court were gathered here.
“Zhang Tie, Dafu, Xiangzhi! Hahaha, long time no see!”
“Hahaha, Youlin! Long time no see! I didn't expect you to come. Quick, sit down, sit down.”
“When a friend invites me, of course I have to show up,” Cui Youlin said with a hearty laugh as he found a seat.
Zhang Tie pointed at him and laughed. “You weren't like this before! Hahaha, damn, I remember you barely even looked at people when we met. It's only been half a year, and you've changed so much.”
Cui Youlin waved his hand with a smile and sighed. “Ah, I was just immature back then.”
During the half-year he spent being ordered around like a dog by Chen Jinzhu, this once-proud youth had been thoroughly ground down into a humble and polite person.
Zhang Tie glanced behind Cui Youlin and asked in surprise, “Why didn't Zigeng come?”
Both Li Zigeng and Cui Youlin worked for the Chen family, so logically, they should have come together.
Hearing this, Cui Youlin hesitated to speak.
The other three in the private room understood immediately.
Zhang Tie snorted, venting his dissatisfaction in a joking tone. “Hmph, now that he's made it, he looks down on his old brothers. Let me tell you, Zigeng was already acting like this later on. He wouldn't even help bring back food when it was on his way.”
An Dafu sighed. “Maybe he's just busy. After all, he's working for someone else now, unlike us who have free time all day.”
“Didn't Youlin come?” Zhang Tie curled his lip.
Cui Youlin said, “Zigeng... well, he happened to be invited out for drinks by a few senior academy teachers from the manor today, so he couldn't make it. Anyway... sigh.”
He thoroughly couldn't help but add, “Zigeng has changed a lot. You probably wouldn't even recognize him if you saw him now. He spends all his days drinking and playing around with the senior academy teachers from the manor, and his martial arts have fallen behind a lot.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “When I went to advise him last time, he turned around and told me, ‘A person's achievements in life are predestined. What is meant to be yours will be yours, and what isn't, you will never get no matter how hard you try.’ Sigh, failing the assessment and not being able to go to the Upper Two Courts half a year ago was too big of a blow to him.”
The others felt a bit melancholic upon hearing this, their minds involuntarily recalling that shy boy who used to train his strength diligently on the martial arts field, whose eyes shone with light no matter how hard or tiring it got.
An Dafu changed the heavy topic. “Hey, Youlin, I heard an illegitimate daughter recently came to the Chen family to claim her parentage. What's that about? Can you tell us?”
“An illegitimate daughter?!” Zhang Tie's voice rose before quickly dropping. “What's going on, Youlin?”
Cui Youlin hesitated for a moment before saying, “I'll tell you, but don't spread it around, and you must absolutely remember not to say it came from me!”
“Oh, don't worry, we definitely won't talk about it with outsiders. We know where to draw the line. If we said it was you, wouldn't you be in deep trouble?” Zhang Tie leaned forward, looking at Cui Youlin expectantly.
Cui Youlin nodded and said, “Some time ago, Miss Ziwei came to the Chen Manor with a jade pendant to request an audience with the family head. She also had someone pass a message to him, asking, ‘Do you still remember the Winter Qing Lotus by the shores of Little Dark Lake?’ I'm not entirely sure what happened after that, but the family head acknowledged Miss Ziwei, and she became the third young lady of the manor. Because of this, the Fifth Young Lady was so furious that she led some people to beat Miss Ziwei, but she was stopped by the family head. The family head even slapped the Fifth Young Lady, and she's still confined to her courtyard right now.”
As he reached the end, there was a faint trace of both satisfaction and heartache in Cui Youlin's tone. His feelings toward Chen Jinzhu were quite complex and hard to describe.
“Ah?” The other three widened their eyes. Slapping a legitimate daughter for the sake of an illegitimate one... This was unheard of.
Zhang Tie laughed. “Hahaha, Chen Jinzhu finally got what was coming to her!”
He had once been humiliated by Chen Jinzhu in public, and he still remembered it vividly to this day.
Cui Youlin continued, “Sigh, anyway, this isn't something we can get involved in. I heard the Eldest Young Master originally wanted to go to the family head to demand justice for the Fifth Young Lady, but as soon as the news got out, there was no further word. A few days ago, someone even saw the Eldest Young Master and Miss Ziwei enjoying the flowers by the riverbank together, and the atmosphere was completely harmonious.”
The other three looked at one another. Zhang Tie asked, “Is Miss Ziwei very beautiful then?”
Cui Youlin nodded. “It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she could outshine the moon and put flowers to shame.”
A sly grin spread across Zhang Tie's face as he continued to pry into Miss Ziwei's details, even saying that since she was just an illegitimate daughter born of a concubine, Cui Youlin should try to pursue her, as he might actually stand a chance.
This only drew a speechless, bitter smile from Cui Youlin.
The four of them continued to chat about this topic.
After a while, the door of the private room was pushed open, and a buck-toothed youth walked in with a loud laugh.
“Sorry, everyone! I'm late, I'm late. I've been busy with the escort agency's affairs lately. The head escort took a liking to me, and I just delivered another shipment a few days ago, earning thirty taels, so I only just made it back. Let me punish myself with a drink first!” He sat down naturally in the seat of honor, picked up the wine cup in front of him, and downed it in one gulp.
The other three in the private room looked at one another, thinking, Who asked you?
Li Xiangzhi, however, stood up in surprise. “Brother Chang, long time no see! Oh, by the way, did you go and notify Brother Yan to come along? Why don't I see him?”
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