Other than Li Sinian, this was the first time Li Mu Yang had ever received a gift from a female friend.
Li Mu Yang had no male friends.
The Brocade Pouch gave off a faint fragrance. He did not know whether some kind of spice had been stuffed inside when it was sewn, or whether it had absorbed Cui Xiaoxin's natural scent.
Li Mu Yang held it beneath his nose and greedily inhaled, as though he had obtained some priceless treasure worth an entire city.
"Li Mu Yang, do you know you look like a lovesick fool right now?" Li Sinian curled her lips and said with disdain written all over her face.
"Being lovesick over a flower isn't anything to be ashamed of." Li Mu Yang grinned. "People used to call me an idiot all the time. Isn't a lovesick fool much more sophisticated than an idiot?"
"Brother, my dear brother, do you have even the slightest bit of self-respect?" Li Sinian rolled around angrily on the bed. "It's only a Brocade Pouch, isn't it? Do you really have to get this excited? Go look in my room and see how many gifts are in my cabinet. If I reacted like you, wouldn't I have already died of happiness?"
Li Sinian was beautiful, clever, and exceptionally loyal. She was the big sister of the entire grade. Boys and girls alike could get along with her, and wherever she went, she was always surrounded by people. Every time her birthday came around, it was like a grand festival. The gifts she received had to be hauled back by horse-drawn carts.
So back then, Li Mu Yang had been a dedicated porter, diligently carrying those gifts to Li Sinian's room bit by bit like a hardworking ant.
Li Sinian's room was much larger than Li Mu Yang's. According to their parents, girls had more clothes and needed an extra room to store them. But Li Mu Yang knew perfectly well that it was because Li Sinian had too many gifts and needed a room to hold them.
"It's precisely because I rarely get gifts that I'm so happy." Li Mu Yang laughed cheerfully. Li Sinian's jabs could not affect his good mood. "Sinian, you have more experience than I do. Tell me, under what circumstances would you give a boy a gift?"
Li Sinian climbed off the bed, grabbed Li Mu Yang by the collar, and pulled him to the bedside. Looking at him with a sweet smile, she said, "Li Mu Yang, what did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly."
"I said you have more experience. Under what circumstances—" Li Mu Yang could not continue. Only then did he realize that he had made a serious mistake.
"Go on. Why did you stop?"
"Hahaha, you know that's not what I meant."
"Hahaha, but I heard very clearly that it was exactly what you meant—"
"Dear sister, I'm sincerely asking you for advice—"
The smile vanished from Li Sinian's face. She glared at Li Mu Yang fiercely and said, "I'm your sister. Shouldn't you have more experience with this sort of thing? Why are you asking me for advice?"
"I—" Li Mu Yang was nearly about to cry. He hurriedly explained, "I just think you're clever. There's nothing you can't solve."
"Your assessment is correct." Li Sinian nodded.
"Huh?"
"What are you huh-ing about? Ask." Li Sinian released Li Mu Yang's collar and carefully smoothed out the creases in it with her small hands. Li Mu Yang's Curved Path to Save the Nation had become increasingly smooth and utterly without a trace.
"I mean, under what circumstances would you give another boy a gift?"
"During festivals, on his birthday, when he achieved something, when he was sad or upset or bullied by someone, when I went out to have fun and missed him terribly, when I thought he was ugly-cute and adorable, or when I thought a gift was ugly-cute and adorable and wanted to buy it for him." Li Sinian looked at Li Mu Yang with a giggle. "I'd give him a gift in all those situations."
"Then do you like him?" Li Mu Yang pressed anxiously.
Li Sinian's answer had not gotten to the key point. Today was not a festival, nor was it his birthday. He was not sad or upset, and nobody had bullied him. That left only two possibilities for why Cui Xiaoxin had given him a gift: one, to celebrate how quickly his grades had improved; two, she thought he was ugly-cute and adorable.
Both answers left his heart feeling hollow.
"I do." Li Sinian gave an incomparably firm answer.
"Really?" Li Mu Yang became excited again. "You gave him a gift because you like him, right?"
"Right." Li Sinian nodded repeatedly, her straight-across bangs swaying from side to side. She was absolutely adorable.
"I knew it." Li Mu Yang happily clasped Li Sinian's hand. "I knew it. Xiaoxin actually has some affection for me too. Otherwise, why would she give me a Brocade Pouch? I heard you can't just give something like this to anyone."
"That's right, that's right." Li Sinian chimed in. "If a girl doesn't like a boy, she won't give him a gift."
Li Mu Yang suddenly remembered something. His eyes burned as he stared at Li Sinian. "Sinian, who's the boy you like? Don't tell me you—have started dating early?"
"Dating early?" Li Sinian smiled sweetly. "It's possible."
"What's his name? Do I know him?"
"Of course you know him." Li Sinian took Li Mu Yang's hand and said, "It's you, my silly brother."
"—"
--
Cui Xiaoxin came every day to tutor Li Mu Yang, regardless of wind or rain. Li Mu Yang also looked forward to those visits with joy every day. He liked the moments he spent with Cui Xiaoxin.
Cui Xiaoxin and Li Sinian grew closer and closer. While Li Mu Yang worked on his questions, the two of them would go to Li Sinian's room and chatter for half a day. Of course, Li Sinian did most of the talking, while Cui Xiaoxin listened. Cui Xiaoxin was not much of a talker.
Li Mu Yang's mother, Luo Qi, grew fonder and fonder of Cui Xiaoxin. She left work early every day and brought back boxes and boxes of pastries Cui Xiaoxin liked. She tried again and again to persuade Cui Xiaoxin to stay for dinner, and even wished she could keep her over for the night. Though she was rejected time after time, basin after basin of cold water still failed to extinguish her enthusiasm.
With Cui Xiaoxin's help, Li Mu Yang systematically reviewed all the knowledge he had learned over the years. Although he had swallowed some of it whole without digesting it, there was nothing he could do about that. Time was pressing. By the time he finished the final set of papers Cui Xiaoxin had assigned, the day before the Literary Examination had already arrived.
Cui Xiaoxin had fulfilled her promise and tutored Li Mu Yang right up until the eve of the Literary Examination.
Tomorrow, Li Mu Yang would join tens of millions of candidates, taking pens as their bows and knowledge as their arrows, and shoot with all their might toward the prestigious universities in their hearts.
Those who hit the mark would have their names inscribed on the golden list and prepare to bask in flowers and applause.
Those who missed would lose their qualification to continue the competition—or even lose their lives.
With thousands upon thousands of troops and horses, who would emerge as the hero?
Cui Xiaoxin once again declined Luo Qi's invitation to dinner and took her leave. Li Mu Yang no longer needed his mother's reminder; he followed smartly behind her to see her out.
"Li Mu Yang." Cui Xiaoxin stopped beneath the smoke-tree by the door and looked at him. "I did my best, and you did your best too. I don't know exactly how far you'll be able to go, but I have a feeling that you're going to shock everyone—those who bullied you, those who mocked you, and those who doubted or belittled you. They'll all regret their former selfishness and narrow-mindedness."
"I'm not working this hard for them." Li Mu Yang looked at Cui Xiaoxin and smiled. "I'm doing it for you."
"Li Mu Yang—" Cui Xiaoxin's thin lips moved slightly, but she did not know how she should explain things to him. What could she say? That they were people from different worlds? That they might soon be separated by miles and find it difficult to meet again? That there was no possibility between them, not even the slightest one?
"Because we made a promise to watch the sunset together by the Weiming Lake at Xifeng University, didn't we?"
Cui Xiaoxin's eyes lit up. The corners of her lips lifted slightly as she said, "That's right. So, Student Li Mu Yang, keep working hard."
Cui Xiaoxin waved at Li Mu Yang and walked forward with light steps.
"Then you'll be able to relax a little, right?" Li Mu Yang murmured as he watched her retreating figure. His tall, upright silhouette looked somewhat thin beneath the moonlight.
When Li Mu Yang returned home, Luo Qi had already prepared dinner.
"Mu Yang, Xiaoxin has gone home?" Luo Qi carried soup out of the kitchen and asked with a smile.
"Mm. She went home," Li Mu Yang replied.
"Put your books away and get ready to wash your hands and eat." Luo Qi smiled. "Go call that lazy bug upstairs down too. I asked her to help wash the vegetables, but she kept insisting she had to go upstairs to do her homework—"
"Okay." Li Mu Yang smiled. Li Sinian excelled in every respect, but like other girls her age, she disliked doing housework. Whenever she was asked to wash vegetables or dishes, she found all sorts of excuses to wriggle out of it.
As Li Mu Yang went upstairs, Luo Qi suddenly called out, "Mu Yang—"
"Mom, is there something else?" Li Mu Yang turned around and looked at Luo Qi.
"You're planning to apply to Xifeng University, right?" Luo Qi asked. There was a smile on her face, but her eyes held something Li Mu Yang found utterly unfamiliar.
"Yes." Li Mu Yang nodded. "Mom, you think I don't have any hope either, don't you?"
"Of course not." Luo Qi's voice was firm. "I've seen how hard my son has worked. How could you have no hope at all? If you want to go to Xifeng University, then go to Xifeng University. Your mother will support you."
Li Mu Yang grinned. "Mom, thank you."
"Silly child, what are you thanking your mother for?"
"Then I'll go call Li Sinian down for dinner." Li Mu Yang smiled.
After Li Mu Yang turned and left, the smile on Luo Qi's face froze. Her complexion went deathly pale, but her eyes were exceptionally resolute.
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