Gu De's eyes shifted slightly. "Zi Kuan, but you..."
Xiahou Yu closed his eyes.
They had known each other for many years, and Gu De knew all of Xiahou Yu's little mannerisms too well. When he closed his eyes, it meant he didn't want Gu De to try to persuade him again. Xiahou Yu might usually be amiable toward everyone, seeming easy to get along with, but once he dug in his heels, not even eight oxen could drag him back.
Gu De sighed. "I suppose I'm used to it by now."
Even if his Literary Heart could be unsealed, it wouldn't mean much anymore.
The day Quqing Academy was burned to the ground, his Literary Heart had lost its purpose. So what if he managed to unseal it by any means necessary? His state of mind was no longer what it had been, and his path had become a dead end.
Xiahou Yu asked, "Are you really used to it?"
Gu De remained silent.
Xiahou Yu continued on his own. "But I'm not."
The refined and noble bearing he'd once possessed had rested on the security of his family's status. That was why he hadn't needed to scramble and scheme like everyone else. He could even gain riches beyond anything ordinary people could imagine in a lifetime without having to roll around in the mire of fame and fortune. And because he came from a prestigious family, he could choose to live in contented poverty, teaching at an academy as a tutor. Renowned scholars and refined gentlemen would still seek him out, and no one doubted his ability to teach just because he was young. If he ever grew tired of it, he could simply walk away and return to being a pampered young master.
He had thought he