Chapter Twenty-Two

A person who had not lost their memory had no right to be willful, presumptuous, and do whatever they pleased.

The author has something to say:

=.= The two Long brothers are making their debut~~ Speaking of which, one of the Long brothers will take the lead in Volume Two, and he'll practically steal all the male lead's scenes. Guess which one it is? =.= An experienced driver told me I should post an announcement saying I'm lecherous, greedy, and obsessed with money. Haha, fine~~ This Sakura is lecherous, greedy, and obsessed with money, and I'm going VIP~~

Just a friendly reminder: Volume Two is still some distance away, but the editor notified me that I'm entering the VIP section because of the Ranking List issue. So, readers who have read the physical edition, I suggest not buying these VIP chapters and saving your candy and ticket votes. When Volume Two begins serialization, I'll remind everyone in the title and synopsis. You can start buying VIP from there~ Muah (￣3)(ε￣)

Chapter Twenty-Two

The willful, presumptuous person who did whatever he pleased was currently standing beneath a couplet, searching for the memory he had completely lost.

"Why bother sleeping so long while alive? After death, you'll naturally sleep forever."

This famous, inspirational couplet, meant to encourage Academy Students to study hard and not waste their youth, was framed in the classrooms of every newly enrolled Academy Student at Dongxu Mansion.

"Who wrote it?" Li Chenjing asked.

"You." Zhu Bafu pointed at him.

"Me?" Had he written this pretentious piece of trash? Why couldn't he remember it at all? "I really must have been quite unpopular when I was alive."

Realizing that he had personality flaws before losing his memory was a good thing, but... "Hey, hey... Could you stop saying 'when I was alive'? You're not dead yet..."

"He can die, then. You don't like him anyway. Just let him die." Snobbish, a wastrel, arrogant, conceited—he had so many bad habits that every one of them was unbearable. No wonder he had dumped her and left her. Why hadn't the old him let her sleep properly? "From now on, you can sleep as long as you want. I'll never disturb you. All right?"

"..." This wasn't about sleeping, all right? The elegant Young Master Chenjing had turned into a fool with bizarre logic.

Rubbing her forehead, she had a splitting headache. She did not want to engage with him, nor could she be bothered to argue nonsense with him. To take care of him through his cold and brain damage, she had not come to the academy for several days. She had just started the new term and was already taking leave. If Master made things difficult for her, it would all be his fault. She glanced back and saw that Li Chenjing was still standing beside her, refusing to leave.

"Why are you still standing here? I'm going to class."

"What about me?"

"You? Aren't you supposed to attend the meeting at Six Ministries Hall?" It was the monthly regular meeting, where the heads of the Six Ministries gathered. Although she really wanted to investigate who that old man from the Ministry of Revenue was, she should deal with Master first.

"I don't want to attend the meeting." Li Chenjing shook his wide sleeve and spoke.

"What did you say?"

"I don't want to attend the meeting." He repeated himself.

"You're the Chief Counselor of Dongxu. How can you not preside over the Six Ministries' deliberations? Lord Wei instructed you to attend today's meeting no matter what!"

"I don't know any Chief Counselor of Dongxu!"

"But you receive a salary, so you should serve the country! Do you know what a salary is? Money and grain. You're eating from the public purse, and I hate officials who waste our taxpayers' silver!"

"...You hate me..." He pouted, looking deeply wounded.

"W-What are you doing!? If you don't attend the meeting, then you'll be the kind of person I hate! Acting pitiful and fawning won't work! Don't look at me like that!" She raised her sleeve to block, block, block. After looking after him through his illness for several days, she had had enough of his skill at instantly changing expressions and pretending to be innocent! His alluring, plaintive eyes always locked solely onto her with perfect accuracy. With a gentle blink of his obsidian-like eyes, his gaze would shift into one of pain and injury, quivering with a faint, glistening moisture.

"...I just don't like being with anyone except you. Is that something I should be hated for?"

"Boom."

A firework exploded across Zhu Bafu's face. Just which nerve had this man broken? Did he completely fail to understand that restraint, subtlety, and gentleness existed in this world? Did he really have to deliver love confessions so beautifully and directly, with such blunt openness?

Zhu Bafu, why was your face heating up? He did not like you. It was only the fragments of his remaining memories that made him mistake you for the person he liked. You were not allowed to blush, your heart was not allowed to race, and you were not allowed to look at his pitiful expression.

"Xiao Ba. Are you blushing?"

"..." What was with "Xiao Ba"? She had already warned him not to act cute or play adorable, and not to arbitrarily shorten her imposing man's name into something that sounded like a pet's name.

"Does this mean you've started to dislike me a little less and are willing to give me another chance?"

"...If you honestly go attend the Six Ministries meeting, I'll consider it." After much inner conflict, she gave up on wasting three thousand feet of saliva explaining everything to him. With a foolish child trapped in delusions, the more she explained, the further he would pull her in. For now, she had to stand at an adult's height and magnanimously forgive everything until this fellow recovered his normal memories.

"Really?"

She nodded!

"Good! I'll go to the meeting. But you're not allowed to sneak away behind my back. Wait for me."

"Got it! Hurry up and go." She waved him away.

She stuck out her tongue and made a face at his back before turning to enter the classroom. The dignified Chief Counselor was actually so clingy. He was... quite cute, really. Thinking of how cold he had been before, then comparing it with his current, muddleheaded, easily fooled, and affectionate self, perhaps this was his true nature? Hmm? Even if it was his true nature, what did it have to do with her?

What second chance? Her conclusion would definitely be—go stand off to the side. She was busy. Who had time to start over with him?

Without suspecting anything, Li Chenjing heard that he had a chance to make amends and immediately spun around, striding toward the inner offices of Six Ministries Hall. The wind raised the hem of his wide-sleeved official robe, cinched at the waist. His black brocade shoes passed Jingyi Pavilion in the third courtyard and stepped out of the Winding Corridor before he suddenly stopped.

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Historical Romance

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