Silence fell over the gathering. Liu Zifang's face gradually paled-with this woman's reputation, if she took against him...
Xu Leifang had only just opened his mouth, still unsure what to say, when Fang Jidao beside him hurriedly said, "Nothing, nothing, Lay Scholar. Just a trifling matter."
He looked even less willing than Liu Zifang to let the woman hear about it. Liu Zifang cast him a grateful look, but Fang Jidao paid him no attention. He did not seem to be protecting his fellow student; rather, he seemed unwilling to let those earlier words sully this refined woman's ears.
Before the woman could answer, Fang Jidao stepped forward. "Lay Scholar, you-why are you doing this yourself?"
He instinctively reached out to help, but the woman had already put everything in order with a few quick movements, so he withdrew his hands again, somewhat awkwardly.
"What do you mean, 'myself'?" The woman could not help smiling. "With so many of you willing to help, I'm the one overwhelmed by your kindness."
Even Xu Leifang, Liu Zifang, and the others hurriedly waved their hands at that.
"Lay Scholar, is there anything else to carry? Just leave it to me." Fang Jidao rolled up his sleeves. The sight of the woman holding that great armful of scrolls just now had almost pained him. Though this was neither his poetry gathering nor his scrolls, he somehow felt bad about it all the same.
"There's far too much to move. We could hardly finish anytime soon." The woman smiled gently. "But there is something else I'd like to ask of you, Young Master Fang Jidao."
"..."
The others looked at Fang Jidao, but he simply stood there in a daze, a single thought filling his head-the Lay Scholar actually remembers my name.
Only when Xu