Could I Be a Heartthrob?

He said sourly, "Master, you've got a new disciple and you're already looking down on the old one. You've broken my heart, do you know that?"

"Get lost." Kang Shilin didn't even glance at him. "If you're stupid, you should know your place. Your brain is far inferior to your junior sister's. No matter how I taught her, she couldn't learn it. Instead of hiding somewhere and getting in my way, you're asking for a beating."

Zhao Ruxi chuckled, gave her senior brother a sympathetic look, and added insult to injury, "It's alright, senior brother doesn't mind."

Wu Zong clutched his wounded heart and took two steps back, his face filled with despair.

After Kang Shilin finished giving Zhao Ruxi pointers, he asked Zhao Ruxi about a problem she had encountered in sketching, and then said, "The conditions you mentioned to Lord Zhang have been told to me. Lord Zhang asked me to arrange a suitable house for you."

He pointed to the house on the left. "I happened to have bought a villa right next to my master's, with quite a few houses. Why don't you teach those people to paint in my house? The Court of Judicial Review can give me some rent. That way, it'll be convenient for you to come and instruct them; you don't have to wait for us to learn before you can call them over to teach."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Zhao Ruxi exclaimed in delight.

She was very grateful. "Thank you so much, senior brother."

Of all the places in the capital, Wu Zong provided this one for Zhang Changshen, simply for her convenience. Compared to having someone live there and make a mess of the house, the rent was nothing to Wu Zong; it was even a losing proposition.

He did all this for her own good.

Wu Zong waved his hand. "You don't need to thank me, just thank Master. I did this to please Master, so that he won't dislike us and forget about us. Isn't that right, Master?"

He shamelessly approached Kang Shilin and started acting silly.

This time, Kang Shilin didn't scold him. Instead, he reached out and affectionately patted his head, praising him, "You did a good job. When your master has time, I'll find you a nice inkstone."

"Hehe, thank you, Master." Wu Zong smiled, his eyes crinkling.

Zhao Ruxi watched the master and apprentice's back-and-forth banter from the sidelines, covering her mouth and laughing.

"What are you grinning about? Hurry up and draw." Kang Shilin slapped her on the head.

Zhao Ruxi quickly focused on her painting.

That day, she stayed at the art academy for an entire afternoon. After everyone else had gone home, she went with Kang Shilin and Wu Zong to see the neighboring courtyard and discovered that its layout was different from Kang Shilin's.

Kang Shilin's courtyard was more refined, so there weren't many houses; instead, it was full of gardens, pavilions, and ponds. Wu Zong's courtyard, on the other hand, was more like a residential house, divided into individual courtyards without any gardens.

"Actually, when I bought the house with my master, his place was about the same as mine. Later, when he came to Beining to teach, he would need to rest here, and when he was too lazy to travel, he might even stay here for a while. So, he renovated the house, had it demolished, and built a garden, making it look like it is now," Wu Zong explained.

"Sigh, it's so easy to be rich and willful." Zhao Ruxi sighed.

I wish she were that rich.

Wu Zong laughed and said, "Junior Sister, what are you saying? You're not poor anymore, are you? You have estates and shops, and you have twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver on hand. Once the painting class at the Court of Judicial Review is established, you'll have even more money. My master and I have been saving for many years. You've earned so much money in such a short time; that's impressive."

"That's right." Kang Shilin returned from a walk around the courtyard just in time to hear Wu Zong's words.

"Girl, your father isn't as rich as you, is he? Your Earl of Suiping's Residence may have a house, some shops, and some land, but it's not much, and you still have to support a whole household of people. Girl, you'd better manage your money carefully, don't be foolish and use it to support those servants in your mansion. Supporting the family is your father's job, not yours."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zong couldn't help but glance at Zhao Ruxi.

His master was extremely protective of his own, always afraid that they would suffer losses within the family. But even distant relatives can't be estranged from their own. If Zhao Ruxi didn't understand her master's protective heart, she might harbor resentment.

Fortunately, the junior sister smiled upon hearing this and ran over to her master, saying affectionately, "Master, don't worry, I know everything. You've had my senior brother register the shops and estates under my name, and I'm keeping the silver notes safe. I plan to open a jewelry store in a while."

She sighed, "I don't lack money right now, what I lack most is manpower. There aren't many capable servants in our household, and I don't want to get involved in my own business with the household."

If Kang Shilin hadn't shown such protectiveness, she wouldn't have dared to say those words to him.

In ancient times, filial piety was the foundation of governance, so people in this era tend to be somewhat blindly obedient to their parents. Even if one is not blindly obedient in their heart, one cannot show the slightest disrespect for one's parents in words or deeds, because it would be incompatible with the values of this era.

While parents are alive, one should not acquire private property. This is the most basic respect one can show to one's parents.

What's rare is that Kang Shilin protected his apprentices like he was protecting his chicks, which gave her the courage to tell her true feelings to her master.

Kang Shilin stroked his beard. "There's nothing I can do then. You'll have to ask a middleman to search for it for you."

"Oh, right," Wu Zong interjected, "Do you remember Sun Jiawang?"

Zhao Ruxi was taken aback, not understanding why her senior brother brought him up, and nodded, saying, "I remember. That case of his family, it's still unsolved, isn't it?"

"The portrait has been sent to Yangzhou by fast horse, but there's still no reply. It'll take some time to find him," Wu Zong said. "Once the case is closed, do you want to buy Sun Jiawang? Sun Jiawang knows I'm your senior brother and secretly asked me what he would do after the case is closed. He learned that the Court of Judicial Review is going to put him to a middleman to sell, and he said he wants to follow you."

"Why?" Zhao Ruxi asked, touching her face.

Did that idiot give her Beauty Pill while she was asleep? Her trip to the Court of Judicial Review not only captivated Fu Yunkai, but also Sun Jiawang. So, she now has a face that's irresistible to everyone?

The system immediately popped up with a complaint. "I didn't see the face of the heartthrob, I only saw a huge face. The kind where all that's left is a mouth."

Zhao Ruxi: "..." This guy actually learned how to cook and sell on the spot?

Wu Zong was also puzzled, shook his head, and said uncertainly, "Perhaps... it's because you look very kind?"

"Senior brother, what's with that confused look in your eyes?" Zhao Ruxi, disregarding the system, yelled at Wu Zong, "Isn't that the truth? He must be looking for a good master because I have a kind face."

She immediately nodded firmly. "Yes, that's it."

Wu Zong was stunned by her shamelessness and couldn't speak for a long time.