Chapter 31

It even made her think, Why did I agree to the condition that I wouldn't mooch meals?

She had never imagined that, after ten years without eating mortal food, she would crave a bite of hot and sour shredded potatoes so badly today. Still less had she imagined that, in the days of study that followed, whenever a meal was served at the Three Flavors Study, she would instinctively get up and move away from the place...

In short, it was an evening of torment. For Qu Hongxiao, at least.

Only after the older and younger pair had finished eating did Qu Hongxiao finally have a setting where she could contemplate in peace.

Ye Fu hadn't expected his cooking to affect Qu Hongxiao so much. He only thought his skills had improved again, and Qin Sanyue had finally stopped being moved to tears. Everything was back to normal.

As agreed, the carpenter delivered five sets of desks and chairs that evening, hauling them over on an ox cart.

Everything was perfectly normal.

But after the carpenter had carried the desks and chairs into Ye Fu's courtyard and was ready to go home, the ox refused to budge. It stood at the entrance to the alley, staring wide-eyed at the winding path within.

No matter how the carpenter pulled, he couldn't move it. The ox was like a statue planted there. It paid no heed to his curses and made no sound when struck; nothing he did could get it moving.

After struggling outside on his own for a long while and running out of options, the carpenter called Ye Fu over to help, intending for the two of them to try pulling it together.

But when the carpenter saw that the ox he couldn't budge no matter what he did began moving at a soft call from Ye Fu, he began to wonder whether it was really the one he had raised.

They agreed on a time, and once moonlight fell into the courtyard, Qu Hongxiao could no longer stay.

After Qu Hongxiao left, the older and younger pair arranged the desks and chairs, only stopping once the left hall just about resembled a private schoolroom.

Whether Qin Sanyue had always been meticulous or had only become so after coming to the Three Flavors Study, she insisted on wiping away every rough spot on the edges and corners of the desks and chairs before she was satisfied. In her words, they couldn't let the students think Teacher Ye wasn't attentive to them, unable even to get their desks and chairs in order.

Her words had Ye Fu nodding repeatedly. He thought he could safely leave such matters in Qin Sanyue's hands.

That night, lying in bed, Ye Fu finally considered what he should teach someone Qu Hongxiao's age. Elementary lessons were certainly out of the question; he had sensed some of the righteous Qi about her and knew she had studied before.

Ye Fu had dreamed of becoming a teacher as a child, and now that he had more or less achieved it, he didn't want to just muddle along. He wanted to take it seriously and at least teach something of substance. After thinking for a while, he decided to teach Qu Hongxiao according to what she lacked.

He knew very well what Qu Hongxiao lacked: the very temperament she was so proud of. She had always thought it excellent, but in fact, it was her greatest weakness.

And so a teaching outline titled "A Discussion of Ideological and Moral Education Inspired by the Observation That Student Qu Hongxiao Has a Rather Poor Mindset" took shape in his mind.

Everything had gone smoothly today. The only thing that displeased him was that, in all of Black Stone City, only two people had come to enroll. One of them wasn't even from Black Stone City, and as for the other, he hadn't so much as met them yet.

When bedtime came, Ye Fu used the Great Dream of Three Thousand Autumns on schedule to put himself to sleep.

But not long after he fell asleep, a strange sound from the roof woke him.

It was...

Footsteps.

Ye Fu opened his eyes and looked. Even with the roof in the way, he could easily see who was standing atop his house.

A young nobleman in a long, cinched-waist dress, his fingers curled delicately like orchid petals and his body twisting this way and that, and his servant, whose face was full of discomfort.

"Idiot, I'm freezing to death! Can't you hurry up?"

"Young master, there's moss growing on these gray tiles. If I'm not careful, I'll slip."

"Oh, I don't care! Just hurry up! If you still can't do it right, don't follow me around tomorrow."

The servant muttered something and sped up his removal of the tiles.

Ye Fu, below, grew interested. He knew the two removing the roof tiles were Zhou Ruosheng and his servant.

I didn't expect Zhou Ruosheng to really have such a sissy air about him. He must be pretty talented at basketball, Ye Fu thought for no particular reason. He wanted to see what the two were up to.

"Oh, idiot, couldn't you just take this tile off?"

"Young master, this is a bottom tile. If I remove it directly, what's underneath will collapse. It wouldn't be good if we woke the person inside."

"Didn't we bring knockout incense? Blow it in first."

"All right."

As they spoke, Ye Fu saw a tiny tube poke through a gap between the tiles. Something like white smoke billowed out of it, spreading through the room and soon reaching him.

Ye Fu merely breathed out softly, and the smoke instantly sublimated.

"Is it done? Take a look."

The servant pressed his face close and peered inside with one eye. Ye Fu pretended to close his eyes. The servant looked for a long while, then said, "He looks fast asleep."

"Then hurry up! I've put up with that damned brat all day! If it weren't for him, why would Hua Niang turn her nose up at me? She used to smile when she talked to me." As he spoke, Zhou Ruosheng began to sob aggrievedly. "Now Hua Niang takes a detour as soon as she sees me. I really am a man!"

"Young master! Can you stop crying? You've been crying every so often these past two days. My head's about to burst!" The servant could hold back no longer. He'd had enough of Zhou Ruosheng acting like this and couldn't help letting out a low roar.

Zhou Ruosheng trembled and froze. It took him a long while to react, and he was both resentful and furious. "Well, you dog of a servant! You actually look down on this young-this young master? Could it be you think I'm a hermaphrodite too?" As he spoke, he began crying again.

"Young master! It's just that the way you're acting is really... sigh."

"Idiot, I have that thing, you know. I'm not a hermaphrodite. Don't you believe me? If you don't, I'll lift my skirt and show you. I guarantee mine's bigger than yours!"

"Young master, don't, please don't! Stop, don't pull up your skirt! You're a real man! The realest, absolutely the realest! I believe you, of course I believe you! I've watched you grow up since you were little; of course I believe you! Don't lift it! I don't want to see! Don't... don't, please don't! Ah-"