During the remaining classes, Shen Xuefeng quietly pushed the hand warmer a bit closer to Ji Wu, forced himself to stay focused, and managed to get through the rest of the lessons. He didn’t try to make trouble again and even took the initiative to talk to Ji Wu.

He was only a year younger than Ji Wu, but his thoughts were simple and easy to read—everything showed on his face.

Naturally, Ji Wu could tell that Shen Xuefeng was sulking, so he watched him quietly from the shadows.

He was waiting for Young Master Shen to throw a tantrum, but to his surprise, all Shen Xuefeng did was nudge the sleep-inducing hand warmer a few inches toward him.

Aside from that… there was nothing else.

That’s it? That’s all he’s got?

Just before class was dismissed, strong winds howled outside the windows. Dark clouds blocked the sun, and the temperature dropped abruptly.

Before long, snow began to fall on the grounds of the Chongwen Hall.

Due to the sudden weather change, the mischievous young princes had already lost interest in studying. Seeing that his students’ attention had drifted off to the clouds, the instructor let out a long sigh and announced the end of lessons early.

The palace attendants went to fetch umbrellas, and everyone sat around chatting and admiring the snowy scenery outside the window. Meanwhile, Shen Xuefeng was still scribbling away diligently, copying the homework his father had assigned him. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ji Wu stand up, looking like he was about to leave.

“Your Highness, wait!”

Seeing Ji Wu leave so suddenly made Shen Xuefeng curious. On instinct, he reached out and grabbed the corner of Ji Wu’s robe.

Ji Wu looked down at him with a blank expression, his gaze hard to read.

Only then did Shen Xuefeng realize what he had done. He quickly let go of Ji Wu’s robe and shifted his eyes toward the hall’s entrance. Feeling uncertain, he mumbled, “Your Highness, it’s still snowing outside, and the umbrellas haven’t arrived yet. Where are you going?”

Ji Wu replied coldly, “I’m leaving.”

With that, he stepped out into the snow without hesitation.

“Wait! Your Highness, wait for me—don’t be in such a rush!”

Shen Xuefeng didn’t even pack up his things. He threw his book bag over his shoulders, grabbed his umbrella, and ran out of the hall.

He had brought something for Ji Wu today and hadn’t had the chance to give it to him yet—he couldn’t let him leave just like that.

But Ji Wu was like a cold-blooded creature lurking in the shadows, completely unbothered by the cold or the wind and snow. He slipped away quietly while no one was watching.

Only Shen Xuefeng kept his eyes locked on Ji Wu’s retreating figure, afraid to let him out of sight. He hastily opened his umbrella and rushed down the steps, chasing after Ji Wu with hurried strides.

When the two had been sitting side by side earlier, he hadn’t noticed, but now he realized Ji Wu seemed much taller than him—and even walked faster.

“Your Highness, I have an umbrella!”

“Your Highness! The snow and wind are heavy—you don’t have to rush back!”

“Your Highness! The wind and snow are heavy—there’s no rush to go back!”

Ji Wu acted as if he hadn’t heard him. No matter how loudly Shen Xuefeng called, he didn’t stop.

Shen Xuefeng couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but he felt like Ji Wu was walking faster and faster, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t catch up.

“Your Highness! Your Highness—ah!”

Shen Xuefeng had overestimated himself. Just as he finally managed to catch up to Ji Wu, he suddenly slipped and fell with a loud thump into a soft pile of snow.

As he fell, he instinctively reached out to grab something—ending up yanking hard on Ji Wu’s sleeve. Caught off guard by this move from his little study companion, Ji Wu was actually pulled down with him.

And so, the two of them tumbled into the snow together.

“……”

The vein on Ji Wu’s forehead twitched, as if he were holding back a surge of irritation. He immediately got up, dusting the snow from his robes.

Shen Xuefeng, however, lay facedown in the snow. He couldn’t handle the cold well. The icy wind rushed into his nose and mouth, making him cough uncontrollably.

Then, all of a sudden, the light above him dimmed—the snow stopped falling.

Looking up, he saw that Ji Wu was holding the very same 18-rib oil-paper umbrella with a dark green canopy that he had dropped earlier.

“Get up.”

Ji Wu looked down at him from above.

“……”

Shen Xuefeng froze for a moment, then looked a little embarrassed. “Just now… Th-Third Prince…”

“Up,” Ji Wu repeated—this time with just that one curt word.

“Okay, okay, I’m getting up!”

Shen Xuefeng scrambled to his feet. His indigo outer robe was soaked by the snow, now looking almost black, and he was a complete mess from head to toe.

Ji Wu handed him the umbrella and slowly leaned down, his gaze sharp and piercing as he warned coldly, “Young Master Shen, you’re not suited to be my study companion. Quitting was the smartest decision you’ve ever made.”

With that, he turned and walked off into the swirling snow.

Shen Xuefeng stared wide-eyed and chased after him. This time, he managed to keep up, holding the umbrella above the two of them while sniffling, “Your Highness, maybe you’ve misunderstood me. I wasn’t trying to be annoying, I just wanted to hold the umbrella for you… cough, cough…”

Ji Wu replied with just three words: “Not necessary.”

“Alright… I won’t try to help you next time… cough cough… but I can’t let that fall be for nothing today… cough cough, I have to walk you back…”

Ji Wu finally stopped, took the umbrella back from Shen Xuefeng, and asked, “Where’s your medicine?”

Shen Xuefeng coughed twice more and pointed to the small backpack on his back.

Ji Wu reached out and casually slung an arm over Shen Xuefeng’s shoulders to access the bag. After feeling around and finding a bunch of nearly identical little bottles, his patience wore thin—so he simply grabbed the whole bag.

“Raise your arms.”

Shen Xuefeng immediately lifted both arms.

Ji Wu took off the backpack and started checking each bottle one by one, finally finding the one labeled “Cough Syrup.” He tossed it to Shen Xuefeng.

Shen Xuefeng blinked. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Once the young master’s coughing fit settled down a bit, he forgot the pain and insisted again on escorting Ji Wu back to his residence.

“……”

Ji Wu only said, “As you wish.”

Shen Xuefeng just wanted to be a little nicer to this high-potential prince, seize the opportunity to make himself familiar, and leave a good impression. Seeing that Ji Wu didn’t reject him, he happily trotted after him with his little backpack bouncing behind.

His clothes were still quite wet, so he walked slowly, coughing whenever the wind blew, and sneezed several times along the way.

He clutched his cough syrup tightly in one hand, and by the time they reached a quiet, slightly run-down courtyard within the palace, they heard a few voices calling out behind them.

“It’s someone from the Shen household—they’ve come to pick me up!”

Hearing the familiar voice of Bai Hua, Shen Xuefeng was overjoyed and quickly said, “Your Highness, is this where you live? You should go inside quickly.”

Ji Wu returned the umbrella to him but saw Shen Xuefeng shake his head.

“Please keep this umbrella, Your Highness. My mother specially sought out skilled craftsmen throughout the imperial capital to make it. It’s very light, won’t tire your hand, and is hard to break. I have many umbrellas like this at home.”

After saying that, Shen Xuefeng took out the bottle of cough syrup he had been drinking from his bag. “These medicines were originally meant for Your Highness as well. I have used each one myself, and they work fast!”

As if afraid Ji Wu would refuse, he stepped back a few paces and ran toward the direction of the attendants through the snow, turning around as he ran, “Your Highness, see you at the academy tomorrow!”

Ji Wu took a few steps forward and saw Bai Hua holding a thick cloak in the heavy snow, wrapping Shen Xuefeng up completely, then holding the umbrella over him as he helped him get into the soft sedan chair that had followed them.

Even after that group of young attendants disappeared from sight, Ji Wu still stood there.

He casually took a medicine bottle from the half-wet little backpack. To prevent their youngest son from losing things outside, every bottle had Shen Xuefeng’s name engraved on it, and to avoid mistakes, the medicine’s name was also marked.

His fingertips repeatedly traced the uneven surface of the bottle until the small jade bottle warmed in his hand.

In this world, everyone who was kind to Ji Wu did so to get something from him, principal and interest.

But Shen Xuefeng—what was his reason?!