Chapter 154

When Shen Cui heard this answer, she was also somewhat surprised.

After all, she had seen this young man come out of the Perfectural school with her own eyes.

How could someone be in the Perfectural school and not know whether they had already finished school? Could it be that he didn’t attend classes?

But that didn’t seem right either.

The day before, the young men had said when they were in the academy that the annual enrollment of new students was a big day in the government school, and even the most lazy people had to attend.

Shen Cui was puzzled, but since she was unfamiliar with the other party, it was not convenient to inquire too much.

She smiled to express her thanks and saw that the young man’s forehead was covered with fine sweat, looking very tired.

She then took out a fruit from her paper pocket and gave it to him, “Would you like to have one to quench your thirst?”

“No, thank you.” The young man politely refused.

Just as they were about to part ways, the paper pocket in Shen Cui’s hand inexplicably tore, and a bunch of fruits rolled all over the ground.

Shen Cui lightly exclaimed, “Oh,” feeling unlucky today, and then quickly squatted down to pick them up.

The young man, who was about to leave, immediately stopped in his tracks. The fruits rolled to his feet, and he asked, “Do you need help?”

This situation was somewhat strange because the fruits had fallen right at his feet.

If he wanted to help, he could just squat down and pick them up.

If he didn’t want to help, he could just walk away.

There was no need to neither walk away nor ask.

As they were talking, more parents who came to pick up their children arrived, and some even came in carriages.

Afraid that the fruits would be trampled, which would not only be a waste but also dirty the entrance of the government school, Shen Cui quickly said, “Then please help me pick them up. Just pick up the ones near your feet, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

The young man didn’t say much, just squatted down to help pick them up. However, he was very slow in picking them up.

By the time Shen Cui had picked up all the fruits around her, he had only picked up the ones near his feet.

After Shen Cui picked up the rest and took the ones from his hand, she was about to thank him.

But the young man seemed to feel guilty and hurriedly walked away.

Not long after he left, perfectural school officially finished classes, and a group of students came out one after another.

Mu Er Pang was also among the first group of people to come out, while Mei Ruochu and the others had not come out yet—today, many new students were stumped by the professors in the government school.

After spending a whole day there, the new students also learned from the old students that Mei Ruochu was the best in academic studies and was most willing to give guidance.

After school, they all went to him for advice.

Mei Ruochu couldn’t handle it alone, so he let Wei Shu, Wei Xi, and Cui Fei help him.

Mu Er Pang was supposed to stay inside and wait for them, but he guessed that his mother might come to pick him up today, so he said he would go out and take a look first.

Sure enough, the mother and son met at the gate of the government school.

When they saw each other, they both smiled. Mu Er Pang said, “I guessed that you might come to pick me up, and I guessed right. Let’s wait a moment, Mei Big Brother and the others should be coming out soon.”

As he spoke, Mu Er Pang also noticed that the fruits in Shen Cui’s arms were covered in dust.

Shen Cui then told him about what had happened earlier and smiled, “I saw that young man coming out of the school, and there was no one around. I thought I was late and you all had left. Fortunately, he was the only one who came out early.”

Mu Er Pang reached out and brushed the dust off her sleeves, asking, “Was he about fifteen or sixteen years old, fair and slightly taller than me, wearing a gray-blue scholar’s robe?”

Shen Cui nodded and asked, “Do you know him?”

Mu Er Pang had been ignored by Shen Aoshuang several times before and didn’t think it was a big deal, so he nodded and said, “I know him, but he has always been a bit arrogant and doesn’t talk to people, so I haven’t talked to him.”

“Arrogant?” Shen Cui recalled the young man’s reaction. “I didn’t think he was arrogant and ignored people. I just felt that something was off.”

As for where it felt off, Shen Cui had only briefly seen Shen Aoshuang, so she couldn’t say for sure.

The mother and son didn’t wait long at the gate of the government school. Mei Ruochu and the others came out as soon as they finished guiding the new students.

The group returned to Cui Wei without mentioning it.

The next day, Mu Er Pang and the others went to school at the school again. He thought he should talk to Shen Aoshuang no matter what today.

He couldn’t bear to see him wandering around in places like the archery field again, endangering her life.

He also wanted to thank him in person for his help yesterday.

Mu Er Pang had even thought that if Shen Aoshuang didn’t come today, he would ask the clerks in the perfetural school for Shen Aoshuang’s address and visit him during the school break.

But it wasn’t necessary, because when they entered the classroom that day, Shen Aoshuang was already sitting inside.

Mei Ruochu was used to coming early every day to answer questions for his classmates, and the people from Cuiwei were willing to accompany him, so they were almost always among the first to arrive.

Shen Aoshuang actually arrived even earlier than them.

Mu Er Pang didn’t ask anyone to accompany him and went over to him alone, saying, “Brother Shen, the new students don’t sit here. They should sit at the front.”

Shen Aoshuang exclaimed, stood up, and said, “Thank you, I didn’t come yesterday, so I didn’t know.”

He stood up and followed Mu Er Pang to the front to change seats.

In just a short while, Mu Er Pang couldn’t help but think that what his mother said was right.

Shen Aoshuang wasn’t that arrogant when interacting with others, but why did he seem…

He didn’t want to think too much about it and continued with what he had planned, saying, “There’s another matter, Brother Shen. Yesterday, you wandered around the archery field, which was very dangerous and scared us. Please don’t do that again in the future.”

Shen Aoshuang’s fair face immediately turned red, and he quickly said, “I didn’t…”

But then he abruptly stopped and apologized, “I’m sorry for scaring you. I will be more careful in the future.”

His attitude was much better than what Mu Er Pang had expected.

After all, according to Mu Er Pang’s previous thoughts, the proud Shen Aoshuang might have lifted his chin and snorted, complaining that he was meddling.

Seeing Shen Aoshuang’s reaction, combined with Mu Er Pang’s own nature of enjoying helping others, he added a few more words, “Why didn’t you come yesterday? I’m not trying to pry into your privacy, but I clearly saw you at the archery field, but you didn’t come to class. If the professors found out, they might have been even more upset.”

This time, Shen Aoshuang’s face turned red all the way to his ears, but he still didn’t explain anything.

He just asked, “Did the professors find out?”

Mu Er Pang said they didn’t, “The people at the archery field yesterday were all old students, and they didn’t know you. I was the only one who recognized you, but I didn’t say anything, so no one else knew.”

Shen Aoshuang finally breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him again.

Mu Er Pang told him not to be too polite, “I actually wanted to thank you too. Yesterday, at the gate of the school, you helped my mother, so I came here to thank you and chat with you.”

“It was just a small effort.” Shen Aoshuang didn’t want to take credit.

The exchange between the two was very friendly, and Mu Er Pang soon let go of any grudges, no longer thinking about how Shen Aoshuang had deliberately ignored people before.

However, they hadn’t been talking for long when few other students had arrived, and surprisingly, the professor came over.

The professor didn’t teach all day every day, like on the first day of school.

For example, this morning, he didn’t have any classes scheduled.

So, logically, he shouldn’t have come in the morning, let alone this early.

Many new students were suddenly at a loss—because they thought the professor’s class was in the afternoon, and they still had time in the morning to revise the essays they had to submit, so many of them weren’t prepared yet.

Fortunately, the professor didn’t come to collect assignments.

He just asked, “Is Shen Aoshuang here today?”

It turned out that he had come to find Shen Aoshuang himself, indicating that he had been quite upset with him yesterday!

Shen Aoshuang immediately stood up and replied, “I’m here.”

The professor looked at him expressionlessly and didn’t bother to say anything, just gesturing for him to come over.

However, Shen Aoshuang stood still in his place.

Seeing the professor’s face darken even more, Mu Er Pang quickly reminded him in a low voice, “Brother Shen, the professor is asking you to go over. Don’t be stubborn at this critical moment!”

On the first day of school, being absent could still be explained away with other excuses.

But showing disrespect to a teacher in front of everyone is a big deal that could potentially affect him for the rest of his life!

Shen Aoshuang didn’t have time to thank Mu Er Pang and immediately went up to the professor.

After that, the professor took Shen Aoshuang away, and he didn’t return until the end of the morning’s instructional period.

If this had happened to anyone else, whether a new student or an old one, there would have been a lot of sympathy for them.

But when it happened to Shen Aoshuang, no one sympathized with him. Many people said he deserved it.

Mu Er Pang didn’t join in the discussion about Shen Aoshuang.

During the lunch break, Ren Shun and Zhao Xiuwen couldn’t help but ask him privately, “When we arrived this morning, it seemed like we saw you talking to Shen Brother, and did he actually respond to you?”

The fact that Shen Aoshuang actually responded to someone was more surprising to Ren Shun and Zhao Xiuwen than the fact that the professor had taken him away for the whole morning!

Mu Er Pang said, “Yes, I did talk to him, and he responded politely. His attitude was very good. Also, yesterday, outside the government school, he helped my mother pick up things. Maybe we misunderstood him before. He’s not like that…”

Just as they were discussing him, before the afternoon classes began, the professor let him go.

The three of them looked at him, and Shen Aoshuang’s arrogant demeanor returned. He walked past them as if he didn’t see them.

Ren Shun and Zhao Xiuwen didn’t say anything, but their expressions clearly showed, “See, we didn’t misunderstand him. This is what he’s really like!”

After the disciplinary officer came to start the class, the three of them stopped focusing on this matter and returned to their studies.

After school, Mu Er Pang and the others went back to Cui Wei. He asked Mei Ruochu and the others to go and freshen up first, while he went to find Shen Cui.

He told her about what had happened during the day and then said, “I think I know what Mother meant by ‘off.’ Listening to Shen Brother speak, seeing what he did before, he helped a person who fainted in the examination yard and helped my mother outside the government school. He is very kind-hearted. I don’t think he is the kind of person who is arrogant because of his talent. But his behavior is indeed… Do you think it’s possible that his eyesight is not very good?”

Shen Cui said it was unlikely.

Everyone knows that reading strains the eyes, and there are many scholars in the government school who have poor eyesight.

And it’s easy to tell if someone is nearsighted—first, their eyes are lifeless, then they habitually squint and get close to things to see them.

Shen Aoshuang didn’t show any of these signs.

Moreover, nearsightedness is a common problem among scholars and is not something that needs to be hidden at all costs. Why would he do that?

So, in fact, Mu Er Pang also felt that he had guessed wrong.

Scratching his head, he said, “I’m just worried that if he is really behaving like this because of his eyesight, reputation is one thing, but if he has another incident like going to the archery field again, it could cost him his life. Especially since I will probably be going there often in the future, I would feel very guilty if he got hurt under my watch.”

Seeing that her chubby son was concerned about this matter, and considering that Shen Aoshuang had indeed helped her, Shen Cui said, “It’s okay. Don’t guess randomly. I’ll go to the Perfectural school to pick you up tomorrow and meet him. Then we’ll know.”

At that time, she could randomly replace someone from the academy system, temporarily insert Shen Aoshuang, and let the system discover any potential problems he might have.

After discussing this, Mu Er Pang didn’t think about this matter anymore.

When Mei Ruochu and the others had just entered the government school, they were all on high alert.

Mu Er Pang did the same, quickly went to freshen up, and then sat down in the classroom to start his homework.