Mu Yunchuan was very familiar with the road into the city.

But usually, he would head straight to the academy.

At this time, nearing the end of the year, when the academy was on holiday, Mu Yunchuan naturally didn’t need to go there. Instead, he went to the Scholar Street next to the academy.

This street was built adjacent to the Green Bamboo Academy, with everything one needed for living, including bookstores and tea houses being the most common.

Just as Mu Yunchuan arrived at the intersection of the street, he heard someone calling his name.

He stopped and looked up, only to see a young nobleman in a brocade hat and sable coat leaning on the railing, eagerly looking at him.

Seeing Mu Yunchuan heard his call, the young nobleman waved to signal him to wait and quickly ran downstairs.

“Yunchuan, what are you doing here? Every time I invite you for some fun, you always decline. Today we happen to meet, so you must have a cup of tea with me before leaving.”

Mu Yunchuan smiled helplessly and was indeed pulled into the teahouse by the young nobleman.

The young nobleman was generous, intending to have the waiter bring the best snacks from the building. However, considering Mu Yunchuan’s thrifty and courteous nature, he realized that if he treated him today, Mu Yunchuan would feel obligated to treat him in the future. Not wanting him to spend money in return, he just had the waiter bring another cup of hot tea.

After finishing the tea, the young nobleman was thinking about how to keep Mu Yunchuan for a meal, but he noticed that Mu Yunchuan frowned lightly, seeming somewhat absent-minded.

“Yunchuan, have you encountered something troubling?”

Mu Yunchuan smiled apologetically, “You can tell?”

…

On the other hand, when Shen Cui returned home, she immediately went into the house and called for Mu Er Pang to get up.

Unexpectedly, when the chubby boy heard her voice, not only did he not move, he even turned over, with his back facing her.

With time pressing, Shen Cui said concisely, “Mu Er Pang, get up and read a book with Mother.”

Mu Er Pang still didn’t move. Shen Cui, feeling annoyed, lifted the blanket and was about to get angry, but she met a tearful face.

He was crying miserably, with tears streaming down his face, almost blurring his entire chubby face.

While this child may look big, he is only ten years old. His biological father’s whereabouts are unknown.

What made her anxious and irritable was not him, but the system tasks and the original male lead from the book. Shen Cui adjusted her mindset, slowed down her tone, sat down beside him, and asked, “Why are you crying?”

He wasn’t crying loudly before, but as soon as she asked, Mu Er Pang immediately went from quietly sobbing to wailing loudly. He cried and said, “Mother asked me to go out in the cold, I’m not feeling well, and you don’t care about me!”

Shen Cui was surprised when she heard this and immediately touched his forehead, which was indeed slightly warmer than normal.

After all, she had never been a mother. Since Mu Er Pang came back yesterday, he had been sleeping all the time. Shen Cui thought he was just lazy like usual, lying on the kang. They even fought over a package later, and his spirit and strength… Shen Cui didn’t notice at all that he was sick.

“I was confused when I was sick earlier. I didn’t expect our Er Pang to be sick too.” Feeling guilty, Shen Cui tried her best to imitate the original owner’s usual tone to comfort him, “Don’t cry, Mother will make you… sweet eggs to eat.”

Sweet eggs were miraculous. Mu Er Pang’s thunderous crying gradually subsided, but…

Still, he raised two thick, short chubby fingers and said, “I want to eat… two.”

Shen Cui readily agreed, but with the countdown looming in front of her, she had to force herself to say, “Child, come and read.”

Mu Er Pang was also dumbfounded. He didn’t expect his mother to change the subject so quickly. He stammered with a crying tone, “Mother, I can’t read!”

He was so shocked that he even blurted out dialect.

Shen Cui also knew that her behavior was nonsensical and strange, but she had no choice. She still wrung a cool towel and covered his forehead, coaxing, “It’s very simple. Just follow along with me.”

Without waiting for Mu Er Pang to object, Shen Cui continued, “Just read for a while, and Mother will make you two sweet eggs… no, three!”

Mu Er Pang swallowed his saliva, not saying a word.

“At the beginning, people are inherently good.”

“People are pigs…”

“It’s ‘at the beginning, people are inherently good!'”

“…”

“…”

Fortunately, when her lazy son really started to follow her reading, the countdown in front of Shen Cui stopped, and another dialog box appeared, saying “[Newbie Task in Progress].”

Half an hour later, a mechanical sound came into Shen Cui’s ears.

[Newbie Task: Accompanying son to study for half an hour completed.]

[Reward: 100 shopping points.]

[The Imperial Examination Accompaniment System has officially connected to the host’s consciousness. Do you want to enter the newbie guide now?]

Finally completing the newbie task, Shen Cui let out a long sigh.

It was also fortunate that Mu Er Pang’s mind was like that of a young child. Otherwise, if it were a normal person, not to mention whether they would suspect their illiterate mother suddenly know how to read, even without knowing going to school or practice at home.

They would definitely not accept this boring and forceful style of reading just for a few sweet eggs.

Not sure if it was because her mindset had changed, but Shen Cui looked at Mu Er Pang again, and her gaze softened. She closed the book and let the already drowsy Mu Er Pang lie down.

At this moment, the light screen in front of her changed again, but Shen Cui temporarily ignored it and went to touch Mu Er Pang’s forehead. After the cool towel had been on for a while, the redness on his face had completely disappeared.

There was some of the cold remedy left over from the last time the doctor prescribed it. Shen Cui went to the kitchen, reduced the dosage by half, and started to brew the medicine. She also took three eggs to prepare sweet eggs for him.

As she worked, she began to look at the translucent light screen that only she could see.

In her mind, she selected [Yes]. At the same time, the newbie guide for the Imperial Examination Accompaniment System began to unfold on the light screen.

[This system was developed from the m7898 Nebula and deployed to various planes to collect data. Adhering to the Interstellar Fairness Law, the host can choose to accept or remove the system. Once removed, they will immediately be sent back to their original world.]

[Considering that the host’s body has died suddenly in the original world, please consider carefully.]