Chapter 31

Translator: Exodus Tales

Editor: Exodus Tales

Nan Baoyi was close to tears, “Then I would not have time to play and dress up anymore.”

Xiao Yi: “You don’t want to be better than Nan Yan?”

Nan Baoyi bit her lips grievously.

Of course, she wanted to be better than Nan Yan, even in her fantasies she wanted to be better than her!

But this study plan was too strict, it would really hound her to death!

She tried to flatter Xiao Yi by adding more tea for him, twisting her slender fair hands, and said carefully, “Second Brother, can you give me two days to prepare, let me rest properly and then start studying? As the saying goes, sharpening the knife would not delay the progress, if you want to let the horse run faster, you have to let the horse eat properly…”

Xiao Yi smirked and tore the study plan mercilessly, “Don’t need to study.”

The powerful minister was angry!

Nan Baoyi panicked and quickly stopped him, “Don’t tear it, don’t tear it! I will study, I will study, isn’t that good enough?!”

“Read The Analects of Confucius first, go stand there by the window and read.”

Nan Baoyi hugged the book, stood by the window, and flipped open the first page dispiritedly.

She looked back at Xiao Yi sadly and he seemed to be smiling.

She turned back silently and looked at the first line of words weakly.

She had not read a few words yet when a paper ball hit her behind her head.

She looked back. Xiao Yi leaned against a rosewood chair and carelessly rolled up a paper ball, “Read it out.”

Nan Baoyi’s little face wrinkled up.

She forcefully uttered in a soft voice, “What a pleasure to have a friend come from afar…”

Another paper ball hit her head, “Louder.”

Nan Baoyi’s cheeks were flushed, stomping at her embroidered shoes and shouted with an open gesture, “How happy am I! One who is not angered by ignorance is truly a scholar!!”

Her voice was hoarse when she finally hope for lunchtime.

He Ye brought in her lunch and was alarmed, “Miss, are you okay?”

Nan Baoyi looked like she was about to cry but there were no tears, she held the table, “I can’t take this anymore…”

“Yu Wei stewed some snow pear water with rock candy for you, you should drink it so that your throat will feel more comfortable.” He Ye was heartbroken and helped her to sit down, “I know Miss is studying hard and I wanted to bring in some tea and refreshments for you, but the servant who’s guarding the door did not allow me to come in, saying that it will disturb you from studying.”

Nan Baoyi drank finish a bowl of snow pear water, feeling alive again and full of energy, “I think I know what’s going on, Xiao Yi is using this opportunity to take revenge on me!”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you remember? I used to tease him a lot last time. Now that he has power, he definitely wants to have his revenge on me!” Nan Baoyi shook her head and sighed, “Monster, he is an absolute monster!”

He Ye had sharp eyes and saw the young man in black robes walking in.

She quickly coughed and pushed Nan Baoyi, “Miss, don’t you want to succeed? Second Young Master is this strict for your own good too.”

While saying this, she kept giving Nan Baoyi a meaningful look.

Nan Baoyi picked up the chopsticks and fiddled with a plate of green vegetables, “What do you know, he is ruining things by being hasty! He is a narrow-minded person who will take revenge, sometimes he is even perverted. Weak girls like us absolutely cannot provoke a person like him!”

Xiao Yi was already standing behind her.

She talked endlessly, “A monster like him will never be liked by a girl in the future. I think he would end up old and all alone! He Ye, what’s wrong with your eyes, why are you blinking so much, did sand enter your eyes? Hmm, why do I feel chilly behind my back as if a cold wind is blowing…”

She turned around.

Xiao Yi was expressionless.

Nan Baoyi was so scared she rolled off from her chair and fell to the ground. She scrambled, stood up, and quickly hid behind He Ye.

He Ye was trembling with fear, “Miss, I still remembered I have clothes to wash, I will retreat first…”

She ran away.

Nan Baoyi was trembling.

She hid behind a bookshelf and carefully protruding half of her face and smiled, “Second, Second Brother! That was only a misunderstanding, misunderstanding!”

Xiao Yi lifted up his robes, sat down, and started eating coolly.

Nan Baoyi saw him eating her favorite crispy pork, “Second Brother, this is my lunch.”

The young man remained cool, “Lunchtime is over, go get the zither.”

“But I am not done eating ―”

When the young man gave her a sharp fierce look, Nan Baoyi rubbed her belly and picked up the zither that was hanging on the wall, feeling embarrassed.

Practicing zither while feeling hungry was a very painful thing to experience.

Nan Baoyi rested her chin on both hands.

The old teacher who was skilled at zither stood in front of her. He enthusiastically told her about the five notes of the pentatonic scale, his saliva spraying everywhere!

[Translating note: five notes is the modern-day do re mi fa so ]

After he finished talking, the old teacher asked kindly, “Do you understand?”

Nan Baoyi shook her head.

The old teacher stretched out his fingers and was so angry he started speaking his hometown dialect, “Little girl, I have already told you for five times and you still don’t understand, are you an idiot?!”

Nan Baoyi was unhappy, “If you are hungry, you wouldn’t understand too.”

The old teacher walked away in anger, “This girl is too stupid! I don’t want to teach anymore!”

Once the old teacher walked away angrily, Nan Baoyi was happy.

She laid on the zither, “Second Brother, the teacher ran away and no one could teach me. This afternoon is considered a holiday, okay?”

After thinking about it carefully, she already knew Nan Yan’s true colors.

Even if she could not beat her during the Spring Flower Festival, she could still use her experience in the previous life and scare her away from scheming against the Nan residence.

Furthermore, she had no talents in the four arts, why does she need to torture herself?

In this life, she should enjoy her life properly with her whole family.

After thinking about it, she felt relieved all over.

Xiao Yi flipped open a book and glanced at her.

The little girl was laying there lifelessly, the laziness in her came back. She was still good for nothing, no substance at all.

He said, “Don’t want to work hard anymore?”

“Not anymore.”

Xiao Yi sneered, “You already announced that you want to get the first place in the Spring Flower Festival competition. Everyone in Jinguan City knows your ambition. Now you say you don’t want to work hard anymore, so who will they laugh at now?

“They will laugh at the Nan residence for not being able to teach their children. Your elders will forever be embarrassed in public. And all the people that you hate like Nan Yan and Liu Xiaomeng will look down at you even more than ever.”

“The Spring Flower Festival is only a small obstacle. If you could not even handle this obstacle, how could you face bigger problems in the future? In your dream, the Nan residence would be destroyed so the Nan residence cannot protect you for a lifetime. You need to stand up and protect the Nan residence that you care about.”

The young man was cold and never spoke so much to anyone.

Now that he reminded her of it, it was like a surprising turn of events.