Youen fell silent.
She understood Lin Xianyu’s inner sorrow and reluctance to return to the Lin family.
She would never persuade her again.
After this incident, the relationship between the two eased considerably.
Another day passed, and Lin Xianyu was already able to walk normally.
She took the initiative to bid farewell to the Su family.
The Su family didn’t stop her, nor did they inquire about her future plans.
They had already done everything they could for her.
The day Lin Xianyu left was also Youen’s first day at the Academy.
On this day, Jiang Yunnan had also recovered and sent someone to inform her that he would accompany her to the Academy.
On the way, Youen told him everything about Lin Xianyu.
After hearing it, he kept pulling Youen aside to ask all sorts of questions.
He asked what Lin Xianyu looked like, whether her voice was pleasant, and approximately how tall she was.
But he never asked how she was faring now.
Youen asked, “Do you only care about her appearance?”
Jiang Yunnan finally closed his mouth and fell silent, his gaze quietly drifting past the patterned window to the world outside.
The person teaching their class today was Su Yang, who lectured on the doctrines of Confucius and Mencius. Many students dozed off.
Only Su Youen and Su Yan remained attentive throughout.
Su Yan would listen with full concentration no matter who was teaching.
As for Su Youen, she only managed to stay awake during Su Yang’s class.
Even then, she had to keep pinching her arm to force herself to stay alert, barely managing to endure.
She expended all her energy on Su Yang’s class; for the other Teachers’ lessons, she simply couldn’t stay awake.
As soon as the Teachers began speaking, she would collapse.
This was beyond her control.
Su Yan once tried to wake her, only to receive her drowsy explanation: “Elder brother’s class has drained all my energy. Now I’m completely exhausted.”
He didn’t understand Youen’s words, but seeing how deeply asleep she was, he left her alone.
By the end of the day, several Teachers had complained to the Dean, accusing Youen of disrespect for sleeping through their classes.
Yet Dean Zhu Huaishu praised her genuine nature, saying she showed remarkable courage and lived up to being someone he valued.
If Youen had heard this, she would likely have been astonished by Zhu Huaishu’s imaginative interpretation.
After enduring the day’s classes, Youen thought she could finally return home to sleep.
Unexpectedly, Su Yan informed her that Academy students must reside in the Study rooms.
The so-called Study rooms were dormitories.
Youen never imagined she would one day have to sleep in the same room as a group of men.
It was practically life-threatening.
She ran to beg Su Yang: “Brother, I don’t want to live with those people. Can I please go home to sleep?”
After all, Su Yang was a Teacher at Huai Shu Academy and the main lecturer on Confucian doctrines.
Having been at the Academy for so many years, Youen thought pulling some strings through him shouldn’t be a problem.
To her surprise, Su Yang smilingly kept her at arm’s length, claiming he had no authority in this matter, and chased her out of Guangye Hall.
This was the first time Su Yang had refused her request since they’d begun interacting.
She even began to wonder whether this Su Yang at the Academy was the same person as her elder brother at home.
Youen heaved a long sigh and started worrying about her future.
There wasn’t a single female student in Huai Shu Academy.
Could she really have to live in this den of men?
Just when she was at her wit’s end, someone suddenly tapped her shoulder twice.”Hey! Kid!”
As soon as Youen heard the unfamiliar voice, she instinctively took a small step forward, avoiding the hand that was about to land on her left shoulder.
But the person stubbornly raised his other hand and placed it on her right shoulder.
“Stinking brat, what are you dodging for? I was trying to help you!”
The speaker was ugly and short-stout, seemingly even shorter than her, a woman. Yet his tone was extremely arrogant, with a hint of contempt in his expression.
For this kind of overconfident man, Youen couldn’t be bothered to engage.
She shook off his hand with extreme disgust and turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, this overconfident man quickly circled around to block her path, spreading his arms wide.
Youen suppressed the urge to strike him and, staring at his ugly, detestable face, said in an extremely impatient tone, “What do you want?!”
“I naturally want to help you. I overheard your conversation with the Teacher just now. So you don’t want to live with that group of people? Your brother can’t help you, but I can!”
He can?
Youen glanced at his chin, which was practically raised to the sky, and couldn’t help but sigh: There are so many weirdos in ancient times. Does he think his father is the Dean? Is that why he’s so confident?
For such an ugly, muddle-headed playboy, she usually chose to ignore him outright.
Might as well treat his words as flatulence—no need to waste her good mood on someone like him.
Seeing Youen remain silent, the ugly playboy thought she was inexperienced and shocked by his earlier words.
So, he started putting on airs.
“No need to be so surprised. After all, something like this really isn’t a big deal for someone like me. Your elder brother has no money or influence, so it’s normal he can’t help you. But for me, it’s simple—I could handle it with just my pinky toe!”
The radiance of his blind confidence nearly blinded Youen.
She finally lost her patience and growled, “Get lost.”
“How can you be so ungrateful? Let me tell you, there’s only one Single Room Dorm in the entire Huai Shu Academy. If a pauper like you doesn’t want to live with that crowd, your only option is to ask for my help. Got it?!”
Youen was overjoyed at this: “The Academy has a Single Room Dorm?”
“Hey! You didn’t even know that? Well, it’s not surprising. With your shabby appearance, even if you knew, you’d never get to live in it in this lifetime. If you want to live there, you’ll have to beg me!”
“Just who are you?” Youen finally gave him a proper look.
The man grew even more smug. “You don’t even know me? What are your eyes for? Let me tell you, I’m Lin Chaoyu, son of the current Prefect Lin Fu! I’ve got everything arranged at home—that room is as good as mine.
So? Now you believe I can help you, right?”
Lin Chaoyu, son of Lin Fu.
So that would make him Lin Xianyu’s younger brother?
Looking at his short, stout, and utterly hideous appearance, Youen couldn’t help but wonder if the Lin family’s genes had mutated in his generation.
How could Lin Xianyu be as beautiful as a fairy, while Lin Chaoyu was so ugly it defied description?
Are they really biological siblings?
Lin Chaoyu stood tall and straight before her, still looking at Youen with a contemptuous gaze, as if waiting for her reply.
Youen, having learned that he was the Prefect’s son, felt that his earlier words carried more credibility.
She asked, “Why are you helping me?”