Lin Chaoyu shrugged his plump shoulders twice, then inexplicably produced a folding fan from his bosom, imitating the manner of refined scholars as he waved the fan painted with golden ingots.
“Confucius once wisely said: ‘One hand clapping, though swift, makes no sound; two hearts united, can obtain gold!’
I know your education is shallow, making it difficult for you to comprehend its meaning. So I’ll reluctantly explain it to you.
What I mean is that only by helping each other can we both live well.”
Youen rolled her eyes at him, wondering what Confucius would think if he heard this.
This brainless, foolish dandy who loved making up nonsense sentences could probably anger the ancient sages enough to bring them back to life.
Though utterly speechless, she still asked perfunctorily: “What do you want me to help you with?”
“You must have noticed that I come from an extremely wealthy family, with treasures adorning my entire person. Back at my residence, I’ve never lifted a finger for any work.
I should have lived a life of luxury forever, but this Huai Shu Academy won’t let me bring my servants.
How could this body of mine, more precious than gold, possibly do any manual labor? So…” He deliberately drew out his tone, as if waiting for Youen’s response.
Youen smiled: “So, you want me to help you drop out?”
Lin Chaoyu’s fleshy face filled with astonishment. He thought he had made himself perfectly clear, never expecting to encounter such a fool.
Well, a fool has their uses – he could bully this idiot more in the future.
“You idiot! What I mean is, I want you to move into the Single Room Dorm with me. You’ll follow me from now on and handle some chores for me. If you do well, I naturally won’t treat you poorly.”
“Move into the Single Room Dorm with you?” Youen nearly vomited.
“What, worried there won’t be enough space? Don’t worry, I’ll get a bigger bed and temporarily condescend to let you squeeze in with me.”
The way he said it made it sound like he was suffering some great injustice.
Youen barely restrained herself from slapping him.
“What? Can’t believe such good fortune would come your way?” Lin Chaoyu shamelessly raised an eyebrow at her. “Originally, this opportunity wouldn’t have gone to you – there are plenty of people in the academy who appear more capable than you.
The only reason I chose you is because I overheard your conversation with your brother earlier. That’s why I kindly decided to help you, but don’t get too excited yet.
Although I’ve selected you, you’ll still need to serve me properly! From cleaning the room to washing my feet, scrubbing my back, and cleaning my intimate garments. You’ll need to learn everything a servant would do!”
Youen could no longer restrain herself and finally swung her fist at him.
Who cared if he was the esteemed son of the Prefect? Who cared how noble his status was? To her, he was just a pile of filth.
Ugly in appearance and disgusting in character – truly proving that the face reflects the heart.
This kind of person – she’d beat him up every time she saw him.
And she’d never hold back.
Lin Chaoyu never expected her to suddenly attack. Clutching his right eye that had already begun to bruise from the punch, he suddenly burst into loud sobs.
“You… you… you! How could you be like this! I was kindly trying to help you, and you hit me! Waaah… I’m going to tell my father! I’ll have my father confiscate all your family’s property!”Youen had never encountered such a person in her life.
Was he now treating his father as the emperor? He even wanted to confiscate her family property.
If she hit him one more time, would he spout such nonsense as executing her entire clan?
To test her theory, Youen indeed punched him in the left eye.
After landing the blow, she admired Lin Chaoyu’s perfectly symmetrical black eyes.
She thought her punches were simply flawless.
Lin Chaoyu had never been hit in his life. The Lin family treated him like a treasure, who would dare lay a finger on him?
But today, on his first day at the Academy, this brat had punched him twice.
All he wanted now was to hurry home to see his parents.
He would have his father bring men to teach this wretched boy a lesson.
Youen naturally knew what he was thinking.
She wiped her hands with a handkerchief, left him a message, then turned and walked away with utmost coolness.
“Bring on whatever tricks you’ve got. I’d like to see how much more face your Lin family can lose because of you.”
After leaving Guangye Hall, Youen went to Shuai Xing Hall to find Su Yan.
Su Yan was reading there and only put his book down when he saw her arrive.
Youen sat opposite him and asked seriously, “Second Brother, does our Academy still have Single Room Dorms?”
Su Yan nodded, “Only one.”
“Can anyone live in this dorm?”
As soon as she finished speaking, a lazy voice came from behind: “Of course not. This dorm goes to whoever pays the most!”
Youen turned around and saw who was speaking.
It was that rich young master Jiang Yunnan.
He sat down beside Youen, crossed his legs in a top boss pose, but pretended to be modest as he said: “To be honest, this Single Room Dorm has already been bought by our Jiang family.
Ah, I never expected this outcome. I originally wanted to experience living with everyone else, but alas, my family is just too wealthy.”
Youen said, “In that case, why don’t you give the room to me? You can go stay in the large dormitory and experience it as long as you want.”
Jiang Yunnan immediately changed his expression, “Of course not! While the large dormitory is lively, the Single Room Dorm is more comfortable. I’m not willing to suffer like that.”
After speaking, he patted Youen’s shoulder with feigned profundity, “Brother, some hardships you ultimately have to endure.”
Youen dodged his hand with some disgust, “Alright, you, don’t celebrate too early. Lin Chaoyu just said his family has already made arrangements, confidently claiming the large dormitory is his for sure.”
Jiang Yunnan snorted lightly upon hearing this, seeming quite disdainful of Lin Chaoyu.
“Can he compare to our Jiang family? I ask you, in all of Suzhou City, who can compare to our Jiang family?”
This statement wasn’t wrong.
In all of Suzhou City, when it came to financial power, no one could indeed surpass the Jiang family.
It seemed that in this competition for the Single Room Dorm, Jiang Yunnan had won.
Unfortunately, from start to finish, their Su family didn’t even have a chance to participate.
But if she had to live in the large dormitory with a group of men, she’d rather die.
She had to find a way to change this situation.
Just as she was beginning to calculate in her mind how to trick Jiang Yunnan out of this Single Room Dorm, he suddenly spoke: “Youen, don’t be too upset.”
Since we’re sworn brothers, we should share both fortune and misfortune. Now that I’ve been assigned a Single Room Dorm, I can’t let you be left out. If you’re willing, you can move in with me!”
Hearing this, Youen immediately recalled Lin Chaoyu’s nauseating words from earlier.
She glared at Jiang Yunnan, “Get lost! Who’d want to sleep with you?!”
When two people are of one mind, their sharpness can cut through metal. — Book of Changes
One hand alone cannot clap, no matter how fast it moves. — Han Feizi
Dear readers, don’t be misled by Lin Chaoyu!