Under the scorching sun, cicadas screamed desperately in the shade of the trees.
When Su Peisheng received the message from his disciple Zhao Lesheng that Lin Gege had sent over some soup, he inexplicably felt a wave of relief.
“Take it in,” he said, his tone unusually light.
He didn’t even bother to open it and see what kind of soup it was before letting him enter.
Zhao Lesheng didn’t look either—he wasn’t qualified to.
His master was qualified, but couldn’t be bothered.
That was the difference.
The soup was placed on Fourth Master’s desk. He was reading a book and didn’t look up to ask about it.
Only after finishing a volume did he turn and notice a jar on his desk, knowing immediately that someone from the rear courtyard must have sent it.
He frowned but still opened the jar out of curiosity.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Fourth Master’s frown deepened, for inside was something he absolutely detested—snow fungus and lotus seed soup!
When Su Peisheng entered and saw him staring wide-eyed at the jar of snow fungus soup, he was utterly dumbfounded.
Fourth Master hated anything sticky, slimy, or slippery.
It reminded him of the shell-less snails in his Mother’s palace after the rain when he was a child.
Those things crawling on his hands and feet sent shivers down his spine.
Su Peisheng immediately knelt down and threw Lin Mingyan under the bus without hesitation: “Ye, this was sent from Linfeng Residence. This servant was momentarily careless…”
He had truly lost his mind. Over the past few days, at least four servings of snow fungus soup had been sent from the rear courtyard.
He had directly given them all to the young eunuchs to drink, and Fourth Master hadn’t even seen the jars.
But he thought that with Lin Mingyan’s many novel ideas, she surely wouldn’t send snow fungus soup, so he hadn’t checked carefully.
Damn it!
He really deserved to die!
Fourth Master didn’t want to lose his temper. If he had, the jar of snow fungus soup would have been smashed on the floor long ago.
Instead, he woodenly picked up a spoon and took a sip.
It was cool, not too sweet, and surprisingly pleasant in texture.
The study was stuffy and hot. He didn’t allow ice basins for fear of dampening the books, and he had long been sweating profusely.
Now, a mouthful of refreshing snow fungus soup brought all his senses back to life.
Having stayed in the study for over half a month, it was time to go out and relax.
Su Peisheng watched as his master, who loathed snow fungus the most, drank the entire jar of soup, sip by sip, until it was completely empty.
His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: Isn’t this… Is this Lin Shi a reincarnated fox spirit?
As he was thinking this, Fourth Master’s words, “Go to Lin Shi’s place,” struck him like a hammer, leaving him utterly speechless.
He silently raised a thumb in his heart—Incredible!
When Fourth Master entered Linfeng Residence, the incredible Lin Mingyan was standing frozen in place, fried chicken in her left hand and milk tea in her right.
She inwardly rejoiced: Thank goodness, thank goodness I just put my legs down.
Setting down what she was holding, she wiped her hands and hurried over to greet him.
As she bowed, a headache set in.
Heaven wants to destroy me!
He hadn’t entered the rear courtyard for over half a month, and the first place he came to was hers again.
This was going to make everyone jealous to death!
Lin Mingyan couldn’t help but glance sideways at Fourth Master, wondering if he had some true love and was deliberately using her, a newcomer, to establish the persona of a favored consort.
Fourth Master was so amused by her look that he almost laughed in anger: “You seem to be living quite comfortably.”
He had been buried in books in the study every day, eating poorly, sleeping poorly, and sweltering in the heat, while this little heartless one was living the good life.
And he had heard that others had sent things multiple times, while this was her first time today!
Lin Mingyan felt a bit guilty and widened her eyes, feigning innocence: “Ye, I… I can’t find out what’s happening outside either.”
She actually wanted to say that without him coming, she couldn’t eat or sleep well.
But during this time, her life had been regular—she woke up early to run and exercise every morning, and her health was excellent.
More importantly, she had received his favor for ten days, and although Fourth Master hadn’t come afterward, he hadn’t gone to anyone else either.
The people in the kitchen didn’t dare neglect her, serving delicious food and drinks every day, so she ate well and slept soundly.
This lie, she couldn’t bring herself to tell.
Seeing the look in her eyes, Fourth Master knew this little heartless one had been living quite well during this time.
Unable to contain his frustration, he somehow reached out and pinched her cheek.
The warm, soft sensation from his hand made him pause, and he switched from pinching to gently kneading.
She didn’t dare move.
She absolutely didn’t dare move.
Lin Mingyan didn’t know how it happened, but she had already moved from sitting opposite him to sitting on Fourth Master’s lap.
Fourth Master’s hands also wandered from kneading her cheeks to other places.
There was no one else left in the room. She buried her head in Fourth Master’s chest.
Gently struggling, she whispered, “Go… go inside…”
After a bout of intense passion, it was long past lunchtime.
Lin Mingyan was fine, but Fourth Master was so hungry he felt his stomach was sticking to his back.
Still, both his body and mind felt much more relaxed.
Turning to see her looking at him with a strange expression, he asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Mingyan shook her head, pushing the image of the fierce Fourth Master out of her mind.
After dressing, she dashed outside: once was enough—she didn’t want to go for another two hours!
Fourth Master was taken aback for a moment, then inexplicably understood what she meant. Shaking his head with a smile, he followed her out.
Su Peisheng stood outside like a wooden post. Seeing the two emerge one after the other, he quickly ordered the meal to be served.
Perhaps because of the tremella soup, Fourth Master had a hearty appetite.
After the meal, he even drank a cup of milk tea Lin Mingyan had made.
“The tea fragrance is rich,” he commented.
Lin Mingyan stole a glance at him before saying, “It was made with the tea leaves you left here. It smells wonderful.”
Since the tea leaves were left with her, she should be allowed to drink them, right?
Right, right?
The ones left here last time?
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Wuyishan Da Hong Pao!
Fourth Master nearly spat out his mouthful of milk tea. Looking at Lin Mingyan’s bright, sparkling eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
But he still felt a pang of heartache.
He only received a limited amount of Wuyishan Da Hong Pao each year, and he had left all of it here.
Fourth Master pondered for a moment before instructing Su Peisheng, “Pick out some good tea leaves and send them to your Mistress Lin.”
Then, taking Lin Mingyan’s hand, he added, “Pre-rain Longjing, Huangshan Maofeng… these are even more fragrant. Use these to brew tea.”
Well, these could be purchased.
Just don’t ruin his Da Hong Pao anymore.
Lin Mingyan didn’t mind and nodded, “Alright, thank you, Ye.”
It was still early, and Fourth Master really didn’t feel like reading, so he started chatting with her.
Mostly, he asked questions, and she answered.
After a while, Fourth Master asked a question he had never asked anyone else: he inquired about her maiden name and courtesy name.
After a girl comes of age, she is given a courtesy name.
Lin Mingyan was taken aback, reminded of her past life.
For the first eighteen years, her name was Lin Saodi.
An utterly humiliating name.
Her eldest sister was named Lin Zhaodi, and her second sister was Lin Pandi.
But no brother was summoned or hoped for—instead, she, a girl, arrived.
So, in a fit of anger, her father named her Saodi.
Because of this name, she became the laughingstock of her classmates throughout her school years.
It wasn’t until she went to university that she convinced her parents to transfer her household registration to the school.
Only then did she change her official name to Lin Mingyan.
Fortunately, in this life, she had a mother who loved her, who called her—Cha Cha.
“What’s wrong? Can’t even decide on a name?” Fourth Master, not understanding why she had suddenly become downcast, patted her head and asked.
Lin Mingyan snapped back to reality, leaning into his embrace, her voice barely audible: “My name is Lin Mingyan, and my childhood name is… Cha Cha.”
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