When Yue Feiguang said those words, his eyes never left me. I had seen many unfriendly looks, but no one was like Yue Feiguang; his gaze was direct, with strange emotions swirling deep within.
I didn’t want to show weakness in front of them, so I tried my best to straighten my back. There were only fifteen minutes until the next class; no matter how far they went, they could only bully me for fifteen minutes.
Seeing me like this, Yue Feiguang gave a look to the people behind him. A moment later, I saw them carry in a bucket of water.
Yue Feiguang bent down and picked up a lotus-shaped wooden ladle floating in the bucket, a smile spreading across his lips. I realized what he wanted to do. Just as I opened my mouth to stop him, a ladle of cold water splashed over me. I couldn’t dodge in time; my head and face were soaked.
Next, the noble youths with Yue Feiguang took turns using the wooden ladle to throw water at me.
They laughed and joked together. I couldn’t dodge at all. I tried to rush out, but they pushed me back into the rockery. After twenty ladles of cold water, my spring clothes were soaked through. I could only hug my arms and turn my face away.
They finally stopped when the bucket was empty. I raised my hand to wipe the water droplets from my face, my body shaking uncontrollably from the cold. For some reason, the noble youths who were laughing earlier suddenly became silent. I glanced at them and found them all staring at me, so I bit my lip.
It was getting late. I certainly couldn’t go back to the classroom like this; I had to go back and change first. Shivering, I tried to speak: “Are… are you satisfied? If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.”
I was actually very afraid they would push me back again, especially when I passed Yue Feiguang. But strangely, they made way for me and almost watched me leave.
Once I thought I was out of their sight, the strength in my back collapsed. I must have looked terrible. They humiliated me like this, and I didn’t even dare to say a single word back.
“Young Master Chun?!” Liangji’s voice boomed in my ear, and I realized I had drifted back to my dormitory like a ghost. I said to him quietly, “Help me get a set of clean clothes. I need to change quickly and get to class.”
Liangji wasn’t a fool. Seeing my reaction, he sensed something was wrong. As he helped me dry off, he asked, “Young Master Chun, did someone bully you? Let’s go tell Third Uncle.”
“No!” My first reaction was to stop him.
Third Uncle was just my uncle. Staying at his house during my breaks was already enough of a bother to him.
“Then we’ll write a letter to the Master!” Liangji added.
“You definitely can’t tell Father either,” I interrupted him quickly. “Don’t worry about it so much. I… I have a way to handle it.”
I couldn’t let Father know I was being bullied. If he knew, he would definitely blame me for causing trouble.
Liangji wouldn’t give up. “It should be fine to tell the Second Young Master, right? He’s so smart, he can surely help you.”
Tell Lin Chongtan?
I thought about our last unpleasant meeting.
If it were Lin Chongtan in this situation, what would he do?
I didn’t have much time to think. After changing, I hurried back to class, but I was still late. It happened to be the class of the strict Instructor Li.
As usual, he picked up his ruler to hit me. Suddenly, Wenle Nie—who had been the meanest while helping Yue Feiguang earlier—spoke up: “Instructor Li, Lin Chun Di was helping me get a book from the dormitory, which is why he’s late. Please forgive him this once, otherwise, I’ll feel so guilty.”
Wenle Nie’s words made Instructor Li pause. Still, he kept a stern face and asked me, “Did you go get a book for Wenle Nie?”
Yue Feiguang also spoke up. “Yes, I was there when Wenle Nie asked him to go.”
Instructor Li’s expression changed as if he were hesitating. Just as he was about to put down the ruler, I spoke: “I didn’t get anything for Wenle Nie.”
Even if I was useless, I absolutely did not want to accept help from these people.
They were the ones who caused me to be punished by the instructor, and now they wanted to act like good people? In their dreams.
Hearing me say this, Instructor Li didn’t hesitate anymore. He hit me several times with the ruler. “I’ll give you a lighter punishment for being honest. Go stand outside.”
“Yes.” I turned and walked out. From the corner of my eye, I saw Yue Feiguang’s face. He looked furious, like a dark storm cloud over a city.
When class ended, Yue Feiguang walked out and came right up to me. Normally, I would have stepped back in fear, but after standing in the wind for an hour and feeling the pain in my body, I somehow found the courage to look him in the eye.
He was just a spoiled brat using his family status to bully people. I wasn’t afraid of him!
Seeing my expression, mockery appeared in his eyes. He leaned in close. “You dare to glare at me now, Lin Chun Di? I advise you to learn your place. When I get angry, I don’t care about the consequences.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, “I’ll play with you until you’re dead.”
When he saw the flash of panic in my eyes, his mood clearly improved. He straightened up, intentionally bumped my shoulder, and walked away with a smirk.
Yue Feiguang said he would kill me.
I only bit him once, and I only did it because he bullied me first.
This threat made my brief moment of courage vanish. That night, I huddled on my bed and told Liangji not to even light a candle.
“Why no light? Young Master Chun, aren’t you going to study tonight?” Liangji asked, confused.
I told him to lower his voice so Yue Feiguang next door wouldn’t hear.
“Liangji, what if I ask the instructor for a leave of absence tomorrow?” I was still scared of Yue Feiguang’s words; I was afraid he meant them.
But before Liangji could answer, I shook my head. “I can’t take leave. If I do, I won’t be able to keep up with the lessons.”
My heart felt bitter and I couldn’t decide what to do. It was very late before I finally felt a little sleepy. The next day, just as I woke up, Liangji told me excitedly, “Young Master Chun, the problem is solved! The Second Young Master told us to wait a few days!”
“What?” I sat up quickly.
It turned out that while I was asleep last night, Liangji went to find Lin Chongtan. He told him everything about Yue Feiguang and said I was so worried I couldn’t eat or sleep and had lost weight.
“After the Second Young Master heard, he told me to tell you not to worry. He said he would handle it,” Liangji said.
How would Lin Chongtan handle it? Would he tell Third Uncle or Father?
I wanted to go find Lin Chongtan, but I stopped. At this point, it seemed like telling Father was the only way.
A few days later, Liangji ran in to tell me that people from the Prince Yun Estate had come to take Yue Feiguang home. At first, Yue Feiguang didn’t want to go, but when Prince Yun himself appeared behind the carriage curtain, Yue Feiguang climbed in with a sour face.
I didn’t expect Prince Yun to come personally. It seemed Lin Chongtan had told Third Uncle, and Third Uncle went to find the Prince.
It happened to be our monthly break two days later. I went to thank Third Uncle, but he looked very confused. “Chun Di, what are you thanking me for?”
“Didn’t you…” I realized something was wrong and stopped. “I meant, thank you for sending me clothes last time.”
“Oh, that. Your Third Aunt arranged that. She said the weather is getting warmer and all the children should have new clothes,” he said.
I used the excuse of thanking Third Aunt to leave the study. Just then, Lin Chongtan walked in, and we met face-to-face.
Ever since the drinking incident, I hadn’t gone to see him or run into him. When he saw me now, he acted as if nothing had happened. He gave a slight nod and walked into the study.
Later, I saw Third Aunt and found out she also didn’t know about me being bullied at the Academy.
It seemed Lin Chongtan hadn’t told Third Uncle. If Third Uncle didn’t know, there was no way my father—who was thousands of miles away—could have moved Prince Yun in just a few days.
After the break, Yue Feiguang returned to the Academy, but this time he and his followers stopped bullying me. It was as if they had lost interest.
While I was relieved, I began to wonder if I should thank Lin Chongtan.
“Young Master Chun, you’ve paced around the room twenty times. What are you worrying about? Is it the young heir Yue?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m thinking…” I closed my eyes and finally said it. “I want to say thank you to Second Brother.”
“Then just go say it,” Liangji said innocently, not understanding my struggle.
I paced around with a complicated heart until it was time for bed. I whispered to Liangji, “I can’t go empty-handed. What should I give him?”
As he lowered the bed curtains, Liangji said, “The Second Young Master has everything. It’s okay if you don’t give a gift. But if you must, give him something he can’t buy.”
“Where would I find something like that?”
Liangji looked at me. “Something you make yourself can’t be bought anywhere.”
He was right, but I didn’t know what to make. I wasn’t good at making pastries or cooking. Finally, Liangji suggested I make a cloth doll for him.
“A doll? Would he like that?” I looked at the doll on my own bed.
Liangji nodded. “Yes, last time the Second Young Master looked at that doll for a very long time.”
Because of those words, I learned that when my foot injury got worse and I caught a cold, it was Lin Chongtan who sent for the doctor and stayed by my bed for a long time.
Adding these things to the time we escaped together, I felt that even if I disliked him, I should thank him properly. So, I spent a few days rushing to make a doll similar to mine.
“For me?” Lin Chongtan seemed surprised when I handed it to him.
I didn’t say anything, just nodded.
He took the doll, looked at it for a while, and then smiled at me. “I like it very much. Thank you, Little Di.”
“You don’t need to thank me. This is a gift for helping me with Yue Feiguang.” Heaven knows how many times I practiced that sentence.
I never thought the day would come when I would sincerely thank Lin Chongtan.
He didn’t say much more about that topic. Instead, he asked if I had been practicing with the copybook he gave me.
The copybook?
I froze, remembering he had given me a calligraphy book. After I came back from his place that day, I was so scared by Yue Feiguang that I had just tossed it on the table and ignored it.
Lin Chongtan guessed the truth from my reaction, but he wasn’t angry. He asked to see my recent writing instead.
I had to admit that I had been slacking off and had been punished to stand outside several times.
“Then come find me every night at 10:00 PM again,” he told me.
So, I went back to visiting him daily. The weather grew hot, to the point where just moving made me sweat. I arrived at his dormitory on time, but he didn’t return until later, smelling strongly of alcohol.
I knew he had been drinking again. But since he had helped me with Yue Feiguang, I figured I should just look the other way.
Lin Chongtan went to the washroom to change and wash up. His long hair, usually tied neatly, was now loosely gathered by a green string.
He walked to the desk and asked what I had learned today. He had me explain my understanding first, and then he explained the text again.
Because of the alcohol, his voice was very slow and soft. Then he asked to see the characters I had practiced.
After looking at my writing, he frowned. He asked me to write a few characters in front of him. As I was writing, I felt a wave of heat coming from behind me.
Lin Chongtan had appeared behind me. He reached out and held my hand that was gripping the brush. “This is not how you practice.”
He guided my hand across the paper.
Because of our positions, we were almost completely pressed together. I had never been so close to anyone—especially not Lin Chongtan. My whole body froze.
He seemed not to notice my reaction at all. He looked down at the paper, guiding my hand while explaining what to watch for when writing.
After being frozen for a while, I regained my senses and tried to pull away. He pressed his hand against my waist. “Don’t move, the character will be crooked.”
His voice, laced with alcohol, became even softer.
I wasn’t completely ignorant. The way he was talking now didn’t sound like a brother talking to a brother at all. He seemed… he seemed to be treating me like a plaything.
Besides the smell of alcohol, I also smelled the scent of a woman’s makeup on him.