Wang Youbao had long considered An Jing and Xiao Changyi his friends, but he did not know if An Jing and Xiao Changyi regarded him as a friend, so, when he heard An Jing say they were friends, Wang Youbao was extremely surprised.
"We’re really friends?" So surprised that Wang Youbao could hardly believe it.
"Of course," An Jing smiled brightly. Then, she teased, "Why, do you disdain me and my husband because we’re farmers’ sons, not good enough to be friends with a rich young master like you?"
Wang Youbao immediately became anxious, "How could you say that? I am just too happy, I didn’t expect that you’d already considered me a friend. I’ve long regarded you both as friends in my heart."
"Well, if you’ve already regarded us as friends, why be so formal? Drop the self-addressing ’beneath you’. Friends should refer to each other as ’you’ and ’me’, without such empty courtesy," An Jing said straightforwardly.
Wang Youbao gave a sheepish laugh, "It’s a habit, I haven’t managed to change it yet."
An Jing immediately retorted, "But you have changed it just now."
Yes, he had changed, he had just used ’I’ instead of the self-effacing ’beneath you’. Realizing this, Wang Youbao laughed, a genuine laugh from the heart.
He finally had friends, real friends, not fair-weather friends.
Even though he didn’t know why, he could still tell that these two people before him did not look down on him for being a commoner’s son, unlike some people who seemingly respected and were polite to him on the surface but actually despised him to the core.
Of course, many others showed their disdain for him openly.
Even with money, he had no status. In the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants were at the bottom. Plus, with his identity as a commoner’s son, he was even more looked down upon.
He had not expected anyone to respect him, but he had met An Jing and Xiao Changyi, and he could truly feel that they did not disdain him in the slightest.
An Jing also smiled. This was probably her first friend in Xiyun Kingdom, she said laughingly, "From now on, don’t call me Mrs. An. Just call me An Jing, and you can call my husband by his name too. We will call you by your name as well."
"Okay." Wang Youbao was very happy, his cheeks bunching up from smiling, making him look somewhat comical.
An Jing held back her laughter.
Wang Youbao looked towards Xiao Changyi, who had been standing aside silently. Unlike his composure in front of An Jing, Wang Youbao was a bit nervous; the man radiated an air of inviolability.
However, after a long moment, Wang Youbao still tentatively called out, "Changyi."
An Jing said they could call each other by name, so he decided to give it a try.
He had thought that Xiao Changyi wouldn’t respond, but Xiao Changyi did, with a casual "Hmm."
This was enough to make Wang Youbao feel enormously flattered!
Wang Youbao stood there, dazed for a long time, until he snapped out of it, then he stared wide-eyed, disbelievingly turning to An Jing, "An Jing, did Changyi just respond to me?"
An Jing, somewhat caught between laughter and tears, nodded her head and said, "He did."
Wang Youbao immediately looked back at Xiao Changyi and foolishly called out again, "Changyi."
Xiao Changyi did not respond this time, simply looking at Wang Youbao with an are-you-an-idiot expression.
After a long moment of silence, Wang Youbao let out a bashful chuckle, turned his head, and looked to An Jing again, asking, "An Jing, does your family still have fermented bean curd? I want to buy some."