Having sent his wife away, Yang Ming returned to the Academy with all the gifts and parcels, and the thought of seeing his wife over the next few days brought a smile to his face.
His classmates, seeing Yang Ming’s return, crowded around him, "Yang Ming, look at you, just back and already you’ve had visitors."
"And brought back so much stuff."
"My wife." Before his classmates could even ask, Yang Ming volunteered, as if he was the only one among them with a wife.
"..." A group of classmates were stunned. Yang Ming used to hate mentioning his wife; whenever the others talked about their wives, he always ignored them and even had a bitter look on his face. Now, just a few months later, look at that smile on Yang Ming’s face; where was the bitterness? He was clearly showing off, showing off his good wife.
Yang Ming didn’t mind their reactions, he took out the food his wife had mentioned and shared it with everyone, saying in a good mood, "This is from my wife for you guys."
"..." No one expected that Yang Ming’s wife would bring them food, and they all accepted it, one by one.
They all wondered just who Yang Ming’s wife was, how she had managed to tame him so quickly and thoroughly?
As they ate, they mused about what an interesting person she must be. "Yang Ming, tell us, how did your wife tame you?"
Yang Ming paused, trying to figure out where to begin. Eventually, he decided he really liked everything about his wife. The corners of his mouth uncontrollably curved up, creating a pleasant arc.
Seeing Yang Ming not responding but looking quite pleased, the others grew more curious, "Is she, perhaps, rather impressive in that respect?"
"..." Hearing such talk, Yang Ming’s face immediately turned serious, and the tips of his ears reddened slightly. What were they saying? How could they, as scholars, openly discuss such matters? It was indecent.
Seeing Yang Ming’s reaction, everyone wisely shifted the subject.
"Yang Ming, what else did your wife bring you?"
"Nothing much, just some toiletries, and pens and paper." Seeing his classmates changing the topic, his complexion relaxed a lot.
Since Yang Ming had come back, everyone had noticed that he used to use very rough paper and pens, but now he was using far better quality ones. Plus, the snacks they had just eaten were quite expensive. They had heard that Yang Ming’s wife’s family was very wealthy, and it seemed to be true.
"Yang Ming, does your wife have any sisters? Hook us up!"
Deep down, they all thought that even if a woman was unattractive and had a bad reputation, there were still advantages as long as her family was wealthy—it would at least allow them to continue their studies.
Plus, seeing how happy Yang Ming seemed, his wife probably wasn’t as bad as the rumors said, and they felt a bit envious.
"No, she’s the only girl in her family, all the rest are boys."
After a bit of joking and laughing, the group dispersed.
Yang Ming waited and waited, and finally, the next day at noon, arrived—the time he had arranged to have lunch with his wife. He was just about to leave when a classmate stopped him, "Yang Ming, let’s go. Time for lunch."
"No thanks, today at noon I’m having lunch with my wife." Yang Ming said and walked out even faster, leaving his classmates behind him.
"..." The rest were left to look at each other, Yang Ming was really... always talking about his wife now.