Maybe most people are naturally competitive in misery. When they feel particularly miserable, meeting someone even worse off instantly balances things out and they can even comfort the one who’s worse off.
Hao Yun is in this state of mind right now. Knowing the other person is Song Wei, he immediately feels that, compared to him, his own misery is nothing. Then he looks at Song Wei with a hint of sympathy in his eyes, "What happened with your brother and sister-in-law was purely an accident, Brother Song needn’t mind the others’ gaze, after all..."
Wen Wan, sitting to the side, found this Hao Yun adorably naive; Song Wei dug a hole, and he jumped right in without thinking. Did he really think her husband needed sympathy?
If it weren’t for giving him some sense of superiority to prevent his suicide, her husband wouldn’t have exposed his identity at such a place at all.
Song Wei didn’t let Hao Yun continue, "I’ll give you the same advice, just focus on your exams!"
Hao Yun awkwardly pulled at the corners of his mouth. As he was about to leave, he finally noticed Wen Wan, and the momentary amazement in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.
What a beautiful young lady!
Even if she’s not dressed in silks and satin, with that figure and looks, what man wouldn’t be moved?
Hao Yun felt as if his heart had been stuffed with dozens of green fruits all at once, and it was so sour.
He thought, if someone more miserable than himself could marry such a beautiful lady, then if he worked a little harder, surely he could marry someone even prettier in the future.
Noticing Hao Yun staring at Wen Wan, Song Wei coughed at the right time.
Hao Yun snapped back to reality, giving a dry smile, "Brother Song, you are truly fortunate."
"You’re too kind," Song Wei’s face showed no signs of anger. It seemed that having his wife admired by another man, his first reaction wasn’t jealousy but rather pride.
Seeing him off, Song Wei closed the door and sat back down.
Wen Wan asked him: Does this count as resolving it?
Song Wei replied, "There’s no avoiding people cheating. We can only work on Hao Yun, adjusting his mindset. I’ve said so much to him just now and even revealed my identity. If with all that, he still can’t figure it out and wants to jump into the river, then there’s nothing more I can do."
Wen Wan nodded. With Song Wei’s nature, he had indeed done all he could in this matter. After all, they were only casual acquaintances, so it wasn’t feasible to bare one’s soul.
That afternoon, Song Wei didn’t go anywhere, just stayed at the inn reading.
Wen Wan brought him a clean set of clothes to change into, and after washing up, she sat quietly next to him, reading a simpler book. Having studied with Song Wei for so long, she recognized quite a few words now and was much more fluent in communication than before.
Estimating that she had been reading for more than half an hour, Wen Wan couldn’t resist the drowsiness that crept in, and her eyelids drooped as she fell asleep on the table.
Seeing this, Song Wei put down his book, got up to get a cloak to cover her. When he sat back down, the sound of him turning pages noticeably softened, occasionally glancing at the little girl beside him.
The spring daylight was gently warm, and his lips had a faint hint of a smile, adding more maturity to his deep-set eyes.
Two days later at the Prefecture exam, things happened just as Wen Wan had predicted.
Someone tampered with their own inkwell, smuggling in cheat sheets, bribing the examiner to avoid a search, and blatantly cheating in the exam hall.
After the exam, the Song Wei couple didn’t rush to leave.
When Hao Yun went back to the inn to pack, he noticed they didn’t seem to be planning to leave and casually asked, "Are you staying in the Prefecture to wait for the results?"
Song Wei didn’t explain, just replied with a simple "Hmm."
The Prefecture exam results come out quickly, saving the hassle of traveling back and forth. It’s better to stay here and wait for a few more days, and then directly participate in the retake if necessary.