The monk did not open his eyes, his voice still cold: "It’s better to be clear, I am ashamed of your admiration, benefactor."
"Master, I knew you would reject me. I just wanted to hear you say it so that I could give up on this thought. Master, I live in Yanyu Building, and I’m still untouched. Mrs. Chun said she would arrange it for me when spring comes. Whenever you come to Yanyu Building to find me, it’s free of charge, as a repayment for the hundred taels of kindness."
Ming Yan, who was rejected, was in a daze and spoke without inhibition.
Without waiting for his reply, she walked straight out of Shengyi Hall and headed directly to Yanyu Building.
In those days, she was absent-minded and couldn’t do anything well. Mrs. Chun scolded her a few times to no avail, so she simply gave her two days off to sleep as much as she wanted.
During those two days, Ming Yan’s eyes were swollen like walnuts.
The people in the building also knew she had a broken heart; it was obvious it was related to the monk.
The heart of a man is as mysterious as a needle at the bottom of the sea.
When spring comes and the untouched lips have been tasted by many, she will understand that men merely prefer the new over the old.
Only one person knew she didn’t make it through that winter. She didn’t wait for spring, lying under three feet of Bai Ling, her life forever frozen on that day—exactly two years after she met her Master Zhi Chen.
What is love in this world~
On the evening of going to Longhua Temple, Ye Zhi brought five hundred taels of silver notes to find her father. They spoke for the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, and she vaguely heard the words Yanyu Building.
No one knows what exactly was discussed.
As she walked out, Ye Zhi sighed: "Sigh, I don’t know if it’s right or wrong."
What happens next is left to fate.
The round moon hung high in the sky, knowing all things.
------
Within the Imperial College.
Tan Huanhuan was assigned to the same dormitory as Ye Zhi; this was no coincidence.
Father Ye found his junior fellow apprentice, Dean Sun Mingde, saying the child was shy of strangers, so he arranged to have a familiar companion in the same class.
The dormitory houses four people.
The other two girls are Su Qing’e and Gu Xinru.
Su Qing’e was the first to arrive at the dormitory; the other three hadn’t come yet. Proactively, she picked up a broom to clean up. Next were Tan Huanhuan and Ye Zhi, who brought in their large and small bags. After a simple introduction, they joined in.
The room was quite large, with four beds, four dressing tables, and four wardrobes.
There were four small desks for the students’ convenience to study indoors.
There were also various objects, well-outfitted with matching items.
The quality was not inferior.
They dusted the tables, opened windows, swept the floor, and moved the small desks into the sun...
The little ones were busy and enjoying themselves~
Except for Gu Xinru, who was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe she got lost and will come a bit later," guessed Su Qing’e.
She was somewhat well-built, taller by half a head than Ye Zhi and Tan Huanhuan, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes; despite her young age, she had an air of dashing spirit.
Tan Huanhuan agreed: "That’s possible."
And then, speak of the devil, here she comes.
Gu Xinru, carrying large and small bags, checked the number at the door: 128.
Yes, that’s correct.
She confirmed it was accurate and walked in.
Seeing the other three busy with the final cleaning work, she didn’t greet anyone. Noticing her name on the headboard, she set her luggage down and began organizing. The wardrobe also had each person’s name on it; the academy had labeled each fixed bed and wardrobe to prevent student disputes.
There were separate dorms for males and females within the academy.
On the other side, Shen Chen was assigned to dorm 153.
By coincidence, he unexpectedly met an old acquaintance, Li Qian.