Lin Heyu’s words were clearly disrespectful to the Teacher, yet Ji Huai was unusually stunned, momentarily dazed. Whether it was the irritating buzz of cicadas or the lingering heat of the day, he couldn’t tell but why did Lin Heyu standing by the Fence seem haloed in a sacred light?

This was the first time anyone had praised his looks, and with such extravagant words at that. Even as a rational science teacher, Ji Huai couldn’t help but feel pleased. Who doesn’t enjoy hearing compliments?

But he still had to maintain his dignity as a Teacher. He waved his wrist, fanning the palm-leaf fan more vigorously, trying to use the whirring wind to cool the heat on his face.

When that proved ineffective, Ji Huai snapped angrily at Lin Heyu, “I told you to bring the person in what are you dawdling for? All you know how to do is spout nonsense.”

Lin Heyu rubbed the back of his head and grinned. He had expected Ji Huai to be angry at his frivolous remarks, but instead, Ji Huai had reacted with what seemed like bashfulness before finally lashing out in flustered irritation. Lin Heyu chuckled foolishly, delighting in his own imaginative interpretations.

Ji Huai watched the grinning Lin Heyu with utter speechlessness, a thought popping into his mind: Simple minds, simple joys.

Too lazy to deal with Lin Heyu’s occasional antics, Ji Huai tossed the fan aside, stood up, and walked to the Fence gate himself. He opened it with a smile and said to the timid A Hua outside, “Why don’t you come in, classmate?”

A Hua took a step back, tightened her grip on the basket in her hands, and hesitated for a long while without uttering a single word.

…

An awkward silence stretched between them until Lin Heyu broke the tension. Leaning casually against the sturdy Fence behind him, he crossed his arms and spoke with the profound tone of a worldly sage: “It’s your fault, Teacher. You’re the one who told A Hua not to come, saying girls are only fit for marriage and childbirth what’s the point of them studying?”

Ji Huai: …

Wait, really? What era is this? Still discriminating against women?

Ji Huai was deeply exasperated, and his mood sank further. Since arriving in this unfamiliar dynasty, aside from lamenting its poverty and backwardness, this was the first time he had felt its inequality and cruelty.

He gazed quietly at A Hua, whose nervous expression held a trace of fear toward him, and sighed inwardly. He thought, perhaps fate had brought him to this era in the hope that he could do something about it.

But what could he do? At the very least, he could offer discriminated-against girls a chance to study.

As Ji Huai pondered how to ease the little girl’s fear of him, Lin Heyu seemed to read his mind. Leaning against the Fence, he said breezily, “A Hua, don’t worry come on in. Our Teacher here seems like a different person now, not so rigid and scary anymore.”

Lin Heyu smiled with full confidence. He was certain Ji Huai had changed from before, and that meant his treatment of A Hua would be different too.

A Hua stood at the Fence gate, still hesitant. Her round, large eyes blinked as she timidly murmured, “I… I think I’ll go back.”

Lin Heyu, however, shook his head directly. The slight swaying of his body made the fence he was leaning against tremble precariously, but he paid no mind. Facing Ji Huai, he struck an even more dashing pose, even raising an eyebrow with considerable confidence.

Bathed in the sunset glow, Lin Heyu was enveloped in a warm orange-yellow light. This wild, unrestrained youth laughed gently in the evening breeze, his tall and well-proportioned frame appearing even more imposing against the flower-adorned fence. His sharply defined face grew increasingly handsome and radiant, his bright eyes fixed intently on Ji Huai, shimmering with tenderness and tolerance.

Ji Huai’s face flushed under the gaze, a hint of embarrassment at being seen through. He used his sleeve to cover his reddening cheeks and was about to scold Lin Heyu when an unexpected turn of events overtook his flustered anger.

With a sudden thump, followed by a duck-like squawk of “Ah!”, Ji Huai, stunned by the incident, burst into uproarious laughter.

“Hahahaha!” Ji Huai laughed so hard he swayed back and forth, his earlier embarrassment instantly replaced by schadenfreude. His blue robe trembled with his laughter, leaving no trace of the solemn, dignified Teacher he usually appeared to be.

A Hua, seeing Ji Huai laughing uncontrollably and then glancing at Lin Heyu’s awkward fall into the muddy ground, couldn’t hold back either. Covering her mouth, she let out a delicate, girlish laugh.

In the twilight, a section of the fence overgrown with flowering vines collapsed with a crash. Lin Heyu, who had just been poised and elegant, now lay sprawled in the freshly watered mud, caught completely off guard. His clean linen clothes were instantly stained dark, much to the amusement of the onlookers.

“Lin Xiaoniao, serves you right for showing off!” Ji Huai clutched his aching stomach, mocking without mercy, his beautiful fox-like eyes curved into crescents.

Surprisingly, Lin Heyu showed no anger or embarrassment. Lying in the damp soil, he laughed boldly and freely, his bright white teeth standing out in the bustling dusk, highlighting both his rustic simplicity and his foolish charm.

Ji Huai gradually stopped laughing, his gaze softening as he looked at Lin Heyu in the mud. For a moment, an unexpected sense of belonging welled up in his heart. How strange this world felt so alien and backward to him, yet in this audacious youth, he saw another kind of vibrant, bursting vitality and inclusiveness.

Lin Heyu was just a bit mischievous, but his heart was kind and just, and he was perceptive. In this awkward situation, he was willing to make a fool of himself to ease the tension, reducing Ji Huai’s guilt toward A Hua and alleviating her discomfort as well.

Ji Huai felt a pang of remorse earlier, he had inwardly blamed Lin Heyu as the one responsible for the original owner’s death. He had been stuck in a narrow-minded perspective, wrongly accusing an innocent child of murder.

For the first time, Ji Huai felt deep regret toward Lin Heyu.

“Get up.”

To make amends, Ji Huai sincerely extended his kindness for the first time. He stretched out his hand from within his sleeve a distinct, well-defined right hand with clear, flowing knuckles offering it to Lin Heyu, who was still laughing heartily.

Against the light, Lin Heyu’s eyes traveled from the fingers, palm, and wrist upward, passing over a gentle, tender green, and finally settling on Ji Huai’s face, where a faint smile played at the corners of his lips.

Even in those eyes brimming with fickleness and indifference, there now rippled threads of lingering tenderness.

“Little mud monkey, get up quickly.” Ji Huai called out again to the dazed Lin Heyu, finally snapping the half-grown boy back to his senses.

Lin Heyu responded with a bright “Aye!”, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Ji Huai. He was about to reach for Ji Huai’s jade-like slender right hand when he suddenly remembered his own hands were dirty from being buried in mud. He paused, unwilling to taint that clean hand, and vigorously rubbed his own hands on his coarse clothing before carefully placing his hand in Ji Huai’s. He didn’t even dare use much force, simply using Ji Huai’s upward pull to swiftly stand up.

Ji Huai didn’t mind the bit of mud on his hand. He touched his nose – a small habit when he felt guilty – transferring some mud to his nose in the process. He waved kindly to A Hua and said, “Come in, don’t be afraid.”

A Hua looked at Ji Huai, then at Lin Heyu. Only after seeing Lin Heyu nod did she carefully push open the half-collapsed fence gate and walk in timidly. She took two quick steps and stopped before Ji Huai, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s: “Te… Teacher.”

Ji Huai smiled, wanting to pat her head but stopping when he saw her smooth long hair. He slowly crouched down and asked A Hua seriously, “Do you want to study?”

When he heard from Lin Heyu that his former self had looked down on girls and forbidden them from studying, Ji Huai had been angry. But now that he occupied the original body, he felt obligated to correct the original’s mistakes. Making it up to A Hua was the first step.

Upon hearing this, A Hua looked up in surprise. A flash of excitement and longing made her eyes momentarily brilliant like morning stars. She started to nod but quickly stopped herself. Her emerald hair ribbon floated in the air before drooping lifelessly again.

“But… Teacher, I’m a girl. I’m not qualified to study.”

In this dynasty, only men were respected while women were merely men’s accessories, their status so low it seriously violated the modern concept of gender equality. Such was feudal society.

Ji Huai sighed. He couldn’t change this dynasty, but at least he could offer this girl before him some modest help.

“I’m asking you, do you want to study?” Ji Huai’s voice was firm and brooked no argument.

Startled by Ji Huai’s slightly stern tone, the timid girl trembled, her lips quivering. Only when Lin Heyu encouraged her from the side did she gather the courage to speak: “I do.”

“You want what?” Ji Huai still wasn’t satisfied with her response.

Taking a deep breath, under Ji Huai’s gentle and encouraging gaze, A Hua loudly declared her thoughts: “I want to study! A Hua wants to study! A Hua doesn’t want to get married! A Hua doesn’t want to grow old and die in this village! A Hua wants to see the wider world!”

Ji Huai nodded with satisfaction. Looking directly into A Hua’s eyes, he asked one final question: “What is your purpose in studying?”

Ji Huai waited for her answer, expecting her to say she wanted to become accomplished, learn etiquette, or gain wisdom. But A Hua’s response made him pause slightly.

A Hua said: “I want to become an official. I want all women in the world who wish to study to be able to do so.”

The petite A Hua seemed to grow in stature after speaking these impractical words for the court, yet no one mocked her, even though there had never been a precedent of women serving as officials in Qing Country.

After uttering these words, A Hua’s entire face flushed crimson, and her usually timid, evasive gaze was, for the first time, fixed firmly on Ji Huai.

Unable to hold back, Ji Huai clapped his hands and sincerely encouraged her, “As long as you study hard and never give up, you will surely succeed.”

Inspired by the Teacher’s encouragement, A Hua’s eyes instantly brightened. The timid girl who had hesitated outside the fence moments ago seemed to have transformed like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, radiant and striking.

Lin Heyu stepped forward and said in a casual, carefree manner, “A Hua, see? I told you the Teacher is different from before.”

A Hua nodded, her eyes reflecting the fiery red sunset. Holding her basket, she softly murmured an “Mm” in agreement.