Since that incident, Lin Heyu’s attitude had changed. Whenever he saw Ji Huai, he no longer acted mischievously or deliberately provoked him, instead putting on the facade of a well-behaved student. This left Ji Huai perplexed and constantly on guard, suspecting the boy was brewing some trouble.

Fortunately, everything was running smoothly. The schoolhouse atmosphere remained harmonious, the students were obedient and sensible, and Ji Huai found teaching increasingly effortless.

A Hua had also begun her journey of apprenticeship. Ji Huai showed her considerable care, while the troublemakers merely grumbled and complained verbally. None of the unruly children dared challenge Ji Huai’s authority as a teacher.

“Alright, that’s all for today’s lesson. Class dismissed.”

As soon as Ji Huai finished speaking, the group of lively children dashed out swiftly. In the blink of an eye, only Lin Heyu who had been unusually composed these past few days and A Hua, who thirsted for knowledge, remained in the schoolhouse.

The copy of “Hundred Family Surnames” had already become dog-eared from A Hua’s frequent use. Whenever she encountered unfamiliar characters, she would ask Ji Huai, who patiently taught her each character one by one. The two seemed to have found a late but profound connection, their heads one large, one small bent together as they conversed for hours.

In the classes Ji Huai had taught, there were top students, struggling learners, and many specialized geniuses. Ji Huai diligently instructed each one, and their excellence was evident to all. Yet, while he fulfilled his teaching duties conscientiously, he never felt any great sense of achievement.

Exceptionally talented children who gained admission to prestigious universities ultimately achieved this through their own hard work. Ji Huai merely played a supporting role.

But A Hua was different. She was like a blank slate, an innocent child just starting her education, eager to fill herself with knowledge. Ji Huai relished the joy of nurturing growth from nothing, cultivating a young sprout. He wanted to employ all his expertise to educate A Hua into his first perfect student in Qing Country.

Driven by this hidden ambition, Ji Huai worked with renewed vigor.

“A Hua, how is your memorization of the Three Character Classic I taught you yesterday going?”

“Teacher, I’ve already memorized the next passage,” A Hua stood up and began reciting at a steady pace.

“If the child does not learn, this is not right.

If he does not learn while young, what will he be when old?”

Ji Huai listened and nodded. This passage hadn’t been taught to A Hua yet, but she had already learned to recite it. Who wouldn’t appreciate a diligent and eager-to-learn child?

Beaming, Ji Huai didn’t hesitate to praise her: “A Hua, you’re very clever. Let me explain what this passage means.”

His complete attention focused entirely on A Hua, without sparing a single glance for the disgruntled Lin Heyu beside them.

“It means that if no one teaches you, it’s your father’s fault. If you don’t learn well, you can’t blame the teacher. If you don’t learn well, it’s your own fault. When you’re old and accomplish nothing, you can’t blame others.”

Lin Heyu, gritting his teeth, spouted this nonsense and finally succeeded in drawing Ji Huai’s attention back to himself.

Ji Huai shot him a huge glare and, exasperated, picked up a book from the desk and hurled it at Lin Heyu. However, the agile Lin Heyu caught it effortlessly and respectfully returned it.

Fuming, Ji Huai scolded him: “Don’t lead A Hua astray! If you don’t know, you can’t just talk nonsense.”

Lin Heyu didn’t care in the slightest. He let out a dismissive “tsk” and leaned lazily against the desk, his eyes filled with utter nonchalance.

As long as Ji Huai’s attention was on him, he was satisfied.

Though A Hua was young, she was clever and immediately understood that Lin Heyu was competing with her for Teacher Ji’s attention out of jealousy.

“Lin Xiaoniao, don’t drag me down with your foolishness. I know what this means I already previewed the lesson.”

Lin Heyu, taking advantage of being much older than A Hua, had been spouting nonsense, but she had already studied ahead and paid no heed to his ramblings.

Lin Heyu wasn’t embarrassed either. He muttered softly, “How boring.”

A Hua’s retort left her in high spirits. In just this short month, under Ji Huai’s meticulous care, she had shed her sensitivity and timidity, becoming cheerful and confident.

Perhaps gaining wisdom through reading truly nourished a person. The former flower girl, once hesitant and meek, had transformed into a composed and self-assured A Hua, a change so remarkable it made Ji Huai view her in a new light.

“Teacher, I’m off to sell flowers now. Lin Xiaoniao hasn’t been studying properly lately he deserves a scolding.” A Hua picked up her treasured copy of “Jade Marrow: The Hundred Family Surnames,” waved with a smile, and skipped away into the distance.

Ji Huai watched A Hua until she was out of sight, then turned back and felt a headache coming on at the sight of the slouching Lin Heyu.

And with headaches came nagging: “You’re such a big kid now. Is it really fun to be jealous of a girl?”

“I’m not!” Lin Heyu was shocked. He thought he had hidden his envy well, never expecting both Ji Huai and A Hua to see right through him.

Ji Huai was well-versed in the art of balance. After scolding, he promptly followed up with praise. “But you’ve been studying hard this past month, your attitude has been decent, you haven’t caused trouble, and you’ve stopped skipping classes. This shows you’re teachable a promising seedling capable of turning over a new leaf and mending your ways.”

After this speech, Lin Heyu’s face tightened. He hadn’t heard a single word he actually wanted from Ji Huai.

Ever since Ji Huai explained the concept of “love” to him, Lin Heyu had been in a daze. But Ji Huai took such good care of him, even offering him extra tutoring sessions. All this preferential treatment made Lin Heyu look at Ji Huai in an increasingly peculiar way.

He felt that Ji Huai’s kindness toward him couldn’t possibly be just ordinary teacher-student affection.

Then what was it…?

Just as Lin Heyu was lost in thought, Ji Huai flicked his forehead sharply. He looked up and met Ji Huai’s clear, dark eyes, which held a misty quality.

In those hazy eyes, there was only a tiny reflection of him.

His uncontrollably frantic heartbeat started up again. Lin Heyu covered his chest, stared straight into Ji Huai’s eyes, and drifted into reverie.

“Wait, I hit your head. Why are you holding your chest?”

Lin Heyu’s recent odd behavior always left Ji Huai baffled. But assuming “a simple mind is a joy forever,” he didn’t overthink it.

Just as the tension in the room continued to simmer, a round head suddenly popped in through the doorway.

Li Yuanyuan called out to them in a muffled voice, “My mom made dinner. Come quickly she made flatbreads today.”

As she spoke, drool trickled down the corner of her mouth.

Lin Heyu couldn’t bear to look, shooting a disgusted glance at Li Yuanyuan before stealing another glimpse of Ji Huai’s cool, ethereal beauty to feast his eyes.

Ji Huai, however, treated everyone equally. The moment he heard there was good food, he immediately stopped pondering why Lin Heyu was “acting strange” today. Tucking his hands into his sleeves, he ambled leisurely out the door.

Lin Heyu followed closely behind Ji Huai. As they passed by Yuan Yuan, Lin Heyu fished a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket with a look of disgust and roughly wiped Li Yuanyuan’s face, saying insincerely, “You’re filthy. Clean yourself.”

Li Yuanyuan nearly stumbled from the vigorous wiping but didn’t get angry. He just grinned foolishly, took the paper, wiped his face, then tucked it into his own pocket, not forgetting to thank Lin Heyu: “Thanks, Xiaoniao.”

In Li Village, Yuan Yuan was a unique presence. He had a gentle temperament and never cried or made a fuss when bullied, only responding with that simple-minded smile. Lin Heyu was the first to take pity on him, stepping in to help once, and from then on, he treated Yuan Yuan like a younger brother to protect.

Perhaps Yuan Yuan was too naive, unable to comprehend many things, which made him seem rather simple-minded. His approach to daily life was also haphazard and hard to describe. Though Lin Heyu always complained verbally, his hands never stopped caring for him.

Ji Huai paid no mind to the bickering pair of brothers with their contrasting personalities, leaving them behind as he dashed ahead.

Sure enough, as soon as they reached Aunt Li’s doorstep, the rich aroma of freshly baked flatbread wafted through the air.

Ji Huai swallowed hard. Recently, he’d been eating nothing but plain porridge and vegetables with Lin Heyu, almost forgetting what steamed buns or flatbread tasted like. Unfortunately, Lin Heyu lacked the culinary skills, and his rundown shack didn’t stock such luxurious ingredients.

Just as Ji Huai stepped over the threshold, Aunt Li emerged from the kitchen. Spotting him, she immediately greeted him with a warm smile, “Xiao Ji’s here.”

Ji Huai returned the smile and sweetly added, “It smells amazing, Auntie. What’s the occasion today? Making flatbread?”

In Li Village, this was practically a feast on par with New Year’s celebrations.

Aunt Li wiped her hands on her apron and warmly pulled Ji Huai inside, her kind, weathered face breaking into a hearty laugh. “It’s all thanks to you. With my leg pain, I couldn’t harvest the wheat, but you brought your students to cut and dry it for me. You’ve been a tremendous help.”

Ji Huai had some knack for reading weather patterns. Half a month earlier, he noticed the village creek rising abnormally and the upstream water turning muddy, predicting heavy rain. Knowing Aunt Li had trouble getting around, he took advantage of daytime classes to bring a few idle students and help her harvest the wheat.

Sure enough, within days, torrential rain poured down. Aunt Li had already sent Yuan Yuan over several times with food as thanks for Ji Huai.

Truthfully, even without Ji Huai’s warning, the lifelong farmers working this land could sense the approaching storm. Ji Huai had simply offered a helping hand out of kindness.

Yuan Yuan and Lin Heyu tumbled in noisily behind them. Aunt Li’s eyes widened, and she boomed in her loud, blunt voice, “Lin Xiaoniao and Yuan Yuan! Look how filthy you two are! Where have you been rolling around this time?”

Lin Heyu, looking indignant, dragged Yuan Yuan in by the scruff of his neck. He went straight to the washbasin and started scrubbing his hands, complaining as he did, “It’s Yuan Yuan’s fault he wouldn’t walk properly and pulled me down, making me fall flat on my face.”

Yuan Yuan didn’t argue, just stood by chuckling.

The deep wrinkles on Aunt Li’s face resembled tree rings etched into her aged skin. Her clouded eyes suddenly welled with sorrow. She wiped her face, sighed, and remained silent.

Ji Huai keenly sensed that Aunt Li was hiding something, but with the two troublemakers present, he held back from asking, deciding to wait for a private moment to inquire further.

Soon, Aunt Li took a deep breath to compose herself, then brought out a plate of golden-yellow cornmeal pancakes that looked delicious.

There was also a small dish of pickles Aunt Li’s homemade sour cucumbers.

The four of them took their seats one by one. Just as Ji Huai picked up a pancake to bring to his mouth, Aunt Li spoke up.

“Xiao Ji, is that girl A Hua still studying with the boys at your schoolhouse?”