Chapter 130 Extra (16) The Story of Da Taohe
In the third month this year, the academy welcomed over twenty new scholars. These newly arrived scholars were all assigned to one classroom.
The main lecturer was an old master, full of learning and highly respected, but he was a bit too serious and pedantic.
The scholars, being new, were still somewhat reserved. A whole classroom of young men seemed to be studying seriously, all aiming to become pillars of the state.
Everything in the academy was still fresh, and the days passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, over two months had slipped by.
In no time, the oppressive heat of summer arrived.
Baojing Prefecture was famously sweltering, its summers always exceptionally long and tedious.
Though the mountain peak location of Changshan Academy offered some respite from the valley's sweltering heat, it was still the height of summer, so they were inevitably affected.
The days of studying were inevitably dull. The academy was also on the mountain, aside from the usual classical texts and doctrines, there were none of the pleasures available in the city, like drinking tea or listening to music.
The scorching summer sun made the classical texts in the afternoon far more potent than a mother's lullaby, and the young men aspiring to become pillars of the state found their diligence temporarily wavering.
"The crane calls in the shade, its young ones answer it: I have a good cup, I share it with you..."
"The so-called 'crane calls in the shade, its young ones answer it' means..."
Huo Anding propped his chin on his hand, watching the old master lecture in the front of the classroom, dutifully following along with a slight nod of his head. Before long, his eyes peacefully closed.
The incessant cicada chirps outside seemed much more vivid and interesting than the master's discourse on the Book of Changes.
[Book of Changes (周易, Zhōu Yì): one of the oldest Chinese classical texts and is primarily used for divination and understanding the principles of change in the universe.]
In his drowsy state, something fell onto the desk with a soft 'pat'.
Hearing the noise, Huo Anding opened his eyes, which felt as if weighted down with two heavy scale weights, and saw a crumpled paper ball that had somehow appeared on his desk.
He raised his head and scanned the classroom, trying to see which friend from which side of the mountain had sent him this carrier pigeon message.
However, after looking around, he received no response. Puzzled, he picked up the paper ball and unfolded it.
Huo Anding's eyes instantly widened.
On the crumpled page were two little figures clearly entangled together, with defined features and graceful forms, twisting like two flexible snakes intertwined.
Not only that, but color had even been added. The artist's skill was first-rate.
He couldn't help but click his tongue in secret admiration. Truly like the saying: Some die of drought, others drown in flood.
[旱的旱死，澇的澇死 (hàn de hàn sǐ, lào de lào sǐ): lit. some die of drought, others drown in flood; fig. an uneven distribution where some have extreme lack while others have extreme abundance]
He had only been fortunate enough to catch glimpses of such things in third-rate, improper little storybooks that couldn't be openly acknowledged.
Yet, a fellow student of similar age was already looking at pictures. It was simply eye-opening.
He wondered which brother was so broad-minded as to circulate such a treasured artwork for public viewing. It was truly...
"Shameless! Utterly improper!"
Before he could finish his thoughts, Huo Anding's head was sharply rapped with a ruler by the master. All the lascivious thoughts in his mind instantly turned into bewilderment.
Huo Anding's body jolted. He looked up at the old master, whose eyebrows seemed about to stand on end from anger.
No matter how thick and warm-preserving his skin was, in broad daylight, under the gaze of everyone, he still felt somewhat embarrassed.
He couldn't help but give a dry cough, attempting to offer a defense: "Honestly, Master, you might not believe it, but this really isn't..."
"Out!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Huo Anding was exiled by the master from the king's homeland to the harsh frontier.
Hugging his writing brush, ink, and books, he stood by the window outside the classroom, pondering which scoundrel dared to set him up like this.
Then Huo Anding spotted the little fatty stifling his laughter, buried in his desk at the front.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking that little fatty's heart was truly wicked, and decided he would deal with him after school was out.
Huo Anding withdrew his gaze and saw the young man by the window glance sideways at him. He pulled a face and winked at him.
The young man ignored him, his gaze calmly returning to the paper.
Originally, when entering the classroom, Huo Anding had struggled intensely between sitting next to Shen Qingyue and choosing a seat by the window in the back row. But out of pique, he resolutely gritted his teeth and chose the latter.
The reason dated back to when the academy had just started. The older students had slung their arms around each other's shoulders heading to the bathhouse to take a bath. They pointed out a spot to Huo Anding and told him that good buddies should be frank and open with each other.
So he immediately went and eagerly invited Shen Qingyue to go to the bathhouse together, only to be flatly refused. No matter how he threw a tantrum or pestered him, Shen Qingyue remained unmoved.
He was angry. They had been through life and death together, yet Shen Qingyue still didn't consider him a good buddy!
Shen Qingyue dipped his brush in a bit of ink and was about to jot down the key points the master was explaining when a small paper note appeared on his desk.
'Want to go play Cuju after school?'
Shen Qingyue wrote back two words: 'Not going.'
'Then come watch me play.'
'No time.'
'What are you going to do?'
'Eat.'
'Dormitory or dining hall?'
'Dining hall.'
'Then let's go together.'
After sending this, Huo Anding waited for a long time but received no further response. Just as he was about to send another note, he saw Shen Qingyue write an 'Mm' on a scrap of paper.
He immediately broke into a smile.
After school, Huo Anding dashed back to his seat, packed his book box, and went over to call for Shen Qingyue, only to find several scholars clustered around his desk, surrounding him.
He carried his book box over and saw that the scholars in the classroom were asking him questions.
Usually, Shen Qingyue was aloof and didn't interact much with others, but when people asked him about schoolwork, he patiently explained.
Huo Anding stood by watching for a while. Seeing these blockheads still not understanding after two or three explanations, yet staring quite intently at Shen Qingyue's face, he reached out, took the ruler left on the lectern, and poked the scholar's shoulder with it: "Whatever questions you have, ask later. We need to go eat now."
"If you're hungry, you go first."
Huo Anding puffed out his eyes upon hearing Shen Qingyue say that: "Didn't we agree to go together?"
"I'm not hungry yet."
"Fine, then explain today's lesson to me too. I didn't hear it clearly standing outside."
Shen Qingyue moved the textbook Huo Anding had placed over away, saying: "You weren't paying attention yourself."
"Don't cause trouble here."
Huo Anding, seeing himself being pushed aside, gritted his teeth in frustration: "You break your promises."
He threatened: "Well then, I'm leaving without you~"
Shen Qingyue ignored him.
"Hey! Xiao Huo, we were just going to your dorm to find you, you haven't gone back yet!"
Huo Anding turned and saw two scholars approaching, they were older students at the academy.
The two came over and slung their arms over his shoulders. Although they weren't as tall as him, making the gesture somewhat comical, they were extremely friendly.
"Senior Brothers, are you looking for me for something?"
"Want to go play a couple rounds of Cuju on the field? The prize today is pretty good."
"The prize isn't really important, but mainly, those guys from the other classroom have been acting pretty cocky lately. With you joining us, we're sure to take them down a peg."
Huo Anding tried to seek an opinion by glancing towards Shen Qingyue, but saw him explaining schoolwork seriously to someone, not even raising his head.
He pouted. Not only did Shen Qingyue refuse to go play Cuju even once, he wouldn't even come watch him play.
He hadn't even been willing to explain the lesson to him—truly, a young master was just a young master after all.
He had realized it before: the two of them simply weren’t close buddies. Only he had been fervently devoted all along; in reality, his relationship with Shen Qingyue was probably no different from his relationship with any other classmate.
The more Huo Anding thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. He picked up his book box and said loudly on purpose: "Let's go!"
Hearing the noise, Shen Qingyue paused his brush, looked up at the three young men walking away with their arms around each other's shoulders, and frowned.
A trace of impatience flashed in his aloof eyes. Then he lowered his gaze and continued explaining the schoolwork: "Here, what the Master means is..." His voice, unnoticed by himself, was noticeably louder than before, and his tone quicker.
After only a few sentences, he abruptly stopped explaining.
"Let's leave it at that for now. We can talk more later."
With that, disregarding the other scholars, he packed his books into his book box, called his page boy, and hurriedly left the classroom.
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