Chapter 37 Clues The arrival of Su Yunting's classmate...

The arrival of Su Yunting's classmate made the people of Su Family Village re-evaluate their perception of him.

Everyone knows that even though he's unconscious, he still has more impact than most people who are conscious.

His classmates all had direct access to the county magistrate. If anything were to happen to his family, Yun Che could ask his brother's classmates for help. For them, it wouldn't be difficult to get a word in with the magistrate.

So ever since Su Yunting's classmates came, Qiu Yuruo has clearly felt that the villagers have become more amiable.

It can truly be described as being surrounded by kind people.

...

A few days later, Wang Bin brought two classmates to visit Su Yunting again.

Qiu Yuruo still invited guests to entertain her warmly.

But the person being visited was filled with doubt.

Back when they were studying at the academy, Su Yunting's closest friend was Sun Ruimin, but Sun Ruimin went on a study tour last spring and hasn't returned yet.

Su Yunting and Wang Bin were just ordinary classmates. When Su Yunting first fell into a coma, his classmates came to visit him, and Wang Bin came along with them.

Later, everyone got busy with their studies, and gradually forgot about him, who had been in a coma.

When Wang Bin visited him for the first time this year with two classmates, Su Yunting was actually quite touched.

Only a few days had passed, and he brought two more classmates with him, which made Su Yunting a little suspicious.

Wang Bin is the same age as me. He took the imperial examination last year but failed to pass and became a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). He failed again this year.

Her relationship with him wasn't good enough for him to waste two precious days off just to come and see her.

Qiu Yuruo was completely unaware of Su Yunting's doubts. She once again warmly entertained Wang Bin and the others. After seeing them off, she had Yun Che go to Uncle Shuncai's house and Brother Su Huai's house that evening to express her gratitude.

When Su Yunting heard his daughter praising Wang Bin for his loyalty, he paused for a moment, then sighed and thought: I hope so.

Qiu Yu thought that after Su Yunting's classmates had come twice, no new classmates would come for the time being.

Unexpectedly, a few days later, when the academy was on break again, the new classmates didn't come, but Wang Bin came on his own.

It was almost noon; after all, coming from the county, even the fastest journey would take this long.

Just as Qiu Yuruo was preparing to welcome the midday rush, Wang Bin, sitting on the edge of his carriage, stopped in front of a food stall.

He jumped off the edge of the car and, before Qiu Yuruo could speak, said, "I'm on my way to my aunt's house. I was passing by here and thought your pastries are so good, so I thought I'd bring some over for my aunt."

Su Yunting's classmates came to visit him, bringing him everyday nourishing ingredients. When they left, Qiu Yuruo brought back high-end pastries she had made herself.

Qiu Yuruo assumed he was there for her skills and didn't think much of it, even introducing him to all the pastries on the stall.

Wang Bin listened attentively to her, not daring to look at her too much, but he couldn't help but glance at her.

Wang Bin never imagined that a trip to Sujiazhuang would lead him to leave his heart there.

When he returned from Sujiazhuang, his mind was filled with Qiu Yuruo. He remembered her stunning appearance when he first met her in the county, and how she stood at the food stall dressed as a village girl, ready to attract customers.

Her beauty, her resilience, her intelligence, and the food she cooked all swirled in his mind.

During his second day off, he couldn't resist inviting a few classmates to Sujiazhuang.

Going to see her was like drinking poison to quench thirst; he knew it was impossible, but he just couldn't resist.

He had never met a girl as resilient and free-spirited as her; she was completely different from any girl he had ever met before.

When Qiu Yu noticed that he kept looking at her, she asked him, "Is there no one suitable?"

Wang Bin quickly replied, "No, no... it's just that I don't know which one to choose, and I wanted to hear your opinion."

Actually, the pastries at the snack stalls don't have many varieties, and even the best business is only done by one stall. So Qiu Yuruo prepares four kinds of pastries according to the season.

From her interactions with Wang Bin, Qiu Yuruo could tell from his clothing that he came from a well-off family.

So I first recommended the most expensive pastry to him, and then I recommended one that was easy to digest.

Two jin of each item were packaged, and the price was charged to the people of Sujiazhuang.

Wang Bin paid the bill and was reluctant to leave, but he had only 'passed by' here under the pretext of going to his aunt's house. It made no sense to eat on the way to a relative's house.

As I dawdled over putting away my purse, a new topic suddenly popped into my head.

Qiu Yuruo had accepted the money and was preparing to say a few words of farewell and be careful after he got on the carriage, but she did not expect that Wang Bin would not get on the carriage directly.

He leisurely tidied his appearance, and when he was finally done, Qiu Yuru thought he was finally about to leave.

Wang Bin then asked her, "Yun Che is studying in town. Did his teacher ask him to buy Li Daru's commentaries?"

Qiu Yuru shook her head: "No, Yun Che basically uses his brother's books now."

Wang Bin: "Li Daru has only started to be admired this year. Before that, my husband never asked us to buy his commentaries, and Yunting probably doesn't have them either."

Qiu Yu Ruo understood that this was a newly popular scholar. She thanked Wang Bin, "Thank you for informing me, Young Master Wang. I will tell Yun Che when he returns and ask him to go to the bookstore to buy it tomorrow."

Wang Bin: "I'm afraid you can't buy it in town. I'll bring him a copy next time I come."

Qiu Yuruo felt embarrassed to trouble him, so she quickly declined, saying, "In a couple of days it will be time for Yunting to get the medicine. I'll just go to the bookstore in the county to buy it then."

Wang Bin laughed and said, "The county's bookstores don't have any extras, but our academy specially ordered a batch from a bookstore. I can buy a copy for Yun Che from the academy."

Qiu Yuruo: "If the bookstore doesn't have any, just wait a few more days."

Anyway, Yun Che won't be taking the exam next year, so it won't cause any problems.

Wang Bin, however, was unusually enthusiastic. He put the pastries back in the carriage, sat on the edge of the carriage, and said to Qiu Yuruo, "If I can buy them, I won't keep Yun Che waiting. Let's do it next time. I'll bring them to him next time I come."

After saying that, he stopped listening to Qiu Yuruo's refusal and drove off in his carriage.

Qiu Yuruo watched the departing carriage silently, feeling that Wang Bin's enthusiasm was a bit excessive.

Yun Che is just a kid who's still learning from the prescribed textbooks. He won't be taking the imperial examinations next year, so whether or not the great Confucian scholar's interpretation is there really doesn't matter!

Whether Yun Che uses it or not, the other person meant well, so Qiu Yuruo couldn't say anything to them.

It wasn't until she was tidying up and lying in bed that night that she finally revealed her true thoughts to her loyal best friend, 'Rag Doll' Su Yunting, who would never tell anyone else what she said: "I don't think your classmate Wang Bin is suitable to be an official, even if he passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar!"

He actually felt that Yun Che also needed to use the same books that he needed right now!

Yun Che hasn't even finished learning the basics yet, and now he has to learn the interpretations of that newly popular Confucian scholar!

As Su Yunting listened to Qiu Yuruo quietly recounting what Wang Bin had done, anger began to rise within him.

If Su Yunting was only puzzled when Wang Bin brought his classmates to Su Family Village for the second time, he already had the answer in his heart when Wang Bin came for the third time.

Who was that person coming to Su Family Village time and time again for?

Su Yunting had nowhere to vent his anger.

Qiu Yuruo continued her rant: "He doesn't even understand what's important and what's urgent. He'd better not become an official in the future!"

However, given his intellectual capacity, if any of the imperial examination questions required logic, he probably wouldn't pass the provincial or metropolitan examinations.

Su Yunting's anger gradually subsided as she spoke disdainfully of Wang Bin.

But after the anger subsided, there was also helplessness and anxiety.

He wanted to protect his girl and couldn't wait to open his eyes, but each attempt ended in failure.

Qiu Yuru poured out everything she couldn't say during the day, and felt relieved. She helped Su Yunting lie down and fell asleep in no time.

Su Yunting sighed inwardly. This time, the person who coveted his girl was someone she didn't think much of. But what about next time?

She is so wonderful; once you get to know her and have some contact with her, it’s not hard to discover her beauty.

He was powerless to stop other men from coveting his wife, nor did he have the right to stop Yu Ruo from choosing someone else.

All he could do was try to wake up as soon as possible.

If she wakes up, she should be able to take a liking to me... right?

For the first time, Su Yunting, who had never doubted himself, began to doubt himself.

After a moment of doubt, he chuckled softly: his current state must be what they call fear born of love.

He experienced moments of sorrow and moments of joy, gaining a complete understanding of what he had never comprehended in his previous life: the sorrow that arises from love, and the fear that arises from love.

Listening to the soft breathing of the person beside him, Su Yunting's mind gradually calmed down.

No matter how many people covet her in the future, none of them will have the advantage she does.

This advantage wasn't because he was her husband in name, but because of his three younger siblings.

Even Qiu Yuruo herself didn't know as much as Su Yunting did about how much Qiu Yuruo valued her younger siblings.

The second sister was exceptionally beautiful, and she worried that bad people would covet her beauty. When she was unable to protect her sister at home, she rarely allowed her to go out.

She told herself that the decision was good, her tone full of guilt for keeping a perfectly good girl locked up at home.

Actually, this kind of time when I can stay at home without worry is the state that my second sister likes the most and is most familiar with.

She was initially wary of Yun Che, but now she has long since thrown all her wariness to the winds.

As for the younger sister, she can only be described as spoiled.

My younger sister was sleeping in late this morning, and she hadn't gotten up by the time I came back in the afternoon. Instead of nagging her, my mother said that children need more sleep to grow taller.

If I eat less on any given day, she'll cook something extra for me.

When making new clothes, other families don't make any for the smallest child, but if Qiu Yuruo has extra money, she makes an extra one for the smallest child.

She always says that once they're all grown up and earn money, she'll save it herself.

But in Su Yunting's opinion, she was just saying it.

Given how much she spoiled her three children, and in order not to let them have any regrets, she worked hard every day, and basically spent all the little money she had left each month on medicine she bought in the county.

While Su Yunting was thinking about how to educate the three little ones after he woke up, he was also grateful that they were there, so Yu Ruo wouldn't easily kick him away.

His conflicting thoughts made him laugh.

I don't know when it started, but my younger siblings, who were once the most important people in my heart, have slowly fallen to the back...