The man said, "Young man, I'm passing by and I'm a little thirsty. May I borrow a drink of water from you?"

Xiangyang's mouth was agape, not knowing where to turn.

The man went inside on his own, and seeing smoke coming from the kitchen, he said, "Is the food ready? I'll just have a meal here."

As he spoke, the man went into the kitchen and served the rice.

As soon as Xiangyang walked over, he asked Xiangyang for a hand.

Seeing that Xiangyang didn't move, he stuffed a plate of food into Xiangyang's hands, while he himself carried two steamed buns and went into the main room.

Xiangyang was speechless, but could only carry the dishes over.

The man took a steamed bun and put it in his mouth, chatting with Xiangyang as he ate: "Young man, what's your name?"

Xiangyang broke off a piece of steamed bun and said, "...Xiangyang."

“My surname is Xiao, and my given name is Jinying,” the man said, looking straight at him. “Currently… I am not married.”

Xiangyang choked on his steamed bun.

Xiao Jingying handed him a cup of tea and said, "Judging from all this stuff in your house, you're a scholar?"

"..." I couldn't stand him anymore, but I could only endure it. "Mmm."

"The scientific expedition will begin in half a month," Xiao Jingying said, with a touch of wistfulness. "I wonder how confident you are, young man?"

Xiang Yang grumbled, "It's at least 60-70%."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingying narrowed his eyes and said, "One of my servants was about your age. I had to teach him a lot, and he said that if he wanted to pass the exam, he would have to wait eight or nine years. He was so clumsy and stupid that he was no match for your intelligence, young man."

Xiangyang sniffed, rubbed his forehead, took a bite of his steamed bun, and said, "You, you can leave after you finish eating."

"I think it's going to rain tonight." Xiao Jingying looked outside.

It was sunny outside.

"Yangyang, could you let me stay for the night?"

Xiang Yang: "..."

Damn it!

How come he never knew Xiao Jingying could be so shameless?

“If you disagree,” Xiao Jingying narrowed his eyes and threatened with a smile, “you can also report it to the authorities.”

"..."

As he wished, Xiao Jingying lay down on the sunny bed.

Xiang Yang was studying late into the night, and Xiao Jingying just lay on the bed watching him, watching him the whole time.

When Xiangyang was so sleepy that he couldn't stay awake any longer, he realized it was well past midnight and turned back.

He turned around and saw Xiao Jingying staring intently at him.

Xiang Yang: "..."

“It’s getting late,” Xiao Jingying said. “Come and get some sleep.”

Head towards the sun.

As soon as he approached, Xiao Jingying immediately put his arm around him.

This time, he didn't even give a reason.

Xiangyang thought to himself, "Never mind."

Xiang Yang thought Xiao Jingying was just angry and came over to annoy him, but who knew that Xiao Jingying would actually stay here.

They settled in and didn't cause him any trouble.

He even clumsily cooked for him and made tea for him.

Seeing Xiangyang looking troubled at his desk, he could simply go over and resolve his doubts and troubles in a few words.

After finishing the matter, he couldn't help but say to him, "I don't think you're much better than my servant."

Xiangyang got annoyed and deliberately mocked him: "What about your servants?"

As soon as he said that, Xiangyang regretted it a little.

Xiao Jingying was also stunned for a moment, and then, as if he had said something wrong, he patiently began to explain some things to him.

In summer, people tend to sweat more, so they change their clothes more frequently when they're in the sun. Some clothes are left lying around because they don't have time to be washed.

Xiao Jingying looked at it, hesitated for a moment, and then took it to wash for him.

Xiangyang didn't see him for a long time and felt a little strange, thinking that he had finally left.

But when he looked into the yard, he saw Xiao Jingying sitting on a small stool, washing his clothes with his hands.

Xiangyang leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed and said, "You're so hardworking, it would be unreasonable not to pay you."

Xiao Jingying paused for a moment before saying, "No need for wages, just provide me with food and lodging."

[Ding! Xiao Jin's Antisocial Index: 30.0%!]

Little Darling: "Minghe, Minghe! I'm back! Hey?"

Xiao Guai stared in shock at Xiao Jingying, who was sitting in the yard washing clothes.

Xiangyang said to Xiaoguai, "From now on, call me Xiangyang."

"Eh??????" Xiao Guai choked in shock.

It wasn't just laundry; Xiao Guai watched Xiao Jinying tidy up the house, cook, grind grains, and pour tea...

"Ming... Xiangyang! You're really amazing!" Xiaoguai praised sincerely.

Xiangyang ignored Xiaoguai and continued to focus entirely on preparing for the scientific expedition.

Xiao Guai seemed a little confused and asked, "Xiangyang, Xiao Jingying is already so obedient to you, why are you still thinking about the imperial examination?"

Xiang Yang: "We don't have any status relationship, so I have no right to make demands on him. Therefore, I need to establish a relationship with him now."

"Don't you two have any kind of status?" Xiao Guai found it even stranger. "Right now, even if you asked him to marry you, he would probably agree immediately! You could be his wife and manage him!"

Xiangyang: "But I don't have those feelings for him yet."

Little Darling: "Wh-what feelings?"

Xiangyang: "The kind of feeling that would make me want to marry him."

"Uh..." Xiao Guai was even more confused. "Xiangyang, aren't you doing a mission? Why are you concerned about this?"

“It’s not that I care, but Xiao Jingying definitely will,” Xiang Yang said, switching to a new sheet of Xuan paper. “Feelings can’t be faked. If I use his feelings for me to blackmail him, his antisocial data won’t go down.”

Xiao Guai looked very troubled and said, "Xiangyang, why can't you just genuinely like him? Isn't he good enough to you?"

Xiangyang paused for a moment. "How would I know?"

Is it good to him?

Xiangyang suddenly remembered Qin Gang and that birthday that happened by accident.

Did he, for even a moment, truly fall in love with Qin Gang?

Xiangyang suddenly felt like he wanted to know something, so he asked Xiaoguai, "What happened to Qin Gang afterward?"

When Xiang Yang suddenly mentioned Qin Gang, Xiao Guai was taken aback at first, then panicked a little. "Xiang, Xiang Yang, you can't go back on your word!"

"Fine," Xiangyang said, no longer wanting to know. "If you don't want to tell me, then don't."

Little Darling pursed her lips.

On the day of the scientific expedition, Xiao Jinying insisted on accompanying him to the exam.

Xiangyang didn't care what others thought and didn't say more than a few words to him.

When he came out, he saw Xiao Jingying waiting for him there.