79. Dating and Love

"Huh?" The little dumpling was dumbfounded, and stammered out an explanation that it thought sounded reasonable, "Well... maybe... Guan Guan Ju Jiu likes to eat fish? So, so it has to go to the river..."

"?" Qu Zijin asked, puzzled.

Qu Zijin did not understand.

Qu Zijin rubbed his forehead.

Why did his star pupil turn out like this?

These three brats must have corrupted her!

He sighed, "Stay after school, and I'll explain 'Guanju' to you properly again."

The little dumpling was shocked; the little dumpling felt like the sky had fallen.

She doesn't want to stay after school!

The other three "naughty kids" cast sympathetic glances at them.

When school was over, Qu Zijin grabbed Jin Lanyue and read "Guan Ju" several more times, but the little girl was still confused and couldn't quite understand its deeper meaning.

Finally, she was assigned to copy the texts with her second brother.

And so...

The little girl slumped dejectedly at the table, copying text. The little princess comforted her, saying, "It's okay, I'll copy with you!"

"Really?" The little dumpling's eyes lit up, and she moved aside for her, touched. "Little Cloud, you're so kind."

“Of course, we’re friends, and friends should help each other out.” The little princess took the pen and said boldly.

Upon hearing this, the second brother perked up again: "Truly loyal! The little princess is indeed a person of strong character; I admire her!"

"Hahahahahahaha cough cough cough..." The little princess tried to imitate the martial arts world's people laughing loudly, but ended up choking on her own saliva.

The young prince sat to the side, holding a book, trying to understand the meaning of "Guan Ju".

He pondered: What is dating and love like? What does it mean to pursue the person you love?

He subconsciously glanced at the little dumpling who was frantically scribbling nonsense, and put himself in the little dumpling's shoes.

Her face flushed red instantly, like a boiled crab, red from head to toe.

Is this...is this love?

So what does love mean?

But something just feels off.

I still don't quite understand...

The four little ones on this side are all in different states, while on the other side—

"Ahem," Qu Zijin appeared at the doorway at some point, "Have you finished copying?"

The little dumpling quickly handed over the paper with its crooked writing.

Qu Zijin glanced at it, his brows furrowing so deeply they could trap a fly: "This calligraphy..."

"I'll practice my calligraphy diligently!" the little dumpling quickly promised.

Qu Zijin sighed and took out a small calligraphy brush from his sleeve: "Take this to practice calligraphy."

"For Yue'er?" the little dumpling asked in surprise.

“Hmm,” Qu Zijin nodded, “I thought those calligraphy brushes were a bit too big for you, so I specially made one for you. If you like it, I’ll order a few more sets.”

"good--"

Just as the little dumpling was about to cheer, Qu Zijin said thoughtfully, "In this way, your handwriting will surely look much better."

"Eh—"

"It definitely will," Qu Zijin affirmed again.

In short, if the teacher's handwriting is so bad, it must be a problem with the pen!

It's definitely not the teacher's fault!

-

Upon returning to the Marquis of Beiding's residence, Jin Lanyue went straight to Xie Wenling's courtyard, only to find her brother Xie talking to an official.

Xie Wenling was praised by the emperor not long ago and was about to be given an important position... Although a big thing happened, he was blessed by the lucky star and his eyes were fine in a day.

Everyone believed that with a lucky star by his side, he would definitely recover completely.

In addition, he had just received a reward from the emperor and had become a third-rank official with no real power at a young age.

Although it was a nominal, sinecure that didn't even require attendance, it was still a third-rank official position!

Once he recovers, won't he have a bright future ahead of him?

Therefore, during this period, the threshold of the Marquis of Beiding's residence was almost worn out by the crowds.

Half of them came for the little dumpling.

Half of them came specifically for Xie Wenling.

They wanted to take advantage of his illness to cultivate a relationship and invest in him, so that he would be remembered in the future and reap greater rewards.

Seeing that Brother Xie was busy, the little dumpling wisely didn't disturb him and stood obediently outside the door, idly counting the ants on the ground.

"...Then it's settled." The official stood up to take his leave, and seeing the little dumpling at the door, he smiled and said, "This must be the little lucky star, right?"

The little dumpling looked up, still a bit bewildered, but wasn't shy at all, and greeted him confidently: "Hello~"

"Truly radiating spiritual energy!" The official patted the little dumpling's head. "Please invite this little lucky star to my home another day, so he can share in some of his good fortune!"

"Moon, listen to your mother. Uncle told your mother." The little dumpling remembered her mother's repeated admonition not to go with strangers.

"Hahaha, Princess Fukang is indeed clever." The official smiled, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to her, and then left.

Seeing that he had left, the little dumpling immediately started to run around happily, kicking off her shoes and running into the inner room.

"Thank you, brother!" the little dumpling cheered and rushed over.

Xie Wenling didn't even look up: "Put your socks on first."

The little dumpling looked down and realized that she had also thrown off her socks. Now she was barefoot, and her ten round little toes curled up shyly.

She was about to speak when she suddenly sneezed loudly.

Xie Wenling was at his wit's end with her: "Come here."

He took an outer robe from the shelf and wrapped it around the little one: "What if he catches a cold?"

"No way!" The little dumpling proudly puffed out her chest. "Moon is a lucky star!"

Xie Wenling retorted, "Doesn't the Lucky Star need to take care of his health?"

"Okay..." The little dumpling puffed out its chubby cheeks, wrapped up tightly.

She struggled to move to Xie Wenling's side and pounced on him: "Brother Xie! Yue'er was punished by the Grand Tutor to copy books today..."

"Why?"

"Because Yue'er said that the ospreys cry by the river to provoke fish..." The little dumpling pulled out the calligraphy brush that Qu Zijin had given her, looking aggrieved. "But the Grand Tutor gave Yue'er this!"

Xie Wenling took the brush: "The handle is made of the finest Hetian jade. Your Grand Tutor is quite generous."

"Brother Xie, will you teach Yue'er?" The little dumpling pulled her hands out from under his large robe, tugging at his sleeve and shaking them. "Yue'er doesn't want to be punished by copying anymore..."

"Guan Guan Jujiu? Is it 'Guan Guan Jujiu, on the islet in the river'?" Xie Wenling frowned and relentlessly criticized Qu Zijin. "How old are you? How come you're already learning 'Guan Ju'? It's your tutor's problem, not yours. Teaching a bunch of kids 'Guan Ju' shows he doesn't consider the actual situation at all. This young champion is just a name without substance."

He immediately recalled that a few days ago, the little dumpling had clearly asked him for a hug, but Qu Zijin had snatched the little dumpling away first.

I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that I think about it, it's really upsetting.

Now he finally understood why Qu Zijin was hostile towards him.

Because he has it now too.

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading and your support! Please give me good reviews and urge me to update more (hands clasped in prayer), thank you!