At the time of Shenshi, the imperial examination ended.

Students walked in groups of three or five on the Avenue of Books, some happy, some sad, and some confused.

Yun Xiyan stretched, looked at the sunset in the sky, and turned around to see Sima Che.

Hey, this Mr. Sima walked in silence with his head down. Could it be that he didn’t do well in the exam?

He walked over and bowed, "Brother Sima, the ancients said that failure is the mother of success. A setback in the Enke exam is nothing. Even if you fail this time, there's still the Autumn Exam. Don't be discouraged. I'll treat you to a nice meal, how about that?"

Sima Che was stunned. What kind of setback had I suffered? How did I end up defeated?

This person... She glared at Yun Xiyan, "Brother Yun, I... I think I will definitely pass the imperial examination, but I don't know how confident you are, Brother Yun."

Yun Xiyan laughed heartily, "I'm not bragging. As long as the examiner isn't blind, I'll be in the top ten at least!"

This person was quite arrogant. Sima Che tilted his head back and took two steps forward with his hands behind his back. "I wanted to keep a low profile, but since Brother Yun dares to boast like this, I won't be polite either. If Brother Yun can make it into the top ten, then I'm probably going to be in the top five!"

Yun Xiyan's eyes widened immediately, and he clasped his hands together and bowed deeply, "Brother Sima is so talented, I really admire you!"

He straightened up and said with a smile, "It's getting late. I sincerely invite Brother Sima to have a meal. I hope you will do me the honor of coming. What do you think?"

"Sifang Building?" Sima Che asked jokingly.

"Brother Sima is wrong. Sifanglou sells its reputation. The place I want to invite you to is a hot pot restaurant in Jiuyue Alley."

As if worried that Sima Che wouldn't like it, he quickly added, "You were born in Jiangnan, so you probably don't know what authentic hot pot tastes like. Let me tell you this, the hot pot restaurant in Jiuyue Alley is called Sun Tuobei Hot Pot. Don't think the name is rustic, I can tell you this, this hot pot restaurant originated in Shu. The flavor is very authentic, with fresh ingredients and a wide variety. It's the only authentic hot pot restaurant I've encountered in three years of traveling around the country. The taste... wow, it's truly wonderful!"

Sima Che widened his eyes in shock. This is a foodie!

Looking at his expression, I feel like drooling.

But she is a girl, and there is no way she could go to eat hotpot alone with this man.

So she decisively refused, "I'm so sorry, I can't handle the spicy food from Shu. Goodbye, Brother Yun!"

As she spoke, she walked towards the door, leaving Yun Xiyan with a hand stretched out, "Hey, hey...!"

"It's such a delicious meal, but unfortunately no one shares it with them. Alas..."

…

…

All the test papers were sent to the Imperial College and sealed. Starting tomorrow, the teachers from the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy will begin marking the papers.

Fu Xiaoguan was fine, so he walked out of the teaching office and came to the gate of the academy.

Many students had not yet dispersed, and were still gathered at the entrance of the academy to discuss this policy paper.

Yun Xiyan had nothing to do and he didn't know anyone in Jinling City. Eating hotpot alone was less fun. He wanted to invite the handsome Sima Gongzi to join him, but he was ruthlessly rejected.

This... I'm hungry, what should I eat?

As he was thinking, he looked up and saw Fu Xiaoguan, who was also standing alone at the gate of the academy.

This brother looked calm, neither happy nor sad, and it seemed that he did neither well nor badly in the exam.

So, he walked over and bowed to Fu Xiaoguan, "What's your name, brother? I'm Yun Xiyan from Chengdu Prefecture."

Fu Xiaoguan was startled, thinking he was being recognized. But when he heard this, he immediately laughed out loud, "My name is Fu, please forgive me. Hello, Master Yun!"

"Hello, Master Fu!" The familiar Yun Xiyan started his trickery. "Master Fu, what do you think of today's questions?"

Fu Xiaoguan shook his head and sighed, "I'm afraid I can't name it."

"Don't be discouraged. How can one or two imperial examinations determine the success or failure of your life? At worst, you can just start over again... I've traveled extensively and met countless people. Master Fu is clearly a rare talent. All he needs is a little rain."

Fu Xiaoguan grinned, bowed, and asked, "I wonder how Master Yun did on the exam?"

Yun Xiyan waved his hand nonchalantly, "Probably just in the top ten!"

Fu Xiaoguan was genuinely surprised. "So sure?"

"Brother Fu came out a little late. There's someone who's even more certain than me. He said... he's definitely in the top five!"

"Which brother is so confident?"

"Sima Che, the young master of the Sima family in Yingqiu, believes what he says. The Sima family may be a business family, but their family tradition can be traced back three hundred years to the previous dynasty... The Sima family of the previous dynasty even produced a prime minister, so the Sima family's literary style is stronger than the other four families. Otherwise, why is it that of the five major business families, only the Sima family sent disciples to take the exam?"

Fu Xiaoguan laughed in his heart. This girl Sima Che really deceived this young man.

Xu Xinyan drove over in a carriage, and Fu Xiaoguan bowed again, "Brother Yun, I bid you farewell. We'll meet again if we're lucky."

"Hey, Brother Fu, please stay."

"Brother Yun, what else do you want?"

"I'd like to invite Brother Fu to dinner. Are you free?"

Fu Xiaoguan frowned slightly. Could it be that this guy recognized me and pretended to be stupid to get close to me?

"We haven't met before, why are we having dinner together?"

Yun Xiyan bowed, "Meeting is fate, why can't we have a meal together? Eating hot pot alone is really boring!"

hot pot?

Fu Xiaoguan became interested. This was something he really liked. He had never tasted it in the two years since he came to this world.

"Spicy?"

“Absolutely authentic Sichuan hotpot.”

“…Get in the car.”

Yun Xiyan looked at the carriage and then at Xu Xinyan. This Mr. Fu also looked like a young master from a wealthy family.

"Go to Jiuyue Alley."

He didn't hesitate and got into the carriage with Fu Xiaoguan.

Xu Xinyan waved the whip in her hand, and the carriage moved slowly forward, just passing by Sima Che and his servant who were standing there. Sima Che happened to have met Xu Xinyan.

She waved her hand quickly, and Xu Xinyan smiled and stopped the carriage.

"Sister... is he inside?"

Xu Xinyan nodded, and at this moment Fu Xiaoguan also lifted the curtain of the carriage and said with a smile: "Do you want me to give you a ride?"

Of course that’s good, Sima Che nodded happily.

So, she and Xiao Xing'er also boarded the carriage, and then they were shocked...

Could it be that Yun Xiyan knows Fu Xiaoguan?

Yun Xiyan was also startled...

"Brother Sima, what a coincidence? You... know each other?"

Fu Xiaoguan nodded and said, "We met once."

"Oh, what a great relationship, Brother Sima. I've only just met Brother Fu. Let's go eat hot pot. Brother Sima doesn't like the Sichuan cuisine..."

"I suddenly found that I could eat."

“Ah… this, this…”