"If you're not angry, then you're sad." Qin Zhao touched the corner of his eye with his fingertips and indeed felt a little wet mark. "Is it because I'm sick again?"

Jing Li still shook his head.

The boy's eyes were still red and a little watery, but he stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

Qin Zhao slid his fingers down the other person's shoulders and arms, took the other person's hand and pulled it into his arms.

Jing Li subconsciously resisted, but then heard Qin Zhao ask softly, "Why, you won't even let me hug you?"

“…”

Jing Li had no idea how to deal with Qin Zhao like this.

This person is usually quite capable, but whenever he is trying to coax others, he always likes to act innocent and pitiful, making it impossible for people to get angry at him.

Jing Li walked over resignedly and was hugged tightly.

The other person seemed to always have a faint medicinal aroma around him, and Jing Li liked this smell very much. He buried his head in the other person's shoulder, smelling the reassuring scent and subconsciously rubbing against it.

"I finally know who Yuzai learned this way of acting like a spoiled child from." Qin Zhao stroked Jing Li's hair and whispered softly, "Xiaoyu, I feel bad for you being like this."

Jing Li grabbed Qin Zhao's sleeve.

"If you feel angry or wronged, you can scold me." Qin Zhao said, "I don't want to see you bottle things up. It's not like you."

Jing Li had never been like this before.

He is straightforward, simple and carefree, and he doesn't care even if he acts impulsively or causes trouble.

Qin Zhao tried his best because he wanted to protect his innocence.

Why does it always end up making him so sad?

"...I'm not mad at you." Jing Li whispered, "I'm just... just a little anxious."

Qin Zhao's health hadn't improved, and Jing Li couldn't rest easy. Medical care wasn't great in those days, and countless people had died from such conditions. If Qin Zhao continued like this, when would he finally recover?

But this person always has to worry about so many things.

Jing Li was anxious, but couldn't find a solution, so he could only get angry with himself.

He didn't even dare to tell Qin Zhao, fearing that it would cause him more trouble.

"Qin Zhao, can we not take the exam?" Jing Li said, "We're fine the way we are now. My writing fee is almost as high as yours as a teacher. We can live well just like this."

Qin Zhao was not too surprised when he heard him say this. He just asked softly, "Have you been holding these words in your heart for a long time?"

Jing Li was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Yeah."

"I can see that," Qin Zhao said. "You used to look forward to my passing the imperial examinations, but now you're unhappy every time I mention going to Beijing. Our family isn't so short of money anymore, but you're still working so hard to find ways to make money. You're not just trying to prove yourself, you're trying to prove it to me, right?"

Jing Li: "I..."

He had indeed hoped that Qin Zhao would rise to prominence. He felt that Qin Zhao was too talented to be buried in such a small place. However, overnight success did not exist in reality. Even a talented person like Qin Zhao could only keep his feet on the ground and climb out of the mire step by step.

He had witnessed Qin Zhao's hard work for this goal over the years, and he regretted it.

Jing Li even thought that if they had stopped Qin Zhao from taking the county exam, they could have stayed in that small mountain village forever, living a life that might be poor but stable and peaceful.

Now that things have come to a point where there's no turning back, Jing Li can only resolve the issue in his own way. He wonders if he's good enough, if he can prove to Qin Zhao that they can live a good life, will all this stop?

"I know everything." Qin Zhao sighed softly and hugged Jing Li tighter. "I know everything you did."