"It's Brother Alang." Li Youran hurriedly stood up, greeted Tian Alang with a smile, and said, "Have you eaten yet? I have some steamed buns here."
Li Youran knew that Tian Erlang was shy, so without waiting for his reply, she asked Xiao Zhou to fetch a few steamed buns and personally served him a bowl of millet porridge.
"Aunt Liu left in a hurry and forgot to bring chicken essence," Tian Alang said. "I heard you went to establish a female household; did it go smoothly?"
Seeing Tian Alang speaking so seriously, Li Youran couldn't help but want to tease him.
“I’ve already got my household registration.” Li Youran laughed. “You’d better study hard and try to pass the imperial examination, otherwise I might snatch you back to be my son-in-law.”
Seeing that Tian Erlang's face was flushed red from her teasing, Li Youran couldn't help but laugh.
It was clearly a hearty, unrestrained laugh. But in Tian Alang's eyes, it was a smile as gentle as a spring breeze.
"If Miss Li is willing, she can become a son-in-law after passing the imperial examination." Tian Alang said solemnly, "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond!"
Li Youran was caught off guard and completely charmed by Tian Alang's unexpected response.
But seeing that Tian Alang didn't seem to be joking, Li Youran suddenly realized that Tian Alang actually liked her.
“Brother Lang, that kind of offer of marriage is a trick that girls often use. You’re a grown man, you can’t do that.” Li Youran said casually, “Besides, I don’t like girls younger than me.”
“I’m only a year younger than you.” Tian A frowned and said, “A gentleman judges heroes by their virtue and talent, not by their age.”
Although Tian Alang appeared calm, he was inwardly flustered, feeling both shy and anxious about being rejected.
"You know quite a lot at such a young age!" Li Youran laughed. "Study hard, become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination), then a Zhuangyuan (the top scholar in the imperial examination), and then you can marry a princess and become her consort."
Tian Alang shook his head and remained silent, because he didn't know how to persuade Li Youran that being one year older wasn't a problem.
However, he had a plan in mind. He would use his actions to show Li Youran that although he was young, he was a man she could rely on.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot, hurry up and try my steamed buns, they're delicious."
Tian Alang, who had already eaten breakfast, sat down when he heard Li Youran say that she made the steamed buns, picked up a bun and ate it in big bites.
It's delicious, just like her...
"Where have you been, you little brat? You haven't come home all night! How will you ever get married if you ruin your reputation!"
As soon as Wang Xiangyu entered the house after not returning home all night, she was given a severe scolding by her mother.
Originally, Madam Wang doted on Wang Xiangyu and hoped that the girl could marry into a wealthy family so that she could also rise to prominence.
But as time went by, Wang Xiangyu still hadn't married into a wealthy family, which made Wang's wife somewhat impatient.
"Mother, I've secretly heard about an extremely profitable business," Wang Xiangyu lied, suppressing her displeasure. "But it requires some capital..."
Wang Xiangyu pleaded with him and even took out the only ten taels of silver she had on her before she was sent to Master Zhou's house and escaped.
Wang Xiangyu desperately wanted to find Li Youran and fight her to the death, but she knew she was no match for her.
The most important thing right now is to marry into the Lu family before Lu Chuan passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar. Once she becomes a scholar's wife and gives birth to the family's only son, she can have whatever she wants.
By then, Li Youran will be nothing more than a tiny ant, and you can mold her however you want.
"Isn't the money you kept for yourself enough?"
When the topic of business came up, Madam Wang's expression softened considerably. Wang Xiangyu had indeed made a lot of money by setting up a ring toss stall, which gave her confidence in front of her daughter-in-law.
"Mother, if you want to earn more money, you have to invest more." Wang Xiangyu hugged Wang Niangzi's arm and said coquettishly, "When I earn money, I will give more than half to you, so that your pockets will be full too."
"You naughty girl!" Madam Wang poked Wang Xiangyu's head and said.
Wang Xiangyu planned to sell cosmetics because in her previous life there would be a large-scale talent show before the New Year, and many families hoped that their daughters could be selected to bring honor to their ancestors.
Therefore, rouge and face powder sold out very quickly before the Lunar New Year, leading to shortages and price spikes.
Wang Xiangyu planned to stock up on cosmetics before the news of the talent show was released, and then buy them when prices skyrocketed.
Although Lu Chuan was a scholar, his family ran a jewelry shop and made a living from it.
If she could demonstrate business acumen, her in-laws might appreciate her even more. Even if Lu Chuan wasn't keen on marrying her, he couldn't overcome his parents' objections.
Li Youran realized that she hadn't been to the chicken soup wonton shop for several days, so she went back to the wonton shop with Tian Alang.
"careful!"
A carriage sped by, splashing up the snowmelt that had been trampled into black mud. If Tian Alang hadn't pulled Li Youran away, her skirt would have been ruined.
Losing her balance, Li Youran slammed towards Tian Alang.
Suddenly, Li Youran thought of Tang Lei, forcibly steadied herself, and stood up unsteadily.
Tian Alang's heart, which had been pounding in his chest, suddenly stopped.
"Miss Li, are you alright?" Tian Alang asked with concern. "Why don't you go inside?"
As Tian Alang spoke, he voluntarily walked to the outside of the road. He thought that if he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, Li Youran would always travel by carriage, and this kind of thing wouldn't happen.
“Brother Alang, I think you’ve misunderstood my feelings for you.”
Throughout the journey, Tian Alang kept secretly watching her. Li Youran really didn't want to pretend to be confused, because she knew that pretending to be confused would be irresponsible to both of them.
“The reason you have such special feelings for me is because I saved your life and appeared when you were in the most danger and needed help the most,” Li Youran said seriously, “not because of mutual romantic feelings between a man and a woman.”
Li Youran knew that a smart person wouldn't reject a boy with unlimited potential.
However, Li Youran didn't want to be the clever one. She genuinely regarded Tian Alang as her younger brother and hoped he would be alright.
“Miss Li, you’re overthinking it. My feelings for you come from the bottom of my heart.” Tian Alang pursed his lips and said, “You can’t deny me the chance to pursue you just because I’m a year younger than you.”
After saying these words, Tian Alang blushed with embarrassment.
Li Youran also felt a little guilty; she had ruined the innocent young man's feelings.
"You'll understand when you grow up," Li Youran said, and didn't continue the topic.
As they approached the wonton shop, Li Youran felt a little annoyed. She didn't want this family to tolerate Zhou Yingying, but at the same time, she didn't want to ruin her older brother's happiness because of her selfishness.
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