Chapter 6: Teacher Ao's older brother catches her in the act, and the younger sister feels guilty.
Jin Guizhong got tired of playing and finally put Jin Suiqing down to focus on studying the pipa.
Jin Suiqing was speechless. He grabbed the last remaining blueprint on the table and studied it intently, only to find that he couldn't understand it.
Although Kyushu magic and modern mechanical engineering have some similarities, Kyushu magic is more fantastical and is a completely new subject for her, which she has to learn from scratch.
Jin Suiqing looked up at Jin Guizhong; her scumbag father was completely absorbed in the music. Instead of hoping he would teach her, she should immediately pray to the gods and Buddhas, hoping they would appear in her dreams and grant her a complete understanding of the principles of magical artifacts overnight.
The image of Chai Zixin appeared in her mind.
Jin Suiqing quickly shook his head.
With Huangfu Ying watching over him, Chai Zixin, a technically skilled middle-aged man, is weak and can't keep secrets. If she shows interest, he'll definitely be exposed.
Jin Suiqing's mind raced, and suddenly the system's voice echoed in her head: "Mission: Keep Jin Shiyu as a tutor. One day countdown."
Jin Shiyu had only recently entered the National Academy, a crucial stage for him to lay the foundation and build his understanding. Bringing someone over to help her develop her intelligence at this time would be a deliberate waste of his time.
This system defies the heavens, wastes time, and seeks to profit at the expense of others.
"Time" is an obsession for all Dongda University students who have gone through the torment of nine years of compulsory education plus high school.
Moreover, judging from Jin Shiyu's attitude towards his homework, he didn't give up even after the drawing was so bad, so he must be a good student who studies hard.
Jin Suiqing felt even more guilty.
Looking down at the blueprints in his hand, Jin Suiqing's large, dark eyes darted around, pondering a solution.
How can she complete the mission without hindering Jin Shiyu's learning and development, and even profit from it, without alerting Huangfu Ying, and learn about the basics of magic weapons in advance?
Jin Suiqing clutched the blueprints, staring at her scumbag father's back, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck her.
"Father!"
*
At dusk, Jin Shiyu sat at the dining table, with Jin Suiqing beside him.
He was in class at the time, but Jin Guizhong disregarded everything else and hurriedly brought him back from the National Academy, saying bluntly, "From today onwards, you should not go to school for the time being, and focus on spending time with your sister."
There was no room for negotiation; Kim Si-ok understood that Kim Gwi-chung was simply informing him.
He never had the right to choose.
Across the table, Huihong didn't dare to speak, focusing on serving the food and feeding Jin Suiqing.
Under the oppressive atmosphere, only the clinking of Jin Suiqing's bowl and chopsticks could be heard. Jin Suiqing seemed very happy, pouting as she asked Huihong for a piece of chicken leg.
Seeing that Jin Shiyu hadn't touched his chopsticks at all, and considering that the boy was at the age where he was growing and was also thin, Huihong couldn't bear it and lowered her voice to comfort him: "Young Master Shiyu, don't be angry. Eat first and don't hurt your health."
Jin Shiyu lowered her eyelashes and shook her head: "I'm not angry."
Jin Suiqing chewed on the chicken meat, thinking: He's really good at holding back; even at a time like this, he can still say he's not angry.
Jin Shiyu usually doesn't stay here for meals, but today he was forced to stay here by Jin Guizhong and eat with the culprit who prevented him from going to school.
It was obvious that her "brother" couldn't eat anything.
She discreetly observed Kim Shi-ok's expression. Her long eyelashes covered her eyes, so she didn't want to pry. She leaned forward slightly, wanting to get a better look.
Suddenly, Jin Shiyu glanced at her, and the golden tiger trembled, almost slipping through the gap between the table and chairs in fright. Jin Shiyu put down his chopsticks and reached out to help her up.
Jin Suiqing breathed heavily, her heart pounding. Jin Shiyu's gaze had come so quickly and suddenly, it was quite frightening.
Inside lay something indescribable, like a ferocious wolf forcibly stuffed into the skin of a docile dog.
In a fleeting moment, Jin Shiyu withdrew his gaze, then squeezed her forearm tightly with his hand. He didn't pull back, and Jin Suiqing felt a piercing pain.
Jin Suiqing winced in pain, large tears welling in her eyes. She gripped Jin Shiyu's hand tightly, her nails digging into his flesh.
Kim Si-ok seemed oblivious, neither stopping her nor letting go.
After a long while, Jin Shiyu finally spoke: "Jin Suiqing".
Huihong stood to the side, holding her bowl and chopsticks, not daring to speak.
"If you're willing, then I'll keep you company from now on. You'd better not find me annoying." Jin Shiyu said coldly, letting go of his hand and pulling it back as if all his strength had given out. Jin Suiqing's fingernails drew blood on the back of his hand. "I'm not eating anymore. I can't eat."
He set out the bowls and chopsticks, got up and left, walking further and further away until he disappeared into the dim courtyard.
Huihong gasped for breath and hurriedly rolled up her gold-embroidered blue sleeves, asking, "Little Princess, does it hurt?"
Jin Suiqing sniffed: "It doesn't hurt."
"Really...really doesn't hurt?" Huihong asked, her heart pounding. Was the little princess terrified?
Jin Suiqing turned to look at Jin Shiyu's bowl. There was only a piece of green vegetable at the bottom of the bowl, which was the only dish that Jin Shiyu and Jin Wan had touched.
"It doesn't hurt," Jin Suiqing wiped away her tears haphazardly, gesturing for Huihong to continue eating, "If brother doesn't eat, I will."
When people are pushed to the limit, they always need a way to vent. Jin Suiqing thought that if she couldn't bear the small pain now, it would mean losing her head in the future.
Besides, she didn't suffer any loss; she only scratched herself a few times and left some bloody marks.
Ignoring her throbbing forearm, she swallowed the taro ball Huihong had given her, held out her hand to show her, and said aggrievedly, "Brother, it's broken, I need to put some medicine on it."
It was cold and desolate; Huihong felt a chill run down her spine.
The room in front of me was the one where Gu Hanjiang hanged himself. Dim yellow light shone on the window.
After a long while, Huihong finally mustered up the courage to knock on the door: "Young Master Shiyu? Young Master Shiyu, it's me, Huihong. Are you asleep?"
The shadow cast on the window frame flickered slightly. A moment later, the old, peeling wooden door opened, and Jin Shiyu, wearing a thin shirt and with his hair casually held up by a wooden hairpin with a dark red sheen, stood in the doorway: "What's wrong?"
Huihong brought medicine and noodles: "I noticed you didn't eat much for dinner, and your hand is injured, so I came to bring you some things."
Jin Shiyu didn't say anything, but stepped aside to let Huihong into the room.
The room was very simply furnished, with only a bed and a table and chairs. There was a lamp on the table, and under the lamp were open books and drawings.
After letting the person in, Jin Shiyu returned to the table and continued reading.
Huihong smelled a faint scent of blood.
She dared not make a sound, placed the bowl of noodles with chicken legs and the wound medicine on the corner of the table, glanced at Jin Shiyu's hand out of the corner of her eye, and saw that he had already bandaged the wound before quietly leaving the room.
After Jin Shiyu finished reading the book, he turned his head to look at the corner of the table.
He ignored the noodles that had already cooled down, picked up the small jade bottle, and played with it in his hand.
The white jade bottle is precious and contains top-quality medicine. It couldn't possibly belong to Huihong; it could only have been sent by his extremely willful younger sister.
With no one around, Jin Shiyu no longer hid. His eyes were sinister as he unwrapped his tightly wrapped hands.
He used a wooden stick to cut open the original few scratches, turning the skin open to reveal bright red flesh.
This is Kim Si-ok's way of venting his emotions. It started with his sister hitting him on the forehead with a mechanical cicada, causing him to bleed.
Having lost his mother at a young age and having no one to teach him, he learned on his own to use this extremely harsh method to deepen his hatred.
His younger sister was young and fragile, and she was bound to his deep-seated hatred. It seemed that if he could just put his hands together and strangle Jin Suiqing, he could end all this torment.
But he had to endure it, because his mother had said he shouldn't blame his sister.
Gu Hanjiang cupped his face in her hands, and in the dim light, the light reflected in her eyes was dazzling, even brighter than when she saw Jin Guizhong.
She said gently to him, "Shiyu, don't hate your sister, hate Jin Guizhong. He's the one who ruined us! The Jin family ruined us!"
"Shiyu, your mother wants you to remember: live on! Live on, even for the sake of hatred!"
His kind mother pointed him to hatred, as long as he lived.
Jin Shiyu hated Jin Guizhong and the Jin family while he was alive.
But Jin Suiqing's surname is Jin, and so is his.
He cannot hate his sister.
Therefore, the pain caused by his sister became his only way to relieve it, allowing him to legitimately hate Jin Suiqing.
Jin Shiyu opened the jade bottle and sprinkled the medicine on the wound. The burning pain made him break out in a cold sweat, a sensation that was both painful and pleasurable. The thin fabric of his clothes absorbed the sweat and clung to his body.
He took the bowl of chicken leg noodles to the window and poured it out, knowing that a dog would devour it tomorrow.
In short, he won't eat it.
After a while, when the wind had dried his sweat, Jin Shiyu closed the window, and soon the lights in the room went out.
Huihong hurried back to Jin Suiqing's room. The little princess was nestled in the quilt. Hearing the noise, she stuck her bottom out of the quilt and opened her eyes wide to look at her.
Huihong nodded: "Everything has been delivered, it's just..."
Jin Suiqing hugged the quilt and waited for Huihong's reply.
"That's right, the young master didn't eat that bowl of noodles, he threw it all away."
They were all thrown away?
Jin Suiqing frowned, pondered for a moment, then crawled back under the covers and stretched out her small hand, signaling Huihong to turn off the light.
Since things have come to this, let's go to sleep.
We'll talk about the rest tomorrow.
*
The next day, Chai Zixin, having prepared himself mentally, arrived at Jin Suiqing's room, only to find the brother and sister waiting for him.
Chai Zixin asked in surprise, "Young Master Jin, shouldn't you be at school?"
Jin Shiyu said calmly, "I won't be going to the academy anymore. My father asked me to study with Suiqing."
Chai Zixin and Jin Suiqing both looked at Jin Shiyu, their expressions quite different.
Chai Zixin was indignant and angry that Jin Guizhong was so irresponsible, keeping his child at home and preventing him from going to school. What kind of behavior was this?
Jin Suiqing was speechless. With Jin Shiyu saying this, her crime with Chai Zixin would probably have to be added to the list of "making trouble unreasonably".
Chai Zixin sighed and placed the teaching aids on the table one by one: "Then today, little princess, will you follow me to assemble and disassemble simple mechanical devices?"
It's fine when there are no classes, but as soon as classes start, Jin Suiqing begins to feel drowsy.
No matter how much Chai Zixin urged her, she held the ingenious parts in her hands, but her eyes were already about to close. She completely ignored Chai Zixin's instructions and casually placed them on the pile of parts.
Regardless of whether they are pigs, cattle, horses, or dragons, they are all piled up into worms.
Finally, in a fit of pique, he pushed hard, sweeping everything to the ground, and then leaned against Kim Shi-ok and fell fast asleep.
In the end, it was Jin Shiyu who cleaned up the mess, cleverly put the teaching aids back together, tidied up for the furious Chai Zixin, and respectfully saw him off.
The first day was like this, and the second day was the same.
Jin Suiqing endured the hardship of Chai Zixin for a week, but on the seventh day, Chai Zixin finally couldn't take it anymore.
Just a few days later, Chai Zixin was so worried that his hair was falling out in clumps, he couldn't sleep all night, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He arrived as promised.
Just as Chai Zixin was about to resign, Jin Shiyu, who rarely spoke, took the initiative to say, "Mr. Chai, I heard that you are a famous magician in the palace. Suiqing doesn't want to learn, so please teach me."
Jin Suiqing sat obediently in the chair, holding an apple and munching on it while observing Chai Zixin's expression.
Chai Zixin hesitated: "What about His Majesty..."
Jin Shiyu: "At home, I spend the most time with Suiqing. If Mr. Chai trusts me, I will entrust Suiqing's enlightenment to me. If the Emperor asks about it in the future, I will speak on it."
Seeing that Chai Zixin was still hesitating, Jin Suiqing decided to add fuel to the fire, throwing an apple at Chai Zixin while muttering, "I want my brother, not you."
Suddenly, Chai Zixin was so angry that his blood boiled and his cheeks turned red. He found the humble and eager-to-learn Jin Shiyu extremely pleasing to the eye. He slapped his thigh and said, "Fine! I'll teach you! I'm also a graduate of the National Academy. Whatever you learn in the academy, I'll teach you. And if you want to learn something you don't want to learn, I'll teach you too. I'll definitely teach you no worse than the academy!"
Jin Shiyu bowed respectfully and performed a traditional greeting to his teacher, saying firmly, "This student will certainly not disappoint the teacher's expectations."
Jin Suiqing was satisfied.
Jin Shiyu is a promising young man.
For more than half a month, Jin Shiyu listened to one-on-one tutoring. Jin Suiqing refused to leave and took the opportunity to stay in Jin Shiyu's arms, pretending to be stupid on the surface, but actually stealing his teaching skills.
The sharp edges of the firewood were smoothed by Jin Suiqing. Even though Jin Shiyu had only mediocre talent in magic weapons, he was incredibly tolerant and taught her meticulously and attentively.
A whole month later, Chai Zixin had to return to the palace to report on his duties.
Before leaving, he gave Jin Shiyu a small bird controlled by a sulfur-burning engine, saying, "The primary academy has few teaching aids and cannot provide them for all students to disassemble. Today I will give you one alone. There is no sulfur-burning engine inside. Disassemble it a few times and try to draw it on your own. I will check it when I return from the palace."
Jin Shiyu snatched the gold fragments from his arms and started dismantling them on his own.
Jin Shiyu ignored it, sent away the firewood and let Jin Suiqing tear it apart to his heart's content, before taking the little bird away.
*
In the middle of the night, Jin Suiqing quietly slipped out of the room, picked up a twig, and began to draw on the sand and gravel in the courtyard.
She tried to draw the mechanical bird according to her memory of its structure and the order in which the parts were connected.
Without CAD or reference drawings, it was all hand-drawn. Some of the parts were a bit blurry. Jin Suiqing squatted on the ground, trying hard to remember, so engrossed that he didn't notice the footsteps behind him.
"Golden Shards of Green".
In an instant, Jin Suiqing's hair stood on end. She threw away the branch, turned around in a panic, tripped over her own feet, and sat down on the magic bird she had drawn. Taking the opportunity, she used her hands and feet to wipe away the lines on the ground.
Jin Suiqing was completely enveloped by Jin Shiyu's shadow. Backlit by the light source, she looked up and couldn't see his expression for a moment.
It wasn't until Jin Shiyu slowly bent down and squatted in front of Jin Suiqing that she could see clearly.
Jin Shiyu smiled gently and asked, "What are you doing, little sister?"
Jin Suiqing shivered.
This seems to be the first time Kim Shi-ok has called her "little sister".
A note from the author:
Good luck, and I wish you all the best and everything goes smoothly for you.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
