Xu Yan felt extremely "happy" at this moment.
His mentor had thought so carefully for him, what else could he say?
But before starting the devilish training, Xu Yan felt it necessary to arrange some matters properly, so he asked for leave from his mentor again.
Although Qian Dehong was a little unhappy, he finally agreed.
It couldn't be helped. Who told Xu Yan to only use one day of his vacation? Even if we included the day of the Gushan Poetry Festival, it would only be two days at most.
This "extra" day can be considered as making up for it to him.
Xu Yan was naturally very happy to get the approval. After thanking his teacher, he went to bed early.
The next morning he went to his villa in Santaishan.
It is not too far from Gushan to Santaishan. When Xu Yan arrived at the villa, he found that there were many people near the villa, and he was very confused for a moment.
When I got closer, I realized it was a scarecrow and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Needless to say, this must have been done by Shuangxi.
He pushed the door open and went straight up to the second floor, only to see the little servant boy sitting by the window in a daze.
He quietly walked up and patted Shuangxi's shoulder, which scared the little boy so much that he jumped up.
"Oh my, which little thief broke into my house?"
He turned around and was stunned when he saw Xu Yan.
"Master, why are you back?"
Xu Yan said helplessly: "Why can't I come back? I bought this house."
The little servant scratched his head and said, "But isn't the young master studying in the academy?"
"I remembered something I had to take care of first."
After saying that, he took out a stack of manuscripts and handed them to Shuangxi.
The little book boy opened it and saw that it was the manuscript of Journey to the West and immediately understood.
"Master, are you going to send this latest manuscript to the Hangzhou branch?"
Xu Yan nodded and said, "You are indeed worthy of being taught by this young master. When you go there, just say that this was expedited from Dinghai County. Don't say that I asked you to deliver it."
The little servant boy smiled innocently: "Don't worry, Master. I'm not stupid."
In Dinghai County, Xu Yan had already had the manuscripts for the five chapters following Journey to the West prepared so they could be updated as scheduled. However, nothing was prepared in Hangzhou.
He could only use this excuse to get away with it for now, otherwise it would be difficult to explain to him when Xu Wei asked him about it.
"Guan asked me, but I want to ask you, what's going on with the scarecrow at the door?"
"Master, I'm scared. I'm the only one living in such a big bamboo house..."
Shuangxi's eyes were red and the corners of his eyes were a little moist.
Seeing the pitiful look of the little servant boy, Xu Yanzhi was a little amused.
"So you use these scarecrows to give yourself courage?"
The little servant bit his lip and nodded.
"Did you make these up yourself?"
"Of course not. I paid someone to do it, and then I brought it here by boat."
Xu Yan wanted to roll his eyes.
You keep saying that I'm a spendthrift, but who is the bigger spendthrift?
"Well, let's just leave it at that. Don't do such stupid things again. This place is remote anyway, and there won't be many people coming here on weekdays."
As soon as Xu Yan finished speaking, he heard footsteps outside the small building, and then someone shouted, "Is this the villa of Mr. Xu in Dinghai County?"
Xu Yan frowned, wondering why this voice looked so familiar.
When I went downstairs, I saw that the person standing outside was not Shen Yangchen, but who else?
“Mr. Shen?”
Xu Yan was very surprised.
"Shen is sorry for bothering me."
Shen Mingchen bowed to Xu Yan and said, "I came here uninvited, which is really impolite. I apologize to Master Xu here."
As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person. Seeing that Shen Mingchen was so polite, Xu Yan didn't say much.
But doubts must be raised.
“How did Mr. Shen find Xu?”
"After the poetry meeting, Shen found an opportunity to ask Master Ling."
Xu Yan suddenly realized that his mentor had betrayed him.
He just mentioned it to Mr. Qian, but he didn't expect that he would tell others about it so soon.
"Mr. Shen, how can you be sure that I will be in the villa and not the academy?"
This was Xu Yan’s second doubt.
"Just trying my luck. It seems that Shen was right. If Mr. Xu is really in the academy, it would be difficult for Shen to visit him."
Xu Yan thought about it carefully and it seemed to be true.
After all, Shen Mingchen is a talented man. He just admitted defeat at the poetry meeting, and then he went to visit Xu Yan, which was really embarrassing.
"Since you are here, Mr. Shen, please take a seat."
Xu Yan didn't want to lock Shen Mingchen out of the door, so he made a gesture of invitation with one arm.
Suddenly, there were two more people in the small building, and the air immediately became filled with the smell of everyday life.
Shuangxi was naturally the happiest person.
Without the young master's instructions, he went to make tea excitedly.
Xu Yan invited Shen Mingchen to the second floor, and both parties sat down as host and guest.
Shen Mingchen looked at the beautiful scenery outside the window and couldn't help but admire: "Mr. Xu is indeed an elegant man. He has even installed the entire scenery of West Lake in his house."
Xu Yan smiled and said, "Mr. Shen, thank you for your compliment. I just want to find a quiet place."
At this time, Shuangxi had already served the brewed tea. Xu Yan picked up a cup and said lightly, "Although it is not new tea, it tastes good. Mr. Shen, please try it."
Shen Mingchen nodded, took the teacup and smelled it, and sure enough, the fragrance was lingering.
"Tasting Longjing tea by the West Lake is a joy in life!"
He took a sip and found it very sweet.
"It is indeed the best in the world."
Xu Yanxin said, "Now that the Taoist has arrived and has had tea, it's time to explain why we're here, right?"
"Mr. Shen, why did you come to see Xu this time?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingchen sighed and said, "At the poetry gathering yesterday, I did want to compete with Master Xu. It wasn't until Master Xu's poem appeared that I realized that he was more than one level higher than me."
Xu Yan wondered if Shen Mingchen had a masochistic streak. He'd already been feeling down yesterday, and yet he came here specifically to experience it all again?
Seeing Xu Yan's puzzled face, Shen Mingchen explained: "Mr. Xu, please don't misunderstand. I am not here to compete, but to ask Mr. Xu to accept me as a student."
Xu Yan was stunned when he heard this.
Is there such a thing?
"That's not appropriate."
"Age is not a problem. Although I am older, I know that there are different levels of understanding and different specializations in different fields. Mr. Xu's poetry is superior to mine, so he can be my teacher."
Xu Yan shook his head and said, "No, this is absolutely not possible."
He had already made up his mind that no matter what Shen Mingchen said today, he would not accept him as his disciple.
What is going on?
"What are you worried about, Master Xu? Do you think I'm dull and taking me as your disciple would be a disgrace to your reputation?"
Shen Mingchen has a spirit of perseverance.
"That's not the case..."
Xu Yan just felt overwhelmed.
This is a difficult question for him to explain.
"Could it be that Master Xu thinks my intentions are insincere?"
“Not really…”
"Shen has something to say but I'm not sure whether I should say it or not."
"Then you'd better not talk about it."
Xu Yan was almost on the verge of collapse.
...
...
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