Xiao Xin sat silently in the car.
His complexion had improved slightly, but it wasn't exactly clear. The sounds of wheels, footsteps, and vendors' cries mingled together outside. He just kept his head down, staring at his boots, his hands resting on his knees, his long, thin fingers digging into the silk. His back was straight and stiff, like a javelin.
Xu Rong waited patiently for a while, and after a long time, Xiao Xin finally raised his head and looked at her: "Why aren't you angry?"
Xu Rong hadn't expected that this was his first concern. After a moment's thought, he said, "Because getting angry makes you age faster."
Xiao Xin stared at her, utterly bewildered.
Xu Rong laughed and waved his hand, saying, "Second Young Master, I was just joking. I'm not angry, probably because it was you. To be honest, I was a little angry when I heard that Old Madam Zhang was going to set things right between me and Xiao Lun that day."
Xiao Xin's eyes widened even more, the corners of his long, narrow eyes bulging out, looking even more incredulous than before: "You—what do you mean?"
Xu Rong was bewildered: "What? I praised you for being better in character than Xiao Lun, saying you're a good match for someone like Xiao Lun? I definitely wouldn't want that—"
She suddenly realized where the problem lay and quickly said, "It doesn't mean I'd be willing to be matched with you. I didn't mean that. Don't misunderstand."
Xiao Xin turned his face away and said, "Stop talking."
They keep using the words "meaning" and "matching" to explain, which only makes things worse.
Xu Rong smiled and said, "Okay. Don't be angry."
Xiao Xin gave a faint hum, but he didn't answer. However, being interrupted like this did dispel most of the pent-up frustration in his heart.
He relaxed his tense demeanor and slammed himself against the wall behind him: "Miss Xu, what do you want to say to me? Speak."
Xu Rong was waiting for him to say this, so she leaned closer to him and lowered her voice, saying, "Young Master Xiao, things have come to this point, I think we should turn the tables on him."
The bustling streets are actually a better place for private conversations than a teahouse. Even if you get close enough to hear them talking, you can't make out what they're saying.
Xiao Xin: "Hmm?"
Xu Rong asked him, "Young Master Xiao, do you know where the root of our current predicament lies?"
This sentence successfully ignited Xiao Xin's anger again. His eyebrows furrowed, forming small mountains, and the sharpness between them continued to rise. When it accumulated to the point of being fierce, he spoke: "It is because of my incompetence."
Therefore, they are controlled by others and manipulated by them. They are living people, but they are like cardboard puppets in a shadow play, unable to break free from their constraints.
Xu Rong smiled approvingly: "Yes. And no."
Being harmed or insulted is certainly not the victim's responsibility, but to be able to recognize one's own shortcomings even after such a difficult time without blaming others or fate is a rare quality.
“Young Master Xiao, you are not truly incompetent; you simply need time.”
Being poor in your youth isn't really being poor, and being troubled in your youth isn't really being troubled. This age is full of helplessness, and it's perfectly normal to be empty-handed and unable to compete with others.
Even for her, the price of returning to girlhood was that all her hard-earned achievements were wiped out. If she were to transmigrate into the Xiao family, she might not necessarily do better than him.
Xiao Xin paused for a moment, his lips seemed about to open, but he didn't speak, only his brows gradually relaxed.
Xu Rong continued, "Young Master Xiao, do you know what I need?"
Xiao Xin asked, "What?"
He was genuinely curious, because he couldn't see through Xu Rong and therefore didn't know what she needed.
Xu Rong's expression was solemn as he said, "Money."
Xiao Xin: "..."
He was stunned into a blank expression by this simple, crude, superficial, and meaningless word.
"I have no plans to get married again in this lifetime," Xu Rong said earnestly.
In fact, not to mention this life, she never thought that she would have some friends from the orphanage with whom she still kept in touch after adulthood. They were roughly divided into two types: one type was eager to make up for the family they did not have before, so they quickly entered into marriage; the other type was abandoned by their parents, so they not only did not yearn for family, but also distrusted it, and their distrust led to rejection.
Xu Rong is the third type. She was born missing a large part, but she got used to it over the long process of growing up. The missing part became the whole, and she no longer thought she needed it.
Xiao Xin had no idea about these things; he understood something else entirely. He glanced at Xu Rong—a little uncomfortably—and said, “Miss Xu, my elder brother is not good, but there are always good people in the world. You don’t have to be like this.”
This was a rare concession from him; he would never have uttered a single word of personal ambiguity with Xu Rong before.
"Probably." Xu Rong smiled gratefully, "However, it should be none of my business anymore."
This was not a good point to continue the conversation, and Xiao Xin also felt it inappropriate to delve deeper into her views on marriage. After a moment of silence, he asked, "So what do you mean?"
“Young Master Xiao, you need time, and I need money.” Xu Rong carefully explained to him, “We’ve already worked together once before—although it failed, it wasn’t our fault. On the contrary, in my opinion, it should have laid the foundation for mutual trust between us, right?”
Xiao Xin raised and lowered his eyebrows—what was this? He instinctively felt it was strange, but there was also a sense of novelty and persuasiveness in the strangeness. He slowly nodded: "I suppose so."
“With this foundation, we can move on to the next stage of in-depth cooperation,” Xu Rong said. “For example, on the surface, we can do as Madam Xiao wishes, but in private, we can draw up a separate contract.”
Xiao Xin: "—What contract?"
“If you want to break free from the control of the Marquis of Changxing’s mansion, you can no longer stay in the mansion. Your original idea was actually not wrong.” Xu Rong affirmed him first, “But leaving without saying goodbye and having nothing will cost you too much and will not be easy to succeed.”
"If you have enough time and enough effort, there is another path in the world, a straight and honest one, and no one can stop you from taking it."
Xiao Xin's lips moved, and he uttered a sentence silently.
Xu Rong didn't hear, and blinked: "What?"
Xiao Xin crossed his arms and looked up at the roof of the car.
He said: It's started again.
This eccentric Miss Xu.
But he couldn't deny the rapid beating of his heart beneath her arms—she didn't need to say anything more; just that one sentence had already stirred him up.
Perhaps no one had ever said this to him before, or perhaps such a thought had crossed his mind before, and even though he gave up halfway, it had never truly disappeared.
Xu Rong didn't get the details, but judging from his expression, she knew there was something going on. She didn't dwell on the details and continued, "Knowing that relying on the family isn't a good choice, completely severing ties with the family isn't either—at least not right now. Young Master Xiao, compared to ordinary people, you have many innate advantages, whether in literature or martial arts. Since you're destined to be unable to escape, why not make good use of them? Once you've earned your own future, wouldn't it be much more convenient to do whatever you want then?"
"Oh, right," she said, then remembered, "I've never asked you whether you study literature or martial arts."
In fact, she had brought it up before, more than once, but Xiao Xin had never paid any attention to the topic.
This time, Xiao Xin's eyes flickered, and he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "...Xi Wen."
"Having a direction is enough." Xu Rong wasn't picky. She nodded and continued planning: "Young Master Xiao, I don't know you very well, but I can tell you're a smart person. With your intelligence and comprehension, and if you're willing to work hard, you should be able to graduate in three to five years. By then, we'll both still be young. After our collaboration ends, we'll go our separate ways. You can marry a lady from a prestigious family if you want; it won't cause any delays."
As she spoke the first half, Xiao Xin's eyes were somewhat unfocused. When he heard "three years and five years," a small pebble rolled over the wheel, causing a jolt. His pupils dilated, and his lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to interrupt, but he ultimately remained silent.
Xu Rong noticed, but she wasn't a fortune teller and couldn't accurately discern which word Xiao Xin's emotions were focused on. Thinking he was startled by the suggestion itself, she pressed on, "Xiao Er—"
"I understand." Xiao Xin suddenly interrupted her, taking the initiative to ask, "You mean, you want to have a fake marriage with me?"
He is a promising young man.
Xu Rong nodded quickly.
“I get time to study, and you get—” Xiao Xin thought for a moment, “…a dowry?”
Learn by analogy and summarize to get full marks.
Xu Rong nodded again with admiration, her eyes sparkling.
She said he was a smart man with good decision-making skills. She didn't know his current academic progress, but with his solid foundation, he couldn't be bad.
She simply...where does she get so many bizarre and outlandish ideas?
Xiao Xin felt he should be absurd, should absolutely disagree, and should immediately rebuke her—
But in fact, his expression was just calm.
Ha, how absurd.
What could be more absurd than what they did!
He licked his lips, and the tranquility was shattered as if it were a fleeting moment. He said softly, "Okay."
So you agree?
The results came too quickly, surprising Xu Rong: "You agreed?"
Xiao Xin glanced at her: "Yes. Should I write you a letter?"
Xu Rong nodded without hesitation: "Okay. We'll take two copies, one for each of us, and sign and put our fingerprints on them as proof."
Xiao Xin did not raise any objections. He simply straightened up, clasped his hands in front of his knees, and looked cold and deep: "Miss Xu, have you thought this through?"
If he goes back on his word, if he has evil intentions, she will definitely be the one who suffers, whether it's for her or her dowry.
He knew she had tricks up her sleeve, but how could she dare?
Xu Rong replied affirmatively, "Yes."
This was a desperate act of wisdom, and also the most convenient path to her goal—in short, a shortcut.
She wouldn't have chosen this path before; it was dishonest, discordant, and didn't align with her core values. She would have honestly walked the difficult path that fate had laid out for her, building her steps with sweat, exchanging her efforts for tomorrow, working diligently and conscientiously.
That's enough.
She was too lazy to do it again.
She planned to have someone else do it.
Xu Rong's gaze was also meaningful; she sincerely encouraged him: "Second Young Master Xiao, as long as you work hard, rise with the rooster's crow, and study diligently, you will surely achieve results. The sooner you pass the imperial examination and establish your career, the sooner you will be rid of me. Perhaps it won't take three or five years, just one or two years—"
Xiao Xin thought the first part of what was said made some sense, but when he heard the latter part, he couldn't hold back any longer and angrily said, "It's not that fast! The palace examination isn't held every year!"
Besides, even if he were qualified, he wouldn't be eligible to take the exam right away.
"Oh, really?" Xu Rong tilted her head and thought for a moment. Yes, she had devoted all her time to studying and working and had no time to expand her knowledge. However, she still had this much common sense, so she changed her words, "I was just expressing this idea: hard work will surely pay off, and your destiny should be in your own hands, not in the hands of fate."
Xiao Xin lowered his head and remained silent.
Xu Rong had figured out his temper; if he didn't argue or roll his eyes at her, he would listen, and he even seemed to enjoy listening to her.
During the rest of the drive, Xu Rong seized the opportunity and poured out all the motivational quotes she remembered about studying, muttering them all the way.
It was not interrupted.
As the sounds of pedestrians and vehicles outside gradually subsided, the carriage slowed down, shuddered slightly, and came to a stop.
Soon someone came over and lifted the carriage curtain.
It wasn't Bai Fu, but a nanny who followed Madam Xiao. Her eyes were very sharp as she swept them over Xu Rong and Xiao Xin: "Second Master, Eldest Miss, please come down."
Xiao Xin gave her a cold look, then got up and left first.
As he leaned out of the carriage and stepped to jump down, he squinted at the vermilion gate of the Marquis of Ji'an's residence, turned back, and finally spoke, but it was to confirm with her: "Miss Xu, do you really trust me that much?"
Trust his character.
Trust in his abilities.
Xu Rong nodded and smiled, "I believe you won't let me down—"
Our agreement.
Surrounded by the Xiao family members who were guarding her like thieves, she didn't say the last four words. She paused to make sure Xiao Xin understood, and then continued, "So, Second Young Master Xiao, do you believe in yourself?"
Xiao Xin jumped out of the car, glanced around, and said coldly, "Of course."
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