Chapter 50 So you had your chuunibyou moments too!
"...My father got lost on his way to the border and went in the opposite direction. He was later bitten by a poisonous snake, but was saved by a high-ranking official who was on his way to take up a post in the south."
At this point, Xu Jinnian's face showed gratitude to the high-ranking official and respect for his elderly father.
Sheng An was also full of admiration and urged repeatedly, "Go on, go on."
Xu Jinnian rubbed his wife's head, and seeing that she didn't slap his hand away like before, he couldn't help but pinch her nose: "Father is grateful for the other party's life-saving grace, so he decided to escort him to his post."
The high-ranking official saw that Xu Chenglin was skilled in martial arts and had potential, so he offered to make him his bodyguard.
Xu Chenglin agreed.
For the next few years, Xu Chenglin protected this high-ranking official and, encouraged by the official, learned to read and write, thus becoming a man of both literary and martial talents.
However, his good fortune did not last long. The high-ranking official caught a cold and fell seriously ill, dying in office not long after.
With nowhere to go and having long since given up the idea of joining the army, Xu Chenglin wandered around with the silver he had saved. By chance, he entered a security escort agency and began working as a deliveryman.
His martial arts skills improved significantly while working at this security escort agency.
Xu Chenglin is a kind and righteous person, and over the years he has made many acquaintances with all sorts of people.
However, escorting goods is a tough and dangerous job. He has lost his goods and been punished, and he has also killed bandits and thugs. Several times he was in grave danger and almost lost his life.
Xu Chenglin valued his life, so after working at the escort agency for three years, he switched to being a bodyguard for a wealthy family.
Being a guard was much easier, and the monthly salary was quite good. He thrived there and was highly regarded by his master.
As he grew older, he missed his hometown, which he hadn't visited for years, so he returned to the village with the money he had painstakingly saved over the years.
"...My grandparents were still alive then, but they were quite old and in poor health, so my father stayed in the village to take care of them. I was born a few years later..."
At this point, Xu Jinnian's tone became a little somber: "Taking advantage of my father's pity for me, those people used me as a pawn to force my father to hand over all his wealth, and even my grandparents sided with them."
Xu Chenglin, at the age of thirty, had no wife or children. In the eyes of his siblings and even his parents, he was a piece of fat meat that could be devoured.
The Xu family never considered that Xu Chenglin had left home at the age of fifteen and gone through more than a decade of ups and downs; how much affection did he still have for them?
So-called blood ties couldn't hold him hostage at all. Xu Chenglin simply spent money to persuade the clan chief and several elders to forcibly separate the family and adopt Xu Jinnian.
While there was some pity for the infant Xu Jinnian, the main reason for adopting him was to antagonize the Xu family.
Xu Chenglin moved to Qingzhou City with Xu Jinnian and settled down. They lived a prosperous life, which made the Xu family envious. In the past, they often tried to take advantage of them.
However, he was proven wrong every time. After the Xu family elders passed away, Xu Chenglin dealt them a severe blow, almost severing all ties with them.
From then on, the father and son truly lived a peaceful life.
Upon hearing this, Sheng An couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Father's first half of life was truly colorful."
For reasons unknown, Xu Jinnian couldn't help but say, "My experiences before I was twelve were also quite remarkable."
Sheng An looked him up and down with a sly gaze, his heart filled with disbelief.
You weren't even fully grown before you were twelve, what exciting experiences could you possibly have had? Were you just playing in the mud and pee?
Thinking of this, Sheng An felt nauseous.
She quickly shook her head, trying not to guess whether the man's beautiful hands had actually played with her urine.
Sheng An feared that she would never be able to look directly at his hands again, let alone share a bed with him in harmony.
Xu Jinnian saw the distrust in Sheng An's eyes, stretched out his long arm and pulled her into a tight embrace, saying in her ear, half-coaxing and half-forcing, "An An, please listen to me, okay?"
Sheng An felt hot and reached out to push him away, saying, "Stay away from me."
Xu Jinnian not only didn't let go, but tightened his grip even more: "Fanning will make you cooler, An'an, listen to me first."
Sheng An: "..."
After struggling for a while without being able to break free, and even sweating profusely, Sheng An finally gave in and glared at the childish guy beside her with annoyance: "Hurry up and say it!"
Xu Jinnian smiled, not minding his wife's attitude at all, and kissed her rosy cheek:
“I grew up listening to my father’s stories, and I admire him very much. I also wanted to learn martial arts and venture out into the world…”
Unfortunately, Xu Chenglin treated him like a treasure and wouldn't let him follow his example and go out to seek his own death.
Seeing that his son's heart was becoming increasingly wild and that he only wanted to get rid of his old father every day, Xu Chenglin decided to go all out and take him down the same path he had walked, to give him a profound lesson.
Xu Jin, a fearless newborn calf, was not intimidated by the hardships of living outdoors and the bandits who would occasionally appear. Instead, he charged forward to fight the bandits, nearly scaring Xu Chenglin to death.
Xu Chenglin felt that things couldn't go on like this, so after thinking it over, he decided to send his son to school to cultivate his character. So he went to find Xu Jinnian's current teacher.
Sheng An listened with great interest, never expecting that this man, as calm and collected as an old dog, would also have a period of adolescent rebellion.
You can't tell anything just by looking at the outside.
Sheng An asked, "Your teacher isn't simple either, is he?"
Given how much his father-in-law dotes on this guy, he certainly wouldn't just find any tutor, otherwise he wouldn't be able to cultivate his character.
The changes in him over just six short years are evident.
“An’an is so smart. The teacher comes from the Jiang family of Jinling. He was the third-ranked scholar in the Yonghe 23rd year and once served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.”
Xu Jinnian is good at providing emotional value; even when something is not difficult to guess, she will take the opportunity to praise Sheng An.
The Jiang family of Jinling? A third-place scholar? A vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel?
Sheng An gasped.
For an ordinary person, possessing just one of these titles would be enough to bring them wealth and status, but unexpectedly, Xu Jinnian's teacher possessed three!
It should be noted that the Jiang family was a prominent family in Jinling, producing several renowned scholars. Every three years, a member of the Jiang family would pass the imperial examination.
This scholar, who has both family background and talent, talent and family background, and also high official rank and generous salary, is no different from someone who has won the lottery.
Sheng An couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
She can't even come close to his skill in being born into the right family!
but……
Sheng An looked at the man with sparkling eyes: "You're amazing too, to have such a brilliant person take you as a student."
What was meant as a compliment caused the man to freeze, and he awkwardly looked away, saying, "Hmm."
Seeing this, Sheng An instinctively felt something was amiss, and reached out to turn the man's face to the side: "There's something going on? Don't lie to me!"
A faint blush appeared on Xu Jinnian's handsome face, the embarrassment of not daring to ruin his image in front of his wife.
Sheng An became even more interested, jumped into his arms, straddled his waist, and wrapped her arms around his neck, acting coquettishly: "Tell me, tell me, everyone has times when they want to disappear into the ground, I won't laugh at you."
Xu Jinnian, worn down by her behavior, held her swaying waist, his face seemingly turning even redder, his voice becoming somewhat suppressed: "Get down, and I'll tell you."
"Okay, okay!"
Sheng An was completely unaware of how excessive her actions had been. She obediently released Xu Jinnian, lay back down in her original position, and stared at him longingly.
Xu Jinnian rubbed his temples helplessly, trying to calm the surging restlessness in his body.
Being too young and impetuous is also not good.
Meeting Sheng An's inquisitive eyes, Xu Jinnian smiled and slowly said, "I was twelve years old and had not yet received my first education. The teacher initially did not want to accept me, but later, seeing that I was somewhat intelligent, he allowed me to audit his classes."
Master Jiang already had three students at that time and did not intend to take on any more.
It was Xu Chenglin who, through his connections, brought Xu Jinnian to Master Jiang's presence.
After becoming an auditor, Xu Jinnian was initially unable to concentrate on her studies and even received disdain from three fellow students.
At that time, he was still in his second year of middle school and he also disliked them. So the two sides started to compete openly and secretly.
In the end, he demoralized his three fellow disciples to the point that they doubted their existence and almost lost their resolve to continue their studies.
When Master Jiang found out, he severely punished Xu Jinnian and even threatened to expel him from the school.
Xu Jinnian was unconvinced and had his own youthful arrogance. "Impulsively" he confronted Master Jiang, saying that he was unworthy of his reputation and had taught three blockheads for several years without even producing a single student.
This was the first time that Master Jiang had been contradicted by a mere child. He had inadvertently fallen for Xu Jinnian's provocation and, in a fit of anger, declared that he would formally accept him as his disciple, making him regret his words that day.
"So, you're saying that your master-disciple relationship with Master Jiang was something you schemed for yourself?"
Sheng An looked at Xu Jinnian with shining eyes, as if she were seeing him for the first time: "I think Master Jiang is such a smart person, he must have figured it out."
He couldn't have been an impulsive person to achieve the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations and rise to the position of Vice Minister of Rites.
This man's "troublemaking" in the school might be tacitly approved by others.
"An'an is amazing, she guessed it right away. I only realized it later."
Xu Jinnian once again marveled at his wife's intelligence, his gentle eyes filled with her reflection: "Before me, many people came to the Master seeking help, including some of his own relatives, but the Master did not accept any of them."
From the beginning, Master Jiang recognized Xu Jinnian's talent, but Xu Jinnian, in his chuunibyou phase, was clearly a troublemaker, so he wanted to curb his arrogance.
Also, observe his temperament to see if he is suitable for the imperial examination path.
Unexpectedly, this observation almost led Xu Jinnian to overturn his school and ruin the lives of three other students.
Sheng An gave a thumbs up: "You and Master Jiang should be master and disciple."
The older generation is cunning, and the younger generation is no less so.
She had misjudged him before, truly believing that the person in front of her was a gentle, upright, and virtuous gentleman.
However, Master Jiang was indeed skilled at educating people. In just six years, he transformed a troublemaker into the person he is today.
"No matter what kind of person I am, my feelings for An'an have never been false."
Xu Jinnian held Sheng An's hand tightly, his burning gaze fixed on her eyes: "An'an, from the first moment I saw you, I could never let you go. Perhaps we were a loving couple in our past lives."
Our fate was not yet severed in our past life, which is why we are able to meet and accompany each other in this life.
Sheng An's heart skipped a beat, and she said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "I didn't see you in my past life."
She doesn't really believe in things like past lives and reincarnation.
Xu Jin smiled and tightened her grip on his hand: "We missed each other in our past life, so we should cherish this life even more."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com