"Don't be afraid. You were sick last night, nothing happened between us. I was just kidding you."
Mu Bai stood still, not daring to look at Su Ruanruan.
Nothing happened last night, but he almost got into big trouble this morning.
Su Ruanruan teased Bai Ruan, who was rolling on the ground with her belly, and glanced at Mu Bai from time to time.
Mu Bai lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. After standing there for a while, he ran back into his room.
When he came out again, he had a copper key in his hand.
He placed the copper key into Su Ruanruan's hand. "Ruanruan, you said you wanted to settle down in the county town. The beds at the tofu shop are cold and hard. Why don't you move here?"
"From now on, you will stay here."
Su Ruanruan always felt that Mu Bai's words had a hidden meaning.
"And what about you?"
“I… will be taking the autumn examination soon. The teacher hopes I can return to the academy to stay more often, so that he can give me some guidance. I won’t be able to come back to see you often, so please take good care of yourself.”
His words were three parts truth and seven parts falsehood.
Su Ruanruan knew he was avoiding her.
I'm afraid something like what happened this morning will happen again.
She took the copper key, looked up, and smiled at Mu Bai.
"good."
Su Ruanruan didn't want to expose him, after all, academic studies were indeed very important. It was Mu Bai's good fortune to have someone give him extra help.
Moreover, she had offended the old scholar in town, and she wasn't sure how much of what she said he believed, or whether he would really come to the county to retaliate against her.
Staying at the academy was more beneficial than harmful to him.
Mu Bai recovered in three days. In the past few days, Su Ruanruan has been going back and forth between the tofu shop and Mu Bai's house.
However, the two have not slept in the same bed for the past few days. Mu Bai cleaned up the room where his mother used to live, which is now used to store miscellaneous items.
During this period, Fang Ru also visited him several times.
They say they don't want to deal with him anymore, but how can they really let him go?
Su Ruanruan is unreliable; he doesn't trust her to take care of Mu Bai.
After a few exchanges, I learned the news.
"You let her live here?"
Fang Ru was somewhat shocked. Putting aside Su Ruanruan's character, she was, after all, an unmarried woman, and it was obviously inappropriate for her to share a room with Mu Bai.
Moreover, Mu Bai would become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination) after passing the autumn examination; such behavior would be a stain on his moral character.
Mu Bai calmly met his scrutiny. "Without preconceived notions, without being stubborn or inflexible. Ruan Ruan is truly a good girl. I've come of age and can distinguish right from wrong in this world. I know what Brother Fang wants to say, but to me, those are just noise."
"After I recover, I will stay at the academy to keep Brother Fang company. I still have many questions I would like to ask Brother Fang."
Mu Bai then took out a money pouch from his pocket and handed it to him.
"I wonder if it would be convenient for Brother Fang to help me purchase some items..."
Fang Ru shook his head as he looked at the list, but he didn't know how to persuade him.
He already worked hard to earn money, but for that Su Ruanruan, he squandered his savings like water.
After he recovers, how many books will he have to copy and how many petitions will he have to write to raise enough money for the journey to the capital?
But faced with Mu Bai's obsidian-like pure eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say "no."
When Su Ruanruan returned after selling the tofu, she saw the house had been completely renovated.
A brand-new canopy bed, a wardrobe painted red. A light blue gauze curtain, and all the bedding on the bed was new, even the quilt was her favorite sweet pink.
A smaller desk was added to one side of the bed, with paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones neatly arranged on it, as well as a book that Mu Bai was currently teaching her.
The window paper has been replaced with new ones, and the room is much brighter now.
Even on the low table, there were several candied fruits to satisfy one's cravings.
Su Ruanruan's eyes were a little moist.
"This is……"
Mu Bai's gaze softened as he took her hand. "Do you like it?"
Su Ruanruan nodded hesitantly.
But then Mu Bai continued, "Ruan Ruan, from now on, this will be your home."
Home?
I feel like a rootless duckweed, drifting wherever it takes me, never daring to hope that I will ever have a home.
Home is more than just a house that shelters you from the wind and rain.
Home is where you have family and loved ones by your side, where someone cares for you, and where you are waiting for someone.
In her past life, she never dared to ask for such a thing.
In this life, can she really have a home?
Mu Bai saw the redness in her eyes and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
He held Su Ruanruan in his arms, saying, "Ruanruan, you still have me."
Fang Ru specifically learned about Su Ruanruan's past from Su Ran, a fellow villager and the only one from the village studying at the academy.
Although Su Ran was pedantic, he was still a fairly upright person, and he was impartial when talking about what kind of person Su Ruanruan was.
It was neither diluted nor splashed with ink.
Despite being repeatedly warned by Mu Bai, Fang Ru still told him everything Su Ran had told him.
Fang Ru felt that Su Ruanruan was not good enough for Mu Bai, but little did he know that Mu Bai's heart was bleeding.
Hearing about Su Ruanruan's past from childhood to adulthood, he only knew how helpless she was without the protection of her parents.
He felt sorry for her.
At this moment, Mu Bai and Su Ruanruan's fingers were tightly intertwined, and he could feel the warmth of her palm.
You can also feel the thick calluses on her palms.
She suffered.
Su Ruanruan nestled against Mu Bai's chest, where there were no strong pectoral muscles, but it was unusually warm.
My heart, which had been as cold and hard as ice, was gradually melting away as if it had encountered an irresistible warm sun.
“But these are all your mother’s belongings, and now…”
"It's alright, every little detail here is imprinted in my mind, I can't forget it."
"Besides, if my mother knew, she would approve of this. She also wants me to look forward."
If his mother knew that he had met the love of his life, she would surely be happy for him!
That evening, after dinner, Mu Bai was given his medicine.
Su Ruanruan returned to the room early.
The two slept in separate rooms, but it was Bai Ruan who suffered the most.
It would wander around Mu Bai's room for a while, and then scratch open the slightly closed door with its little paws.
She swayed her snow-white body as she entered the house.
With its big, round, dark eyes, it curiously looked at Su Ruanruan, who was curled up on the bed with a silly grin on her face.
What will happen to it if they separate?
Su Ruanruan reached out her long arm and scooped it into her arms.
Gently stroking its soft fur, I looked through the window at Mu Bai's brightly lit room.
Without even thinking, it's obvious that Mu Bai is copying books again to earn some spare change.
"Don't worry, you'll live with me from now on. Brother Mubai will return to the academy once he's recovered. Let's not disturb him, okay?"
Bai Ruan seemed to understand but not quite, and after whimpering twice, she left Su Ruanruan's embrace.
He burrowed under the covers with his head, found a comfortable spot, curled up, and went to sleep.
On the other end, Mu Bai put down his pen and stood up by the window.
Her tender gaze gently turned to another room.
His beloved girl, the love of his life, lived there.
He must distinguish himself in the autumn and spring imperial examinations so that one day he can marry her in glory.
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