In her bedroom.
Nan Baoyi took a fragrant shower and laid silently on her embroidered bed.
She hugged her pillow, her eyes were red.
She clearly made up her mind to work hard but such a big disgrace happened in the garden. Now the servants and maids in the residence would definitely laugh at her!
Xiao Yi opened the door.
The little girl hid behind the screens surrounding her bed wearing white pajamas. Her long black hair was still wet and let down, spreading around her thin waist.
He Ye stood outside of her bedroom and took a look at her mistress, wanting to laugh but dared not.
She respectfully presented Xiao Yi with a piece of towel and said softly, "Miss said something disgraceful happened to her and she was too ashamed to see anyone so she would not allow us to go in and serve her…"
Xiao Yi stepped in and sat on her embroidered bed, "Get up."
Nan Baoyi shook her head sullenly, "I don't want to."
Xiao Yi stretched out and touched her waist.
Nan Baoyi was ticklish and could not help but laughed out. She sat up in tears and punched him lightly, "Second Brother is the most annoying!"
"Nan Baoyi, you have become very strange recently." Xiao Yi pressed on her shoulders, forcing her to face her back towards him and expressionlessly wiped her hair, "Last time you always bully people, you are incompetent and arrogant, an extremely hateful person."
Extremely hateful…
Nan Baoyi blushed.
She awkwardly squeezed her clothing and gently asked, "Then, how am I now?"
"No longer arrogant and bullying the weak, and also willing to be diligent and hard-working."
Nan Baoyi lowered her head, "Maybe Second Brother won't believe me if I say this. I had a long dream. I dreamt that Nan residence went bankrupt and I, myself, had a bad ending. After waking up, I thought to myself I must be hardworking, I cannot let the despair in my dream come true."
"Nan Yan was a bad person in your dream?" Xiao Yi asked.
"Yes! She is cruel and ungrateful, I hate her the most!"
"So you wanted to learn the four arts and participate in the Spring Flower Festival is also because of her?"
"Yes, I want to defeat her. Anything she wants, I want to take it away!"
The delicate and soft little girl suddenly burst into hatred.
Her white teeth grinding loudly. She looked like a rabbit with her teeth like that and her reddened eyes.
Xiao Yi curved his lips, "Then, what sort of person am I in your dream?"
"Second Brother will become ―"
Nan Baoyi quickly covered her mouth.
Her eyes grew wide and looked at the young man fearfully.
The powerful minister was very scary, almost making her said what was on her mind with just a few words!
Xiao Yi went closer to her, his voice lowered, "In your dream, I must be a powerful person and that's why I'm worth it for you to suck up to after you wake up."
After seeing her thoughts clearly, Nan Baoyi started to be afraid again.
She stuttered, "No, it's not like that…"
"Turns out you are only good to me because of my power." Xiao Yi casually pinched her cheeks, "Nan Baoyi, I'm very disappointed."
His manner gradually turned cold, his narrow eyes grew dark and deep like swallowing a person into an abyss.
"Drip", Nan Baoyi's tears rolled down just in time.
Her tears landed on the back of his hands, cooling and piercing.
He lifted his hand and smiled while licking away the teardrop, "Why are you crying, did I bully you?"
Nan Baoyi grieved, "At first I was good to Second Brother because of that dream. But, but later on, you are also very kind to me, helping me buy Madam Liu's indenture and even gave me such an expensive brush pen… Second Brother is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, a very good person that is hard to find, I admire you very much…"
She said all those good things while shrinking towards a corner, scared like a frightened quail.
Finally, she could not go backward anymore.
Xiao Yi leaned over and firmly blocked her to the corner of the bed.
She curled up like a little ball, helplessly lifting her head up to look at him, her appearance was definitely an easy target to bully.
He leaned one hand against the wall and pinched her little chin hard, "You want to be protected by me?"
Nan Baoyi nodded her head vigorously.
"You want to beat Nan Yan at the Spring Flower Festival?"
Nan Baoyi continued to nod.
"Then continue to suck up to me…"
Xiao Yi paused.
He sniffed her thin neck as if making sure of her scent and calmly licked the tears off her cheeks.
Nan Baoyi was stunned and waited for him to finish licking.
She lifted her hands to touch her face. This person's saliva was all over her cheeks.
She was uncomfortable and yet a little afraid, "Second Brother, you, your behavior is out of line…"
"Your own brother is licking teardrops only, what is the big deal?"
Xiao Yi took the dress that was hanging on a wooden hanger, "Come here."
Nan Baoyi carefully went over and Xiao Yi wanted to remove her pajamas.
She clutched onto the band on her pajamas and backed away in horror, "Second Brother!"
"We are siblings, I'm only changing your clothes for you, what is so scary? Come here."
Nan Baoyi's heart was beating like a drum, she softly said, "My, my clothes are complicated, so, so I don't want to trouble you…"
Xiao Yi took a look at her pajamas.
The bands were overlapping here and there, it really was complicated.
He raised his eyebrow and passed the light pink dress to her.
Nan Baoyi watched him leaving the room and she finally felt relieved.
Second Brother was always a loner. Today she made things clear and it seemed he had acknowledged her as a sister. It was understandable if he treated her more cordially.
She calmly summoned her maid to come in and helped her get dressed.
After dressing up properly, she took out a cloth and tied it on her forehead.
That cloth had the word "Diligence" on it to show her determination.
She hugged the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism and ran into the study, "Second Brother!"
Xiao Yi was writing.
"Second Brother, I thought about it, the method to approach from all four sides was too difficult for me, should we start from the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism first, at least I would be qualified to participate in the competition, right?"
She enthusiastically threw the book on the bookcase, "Also, the girl's qualifying question to enter the competition is also easier, so I don't need to learn too much, learning a few famous quotes should be enough. Second Brother, stop writing and help me circle out the important points!"
Xiao Yi calmly wrote the last stroke before putting down his brush pen.
After waiting for the spring breeze that blew through the window to dry the ink, he picked up the paper, "I made you a study plan, from today onwards, you will follow this schedule."
Study plan?
Nan Baoyi received it with curiosity.
"Wake up at 5 am, recite six hours of the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism. Have lunch. Learn the zither at noon, six hours later have dinner. Learn drawing from 5 pm till 7 pm, learn chess from 9 pm till 11 pm…"
Both her hands trembled and she pulled a long face, "Second Brother, this schedule is not right."
"Which part?"
I can only sleep for six hours."
Xiao Yi caressed the teacup and glanced at her, "What do you think people say to start practicing at the first crow of the cock?"
[Translating note: to start practicing at the first crow of the cock means to be diligent in one's studies.]