It was still obviously the beginning of spring, but today was rather hot. Chen Changsheng didn't know if it was because of the weather or if it was because his mood was off, but in brief, by the time he had walked back to the inn, his clothes were soaked in sweat. They had also become somewhat filthy after collecting dust from the road. As a lover of cleanliness, his mood became even more depressed, right up until he saw that person.
It was a youth dressed in blue. He stood right in the middle of the lobby, his chin angled slightly upwards, his expression indifferent. He simply didn't care about how much inconvenience his standing in this place would cause to others. He was proud like a wild crane. Nowhere in his eyes could be found those chickens that were at this very moment lowering their heads to peck at their food.
This inn was close to the Mausoleum of Books, so many people passed by it. It happened to be precisely meal time, so the people coming in and out of the inn were like a tide, and yet no one dared to approach him. The blue-clothed youth was like one of those lonely stone pillars in the Luo river, parting the tide when struck. The scene was somewhat strange—Chen Changsheng recognized this blue-clothed youth, but those people in the inn didn't. Then the reason for such a strange scene as this was presumably that something had already occurred. He was rather astonished. How could he have appeared here? Did he come here looking for him? But why did he want to find him?
He walked up to the blue-clothed youth, bowed in greeting, and then didn't know what he should say next.
The blue-clothed youth was precisely that Tang Thirty-Six who happened to meet Chen Changsheng at the entrance exam for the Heavenly Dao Academy. His name originated from his ranking on the Proclamation of Azure Sky. Amusingly, he was like Chen Changsheng in that neither of them was very skilled at communication. After returning the greeting, he also didn't know what to say, and the scene very quickly became awkward.
The inn was dead silent. Not daring to disturb Tang Thirty-Six, the customers in the inn all had their heads lowered as they ate their food, not daring to make the slightest sound or commentary. But there were many gazes resting on those two youths. Many people were very curious to see what would happen next.
An awkward scene was a very embarrassing matter. An awkward scene under the gazes of numerous onlookers reached the peak of embarrassment, especially when Tang Thirty-Six wanted to show his open-mindedness and familiarize Chen Changsheng with a side of himself. Fortunately, in the end, he was still a bit older than Chen Changsheng, so after a moment's contemplation, he finally found a question to break this awkward atmosphere. He said, "A guest has come, but you don't invite him to sit?"
This caused Chen Changsheng to awake from his stupor and invite him into his room. Taking out a dozen or so copper coins, he asked the waiter of the inn to brew a pot of tea. In a moment, the tea was brewed. There was one table, one teapot, and two tea cups filled to seventy percent full. Chen Changsheng invited him to drink, and then the situation once again fell into awkwardness.
A long period of silence was really very embarrassing, and Tang Thirty-Six truly found it hard to bear. Going straight to the point, he asked, "You haven't succeeded in passing an entrance examination yet, right?"
Chen Changsheng honestly replied, "It's my fourth time failing to make the list."
After a period of silence, Tang Thirty-Six said, "I know it's because the Divine General of the East's estate is moving behind the scenes."
Chen Changsheng raised his head. He was surprised that this youth actually knew of this inside information about this matter, but he didn't know how much this youth knew. Now carrying a hint of suspicion, his gaze was naturally somewhat different from before.
Tang Thirty-Six's impression was that Chen Changsheng was a normal youth with promising talent, an amiable disposition, and a laudable spirit. Now he came to the sudden realization that this kid's gaze was as sharp as a dazzling blade. He couldn't help but be a little surprised and narrowed his eyes. He became even more interested in what Chen Changsheng was hiding.
What made Tang Thirty-Six somewhat depressed was that when he said, 'Divine General of the East's estate', Chen Changsheng was obviously shaken, but he didn't give the answer that Tang Thirty-Six wanted, only remained silent like a useless quail. He was somewhat angry and his two eyebrows shot up like two swords being unsheathed as he yelled, "Could it be that you're not angry? That you're not furious?"
Chen Changsheng raised his head and glanced at him, and then slowly rolled his eyes.
Tang Thirty-Six was just then drinking tea and almost spit his tea out. He had not imagined that this old-fashioned and even inflexible kid would also have this sort of childish side.
Chen Changsheng thought, I'm so depressed that I feel like I'm about to die, but do I really have to let you know?
He wasn't even willing to reveal this matter of the engagement to other people, so why would he reveal that it was the engagement that caused this injustice of him failing four entrance examinations?
At this point, the engagement was still a secret between him and the Divine General of the East's estate—even if the Divine General of the East's estate continuously beat him down, even if that middle-aged lady's words made him very angry, he was still not prepared to announce this matter to the world. It wasn't because he was scared of the Divine General's estate's threats, and even less that he was afraid that the Divine General's estate would have him killed. It was because, in the end, he still believed that he would return the marriage contract to the Divine General's estate, so what need was there to make noise about this matter until it was the talk of the streets? The young lady of the Xu clan might be cold and aloof, as vile as her parents, but since the Divine General's estate would have apologized by then, was there any need to make it harder for this girl to marry someone else in the future?
Yes, he believed that he would ultimately end the engagement because he firmly believed that the Divine General's estate would one day apologize to him. In addition, he didn't want his own name to become widely known because of the young lady of the Xu family. Perhaps it was pride, perhaps it was stubbornness, but in brief, he wanted to persevere for a while. His view of this world was still that he should persevere upon this path of innocence.
...
...
Very interestingly, Chen Changsheng had clearly said nothing and Tang Thirty-Six knew absolutely nothing, but Tang Thirty-Six had managed to roughly comprehend Chen Changsheng's intention. Without cause, he was filled with even more admiration for Chen Changsheng. Draining the cup of warm tea in one gulp, he patted Chen Changsheng on the shoulder and said, "I really admire you."
Although he was a young genius ranked thirty-sixth on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, an existence that stood amongst the human crowd like a crane that no one dared to provoke, in the end, he was still a youth. As a result, his actions somewhat feigned maturity and as he said those words, his gaze and posture made it seem like he was looking down on Chen Changsheng. If it were another person, they would probably feel very uncomfortable, and perhaps some people would directly get angry, but Chen Changsheng did not. He understood that this kid was expressing kindness and consolation, only it was very obvious that this kid rarely did this sort of thing and so came off as rather clumsy.
He said, "Thank you."
Tang Thirty-Six replied, "Verbally expressing thanks is not enough. Treat me to a meal."
It was still a very clumsy way of showing kindness and a desire to make friends—Chen Changsheng suddenly felt sympathetic for this kid. He thought to himself, I'm afraid this kid spent his entire life cultivating. No wonder his cultivation is so profound at such an age, but his way of dealing with others is a complete mess. I really don't how he'll deal with it in the future.
He had always thought about things in a very focused manner and so looked rather stupefied. Tang Thirty-Six couldn't help but shake his head at this sight, very much sympathizing with this kid. He thought to himself, I'm afraid this kid spent his entire life reading books. No wonder he could remember so many books and teachings at such a young age. His way of dealing with others is a complete mess. I really don't know how he'll deal with it in the future.
In brief, neither kid had the qualification to sympathize with the other kid. Receiving each other's sympathetic and friendly intentions, they once again began to continue that social interaction they had started in the Heavenly Dao Academy.
Chen Changsheng had the inn waiter bring over the menu. After calculating that the money his master had given as well as that which his senior brother had privately gifted him was enough for him to live out several years of good life in the capital, he didn't spend any more time thinking about it and pushed the menu over to Tang Thirty-Six. "Order what you want…yeah, this is the first time I've ever treated anyone to a meal."
He had no idea that these words caused Tang Thirty-Six to sympathize with him even more. Tang Thirty-Six thought, just what hole in a mountain did this kid come out of?