Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 102 - 27: Giving Advice to Wang Qikai

After eating, Wang Qikai and Gu Chengyu returned to Class C. At 1:00 PM, Mr. Wen came back to assign coursework. After spending an hour in Class A, he rotated through the three classes. If there were any questions, they could ask him or request to learn new content.

It was now 1:45 PM, the time for a break after lunch. Since finishing lunch, Wang Qikai’s curiosity had been ignited, and he talked more or less about Ye Zhiqiu.

It turned out that Ye Zhiqiu’s family, besides him, consisted entirely of women: Ye Zhiqiu’s mother, older sister, and second sister. His father was a scholar back then, but while traveling to the Prefecture to take the Provincial Examination, he caught a cold. Despite having the cold, he didn’t seek immediate treatment but forced himself to take the exam. After three consecutive days, he collapsed and passed away before a doctor could treat him. Since then, the family consisted of those women and little Ye Zhiqiu. At the time of Ye Xiucai’s death, Ye Zhiqiu was only four years old, and now he was already eight, having been in school for more than two years.

Gu Chengyu also lamented how in ancient times, a family without a breadwinner lived miserably. Like Senior Brother Sun’s family, which also lacked a father, and his mother was sick. Life was very tough. However, he thought that Senior Brother Sun was open-minded and talkative, whereas Ye Zhiqiu gave off a different vibe.

Gu Chengyu felt that Ye Zhiqiu and his fourth brother were similar, both being sensitive and anxious people, with Ye Zhiqiu being even more shy and melancholic. Gu Chengyu felt that having one fourth brother was enough annoyance; he didn’t want to always guide them. Having another one made him feel busy, with no time.

However, Gu Chengyu didn’t know that despite not wanting to take on troubles, he would later find that the person he considered troublesome would become his friend.

The day passed quickly, and before they realized it, it was 3:30 PM. The students in Class C began packing their ink and brushes, preparing to leave. Gu Chengyu borrowed Wang Qikai’s ink wash to clean his brush, rolled it into coarse fabric, and placed it in his book bag.

"Chengyu, is someone coming to pick you up? Why don’t I take you home?" Wang Qikai asked with concern after tidying up, seeing Gu Chengyu still organizing his book bag. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"No need, you go ahead! My father will definitely come to pick me up. You must do the homework that the teacher assigned today seriously, or else Mr. Wen won’t let you off so easily tomorrow." Wang Qikai spent more than an hour catching up on coursework after lunch.

"Of course, I know that! Actually, I’ve already written it before. But every day at 7 PM, when my mother checks my homework, she says it’s poorly done and makes me tear it up to rewrite it. I want to rewrite, but I have to sleep at that hour. I can’t control myself; I fall asleep while writing at the desk, and the servant carries me to bed." Wang Qikai felt a bit aggrieved recalling this, no matter how he writes, his mother always thinks it’s bad.

Gu Chengyu was somewhat speechless; such a clumsy method was effective nonetheless. In the Dayan Dynasty, filial piety was paramount. This habit of having to sleep at the hour might be caused by Wang Qikai’s body or possibly due to consuming some sleep-inducing medicine or incense in the room.

Gu Chengyu hoped he was just overthinking. It’s really difficult for an illegitimate son to survive under the direct eye of a legitimate mother. Take, for example, Wang Qikai’s eldest sister and her calligraphy lessons; why teach daughters but not sons? It was clear that Wang Qikai’s sister must have been legitimate.

"Do you like incense in your room?" Gu Chengyu asked, appearing nonchalant.

"I’ve never noticed; perhaps the maid lit it? There should be incense since there’s fragrance in the room. Why?" Wang Qikai asked curiously.

"Nothing, just smelled incense on you. As a boy, do you actually like incense?" Without investigation, it couldn’t be confirmed that incense was the issue; it could also be a food-related cause. In any case, ruling one out at a time seemed sensible.

"There’s no incense! You must have smelled wrong." Wang Qikai felt a bit guilty, worried that Gu Chengyu might mock him for liking girly stuff. He decided to secretly extinguish the incense when he returned home, as it was given by his legitimate mother, and he dared only to extinguish it in secret.

"If your mother thinks your handwriting is poor, you should practice more; don’t be lazy! You could try writing twice before daily checks, which helps practice writing and prevents homework delays due to sleep." Gu Chengyu said, not wanting to meddle much in others’ family matters. If they were familiar later, he might invite him to the Gu Family, asking Doctor Li to take a look. He thought Wang Qikai’s situation seemed somewhat like poisoning.

"Hey! You really are smart! I have to hurry back and do it! I’ll leave first!" Wang Qikai felt he was very foolish before, not having thought of this solution before? He quickly grabbed his book bag and ran out of Class C.

Gu Chengyu watched the distant-running Wang Qikai and shook his head with a smile. He admired his cheerful and optimistic nature, finding it rare that Wang Qikai could maintain such a sunny disposition despite being marginalized.

After packing his book bag, Gu Chengyu ran towards the gate, realizing they forgot to ask the teacher about the class dismissal time, wondering if his father came yet.

Mr. Gu was feeling bored, dozing on the ox cart when suddenly he heard the ringing sound from inside the gate, guessing it was time for class dismissal. He sat up straight and focused on the direction of the gate.

Indeed, shortly after, the private school’s gate opened with students running out. Mr. Gu widened his eyes, hoping to see Gu Chengyu’s figure among them.

As the number of students leaving the private school dwindled, Mr. Gu grew a bit anxious.

He got off the ox cart, ready to go to the gatehouse for inquiries. Just then, while heading to the gate, he spotted a child running from the private school. Upon closer look, wasn’t this the Gu Chengyu he had been waiting for half the day?

Gu Chengyu saw the ox cart and knew Mr. Gu came to pick him up. "Father!"

Hearing his youngest son call him, Mr. Gu hurried to greet him, "Why did you come out so late? Everyone else has already left."

Picking up Gu Chengyu onto the ox cart, Mr. Gu followed onto the cart, whipped, and drove it towards home.

"Just chatted with classmates a while, so I was late!"

"Today at the private school, no bullying, right? Did you understand what the teacher taught? It’s your first time away from the Gu Family alone for so long; now seeing you, Mr. Gu could finally relax.

"My classmates were quite kind, the teacher taught me many words today. When I get home, I have homework, and I’ve learned a lot of words!" Gu Chengyu’s pretended pride amused Mr. Gu.

"Our Xiao Bao will be a scholar in the future! You must write for your father to see when we get back!"

The Gu family’s ox cart was filled with laughter and joy between father and son. Gu Chengyu looked at the fields along the way, feeling so content and happy with the sense of family.