Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 111 - 36: The Girl Outside the Window

"Here I have a copy of the ’Thousand Character Classic.’ Take it and follow along as I read." Mr. Wen pulled a ’Thousand Character Classic’ from the bookshelf behind him and handed it to Gu Chengyu.

"Ming Feng among the bamboo, white colt grazes the field. Transformation affecting the vegetation, benefiting all directions..." Mr. Wen’s deep and gentle voice resounded in the study, followed by a child’s voice. In the little courtyard behind the house, flowers were in full bloom with butterflies fluttering above. A little girl was hiding behind the flower bushes. Despite a maid searching anxiously outside, the girl covered her mouth and stayed still.

"Miss? Miss? Please come out, stop playing hide and seek with me! If the master finds out you came to the front yard, Xiao Cui will be punished!" Xiao Cui spoke in a hushed voice for a long time without seeing the girl and could only stomp her foot and continue searching to the right.

The girl hiding behind the flower bushes breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that if she couldn’t be found, Xiao Cui and her mother would be worried, but she was really bored staying in the back yard every day! In the whole house, only Xiao Cui could play with her, but Xiao Cui had work to do and couldn’t play with her all the time! Every day, apart from reading and practicing writing, she followed her mother to learn embroidery, but she longed to see the outside, even just the front yard.

Every day she heard the sound of reading from the front yard, and she was very curious. She wondered if those going to school were her age? The happiest time staying in the back yard was when her father returned from school and told her mother about the happenings in the private school. She listened with great interest each time.

The girl squatted for a while, looking towards the front yard. After pressing on her numb legs and hesitating for a moment, she decided to return to the back yard. If she stayed any longer, her mother would surely be worried.

Just as she was about to stand up, she heard voices coming from the study, including a deep voice belonging to her father. Then, a boy’s voice followed; the two seemed to be talking, but being a bit far away, she couldn’t make out the content.

The flower bushes were close to the study in the front yard, and from the study window, one could clearly see the flower bushes in the little courtyard. The girl’s curiosity was piqued, and she tiptoed to the window, only to hear that the conversation had stopped.

The little girl felt a bit disappointed and was about to peek through the window. At that moment, the reading voice began in the study. Stealthily leaning against the window’s edge and standing on her toes, she could only reveal half of her head. Her eyes swept across the room and saw her father sitting in a wooden armchair at the desk, reading the ’Thousand Character Classic.’ Looking to the left, she saw a small boy beside the desk, dressed in a fine cotton blue robe. Upon seeing his face, the girl was stunned!

Mr. Wen first taught all eight lines twice before looking at Gu Chengyu, hesitating for a moment, "What I taught yesterday is more than these eight lines; should I teach more today for you to memorize? Can you remember all of it?"

"I’ve already memorized the first few lines, so teacher, please continue teaching. If I forget later, I’ll ask the senior brothers in Class C." In fact, memorizing a few lines a day didn’t take much time, but the progress was too slow. The only thing he couldn’t keep up with was his handwriting. Although his handwriting wasn’t bad, there was indeed some room for improvement.

"You memorized it after just two readings? Then recite it for me." Mr. Wen’s eyes, filled with doubt, passed over Gu Chengyu.

"Yes!" So Gu Chengyu recited the lines he had just read.

Astonished, Mr. Wen stood up abruptly from the armchair and said, "Could it be that you have a photographic memory?"

"Photographic memory is something far from me. However, as long as I read with focus, I can memorize it in under two readings. As for whether I’d forget it later without reviewing, this I haven’t tested!"

"That’s still a rare memory." Mr. Wen remarked in admiration. He paced in the study, "So, no matter how long the article, you can memorize it after reading it once or twice?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Yes!" Gu Chengyu replied. Looking up, he was surprised to see a little girl peeking over the window sill. The girl showed only the upper half of her face; her hair was styled in a bun with a pink ribbon, revealing an apple face, bright and spirited eyes, delicate and lovely. Gu Chengyu found it astonishing. Were there girl students in the private school? Upon thinking further, he realized that the private school was in a secondary residence. The back must have been the inner courtyard, and the girl was probably a family member of Mr. Wen’s. The girl stared unblinkingly at him, and Gu Chengyu gave her a slight smile. Then he turned his body sideways, thinking that even though he was just a child, staring at someone’s family females wasn’t proper and could be considered uncouth.

Mr. Wen sighed. This boy indeed had the potential to be arrogant. If he had such skills in his youth, he might have become even more conceited!

"Despite having such abilities, knowledge is more than rote memorization; there’s still much to learn! Don’t bite off more than you can chew; it’s better not to learn too fast!" Mr. Wen had decided that in the future, Gu Chengyu’s curriculum would progress faster since this boy couldn’t be judged by common sense. Then, he wondered if his private school might produce a prodigy?

Mr. Wen stroked the beard on his chin and turned to sit back down. But as he turned, he saw the little girl hanging on the window edge and gave her an intimidating glare. This child was too much! Was the front yard a place she was allowed to go?

The little girl, seeing her father had spotted her, immediately lowered her feet, crouched down, and returned to the back yard the way she had come.

"Miss, where did you go? I’ve been looking everywhere for you! If I couldn’t find you, I was about to tell Madam!" Xiao Cui was really worried. The girl usually liked to play hide and seek with her, but she’d never hidden for so long.

"Dear Xiao Cui, don’t tell mother! I’m here, aren’t I?" The girl tugged on Xiao Cui’s sleeve, signaling her to leave quickly. Her mind, however, kept thinking about the boy who was about her age and was really handsome! She’d never seen anyone so good-looking before!

Mr. Wen turned his head to look at Gu Chengyu, noticing that he wasn’t looking at the window side. He assumed Gu Chengyu hadn’t noticed and resumed reading, "Ahem! Read a few more lines with me."

By the time Gu Chengyu returned to Class C, the Si hour had already passed a quarter. He calmly sat at the desk amidst the stares of the Class C students.

As soon as he sat down, he heard Wang Qikai calling him from behind, "Chengyu? What did the teacher want you for in the study?"

If Wang Qikai saw that Gu Chengyu didn’t look like he had been punished, he was curious about what the teacher wanted with him.

"Nothing much! Just that the teacher wanted me to memorize more texts!" Gu Chengyu laughed as he watched Wang Qikai still blowing on his hand after being hit.

"Oh? Why are you so pitiful? It was already hard enough to learn so much!" Wang Qikai suddenly felt sorry for Gu Chengyu, realizing that compared to his hand being hit, Gu Chengyu’s ’punishment’ seemed heavier. Just a moment ago, he was complaining about Gu Chengyu’s lack of brotherhood!