Chapter 264 - 261: The Study

Chapter 264: Chapter 261: The Study

They took a quick tour, but with not enough time to see everything in detail, they soon found it was time for breakfast. When Li Xiu led the two professors into the courtyard, Sister Fang had already prepared the meal. Yanyan and Nuonuo were also up and washed, each holding a book of classical poetry, reading aloud as they waited for breakfast to start.

After showing the two professors into the dining room, Li Xiu left. This baffled the couple, and they asked Sister Fang in confusion, "Where did Jin Chen go? And where is Zhou Lian?"

"Professor Xiao, Professor Fan, Jin Chen went to wake Xiao Lian up. Please wait a moment, it won’t be long," Sister Fang said casually. Every morning, Li Xiu would finish helping her with breakfast before going to wake Zhou Lian. It had been this way for years, a daily routine they were all accustomed to.

The elderly couple exchanged a glance but said nothing. They hadn’t seen Zhou Lian in the garden earlier and had simply assumed she was preparing breakfast.

Before long, a refreshed and neatly dressed Zhou Lian was led in by the hand by Li Xiu. Seeing Professor Xiao and her husband, Zhou Lian greeted them with a radiant smile.

The couple’s composure was excellent; they didn’t let their shock show, simply nodding with a smile. As she watched her student’s family gathered so boisterously around the table, Professor Xiao felt a wave of emotion. ’In all these years, this is the first time I’ve had breakfast with so many people in such a lively setting!’

After breakfast, and after confirming with the two professors, Zhou Lian led them to the study, asking Li Xiu to first help the two children with their day’s homework.

"Has it always been like this?" Professor Xiao asked softly.

"Huh?" Zhou Lian looked at her teacher, confused, only managing to utter a single syllable.

Looking at her naive student, Professor Xiao rubbed her forehead in resignation. ’She’s already thirty, yet she’s as innocent as a teenage girl.’ She said softly, "Is it like this every day? I mean, in the mornings."

Staring at her teacher, it took Zhou Lian a moment to realize what she was referring to. Her face instantly flushed bright red. "I... I have a habit of staying up late," she stammered, "so I usually get up around seven in the morning."

Nodding gently, Professor Xiao looked away. ’Just one little question and she blushes that much. How thin-skinned can she be?’ She simply said softly, "It seems Jin Chen has kept the promise he made back then."

Her husband, Professor Fan, asked curiously, "What did Jin Chen say back then?"

"’I said that Zhou Lian would never need to worry about our family’s finances, and that the only reason she went to university was because she loved it. As for our children, my work schedule is very flexible, so she wouldn’t have to exhaust herself looking after them—she just needs to be with them when they need her. She wouldn’t have to bother with household chores, which she isn’t good at anyway. All she should have to do is pursue the things she loves. There’s absolutely no need for her to be burdened by mundane matters and social obligations. Professor, you can rest assured. I have everything at home and with the children covered. I’ll be counting on you to guide her.’" Li Xiu, having just settled the children, had arrived at the doorway just in time to hear the professors’ question, and he gently repeated, word for word, what he had told Professor Xiao before Zhou Lian became her disciple.

"You remember it that clearly? My goodness!" Hearing Li Xiu repeat his words from all those years ago, Professor Xiao smiled. ’The fact that he remembers proves he’s lived up to every single word he said back then.’ 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Standing to the side, Zhou Lian looked at Professor Xiao and her husband and said gently, "He’s been this way for all the years since I married him. How could he possibly forget? It’s not as if he only started acting like this after I became your disciple!"

Li Xiu simply smiled at Zhou Lian without saying anything more. ’In this life, there is no way I’ll let her do any housework or be bothered by such worldly matters. In our last life, the doctor said it was because Bao’er had overworked herself when she was young, both physically and mentally, that her body had worn down so severely. Otherwise, with no significant organ failure, she wouldn’t have passed away in her early sixties.’

Professor Fan shook his head, smiling. ’This Li Jincheng is really something else. No wonder rumors are circulating in the Capital City’s elite circles that Li Xiu is brilliant to an almost demonic degree, and that his only weakness is his wife. Then again, they also say she’s his one inviolable line—his ’reverse scale.’ You can provoke him, and as long as you don’t cross his absolute limits, he won’t even bother with you. But you must never, ever provoke his wife. Not in the slightest. Not even with a single harsh word. Rumor has it he turned the Capital City upside down twice for her. Whether that’s true or not, who knows? But the message from the top is crystal clear: Do not mess with Zhou Lian!’

Seeing Professor Xiao and Zhou Lian by the bookshelves, both Li Xiu and Professor Fan knew they were absorbed in the collection of ancient books. Professor Fan had little interest in the subject. Li Xiu enjoyed it, but mostly because he loved discussing such topics with Zhou Lian. Seeing how engrossed the two women were, neither man went to disturb them.

Li Xiu knew what Professor Fan enjoyed, so he led him to his own study, which was connected to Zhou Lian’s. Professor Fan was dumbfounded as he took in the room’s decor. It wasn’t that the study was unimpressive—quite the opposite. It was a grand and tidy room. But by the window stood a floor screen made of golden nanmu. That in itself was fine; the screen in Zhou Lian’s study was also golden nanmu, an embroidered piece depicting the Four Gentlemen: plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. This screen, however, was embroidered with a scene of a court lady playing with a cat. And the most striking part? No matter how he looked at it, the court lady was the spitting image of Zhou Lian!

Speechless, Professor Fan looked at Li Xiu, his heart pounding in astonishment. ’Just how deeply must Li Xiu care for Zhou Lian to do something like this!’

Following Professor Fan’s gaze, Li Xiu smiled. "Professor, this screen was originally meant for Bao’er’s study, but she didn’t particularly like it, so it ended up here. Bao’er sometimes comes to my study to keep me company, and this way, she has a place to rest behind the screen."

Professor Fan nodded without a word, instead choosing to carefully examine the study, which was completely different in style from Zhou Lian’s. By comparison, this room was grand yet uncluttered. Two massive bookshelves lined the walls, and the large desk between them was also crafted from golden nanmu. A painting of the ’Eight Gallant Steeds’ hung on one wall, alongside a work of calligraphy by Xie Anshi, the renowned prime minister of Jiangzuo. In a corner, a square plant stand held a round glass fishbowl, but instead of fish, it was growing a dwarf lotus.

The corner of Professor Fan’s mouth twitched. Pointing to the dwarf lotus in the corner, he said to Li Xiu, "You could raise some fish in there with the lotus. That bowl is certainly big enough!"

Li Xiu followed Professor Fan’s gaze to the fishbowl and smiled. "I know, Professor. But Bao’er isn’t a fan, and I worry that if the children come in here and see fish, their curiosity might get the better of them. They might try to reach in, and that could be dangerous."

Professor Fan felt a twinge of something akin to a toothache from all the sweetness. No longer wanting to engage with him, he turned his attention to slowly examining the objects in the room one by one. Seeing that the professor was now engrossed, Li Xiu quietly slipped out to the kitchen. He brewed tea, washed some fruit, and carried a tray into Zhou Lian’s study. He smiled silently at the sight of Professor Xiao and Zhou Lian, who were completely absorbed. He set the refreshments down without disturbing them, then returned to the kitchen for another tray. He brought it to his own study and, seeing that Professor Fan was just as engrossed, placed it down just as quietly before heading out.