TATSD Chapter 102

Liu Chengyin lay on the ground for a while, replaying the events that had just occurred in his mind. It wasn’t until he realized there truly was no better way out of the situation that he got up, limping as he leaned against the wall to go downstairs.

When he stood in front of the crowd behind Liu Yimian, he was met with disdainful glances.

“I can’t believe it’s you!”

“The thought of sitting in the lecture hall next to a thief makes my skin crawl.”

“I said this is your brother—are you going to let him off the hook? You’re not going to let it go, are you?”

“Liu Chengyin is brothers with that guy? Does he need to steal?”

The students whispered among themselves, some hurling accusations while others muttered quietly, and their various voices filled Liu Chengyin’s ears, stirring up his emotions. He felt a sudden urge to speak up.

But just as he was about to say something, Lu Yushu’s fan moved in front of him, drawing his instinctive gaze.

“Be cautious with your words and actions,” Lu Yushu said coolly, tossing out those four words before returning his gaze to Lin Tai.

Lu Yushu was always like this, rarely showing any emotion. But that one ordinary look sent chills down Liu Chengyin’s spine, squashing any thought of stirring up trouble.

“Go find the headmaster.” The crowd riled up, and immediately nodded in agreement. Lin Tai stepped forward to grab Liu Chengyin, but the moment his hand touched Liu Chengyin’s arm, Liu Chengyin instinctively struggled.

While he had been taken by surprise upstairs, now, even though he knew he had done something wrong, he couldn’t remain calm in front of all these people.

“I can walk by myself! Don’t touch me!” Liu Chengyin shook his shoulders again and quickly retreated two steps. A strong push from behind propelled him forward.

Someone behind him was worried he might try to escape, helping Lin Tai with a shove.

Even without Lin Tai laying hands on him, Liu Chengyin knew he wouldn’t fare any better with the crowd’s furious expressions.

Lin Tai chuckled, too lazy to pay him any mind, and moved closer to Liu Yimian, lowering his voice to ask, “Are you okay?”

“What could be wrong?” Liu Yimian replied lightly, not at all fazed by Liu Chengyin’s shock or disappointment at being labeled a thief. If Liu Yimian had shown some emotion, it would have put Lin Tai at ease, but seeing him like this only caused concern.

Wen Xuan stood next to Liu Yimian. “Yeah, you don’t look too good. Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

“Don’t worry. Starting today, everything will be different,” Liu Yimian said, clenching his fists at his sides, his voice calm.

As Lin Tai and Wen Xuan walked along, chatting with Liu Yimian, Lin Tai finally felt a bit relieved upon seeing that he was genuinely okay.

In the days leading up to this theft incident, they had already gone to the headmaster twice. At this moment, the headmaster was in his room practicing calligraphy when he heard the commotion outside and frowned slightly.

The door to his room was ajar, and as he turned around, he saw the group of students he had just met a few days ago.

“What’s going on?” The headmaster put down his brush, clasped his hands behind his back, and stepped outside.

Upon seeing the headmaster, everyone stopped in their tracks. The gaze of the crowd turned to the person in front, and without hesitation, Liu Yimian stepped forward to perform a student’s bow. “Headmaster, we have captured the real thief. Zhang Xiaoman is innocent. I hope you can allow him to return to the academy and continue his studies.”

“Oh? Who is this person?” The headmaster’s sharp eyes scanned the crowd, quickly locking onto a face that looked a bit flustered.

“It’s Liu Chengyin.” As soon as Liu Yimian mentioned his name, Lin Tai gave him a shove, pushing him out of the group.

Caught off guard, Liu Chengyin stumbled forward, nearly embarrassing himself in front of the headmaster. But at this point, he had no one to blame but himself. Suppressing the anger and panic inside, he took a deep breath and said, “Headmaster, Yimian is my younger brother. I borrowed some money from him—how can that be called stealing? Everyone is being too harsh!”

In reality, this was precisely the conundrum the headmaster faced.

Although Liu Chengyin had been in school for less than three months, he had distinguished himself with his studies, and his name was already known to the headmaster. Moreover, he had a younger brother well-known throughout the county, so seeing him brought in by his brother while claiming to be the real thief left the headmaster perplexed.

Seizing the headmaster’s hesitation, Liu Chengyin quickly added, “I know that taking without asking was wrong, but I was in a hurry to use the money and couldn’t find Yimian, so I took it first! I can return the money! I just hope the headmaster can overlook this one time, considering my dedication to my studies!”

At first, his voice was filled with agitation, but as he spoke, it grew quieter, and his eyes reddened, giving the impression that he felt guilty.

The headmaster frowned as he regarded him, remaining silent.

“What were you in such a hurry for? You couldn’t even take a moment to tell your brother?”

“Um…” Liu Chengyin hesitated, then quickly replied, “My father is gravely ill, and our family is in dire straits. We have no money for medical expenses, which forced me to commit such an ugly act.”

The twenty or so students who followed behind murmured to one another, and Liu Yimian heard their increasingly wavering whispers. The corners of his mouth curled up into a self-deprecating smile.

He stepped up beside Liu Chengyin, performed a bow to the headmaster, and then said, “Headmaster, may I ask him a few questions?”

The headmaster nodded. “Go ahead.”

Liu Yimian turned to Liu Chengyin, “We both study at the academy and see each other in the lecture hall every day. Why did you choose to break into my room and take money on a day when I wasn’t in the dormitory?”

“I—I forgot…” Liu Chengyin stammered.

“Alright, I’ll ask you again.” Lin Tai was so furious that he wanted to step forward to hit Liu Chengyin, but Liu Yimian stopped him, looking indifferent as he softly said, “Lin Tai, trust me.”

Lin Tai glared at Liu Chengyin, snorted, and stepped back.

“Even if what you said is true, why, knowing that Zhang Xiaoman is innocent, would you team up with Chen Peizhi to smear him? Why force him out of the academy in front of the headmaster?”

“Uh…” Liu Chengyin couldn’t find an answer, and the hesitation in his expression caused a sharp pain in Liu Yimian’s heart.

It was so obvious, yet why couldn’t he see through this person’s deep schemes? He was too foolish, wasting all of Brother Ji’s guidance.

“The last time was when Liu Shan was gravely ill, and in a moment of panic, you forgot to ask before taking. So what about this time? What excuse do you have now?” Liu Yimian said, grabbing Liu Chengyin’s left hand and spreading it out in front of the headmaster. “I put a razor blade in the money pouch; anyone who steals will cut themselves the moment they grasp it. Headmaster, please take a look!”

The headmaster glanced at it, his expression already quite displeased. There was a hint of disgust in his gaze toward Liu Chengyin, as if he were some filthy thing. He immediately turned away, refusing to look at Liu Chengyin again.

“Headmaster! Please, give me a chance!” Seeing the situation slipping away, Liu Chengyin immediately dropped to his knees, grasping the headmaster’s sleeve, and tried to continue, “I was confused in a moment of folly and made this mistake. But I am still his brother; please take pity on my diligence—”

“Let go.”

The cold, impatient voice caused Liu Chengyin to stiffen. Just a short while ago, that same voice had made Zhang Xiaoman leave the county academy.

And now, it was his turn.

Was this the way the wheel of fortune turned?

Liu Chengyin refused to accept his fate. He had worked so hard to save enough money to come to the county academy. He still needed to pass the scholar’s exam and escape that family; he couldn’t leave!

“Headmaster, I am willing to accept any punishment, I just ask—”

“I said, let go!” The headmaster coldly scoffed and swung his left hand, knocking Liu Chengyin’s palm away. “Go quickly this afternoon to find Li Zhenxing to collect the remaining stipend; the academy cannot accommodate a student like you.”

After saying this, the headmaster turned to leave, and Liu Chengyin immediately got up to follow. But he had only taken a few steps when Lin Tai blocked his way, refusing to let him pass.

Desperate, Liu Chengyin’s eyes burned red with anger. He roared and lunged at Lin Tai, surprising him enough to be caught off guard.

“Stop! You still owe Lin Tai two taels of silver! Do you want to see the officials?” Liu Yimian rushed over to grab Liu Chengyin’s hand, but he was met with a slap.

“Shut up!” Liu Chengyin shouted, his whole demeanor ferocious and no longer the cultured, polite person he usually was. Many people instinctively stepped back, fearing they might get caught in the fray.

With such a ruckus, several students nearby heard what was happening and rushed over. In the distance, Chen Peizhi heard Liu Chengyin’s voice and knew things were going badly, so he hurried over.

But upon seeing Liu Chengyin’s disheveled state, he hesitated and stopped. However, seeing the headmaster’s door tightly shut, it was clear that the matter had already been settled. He pushed through the crowd to reach Liu Chengyin and supported his wavering body.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m perfectly fine!” Liu Chengyin glared at Liu Yimian, grinding his teeth in frustration.

If not for Liu Yimian’s deliberate scheming, how could he have found himself in such a passive situation? This was truly his good little brother!

“Hand over the money pouch you stole,” Liu Yimian said, half his face flushed as he stared coldly at Liu Chengyin. “My two taels are one thing, but consider it a repayment.”

Seeing Liu Chengyin blinded by anger, Chen Peizhi leaned in and whispered in his ear, “As long as there’s life, there’s hope. Just give it to him!”

Liu Chengyin fished out a plain pouch from his sleeve and threw two silver coins onto the ground. The original pouch had been stained with his blood, and after taking the money, he had discarded it.

“You wait!” Liu Chengyin glared hatefully at Liu Yimian as Chen Peizhi pulled him away.

“This matter is resolved; everyone disperse,” Lin Tai said, having been knocked over by Liu Chengyin and twisting his ankle, causing him to limp slightly. Liu Yimian supported one of his arms. “Zhang Xiaoman should be happy.”

Lin Tai looked at him and asked, “Are you happy?”

But Liu Yimian didn’t answer that question; he quietly said, “I miss Brother Ji.”

After reaching an agreement with Zheng Yi, the old man Zhang bought all the coconuts. Zheng Yi sold off all his stock and felt light as he stayed in Changliu Town for several days, not in a hurry to leave.

He was very curious about the coconut tarts that Ji Wei made and, having heard Zhang speak of the glorious history of mooncakes, often helped the two of them.

To turn the coconut tarts into gift boxes, the packaging was also very exquisite. Zhang found a calm, skilled middle-aged artist who painted beautifully. Following Ji Wei’s description, he designed the box’s artwork.

The artwork depicted the sea, coconut trees, and coconuts, which made Zheng Yi exclaim in wonder, praising Ji Wei’s creativity. Ji Wei simply attributed everything to divine inspiration, claiming he had dreamt of going to Yazhou and had seen its beautiful scenery.

As Liu Yimian’s sixteenth birthday approached, Ji Wei had no more time to stay in Changliu Town to make the coconut tarts himself. After breaking down the production process into steps for the workers, he packed his tools and hurried to Daxi Town.

Besides Liu Yimian’s birthday, Ji Wei also had urgent business to attend to—overseeing everything and supervising the official opening of the new shop!