TATSD Chapter 105

“What surprise?” Liu Yimian was so happy inside that he didn’t know what to do, but his face showed a dazed expression.

What could he be giving him?

Unconsciously, he touched the pendant on his chest through his clothing.

Since Ji Wei had personally put it on him, he hadn’t taken it off even while bathing.

“It’s a secret.” Ji Wei took Liu Yimian’s hand, pulling him forward. Although there weren’t many people around at the moment, the school building always had people coming and going, and if anyone happened to step outside, they would see the two of them holding hands.

Liu Yimian felt his face flush and his lips trembled for a moment, but his gaze gradually grew more resolute.

Then he tightened his grip on Ji Wei’s hand, striding alongside him and doing his best not to let Ji Wei’s longer legs pull him behind.

Just then, Lin Tai and the others, who had received the news, hurried over. The moment Lin Tai spotted Liu Yimian’s back, he shouted, “Liu brother! Wait for me!”

Wen Xuan, who often interacted with Ji Wei, recognized him and exclaimed excitedly, “Mr. Ji is here too!”

Ji Wei was essentially Wen Xuan’s second father; without his generous support, Wen Xuan might still be hiding in a dark, cramped room, living off selling calligraphy and paintings, let alone returning to school.

So among those who wanted to see Ji Wei, Liu Yimian was first, and Wen Xuan was second.

Hearing their voices, Liu Yimian turned to see the four of them rushing over, and a warm feeling surged in his heart.

“You’re here too! I guess everything is alright then.” Lin Tai waved his hand like a fan, breathing heavily as he said, “If I’d known Ji Wei was here, I would have taken my time.”

“Mr. Huang asked us to air out the books. Zhang Xiaoman ran over to say you had something going on, so we rushed over. The books are still spread out; we need to get back quickly.” Ji Baoshan stuck out his tongue and said, a little fearful, “If Mr. Huang finds out we left the books lying around, he’ll scold us.”

“Then I’ll go help you!” Liu Yimian started to walk away, but Lin Tai stretched out his arm to block him.

“Don’t! You two finally get a chance to see each other; I won’t dare to be the bad guy! That little task, we can handle ourselves,” Lin Tai waved his hand dismissively.

Wen Xuan and Ji Baoshan couldn’t help but laugh, but Zhao Mianguang, who was slowly trailing behind them, fixed his gaze on the intertwined hands of Liu Yimian and Ji Wei, his expression slightly stiff.

He paused for a moment and said slowly, “In public like this, although you two have been apart for a long time, you should still be mindful of the influence. Otherwise, you might be the subject of gossip, which won’t be good for Yimian.”

Zhao Mianguang made a valid point. Ji Wei didn’t care about this, but Liu Yimian, as a student at the school, couldn’t ignore it.

Hearing this, he loosened his grip.

But Liu Yimian wouldn’t let him pull his hand back; their fingers remained intertwined, firmly clasped together. He nodded to Zhao Mianguang and smiled, saying, “Mianguang, if this were before today, I would heed your advice. People can be frightening; I’ve always avoided them like the plague, fearing they would look down on me. But—”

Even Ji Wei couldn’t help but turn his face to quietly watch Liu Yimian, waiting for his next words.

“Having tasted the sweetness of freedom, how could I go back to the way things were?” Liu Yimian looked ahead and spoke softly.

At first, he had indeed been afraid that You Guizhi would tarnish his reputation and that the other students would look down on him.

But as he pressured You Guizhi and turned the tables on her, those previously wavering students also stood by his side.

Liu Yimian suddenly understood and had come to terms with it.

He was just an ordinary person, balancing his own needs and those of his friends, unable to please everyone. When he found himself in a difficult situation, it was only friends who were willing to believe in him, accompany him, and support him.

As for the others, people’s hearts could change easily; they had nothing to do with him. Whether they believed in him or not was up to them. He couldn’t force them or change their minds; he could only let it be.

Just as You Guizhi could sway the observing students, he could persuade them to stand with him.

Since that was the case, rather than being anxious, he might as well be unrestrained.

In the short month and a half at the academy, he had lived a life more exciting than the past fifteen years. Although he had left the Ji family and come to an unfamiliar place alone, Liu Yimian had no regrets.

“I have to thank You Guizhi,” Liu Yimian finished, and Lin Tai furrowed his brow, quickly reaching out to touch his forehead. The moment he met Ji Wei’s gaze, he retracted his hand as if it had been burned.

“Don’t misunderstand; I was just worried he might be upset and fall ill or something.” Lin Tai mumbled as he took a step back, inadvertently bumping into Ji Baoshan standing behind him and stepping on his foot.

Ji Wei looked at Liu Yimian with a hint of relief in his eyes and reached out his other hand to gently ruffle Liu Yimian’s hair, smiling, “Of course, he’s fine. Thank you all for your concern.”

Zhao Mianguang averted his gaze. “It’s been a while since we’ve been out. I’m afraid Mr. Huang will come back to check, so I’ll head back now.” After saying that, he turned and walked away without waiting for anyone else to speak.

Even when Wen Xuan called out to him, Zhao Mianguang didn’t look back.

“What’s wrong with Mianguang? He seems lost in thought.” Wen Xuan asked, a bit worried. “But since everything is fine, we should head back. After things are settled there, I’ll come back to see you.”

“I wonder how long Mr. Ji plans to stay in Daxi Town?”

“Until after Yimian’s birthday. There’s no rush.”

“What? Liu brother’s birthday?” Lin Tai’s eyes widened in surprise, and he said indignantly, “Goodness! You didn’t even mention this to us! If Ji Wei hadn’t come, would you have planned to let it go unnoticed?”

Liu Yimian couldn’t meet Lin Tai’s gaze and lowered his eyes slightly.

Since his mother passed away, he hadn’t celebrated a birthday since.

If it weren’t for Old Madam Lu asking about making a birthday cake, he wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.

Though his expression was calm, his heart was filled with joy.

“Forget it, I’m magnanimous and won’t hold it against you. When is it?” Lin Tai stared eagerly at Ji Wei, clearly not planning to wait for Liu Yimian to answer.

“Six days from now,” Ji Wei replied crisply.

“Alright! Wen Xuan, Bao Shan, let’s go!”

“Huh?”

Lin Tai turned and left. When he saw Wen Xuan still standing there, he took a couple of steps back, grabbed his arm, and pulled him along. Though Lin Tai was slightly shorter than Wen Xuan, he was sturdy, and Wen Xuan, being slender, was dragged quite a distance before finally managing to break free.

“Wait for me!” Ji Bao Shan called to the two of them, waved goodbye, and hurried after them.

“Good eye,”

Liu Yimian knew what Ji Wei was referring to and smiled, “I’m just lucky.”

Lin Tai and the others took the old books off the shelf, let them sunbathe for an hour, and then put them back in place. The group climbed up and down on stools, and just as they were finishing up, Wen Xuan slipped and nearly fell off his stool.

If it hadn’t been for Zhao Mian Guang standing next to him and catching him, he might have been bedridden for a few days.

Once everything was done, he had planned to head back to the school dormitory. However, thinking about Ji Wei’s arrival and knowing that Liu Yimian would probably be too busy to go out for a meal, he decided against going to the dorm and instead picked up his bag, humming a tune as he headed back to the Lin family home.

With the Zhang family’s new shop about to open on Yong’an Street, Lin Yaozu had been having a tough time. Chen Mingsheng considered him an ally and frequently came to the Lin home, complaining about Ji Wei being unyielding and ungrateful.

However, Lin Yaozu had already mentioned all this before; if he could convince Ji Wei, he would have done so long ago instead of delaying.

Just after he sent Chen Mingsheng off, before he could even get comfortable, Lin Tai rushed in, shouting, “Dad! I’m back!”

“How come you’re back? Didn’t you just return the day before yesterday? Did you get into trouble?” Lin Yaozu stood up abruptly, but seeing Lin Tai’s cheeky grin, he relaxed again.

“What’s the matter?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. A friend had someone to keep him company, so I just came back to see you,” Lin Tai plopped down heavily, reached over, and gulped down the hot tea Lin Yaozu hadn’t finished yet, quickly sticking out his tongue from the heat. “Are there guests?”

Lin Yaozu replied with a grunt and suddenly had a moment of inspiration, saying, “The person you mentioned is Ji Wei, right?”

“Dad, how did you know?” Lin Tai asked in surprise.

Lin Yaozu stroked his chin; he hadn’t thought about it until a fleeting thought about the new shop on Yong’an Street connected the dots regarding Lin Tai’s usual acquaintances.

“It is him,” Lin Yaozu murmured, standing up. “Let’s go; I’ll take you to the Fortune Star Building for a meal!”

Lin Tai cheered but then became a bit wary, asking, “What are we eating at the Fortune Star Building out of the blue? What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t need you to do anything,” Lin Yaozu said, noticing Lin Tai’s growing suspicion. He laughed and playfully tapped Lin Tai’s head, scolding, “What are you thinking, you little rascal? I just need you to help with a small favor…”

“Let’s go, let’s go! The Fortune Star Building is hard to book!” Lin Tai pulled on Liu Yimian’s arm and coaxed, “This is a famous restaurant in Daxi Town, and their whole duck feast is a must-try!”

“We’ll have to ask Ji Ge about that—” Liu Yimian said, looking conflicted.

Even Lin Tai, could only afford to eat at the Fortune Star Building four or five times a year. Let alone the signature whole duck feast, he might not even have a chance to eat it once a year, usually just benefiting from others’ invitations.

Now that he heard his dad wanted him to take Ji Wei and Liu Yimian to the Fortune Star Building for the whole duck feast, he felt that regardless of the reason, he had to drag those two along!

Lin Tai initially thought Liu Yimian was easily persuaded, and if he could coax him into going, Ji Wei wouldn’t have any choice but to follow. But with the current situation, as long as Ji Wei didn’t agree, Lin Tai wouldn’t be able to make it happen, no matter how much he begged.

He cracked his knuckles and marched confidently toward Ji Wei.

“Did your father send you here?”

Ji Wei’s light remark left Lin Tai frozen in place.

He stood there dumbfounded for a moment before managing to stammer, “How did you know?”

Ji Wei couldn’t help but laugh. “You look so eager; you don’t seem like you can afford this.”

Lin Tai blushed with anger. “You’re being picky about a free meal! Do you know that to get the whole duck feast at the Fortune Star Building, you have to book it at least a day in advance? If someone hadn’t canceled their reservation this morning, we might not have even had enough ingredients! But that’s beside the point—you’re a grown man, and you shouldn’t shy away from a free meal, right?” He tried to provoke Ji Wei, but Ji Wei was unfazed.

Nonetheless, as he mentioned, a free feast is a feast not to be missed, especially since Lin Yaozu had collaborated with him pleasantly before.

Moreover, since Lin Tai often looked after Liu Yimian, Ji Wei felt he should indeed go along to see them.

When Ji Wei nodded, Lin Tai couldn’t hold back a quiet cheer. He grabbed Liu Yimian’s arm and rushed out the door like a whirlwind.

Liu Yimian was caught off guard, letting out a yelp as he was pulled along.

Ji Wei shook his head with a smile, locked the door, and leisurely followed after them.