Chapter 16: The Young Man's Reaper

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  As he walked out the door, Qiao Yu turned his head back to take another look. The orange light was warm and blurry. The second-floor study's lights were still on, and it seemed like just yesterday that he and Qiao Yan, who was half a head taller than him, were in that very study room listening to Mr. Yue's teachings.

  Qiao Yu's mother died early, and his father was busy with work. Le Zhun was the first to enlighten and guide them on their life journey.

  The sweltering and endless summer, the cicadas outside the window chirped non-stop, the laughter of companions still echoed in my ears, the room was stiflingly hot, Lezhun paced back and forth in the study while reciting something, he and Qiao Yan stood on a small stool just barely reaching the table, holding a brush to write down what Lezhun said.

  The sound of the music still echoes in my ears.

  "When learning to write, one must first learn the rules of calligraphy. When writing characters, one must start with large characters. Large characters follow the style of Yan Zhenqing, medium-sized characters follow the style of Ouyang Xun, and once one is familiar with medium-sized characters, they can be condensed into small characters, following the style of Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi. Large characters are difficult to write densely without gaps, while small characters are difficult to write with a sense of expansiveness and elegance. Calligraphy also has northern and southern schools: the northern school's calligraphic style is ancient, simple, strong, and upright, with a rustic and severe flavor, excelling at writing large characters; the southern school's calligraphy is more relaxed and elegant, excelling at writing letters. Northern calligraphy is strong and robust, while southern calligraphy is subtle and refined, each having its own unique character, and neither being superior or inferior to the other."

  "Mankind at birth is inherently good..."

  A little boy was writing and suddenly looked up with a puzzled expression and asked the bigger boy next to him in a low voice, "Brother, what is the 'gou' in 'Gou Bu Gao De', how do you write it?"

  The bigger boy stopped writing and thought for a moment before answering with certainty, "It should be the dog of the little dog. The little dog is not barking anymore."

  The little boy's big eyes blinked, "Why isn't the puppy barking anymore?"

  The next second, a deafening roar erupted, "What kind of dog doesn't bark! It's not a small dog, it's a meticulous Gou! Haven't you ever heard of being meticulous?"

  The two brothers, who were so scared that their pens fell off, were splashed with ink on their faces. They stared at Le Quan with a silly expression, shaking their heads in unison, and the few strands of hair on their foreheads swayed back and forth. In unison, they opened their mouths to answer, revealing their neat white milk teeth, "Never heard of it."

  Le Quan glared with her eyes, "Didn't I teach you last time? 'If not taught, nature will drift away', it means that if you don't educate well from a young age, your good nature will become bad! Do you remember?"

  Two clean and tidy boys nodded vigorously, "Got it!"

  "Write it one hundred times!"

  The two brothers were frightened again, their eyes wide open staring at Lezhun, not daring to speak.

  Mrs. Le quietly coughed beside him while reading a book.

  Le Yuan's face eased up a bit, and he relaxed his tone, "Alright, write it ten times then!"

  When he was a bit older, he and Qiao Yan finally knew what it meant to be uneducated. From the Three Character Classic to the Admonitions for the Young, they learned more characters. Yu Zhong also taught them that there were books with deep meaning, and their faces would naturally become refined and elegant.

  Then he and Qiao Yan rummaged through the books on the bookshelf again, almost dismantling the bookshelf.

  Later on, Lezhun also taught them what is upbringing and family style.

  Later on, Qiao Yan came less often and Yuezhun's demands for him became higher and higher.

  "Words should be gentle, demeanor should be grand, words and actions should be cautious."

  "The law is strict, but it should be tempered with autumnal mercy. In dealing with others, one should bring a gentle spring breeze."

  "One must learn to endure and accumulate, cultivate deep roots, so that later they can flourish with luxuriant branches and leaves."

  ……

  That year, he was transferred to the south and came to see Lezhun before leaving. At that time, many things happened, Qiao Yan's body worsened, he gave up his dreams and had to travel far away, Ji Siyuan went abroad and may not be able to meet again, he became more silent, and sat in the study with Lezhun for an hour until all the Gongfu tea was finished without saying a word.

  Le Quan handed over the cup, "Your name was given by me at first. What is Yu? The ancient book says that strong learning and good questioning are called Yu; being kind and tolerant to get the support of the people is called Yu; having a broad mind and being gentle is called Yu; being benevolent and forgiving is called Yu; being generous and not urgent is called Yu; being generous and self-satisfied is called Yu. Yu, is the product of benevolence. Mr. Lin Yutang said, eight flavors of mood, a cup of strong tea. Let's drink this cup of tea and leave."

  That cup of tea was probably the most "undrinkable" one he had ever had, his mind was a mess, with five flavors mixed together, and he couldn't even tell what the tea tasted like.

  The past is right in front of me, Qiao Yu turned his head and continued walking forward, suddenly remembering something, thoughtfully repeating a sentence in a low voice, "Be more positive..."

  He stopped and took out his mobile phone, leaning against the car to make a call.

  The ringing soon stopped, replaced by a lazy female voice, "Hello, who is it?"

  Qiao Yu.

  Ji Siyun reacted extremely quickly, opening her mouth calmly and saying, "Oh, Director Qiao, sorry about that, I'm off work now, let's talk about it tomorrow."

  She slammed down the phone after finishing speaking.

  Qiao Yu didn't know what to say when he called Ji Siyuan, but after being hung up on so suddenly, he was stunned. He stood there for a few seconds before bursting out laughing and getting back in his car to head home.

  Ji Siyuan hung up the phone and stared blankly at her own mobile phone, switching back and forth between the screen saver and call log.

  Empress Dowager Shen watched TV and glanced at her with a sidelong glance, "Waiting for a phone call?"

  Ji Siyuan immediately threw her phone aside, but then felt that she had overreacted and quietly picked it up again. After glancing at Shen Taihou's expression, she replied, "No."

  Empress Shen gazed at her with an unfathomable expression, then slowly spoke up, "If not, just shut down and sleep. Tomorrow isn't the day for on-site inspection, can you get up?"

  Ji Siyuan glanced at the clock on the wall and immediately jumped up in a hurry, "Time to get up!"

  Ji Siyuan was disturbed by a phone call from Qiao Yu, and after lying in bed trying to fall asleep for half a day without success, she began to analyze the situation rationally.

  Qiao Yu, senior brother, second son of the Qiao family, Minister Qiao, a rising star in politics, and a collaborator. From his junior sister's perspective, he has taught her many things; from a collaborator's perspective, he is straightforward, even-tempered, without the airs of a high-ranking government official, and is well-educated with excellent communication skills. From a woman's perspective, his appearance, figure, background, cultivation, demeanor, and character are all top-notch, making him a male god among male gods. From his ex-girlfriend's perspective...

  Ji Siyuan pulled the quilt over her head, how did she become an ex-girlfriend from a girlfriend back then?

  Simple, melodramatic.

  He is a gentle person, even when breaking up, he speaks tactfully.

  "Si Xuan, I won't be able to go abroad with you for further studies."

  "My father has arranged a job for me and I will be going there as soon as I graduate. My father... you may have heard of his name, he's called Qiao Boyuan."

  It wasn't until then that she truly knew what kind of person the boy who had been with her for so long was. Ah, yes, she had heard of him, how could she not have? Qiao Bo Yuan, the Qiao family... So, why would the second young master of the Qiao family go and become an architect with her?

  She's like an idiot, still thinking about eternal love.

  The boy who was enthusiastically discussing his plans to study abroad, the boy who lit up when talking about the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the talented boy whose works made one feel warm inside - it all turned out to be just a dream.

  Perhaps everything in her dreams was too beautiful, and she suddenly woke up to find it hard to accept. Perhaps the boy named Qiao Yu told her that his architectural dreams were real, but now telling her that he chose reality is also true. Until today, she still resented Qiao Yu's choice back then, so she would mock him in front of many people, asking if he understood or not. So when she saw that car, she mocked him for abandoning his dreams and choosing a path with boundless prospects.

  She is still admiring her performance at that time, calm and composed. Even though she was heartbroken and almost couldn't breathe, she didn't lose her composure. She quietly listened to and looked at Qiao Yu, waiting for him to finish speaking, then calmly responded with a sentence, "Oh, I see."

  Then she turned around and left, refusing to see him again.

  It takes only a turn of the body for a girlfriend to become an ex-girlfriend, and with that one turn, so many years have passed.

  Tossing and turning all night, I overslept the next day and rushed to the assembly point at the last minute.

  A group of people saw Ji Siqi walking over from a distance, wearing sunglasses, a white sports suit with short sleeves and long pants, white socks and white sneakers, at a leisurely pace.

  Xu Bingjun was destined to be worried, standing by the car for half a day, "Sister, are you going on a field survey or vacation?"

  Ji Siyuan slightly pulled down her sunglasses, narrowing her eyes at him. "You dare to call me 'big sister' again? Old man! Do you want me to appear in front of you wearing a skirt and 10-centimeter high heels?"

  Xu Bingjun was speechless, "How come you're just arriving now?"

  Ji Siyuan raised her hand to glance at the watch on her wrist, "Isn't it not late yet? Master Wei hasn't arrived and you're holding onto me, what's the point!"

  Xu Bingjun furrowed his brow and took out his phone to urge again, "When will that perennial poseur Wang arrive on time?!"

  Ji Siyuan flashed past him, "Yeah, save some energy for later to train him! It's too hot, I'll get in the car first."

  After finishing speaking, he put on sunglasses and continued to swagger onto the car.

  There were too many people, so Yǐn and Chàng arranged for a large bus. This was convenient and cost-effective, and it was also easier to communicate with each other on the same vehicle.

  Yin Hechang arranged for the ladies to sit in the front row and the gentlemen all sat in the back row.

  Ji Siyun got on the bus and looked around, Qiao Yu was sitting at the back of the bus, Yin Hechang was sitting next to him whispering something in his ear, and didn't notice her. The others were chatting in twos and threes, she smiled at everyone as a greeting, then chose an empty seat to sit down and take a nap.

  Someone approached Ji Si Xuan's group and quietly asked, "Does Xuan Huang have a boyfriend?"

  The people under Ji Siyuan's command have been following her for a long time and upon hearing this question, they felt like a fishbone was stuck in their throat, shaking their heads with difficulty.

  Everyone was surprised, "How could Xuan Huang be in such a condition and still not have a boyfriend?"

  "Brother, listen to my advice, don't make a move, Xuan Huang is indeed beautiful and talented, but we're not worthy of her. She also has another nickname, 'Young Man's Heart Harvester', do you know the working process of a harvester? If you dare to hand over your heart, she'll harvest it, crush it, roll it over, and then package your shattered heart and throw it away. Over the years, those who pursued Xuan Huang have suffered heavy casualties, some have found another partner, while others have lost confidence in women altogether and turned to men instead."

  "Really?"

  "So majestic is she, therefore, a queen can only be admired from afar, and must not be profaned."

  Everyone's face was filled with a mixture of emotions, and they couldn't help but glance in Ji Siyuan's direction, suppressing the budding feelings of spring that were about to sprout in their hearts.

  Qiao Yu looked up after finishing his conversation with Yin Hechang and saw that Ji Siyu had already arrived, her hands clasped together in front of her chest as she slept. The sunlight from the window shone on her pale face, leaving a patch of golden light that was dazzling to behold. Then he saw a group of people looking in her direction while whispering something, their heads lowered and smiling faintly.

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