Chapter 6 Hanlin Academy

Chapter 6: Hanlin Academy

Cheng Ge saw the man approaching and, thinking he was blocking the way, quickly stepped aside.

Unexpectedly, the man grabbed his wrist without a word. "Mu Yu, why didn’t you answer when I called you?"

"Huh?" Cheng Ge was startled. Could this be someone he knew?

"You... who are you? Do we know each other?" Cheng Ge lifted his hooded veil to get a clear look at the man.

The man held a folding fan, wore a jade crown, and had a bamboo-patterned jade pendant at his waist, dressed in a green brocade robe. He looked... filthy rich.

"Mu Yu, how could you forget me just after returning home? That’s just heartbreaking." Zhang Qingheng wore a hurt expression.

Cheng Ge’s wrist was still held by the other man, who was tall and radiated youthful vigor, making his body temperature higher than usual.

This made Cheng Ge uncomfortable, so he casually pulled his hand back. "My name is Cheng Ge, not Mu Yu. Dude, you’ve got the wrong guy."

Hearing this, the man burst out laughing. "Mu Yu, how can you be so funny? Of course I know you’re called Cheng Ge, but I can’t just call you by your full name, right?"

Cheng Ge finally got it. In ancient times, besides a given name, people also had a courtesy name.

Cheng Ge had just turned twenty this year, so an elder must have given him a courtesy name. Peers usually addressed each other by their courtesy names as a sign of respect.

Since Cheng Ge wasn’t from this era, he hadn’t thought about it, which made things kinda awkward now.

"Brother Mu Yu, you’ve lost weight. Are you unwell?" Zhang Qingheng raised his hand and pressed the back of his hand to Cheng Ge’s forehead.

"You’ve always been sickly, so you need to take care. Where are your servants? Why aren’t they with you?

Mu Yu, you can’t keep spoiling them. Beat ’em when you gotta, sell ’em off if you have to, or they’ll just get lazier serving you."

Zhang Qingheng leaned closer to Cheng Ge, his fingers tracing down from Cheng Ge’s temple.

His fingertips slid across Cheng Ge’s cheek and lips, finally resting on the back of his neck, rubbing it in a weirdly intimate way.

Cheng Ge finally realized something was off. He instinctively stepped back several paces, staring at the man warily.

"What the hell... talk if you want, but keep your damn hands to yourself..."

Seeing Cheng Ge’s resistance, Zhang Qingheng’s pupils trembled, and his face fell awkwardly as he withdrew his hand.

But having grown up in a large family, he quickly pulled himself together, a gentle smile returning to his face.

"Mu Yu, you misunderstand. I was just concerned about you."

Cheng Ge was now more suspicious of men than women. This guy was clearly off his rocker.

After all, Zhou Ming’s terrible book was full of crazy perverts, so he had to be cautious.

Zhang Qingheng shook his folding fan, his gaze fixed on Cheng Ge.

"Brother Mu Yu, I heard that Ru Meng, the courtesan of Cuiyun Tower, will make an appearance today.

We’re about to start at the Hanlin Academy together in a few days, and this is a rare moment of leisure. How about we go have some fun today?"

Cheng Ge was stunned. What the hell?

"What Hanlin Academy?" Cheng Ge blurted out, then realized how odd that sounded and quickly explained.

"On my way back to the capital recently, I ran into bandits. My money and servants were all taken. I was rescued by chance, but I hit my head and forgot some stuff."

A flicker of doubt crossed Zhang Qingheng’s eyes, but he quickly resumed his warm smile.

"I see. You were ranked third among the second-class *jinshi* graduates, and I was sixth. We’ve both been appointed to the Hanlin Academy. If we get the emperor’s favor in the future, becoming a prime minister or getting into the cabinet isn’t out of the question." He fanned himself lightly, his expression confident and proud.

Cheng Ge’s mouth twitched barely noticeably. This guy sure talks big, shooting for prime minister without a shred of shame.

Despite his thoughts, Cheng Ge was a smooth talker. He put on a look of sudden understanding. "Ah, I see. I was a bit confused for a sec.

But as for Cuiyun Tower, I’m feeling a bit off today, so I’ll skip it for now..."

Cheng Ge was barely scraping by these days. If he hadn’t scammed some sucker yesterday, he’d be the best-looking beggar on the street.

He had no spare cash for that kind of fun now.

Though he was curious to see this Ru Meng chick, staying alive came first.

If he ever became a big shot official, he’d first embezzle a ton of silver, then get fifty or sixty concubines.

Cheng Ge’s mind instantly filled with a dirty fantasy of a bunch of stunning beauties waiting on him, and he suddenly cracked up laughing.

Zhang Qingheng was about to persuade him further, but when he saw Cheng Ge’s smile,

his heart felt like it was squeezed by a hand, his breath caught, and blood rushed to his face.

Zhang Qingheng stood frozen, his cheeks slowly turning red, his fingers curling up without thinking.

He had never seen Cheng Ge smile so carefree. It was like an invisible force had hit him right in the heart.

He looked away in a panic, opening and closing his fan a few times before he found his voice.

"In that case, since we haven’t seen each other in a while, why don’t you join me for a quick lunch?"

Hearing the word "lunch," Cheng Ge instinctively reached for his wallet.

But he found it was empty.

"Damn it! Where’s my cash!" Cheng Ge panicked. The cash he’d scammed yesterday was gone. How was he supposed to eat now?

He quickly crouched down to search, scanning the crowd for any suspicious figures.

And sure enough, he spotted a furtive figure running away. Without a second thought, Cheng Ge chased after him. "Thief, stop!"

Seeing he’d been caught, the thief sprinted off, afraid of being caught.

At that moment, Cheng Ge could think of nothing but his silver. He wouldn’t chase a runaway girlfriend this hard.

But times had changed. In the past, five kilometers was just a warm-up.

Now, however, Cheng Ge had severely overestimated this frail body. He hadn’t gone far before he was gasping for breath.

His legs wobbled, his head spun, and he bumped into several people, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Hey! Watch where you’re going!" grumbled the pedestrians he’d hit.

But Cheng Ge refused to give up. Even though he’d been wealthy in his past life, now he was dirt poor.

He couldn’t stand eating plain steamed buns anymore. They were seriously gross.

Although his will was strong at the moment, his body couldn't keep up—even the best CPU would burn out.

Cheng Ge felt his vision go dark, stumbled, and pitched forward, dropping hard onto his knees.

When a person falls, people instinctively reach out to grab something—it's human nature, and Cheng Ge was no exception.

Lin Nanshu was on his way to meet a friend, but had just stopped at the entrance of the tavern, about to step inside.

Unexpectedly, a young man who looked about seventeen or eighteen came barreling straight into his arms.