This Life, I'm Raising the Right Man

Su Yaoguang took out the food and drinks from the basket while saying, ”Brother Zhong said you’ve been working hard lately with your studies. Didn’t sleep well last night?”

”If a slow-witted person doesn’t put in more effort, how can they get good grades?” Zhou Wangshu lowered his head and sniffed, ”Is this my mom’s handiwork? I haven’t tasted this in ages.”

When it comes to culinary skills, Zhang Pandi and her mother are the best. Even Jia Chunni’s skills are better than Zhang Zhaodi’s, but Zhou Wangshu prefers the things Zhang Zhaodi makes with her own hands.

Su Yaoguang understood that Zhou Wangshu wasn’t eating for the taste but for the sentiment. He never used words to express emotion, but his actions showed them that this person was worth saving.

Zhong Chushan pulled Chen Buyu away.

Su Yaoguang took advantage of Zhou Wangshu eating to gather up his dirty clothes.

”What are you doing?”

”Taking them back to wash.”

”I can wash them myself.” Zhou Wangshu snatched the dirty clothes back. ”I’m a man, aren’t you ashamed?”

”You? A man?” Su Yaoguang looked Zhou Wangshu up and down, her disdainful expression obvious.

”Why am I not...” Zhou Wangshu was about to argue when he saw what was in Su Yaoguang’s hands, urgently put down his chopsticks, and reached out to grab it, but failed.

He’d seen Su Yaoguang’s strength before. Just then, seeing Zhou Wangshu so anxious piqued her curiosity, and she briskly grabbed the booklet and ran to the corner to open it, and then...

With just one glance, she quickly closed the booklet.

”You, you, you say you’re studying seriously, but this is the kind of book you read?”

Su Yaoguang shoved the booklet back into his arms, ran off with his dirty clothes.

Zhou Wangshu chased her, trying to explain, ”It’s not mine, it’s not mine...”

Chen Buyu always brings back all sorts of messy books. He knew what they were but never looked at them. Now, he hadn’t even done anything, but he was blamed.

Zhou Wangshu angrily bit into a chicken leg, puffing up his cheeks as he ate. Su Yaoguang, who had already left, ran back, looking at him, awkwardly saying, ”You’re still young, take care of yourself.”

”I said it’s not mine.”

”Hear me out.” Su Yaoguang blushed, shyly speaking, ”I heard, just heard, mind you, at your age, it’s easy to harm your body, it could affect your foundation. Don’t hurt yourself.”

Having finished speaking, this time she really ran off.

Zhou Wangshu: ”...”

Zhong Chushan and Chen Buyu returned half an hour later. The two saw the table cleaned up, dirty clothes packed away, only some bits of fabric left on the bed, not knowing what it was.

”Why’d you toss scraps on my bed?” Chen Buyu complained while picking up the bits, his eyes widening when he saw the pattern, his expression turning excited. ”I told you, Zhou, do you know how expensive this booklet is? Do you know how hard it is to get? It’s the most popular Fireproof Map from the Capital City, and you destroyed it!”

”Oh, I saw it tossed on my bed and thought it was unwanted, so I cut it up.” Zhou Wangshu responded coolly.

”Wangshu, did Miss Yaoguang see it and misunderstand something?” Zhong Chushan, seeing Zhou Wangshu’s expression, roughly guessed what had happened.

Zhou Wangshu’s face was gloomy: ”What do you think?”

Zhong Chushan patted Chen Buyu’s shoulder, saying, ”This thing was destroyed for a good reason.”

Chen Buyu didn’t dare utter another word.

From across the way came the sound of arguing, faintly a woman’s voice.

Zhong Chushan liked watching the scene, stood by the window looking on, providing live commentary for the other two.

”Oh, Xiao’s new bride happened to come by to deliver things and caught Sister in law Wen sitting on Xiao Ci’s lap, then Mrs. Jiang slapped Sister in law Wen, Xiao Ci is mediating.”

”I must say, this Xiao fellow is indeed talented, but the exams are coming up, yet he’s creating such romantic scandals. Isn’t he afraid of distraction?”

”Why worry about him when you should be worried about yourself,” Chen Buyu said, ”Your family elder asked you to join the exams. Does he have some misunderstanding about us?”

Chen Buyu and Zhong Chushan looked towards Zhou Wangshu.

Initially, their elders had accepted that their descendants were hopeless until they met Zhou Wangshu a while back, and since then, had been urging them to take the exams.

Zhong Chushan really wasn’t exaggerating to Su Yaoguang previously, Zhou Wangshu was indeed studying hard, and dragged them into studying and reciting together, even dreaming of the classics.

Seeing Su Yaoguang return with a red-flushed face and behaving oddly, Zhang Zhaodi asked.

”Did you quarrel with Wangshu?”

”No.”

”Then why is your face so red?”

”I ran all the way back, I’m hot.” Su Yaoguang carried the parcel to the backyard.

”Dear, with exams approaching, don’t pressure Wangshu too much.” Zhang Zhaodi said, ”We got him into studying for enlightenment, not for him to become a Champion Scholar.”

”Mom, are you my mom or Wangshu’s mom? Always worrying about him. Am I such an unreasonable person?” Su Yaoguang said, ”Don’t worry.”

Business was booming at Taoyao Square, while Fenghua Pavilion’s business was bleak.

Soon it was the official exam day.

Zhang Zhaodi and the others dressed up to send Zhou Wangshu into the exam hall.

Zhang Zhaodi reminded Zhou Wangshu to eat, drink, rest well, and complete the exam happily, even if that meant leaving the paper blank.

Parents nearby advising their kids to focus seriously on their exams: ”...”

Jiang Yihuan handed Xiao Yanci pancakes and nourishing soup, speaking passionately and caringly.

Xiao Yanci gently reassured her not to worry about him.

Before entering the exam hall, all examinees had to have their belongings checked. Su Yaoguang watched Zhou Wangshu smoothly go in and was about to leave when she heard Xiao Yanci’s angry voice.

”These are pancakes, why must you mess them up?”

”We’re checking to see if there are cheats hidden in them.” The inspecting official said fiercely, ”It’s mandatory for everyone, not just you, why so nervous? Unless you really hid something in the pancakes?”

”I did not.” Xiao Yanci said angrily.

All the pancakes were crushed into crumbs. Not only were they hard to eat but just the thought of the inspectors having squeezed them with their hands made him nauseous and lose all appetite.

Besides the pancakes, even the soup had to be sieved, leaving only liquid to enter.

The things Su Yaoguang prepared for Zhou Wangshu were just glanced at and let through, without fuss. She glanced at the mess Xiao Yanci faced with his pancakes and soup, feeling a hint of schadenfreude.