His gaze shifted away after only a moment, but he had seen it clearly.

’Damn it.’

Sang Qi was annoyed with himself for being startled by a child’s momentary glance. He was furious.

Ye Qianning’s gaze passed over him and landed on Sang Zhi, who had just walked up to her. Her face bloomed into a smile. ’My little lucky charm,’ she thought, ’the more I look at him, the more I like what I see.’

"Haven’t seen you for one night and your temper has already grown. Not bad, not bad."

Sang Zhi knew what she was talking about. Although he was a little happy inside, he didn’t show much emotion on his young face as he sat down.

"Why didn’t you come to class this morning?" he asked.

"It was overcast."

"What does an overcast day have to do with class?"

"When it’s overcast, I feel like it’s a holiday." Ye Qianning had a bad habit: she never wanted to do anything when it was overcast or raining.

Sang Zhi frowned, not quite understanding.

"I feel the same way," Qian Zhuye said, understanding completely.

He had almost failed to get up today because of the gloomy weather. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Ye Qianning nodded. "See? You get me."

Sang Zhi’s little brow furrowed even deeper. Qian Zhuye understood, but he didn’t.

"Why is an overcast day a holiday?"

"Because you don’t feel like moving when it’s overcast."

"Why?"

"It’s just... well... a straight-A student like you would never understand." It was a personal feeling, and Ye Qianning really couldn’t explain it well.

"The Eighth Prince is different from us."

"Right. We’re not so competitive. All we want to do is slack off."

Sang Zhi’s brow was furrowed so tightly he could have crushed a fly with it. "What on earth does that mean?"

"Pfft." Ye Qianning almost burst out laughing at his dead-serious expression.

Qian Zhuye slumped onto his desk and sighed. The Eighth Prince was just... ’Sigh. It’s impossible to explain.’

Seeing his persistent, earnest little face, Ye Qianning reined in her smile and asked, "What’s your favorite thing to do?"

"Studying."

"Now look at me and Qian Zhuye. When have you ever seen us study seriously?" Ye Qianning gestured pointedly at Qian Zhuye, who was sprawled on his desk like a boneless puddle.

Sang Zhi looked over. Both of them were slumped over their desks as if they had no bones.

If someone had asked him this in the past, he would have reprimanded them without hesitation.

But now, he was silent.

In comparison, Qian Zhuye and Ye Qianning were more alike, which was why he understood everything she said.

For some reason, a trace of displeasure surfaced in his heart.

"Your mind is filled with studying, while our minds are filled with eating, drinking, playing, and skipping class. Of course we’re different." ’So competitive, way too competitive. He’s the type who feels restless if he doesn’t study for a single day.’

Sang Zhi lowered his eyes, seeming to think about it very seriously.

"Besides all that, I also want to learn the greatsword from your dad." The mention of the greatsword instantly dispelled Qian Zhuye’s sleepiness. "Have you told your dad about me?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"If you want to learn, you should find a master yourself. Your uncle is so ruthless, we wouldn’t dare get involved."

’He’s the only heir, a precious treasure.’

’If he trained with my dad and something happened to him, our family couldn’t bear the responsibility.’

"My uncle is my uncle, and I am me. I’ll come visit your house next holiday." Qian Zhuye was eager to witness Xiang Minghou’s greatsword skills.

"You’d better not. I might not be going home anytime soon."

"Why?"

"There’s some stuff going on at home right now, so it’ll be a while before I go back." For one, Ye Qianning didn’t want to get involved with her dad and the Zhan family. For another, there was the matter of Aunt Liu and the other concubines at home.

Ever since Aunt Liu found out she wasn’t added to the family registry, she had been heartbroken and seemed to have left the Xiang family. Her dad had bought her property and a house, and gave her enough money that even if she found another husband, the two of them would have enough to live on for the rest of their lives.

Qian Zhuye thought about the recent events in the Xiang family and tactfully shut his mouth.

Sang Qi turned his head and shot them a glare. ’If it weren’t for Tutor Song, I would never let that damn fatty off the hook. Just how smart can she be? Such an exaggeration!’

The tutor walked in, and the students all sat up properly.

Sang Zhi also immediately straightened his posture and faced forward.

Ye Qianning went back to slumping on her desk. She hadn’t slept at all yesterday, so she could use the class time to take a little nap.

But as she rested her head, she wasn’t as fast asleep as she usually was. She was in better spirits today, so she turned her head to look at Sang Zhi.

The tutor was lecturing about the classics at the front of the room. When he asked a question, Sang Zhi raised his hand, but the tutor called on Sang Qi to answer.

Ye Qianning’s eyes drifted over. Sang Qi, holding his book, answered eloquently. At eight years old, he wasn’t that much shorter than a twelve or thirteen-year-old.

"Excellent. For the Crown Prince to have such insight at such a young age truly makes him a rare talent. You may sit," Tutor Zhang praised lavishly.

Sang Qi sat down.

Ye Qianning’s gaze returned to the little fuddy-duddy’s face. He was as stoic as ever, showing no displeasure at having his answer stolen.

The tutor lectured for a while longer before asking another question. Sang Zhi raised his hand, and again, the tutor called on Sang Qi.

Sang Qi listened attentively and possessed genuine knowledge. He answered every question exceptionally well.

This happened three or four times throughout the class. It was as if Sang Qi was competing directly with Sang Zhi, trying to one-up him in everything.

When class ended, the tutor assigned evening homework. Some students went back to their rooms to study, while others stayed in the classroom.

"Aren’t you leaving?" Ye Qianning asked as she stood up.

Sang Zhi didn’t move. "I’m staying in the classroom to review."

Ye Qianning sat back down.

Sang Zhi looked up.

"I’ll keep you company," Ye Qianning said, smiling as she tilted her little face up at him.

Sang Zhi paused for a moment, then nodded. A warmth spread through his heart.

"You’re both staying in the classroom to do your evening homework?" Qian Zhuye asked, walking over to their desk.

"He’s doing it. I’m going back to sleep."

"Then let’s do it together." Qian Zhuye pulled up a stool, sat down at their table, and picked up his brush with a troubled expression. "Eighth Prince... when you’re done, can I take a look? I’m not very good at this."

"Sang Zhi, don’t let him copy. It’s his own fault for secretly talking to me during class." Ye Qianning pouted, acting as if he were trying to copy her own homework.

"..."

Qian Zhuye pouted and picked up his brush, racking his brain.

Sang Zhi had already lifted his brush and begun to write.

Ye Qianning noticed that most of the students had remained in the classroom. They usually weren’t this self-motivated. Sang Qi hadn’t left either, and the sound of his brush never stopped.

"Look at that," she said, patting Qian Zhuye.

Qian Zhuye turned to look. Although they could only see the back of Sang Qi’s head, his brush was moving nonstop with a SWISH-SWISH sound.

"Is the Crown Prince really that knowledgeable?" he asked curiously.

Ye Qianning shook her head with a TSK-TSK. "Competitive. Way too competitive."

The moment Sang Qi arrived, his hyper-competitiveness instantly made all the average students feel ashamed. He was trying so hard, it was enough to make even the little fuddy-duddy feel exhausted.

"Competitive?" Qian Zhuye asked, confused.

"It means he’s showing off."

As she spoke, Ye Qianning pulled a pastry from her sleeve and began to eat it.

"I think he’s showing off too. The tutor was just asking questions. Is there really a need to stand out so much?" Qian Zhuye turned back, saw her eating, and held out his hand.

Ye Qianning gave him a piece and nodded. "Look at him. His brush is wobbling around like he’s doing the yangge dance. How can his handwriting possibly be any good?"

"It can’t be worse than your handwriting, can it?"

"You never know. My handwriting is already very nice." Munching on her pastry, Ye Qianning turned back. "Isn’t that right, little fuddy-duddy?"

"Mhm," Sang Zhi nodded.

Receiving his affirmation, Ye Qianning’s eyes crinkled into a smile. She held the pastry up to his lips with her small hand.

Sang Zhi hesitated.

"It’s delicious," Ye Qianning said with a smile.