The next morning, Mother He stealthily crept to He Wanying’s room, poking a small hole in the window to peek inside.
On the bed, her daughter was tightly hugging the quilt, her backside facing the door, exposing a large patch of fair skin beyond the coverage of her undergarments.
But…
She was alone on the bed.
Mother He clicked her tongue.
“This silly girl, I taught her everything, and she still didn’t take it seriously.”
Whenever she tried to teach He Wanying about matters of the bedroom, the girl would blush and tune out.
Really, what was there to be shy about?
Without those things, where would she have come from?
Now look, a man was practically handed to her in her room, and she didn’t even try to seduce him…
“But speaking of which, where’s that Guiming kid? Why don’t I see him…?”
“Master’s Wife, looking for me?”
As Mother He muttered to herself, Lin Guiming suddenly appeared behind her.
“Wah—!”
Mother He was genuinely startled, jumping back several steps.
Only when she saw it was Lin Guiming did she pat her chest and breathe a sigh of relief.
As expected of mother and daughter—their startled yelps were identical.
“How… how did you get out?”
She looked in shock at the still tightly locked door, staring at Lin Guiming as if she’d seen a ghost.
“…”
Lin Guiming sighed helplessly, pointing to the nearby window.
“Master’s Wife, the door was locked, but there’s still a window to climb through.”
Yeah, just as clumsy…
“…”
Mother: He froze, then seemed to realize something.
“My good daughter, Mother misjudged you.
You “did” try last night.
It’s my fault for forgetting to close the window, letting the duck slip away…”
“…”
What could Lin Guiming say?
Could she keep her muttering quieter?
It was hard to pretend he didn’t hear when he clearly did…
“Master’s Wife, isn’t it time to unlock the door?
Junior Sister can’t get out.”
Lin Guiming said helplessly.
“Oh, oh!”
Mother snapped out of it and went to unlock the door.
Lin Guiming glanced at the sky.
The sun was up; it wasn’t too early anymore.
He walked straight into the room, approaching He Wanying.
The girl was fast asleep, a faint trace of dark circles under her eyes.
Who knows what she was up to last night, staying awake so late.
But dark circles or not, it was time to get up.
Morning was when spiritual energy was most abundant, making it the best time for training.
Though reluctant to disturb her, Lin Guiming didn’t hesitate to flick her forehead.
“Mm…”
He Wanying, still asleep, let out a small hum but didn’t wake, turning over to keep sleeping.
“…”
Lin Guiming rolled his eyes and shook her.
“Hey, silly girl, get up…”
“Mm, just a bit longer, just a bit, Senior Brother…”
Her words, mumbled as if in a dream, made Lin Guiming freeze for a moment, a strange sense of familiarity washing over him.
“Now you remember to call me Senior Brother?
Come on, no more sleeping.
Get up and train…
Don’t you want to take the Imperial Academy exam?”
Lin Guiming poked her soft cheek.
Her tender face felt surprisingly nice to poke.
He wondered what it’d feel like to pinch it.
“Imperial Academy… mm, Imperial Academy… I’ll take it later… zzz…”
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she bolted upright.
“Right, the Imperial Academy…”
“Thud—!”
Before she could finish, her forehead slammed into Lin Guiming, who was leaning over her from the bedside.
Then, Lin Guiming watched as she clutched her forehead, tears in her eyes, crouching at the edge of the bed, pitifully saying, “Senior Brother, you’re so hard…”
“…”