He secretly glanced at Shen Yuan, who had turned his back, truly unable to guess what his young master was up to. He could only lower his head and retreat to the side, silently sweating for Su Jin.

“Thank you for your concern, Young Master. I have already read up to the ‘Benxue’ chapter.”

From under her wide sleeves, a slightly opened book was vaguely visible. Su Jin’s ear tips flushed slightly red as she secretly pushed the book further into her sleeve.

The sky was clear and high, making the unnaturalness on her face particularly obvious.

Su Jin was not accustomed to lying.

In fact, according to her teacher’s instructions, she should have finished memorizing the ‘Benxue’ chapter by now. But at present, she had only read a few pages.

If asked for the reason, it was because her heart was unsettled.

Ever since she faintly heard Huai An’s voice in the alley, Su Jin had been distracted, constantly paying attention to the movements outside.

Even the heart in her chest was fluttering, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, scattered inside and outside the courtyard.

Until the knock on the door came.

That light tap seemed to knock on the tip of her heart, heavy, causing inexplicable panic.

Although she had hurried over, she was afraid of startling the young man. She pinched her fingers hidden in her sleeves hard, only then managing to conceal all her joy. She just slightly curved her lips, pretending to be calm and indifferent.

“The ‘Benxue’ chapter?” Shen Yuan turned sideways, his brows and eyes seeming to form layered mountains. “I remember that when my mother previously instructed you on your lessons, she told you to read up to the ‘Muyuan’ chapter.”

He had always had a good memory. Although he had been tapping a small walnut that day, he had heard every word of Shen Meng’s instructions to Su Jin about her lessons.

His gaze fell on her reddened ear tips, but Shen Yuan didn’t continue to question.

His flowing sleeves brushed against that bamboo-green, “Miss Su, have you read ‘Wen Yu Ke Xue’?”

“I have.”

“That’s good then. I’ve been reading this book recently, and there are some parts that are truly perplexing. I wonder if Miss Su could enlighten me?”

Enlighten?

Su Jin was stunned. If it was about enlightenment, who could compare to her teacher? But since Shen Yuan had asked, she couldn’t outright refuse. After all, among literate young men, those willing to read this book were few and far between.

How could she dampen his enthusiasm for learning because of this?

Su Jin stepped aside, just about to invite him in to discuss in detail, when she suddenly remembered the half-finished painting she had left on her desk two days ago. Her face instantly turned from pale to red.

“What’s wrong? Do you also think it’s a waste of time for men to read this book?”

Shen Yuan sneered. He knew it, all women in the world were like this. “If that’s the case……”

“How could Young Master Shen think that men reading books is a waste of time?”

Su Jin looked up and said to him earnestly, “Reading and literacy are about extracting the essence of our predecessors, thinking and learning more, understanding principles and knowing affairs. Since it’s for enlightening the mind and understanding wisdom, it has nothing to do with gender. How can it be considered a waste?”

“Do you truly think so?” Shen Yuan felt a lightness in his heart.

“Not a single word is false.”

A hint of a smile appeared in his ink-black phoenix eyes. He stepped forward, reaching out to push the wooden door open wider. “Then why are you still standing there? Come in. I don’t have many questions, it won’t take up too much of your time.”

“Ah, Young-Young Master Shen.” Su Jin never imagined he would be so eager to study. She wanted to rush back to her room first, but was firmly blocked.

Shen Yuan, familiar with the way, waved his fan as he walked past her window. He glanced sideways and was immediately captivated by the unrolled painting on the desk. He looked at it carefully for a while, then turned his head to meet Su Jin’s guilty eyes. “Young Master Shen, you, let me explain.”

“What is there to explain? It’s a beautiful spring day, it’s not strange for you to think more. However,” he closed his folding fan, his phoenix eyes showing a bit of disdain, “right now you should focus on your studies. Thinking too much about these unnecessary things is harmful to your health.”

“…Young Master Shen, you’re right.” Su Jin lowered her head, the bitterness in her heart and the embarrassment of being discovered making her want to sink into the ground.

Before she could apologize, she heard Shen Yuan say, “Although this Young Master Song is handsome, he’s a bit too frivolous.”

“Young Master Song?”

Su Jin paused, suddenly realizing that Shen Yuan might think the person in her painting was Song Zhi??