Chapter 59 What a Coincidence, Caught in the Act

Cheng Yuan quickly looked towards the shop entrance and locked eyes with a familiar face.

"Lu Bai?"

Lu Bai's cheeks were stuffed round with bite-sized sample cakes, completely devoid of his usual poise. Hearing Cheng Yuan's voice, he froze mid-motion, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes.

He instinctively turned and bolted, shoving aside a few people. His desperate, fugitive scramble brought a twitch of a smile to the corner of Cheng Yuan's mouth.

"What kind of person is this? Eats and just runs away? Completely lacking in manners!" a passerby, who had been shoved hard enough to almost take a tumble and was only steadied by someone next to him, cursed angrily.

"Why does the outfit he's wearing look so familiar?"

"I recognize it, I recognize it! Isn't that the student uniform of Huaijin Academy?"

"I bet he stole it! I saw him at the gambling den just yesterday, losing all his money and still playing the rogue!"

The customers chattered noisily. Seeing that they had nearly said enough, Cheng Yuan smiled and stepped forward to greet them.

"Please forgive this unseemly display, everyone. He is a fellow villager of mine, studying at Huaijin Academy. Perhaps he has fallen upon hard times and was driven to such desperate measures. On my authority, all cakes are twenty-five percent off today. Please, everyone, come right in."

"He really is from Huaijin Academy? I would never have guessed! Isn't Huaijin Academy renowned far and wide... how could it produce a student who goes to gambling dens?"

"Exactly! He has hands and feet, what wouldn't be better than this? And he even came to take advantage of the proprietress? The proprietress is too kind-hearted and soft; if it were me having my opening day disrupted like this, I'd fling a shoe right at him!"

People chattered endlessly, swarming in like a flock of birds. Even those who had been hesitating, charmed by the proprietress's gentleness, decided to give it a try.

Busy attending to her customers, Cheng Yuan felt not a shred of resentment; instead, she was overjoyed.

First, she had the pleasure of witnessing Lu Bai in such a pathetic state, and second, she had effortlessly reeled in a massive wave of business—Uncle Wang's abacus was clicking at lightning speed.

It was utterly satisfying!

"Yuan'er, what were they talking about just now? Is Huaijin Academy the same academy your big brother Wang attends?"

Once the customer traffic finally subsided and the few of them had a moment to catch their breath, Uncle Wang leaned against the counter, tilting his head with curious amusement as he listened to the gossip.

"They were talking about Lu Bai. It seems he hasn't been studying at the academy; he went to a gambling den instead," Cheng Yuan said casually, glancing at the ledger.

"Scholar Lu? He's short on money?" Uncle Wang paused for a moment, then said in astonishment, "That shouldn't be. Just two days ago, I heard the village chief telling me that the tuition fees at Huaijin Academy were exorbitant, and he had to sell quite a few things just to scrape it together. Whenever he comes back for vacation, his family always provides him with plenty of food and copper coins. How could he end up in a gambling den?"

Cheng Yuan raised an eyebrow, recalling that earnest, aged face, and let out an internal sigh for him.

Cheng Yuan: "Who knows? Perhaps he suddenly had an urgent need for money somewhere."

Sensing her coldness and suddenly recalling the history between the two of them, Uncle Wang slapped his forehead in regret and hastily changed the subject.

"I'm going to wipe down the tables."

***

Lu Bai ran several hundred meters in one breath. Looking back and seeing no one chasing him, he finally relaxed, leaning against a wall to catch his breath. Being naturally frail, sprinting this distance was almost the death of him.

He wiped the pastry crumbs from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, undercurrents swirling in the depths of his eyes.

Wasn't Cheng Yuan a mere village woman? How could she be working in a newly opened shop?

He had gambled the entire previous night, and stubbornly staked his tuition money without winning back a single copper coin!

Dizzy and faint with hunger, he had heard there were free cake samples. Rushing over and seeing no shop assistant at the entrance, and noticing the pastries were of a high-end variety he had never seen before, he had immediately stuffed his face ravenously.

As he ate, he even thought the owner of this place was an absolute fool! Who would actually enter the shop to buy anything if they gave out free samples?

Therefore, he had completely ignored the reproaches of the people around him. But when he locked eyes with Cheng Yuan and saw the astonishment in her eyes, a sudden surge of guilt and shame had welled up in his heart.

Abominable! Damnable! Why should he lose all his money in gambling, while this village woman—who ought to be in the village casually marrying some man, honestly bearing children, and cooking meals—appeared in a new shop in the county town?

She barely knew a few characters, and her arithmetic was atrocious; how could the shopkeeper possibly hire her?

Right, exactly! She must have come to buy pastries too, probably to give to some paramour so she could secure a better marriage.

Thinking of this, Lu Bai felt a little better, though at the same time deeply regretful. He shouldn't have run away so fast; after eating this meal, he might have no food for the next.

Never mind, he had better head back to the academy. He had already taken a day off, and if he didn't return today, the master would likely be displeased.

"Brother Lu...?" A doubtful, hesitant voice sounded before him.

Lu Bai raised his head and caught sight of Wang Jiabin's face, observing the visible relief washing over the other's expression.

"I finally found you. I didn't see you at morning roll call today, and the Master was worried, afraid something might have happened to you. Since I'm from your hometown, he sent me out after class to look for you. I searched many places before I finally spotted you."

A trace of joy laced Wang Jiabin's voice before he hesitated and asked, "Brother Lu, what about this clothing of yours...?"

It was no wonder he hadn't recognized him at first glance. Lu Bai usually paid utmost attention to his external appearance and speech, but today his clothes were torn almost to rags, his hair was messy, and his whole person looked as though he had survived a catastrophe!

A dark shadow fell over Lu Bai's eyes. Facing such strange looks felt like needles pricking his back, especially since this person came from the same place as he did!

Lu Bai pressed his lips together: "I asked the Master for leave yesterday to return home on business. I should have returned last night, but I ran into a thief. My money pouch, along with my tuition, was stolen. I chased that thief... and so, alas! I will go and make my apologies to the Master."

A glimmer of realization flashed in Wang Jiabin's eyes, replaced by indignation and sympathy as he looked at Lu Bai.

"That is simply too much! But since we couldn't catch him, let's head back to the academy first. I will intercede with the Master on your behalf and see if he can grant us some leeway with the time."

Lu Bai secretly clenched his fists.

Finding a shop for Lu Bai to wash up, Wang Jiabin shelled out money to buy him a practical set of clothes.

"The Master instructed me to bring you straight to him once I found you; he has words for you. A gentleman must straighten his attire; you cannot go before him looking like this."

Wang Jiabin smiled warmly as he handed over the clothes. Lu Bai wore a sour expression as he snatched them and went inside to change. Wang Jiabin, however, did not mind—whose money pouch could be stolen and leave them feeling happy?

Brother Lu came from a poor family yet was resolute; Wang Jiabin felt a sense of shared misfortune.

Previously, when Lu Bai was betrothed to Yuan'er, though he felt bitter, he trusted Brother Lu's character and silently blessed the two of them.

Now that Brother Lu had been rejected by Yuan'er, joy inevitably bubbled up in his heart. The occasional trace of jealousy he usually held vanished entirely, treating Lu Bai even more like a blood brother.

Seeing him emerge in new clothes, Wang Jiabin spoke up: "Brother Lu, if you truly cannot raise the money, I still have—"

"Hey? Big Brother Wang? What a coincidence."

A brisk, cheerful feminine voice drifted in from the doorway.

Wang Jiabin's words were cut off. He turned his head, a flash of meticulously concealed pleasant surprise flickering in the depths of his eyes.