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This relationship, in the face of cowardice and vanity, was hardly worth mentioning. Su Che only realized this after his rebirth, while Xiao Tao remained oblivious to it. Su Che thought there was nothing wrong with that. At least he wouldn't suffer from emotional pain, wouldn't compromise himself for someone else, and wouldn't lose himself for another person.
Now, Su Che believed that the saying "only you know your own warmth and coldness" was true. Therefore, in this life, apart from his family and the one who had waited for him all his life, he just wanted to treat himself well.
The next morning, Su Che arrived at Xu Mu's small courtyard as promised. Upon learning that Su Che had truly come, Xu Mu made a special effort to dress up. He chose a dark green outfit with a layer of azure gauze on the outside, embroidered with patterns of literary bamboo.
Wearing a simple silver hair crown and holding a folding fan, he donned the black boots he had carelessly discarded on the ground when Su Che used them as an excuse. With a smile on his face, he considered himself charming and graceful as he hurried to greet Su Che. However, he noticed that behind Su Che stood not only Xiao Tao but also another person.
Instantly, the smile on Xu Mu's face froze. He glanced at Mu Junze beside him and stiffly said, "Haha, Brother Mu, you also came?"
"What's this? Does Xu Brother not welcome me?" Mu Junze replied with a smile.
Xu Mu quickly responded, "What are you saying, Brother Mu? It's just a humble courtyard; I was afraid it might not meet your standards. I hope you won't mind."
Mu Junze looked around expressionlessly, slightly furrowing his brows before nodding. "It is indeed a bit humble, but it's fine; I don't mind. Why are you still standing here? Are we supposed to study at the door?"
Xu Mu felt he hadn't offended Mu Junze; they had only met once and exchanged few words. Out of politeness, he made small talk but didn't expect Mu Junze to act as if he were deliberately looking for trouble. Judging by Mu Junze's attire and demeanor, he didn't seem like an ordinary person's son.
The words seemed pointedly aimed at him, carrying an undertone of sarcasm. However, with Su Che present and considering their current relationship, Xu Mu refrained from expressing his frustration and decided to endure it for now.
"You're right, Brother Mu. Please come in! Xiao Nan, go make some tea," Xu Mu instructed as he led everyone into the house. The room was tidy and clean; the paintings on the walls and the scent of ink in the air added an air of scholarly elegance.
Once inside, Su Che naturally took his previous seat, which brought joy to Xu Mu's heart.
Just as he was about to sit next to Su Che, Mu Junze took the seat first. With no choice, Su Che ended up in the middle, while Mu Junze sat on his left.
The right side was also available, but for some unknown reason, Xiao Tao stood firmly by Su Che's right side, blocking the way completely. To get closer, Xu Mu had no choice but to sit across from them.
Xiao Nan was just about to brew tea when Xu Mu, wanting to assert himself, asked Xiao Nan to step aside and took it upon himself to serve tea to Su Che.
As he poured tea for Mu Junze, he instinctively said, "I don't have many visitors here and not much good tea either, so I hope Brother Mu can bear with it."
"Indeed, it's not great tea," Mu Junze replied. "No problem; it won't be long anyway. When do we start? If it's like what Xu Xiong said, we might be able to leave soon."
Xu Mu's lips twitched as he struggled to suppress his anger. After a moment of adjusting his emotions, he turned to Su Che beside him.
"A Che, what's going on? I seem to have trouble understanding what Brother Mu is saying. I clearly invited you to help me learn how to understand Brother Mu's meaning..."
"That's right; we are together. Initially, it was just me, but after thinking it over, I felt my knowledge was lacking and didn't want to hold you back. Coincidentally, the other day I saw A Zhe's poem on the poetry board at Wangjing Tower and thought his knowledge surpassed mine. So I invited him along so I could learn from him too."
"A Che is too kind; it was just a casual poem I mentioned out of boredom; it’s nothing special."
Hearing Su Che refer to Mu Junze as A Zhe in such an intimate manner reminded Xu Mu that earlier Su Che had called him Brother Mu; now he had become a cousin.
Watching their familiarity made Xu Mu's hands clench under the table, the sound of his knuckles cracking barely hidden behind a smile that looked more painful than crying.
"Ah... A Che, you and Brother Mu haven't known each other for long. Such a close address might cause trouble for Brother Mu if overheard by someone with ulterior motives..."
"No problem; as long as A Che likes it," Mu Junze replied, looking at Su Che with eyes full of affection. Su Che smiled back at him.
Xu Mu felt as if the folding fan in his hand would shatter under his grip, especially when he saw Su Che smile at Mu Junze—he hadn’t seen him smile like that in a long time.
He had never realized how beautiful Su Che's smile could be until now; seeing him with someone else made him feel possessive.
It was as if something that belonged to him had been taken away—something that wasn't particularly precious suddenly felt incredibly important when it was in someone else's hands.
But now he could only watch silently and seethe inwardly. Time passed quickly; after Su Che and Mu Junze left, Xu Mu found it hard to calm down.
His mind was filled with images of Mu Junze and Su Che, and that night he had a dream.
In the dream, Su Che was in his arms but suddenly laughed and moved away from him, turning around and throwing himself into Mu Junze's embrace. He tried to reach out and grab him but found himself restrained by a group of people, unable to move as he helplessly watched Su Che being taken away by Mu Junze.
In the following days, Mu Junze always managed to hand things to Su Che before Xu Mu could reach him. Watching their relationship grow closer made Xu Mu grit his teeth in frustration.
However, Mu Junze was indeed tutoring himself, but his heart was not in it; he was completely drawn in by the two of them. After three days, his studies had not improved at all, while Su Che was getting better and better. Xu Mu couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.
If this continued, he wouldn't be able to carry out his plans. A glint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as he looked at Mu Junze; this stumbling block had to be removed first, especially since time was running out for him.
"I think my memory will be better in the evening. Can we adjust the time to later?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Junze looked at Su Che, who thought for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"The afternoon gives us more time, and with your current pace, you should really put in more effort. The Scientific Examination is just around the corner; if things keep going like this, it will be difficult to even achieve the third place, let alone the top."
Seeing this, Mu Junze nodded and agreed, which made Xu Mu feel relieved.
However, the next evening, only Su Che showed up, carrying a faint smell of burnt smoke. His face was smudged with dirt, his hair slightly disheveled, and he looked rather disheveled.
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