So that last round indeed had been deliberately let go.
"Yeah, I lost several rounds too, so I came back to study." Lu Shuo said.
Tianqing said, "Losing to the Miss is only natural. Don't let it bother you, Young Master. The books and the tracing copybooks have been bought. You can use them now."
Lu Shuo said, "Good. Thank you for your trouble."
As they walked back to the courtyard, Tianqing's eyes flickered. Remembering what the Eldest Young Master had told him that morning, he asked, "This servant heard from Laishou that the Second and Third Young Masters invited you out to play. Why didn't you go? Don't mind me for asking, but I saw you went to the garden to relax, and I thought it might be better to go out on the streets."
Lu Shuo said, "I have class tomorrow. If I perform poorly and Jiang Siji finds out I was out playing the day before, he might form a bad impression of me."
Tianqing said, "That makes sense. But you should still go out more often in the future. You'll need to get familiar with the capital."
Lu Shuo said, "We'll see."
He returned to his room and began to slowly flip through the books Tianqing had bought.
In the evening, Helan Chang and Helan Rong returned from shopping.
After dinner, they had to go back to the Imperial Academy with their elder brother Helan Zhen, as they had class early the next morning.
Before leaving, the twins clung to Helan Zong and Zhang Yizhu for a while, expressing envy that Lu Shuo could still stay home for school, and then reluctantly got into the carriage with their brother to return to the Imperial Academy.
The gate closed. Lu Shuo headed toward his courtyard, while Zhang Yizhu quietly pulled her daughter aside and asked in a low voice, "Did you play Chupu with Lu Shuo this afternoon?"
Helan Pei nodded.
Zhang Yizhu asked, "How did it go?"
Helan Pei smiled.
Zisu chimed in, "The Miss beat Young Master Lu three times in a row."
Zhang Yizhu raised an eyebrow. "You were bullying him."
Zisu said, "The Miss went easy on him later and let him win one round."
Zhang Yizhu patted her daughter's head affectionately. "As long as you had fun. Get along well with Lu Shuo from now on. It'll make the mansion livelier."
Helan Zong strolled over casually, looked at his little daughter nestled in her mother's arms, and said, "Be careful—after a while, he might not want to play with you anymore."
Helan Pei puffed out her cheeks at her father in displeasure.
Helan Zong poked her cheek, and the air escaped with a pop, making her look like a deflated pufferfish. Helan Zong burst into laughter.
Seeing her parents so happy, Helan Pei felt that her socializing today had been effective, so she also offered a warm smile.
Lu Shuo didn't see this happy family scene, because he was diligently studying the storybook Tianqing had bought, marking characters he didn't recognize but had guessed, planning to ask Jiang Siji tomorrow—surely that would make Jiang Siji happy.
That night, lying in bed, he thought about his interaction with the Fourth Miss in the garden that afternoon. He also recalled the expression she had made that morning when she saw his ugly handwriting, barely suppressing a laugh. He comforted himself, telling himself that the Fourth Miss probably wasn't a picky or harsh person. That laugh probably wasn't mockery; she might just have been amused because she'd never seen such ugly handwriting.
After all, if she really disliked him, why would she agree to study with him and ask him to play?
Lu Shuo turned over in bed, feeling both anticipation and nervousness for his first class tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Jiang Siji would teach him many new characters and how to write with a brush.
He had to learn quickly, so he wouldn't be worse than the household servants, and so he wouldn't need someone else to read the Fourth Miss's writing for him—that was truly embarrassing and shameful.
Lu Shuo clenched his fist, silently encouraging himself.
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