At this time, Jiang Siji should have been teaching her, but now she had to teach Lu Shuo first before it was her turn. She was forced to listen to extremely simple things and couldn't even concentrate on reading her own books.
And Lu Shuo looked at her—what was he looking at? Just because Jiang Siji praised him, did he think she would praise him too?
He could read the storybook Jiang Siji gave him and even guessed the meanings of unfamiliar characters, finishing the story. So why couldn't he understand the note she wrote him? He couldn't even guess its meaning?
She wouldn't write him notes anymore. She would wait until he recognized all the characters. Helan Pei lay on her desk, feeling annoyed.
Jiang Siji glanced at Helan Pei and sped up her conversation with Lu Shuo.
This mini-lesson wasn't in her plan, but since Lu Shuo asked, she had to answer. She explained the characters Lu Shuo had guessed, but left out the ones he couldn't even guess, as the character forms were harder to remember and would be taught later.
After finishing this extra Q&A, she finally returned to her original teaching plan. She first taught Lu Shuo the correct way to hold a brush, then how to control the brush and wrist. When Lu Shuo got a little feel for it, she had him start tracing.
Jiang Siji walked over to Helan Pei.
Helan Pei looked up and gave her a gloomy glance.
The desk opposite Helan Pei was for Jiang Siji. Jiang Siji sat down and laughed: "What's wrong? Did you write a brilliant essay and can't wait for me to appreciate it, so you're getting impatient?"
Helan Pei immediately wiped the mournful expression from her face, glanced nervously to the side, and shook her head repeatedly.
How could Jiang Siji say that! Speaking out loud like that, giving Lu Shuo the chance to hear, would make things awkward between them!
She only showed her temper to Jiang Siji because she considered her one of her own. In front of outsiders, she still wanted to maintain the image of a gentle and kind person.
Lu Shuo paused his tracing for a moment, not daring to look up, but felt dejected—he was indeed affecting the Fourth Miss. Today, or in a few days, she would probably not want him to study with her anymore.
Never mind, he had expected this.
"Alright, alright, let me see the essay you wrote," Jiang Siji said.
Three days ago, she had given Helan Pei an assignment: write a reflection on a collection of poems by an ancient poet, due today.
Since Helan Pei didn't take exams or pursue an official career, she didn't need to follow the standard for good essays. Jiang Siji only wanted her to think independently.
Helan Pei handed over the essay.
Jiang Siji read it, occasionally nodding with an appreciative expression.
Lu Shuo traced his characters while eavesdropping.
Jiang Siji occasionally read aloud sentences she found good, praising Helan Pei's elegant phrasing or unique insights. Lu Shuo understood the words, but understanding only deepened his shame—the Fourth Miss was a year younger than him, yet she could write such good essays and understand so much. In comparison, what was he, who had only just memorized a simple poem?
Moreover, Jiang Siji would point out some flaws in the Fourth Miss's essay and discuss them with her. Jiang Siji would say a few things, the Fourth Miss would write a few responses, and Jiang Siji would read the responses and add more.
Lu Shuo knew it wasn't because the flaws were serious, but because she was a good student, and teachers naturally had higher standards for good students.
The joy of having his effort recognized by the teacher vanished. With an early-blooming student like the Fourth Miss, how could Jiang Siji truly think he was clever? Her recognition of him was likely just because her expectations were low, so it was a pleasant surprise.
After all, he used to praise his dog,大黄, the same way. Whenever大黄 did something even slightly dog-like, he would excitedly say, "Good dog, good dog! So smart!"
Feeling gloomy, Lu Shuo continued tracing. After a while, he suddenly snapped back to reality and realized his strokes were becoming increasingly wobbly.
Startled, he thought: This won't do. No matter what others think, what he learned is his own. He still had to practice his calligraphy seriously.
So he forced himself to calm down, stopped eavesdropping on Jiang Siji's lecture to Helan Pei, and focused solely on tracing.
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