Chapter 64: I Refuse (1)

After Ye Lang sat down, he reached out his hand, and Zhen Xiaoyan, almost at the same time, extended hers as well, placing it on the table, right in front of Ye Lang. At first, no one noticed this gesture, until their hands touched and people saw Ye Lang holding Zhen Xiaoyan’s wrist. It was a peculiar manner, unfamiliar to everyone—a pulse diagnosis.

Both were accustomed to this routine. Ye Lang was used to checking Zhen Xiaoyan’s pulse every morning, and Zhen Xiaoyan was equally used to checking Ye Lang’s. Thus, without a word, their cooperation was seamless.

But pulse diagnosis did not exist in this world, so to others, it appeared as a strange form of hand-holding. Odd, yes, but undeniably intimate!

So the rumors were true—there was indeed something unusual about Ye Lang and Zhen Xiaoyan. Poor Mo Ya, this was clearly meant to embarrass him.

The incident stirred up quite a commotion...

“Ye Lang, if you could make Xiaoyan so beautiful, could you help us become prettier as well? But not with her method—we couldn’t endure that. Still, we can handle a certain amount of pain,” the girls surrounded Ye Lang, their eyes sparkling with hope. They completely overlooked the “intimate contact” between Ye Lang and Zhen Xiaoyan.

Would he agree? The girls had pondered this. Based on previous experience, they knew Ye Lang was someone who paid little attention to others.

If it weren’t Xiaoyan but one of them in her place, even if Shalan stepped all over them, Ye Lang wouldn’t care.

So they thought it would be difficult to get Ye Lang to agree, yet not impossible, since he wasn’t hard to talk to—if their terms were acceptable.

But what they never expected was that Ye Lang...

“All right!” Ye Lang nodded, unexpectedly agreeing with ease.

“Ah?! You agreed?” The girls asked, stunned, as if they couldn’t quite believe it.

“Yes, it’s nothing really, just a small effort, and besides, it’s not any trouble for me.” Ye Lang replied nonchalantly.

“?? What do you mean, not any trouble?”

“With your conditions, I can’t help you. Go find Liu Feiyan, she can assist you. Tell her I sent you, and she’ll make you more beautiful.” Ye Lang continued checking the pulse, speaking absentmindedly.

In this academy, most girls were already youthful and attractive, their figures graceful and alluring; after all, they were all top-tier nobles. Someone like Zhen Xiaoyan was unparalleled, so Ye Lang’s acupuncture and medicine had no effect on them, meaning he couldn’t do anything for them.

“If she helps us, we’d rather not go. Can’t you help us?” they pleaded.

Ye Lang did not answer, his expression serious as he focused intently on checking Zhen Xiaoyan’s condition.

At this moment, Zhen Xiaoyan spoke up, explaining on Ye Lang’s behalf: “I’ve told you already, your figures are fine as they are. What you need is style and temperament, and Ye Lang doesn’t know about those. Mine were trained by Liu Feiyan and her group.”

Zhen Xiaoyan told a small lie here; her style and temperament were also influenced by Ye Lang, not solely by Liu Feiyan and the others.

Perhaps it was because she knew Ye Lang disliked getting involved, or maybe she simply didn’t want these girls pestering him!

“Forget it, I’ll find someone else to help,” as expected, the girls backed off.

That was one reason most people didn’t ask Ye Lang for help—many times, what was needed was Liu Feiyan and her team, and who were they? The ladies of the Flower Moon Pavilion, courtesans. Would these noble ladies be willing to learn from them?

Obviously, that was out of the question!

“No issues, just take care of yourself and eat more!” After a while, Ye Lang withdrew his hand, speaking a sentence that left many baffled.

Leaving aside everything else, just advising Zhen Xiaoyan to eat more seemed unnecessary. After the recent events, her appetite had only increased, which puzzled many.

Why was it strange? Usually, a girl who had worked so hard to achieve a beautiful figure would cherish it and certainly not indulge so much.

Someone had even asked Zhen Xiaoyan about this, and her answer was, “I never gain weight, and if I don’t eat enough, I’ll starve!”

That response only confused people further, and Zhen Xiaoyan couldn’t explain it herself. Only Ye Lang knew the truth, which made everyone even more curious.

Now things were stranger still—Zhen Xiaoyan’s eating habits, and Ye Lang thought it wasn’t enough, urging her to eat more...

Could she really have a secret to eating without gaining weight? Was it Ye Lang’s doing?

“Mm! Right, here’s today’s lunch. No sneaking food, I didn’t prepare a second portion... You... hmph! I’m not bothering with you!” Zhen Xiaoyan realized her words were completely ignored by Ye Lang, since as she spoke, he was already eating.

“Hm? What did you just say?” Ye Lang asked, chewing as if he hadn’t heard.

“Nothing! I said nothing!!” Zhen Xiaoyan replied angrily.

“Oh, then it must have been a fly buzzing just now…”

“……”

……

Watching Ye Lang and Zhen Xiaoyan, Shalan, from a distance, wore a smile—not one of envy, but a peculiar mix of pride and resentment, giving off a sinister impression.

No one noticed, since everyone’s focus was on Ye Lang and Zhen Xiaoyan.

Soon, as the teacher arrived, everyone settled into their usual routine. The teacher was not surprised at Ye Lang’s presence; everything proceeded as normal...

After class, things returned to usual—everyone had lunch, Ye Lang as always tried to snatch Zhen Xiaoyan’s lunch...

“Ye Lang, you scoundrel, I told you not to eat, and you did anyway, now you’re trying to steal mine…” Zhen Xiaoyan tried to reclaim her lunch but Ye Lang deftly dodged.

“What’s the big deal? If you eat a little less, I can eat my fill… mm…” Ye Lang’s voice was muffled, his mouth clearly stuffed.

For everyone, this was routine, utterly normal. If it weren’t this way, it would be odd.

Every day, these two behaved like this. Though Zhen Xiaoyan scolded Ye Lang daily, she always prepared the best lunch for him.