Song Qiming hadn’t heard the words clearly—the voice had been too soft—but he had still caught a few of them.
In particular, he had heard Song Shixue say, “I have money. I don’t need you to give me any.”
As if acting on instinct, he immediately stretched his hand out in front of Song Anhao.
“Both your sisters got some. You’re not going to give me a little too?”
Song Anhao bit his lip, looking somewhat reluctant.
With an innocent expression, he said, “You’re the biggest man in our family. How could you compare yourself to women?”
“Eldest Sister and Second Sister are women. Once we earn money, we have to spend it on them.”
Then he widened his eyes and deliberately tilted his head as he asked, “Unless you didn’t give them any?”
Song Qiming’s pupils narrowed at once. “Of course I did! I hand over seventy percent of my monthly salary to the household accounts office.”
Song Anhao gave an acknowledging “Oh” and nodded.
That reaction left Song Qiming so annoyed that his chest began to ache—entirely because he had worked himself up.
The frustration bounced around in his mind twice before he instinctively puffed out his chest and urged sternly, “Why are you still standing there? Go study. If you can’t keep first place this time, I’ll double your usual workload.”
Song Anhao shrugged and left.
Song Qiming clutched his chest, tears nearly welling in his eyes.
“How could he treat me like this…”
After muttering to himself, he suddenly thought of something and went into Song Shixue’s room to ask, “How much money did Anhao give you?”
Song Shixue held up one finger.
Song Qiming: “Ten thousand taels?”
Song Shixue nodded.
This time, his heart truly ached.
He let out a howl and strode out, his face caught between exasperation and amusement.
“What a little ingrate. I’ve loved him for nothing!”
Yao Ye, walking half a step behind him, clenched his teeth to keep from laughing. The maids and guards nearby who had heard the cry either lowered their heads or turned away, struggling to hide their smiles.
In the study, Song Anhao heard the howling and pressed his lips tightly together. Unable to stop himself, he reflected on his actions. A moment later, as if he had made some sort of decision, he let out a heavy sigh.
That night, when Song Qiming lay down to sleep, he saw a five-thousand-tael banknote sitting beside his pillow. The corners of his mouth instantly stretched nearly to the back of his head.
He held the banknote and examined it from every angle for a full quarter of an hour before finally placing it beside his pillow with great care, as though it were a precious treasure.
When he closed his eyes and went to sleep, the smile never left his face.
The rankings for the academy’s small examination were posted on the wall early the next morning.
Seeing that he had still placed first, Song Anhao breathed a sigh of relief.
But when he walked over to read the essays of the students ranked second and third, his brows slowly furrowed.
The student in second place had improved tremendously since before, to the point that he was nearly Song Anhao’s equal. Even the student in third place was close behind, and the gap between them was gradually shrinking.
Song Anhao silently withdrew from the crowd gathered around the notice board. Seeing that his expression was troubled, Yao Ying, who was accompanying him, couldn’t help feeling a jolt of anxiety.
He plastered on a smile. “To think you could stay at the bookshop for so many days and still come in first. That’s truly impressive.”
The compliment did nothing to improve Song Anhao’s mood. After walking several dozen paces, he slowly came to a stop.
“Big Brother is right. I’ve been too relaxed lately and let my guard down. From now on, I really should spend more time at the academy.”
When Song Anhao appeared in class the next day, the academy tutor secretly nodded in approval.
At least he felt some pressure and knew he needed to work harder.
Manager Lou returned from Songzhou City. With one of the clever maids Song Jinzhao had sent over managing the bookshop’s accounts, Song Anhao felt reassured and divided half of his attention back toward his studies.
It wasn’t until Liu Ruoxi came looking for him to say that the new story had been written that he brought Song Jinzhao along to a restaurant to treat the two of them to a meal.
Inside the private room, Liu Ziyuan cast a deeply aggrieved glance at Song Jinzhao from time to time, while Liu Ruoxi beamed happily beside him.
With the utmost respect, she presented the newly written story to Song Jinzhao. Her lips curved upward, and her eyes were filled with springlike warmth.
“County Princess, this is the story I’ve just written. Please take a look.”
