Chapter 68 - What To Do if You’re the Villain and the Heroine Likes You

Everything settled down in the classroom, with He Yunxiao and Li Jin sitting in the first row. Meng Yan, Huang Buren, and other spoilt children sat in the second row, and so on. In fact, apart from a group of spoilt children, there were also half of the earnest students in Fan Zi Ruo's classroom. Like Li Jin, they came for the standard of Fan Zi Ruo. After all, she was the number one talented female in Yin Jing, young in age, but equivalent in talent to the great scholars. If it weren't for the fact that women can't participate in the imperial examinations, otherwise, with Fan Zi Ruo's ability, becoming an official, even a prime minister, would not be a problem. The reason why she could only become a prime minister was that, beyond this point, relying on effort and the talent for learning would be limited. But it isn't entirely impossible. If her father, Teacher Fan, were willing to work a bit harder and achieve the title of marquis or duke, Fan Zi Ruo truly could become the empress. Her dignified, knowledgeable, and beautiful demeanor, coupled with her calm, generous, intelligent, and non-jealous nature, make her the most suitable to lead the harem. In addition, the current Meng family urgently needs Teacher Fan to take back control of the military power for them. Therefore, the probability of Fan Zi Ruo becoming the empress is almost certain. Fan Zi Ruo is nineteen years old, while His Majesty is only eleven, a mere eight-year age gap. It is quite suitable. Of course, all of this is based on the assumption that He Yunxiao does not exist. If one day in the future, Fan Zi Ruo were to say to He Yunxiao, "I want to become the empress," He Yunxiao's response would definitely be, "Excuse me, Madam, when is the best time for me to revolt?" However, it is not yet to that extent. The present He Yunxiao is not at all mischievous. Under Teacher Fan’s guidance, he is a good student who is ambitious and loves learning. He Yunxiao has regained half of the motivation he had in the past when he was studying, not because he doesn’t want to regain all of it, but because the other half of his motivation was focused on how to sneak his cellphone into the school without getting caught. After finishing a passage by Fan Zi Ruo, He Yunxiao carefully waits for Teacher Fan to tidy up her hair with delicate hands before raising his hand at the appropriate time and saying, "I have a question about the poem 'Zheng Feng · Chu Qi Dong Men' that you just talked about, Teacher Fan.” 'Zheng Feng · Chu Qi Dong Men' is a poem in the Book of Songs that praises the pure and chaste love between men and women. The overall meaning is: "I went out and saw many beautiful women, but I only love the one who dresses simply." Fan Zi Ruo rarely encounters students who actively express their doubts. Hence, she cares quite a bit about He Yunxiao's action. She adjusts herself and puts down the book she held, crossing her slender hands over her legs. She turns to face He Yunxiao and says, "Go on." He Yunxiao earnestly says something quite outlandish. He starts with, "The author of this poem says, 'Although I admire the beauty of the women, I only love you who dresses simply.'" Fan Zi Ruo says, "Hmm." He Yunxiao continues, "Isn't this exactly a scumbag?" Fan Zi Ruo is momentarily stunned by the unfamiliar term. "What is a 'scumbag'?" He Yunxiao enthusiastically explains, "A 'scumbag' is a lustful person who likes to deceive and abandon women!" Fan Zi Ruo looks at He Yunxiao with a strange look, as if this term could be quite fitting when applied to He Yunxiao, the instigator of the notorious 'Yin Jing first evildoer.' He Yunxiao quickly defends himself, "Teacher, please don't look at me like that! I, He Yunxiao, am not a scumbag. I just happen to be exceptionally skilled at appreciating the beauty in the world." Fan Zi Ruo doesn't want to dwell on this. She explains, "The poem 'Zheng Feng · Chu Qi Dong Men' has always been considered a song of praising faithful love by the ancient poets." He Yunxiao is persistent, "I just want to ask, Teacher, how do you see this poem?" Fan Zi Ruo furrows her brows, "My view is consistent with other poetry experts." At this point, He Yunxiao wears a smile of victorious cunning. Before, he devised a plan to present himself as a diligent and dedicated student who loves to learn in front of Fan Zi Ruo, and this was correct. However, this plan had a fatal flaw. Although it could quickly close the gap between them, it would also restrict their identities. The etiquette was crucial in the state of Qi, and it was absolutely unacceptable to deceive and backstab the teacher. Once the student identity was confirmed, He Yunxiao would have no more opportunity to seduce the teacher. How could he not seduce the teacher? Not deceiving the teacher is the real deception. Chu Xiao Xiao's wooden sword doesn't care who you are. As long as you're a female character with a strong liking for Chu Fan, you couldn't escape her assassination list. Otherwise, why is "Miss, I Only Want to Cultivate" such a story with a single female lead? It's terrifying, after all. He Yunxiao must not turn a blind eye. He must immediately reduce Fan Zi Ruo's affection for Chu Fan. In plain language: In order to build rapport and gain favor, I can let Fan Zi Ruo be my teacher, but only a little. Short and sweet: Let me teach you a little something as your teacher, Miss Zi Ruo. The final version: Little sister Zi Ruo, let me teach you about love! If He Yunxiao could become Fan Zi Ruo's teacher in some aspect, it would be discussing love. After Fan Zi Ruo said, "My view is consistent with other poetry experts," He Yunxiao gave a confident, elegant smile. He politely said, "Please tell me, Teacher, since you say this is a poem praising love, then I presume, Teacher, you must have experienced love yourself?" Fan Zi Ruo was taken aback. She rarely even left her house, let alone had any experiences with love. "I haven't." He Yunxiao smiled, "Without investigation, there is no right to speak. If you haven't experienced love, how can you dare to talk about love? You can quote the words of the poetry experts, but it's best to refrain from expressing your personal views. Otherwise, you may leave yourself open to criticism in the future." After hearing He Yunxiao's words, this time Fan Zi Ruo didn’t hastily respond, and instead fell silent for a long time. Li Jin nudged his desk mate, He Yunxiao. "He Yunxiao, what's wrong with Teacher Fan? Why isn't she speaking?" He Yunxiao didn't know how to explain it to Li Jin. Explaining “love” to Li Jin is less effective than teaching a gorilla programming. The latter would have a better chance of success. He Yunxiao remembered the incident at Chun Feng Tower and decided to casually fool Li Jin, "She is feeling dizzy from the poem." Li Jin, upon hearing that Fan Zi Ruo was dizzy, was delighted, "Another dizzy one? Even the highly talented first lady of Yin Jing is like this. She's slightly inferior to me, Li Jin. I must remember to tell this to my cousin." He quickly wrote it down, but as he wrote, it suddenly dawned on him: He Yunxiao hasn’t read poetry? How could he make someone dizzy? Compared to Li Jin's confusion, the astonishment in the hearts of the other students was even stronger. Everyone knew the caliber of Fan Zi Ruo. She was the kind of person who could address elderly scholars as equals. At such a young age, she had already read and analyzed works of various authors and even had her own works interpreting, elaborating, and expanding on them. Her poetry and essays were all exceptional. On the whole, everything she wrote was proficient and sophisticated. Now she was stumped by He Yunxiao? Could it be that "Da Ming Lake" actually has some substance? Then, an even more unbelievable scene unfolded. This Yin Jing's talented lady, flawless in both appearance and status, rose gracefully from behind her desk and performed a discipleship ceremony towards He Yunxiao. “The sage said, 'In the company of three, there must be my teacher.' The sentence 'Without investigation, there is no right to speak' from Master He has greatly benefited Zi Ruo. Thank you, Master He. At this moment, Master He, you are my teacher." Prince Qi's son, Meng Yan, was speechless, his mouth half-open. Li Jin, on the other hand, kept his head down, uninterested in the events, and was planning to write his own poem in his notebook. Claiming that Fan Zi Ruo fainted from the poem without even having a poem sounded like a lie. How could he deceive his cousin like this? Yang Zhe's cousin, Yang Dong, was filled with confusion. All he had in his mind was, Who am I, where am I? What is going on here?