Chapter 28
Several days had passed since the scuffle at the academy. Xiao Mochi had not gone to the Xu family estate or to the residences of the Minister or Vice Minister of War to inquire about the matter. It was as if the incident had never happened, leaving Chen Suya unaware that her son had beaten up the sons of three high-ranking officials. Meanwhile, as punishment for their involvement in the fight, Xu Ming and the others were ordered to copy the first ten pages of The Analects a hundred times.
Originally, this had nothing to do with Qin Qingwan. However, she declared, “I want to share in Brother Ming’s hardships,” and joined in copying. Actually, Xu Ming wanted to say, “You don’t need to copy a hundred times separately—help me with fifty and we’re good.”
Since then, during lessons, Xu Pangda began tagging along with Xu Ming and Qin Qingwan to and from school. The once-lonely Xu Xiaopang was no longer alone; he had made friends with Xu Ming and Qin Qingwan.
Ever since that day when Xu Pangda declared, “I want to become a great, great official,” he had been studying even harder. The timid little chubby boy even started seeking out Mr. Xiao after class to ask questions. Not only did this surprise the other students, but even Xu Ming felt conflicted.
In martial arts, he had the competitive “curly-haired goose” driving him to improve. In academics, he had the diligent Xu Xiaopang as his rival. Truly, no matter the field, there would always be someone pushing the limits. Yet deep down, Xu Ming felt more pride than anything else because Xu Xiaopang’s eyes now sparkled with purpose during class.
Every day, Xu Pangda would also spend his pocket money buying snacks for Xu Ming and Qin Qingwan. He often watched Xu Ming eat with a silly grin on his face.
“What are you smiling about?” Xu Ming asked.
Scratching his nose in embarrassment, Xu Pangda replied, “I don’t know… It just makes me happy to see you eating the food I bought.”
Xu Ming began to worry. Could this kid be some scheming ‘Zero’?