Chapter Forty-Nine: The Contest of Wits

There are three streets in Qingyao Ancient Town. One is the commercial street, which is where they worked yesterday; another is the cultural street; the last one retains its original name—Scholar Street. In reality, there’s little difference between them, but most of the visitors to Scholar Street are students.

Before arriving, Lan Qing had already received the documents sent by Jian Hong and memorized every detail.

At the entrance of Scholar Street stands a statue, the scholar of the X dynasty. The stone tablet beside it briefly introduces his origins but records nothing else in detail.

Lan Qing glanced at it as she passed, then, seeing Sang Yijia approaching, lifted the corners of her lips in a smile. “Sheng Hongzhen, the scholar from the X dynasty.”

Sang Yijia stopped, looking up at the weathered stone tablet, and responded with a quiet “Hmm.”

Seeing her pause, Lu Wenchuan stopped as well.

“His family used to run a small business right in this alley,” Lan Qing continued, her purpose achieved. “After he gained fame through the imperial exams, the neighbors renamed the alley Scholar Street.”

“Qingqing, how do you know all this?” Since learning about Lan Qing’s background, Shen Jin had been singing her praises; as long as she was happy, he was satisfied.

Lan Qing shook her head. “I read it in a book when I was at school.”

She paused. “It wasn’t in the main text, just in a little story at the end.”

“I didn’t expect to remember it just from seeing the name.” Lan Qing smiled modestly. “I hope I haven’t embarrassed myself.”

“How could you?” Shen Jin disagreed. “We’ll need you to explain more as we go.”

Lan Qing grew even more self-conscious, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. As she lowered her eyes, she glanced at Sang Yijia, whose expression remained indifferent, prompting Lan Qing to purse her lips.

“Jiajia, do you want to touch the stone tablet?” Lan Qing asked.

Sang Yijia declined. She looked at the imposing scholar’s statue, her voice cool. “The first thing Sheng Hongzhen did after becoming a scholar was return home and divorce his wife, then marry the daughter of a high official.”

“Twelve years in office, eventually disgraced for corruption, exiled to the borderlands, where he died of illness. That’s the whole story.”

Lan Qing’s lips twitched and her complexion soured, but she forced a smile. “Jiajia, you really know a lot.”

“I never saw any of that in the books.” The implication was that Sang Yijia was making it up.

“I read it in unofficial histories,” Sang Yijia replied, withdrawing her gaze. “Though whether it’s true, who can say.”

Lan Qing smiled with a blank expression. “Some things in unofficial histories are credible, others aren’t.”

“But, Jiajia, you read those too?” Lan Qing had assumed Sang Yijia knew nothing at all.

Sang Yijia nodded. “Sometimes, to pass the time.”

In truth, the welfare home had received many donated books—of all types. Sang Yijia didn’t participate in other activities or play with the children; she simply enjoyed reading, all kinds of books.

The director always said, reading changes the future.

Sang Yijia remembered that, but the habit lasted only until college. After graduating, her work kept her busy and leisure reading became rare, limited mostly to novels related to her job.

[Why does Sang Yijia seem so aloof?]

[“Sometimes to pass the time,” as if we don’t have time to read.]

[So annoying.]

Lan Qing smiled slightly and didn’t ask any further.

Just then, Shen Jin stepped forward and took her hand. “Qingqing, let’s go see what’s ahead.”

The afternoon’s task was to learn about the history of Qingyao Ancient Town, culminating in a quiz at the meeting point. The winners would receive a deluxe dinner for two.

Shen Jin knew Lan Qing majored in history; they were sure to win this round.

“Alright.” Lan Qing didn’t want to say more to Sang Yijia, smiled at her, and left hand-in-hand with Shen Jin.

“Where do you want to go?” Sang Yijia noticed Lu Wenchuan was much quieter today and squinted at him. He didn’t seem ill, but she refrained from asking and pretended not to notice.

Lu Wenchuan lifted his eyelids, glanced at the couple ahead, his gaze lingering on their interlaced fingers, then silently looked away.

During the lunch break, Wei Heng messaged that he’d been too impatient and needed to take things slowly.

Lu Wenchuan felt it too and was much colder at lunch, though Sang Yijia didn’t find anything amiss.

“Anywhere is fine,” Lu Wenchuan replied, then asked, “How did you know?”

“The history of Scholar Street,” he clarified.

Sang Yijia pointed to the teahouse behind them. “I just heard it from an old man.”

“Not from books?” Lu Wenchuan raised an eyebrow.

Sang Yijia smiled faintly. “I’ve read, but you can’t remember everything.”

Before he could ask further, Sang Yijia explained, “That old man opposed the statue from the very beginning.”

“All the shop owners here probably know.” Sang Yijia had spent half the day delivering food yesterday—not without some gain.

Lu Wenchuan nodded and said nothing more.

Neither knew much about the other, and Sang Yijia was aware Lu Wenchuan would only be part of the program for one episode. There seemed little worth discussing.

The two walked mostly in silence. Sang Yijia would pause to look at anything interesting, while Lu Wenchuan simply waited beside her.

Unknowingly, it was time to gather in the evening. Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan arrived right on schedule; Lan Qing and Shen Jin were already back, sitting on chairs prepared by the crew. Before them was a table with a red buzzer.

“Jiajia, you’re back,” Lan Qing greeted Sang Yijia warmly, waving her over.

Shen Jin’s face was cold, and he didn’t spare them a glance.

“Mm.” Sang Yijia nodded, acknowledging them.

[Just seeing her annoys me.]

[Why is Qingqing so nice to Sang Yijia?]

[I don’t get it at all!]

[Probably because of this morning—Qingqing feels guilty and wants to make it up to her.]

[Sang Yijia is the type to take advantage.]

[In the quiz later, Qingqing won’t let Sang Yijia win, right?]

Such comments flooded the livestream chat more and more.

The director frowned, telling someone beside him to investigate. “What’s going on?”

If Sang Yijia really was under President Wei’s protection, why hadn’t he arranged for someone to manage the comments? Hiring people to control the chat was simple enough.

The director grew increasingly puzzled.

Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan took their seats. The moderator stood before both teams, question cards in hand. “Now for the most intense and exciting segment—the quiz.”

“This time, we’re not just testing your knowledge, but also your teamwork and chemistry.”

Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan had read the rules. The person pressing the buzzer couldn’t answer, meaning it was possible to buzz in but still earn no points if their partner couldn’t respond.

“Will you buzz, or shall I?” Sang Yijia asked after reviewing the rules. She felt confident in her knowledge, though not certain of every answer.

Lu Wenchuan frowned. “I’ll buzz, you answer.”