No one in the new Lin house cared what was going on in the old Lin house and even if they did know about it they wouldn't have cared because Lin Rui has returned after a very long time, even though the brothers never said anything, they, of course, missed Lin Rui just as much as Su Wan. The five of them grew up together, and in their entire life they haven't been away from each other for more than just a few days but Lin Rui's case was different he didn't return home for over a month!

How could they not miss him? Right now everyone was paying special attention to Lin Rui even Shen Zizhen who wasn't fond of the Lin brothers who stole his precious apple was looking at Lin Rui with a rather interested gaze, he wasn't educated and thus, respected educated scholars a lot and because he respected scholars he didn't attack Lin Rui, who told him to be smart enough to impress him?

" So you are Lin Rui?" asked Shen Zizhen as he examined Lin Rui from head to toe, decent appearance, good looks and most importantly this brat looks so young yet the scholarly aura around him was really good. Shen Zizhen nodded his head in approval as he patted Lin Rui's arm " good, good .. you are a good boy."

Shen Zizhen sudden change of his tune made everyone around him surprised, what happened to him? Why was he so enthusiastic about Lin Rui? 

Seeing their confused gazes Shen Junxi smiled and whispered " you don't know when Zizhen was young he wanted to study too but his stature was small and he was often bullied, he was pushed around by the young masters of those rich families and in the end couldn't bear any more and ended up quitting that academy. Even though it was his dream to become a scholar one day and bring glory to our family, Zizhen couldn't bear that kind of psychological trauma and stopped studying … his desires remained unfulfilled.  That's why he respects scholars a lot"

Lin Chen "…." If I knew this I would have gone to the academy even if it killed him!

" Ah, why are you all standing there?" Su Wan who returned with the last dish that she has prepared for Lin Rui and placed it on the table looking at her husbands and uncles in confusion " come here, and eat. I have prepared a lot of good things today"

Su Wan has indeed gone all out, not only did she cook her signature dishes but also paid a good deal of money to a fisherman in the village to get her shark fins. That explained why a savoury and tantalizing scent was coming from the bowl of soup, everything smelled so good, so all of them stopped paying attention to unimportant things and sat down.

Su Wan filled a bowl with walnut porridge and handed it to Lin Rui who smilingly took it " Remember to eat more, it seems like you haven't been eating properly. Try to fill your sunken cheeks a little, you look like a malnourished patient"

Lin Rui chuckled and shook his head as he took a bite of the porridge before speaking " I haven't gotten thin, it all because you are seeing me after a long time, that's why I am looking thin to you"

Su Wan pouted her lips as she ladled some soup for him " whose fault is it?" She had been missing Lin Rui for quite some time but every time she asked him to return home, he would always write back saying that he still had a lot to do, there was one time that she wanted to fight it out with his teacher. The way Lin Rui's mentor sticks to him sometimes made her so angry that she almost asked him whether he was Lin Rui's wife or she was, every time she went to look for Lin Rui, his teacher would warn her not to disrupt his studies. 

Sometimes he would guard Lin Rui like he was an immortal and she was a seductive vixen who came to disrupt his austerity.

Lin Rui chuckled and rubbed her head " I know, I am sorry I should have tried to come more"

Shen Junxi cleared his throat but didn't say anything not because he didn't want to but because his wife's foot was hovering right above his, if he said something wrong then he can forget to walk without any pain " ahem, Ah Rui, how is everything?"

" Everything is going well, my roommates are nice and teachers are really good too," said Lin Rui, his eyes that were always filled with doubts were no longer as gloomy as before, the headmaster of his academy was familiar with his condition so he would always call Lin Rui to his courtyard and teach him how he should try to have more confidence in himself, though it was not much but it showed that the headmaster had a good impression of him which was why he was paying attention to him.

Shen Junxi nodded his head and took a big bite of his rice " That's good, a good environment is the basic necessity of learning if not your studies will be affected"

" That's right boy" Shen Zizhen chimed  from Shen Junxi's side " you need to focus all your attention on your studies if the dormitory atmosphere is not right, just say it outright and we will help you"

Lin Rui shook his head at once "' no need, my two roommates are really nice, I am not troubled at all."

" If that's the case then alright, boy," said Shen Zizhen as he took a sip of his shark fin soup " Then we will be waiting for you to bring glory home"

Lin Rui nodded his head, before leaving his house he would often question himself whether he would be able to live up to his family's expectations but now he knew that as long as he keep working hard one day, he will succeed though he has to put in some more efforts but he will succeed.

—

Su Wan cleaned the dining table and let Lin Yan wash them.. After that, she went to her room and picked a change of clothes before heading to the bathhouse but just as she entered - a pair of strong arms pulled her back.

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