On this day, Gu Yunji was eating in the academy cafeteria, but he heard a commotion not far away.

Zhu Yuanfeng was born with a big waist and a round waist, and his face was full of meat, he pointed to the corner of his soiled clothes, and said viciously to the young man in front of him: "Boy, you stained my clothes, is that it?" ”

Cheng Yan was drenched by vegetable soup at this time, he wiped his face with his sleeve, pursed his lips and said: "You bumped into me first, not to mention that my clothes are soaked, even if you want to pay, you will pay me." As he spoke, he raised his head and stared straight at Zhu Yuanfeng, his gaze like a sword.

Zhu Yuanfeng sensed the provocation in his eyes, he grabbed Cheng Yan's collar and threatened: "You try it again?" Do you dare to make me pay? A poor boy who got into the academy by luck, really thinks he is a golden phoenix, right? You don't look at your poor sour face! ”

Hearing this, Cheng Yan's whole person's air pressure instantly decreased, and the surrounding anger overflowed, and the darkness in his eyes became deeper and deeper. Suddenly, he retracted his sharpness and his momentum fell. lowered his eyes and whispered, "Then what do you want?" ”

Zhu Yuanfeng picked up his clothes and stepped on the stool, and said domineeringly: "I want you to kneel down and lick it clean!" ”

Cheng Yan's movements stiffened, his fists clenched tightly, and his whole body trembled slightly because he tried his best to suppress his anger, he gritted his teeth and looked at Zhu Yuanfeng's greasy and arrogant face, and almost couldn't help the urge to give the other party a punch in his heart.

"Cheng Yan." Suddenly, a familiar and crisp voice came, interrupting the tense atmosphere. Cheng Yan's body loosened, he spit out the turbidity in his chest, and his clenched fists slowly loosened.

"Why are you here?" Gu Yunji looked casual, "I've been looking for you for a long time, and Mr. called you." After speaking, he was ready to pull Cheng Yan away.

"Wait!" Zhu Yuanfeng stretched out his arm and straddled between the two, "This kid has soiled my clothes and hasn't paid for it, how can you just let him go!" ”

Gu Yunji paused, with a smirk on his face, turned to look at Zhu Yuanfeng and said, "Senior Brother Zhu, you see that my friend is all dirty, and we didn't say anything. You have to pay for a dirty corner of your clothes, isn't it a little inappropriate? ”

Zhu Yuanfeng said: "I don't care if it's appropriate for him!" He's a wild boy from the countryside who doesn't walk around when he sees Uncle Ben, and he dares to stain my clothes, so I have to let him lick it clean today! ”

Gu Yunji's smile turned cold: "You won't be forgiving if you say this." As far as I know, your father, Lord Zhu Jie, is an honest and upright official, I wonder if his old man knows that his son is bullying people outside and ruining his reputation? ”

Zhu Yuanfeng raised his eyebrows: "You actually know my father?" Whose kid are you? ”

Gu Yunji straightened his sleeves, and his tone was not hurried: "Gu Zhengde, the former prince and master, is my grandfather. ”

"You are the grandson of Gu Taishi?" Hearing this, Zhu Yuanfeng was a little incredulous. The Gu family is a Jiangnan wang clan with a deep foundation, but I didn't expect this kid to look inconspicuous, but he was actually a child of the Gu family.

Although he was not afraid of him with his family background, there was no need to argue about such a trivial matter. Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanfeng no longer entangled: "Hmph, it's cheaper for you today, we'll see in the future." With that, he brushed his sleeves and left.

After returning to the dormitory, Gu Yunji brought a basin of water and said to Cheng Yan, "Let's wash first." Cheng Yan lowered his eyes and took it, only cleaning silently, without saying a word.

Gu Yunji turned around and stopped looking at him. People like Cheng Yan are golden phoenixes who come out of the dirt and grass, with extreme self-esteem and inferiority at the same time, and they don't want others to see them in distress.

Neither of them spoke, and for a while, there was silence in the dormitory, and only the slight splash of water made by Cheng Yan when he was washing could be heard.

"I've happened to this many times." Cheng Yan said suddenly, "At first, I was mad and pounced on him to hit him, but in the end, I was always beaten harder by the other party." Later, I learned to be obedient and began to endure, even if the other party humiliated me in every way, I didn't fight back. ”

Gu Yunji turned to look at him, the corners of Cheng Yan's forehead were wet and wet, and when he spoke, he looked at the basin in front of him, his expression was a little self-deprecating, but his eyes were full of unwillingness.

"Because I know that as long as I study hard and become an official in the imperial examination, when I get ahead, I will be able to make all those who have bullied me regret it." Cheng Yan put the handkerchief in the basin and gently scrubbed it, and his tone was light, "I often envy you, you have such a good background, you have such a powerful grandfather, even if you are a concubine, but as long as you are a little up-and-coming, you can be valued by the family, and you can easily get what I dreamed of." ”

Speaking of this, Cheng Yan stopped what he was doing, raised his head and looked into his eyes: "Not only envy, but sometimes even jealousy, jealousy of all the children of the family like you, I am crazy with jealousy." Why are you born nobler than I am? Why do I try my best, but I still don't get the half of what you have? ”

His eyes were complicated, unwillingness, jealousy, resentment and other emotions were intertwined, and his sharp gaze almost stung Gu Yunji. On weekdays, he disguised himself with a humble and gentle coat, hiding his inferiority complex and self-esteem in his heart, and refused to reveal the slightest. At this time, he was vigilant and sensitive, like a wounded hedgehog, with soft and unhealed wounds growing under the sharp and hard thorns.

"That Zhu Yuanfeng bullied me like that, but I couldn't do anything. And you came down to me like a god, and with your family background, you could easily make him retreat. I am grateful that you helped me, but at the same time I hate you, I hate you for being able to do things that I can't do easily, and I look like a coward who can only wait to be saved, and I can't bridge the gap between my birth with all my strength, making all my previous efforts a joke. ”

Gu Yunji said in a daze: "I'm sorry ......"

He didn't need to apologize to Cheng Yan, but at this time, he inexplicably felt that he owed the other party. Gu Yunji can actually empathize very much, in his previous life, he also walked from the poor ravine to the bustling big city through studying, but whenever he stood in the flow of people, he always felt that he was incompatible with the city where he was located, and he couldn't fit in.

Traveling to the ancient times with clear hierarchical order and a huge gap between the rich and the poor, Gu Yunji had brocade clothes and jade food as soon as he opened his eyes, and he almost forgot his inferiority complex and sensitive self. When I saw Cheng Yan at this time, I suddenly remembered that he was not more noble than anyone else, and everything he had only came from the word luck.

"You don't have to apologize to me, you helped me, I should be grateful to you." Cheng Yan covered his face with the wet handkerchief, and only took it off for a while to reveal his reddish eyes, "I'm sorry to scare you for a moment." ”

With that, he quickly gathered himself up, raised his feet and walked out the door.

"Cheng Yan." Gu Yunji stopped him, "You are no worse than anyone else, nor are you inferior than anyone else." It is not your destiny to be trampled under the feet of ants, you are a Kunpeng and not a bird, you must know that your future is between the mountains and the sea. ”

Cheng Yan's figure stopped at the door, the sunlight outside hit his body, shrouding him with a soft light, and when he heard this, he turned his head slightly, and said with a slight smile: "Thank you, you too." ”