The girl in front of her smiled crookedly, her clear eyes were as bright as stars, she spoke softly and quickly, and the tail note rose playfully, and she scratched her heart like a cat, and there was a slight itch.

Cheng Yan was stunned for a moment, the gloom under his eyes gradually faded, he reached out to pick up a piece of pastry, and smiled slightly: "Thank you, Miss Gu." ”

After eating the pastries, everyone was ready to go back to the house. Gu Kaizhen and the others did not take a carriage when they came, but went shopping all the way to the Gongyuan, it was still early at the moment, Gu Yunji also wanted to take this opportunity to relax, so he was not in a hurry, while taking a leisurely walk, chatting with his father and brother, and slowly walked towards Gu's mansion.

Cheng Yanzi has always been quiet, only silently behind everyone, and did not take the initiative to participate in the chat.

Gu Yunqiao was afraid that he would be snubbed, so he quietly slowed down, slowly walked to his side, and asked casually: "There will be nine days before and after the township test, and the amount of questions should be very large, right?" Don't you have to keep writing to finish it? ”

Cheng Yan saw her kindness, his heart warmed, and he replied, "Actually, no." The township test is divided into three sessions, each of which is three days, and the papers will not be distributed all at once, but will be distributed in turn at different times. ”

"Every once in a while, there will be an official who will print a stamp on the answer sheet to know how fast the candidate is answering......"

The two of them asked and answered one by one, no matter how trivial and boring Gu Yunqiao's question was, Cheng Yan would answer it in detail, without the slightest impatience.

Cheng Yan's voice was clear and gentle, Gu Yunqiao just wanted to find a random topic to avoid embarrassment at first, but after listening to the other party's patient and meticulous explanation, he slowly forgot his original purpose, and he was able to listen to it for a while.

“…… Cheating methods are endless, some of which are carried in food; Some are hidden in their bundled hair; There are also those that write directly on the body, in the palms of the hands, on the inside of the arms, on the belly - and even on the soles of the feet. ”

"Soles?" Gu Yunqiao's eyes widened slightly, both surprised and amused, "Then isn't he afraid of itching when he writes it?" ”

Cheng Yan didn't expect Gu Yunqiao's focus to be so peculiar, his eyebrows raised slightly when he heard this, and he thought about it along her train of thought, and he couldn't help but laugh for a while.

"Perhaps." Cheng Yan smiled lightly, "This kind of cheating method should be more beneficial to people with smelly feet, because as soon as he takes off his shoes and socks, he stinks so much that the inspector will retreat. ”

Hearing him joke so seriously, Gu Yunqiao suddenly couldn't hold back, and burst out laughing.

The restrained and self-contained girl has a crisp voice like a bell at the moment, her eyebrows and eyes are flying, as if she has broken free from the shackles of rigidity, and her face is bright and bright, so that Cheng Yan can't help but be infected by her emotions, and her eyes show soft pleasure.

Sensing that the passers-by around were attracted by the laughter and looked sideways at him, Gu Yunqiao hurriedly smiled, stretched out his hand to cover his red lips, and maintained everyone's beautiful reserve.

Seeing the girl in front of him, because of a few glances from others, she immediately lowered her eyebrows and lowered the corners of her mouth, and the lively color disappeared in an instant, Cheng Yan's heart was empty, and a slight loss flashed in his eyes.

Tightening his fingers on his side, Cheng Yan pursed his lips, wanting to say something, but in the end he was silent.

Feeling Cheng Yan's emotional changes, although Gu Yunqiao didn't understand the reason, he still changed the topic intimately: "...... I heard my brother say that Cheng Gongzi was only enlightened to study at the age of ten? ”

Cheng Yan responded gently: "Yes." ”

"Enlightened at the age of ten, he was able to get the second place in the county examination at the age of fourteen, and his results have always been among the best in Luxi Academy. Gu Yunqiao's eyes flickered, bright and moving, "In this way, even my brother doesn't have such a fast speed, Cheng Gongzi, you are so powerful!" ”

Cheng Yan is talented, and he has heard a lot of praise since he was a child, but it was the first time he received such a sincere and straightforward praise, and a faint joy suddenly surged in his heart, the loss in his eyes quietly dissipated, and his eyes brightened again.

Cheng Yan was not as modest as before, but asked suspiciously: "Really? ”

"Nature is true!"

Seeing that he didn't seem to believe it, Gu Yunqiao straightened his voice and said seriously: "Most people are enlightened at the age of six or seven, and then read a book for seven or eight years before they can earn a show of fame, how can they compare to Cheng Gongzi's talent?" ”

The girl's mouth kept talking, carefully counting Cheng Yan's outstanding points, as if she was afraid that he would be contemptuous and cheap, Cheng Yan listened quietly, the corners of her lips were slightly hooked unconsciously, and her eyebrows and eyes were full of tenderness.

Time passed slowly, and before they knew it, everyone had arrived at Gu's mansion.

After entering the house, Gu Yunji separated from his father and brother at the fork in the road, and subconsciously thought that Cheng Yan was following behind, so he casually called: "Cheng Yan, let's take a bath and wash up first, change our clothes and then go to dinner." ”

“…… Cheng Yan? ”

After not getting a response for a long time, Gu Yunji paused and turned his head to look for it, just in time to see him and Gu Yunqiao walking together, the two of them laughed and laughed, and turned their heads from time to time to say something, and they seemed to get along very well.

A strange feeling suddenly rose in Gu Yunji's heart, neither angry nor sad, but also not happy or happy, what it was, he couldn't tell himself, anyway, it was not very comfortable.

"Qiaoqiao, my father is calling you." Gu Yunji walked up to the two of them and lied casually, "You go to the main hall first and wait, Cheng Yan and I will go over after a rest." ”

“…… Ah, good. Gu Yunqiao was still immersed in the conversation with Cheng Yan, and was stunned for a moment before reacting, "Then I'll go over first, and Cheng Gongzi will see you again." ”

Cheng Yan bowed slightly, and said politely: "Miss Gu, goodbye." ”

Seeing that Gu Yunqiao had turned around and left, but Cheng Yan's eyes were still following her back, Gu Yunji was a little itchy, and quietly stepped forward to block his sight, and asked seemingly unintentionally, "Have a good chat?" ”

Cheng Yan silently retracted his gaze, and said as usual: "Sister Ling is lively and cute, her actions are natural, and she is really happy to get along with her like a spring breeze." ”

Cheng Yan's tone was sincere, his eyes were clear and clean, without the slightest frivolity, Gu Yunji stared at him for a long time, and indeed didn't find anything unusual, so he put his mind at ease, put aside the messy speculation in his mind, and asked, "My father is going to go back after the list, what about you?" Do you want to stay together or go home and wait for news? ”

Cheng Yan said: "Let's stay with you, anyway, I will stay for more than ten days, and I am too lazy to toss on the road." ”

Gu Yunji was a little surprised: "You haven't been away for so long and haven't gone home, does it really matter?" Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the family should be looking forward to your return, at least ask someone to send a message, so as not to worry them. ”

Cheng Yan was silent for a moment, lowered his eyes to hide the loneliness in his eyes, and said softly: "I have no family." ”

Gu Yunji's heart tightened: "What? ”

"I am the youngest son in the family, my father died when I was young, my mother was in poor health when she was old, and my eldest brother was supporting the family. My eldest brother was a dozen years older than me, fed and clothed me, provided me with education, and treated me better than his own son. However, just a few months ago, he had a serious illness and died. ”

After the death of the eldest brother, my mother couldn't bear the blow and went with her within a few days. My sister-in-law was really hard to live alone, so she took her nephew back to her parents' house, and after she left, there was no one at home. My uncles and brothers took advantage of me to study outside the country and divided up the family's land and property, leaving only two mud huts for me. ”

Cheng Yan's eyes were desolate, and he smiled miserably at him, "Later, after I begged for it in many ways, I finally fought for some pots and pans to come back, so that it would not end up empty." ”

Gu Yunji's throat was dry, and he trembled a little when he heard his voice: "...... Why didn't you tell me about such a big thing? ”

Cheng Yan's voice was faint, and his expression was surprisingly calm: "It was four months ago, not long after Su Qi's northern expedition to Datong Town, you were worried about Su Qi at that time, and at the same time you had to prepare for the exam, I don't want to say it to make you more troubled." ”

How can this be considered a futility for trouble?

Gu Yunji's throat was uncomfortably blocked, his chest was sore and swollen, and he wanted to say something, but he hesitated in Cheng Yan's calm gaze, and finally could only close his mouth and remain silent.

Cheng Yan is introverted and generally does not take the initiative to be in the limelight, but this does not mean that he should stay in the corner and be ignored by others as a matter of course.

When Su Qi sent the letter, Gu Yunji obviously saw Cheng Yan's strange appearance when he received the letter from home, but he didn't take it to heart; After the academy closed and returned to Huating County, Cheng Yan was very busy, and he couldn't get free for several appointments, although Gu Yunji had doubts, he didn't dig deeper, let alone take the initiative to care.

Gu Yunji couldn't blame Cheng Yan for hiding something from him, because he ignored Cheng Yan first, and he didn't do what a friend should do first.

“…… Cheng Yan, I'm sorry. Gu Yunji's eyes were red, and it took a while for a while to say a sentence in a dumb voice.

"Yunji, you don't need to apologize to me." Cheng Yan smiled, and his tone was as gentle as ever, "It's all over." ”

Gu Yunji lowered his head, his lips tightened slightly, and the heaviness in his heart was not half alleviated because of this sentence "It's all over".

The so-called "past" does not really pass, but does not mention it for the time being. Just as a sharp thorn is inserted into the flesh, although the thorn is pulled out and the wound is healed, the scar is still there, and it is impossible to really act as if nothing has happened.

Fortunately, Cheng Yan was still willing to tell him this, and it was not too late for Gu Yunji to know now.