Chapter 34: Provincial Graduate

Su Mu smiled gently, looking at his flushed face, like a ripe red berry. If she poked it lightly, the juice inside would flow out.

How had she not noticed before that Xie Yi was so shy? She recalled when he first came to her home, although he acted reserved and awkward, he was actually poised and not at all coy.

Perhaps it was due to the different environment, allowing Xie Yi to show his most authentic self in front of her without reservation, rather than being forced to please everyone like in his previous life.

However, seeing Xie Yi like this, she liked him even more in her heart, and felt more relaxed and at ease when interacting with him, without any burden.

“Have another piece?” She smiled with her eyes.

“No, no need.” Xie Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his eyes clearly declaring intense desire, yet he forcibly suppressed it, continuing to keep his head down and embroider.

Unfortunately, his fingers were unsteady, the needle tip repeatedly pricking the wrong places, the thread undone and reattached several times.

Feeling Su Mu’s gaze fall on the embroidery hoop, Xie Yi became more anxious, and the more anxious he became, the more unsteady his hands were, making more mistakes. The neat threads eventually became a tangled mess.

Su Mu laughed softly, reaching out to stroke his ripe face, mischievously pinching it. Indeed, it was like a soft berry.

Panic flashed through Xie Yi’s eyes, nervously biting his lip: “Mu Jiejie-”

Su Mu withdrew her hand, teasing seriously: “Your face is so red and hot, are you feeling unwell? Look, you can’t even embroider properly.”

Xie Yi was overwhelmed with embarrassment, shaking his head repeatedly: “I’m not unwell, it’s just… too hot.”

“Oh…..” Su Mu’s eyes curved into crescents, placing a piece of watermelon at his lips: “Then have another piece? You won’t be hot after eating it.”

She felt like a bad aunty coaxing a pure and innocent beautiful young man at that moment.

Xie Yi’s face flushed deeply as he opened his mouth.

Su Mu became addicted to feeding him, one piece after another.

Even though Xie Yi’s mouth was already full, he would eat everything she brought to his lips. His cheeks were puffed up like a desert jerboa storing food, occasionally juice would overflow from the corners of his mouth, and he would hurriedly wipe it with a handkerchief. The white handkerchief was stained red with watermelon juice.

Su Mu rested her chin on her hand, her eyes filled with tender laughter. So this was the joy of feeding.

Since the provincial exams, she had rested for a month, occasionally reading books but more often teasing Xie Yi. The days passed quickly, but she didn’t find it boring at all. On the contrary, it was very interesting. Every time she saw Xie Yi’s eyes full of desire, yet struggling to conceal it, both embarrassed and flustered, she felt life became bright.

The bowl was empty, and Xie Yi’s flat stomach had swelled into a small arc. Su Mu finally stopped her hand.

“Are you full?” she asked.

Xie Yi nodded: “I’m full- hiccup—”

Xie Yi covered his mouth in panic, his gem-like eyes becoming moist with a kind of fearful anxiety due to his loss of composure, the tips of his ears red to the point of softness.

“……” Su Mu finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Xie Yi blinked his eyes pitifully, like a little puppy unable to understand why its owner was laughing.

Su Mu felt her stomach would ache from laughter, covering her abdomen, languidly leaning back in her chair.

Xie Yi’s face flushed red as he saw Su Mu leaning back in her chair, her body trembling with laughter, the full curves of her chest rippling like gentle waves under her thin clothes with her slight movements.

Xie Yi was bewildered for a moment, then felt a fire suddenly burning to his forehead, heat rushing to his face. His whole body reacted by abruptly standing up.

“Where are you going?” Su Mu asked.

Xie Yi took a deep breath, barely maintaining a normal voice: “I… it’s getting late, I’ll go make dinner for Mu Jiejie.”

After saying this, he fled as if something was chasing him.

“No need, she’s going out to eat with me later,” Shen Yuxue leaned against the doorframe, looking at Su Mu.

Xie Yi stopped in his tracks.

Su Mu stood up: “Why are you here?”

Shen Yuxue smiled: “Of course because I miss you. My new shop is opening today, won’t you come and support me?”

“Of course.” Su Mu smiled as she stood up, originally wanting Xie Yi to come along with her, but the recent rumors made Xie Yi afraid to walk together with Su Mu.

“Mu Jiejie, you two go ahead, I’ll wait for you at home,” Xie Yi said.

The recent rumors had been saying that he had seduced Su Mu to abandon her original husband. Although they countered with Yan Jiyue’s infidelity in the marriage first, Xie Yi was still concerned about the impact of these rumors on Su Mu’s reputation. Therefore, he tried to avoid Su Mu in public as much as possible.

But Su Mu didn’t mind these things, taking his hand: “Come on, come with me.”

Xie Yi’s hand trembled slightly in her grasp, his body suddenly softening a bit. Then he responded softly, obediently being led by her onto the street, his soft thin lips curving into a beautiful arc.

As they were leaving, they encountered Qiao Zhifu. Xie Yi exchanged brief greetings with him before leaving.

Shen Yuxue’s shop was not far from the street where Su Mu lived, on a bustling commercial street, the place with the largest flow of customers in all of Juen City.

In her previous life, after she became the richest person, almost this entire street belonged to her alone. She subdivided and rented it to different merchants, inspecting the street every month, with all these shop owners being extremely attentive to her.

Suddenly returning to a time of poverty, Su Mu felt a bit unaccustomed.

Shen Yuxue’s family shop was about 80 square meters, large and bright. The tables and chairs inside were arranged neatly. She strongly suspected that before transmigrating, Shen Yuxue had studied art or was involved in interior design. The shop’s decor and layout were very exquisite, classic and elegant yet not old-fashioned, with the scale grasped extremely well.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that as soon as she opened for business, it became extremely popular. All the seats were filled, so crowded that people could barely squeeze in, forcing them to temporarily set up some tables and chairs outside the shop.

The two assistants in the shop were busy to the point of dizziness, their hands and feet nimble as they ladled noodles, added ice, and put in small ingredients.

“How’s my shop? Not bad, right?” Shen Yuxue said proudly.

Su Mu nodded: “Not bad, the interior decoration is very good, and it looks like your business is doing well. You must be making a fortune every day.”

Shen Yuxue pulled Su Mu to the reserved seats inside the shop. Su Mu and Xie Yi sat on one side, while Shen Yuxue sat alone on the other side.

She asked the assistant for three bowls of iced jelly, saying, “To be honest, judging from today’s situation, it won’t take more than a few months for me to recover my initial investment.”

The iced jelly was served. In addition to the small ingredients Shen Yuxue had brought for her to taste before, this time some dried osmanthus flowers were sprinkled on top, making it look even more exquisite and appetizing.

Su Mu scooped up a spoonful of iced jelly, with crystal clear jelly mixed with crushed thin ice, emitting wisps of coolness. She asked, “There’s so much ice in each bowl of jelly, and ice is expensive in summer. You’re so generous with the ingredients, the price for a single bowl of jelly must not be cheap, right?”

Shen Yuxue laughed: “I won’t hide it from you, the positioning of this shop is not for ordinary consumers. One bowl of iced jelly costs 50 wen. Look at the people eating iced jelly around us, they’re basically all young masters and ladies from wealthy families. Plus, with my family’s connections, before the shop even opened, I had already received pre-orders for several dozen portions of iced jelly. I’ve sent assistants to deliver them to various mansions.”

“No wonder you’re in such a good mood today, already making money before opening. But at 50 wen for a bowl of iced jelly, I think I won’t have the chance to come again in the future.” Su Mu bit on the crushed ice.

Shen Yuxue waved her hand generously: “That won’t happen, you’re my benefactor. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to open this shop. In the future, just come directly if you want to eat, tell the assistant to put it on my account.”

“Put it on account?” Su Mu put down her spoon and said, “Today you’re treating us both to iced jelly, do you also plan not to pay?”

Shen Yuxue nodded: “Yes, what’s wrong?”

Su Mu thought that Shen Yuxue probably wasn’t a businessperson in her previous life, so she said, “Later, you should still give the accountant assistant whatever the cost is. This way, it will be easier for you to check the accounts when you need to. Moreover, as your business grows bigger in the future, there will inevitably be some people who eat ice in the shop without paying, using your name, or simply saying they’re a young lady from some mansion and asking to put it on account. Over time, some accounts will become bad debts. If you, as the shop owner, pay for your own iced jelly, setting an example, then others will also follow your rules.”

“I didn’t know about this approach.” Shen Yuxue clinked her bowl with Su Mu’s, smiling, “Su Mu, you’ve taught me something again.”

Su Mu smiled silently. These were all experiences from managing the Yan family’s collateral branches in her previous life. Actually, these were very simple principles. Shen Yuxue’s mother in this body would teach her sooner or later, but since she had suffered losses in her previous life, why let Shen Yuxue take detours again? It was good to give her a hint.

“By the way, when will the results of the provincial exams be out?” Shen Yuxue asked.

Su Mu sighed: “Logically, the results should be out in these two days, but it’s been so long without any news. I guess there’s no hope.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, I believe in you. If you can’t pass, others are even less likely to pass.” Shen Yuxue said firmly: “…In case, if, you really miss it, I have several cousins who are at the age of studying. You can come to my house to teach, and you’ll have at least three to five taels of silver a month, much better than being a tutor.”

Su Mu was about to express her thanks when suddenly a contemptuous snort came from behind: “You still think you can become a provincial graduate? Dream on.”

Shen Yuxue slammed her spoon on the table and stood up: “Who said that?”

Su Mu also turned to look, seeing the figure with its back to her in the corner, and smiled: “So it’s Miss Yan.”

Yan Ruyu was not intimidated by her, turning to face Su Mu with her chin held high, embracing a man with a voluptuous figure and heavy makeup beside her: “Su Mu, isn’t it coincidental? I run into you wherever I go… But what surprises me most is that you can actually be friends with Shen Yuxue. I’ve never seen a woman as tolerant as you. You truly have the face of a born slave, hahaha.”

“Hey, what nonsense are you talking about!” Shen Yuxue angrily said.

Yan Ruyu curled her lip in disdain: “Everyone in the city knows that Yan Jiyue admires you. If I were Su Mu, I would definitely see you as an enemy. Only Su Mu can tolerate the resentment of having her husband stolen and be a willing cuckold. Someone like this still wants to be a provincial graduate? Hah, keep dreaming!”

“Oh my dear Su Niang! I’ve been looking for you all over the street, finally found you!” Qiao Zhifu came into the shop, panting and covered in sweat.

“Qiao Zhifu? You’re looking for me? Has something happened at home?” Su Mu asked hurriedly.

“Good news! Great news! You’ve passed the provincial examination and become a provincial graduate!”

“Really?!” Shen Yuxue was even more excited than Su Mu.

“Of course it’s true, the court’s recorder has already arrived. It’s just because they couldn’t find you that they asked me to look for you. Fortunately, Xiao Yi chatted with me briefly when he went out, so I knew you were here.” Qiao Zhifu waved his hand holding a handkerchief and smiled, “You should hurry back. There’s a crowd of people in front of your house now!”

In an instant, all the young masters and ladies eating iced desserts in the shop stood up. Everyone’s gaze focused on Su Mu, and congratulatory words suddenly surged towards her like waves.

There were even more perceptive young ladies who came forward to take Su Mu’s hand: “Su Niang, I am the eldest daughter of the Xu family from the north of the city. Our family is in the silk business. In a few days, we will be hosting a banquet at our mansion. Su Niang must honor us with your presence.”

As soon as these words were spoken, they instantly awakened others, who all crowded around Su Mu: “I heard that Su Niang has just divorced the Yan family’s young master. Are you betrothed now? I have an elder brother who is handsome and beautiful. Most importantly, he is gentle, virtuous, and understanding, unlike Yan Jiyue…”

“Su Niang, I…”

Shen Yuxue pushed through the crowd and hurriedly pulled Su Mu back. In the rush, Su Mu grabbed Xie Yi’s hand. In that instant, she felt Xie Yi’s palm was filled with damp sweat.

Watching Su Mu’s hastily retreating figure and the eager attachment of the crowd, Yan Ruyu’s face turned ashen. She collapsed to the ground: “What did I just say? It’s over… it’s over!”