Chapter 5: Good Girl (Please Collect)

  "What's wrong, you're surprised to see Xiaolian?" The person outside the door was none other than the geisha who had just escaped from the clutches of the snake-headed man yesterday.

  Zhang Lei touched his own nose and said: "Indeed very unexpected, I don't know how you found this place."

  "That artist said: 'Xiao Lian has been living here since childhood, never leaving half a step, every grass and tree is very familiar, finding you shouldn't be difficult, right?'"

  "Hmm... that... Little Lian... you came to find me, what's up?" Zhang Lei glanced down and saw the white, flower-like chest that was about to pop out, making him swallow a mouthful of saliva.

  Xiao Lian waved the food box in her hand and said: "These are some small desserts made by Xiao Lian herself, young master, please have them while they're still hot."

  The red bamboo lacquerware was painted with many colorful flower patterns, and at a glance, it was clear that it was an item used by girls. A refreshing fragrance wafted out from inside, making people drool. Zhang Lei said: "Don't call me young master, just call me Zhang Lei."

  "You are Xiao Lian's lifesaver, it would be too impolite to call you that." Xiao Lian said with her head lowered.

  After saying it a few times, Xiaolian insisted, so Zhang Lei gave up and said: "Come on, come in and sit down, the wind is strong outside."

  "Hey, you two are really something. He was just mentioning you this morning and now you're here." William was surprised to see Xiaolian come over and immediately burst out laughing.

  Xiao Lian's face turned red with shame, and she looked down at her clothes, following Zhang Lei from behind. Zhang Lei waved his hand and said to William, "Go away, don't think no one will take you for a mute, Xiao Lian is here to bring me food, don't think too much."

  "Wow, is there delicious food? Xiaolian, I love you to death, you know I didn't have breakfast, right?" William rushed over, but was kicked away by Zhang Lei, saying: "This is what she gave me, none of your business, if you want to eat, go buy some yourself."

  William hugged Zhang Lei's thigh: "Don't, I was wrong, my underwear is all wrong, I shouldn't have spoken too much, although what I said was your heart's voice, but it's still not subtle enough, I deeply recognize my mistake, just let me take a bite."

  Watching the performance of these two treasures, Xiaolian couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, her slender fingers gently covering that small cherry mouth. Her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly arched up, like a crescent moon, her long eyelashes lightly trembling, as if having an enchanting charm that captivated the hearts of the two big men, instantly stunning them into silence.

  "God has actually created such a beautiful woman, it's unbelievable, praise the Lord." William said exaggeratedly.

  "Her cheeks are flushed with rouge, her earrings shine like pearls as they swing. Her cloud-like hair is dyed black, her hairpins seem to be flying. Her spring onion-like fingers are like orchids, her three-inch golden lotus feet are like ingots. Her cloud-like sleeves flutter and dance, inviting butterflies, her slender waist slowly twists, her silk sash floating."

  Xiao Lian was flattered and put the food box on the table, saying: "I didn't expect Young Master Zhang to be so talented and eloquent. It's truly a blessing for me to meet Young Master Zhang. Come try my cooking."

  She brought out several exquisite small dishes and said, "This is date paste cake, this is emerald bean paste cake, golden silk baked wheat, wise benevolence rice porridge, long spring rolls, chrysanthemum Buddha's hand pastry."

  Looking at the sumptuous and exquisite breakfast on the table, Zhang Lei and William both forgot about their image in front of the beauty, and wolfed down the food like a whirlwind, leaving nothing but empty plates and bowls after just a few sips of tea. Then William suddenly remembered something and said, "My master hasn't eaten yet."

  "I knew you guys would be like this, so Xiaolian specially left a portion." Xiaolian smiled and handed the food box to Caesar.

  William gazed at her back, his heart racing as he said: "What a clever and thoughtful girl, with a mind like ice and snow...and yet so beautiful..."

  After about a quarter of an hour, Caesar finally finished eating. Xiaolian came out to clean up the bowls and chopsticks on the table and said to Zhang Lei: "It's getting late, I have to go back. This Liu Xiang is a local tyrant. According to his character of being petty and vengeful, he might come looking for trouble with you. Why don't you temporarily avoid him by going to my place? After all, Chunxiang Pavilion has been established here for a long time and has some connections, so I'm sure he won't dare do anything to you."

  "Xiao Lian, you're being too serious. Since I decided to take action back then, of course, I've considered the consequences. You don't need to persuade me, I have my own judgment. Today's breakfast was great, thank you." Zhang Lei cupped his hands and said politely.

  Xiao Lian saw him insist so strongly and didn't dare persuade him again, only repeatedly warned him before taking her leave.

  After sitting for a while, Zhang Lei suddenly ran into Caesar's room and said: "I want to ask you to be my teacher, please teach me Latin."

  While sunning books, he roughly looked at them, all of which were science and technology books, including Galileo's 40x telescope manufacturing diagram. So he decided to learn Latin and master these technologies.

  "Oh, you want to learn Latin?" Caesar, who was repairing his beloved book, adjusted his glasses and turned to look at Zhang Lei.

  Zhang Lei said, "Yes, didn't you say you wanted to translate a work? If you teach me Latin, then I can help you with the translation. Look at Matteo Ricci in the past, didn't he also translate with a Chinese person?"

  Caesar thought for a moment, and what he said was true. To translate this kind of thing, you need to have someone who is proficient in both languages to make it smooth. However, the reason why Caesar finally agreed to teach Zhang Lei Latin was that if he didn't pull Zhang Lei to his side, no one would spend money to provide three meals a day for the two masters and apprentices...

  "What you said is right, okay, during this period of time I will teach you Latin, then we will translate together, and after that you can take me to meet your emperor." Caesar indeed had a long-term plan.

  Zhang Lei selected a few books, "Elements of Geometry" was one of them, and another one about Galileo's telescope, and one that looked like it was about world geography. In total, there were three books. He said to Caesar: "As a good student, you should have your own textbooks. I'll take these three books to be engraved and then return them to you."

  He went out to find a printing shop, instructed for a while, and spent more than 20 taels of silver in total. Not only did he print two sets of the three books, but he also bought back the printing plates. If needed in the future, he could print them himself.

  From then on, Zhang Lei completely became a student, just like when he was studying for the postgraduate entrance examination in his previous life. He was either in class or on his way to class.

  Xiao Lian still came to deliver breakfast to the three of them every morning. After a period of interaction, she became bolder, but when facing Zhang Lei, she always felt a bit constrained. When she learned that Zhang Lei and the other two old men had no one to serve them lunch and dinner, and they all had to go out to a nearby restaurant, Xiao Lian even offered to come over and cook for them, which scared Zhang Lei into promptly refusing.

  "You come to deliver food every morning, I'm already very uncomfortable, how can you still bother to run here every day? It's not necessary, anyway, there are restaurants at the door, and it's also convenient for us to go out and eat." Zhang Lei said. After such a long time of getting along, Xiaolian's gentleness and thoughtfulness had been deeply etched in his mind, and with her beauty, her intentions towards him were also crystal clear. She was indeed an invaluable companion, but Zhang Lei had always had a knot in his heart that made him extremely painful. He knew that if this knot couldn't be untied, he would not only make himself uncomfortable by accepting Xiaolian's feelings, but also harm her. To avoid further warming up of emotions, Zhang Lei could only refuse and push away Xiaolian's kindness everywhere.

  Xiao Lian was intelligent and perceptive, so she could guess that Zhang Lei's words were not just casual remarks. However, she had no choice but to endure it for the time being, swallowing her own bitterness and maintaining a calm and elegant demeanor on the surface, just like when they first met.

  "Since Master Zhang has spoken, I'll listen to you. It's getting late today, so I'll head back first." Xiaolian lowered her head, lightly biting her lip, and spoke in a voice that was barely audible, making it hard for others to hear clearly.

  Zhang Lei said: "Let's go out for a walk and take me around."

  "Alright, alright." Upon hearing Zhang Lei say this, Xiaolian's eyes lit up and she immediately became overjoyed.

  The street was bustling with people coming and going, Zhang Lei had never strolled around the city under the pretext of window shopping in this world that was 380 years ago. The cobblestone streets paved with green stones, the green-tiled houses on both sides, even the rickshaws passing by him seemed to have a unique charm.

  "When did you enter Chunxiang Pavilion?" Zhang Lei asked casually, looking left and right.

  Xiao Lian's eyes flashed with a faint dim light, and she said: "Xiao Lian is an orphan, living in Chunxiang Pavilion since childhood. The old madam is Xiao Lian's foster mother, teaching Xiao Lian piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age, treating Xiao Lian like her own daughter."

  "If I treated you like my own daughter, would I have asked you to go out and entertain guests?" Zhang Lei said.

  Xiao Lian said: "I just went out to perform, although I was born in a place of smoke and flowers, but there is no difference with the street performers on Tianqiao Bridge. It's just that I only have one customer, except for singing songs, I haven't done anything else. Liu Xiang was the first customer who made a move on me, but he was also stopped by you, young master."

  "So, before this, you were always..." Zhang Lei suddenly became excited.

  "No, Xiaolian is still a clean body." Xiaolian seemed to be somewhat angry and hurriedly clarified before Zhang Lei finished speaking.

  Zhang Lei also came to his senses and said that such things were a bit too sudden, so he quickly changed the subject and said: "I'll be leaving in a few days."

  Xiao Lian's heart tightened, and she asked: "Where are you going?"

  "Go home."

  When he knew that Xiaolian was still as pure and clean as ice, Zhang Lei didn't know how excited he was. But after calming down and thinking about it, with his own abilities, wanting to redeem the Spring Fragrance Pavilion's signboard was simply an impossible task. As a result, his mood became even more depressed.

  "What are you going home to do?" asked Xiaolian.