Xiahou Zuo said that his current position wasn’t sufficient for him to know everything—if he had known, he wouldn’t have brought Li Chi to wait at the Companion Moon Tower that evening.

The reason he later took Li Chi out to the streets was because he’d suddenly felt that Li Chi needed to understand certain things, even if those things were perhaps a bit premature for him.

“Back when you were scraping by with your master across the seven counties of Jizhou, how big were the waves you encountered?”

Xiahou Zuo handed Li Chi a jug of wine. His master had forbidden Li Chi from drinking at his age, but ever since Li Chi had gone out and gotten injured that last time, he’d discovered that alcohol seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever. Wine poured into his mouth was just flavored water.

Li Chi took the jug and answered, “Compared to the waves inside Jizhou City, they weren’t very big.”

Xiahou Zuo nodded. “Exactly. The waves you saw across the seven counties of Jizhou were the waves of a small river. The waves you saw in Jizhou City were the waves of a great river. If you don’t want to be a man who accomplishes nothing, then in the future you’ll see the waves of the entire world—those are the waves of the ocean.”

Li Diudiu made a sound of acknowledgment.

Xiahou Zuo smiled and said, “Does it make you feel rather small?”

Li Diudiu made another sound of acknowledgment.

Xiahou Zuo said, “I’ve always felt small myself—let alone you. Li Chi, from now on, don’t be a wave.”

“Hm?”

Li Diudiu looked toward Xiahou Zuo, not understanding the meaning of those words at first.

Xiahou Zuo extended his palm face-up, his voice light as he said, “Turn your hand over, and clouds appear.”

He turned his hand, palm facing down.

“Turn it back, and rain falls.”

He looked at Li Diudiu. “In the future, you must become a great figure. Minor figures are just waves—did you see Lian Gongming? He was nothing more than a slightly larger wave.”

Li Diudiu found the topic a bit heavy, so he cracked a joke.

“Whether he was a wave or not doesn’t matter,” he said. “What matters is that he was so reckless he drowned in it.”

Xiahou Zuo laughed and ruffled Li Diudiu’s head. He had lost a sister; now he had a younger brother. The place this younger brother occupied in his heart overlapped with the place left behind by the sister he had lost.

“But I think your personality…”

Xiahou Zuo shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like the personality of a great figure.”

Li Diudiu asked, “Why?”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Because you make too many foolish choices. In the beginning, someone told you to stay away from me—that was the right advice. Later, someone told you to stay away from Gao Xining—that was also right. Yet you insisted on taking the wrong path.”

Li Diudiu laughed and couldn’t be bothered to explain himself.

“Dawn is almost here.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “You’ve been mooching off my late-night snacks for many days now. How about you treat me to breakfast?”

Li Diudiu thought for a moment, then asked, “A big place or a small place?”

Xiahou Zuo asked, “What counts as a big place?”

Li Diudiu said matter-of-factly, “The academy cafeteria—they have everything.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Then let’s go somewhere small. I refuse to believe I can’t squeeze a meal out of you.”

Li Diudiu stood up. “All right then—though it’ll be a bit of a stretch for me. I’ll give it a try.”

Half an hour later, outside the small dining hall reserved for the academy’s instructors, Li Diudiu said with great seriousness, “Places like this are hard to get into. I’ll need to go check whether the chefs cooking today still recognize me.”

Xiahou Zuo stared at Li Diudiu and gritted his teeth. “I’m putting you out.”

Li Diudiu said, “Don’t mention it.”

Just then, Yan Qingzhi came walking over from a distance carrying a stack of books and papers. He took one look at the two scoundrels—one big, one small—and immediately turned to leave. He would rather go without breakfast than eat with these two.

“Instructor,” Li Diudiu called out with a grin. “Are you heading out to eat? I’ll treat!”

Xiahou Zuo’s eyes widened. “You won’t treat me but you’ll treat him?”

Li Diudiu said, “Look at you, being so precious.”

Yan Qingzhi’s footsteps halted as if he were considering. After a moment, he turned back around, clutching his books and papers, his expression full of suspicion. “What do you mean?”

Li Diudiu said, “I just want to treat the instructor to breakfast. Inviting him to lunch or dinner would mean going to a restaurant, and the expense would be quite large—I can’t bring myself to spend that much.”

Yan Qingzhi said, “Thank you for being so honest. I’ll just eat in the cafeteria.”

Li Diudiu said, “But I already told Aunt Wu over at the main cafeteria that I wouldn’t be eating there first thing this morning. Going back now would make me look like a man who doesn’t keep his word—and the instructor has always said that a true man must not go back on his promises.”

Yan Qingzhi thought it over. Perhaps these two really did have something to discuss with him. He nodded. “The knife-shaved noodle stall by the gate is good. Let’s go.”

Inside the small eatery, Yan Qingzhi greeted the owner. “Two small bowls, two large bowls.”

The owner acknowledged the order, and before long he brought over four steaming bowls of knife-shaved noodles on a tray, the fragrance of meat and noodles wafting over pleasantly.

The owner placed one small bowl in front of Li Diudiu, then looked at Yan Qingzhi, uncertain how to divide the rest—he didn’t know who should have the small bowls and who should have the large ones.

Yan Qingzhi said, “I’ll handle it.”

He moved the two small bowls toward himself, giving one to himself and one to Xiahou Zuo, and placed both large bowls in front of Li Diudiu. Even what they called “small bowls” here were considerably larger than an ordinary person’s rice bowl. For someone with Yan Qingzhi’s appetite, one small bowl was just right.

He looked at Li Diudiu and asked, “Is that enough? If not, we can order more—asking for too much upfront makes the noodles go soft, and they won’t taste good.”

Li Diudiu said, “It’s enough.”

Yan Qingzhi said, “Not hungry?”

Li Diudiu said, “I haven’t slept all night—my appetite really isn’t very good.”

The owner: “????”

“Speak up then—what is it?”

Yan Qingzhi asked.

“It’s nothing…”

Li Diudiu said while eating his noodles, “Not really anything important—just some minor, trifling matters. Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I went out bare-chested to take a cold wash, then Xiahou Zuo said he had business to attend to and I followed him. I hadn’t put my inner shirt back on and just pulled a long robe on over myself, and because the wind outside was rather strong, I got a bit of a chill…”

Yan Qingzhi frowned. “Get to the point!”

Xiahou Zuo said, “The point isn’t something to discuss here.”

Yan Qingzhi said, “You be quiet!” He shot Li Diudiu a glare. “The important part—say it!”

Li Diudiu said, “I didn’t bring any money.”

Xiahou Zuo spat his mouthful of noodles all over the place, thinking: no wonder he insisted on bringing Yan Qingzhi along. This fellow really will do anything.

Yan Qingzhi was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “Then I’ll treat you. I was actually looking for an opportunity to speak with you anyway.”

Li Diudiu felt something was off.

Yan Qingzhi glanced at the papers he’d set aside. “These are the monthly exam papers from two days ago. You came in first again. Second was Xu Qinglin, third was Liu Shengying.”

Li Diudiu made a sound of acknowledgment. “Nothing special, nothing special—no need to praise me.”

After a moment of silence, Yan Qingzhi said, “Strictly speaking, as an instructor, I shouldn’t be advising my own student to stop placing first. But…”

Xiahou Zuo suddenly lifted his head. Yan Qingzhi looked at him. “You be quiet!”

Xiahou Zuo lowered his head again and went back to eating his noodles.

“The Xu family came to the academy once before and met with Dean Gao. They said Xu Qinglin suspects you cheated your way to first place, and there were implications in their words—that Gao Xining might have told you the exam questions in advance.”

Li Diudiu’s brow lifted slightly.

Yan Qingzhi continued, “Although the dean appeared quite angry and didn’t show the Xu family much face, he came to find me last night after learning you’d placed first again. He wants me to pass along the message—to let Xu Qinglin have it…”

“After Xu Qinglin graduates from the academy, he’ll be going to the capital to enter government service. The Xu family has already greased all the right wheels over there. As long as his record at the academy these few years is impressive enough, his career in the capital will naturally be full of promise.”

Li Diudiu made a sound of acknowledgment but said nothing.

Yan Qingzhi lowered his head and ate his noodles without saying anything more. When he finished, he rose to settle the bill, but Xiahou Zuo reached out and stopped him. He pulled a piece of broken silver from inside his robe and tossed it to the owner.

Yan Qingzhi looked at Xiahou Zuo in confusion. Xiahou Zuo raised his hand to wipe his mouth, paid Yan Qingzhi no mind, and turned to Li Diudiu. “Are you full?”

Li Diudiu made a sound of acknowledgment. “Full.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Next time, remember this lesson—don’t take advantage of people so casually. Selling yourself out for two bowls of knife-shaved noodles is very cheap.”

With that, he turned to Yan Qingzhi and said, “Thank you, Instructor Yan, for taking the time to dine with us brothers. It’s truly an honor.”

He rose, cupped his hands in a bow, pulled a toothpick from the holder, stuck it in his mouth, and sauntered out the door with that same nonchalant air. Li Diudiu looked at Yan Qingzhi, was silent for a moment, then said, “Thank you, instructor.”

Yan Qingzhi smiled. “No need.”

Xiahou Zuo waited for Li Diudiu to come outside, then looked at him the way one might look at a hopeless younger brother and asked, “He’s asking you to bow your head, and you still thank him?”

Li Diudiu said, “The instructor only relayed what was said. He didn’t ask me to bow my head.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “He shouldn’t have said any of it!”

Yan Qingzhi walked out and overheard this remark. He paid it no mind and felt no irritation, just strolled back toward the academy, and as he walked, muttered under his breath, “Blockhead.”

Xiahou Zuo spun around. “Who are you calling a blockhead!”

Yan Qingzhi didn’t even turn his head. He kept walking, murmuring continuously, “Blockhead, blockhead, blockhead, blockhead…”

Xiahou Zuo caught up and grabbed Yan Qingzhi’s arm. “Say clearly who you’re calling a blockhead.”

Yan Qingzhi said, “Blockhead.”

Xiahou Zuo suddenly did a little twist at the waist. “Ha—missed me, bounced back, missed me.”

Yan Qingzhi was stunned.

Li Diudiu walked between the two of them, looked left, looked right, then shook his head with a rueful smile, muttered “childish” to himself, and walked on ahead.

Yan Qingzhi looked at Xiahou Zuo and asked, “What do you mean, ‘bounced back’?”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Bounce back means it ricochets back to you—whatever you call me bounces right back.”

Yan Qingzhi said, “Childish and ridiculous!”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Ha—bouncing that back too.”

Yan Qingzhi took a few steps, then did a little twist at the waist himself.

“Ha, I’m bouncing it too!”

Li Diudiu turned and looked at the two of them carrying on like that. He let out a sigh. “Why are you both acting so insufferably precious?”

When he returned to the classroom, Li Diudiu discovered that Xu Qinglin had vacated the central front seat and moved to the back—he found this rather surprising.

Xu Qinglin glanced at Li Diudiu and said, “I’ve lost that seat twice now. I won’t sit there anymore. When I earn back first place, then I’ll return.”

Li Diudiu said, “No need to rush—next month should do it.”

Xu Qinglin’s mouth curved slightly. “Did someone say something to you?”

Li Diudiu said, “No—what I mean is, next month you might have gotten used to continuing to sit in the back.”

Xu Qinglin’s expression changed, but he didn’t lash out.

After a moment, Xu Qinglin looked at Li Diudiu seriously and said, “Whatever my family came to the academy to do has nothing to do with me. I, Xu Qinglin, am not such a base person. If I want to beat you, I won’t use underhanded tactics—I’ll beat you fair and square.”

Li Diudiu smiled.

Xu Qinglin frowned. “What are you smiling at!”

Li Diudiu said with a smile, “You’ll still get used to it.”

Xu Qinglin: “…”

—