In the early morning, the door of the east room opened from the inside, and A-Li, wearing a Lotus Pavilion style padded jacket, stepped out. Usually, she was the first one to wake up in the household, but not today.

On the platform, Ruan Sheng and Tan Wenbin sat facing each other, heads bowed, sharpening the sickles in their hands. As A-Li passed by, Ruan Sheng looked up and smiled at her, saying, “Morning.” The girl stopped, then moved into the house and went upstairs. Although she didn’t speak, her earlier pause was the greatest response.

She pushed open the room door and went inside. The boy was still asleep, so the girl, on her own, began to admire the paintings he had hung on the wall. There were three completed paintings. The first was of a small yellow oriole. The woman in the painting was not fierce or monstrous; instead, she appeared reserved and subtle. Her posture swayed as if walking, and her lips seemed to pour out a story, as if she were about to step out of the painting to sing and dance. The second painting depicted a kind, white-haired old woman sitting in a courtyard, basking in the sun, with a black cat asleep on her lap. The third was of a middle-aged man. His image seemed deliberately blurred, with only his back shown. However, the antique copper coin hanging from his waist was depicted with great detail and clarity.

Much thought was put into the background treatment of all three paintings. The first had an ethereal quality. The second blended warmth with desolation. The third’s surroundings were very oppressive. As A-Li was studying them intently, Li Zhuiyuan woke up. The boy walked to the girl’s side and watched with her for a while.

After washing up, he played chess with the girl as usual. Now they played three games simultaneously, which greatly increased Li Zhuiyuan’s losing efficiency.

“Breakfast is ready!” Every day, Aunt Liu’s shout marked the official beginning of the day.

Ruan Sheng and Tan Wenbin returned from the fields together. It was autumn harvest, and the fields had been busy these past few days, so Tan Wenbin had specifically woken up early to help. He had never experienced hardship, and even though this work caused blisters on his hands, he didn’t mind and calmly pricked them open with a needle himself. Even Li Sanjiang told him to stop working, but Tan Wenbin smiled and replied: “It’s fine, it builds strength.”

When morning self-study ended, Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin walked into the classroom. A potted flower sat on Zheng Haiyang’s desk. His family’s case was defined as a home invasion, robbery, and murder. Tan Yunlong didn’t directly tell Li Zhuiyuan if higher authorities had gotten involved, nor did he continue to update him on further investigation details. But sometimes, no news is also a form of news. This meant that the three of them were effectively cleared from the incident. Although they had been there and left many traces that a thorough investigation would surely uncover, every profession has its specialties. Li Zhuiyuan didn’t know if Yu Shu had returned or if someone else was in charge. But after all, they weren’t professional criminal investigators. Moreover, their perspective would instinctively overlook the presence and role of “ordinary people” in such cases.

During this period, Tan Wenbin studied very diligently. During breaks, apart from accompanying Li Zhuiyuan to the restroom, he was always doing practice problems. *Zhuiyuan’s Secret Papers* were now being printed and sold by the school. Tan Wenbin was spared many trivial matters, but his current exercise book was specially made, designed by Li Zhuiyuan specifically for his personal learning progress and situation. After Li Zhuiyuan entered high school, he hadn’t focused much on textbook knowledge. If his memory weren’t significantly better than an ordinary person’s, his “academic performance” might have declined.