TTTQF Chapter 65

Being Excluded

Earlier, Pei Che sees Jiang Miao alone. After the crowd disperses, Pei Che quickly notices that Pei Mu is standing by the stone table, staring intently at two jars.

"Mu'er, are you here to see your brother too?" Pei Che is very happy and goes over to pat his head.

Pei Mu doesn’t react, as if he hasn’t been called at all. Pei Che feels a bit flustered. Although he hasn’t responded before, he would at least look up when called. Why has he returned to his old self after not seeing him for a few days?

Jiang Miao walks over and whispers, “You need to call him Xiao Mu now.”

“?” Pei Che is puzzled but calls him “Xiao Mu” as Jiang Miao suggests.

Pei Mu looks up at Pei Che, blinks, and then refocuses his eyes on the two jars.

“What’s in these jars? Why does Mu'er keep staring at them?” Pei Che asks Jiang Miao.

Jiang Miao doesn’t answer but instead crouches down to meet Pei Mu’s gaze. “Xiao Mu, thank you for helping to watch these two jars. You’ve completed your task!” Earlier, Jiang Miao had given Pei Mu some work to do while he went to ask for directions.

ei Mu nods seriously. After Jiang Miao picks up the jars, he stops staring at them.

Pei Che understands and is momentarily excited. “Mu'er… Xiao Mu, you can help your brother now? So good!”

Pei Mu nods solemnly and accepts the praise without any modesty.

“Ah Miao, thank you. You’ve taught Mu’er well,” Pei Che is relieved he has entrusted Pei Mu to Jiang Miao.

"He is obedient, so it makes things easier,” Jiang Miao says somewhat bashfully. “You asked what’s in the jars, right? This jar contains pickled radishes, and this jar contains meat sauce. Since you mentioned that the food at the Imperial Academy isn’t very good, we brought some things to go with your meals.”

Pei Che is taken aback and feels a bit embarrassed. When Jiang Miao asked earlier, he exaggerated his life here a bit to gain sympathy.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Miao squints, sensing something is off.

Pei Che clears his throat and says, “I’m just too touched. I didn’t expect Ah Miao to care about me so much.”

“I just think Mu'er misses you, so I bring him to see you. Don’t think too much! Hurry up and take us to a place to eat. We only had porridge this morning and are starving,” Jiang Miao urges.

Normally, Pei Che would definitely notice that Jiang Miao is hiding his embarrassment, but right now, he is too focused on how to cover up his lie and doesn’t notice anything.

Han Qin and the others, having finished their conversation, come over to greet Jiang Miao. Taking advantage of the conversation, Pei Che pulls He Chen aside and whispers quickly, “Ah Chen, we’re not going to the Jingcui Garden later. We’re going to the big dining hall.”

He Chen is puzzled. “Brother Jiang and Xiao Mu are here for a rare visit. How can we take them to the big dining hall? How about I host them instead and give them a proper treat?” He thinks Pei Che doesn’t have any money with him.

Pei Che hurriedly says, “There’s no time to explain. I have my reasons. Just remember to tell them not to mention the Jingcui Garden. I’ll explain everything once Ah Miao and the others have left.” With that, he walks towards Jiang Miao, leaving He Chen with a confused look on his face.

The group heads towards the dining hall, with Pei Che continuing to talk to Jiang Miao, asking about the origin of the name “Xiao Mu,” and giving He Chen time to explain to the others.

Outside the big dining hall, students passing by look surprised to see Pei Che and the others. The meals here are free and usually only students from poor families who are admitted due to their academic excellence come here to eat.

“This place is quite large,” Jiang Miao observes, noting that the layout of the dining hall is similar to that of the inns and restaurants outside.

In front of the dining hall is the food-serving area, with six large bowls displayed in order: rice, two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup.

"Isn’t this quite plentiful?" Jiang Miao feels like he’s been tricked; he even prepares two jars of food for Pei Che.

Facing Jiang Miao’s skeptical look, Pei Che says quietly, “You’ll know after you try it.” He has Jiang Miao and Pei Mu sit down, and then he goes to get some food and brings it over.

Today’s two meat dishes are braised pork and roasted chicken. Jiang Miao takes a piece of the braised pork and wrinkles his brows even before tasting it. The meat is dark-colored and has a faint burnt smell, likely due to a failed caramelization. The pork skin is tough, with the fat not rendered out, making it look greasy, and the lean meat underneath is somewhat dry. Jiang Miao doesn’t want to put the piece in his mouth, but it would be too wasteful to throw it away, so he forces himself to eat it.

The salty and slightly bitter taste fills his mouth, and Jiang Miao chews expressionlessly. He wants to go to the kitchen and ask the cook what kind of grudge he has with the pig to make the dish so unappetizing.

He tries a piece of the roasted chicken nuggets. The flavor of the chicken is better than the braised pork, but the meat is too tough. Jiang Miao chews for a long time but has to swallow it without much choice.

“Are the meals like this every day?” Jiang Miao puts down his chopsticks and looks sympathetically at Pei Che. Even someone with the most undemanding taste would find it hard to eat this.

ei Che nods, his eyes showing a hint of pain. His excellent acting not only fools Jiang Miao but also makes Han Qin and the others feel like their past experiences dining at the Jingcui Garden with Pei Che were just a dream.

“Can’t you report this to the teacher? Can’t you get a different cook?” Jiang Miao asks. There are ways to make big pot meals, and they don’t always have to be unappetizing. Jiang Miao thinks the cook here should learn a few things from the chefs who cater to banquets in the countryside.

“Alas, if someone dedicated to studying can’t even resist the temptation of food, how can they achieve greatness?” Pei Che quickly gives a grand speech, fearing Jiang Miao will get angry and go directly to confront the cook.

Jiang Miao sighs, “But if you don’t eat well, how can you have the energy to study? Fine, try these two jars of dishes today. If you like them, I’ll bring more next time.”

He goes to get a clean pair of chopsticks, opens the jars, and puts some meat sauce on Pei Che’s rice, telling him to mix it quickly. Then he takes some of the crunchy radishes and puts them on a plate for him to eat with the rice.

The rice mixed with meat sauce doesn’t look very appetizing, but it smells quite fragrant. Pei Che has never had rice like this before and is a bit hesitant. When he looks up, he sees Han Qin and He Chen sitting on the side, seemingly watching the fun, and even Su Jin, who usually does not smile, has a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Ah Miao, you have to be more generous. How can I not share such a good thing with my friends?” Pei Che says seriously, taking the jar from Jiang Miao’s hand and solemnly putting some meat sauce on the other three’s rice.

The three are speechless. This is probably what the elders often call a bad friend, right?

“Eat up, don’t be polite.” Pei Che gives them a fake smile, then takes a breath, picks up his bowl, and takes a bite of the rice.

He chews quickly, and his previously furrowed brows relax unconsciously. The meat sauce, with its unknown mix of seasonings, is salty, savory, and spicy. The fried meat chunks are crispy, while the mushrooms are tender and smooth. Mixed with the rice, each bite is irresistible. The novel taste makes Pei Che keep shoveling rice into his mouth, his expression showing clear delight.

Seeing Pei Che’s reaction, the other three skeptically try some of the mixed rice. After just one bite, they understand why Pei Che had that expression earlier. Jiang Miao clearly knows his way around food.

On the other side, Jiang Miao mixes the rice for Pei Mu as well. Pei Mu takes the spoon and begins eating with practiced ease. No one would have imagined that not long ago, he needed someone to feed him.

"Don’t just focus on eating the rice; try the radish too." Jiang Miao wonders why he is only eating the rice and not the vegetables.

Hearing this, several pairs of chopsticks reach for the plate. The crunchy, tasty pickled radishes are quite good, and combined with the meat sauce, the meal has a distinctive flavor.

Among the dishes on the table, only Jiang Miao forces himself to eat a lot, while the others don’t touch the dishes at all.

“The meat sauce and radishes are really good. Ah Che is usually generous, so let us take these with us. Brother Jiang, Xiao Mu, we’ll take our leave now.” After the meal, Han Qin stands up, hands the two jars to He Chen and Su Jin, and, leaving a parting comment, the three of them leave under Pei Che’s unfriendly eyes.

“Let them take it away; tomorrow I’ll ask the coachman to bring you some more.” Seeing Pei Che fixated on the direction they leave, Jiang Miao offers some reassurance. To be honest, it is his own idea to share.

Only then does Pei Che feel satisfied.

Since it is still early before the afternoon class, Pei Che plans to take them to his place to sit for a while. When they arrive at his residence, Jiang Miao pats the other bed, which has no bedding, and asks with some curiosity, “Where did the person who originally slept here go?” The setup inside clearly indicates that two people have lived there.

Pei Che shrugs off the question. “The person didn’t like me and moved out.”

Jiang Miao thinks for a moment, “Is it because of the imperial decree?”

“Yes, that fellow was afraid I might desire him, so he moved out overnight. The dormitory supervisor, considering the inconvenience, didn’t arrange for anyone else to live with me.” For Pei Che, this is a relief; he doesn’t understand why the Imperial Academy insists on having two people share a room. Dealing with an incompatible roommate is truly torturous.

To Jiang Miao, these words sound rather sad. He had previously thought that Pei Che just had poor social skills, with people picking fights with him wherever he went. But he hadn’t realized that Pei Che has become so ostracized in the Imperial Academy that everyone is actively avoiding him.

Noticing Jiang Miao’s expression, Pei Che realizes he has misunderstood. However, he doesn’t explain. Instead, he lowers his gaze and speaks with forced bravado, “This is actually a good thing for me. After classes, I can focus solely on my studies without any distractions. With no one talking, I can concentrate better on reading.”

“Well, from now on, I’ll have the coachman bring Mu'er over every few days to keep you company.” Jiang Miao thinks that the feeling of being ostracized is unpleasant, and he feels that only his adorable younger brother can soothe Pei Che’s wounded spirit at this moment.

“No!” Pei Che looks up immediately, and then feels that his reaction is a bit too intense. “I mean, Mu'er prefers to be with familiar people when he goes out. If you have time, you could come with him.” Seeing Jiang Miao frown in thought, he adds pathetically, “If you’re not available, it’s really okay for me to be alone.”

After he says that, what else can Jiang Miao say? He has no choice but to agree, “Then when I have time, I’ll bring Mu’er to see you.”

Han Qin, He Chen, and Su Jin: Alone??

https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-66-Looking-at-the-Shop-P5P317GS15

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