Chapter 125: Matchmaking

Around the dinner table, everyone enjoyed their meal, savoring the stir-fried vegetables with shredded meat.

At first, the three children seemed shy around strangers. However, after a few words, they became increasingly talkative, each outdoing the other.

Before a stick of incense could burn out, the three students had spilled all the details about their teacher.

Li Fangchang, it turned out, had been a “prodigy” from a young age. By the age of five, he could recite the Four Books and Five Classics backward, and by seven, he could compose poetry that earned high praise from local scholars.

As the top scorer of his county’s scholar examination, Li Fangchang was full of ambition and immediately took the provincial examination the following year—only to fail.

Undeterred, he sold off family assets and spent the next three years preparing for another attempt—only to fail again.

To this day, Li Fangchang had failed the provincial examination three times.

With his parents having passed away early, the family assets had been depleted to fund his studies, leaving him with nothing but three wooden cottages at the foot of the mountain.

Fortunately, he had an aunt who took on a motherly role and used her connections to secure three students for him.

Although the tuition fees from these students weren’t much, they were enough to cover his basic needs.

“All right, that’s enough!”

“Do you have to tell every single detail about me?”

“Don’t you understand the concept of respecting your teacher?”

Li Fangchang scolded his three students as he cleared the dishes, his face stern.

Despite his scolding expression, the three children weren’t the least bit intimidated.

Tang Zi smirked and said, “Teacher Li, did you know Aunt Zhou said she’s arranged for three girls to meet you?”

“What!” Li Fangchang’s eyes widened in disbelief. He wiped his hands on a kitchen rag and exclaimed, “When did she say that? Why don’t I know anything about it?”

Wang Sheng wiped his greasy mouth with the back of his hand and chimed in, “Huh? Teacher Li didn’t know? Aunt Zhou told all our parents.”

“Confucius said, ‘To know what you know and know what you do not know, that is wisdom!’” Sun De quoted confidently. Before he could continue, Li Fangchang’s patience wore thin.

He glanced out the window at the pouring rain and sighed with relief. “Thankfully, the rain’s heavy enough. They probably won’t come today.”

Hearing this, Gu Ning’an’s expression turned a little odd. He had already noticed someone approaching outside.

Knock, knock, knock…

A soft knock at the door interrupted the conversation. Wang Sheng immediately stood up. “I’ll get the door!”

“Sit down!” Li Fangchang barked, stopping him. He walked cautiously to the door and asked, “Who’s there?”

“Miss Hu Yan, introduced by Aunt Zhou to meet Young Master Li,” came a clear and melodious voice from outside, as sweet as the sound of silver bells.

“What a lovely voice! You can tell she’s a beauty just from her voice.” Tang Zi, acting like a little adult, urged, “Teacher Li, it’s pouring rain outside. How can you leave a young lady standing at the door?”

Realizing his mistake, Li Fangchang hurriedly opened the door.

As the old wooden door creaked open with a loud “squeak”, everyone caught sight of a large rain cloak dripping with water. Beneath it was a figure so massive that “burly” seemed insufficient to describe it. The figure’s neck was already higher than the doorframe, and their sheer size completely blocked the entrance.

As the rain outside intensified, accompanied by a flash of lightning…

Boom!

Li Fangchang’s eyes widened in horror. He stumbled backward several steps, pointing at the towering figure at the door and stammering, “Th-this… this is…”

Before Li Fangchang could finish his stammering, the figure outside bent down and entered the room.

Once she stepped inside and stood up straight, everyone got a clear look at her appearance.

The woman had a square-shaped face, slightly dark skin, and a strikingly “masculine” aura. Most notably, her height and build were worlds apart from Li Fangchang’s.

While Li Fangchang wasn’t short, he stood a full two heads shorter than her. To use an imperfect analogy, the two looked like an eagle towering over a chick.

“Oh my!” The tall woman covered her mouth and said in a playful tone, “There are two gentlemen here. Let me guess—which one is Young Master Li?”

As she spoke, her gaze shifted back and forth between Gu Ning’an and Li Fangchang.

When her eyes landed on Gu Ning’an, he patted the visibly nervous Li Fangchang on the shoulder and said kindly, “Brother Li, the young lady is already here. Don’t you think you should make her some tea?”

Hearing this, the tall woman’s gaze returned to Li Fangchang, and a flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes.

“T-tea!” Li Fangchang wasn’t the type to judge people by their looks. His earlier reaction was purely due to being startled by her towering figure.

Now that he had regained his composure, he quickly invited her to sit down while he hurried to prepare some tea.

While he brewed the tea, Gu Ning’an led the three children to another corner of the kitchen, each carrying a chair, leaving the two adults with some space for a “private conversation.”

Once both parties were seated, the matchmaking session officially began.

The tall woman introduced herself as Hu Yan, which she had briefly mentioned before entering.

A nervous Li Fangchang kept fiddling with his teacup, staring at the tea inside as he mumbled something incoherent.

Despite her imposing appearance, Hu Yan didn’t seem as straightforward as her looks suggested. The two sat across from each other in complete silence.

“Mr. Gu, why aren’t they talking?” Wang Sheng whispered, turning his head.

Gu Ning’an made a gesture for silence. “Don’t interrupt them.”

Wang Sheng nodded. “Oh.”

After the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, Li Fangchang finally lifted his head and asked, “Miss Hu, how did you get here?”

“I walked,” she replied.

“Was it raining when you came?”

Hu Yan furrowed her brows slightly, glanced at the large rain cloak in the corner, and answered, “It was.”

“Oh, oh, it was raining. It must’ve been heavy, right?”

“Quite heavy.”

“Did you bring a rain cloak?”

“It’s over there in the corner.”

“Yes, yes… That’s quite a large rain cloak you have.”

Hu Yan remained silent.

The room fell into another awkward silence. Tang Zi, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up, “Teacher Li, why don’t you ask her what she likes to do?”

“Oh, oh, right!” Li Fangchang, like a parrot, quickly repeated, “Miss Hu, what do you like to do in your free time?”

Hu Yan didn’t mind his awkwardness and responded with a smile, “I like eating.”

“What do you like to eat?”

“Meat.”

“What kind of meat?”

“All kinds of meat.”

“Oh…”

This conversation was, without a doubt, the most awkward matchmaking scene Gu Ning’an had ever witnessed. Both parties seemed honest and straightforward, but they were clearly not on the same wavelength.

“Young Master Li…” Hu Yan paused before continuing, “I feel like we might not be a good match.”

Li Fangchang hesitated for a moment and replied, “That seems… likely.”

“Then I’ll take my leave?” Before Hu Yan could finish her sentence, Li Fangchang stood up and said, “I’ll see you off!”