Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Perfect Coordination (Part Two)

The shouting outside the carriage grew even louder. Song Qi lifted the curtain to glance outside a few times, then turned back and said, “I’ll go down alone. I’ve already clashed with the You family more than once. Yu Manyi, you—”

His hand was still on Yu Manyi’s shoulder. At that moment, he gently pressed down, signaling her to stay calm. But how could she remain calm? She hadn’t heard You Jiejie’s voice at all outside; the You family must have locked her up at home. A family that would confine a concubine to the attic certainly wouldn’t show mercy to a daughter who’d had her engagement broken off.

From the tone of those accusations, it was clear You Jiejie hadn’t revealed anything about Su Wen. That must be why they came to the school with the painting. Yu Manyi was nearly beside herself with anxiety inside the carriage—how had her painting been discovered so soon after being brought home? Or was the You family truly such a suffocatingly airtight web?

Yu Manyi suddenly felt that her understanding of the world was still too shallow, too naive. The world didn’t consist only of the Yu family, the school, or a group of young students from Shanghai. There were countless women like Third Aunt, countless men like Third Uncle, and thousands upon thousands of houses just like the Yu household—and inside those houses, countless girls like her and You Jiejie, trapped.

Song Qi told her not to get out of the carriage, and Fang Qian agreed with his reasoning. Song Qi was still an outsider, even if he made more enemies with the You family, he could just leave when the time came. But if Yu Manyi was targeted by the You family, the trouble in Shaoxing would be endless. So she didn’t struggle anymore. She just used her fingers to slightly lift the curtain by the carriage window, peeking out through the small gap.

It was indeed the You family causing a scene, turning the usually peaceful front of the school into utter chaos. Yu Manyi recognized the one shouting—it was one of the gatekeepers from the You family. At this moment, she actually missed the gatekeeper from the Yu household, who just collected wages for doing nothing. The Yu family’s gatekeeper was a broad, kindly middle-aged man, while the You family’s gatekeeper looked like a thug, veins bulging beneath the sleeves stretched over his brawny arms. That was probably why he’d been sent to raise a ruckus.

He blocked the school gate like a menace, not letting any literacy students enter. If anyone dared approach, he would shove the painting of Miss You that Su Wen had drawn in their face and snarl ferociously, “Was it you?! I say it was you! Coveting a daughter of the You family—Master You won’t spare you!”

With class time fast approaching, some students, not wanting to get caught up in the spectacle—much less get entangled with the You family—quietly turned and left.

Yu Manyi was so anxious her fingers curled tightly, going from holding the curtain to gripping it.

The carriage had stopped some distance from the school gates. Only now did Song Qi walk over. After all, most of the students still intended to attend the literacy class. When they saw Song Qi, they immediately voiced their complaints: “Teacher Song, look at this mess. What are we supposed to do? Are we still having class today or not?”

“Of course we are,” Song Qi replied, signaling the crowd to make way for him.

Among all these students from outside, Song Qi was indeed the most familiar face to the You family—last year when he visited Master You, one group had seen him; another time when he was taken from the train station, yet another group had seen him; and when the government ordered Master You to hand him over, the You family even circulated his portrait throughout the entire household. Even if someone had missed all those incidents, earlier this summer when he returned to Shaoxing, he’d made a scene at the You residence, arguing with Master You over education—everyone in the household had heard it.

So while they did recognize him, it was by no means a friendly kind of familiarity. And now, with the scene before them, old grudges and new all surged together. The gatekeeper erupted with fury the moment he saw Song Qi, unrolling the scroll again and practically thrusting it into Song Qi’s face.“Song Qi, how do you explain this? Look, this painting—one of your damned students here to learn literacy drew it—to seduce our Miss You!”

The painting scroll was shoved right in front of Song Qi’s face. He neither dodged nor moved, just stared coldly at the man and said, “Just beyond the gate of this school is the image of Master Confucius. You dare make a scene here, not afraid to disturb the ancient sages?”

Shaoxing villages had always revered literature, much like how some southern provinces venerated gods. Causing a ruckus in front of Master Confucius was, indeed, widely seen as disrespectful. The You family gatekeeper’s nostrils flared at these words, and his voice did drop a little, but he still remained arrogant: “I’m not making a scene! I came on Master You’s orders to find the brat who painted this and take him back for a good lesson! You're the teacher here—tell me—which of your students is trained as a painter?”

“We register all our students when they enroll. None of them are professional painters.”

“None? Then who painted it this well?” He raised the scroll again, jabbing his finger repeatedly at the red birthmark on Miss You’s face. “Even if he’s not a professional, he definitely knows how to draw! Other than the You household, she’s only ever come to this school. That means it must be someone from here!”

He turned to the gathered crowd, voice rising in fury: “So which coward is it? Step out! Got the guts to lust after a woman but not to own up to it? If you don’t step forward today, then this literacy class isn’t happening—!”

The crowd erupted. The You family was a notable clan locally—well-connected and powerful. With them dead set on making trouble, it really didn’t look like this matter would be easily resolved. As the gatekeeper ranted, more students, convinced there’d be no class, quietly turned and left.

Yu Manyi was so anxious her fingers curled, going from clutching the curtain lightly to gripping it tight.

The carriage had stopped some distance from the school gates, and only now did Song Qi walk over. In the end, most of the students still wanted to attend the class. When they saw him, they immediately called out complaints: “Teacher Song, look at this! What’s going on? Is there going to be class today or not?”

“Of course there is,” Song Qi replied, motioning for the crowd to make way.

Among all the outsiders at the school, the You family knew Song Qi the best—he’d visited Master You last year and was seen by one group; when he was dragged back from the train station, another group saw him; when the government ordered Master You to hand him over, the You family even circulated a portrait of him throughout the household. Even if all these instances were missed, this summer he had returned to Shaoxing and publicly argued with Master You about education until the old man’s face turned red. Everyone in the household had heard that too.

So yes, they knew him, but not in a good way. Faced with today’s mess, it was clear that past and present grudges had come surging together. The moment the gatekeeper saw Song Qi, he flew into a rage, unrolling the painting again and practically shoving it into Song Qi’s eyes.

“Song Qi! Explain yourself! Look at this—one of your damn students did this sketch of our Miss You to seduce her!”

Song Qi stood unmoved, eyes cold: “You know this is the image of Master Confucius here. Making a scene in front of him—aren’t you afraid of offending the sages?”

The gatekeeper snorted, but his tone lowered. Still, he blustered, “This isn’t a scene! I’m acting on Master You’s orders to find that little brat who drew this trash and drag him back for a beating! You’re the teacher—so tell me—which of your students used to be a painter?”

“We keep proper records. None of our students are painters.”

“None? But it looks just like her!” He lifted the scroll again, jabbing at the red birthmark on Miss You’s face. “Even if he’s not a pro, he clearly knows how to draw! She’s only ever come to the school apart from being at home. It has to be someone from here!”

He turned and shouted at the crowd, voice rough and angry: “Which damn coward is it? Come out! Got the guts to lust after a woman but not to admit it? If you don’t step forward, there’ll be no class today—!”

The crowd buzzed. The You family was powerful locally, and clearly intent on stirring trouble. This wouldn’t be easy to settle. A few more students turned away, convinced there’d be no lesson.

“That’s enough!” Song Qi’s voice rose, clearly angry now. “You You family people can make all the trouble you want behind closed doors, but now you’ve come here too? You want us to hand someone over? Then I want you to hand someone over too—Miss You is a registered student at the county office. Why isn’t she here today?”

“Registered my ass!” the gatekeeper bellowed. “Master You pitied her, letting a spinster who can’t get married learn to read and write. And this is what she does—lets someone draw such seductive poses of her! Now that it’s out, what decent family would still want her? Even widowers won’t marry a woman so shameless!”

Yu Manyi didn’t know how that painting could be called “seductive,” and besides, if he hadn’t come here yelling about it, who would even know Miss You had her portrait drawn? Her ears rang with fury, while outside the school gate, the shouting match between Song Qi and the gatekeeper grew more intense.

“Song Qi! Don’t be ungrateful!” the gatekeeper yelled. “You really think our You family can’t do anything to you? Just wait till Master You gets serious—we have people in the county!”

Song Qi laughed angrily: “Oh? Great! Then by all means, bring out this county person of yours. I’d love for a poor student like me to see what power looks like.”

At this, Yu Manyi heard Fang Qian let out a barely suppressed snort behind her. She turned to him in a panic: “I heard from Second Mother that the You family really does have connections in Shaoxing County. Fang Qian, they’re arguing like this—could something really happen? If it does… could your uncle—the one with the factory in Shanghai—maybe…”"Manyi, don’t worry." Fang Qian had been quite concerned earlier, but since the other side brought up “someone from the county,” it meant that the You family’s trump card and backing ended there. She shook her head and said, "Even if something really happened to Song Qi, it’s not like my uncle in Shanghai would care."

They never explained things fully to Yu Manyi, so only she was truly anxious. And just as she had realized a moment ago, her understanding of the world was still very limited. She couldn’t catch the deeper meaning behind Fang Qian’s words, and could only lean forward and watch the confrontation between Song Qi and the gatekeeper from the You family.

However, a young unmarried woman of the You family receiving a portrait carried the implication of a “secret engagement”—this was not something that could be cleared up with words. The You family wanted Song Qi to hand over the person who drew the picture; Song Qi, on the other hand, demanded that the You family bring Miss You back to class. It was pure cross-talk—no communication at all. Yu Manyi leaned against the window and looked out for a long time before suddenly realizing that the situation was becoming hard to control, because several large, burly You family members were approaching from the distance.

The You family reinforcements had arrived, and Yu Manyi didn’t believe that the delicate-looking teachers inside the academy, all wearing tiny spectacles, would step forward to support Song Qi and the other outsider students. Maybe a few of the students would find it unjust, but they were locals after all—if they angered a prominent local family, life afterward would be difficult.

Yu Manyi suddenly bit her lip, then slapped the window frame hard. Before Fang Qian and the others could react, she stood up, flung open the curtain in one motion, and jumped off the carriage.

Fang Qian was startled. Song Qi had told her to watch over Yu Manyi before getting off. She quickly lifted the curtain and called out twice in a low voice, but Yu Manyi didn’t look back, running straight toward the front of the academy.

The confrontation between Song Qi and the You family’s gatekeeper had already reached a breaking point. Even Song Qi himself felt that the way he was handling things now was too patient, too calculating, too drawn out—far less satisfying than the impulsiveness of his younger years, when he did as he pleased. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a stir suddenly rippled through the crowd in front of the academy. A small figure squeezed through the crowd like a sparrow and jumped in front of him.

Song Qi’s mind went blank. He didn’t have time to react. It wasn’t until that figure spoke that he realized—it was Yu Manyi standing in front of him. He had never heard her speak so loudly; even in literacy class when answering questions, she always spoke slowly and softly.

She stood in front of him and shouted loudly at the You family’s gatekeeper:

"It was me! I drew the portrait for Sister You. She was afraid my family wouldn’t let me learn painting, so she kept it secret. If you want someone, then take me!"