The two of them were roused from their slumber. “What should we do?” Zu An asked quietly.

“What else can we do? Hurry up and leave through the window!” Chu Chuyan was so anxious that she was about to cry. She helped him hunt for his clothes while pushing him towards the window, at the same time saying to her mother, “Please wait a while, mom!”

“There’s honestly no need for all of this,” Zu An protested. “It’s not as if we aren’t husband and wife. Why do we always have to act as though we’re in an affair?”

“No!” Chu Chuyan straight up refused. Their relationship was developing too quickly. Discreetly allowing him into her residence was already her limit. How could she possibly reveal to the world that they were sleeping together?

Zu An was speechless. However, he knew just how shy she was regarding this matter, and he didn’t want to make things difficult for her.

Besides, it suddenly struck him that, once the truth of their relationship was exposed, Old Mi would surely find out that he had recovered. That old man was sure to become suspicious of him once that happened.

He didn’t know just what Old Mi’s ultimate objective was. Something really bad might happen if Old Mi learned the truth. Therefore, he agreed to keep the extent of his relationship with Chu Chuyan a secret for now.

He quickly put on his clothes and jumped out the window.

Only then did Chu Chuyan open the door. “Mom, why are you here so early in the morning?”

“I was worried about your condition, and I couldn’t sleep well last night, so I decided to pay you a visit.” Qin Wanru let her gaze linger on her daughter, her heart welling up with feelings of fondness. She was so good and obedient, her cultivation was at a high level, and she had a beautiful appearance… she was truly the perfect daughter.

“I’m fine…” Chu Chuyan said, her face slightly red.

Qin Wanru followed her inside. Suddenly, she sniffed the air. “Hm? What is that smell…”

“It’s nothing…!” Chu Chuyan was distressed. There was indeed a smell lingering in the air after the intimate night she’d shared with Zu An.

Qin Wanru was startled by the extent of her daughter’s alarm. As an experienced woman, how could she be blind to what was going on? “Zu An came to treat your injuries again last night?”

“Yeah…” Chu Chuyan replied, hanging her head in shame. She didn’t know what to say at all.

Qin Wanru sighed. “I don’t even know what to say to you. This truly is an ill-fated relationship!” How could an outstanding daughter like hers be defiled by this sort of ruffian? As a mother, she couldn’t help but feel distressed.

At the same time, however, she found the entire situation strange. Her daughter was usually arrogant and proud. So many outstanding young men had crossed her path over the years, yet she didn’t fancy a single one of them. Why did she end up liking this Zu fellow? Just which aspect of him was outstanding…?

Her face went rigid. There seemed to be something not quite right about this train of thought. That scene suddenly appeared in her mind.

Her face twisted in discomfort, and she quickly changed the topic. “Chuyan, I wanted to discuss the matter of the advance salt permits with you…”

…

Zu An returned to his room to get some sleep. He didn’t know how long it had been before he heard Chu Huanzhao’s voice beside his ear.

“Brother-in-law, you lazy pig! Get up already! You’re going to be late for school!”

Zu An shivered and woke up with a start when he heard that he was going to be late for school. Just how many years of nightmares had this phrase caused him in his previous life?

However, he quickly snapped out of his reverie. I’ve already freaking transmigrated! Why would I care about school anymore?

I’m even a teacher now! Why should I be scared of the school?

With that, he lay back down on his bed.

Seeing that he was about to fall asleep again, Chu Huanzhao said angrily, “Stinky brother-in-law, get up!”

“Ahh! Stop bothering me! Let me sleep a while longer...” Zu An waved her off.

He had been active the whole night, and before that, he and Zheng Dan had enjoyed themselves every day for half a month. Thank goodness he had the Primordial Origin Sutra. He would have long since shriveled up and died otherwise.

Even so, he was completely exhausted.

Sigh, it would be great if I knew some sort of double-cultivation technique. Zu An thought of that Song fellow from one of the novels in his previous life, who grew braver the more he fought, and his heart was filled with jealous hate.

“Are you really going to keep sleeping? We really are going to be late!” Chu Huanzhao was annoyed. She reached out a hand to grab his blankets. “I’m going to pull off your blankets!”

Zu An kept his eyes closed. “Take them off then, I’m not wearing any clothes,” he muttered to himself.

Chu Huanzhao immediately froze, and a hint of redness spread across her small face. “You… you rascal!”

Zu An laughed, “I’m the one sleeping in bed and under the covers, while you’re the one who wants to pull them off. How am I the rascal?”

“I…” Chu Huanzhao was at a loss for words. However, she was dumb either and responded quickly, “Nonsense! You clearly had clothes on when you sat up just now!”

Being pestered like this chased away the last of Zu An’s sleepiness. He couldn’t resist poking fun at her when he saw how angry she was. “I am wearing clothes on top, but I don’t have any pants on.”

Chu Huanzhao was left speechless.

Not only did she recall what had happened the day before, the scene had even appeared in her dreams.

Smoke seemed to rise from the top of her head when she thought of this.

“What’s wrong?” Zu An was also slightly surprised by her sudden change in behavior.

“You big pervert!” Chu Huanzhao yelled at him, then quickly ran away.

Zu An laughed when he saw how panic-stricken she was. Messing with this little girl was still pretty fun.

After this exchange, Zu An unwillingly got out of bed.

After all, not showing up at the academy was negligence on his part, both as a teacher and as a student. Without a great person like Jiang Luofu backing him, anyone else might have already been kicked out.

That was why he had to go to the academy. Besides, didn’t that Old Mi want him to steal something from the Wei clan? He’d use this chance to talk to Wei Suo to tease out an opportunity.

Chu Huanzhao didn’t say a single word to him on their way to the academy. Zu An tried to chat with her several times, but she immediately ran away as soon as he approached her.

Zu An was left stupefied. Did I really piss off this lass?

When they reached the academy, Chu Huanzhao headed straight for her own classroom.

Zu An was a bit dejected. Even he thought of himself as contemptible.

When others treat you well, you keep provoking them; yet when they start to ignore you, you start to miss them.

Isn’t this the definition of contemptible?!

He had no idea that Chu Huanzhao ignored him not because she was angry, but rather, because that scene from the night before was the only thing she could think of. She couldn’t get it out of her head at all! How could she dare to even look at him?

Zu An headed straight for the principal’s office first, wanting to give Jiang Luofu a full report. She was his backing in the academy, after all.

He rapped on the door, but there was no response to his knocking. He noticed that the door wasn’t completely shut.

He pushed the door open and went in. Just as he was about to call out to Jiang Luofu, the scene confronting him almost made blood shoot out of his nose.

Jiang Luofu wasn’t the only one in the office. Shang Liuyu was here as well! These two gorgeous beauties had their legs on the table, and they seemed to be comparing something.

One had on extremely thin black stockings, while another had transparent gray stockings. He felt beyond blessed that he could witness such a sight.

He heard Jiang Luofu say to Shang Liuyu proudly, “Little Yuyu, didn’t I tell you that these stockings suited your style?”

Shang Liuyu laughed, and was just about to reply when she raised her head and saw Zu An. Her smile froze instantly.