, Three Rules, One Night as Classmates

Liang Shanbo has already wiped himself clean.

As he was drying himself, Zhu Yingtai took Yin Xin outside the door.

At this moment, a single lamp, as dim as a bean, is still burning in the schoolhouse.

The shadows of the two people were projected onto the wall, swaying slightly with the flickering flames.

"Brother Liang," Zhu Yingtai called out, looking at Liang Shanbo sitting on the wooden couch opposite her.

Liang Shanbo turned to look at her.

Zhu Yingtai didn't change her outer garment tonight, but Liang Shanbo did. He changed from a short jacket with a cross-collar and right-fastening front to a long jacket with the same front and back. After all, he was now a student at Wansong Academy, and his attire should be more formal. Although the long jacket was also made of rough material, it was clean and tidy, and he looked quite energetic.

Zhu Yingtai's voice was gentle: "There's something... I'd like to discuss with Brother Liang."

"Please speak, my dear brother," Liang Shanbo said with a slight smile.

Zhu Yingtai said, word by word, "Brother Liang, although we have become sworn brothers and call each other brothers, we have only known each other for a day. Now that we are living in the same room, there are some things I want to clarify beforehand. We need to agree on three rules to avoid any inconvenience in the future."

Liang Shanbo nodded calmly: "Brother, you are right. What is it? Just tell me."

Zhu Yingtai took a deep breath, as if to bolster her courage, her eyes filled with seriousness and earnestness: "Firstly, there must be a bowl of water between our two beds. Neither of us can cross this bowl of water at night. You sleep in yours, I sleep in mine, and we won't disturb each other."

Upon hearing this, Liang Shanbo glanced at the distance between himself and Zhu Yingtai. It was only five or six feet, with a patch of ground in between. Placing a bowl of water there was less about marking a boundary and more about serving as a symbolic warning: do not cross the line.

He found it amusing, but nodded seriously: "Alright, put a bowl of water in it. If my brother says to put it in, then I will. I won't overstep my bounds."

Zhu Yingtai was taken aback.

She had expected him to be dissatisfied or even suspicious when she made this request, but she was somewhat surprised to see him agree so readily.

"This Brother Liang seems to be a bit of a fool in some things?" she thought to herself, growing bolder as she added, "Secondly, when we are cleaning ourselves, the other person should go outside to avoid us, just like before; when we are undressing, we should also inform the other person first, and the other person should turn around and not look back."

Liang Shanbo said, "Don't worry, my good brother. A gentleman doesn't lie in the dark. Since we are brothers, I would never do such a frivolous thing. From now on, when you need to undress, just say 'undress,' and I will turn around."

Zhu Yingtai felt somewhat more at ease and continued, "Thirdly..."

"Is there a third one?" Liang Shanbo asked deliberately.

Zhu Yingtai felt embarrassed and lowered her voice: "Thirdly, you are not allowed to touch my things without permission."

Liang Shanbo nodded again and said, "I agree to all three of these conditions. If you have anything else to add, please say so, and I will agree to it."

Zhu Yingtai thought for a moment and then added, "Also... you're not allowed to snore at night."

Liang Shanbo couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Yingtai's voice rose again: "Brother Liang, what are you laughing at! These are all serious matters! How can I sleep peacefully if you snore?"

Her father snored loudly in his sleep.

Liang Shanbo quickly stopped laughing, cupped his hands, and said, "Brother, you are absolutely right. I was rude. I have remembered these four points. Is there a fifth one?"

Seeing his sincere attitude, Zhu Yingtai smiled slightly: "That's all. If I think of anything else, I'll tell Brother Liang."

After saying this, she stood up, immediately filled a bowl with water, and placed it on the ground between the two wooden couches. The water rippled slightly, reflecting the light of the lamp.

Liang Shanbo stretched and said, "Brother, you must be tired today. You have to go to the lecture hall early tomorrow morning, so let's get some rest."

Zhu Yingtai hummed in agreement.

Liang Shanbo said, "I'm going to take off my clothes now, you should too."

Zhu Yingtai was stunned for a moment. After realizing what was happening, a blush seemed to appear on her face. She then got up and blew out the sesame oil lamp on the small table, plunging the room into darkness.

She felt that this was not enough, so she said, "Brother Liang, let's both turn around."

Liang Shanbo said, "Alright."

Immediately, both of them turned around.

Zhu Yingtai silently took off her moon-white cross-collar wide-sleeved shirt, secretly turned her head to look at Liang Shanbo (but couldn't see clearly in the darkness), then quickly took off her crimson trousers, lay down on the couch, and pulled the quilt over herself.

She breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had accomplished a great feat.

Liang Shanbo, who was opposite him, was also lying on the couch.

Suddenly it became extremely quiet.

Her mind was in turmoil. One moment she remembered meeting him at the Grass Bridge Pavilion earlier that day, the next she remembered his talent when Meng Wenlang tested him, then she remembered the novelty of sitting side by side with him in the fine kitchen, and then she remembered the expression on his face when he agreed to the "three rules"...

She turned over, facing the direction of Liang Shanbo.

There was complete silence on the other side. Was he asleep?

Liang Shanbo was not asleep; his eyes were open, but he was tired and sleepy.

He silently said in his heart, "Goodnight, Zhu Yingtai!"

Then he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The night grew deeper.

This was the first night the two of them shared a room.

……

……

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Liang Shanbo woke up.

He lay on the couch for a while, listening to the birdsong outside the window and the faint sound of the pine trees, before slowly sitting up.

On the wooden couch opposite, Zhu Yingtai was still fast asleep. She lay on her side, facing the wall, covered with a quilt. Her breathing was very light, so light that it was inaudible.

Liang Shanbo could only see the back of her head and a small section of her fair neck; he could not see her sleeping face.

After glancing at her, Liang Shanbo looked away.

He tiptoed off the bed, put on his outer robe, fastened his belt, and then tiptoed to the outer room.

Yin Xin had already woken up and was rinsing her mouth with salt water. When she saw Liang Shanbo come out, she mumbled, "Good morning, Liang Langjun, because of the salt water in her mouth."

Liang Shanbo nodded: "Good morning."

He also began to wash up.

After washing up, he went outside.

The morning air was crisp and clear, and dewdrops clung to the leaves of several banana trees by the courtyard wall.

He took a deep breath and started to stretch.

A moment later, Zhu Yingtai also woke up.

She opened her eyes and quickly glanced at the person opposite her.

There was no Liang Shanbo on the opposite couch; the quilt was not yet folded.

She glanced again at the water bowl between the two wooden couches.

The bowl of water was still sitting there steadily.

She thought to herself, "I was so sound asleep that I didn't even notice when Brother Liang woke up."

She hurriedly got dressed and got out of bed.

Yin Xin, who was outside, heard the noise and came in: "My lord, you're awake?"

Zhu Yingtai asked, "Where has Brother Liang gone?"

Yin Xin said, "They're outside."

Zhu Yingtai nodded and, with Yin Xin's help, quickly dressed and washed up.

As she stepped out of the room, she saw Liang Shanbo's back. She rubbed her eyes and saw Liang Shanbo standing by the banana trees against the wall, looking down at the dewdrops on the banana leaves.

She walked toward him.

He heard footsteps, turned around, and saw her.

With a smile, she greeted, "Good morning, Brother Liang."

"Good morning, my dear brother." Liang Shanbo smiled.

Breakfast is not eaten in the morning, but rather at 9:00 AM.

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai then walked together toward the lecture hall.

The lecture hall of Wansong Academy is located in the front yard.

Among them, the Jiazhai Lecture Hall is a spacious hall facing south. The windows are straight-lattice windows with thin lattice bars painted black.

There were more than twenty desks in the lecture hall. The desks were short and long, and behind each desk was a cushion for the students to kneel on.

At this moment, seven or eight students were already seated in the lecture hall. Some were looking down at their books, some were resting with their eyes closed, and some were talking quietly.

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai entered the lecture hall together, and upon seeing the scene inside, they were momentarily at a loss as to where to sit.

Sun Yuangui, whom I met in the cafeteria yesterday, was sitting behind a desk by the window. His eyes lit up when he saw the two of them enter, and he gestured, "Newcomers, over here!"

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai walked up to Sun Yuangui.

Liang Shanbo cupped his hands in greeting: "Good morning, Brother Sun! May I ask if there are any empty seats in the hall? We are newcomers and don't know where we should sit."

Sun Yuangui pointed to the two desks behind him and said with a smile, "You've come to the right person. There are no empty desks behind me. You can sit here."

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai sat down behind two desks behind Sun Yuangui.

Sun Yuangui turned to face the two men and lowered his voice, saying, "You two are new here, so you probably don't know that today's first lecture is by Mr. Yao. Mr. Yao is very particular about rules. When he enters, everyone must stand up and bow. During his lecture, whispering, dozing off, and eating are all forbidden. If you break the rules, you'll be punished by standing, or even worse, by copying the *Book of Rites*. That's the *Book of Rites*, nearly 100,000 words long!"

He chuckled twice, then quickly suppressed his laughter, rubbing his right wrist with lingering fear: "Last year, I was punished by having to copy the Book of Rites. It took me so many days, my wrist almost broke!"

Zhu Yingtai asked curiously, "What rule did Brother Sun break that warranted such severe punishment?"

Sun Yuangui scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and still whispered, "It's nothing, it's just that I was listening to his lecture and found it boring, so I got drowsy and actually fell asleep, which he saw. He immediately walked up to me, took a ruler and hit my desk three times hard, which startled me so much I almost jumped up. Then he said two words: 'Copy the book!'"

Zhu Yingtai couldn't help but laugh, then quickly covered her mouth.

Soon, all twenty-odd students from the Jiazhai Academy arrived, except for one who had asked for leave.

After the students finished their morning reading, the figure of their teacher, Yao Ji, appeared outside the window.

The sounds in the lecture hall suddenly stopped.

Sun Yuangui sat up straight.

Yao Ji was nearly fifty years old. He wore a turban and a dark gray linen robe, which was ironed without a single wrinkle. His waist was tied with a leather belt, which was tied neatly.

He walked into the lecture hall carrying a book and a stack of papers. His steps were almost silent, slow but measured, as if each step had been measured with a ruler.