The hour hand of the clock on the living room wall silently moved to the Roman numeral Ⅹ, and sunlight streamed through the window onto the floor.
Yi Xing, lying on the bed, slowly opened his eyes, sat up, and subconsciously stretched his legs; the soreness from his workout was still present.
However, this didn't affect his subsequent actions. He stretched widely, got out of bed, walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and let the sunlight bathe him.
Looking at the flowers and plants in his garden, his heart was filled with contentment. A moment later, he turned and walked to the washroom, beginning his day.
Besides him, only the servants remained in the house. His parents had either gone to work or were out playing.
He changed his clothes and came to the living room, where he saw Butler Fu arranging for others to clean. He walked over and greeted him with a smile.
"Butler Fu, good morning!"
"Good morning, Young Master. What would you like for breakfast? I'll have the chef prepare it right away," Butler Fu replied, turning around with a benevolent smile.
"Anything simple is fine. My appetite isn't great since I just woke up."
"Alright, I'll arrange it right away."
Butler Fu immediately went to the kitchen to arrange breakfast, while Yi Xing sat on the sofa, scrolling through short videos to see if there were any new trending topics.
Suddenly, he remembered something and typed Ju Jingyi's name into the browser. The news articles that popped up were quite surprising.
"Shock! The 'First Beauty in Four Thousand Years' is actually her!"
"What charm does she possess to be crowned by Neon media as a rare beauty of Huaguo, seen only once in four millennia?"
He read these news articles with a frown almost the entire time. Then, he went to an international website to search for the related reports mentioned in the articles.
Seeing that the original title was 'A Rare Idol of Huaguo in Four Thousand Years,' he couldn't help but shake his head. The ability of these people to exaggerate facts for the sake of a trending topic was truly impressive. From 'idol' to 'beauty,' wasn't this just ruining her public image?
"Young Master, breakfast is ready."
Butler Fu's voice came, and Yi Xing responded, getting up and walking to the dining room. Sitting at the table, he was a bit distracted, unsure if it was because of the news he had just seen or if he was thinking about where to buy the extracurricular exercises he had photographed yesterday.
Despite his poor appetite, he still finished all the food on the table, not wanting to waste any of it.
He got up and returned to his room, packed the things he needed to take with him, and when he reappeared in the living room, he had a cross-body bag. He said to Butler Fu:
"Butler Fu, I'm heading out. I won't be back for lunch."
"Alright, Young Master. Aren't you driving out?"
"I wish I could, but I can't. I promised my dad I wouldn't use family resources, and the cars in the garage are considered resources."
"Then please be careful on your way," Butler Fu said with concern.
Yi Xing smiled and nodded, walking out of the house. Outside, the sun was bright and a gentle breeze was blowing. He checked for the nearest subway entrance, saw the displayed distance, and turned back home.
At this time, Butler Fu hadn't left yet and was still watching him. When he saw him return, he looked around to make sure no one was nearby before urgently asking,
"Xiao Xing, did you forget something?"
"No, I didn't. Butler Fu, could you drive me to the nearest subway entrance? We can't get a taxi around here, and walking would waste a lot of my time."
He wasn't driving himself, so having someone else drive him shouldn't violate his agreement with his father, right? Besides, if they both kept quiet, who would know about it?
"Wait here for a moment; I'll be right there."
Butler Fu had watched Yi Xing grow up and had long treated him like his own child. Now, being able to help his child,
He was more than happy to. He quickly walked to the garage, and soon drove a car out, stopping in front of Yi Xing.
"Get in!"
"Oh, Butler Fu, you're really helping me out a lot!"
"Why be so polite with me? Buckle up. Where do you need to go? I'll drive you directly."
"Wouldn't that be bad? If my dad found out..." Yi Xing's words were completely different from what he was thinking; he was secretly hoping someone would drive him.
"It's fine, the master won't know."
"Alright, then let's go to this bookstore."
Butler Fu turned his head to look at the location, mentally mapping out the shortest route. He had, after all, served as a driver in his younger days.
He knew every road in Modu like the back of his hand. He had retired from that position due to old age and transformed into a butler.
The car drove smoothly along the way, and he didn't forget to keep the atmosphere lively while driving.
"Xiao Xing, if you need to buy books, just tell us, and I'll send someone to buy them for you. You don't need to go yourself."
"Butler Fu, I'm buying some extracurricular exercises for my cousin. Doing it myself shows more sincerity, and besides, I might even discover some better ones that are more suitable for him."
"I see. Then you, as an older brother, are truly thoughtful."
Amidst their conversation, the car arrived at the bookstore. Yi Xing checked the rearview mirror to confirm no electric bikes were passing by, then opened the car door and said to the person beside him,
"Butler Fu, why don't you go back first? I don't know how long I'll be picking things out."
"It's alright, I have plenty of time. I'll take you back after you've finished buying. You can't just wander around outside carrying a bag full of books, can you?"
"Alright then, thank you for your trouble. I'll try to be quick."
With that, Yi Xing entered the bookstore and walked directly to the section selling supplementary study materials. The bookshelves were filled with all sorts of extracurricular exercises.
He first found the materials he thought were excellent, based on the photos he took yesterday, and then picked up others to browse through.
Through his conversation with Yi Yang Qianxi yesterday, he knew exactly what level his cousin's studies were at, and he had a general idea of which exercises would best help him improve his grades.
He focused on selecting materials with detailed explanations, novel question types, and a certain gradient of difficulty.
After about half an hour, he returned to the car with a large bag. He opened the back door, put the items inside, and then said,
"Butler Fu, I'm off now. Please pack these and the items on my room's table, and send them via express delivery in my name. I just sent you the address."
"You go take care of your business. You can trust me with these."
After Yi Xing arranged the follow-up matters, he, with great trust in Butler Fu's efficiency, confidently headed to the nearby subway entrance. Standing on the platform, he stared blankly at the subway line map in front of him.
For a moment, he didn't know where to go. He wished he had decided before coming out. Just then, his phone suddenly lit up; someone had sent him a message.
"Ju Jingyi: Are you free today? I'd like to treat you to a meal as a thank you for driving me to my destination last time."
"Yi Xing: Sure, when?"
"Ju Jingyi: This evening, I have a public performance this afternoon."
"Yi Xing: OK."
He now knew where to go: he'd go to Jiaxing Road to see what a certain person's public performance was like. The term 'public performance' was new to him; he had heard of concerts, online performances, and so on, but this was the first time he'd heard the name 'public performance'.