This son-in-law is wicked in a good way!

The dormitory was rather basic, with two bunk beds, four beds, a desk, and a few stools.

There were two young men in long gowns in the dormitory. One of them was tall and was sitting on the bed reading a book.

When Zhang Ping'an came in, he didn't even glance at him, acting very aloof.

The other man was short, dark-skinned, and muscular. He grinned when he saw Zhang Ping'an come in.

"New here? What's your name?"

When the young man spoke, he had a strong local accent, and he didn't sound like a scholar who liked to read and write at all. Instead, he sounded like a straightforward and ruthless bandit.

Zhang Ping'an clasped his hands in a respectful greeting: "My name is Zhang Ping'an. May I ask your name, sir?"

"Wu Yuan, his name is Chen Zhishi," the burly young man said.

"Brother Wu, Brother Chen," Zhang Ping'an greeted them.

Wu Yuan returned the greeting with clasped hands, but Chen Zhishi remained silent, completely ignoring Zhang Ping'an.

"This..." Zhang Ping'an frowned, thinking to himself, "This guy is too arrogant, isn't he?"

Wu Yuan chuckled: "Never mind him. He's just a fool who's gone mad with wanting to be an official. He's even changed his name to 'Retired Official'."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhishi finally put down his book, frowned, and glared at Wu Yuan.

"Everyone has their own ambitions, Wu Yuan. Please respect my ideals, just as I respect your habit of treating your dormitory like a battlefield and setting up sand tables there."

Uh, that sounds a bit childish... Zhang Ping'an held back his laughter.

Wu Yuan's face flushed red, his eyes widened, and he immediately cursed, "Hey Chen, so what if I like fiddling with the sand table? Is it getting in your way?"

Chen Zhishi didn't argue with him. He gave him a cold glance and shook his head: "Incomprehensible."

After saying that, he turned and left. As he passed Zhang Ping'an, he glanced at him and nodded slightly in greeting.

Zhang Ping'an nodded in response, watching his arrogant roommate leave.

"Damn it, that bureaucrat is obsessed with officialdom. I'll give him a piece of my mind if I get the chance!" Wu Yuan cursed, stepping on a stool.

These two roommates are both very strong-willed!

Zhang Ping'an smiled and said, "Brother Wu, you must be a scholar of military strategy, right?"

Wu Yuan nodded: "That's right. I wanted to become a disciple of the great Confucian scholar Yang Tai, but unfortunately, I've wasted two years and still haven't met Mr. Yang's standards for accepting disciples. Alas..."

Zhang Ping'an asked curiously, "Brother Wu, you've worked so hard, yet you still haven't reached Mr. Yang's standard?"

"You don't understand. In the art of war, talent is very important. When Mr. Yang accepts disciples, he doesn't just look at diligence, but values ​​talent even more."

Uh, if this guy finds out that I refused Yang Tai's invitation to take me on as a disciple, will he beat me up?

Keep a low profile, you absolutely must!

"I believe that Brother Wu will eventually become a disciple of Mr. Yang," Zhang Ping'an said politely, and began to make the bed.

At that moment, another person entered.

This person was thin and small, with a small nose and small eyes, and his appearance was somewhat sleazy.

Seeing him come in, Zhang Ping'an smiled and nodded.

He hurriedly bowed in a flustered and fearful manner.

Wow, this guy is being way too polite.

Wu Yuan's indifferent voice rang out: "Zhang Ping'an, his name is Hao Shuwen, he studies medicine, but he's timid, cowardly, and a complete wimp."

Wu Yuan seemed to look down on Hao Shuwen.

Hao Shuwen blushed slightly, gave Zhang Ping'an an awkward smile, and then sat on the bed to read.

An ordinary person would have been furious if Wu Yuan had belittled him like that, but Hao Shuwen didn't utter a single word in rebuttal. No wonder Wu Yuan called him a coward.

Zhang Ping'an smiled. These three roommates really do have their own distinct personalities!

Without saying much, he took off his shoes, got into bed, and began to study breathing techniques.

This breathing method is similar to the Taoist practice of cultivating qi, but it is not quite the same.

Taoism emphasizes refining essence into qi, and the breathing technique involves adjusting one's breathing to directly absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Zhang Pingan practiced for a whole morning and gradually gained some insights.

During lunchtime, since the academy does not have a canteen, most students go out to find their own meals.

Wu Yuan called out, "Zhang Ping'an, want to go eat together?"

Zhang Ping'an also wanted to interact more with his silly roommates: "Okay."

He got out of bed and glanced at Hao Shuwen, who was huddled in the corner reading a book intently: "Brother Hao, want to come along? It's on me!"

Hao Shuwen quickly sat up straight, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, "Thank you for your kindness, but I brought some dry rations, so I won't go."

Wu Yuan pulled Zhang Ping'an away, saying, "Never mind him, he's such a boring guy. I remember a new place opened in the west of the city that sells plain noodles, the taste is really good, and the owner's daughter is absolutely gorgeous..."

"Holy crap, are you going to eat noodles? I'm too embarrassed to call you out..." Zhang Ping'an thought to himself.

"Okay, I love noodles the most."

"Let's go for a walk."

The two had just stepped out when they ran into Chen Zhishi, who was returning home.

Zhang Ping'an said, "Brother Chen, how about we go out for dinner together? It's on me!"

Chen Zhishi glanced at Zhang Ping'an and nodded: "Okay, let me change my clothes."

I thought Chen Zhishi would refuse outright, but I didn't expect him to agree so readily.

Sure enough, the tendency to waste votes is an unchanging human flaw.

Zhang Ping'an returned to the dormitory, ready to bring Hao Shuwen along.

"Brother Hao, Brother Chen and Brother Wu have both gone. If I leave you alone, it would be too disrespectful to me."

Since they were all roommates and would see each other all the time, Zhang Ping'an thought it best to invite them all since it was his first time treating everyone.

Wu Yuan also chimed in, "Hao Shuwen, hurry up, stop dawdling. Ping An just arrived and he's already offering to treat us. Let's use this meal to welcome him back."

Looking at Wu Yuan's sincere attitude, Zhang Ping'an secretly commented: Although Old Wu likes to tease people, he doesn't have a bad heart and is worth befriending.

Chen Zhishi took off the white robe that represented a scholar and put on a patched coarse cloth robe.

He walked to Hao Shuwen's bedside and looked at Hao Shuwen: "Brother Hao, let's go together!"

His attitude remained arrogant, yet he didn't evoke any dislike in people.

Hao Shuwen hurriedly got out of bed and quickly put on his shoes, not wanting to keep everyone waiting.

"I'm ready, we can go now."

This guy is a typical insecure and withdrawn young man!

Zhang Pingan patted him on the shoulder: "Let's go!"

The group of four went directly to the noodle shop that Wu Yuan had mentioned.

This neighborhood is a bit out of the way, and it mainly caters to the students of the academy.

The noodle shop was small and had no name. It had eight square tables, but only one table was occupied.

The group chose a table and sat down. Wu Yuan immediately called out, "Manager, four bowls of noodles."

"Okay!"

An old man dressed in coarse cloth responded with a smile.

A moment later, a young girl of about sixteen appeared, wearing a red linen dress with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing half of her fair forearm.

She lifted the kitchen curtain with her delicate, pale hands and slowly walked over, carrying a large, rough porcelain bowl.

Wu Yuan's eyes lit up immediately, and he whispered, "Hey, isn't this the shopkeeper's daughter? Pretty, isn't she?"

Zhang Ping'an glanced at her; the little girl was indeed pretty, but unfortunately she was too young and hadn't fully grown in yet.

In terms of temperament, he is not as good as his brother Chu.

Huh, why do I always compare women to Brother Chu?

Oh no, am I gay?

Zhang Ping'an was startled; this trend absolutely could not be allowed to continue.

Hao Shuwen glanced at it only once before quickly lowering his head, his face flushed, and stammering, "Beautiful...beautiful."

Chen Zhishi remained arrogant, and it was unclear whether he hummed with his mouth or his nose: "Not bad."

The girl blushed as the men stared at her, then put the noodles on the table and ran off, her two braids swinging back and forth.