Chapter 4

Gazing over the vast crowd, Zhou Xingyun caught sight of a stunning woman with long, flowing hair, dressed in a light pink dress.

The beauty held a yellow paper umbrella, standing gracefully and calmly under the door.

The woman's figure was like a luminous pearl in the darkness, easily distinguishable even in a sea of people.

"Heaven, how beautiful!"

Zhou Xingyun marveled, thinking of her noble lineage and flawless beauty. He had never seen such a beautiful girl. He believed all the men present shared the same thought, finding her beauty almost overwhelming.

"This maiden, Xu Ziqian, greets all the young masters." The girl greeted with a captivating smile, her voice as clear and pleasant as a mountain stream, touching the heart.

"This name sounds familiar..."

"Idiot! It's the talented Xu Ziqian! She is the first beauty of Fucheng City!"

"No wonder, no wonder she is so beautiful!"

The disciples of Jian Shu Mountain Villa instantly became excited, discussing among themselves why Miss Xu had suddenly visited. Perhaps someone from Jian Shu Mountain Villa had participated in a marriage contest and won her favor.

"Miss Xu, hello. May I ask what brings you to Jian Shu Mountain Villa?" Zhao Hua, taking the initiative, squeezed through the crowd to welcome the girl.

"Is Master Zhou Xingyun here?" Xu Ziqian stated her purpose, her visit to Jian Shu Mountain Villa was solely to see Zhou Xingyun.

Zhao Hua was taken aback, and the disciples of Jian Shu Mountain Villa fell silent, clearly not expecting Miss Xu to be looking for the villa's rogue.

A moment later, Zhao Hua shamelessly smiled, "Miss Xu, I am Zhou Xingyun."

"Zhao Hua, you have no shame!" Wu Jiawen couldn't help but scold. Although he felt a bit disappointed when he heard Xu Ziqian was looking for Zhou Xingyun, he secretly felt happy for Zhou Xingyun. However, he never expected Zhao Hua to try to impersonate him, which was utterly despicable.

"Enough." Zhou Xingyun held back the angry Wu Jiawen. Although Xu Ziqian was as beautiful as a celestial being, almost stealing his soul, he already had a fiancée and couldn't afford to cause trouble at this critical moment.

Tang Yuan Ying almost hated him to the bone; their marriage was already precarious, and taking a second wife was a mere fantasy. Moreover, a girl like Xu Ziqian would never look at him, a talentless and incapable man. If he mishandled the situation, he would lose everything.

When Xu Ziqian mentioned Zhou Xingyun's name, she had already noticed the unusual expressions of the disciples of Jian Shu Mountain Villa, indicating that Zhou Xingyun was a very special and unique presence in the villa.

Although the man before her claimed to be Zhou Xingyun, Xu Ziqian already knew who the real Zhou Xingyun was. Only the real Zhou Xingyun had the authority to prevent others from exposing the impostor.

"Jian Shu Mountain Villa is renowned, and I have long wished to see its splendor. May I ask if Master Zhou can fulfill my small wish?" Xu Ziqian did not expose Zhao Hua but instead went along with it, hoping he would show her around the villa.

Zhao Hua was overjoyed and eagerly led the beauty on a tour...

"Third Senior Brother, Miss Xu is looking for you." Wu Jiawen, indignant, scolded on behalf of Zhou Xingyun.

"I know, she will come to see me later."

When Xu Ziqian and Zhao Hua left, she deliberately turned to nod at him, likely having guessed that he was the real Zhou Xingyun. Now, Zhou Xingyun's dilemma was whether he should meet Xu Ziqian.

To be honest, from his perspective, he very much wanted to interact with the talented Xu Ziqian. The first beauty of Fucheng City was not a title given lightly, and saying he was not moved would be a lie.

However, Zhou Xingyun felt inexplicably afraid. As the saying goes, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. He shouldn't have any illusions about Xu Ziqian; it was an unrealistic thought.

Before he knew it, half an hour had passed. Zhou Xingyun and Wu Jiawen finished their morning practice and were about to go to a nearby stream to wash up when they heard a girl's voice.

"Master Zhou, please wait."

As Zhou Xingyun had expected, Xu Ziqian had circled the villa and returned to him.

"Miss Xu, is there something you need?"

"May I speak with you in private?"

"Cough, Third Senior Brother, Master instructed me to go to the pharmacy after morning practice. I'll go ahead." Wu Jiawen kept giving Zhou Xingyun meaningful looks, as if afraid he wouldn't act properly and辜负 the beauty's good intentions.

Xu Ziqian watched Wu Jiawen leave and turned to Zhou Xingyun with a smile, "True friends are few but precious."

Seeing her beauty without jealousy and choosing to step back, such men were rare in Xu Ziqian's memory, indicating that Wu Jiawen truly cared for Zhou Xingyun.

"Let's talk outside the villa."

"Please lead the way, Master Zhou."

Zhou Xingyun couldn't bear the gazes of the villa's disciples. After just a few words with Xu Ziqian, he felt a strong sense of hostility. However, a small incident made Zhou Xingyun both happy and troubled. As he led Xu Ziqian out of the villa, he coincidentally met his fiancée, Tang Yuan Ying.

Seeing Zhou Xingyun with Xu Ziqian, Tang Yuan Ying's expression was quite interesting... surprise? Confusion? Resentment? Incomprehension? It was hard to describe, even she might not know what she felt.

This psychological state was probably that even though she didn't like Zhou Xingyun, she didn't want to see him fall in love with someone else. More precisely, she didn't want to see Zhou Xingyun fall in love with someone more excellent and beautiful than herself.

In other words, she could dump him, but he couldn't dump her!

Indeed, Tang Yuan Ying felt slightly angry but wouldn't openly scold Zhou Xingyun. She even planned to use this incident to complain to her father and try to annul their engagement.

The landscape of Jian Shu Mountain Villa was picturesque, with lush trees, birdsong, and the clear water of the cliff's waterfall.

Zhou Xingyun led Xu Ziqian to a pavilion by the cliff.

"Let's get straight to the point. What do you want from me?"

"Ziqian wishes to seek Master Zhou's advice on state governance."

Zhou Xingyun stumbled, almost falling off the cliff. He stared at the girl in disbelief, "State governance? Ask me!"

This girl was crazy! Asking him about state governance, what did she mean? What kind of person did she think he was?

"To be honest, out of the 3,218 articles I received, only two met my standards."

"3,218... You read them all?" Zhou Xingyun never expected so many people to participate in the marriage contest. The first beauty of Fucheng City was indeed well-deserved.

"Not really. Most of the articles were repetitive, merely praising a woman's beauty. Ziqian could understand the intent with a quick glance. Only Master Zhou's article, with its seven profound words, truly touched me."

"Too kind, I'm not as capable as you think. Miss Xu should find the other talented man who met your standards."

"Among the two articles that met my standards, only Master Zhou's response made me eager to meet you." Xu Ziqian said calmly. The other article was also excellent, but in terms of depth, she admired Master Zhou's response more.

"I'm afraid I will disappoint you. I don't understand state governance at all. Please leave."

Zhou Xingyun was at a loss. His participation in the marriage contest was accidental, and he wrote the article without much thought, just writing whatever came to mind. He hastily wrote seven words and submitted it.

"Since Master Zhou is unwilling to discuss state governance, let's talk about the world around us. What shape do you think our world is?"

"Isn't it obvious? The Earth is... square!"

Zhou Xingyun almost blurted out that the Earth was round. However, based on his past experiences, if he said the world was round, everyone would laugh and think he was a fool.

Since he was five, such situations had occurred frequently. Even his mother once laughed at him, asking how they could stand if the world was round.

Xu Ziqian's delicate ears subtly twitched, as she heard a very novel term. However, Zhou Xingyun seemed hesitant, changing "round" to "square."

"Alas..." Xu Ziqian feigned disappointment, "To be frank, I thought Master Zhou had profound insights and could see through the world, expressing the bold view that 'women can hold up half the sky.' I didn't expect... Master Zhou to be so foolish, disappointing me greatly."

"I... you!" Zhou Xingyun was speechless. Was this talented girl being too harsh? Expecting so much from him and then calling him foolish, it was extremely impolite.

"If Master Zhou feels I am impolite and wants to save face, why not guess again? With good luck, you might get it right."

"Who's guessing! You act like you know what the world looks like. Why don't you explain it to me!"

Xu Ziqian's words were soft but sharp, her disdainful gaze was truly unbearable. Zhou Xingyun was losing his composure...

"Once Master Zhou gives the wrong answer, Ziqian will tell you the correct one. And my answer will be more novel, detailed, and comprehensive than what you can imagine."

"Big talk! Wait for me, today I'll show you what a narrow-minded person is like!" Zhou Xingyun was furious. He couldn't understand what he had done in his past life to deserve such treatment. No matter what he said or did, everyone looked down on him, thinking he was crazy.

Now, even the first beauty and talented girl of Fucheng City had come to Jian Shu Mountain Villa to call him foolish. He felt extremely disrespected...

Zhou Xingyun picked up a branch from the roadside and drew a circle in front of Xu Ziqian. "Listen carefully, the world we live in is actually round. It can be divided into five oceans and seven continents..."

In early February, Zhou Xingyun inherited the memories of a middle school geography teacher. Now, Xu Ziqian dared to ask him about geography. Fine, he would channel the teacher and give her a lesson in geography that transcended the times.

Although Zhou Xingyun couldn't be sure if the memories in his mind were correct, he had no choice but to take a risk and share all the basic knowledge he knew.

Regardless of whether Xu Ziqian understood, he explained longitude, latitude, the equator, the poles, and other seemingly obscure concepts. He then added more details about the Milky Way, the solar system, the nine planets, Earth, and gravity...

For nearly a decade, Zhou Xingyun had suppressed many thoughts. Now, he was like a flood breaking through a dam, speaking nonstop.

During the three months after inheriting the geography teacher's memories, Zhou Xingyun developed an extraordinary ability to explain things. He could answer Xu Ziqian's occasional questions with concise and clear explanations.