Snobbery and Sesame Cakes

Mia Qian was indeed self-conscious about the few pockmarks on her face, which she always carefully covered with powder. No one had ever been so rude as to point them out, but now Nathan Ye had bluntly compared her face to a sesame cake, and Mia was about to explode with anger!

Nathan Ye, on the other hand, looked completely justified. "What? You have so many pockmarks on your face—anyone can see it. Why can't I say it? You call me bald, but I can't call you a sesame cake face?"

At this moment, Mia Qian began to question her entire life. Every day, she meticulously covered those pockmarks with makeup, convinced that no one could tell she had them.

But judging by Nathan Ye's expression, it was as if her pockmarks were extremely numerous and glaringly obvious!

Mia Qian stared in horror, too angry to speak. After a moment, she tugged at Quentin Qian and squeezed out a question: "Grandpa, does my face really look like a sesame cake?"

Quentin Qian: ...

"Oh, sesame cakes? You all want some, too?" At the door, Su Li strode in, holding a half-eaten sesame cake in one hand and a plate piled high with more in the other.

"So many people here! Come on, these sesame cakes just came out of the oven this morning. If you see them, you get a share—everyone, come and eat!" Su Li enthusiastically waved her sesame cake, inviting everyone to join.

Mia Qian stared fixedly at those sesame cakes, as if all those densely packed seeds were growing right on her own face.

Oh my god, a face like a sesame cake—that would be so ugly!

Nathan Ye was feeling quite pleased with himself. He’d stayed up all night, skipped several meals, and his stomach was rumbling. Without hesitation, he grabbed two sesame cakes, deliberately waved them in front of Mia Qian, then pointed at her face.

Mia Qian’s face instantly turned green. Instinctively, she covered her face, wishing desperately for a mirror to check if her pockmarks were really that obvious.

Neither Mia Qian nor Quentin Qian had any appetite for sesame cakes—Nathan Ye got to enjoy them all.

While eating, Su Li asked, "Lord Qian, what brings you here so early this morning?"

Quentin Qian coughed lightly. "I'm just here to check on the academy. After all, it's a major event for the Kingdom of Qin, so naturally I have to pay close attention."

Su Li let out a mocking laugh—wasn’t Quentin Qian just here to watch the spectacle, hoping to see her struggling without funds?

Nathan Ye, fully aware of the situation, immediately handed Su Li the new report.

Su Li glanced at it and her eyes lit up. She winked at Nathan Ye, clearly impressed by their efficiency.

Quentin Qian watched the exchange between Su Li and Nathan Ye with disdain. He snorted, "A bunch of bumpkins. Who knows what kind of nonsense they’ll come up with."

Su Li looked up and smiled. "Minister Ye has done an excellent job. This new academy budget is half of the original—expenses have been cut down to 1.9 million taels. That’s quite an achievement!"

Quentin Qian’s expression changed slightly. "What? You cut the budget that much? Just a few bumpkins, a farmer, and a woman—how is that possible?"

Nathan Ye finished the last sesame cake, licked his fingers, and said to Quentin Qian, "Lord Qian, have you ever heard the phrase 'looking down on people like a dog'?"

"You—scoundrel! What nonsense are you spouting!" Quentin Qian hadn’t expected the young man to be so brash—teasing Mia Qian about her sesame cake face one moment, then calling him out the next.

"I’m not talking nonsense, and I’m not insulting you. I’m just stating a fact." Nathan Ye patted his chest.

Quentin Qian was so furious he felt dizzy. He spat, "Nonsense! If you’re so capable, why are you in Qin? Go to the capital if you have what it takes! Here, you only got into the government by pulling strings. In the capital, someone like you wouldn’t even be worth a fart!"