Chapter 98 Protecting Fragile Self-Esteem

On the way, Li Xiaoqiu secretly sent a message to the manager of the hotel's catering department, asking him to tell the employees to pretend not to know her.

She didn't want anyone to find out that she had a rich father.

She had long known that friendships often soured once her family's situation became known.

When they arrived at the restaurant on the second floor, the manager had indeed greeted everyone, and the waiters didn't dare to look at Li Xiaoqiu.

Instead, they all stared at Lin Xi enthusiastically. However, the waiters in a five-star hotel were still well-mannered. Apart from their fiery gazes, they did not harass her.

The food manager had already made arrangements. When the dishes were served, Chen Qianyu didn't react much. Her grandfather was the director of a museum. Although he had seen a lot of the world, at least one table of food couldn't surprise her.

Yang Shuyi couldn't help but get nervous when she saw the thinly sliced ​​Wagyu beef, oversized king crab, and exquisitely presented French pastries placed on the ice tray piled up like a snow mountain.

She inexplicably felt that these dishes highlighted her poverty.

She was born in a small village. After her father was paralyzed in a car accident, her mother ran away with someone, leaving only her elderly grandfather, her paralyzed father and her at home.

The whole family relied on my grandfather's farming of a few acres of land for a living.

Three years ago, her father passed away and her grandfather has basically lost his ability to work. She has no source of income, and the minimum living allowance can barely support her grandfather.

Because of her excellent academic performance, the school waived her tuition, but she still had no way to solve the living expenses.

In her first year of high school, when she was planning to drop out of school to work, Uncle Song, a noble man in Beijing, funded her through one-on-one financial aid, allowing her to complete her high school education.

Uncle Song was very happy to know that she was admitted to Peking University. Now all her tuition and living expenses are funded by Uncle Song, and he has agreed to support her until she graduates from college.

Living in such a family, she had never even seen the exquisite dishes on the table, let alone eaten them.

No, she had seen them before. She had seen them in short videos, but she never thought that these things had anything to do with her.

Li Xiaoqiu quickly noticed Yang Shuyi's discomfort and laughed exaggeratedly, "Xixi, don't blame me for ordering such expensive dishes. After all, everyone in the country knows that you won so much bonus. We are classmates, so it's only right that you get some credit."

Lin Xi also noticed that Yang Shuyi was a little nervous and looked very unnatural. She understood what Li Xiaoqiu meant and smiled, "It's okay, it's a little expensive."

"You can only do this because you got the bonus. Before, I wore my sister's hand-me-downs. I didn't even have money for my mom's surgery, so how could I dare to eat at such a nice hotel?"

Chen Qianyu asked curiously, "What happened to Auntie? What surgery did she have?"

Lin Xi smiled and said, "Uremia. Speaking of which, if my mother didn't have money for a kidney transplant, I wouldn't have participated in this reality show."

Yang Shuyi's expression gradually relaxed. She suddenly felt that Lin Xi was not so out of her reach. She was once a poor girl, but she turned her life around thanks to a reality show.

Therefore, there is no need to belittle herself. She may have a day when she can turn things around.

The girls were chatting and laughing while eating, and the atmosphere was unprecedentedly harmonious.

After the meal, the girls became more familiar with each other.

Even Yang Shuyi laughed cheerfully.

After dinner, I took a taxi back to the dormitory.

The top students started studying again.

Lin Xi picked up the textbook "Introduction to Archaeology" which she had read halfway and continued reading.

The next day, classes officially began.

Lin Xi got up early and ran a few laps, then took a shower when she came back.

Chen Qianyu was very lively and bought breakfast back to the dormitory and distributed it to everyone.

Li Xiaoqiu wanted to give her money, but she refused to take it.

After breakfast, several girls went to the teaching building together.

There were always people staring at Lin Xi along the way.

However, a top student is a top student, and they would just watch and at most smile at Lin Xi or say hello. In this campus, the most important thing is to learn knowledge and constantly improve oneself. Chasing stars is a waste of time.

The course schedule at Peking University is very tight. After finishing four classes in the morning and having lunch, Lin Xi did not take a nap. Instead, she went to the library and borrowed several books.

When they came out of the library, an old man was walking in. He glanced at the book in Lin Xi's hand and suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

Lin Xi stopped and looked at the old man, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

The old man pointed at the books in her hand and asked, "You're borrowing these books. Are you an archaeology major? What year are you in?"

Lin Xi guessed which old professor this was and answered respectfully, "Yes, I'm a freshman majoring in archaeology."

The old man's eyes widened, "No wonder."

"It's right for you to read more books when studying archaeology, but what books did you choose?"

"This, this, is all wild fox Zen. If you look at it, you will fall into the ditch."

Lin Xi smiled at the old man and said, "Is that so? Then I won't read these two books. I've just started learning and I don't know which books are good and which are not."

She blinked. "How about you give me a list of books?"

Although Lin Xi didn't know who this old man was, she guessed that he was a professor in the college, otherwise he wouldn't have pointed out the problem with just one glance.

In that case, of course she would seize the opportunity to ask for advice.

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Okay, come with me."

The two entered the library and found a place to sit down. Lin Xi handed a notebook and a pen to the old man.

The old man picked up a pen and wrote a dozen book titles in one breath on the notebook.

Lin Xi smiled and said, "Please write a few more books."

The old man glared again, "These ten books are enough to keep you reading for a long time. Young man, don't bite off more than you can chew!"

Lin Xi continued to smile, "Teacher, I read very quickly, and I have a good memory."

The old man looked her up and down, and suddenly said, "I remember now, you are the one—the one with 749 points, Lin Xi!"

When his wife was watching "Extreme Survival" at home, he glanced at her. At that time, his wife said, "This girl is really good. She scored 749 in the college entrance examination. She will enter your college when school starts."

The old man suddenly reached out and picked up a book from Lin Xi's collection. "Come on, take a look at this one. Let me see how fast you are."

Lin Xi opened the book and read ten lines at a glance. Soon she was on the second page, then the third page, and the fourth page.

The old man suddenly reached out and held the book down. "Don't read it anymore. Tell me the main content of these few pages."

Lin Xi sorted it out in her mind and said slowly, "The content of these pages is about fifty years of archaeological excavations in Beijing. In 1950, in a farmland outside Beijing..."

Lin Xi spoke for about ten minutes and finished covering all four pages.

The old man's eyes widened, and Lin Xi shook his head as he spoke.

Lin Xi asked in confusion: "Teacher, did I say something wrong?"

(End of this chapter)