Chapter 44: What is Maocai?

Chapter 44: What is Maocai?

Meng Xiaoyang ultimately declined to go out and play ball together, but agreed to have lunch together.

Fang Yuenian went to the gymnasium by herself, and Li Peixiang said to her with a hint of disappointment, "Hey, little Yuenian, how come you can't even call out to someone?"

The words "Little Niannian" made Fang Yuenian very uncomfortable. He glared at Li Peixiang and said, "I'm just being respectful."

Liu Miao and Shen Xiaoxiao were chatting and laughing together. Li Peixiang was unpacking the badminton bag with Fang Yuenian while whispering, "Actually, Meng Xiaoyang is really hard to deal with. He plays badminton very well, but he just never comes out. When our affiliated high school played against the No. 3 affiliated high school, he was the top singles player."

Fang Yuenian seemed to have heard something extraordinary and exclaimed in surprise, "Meng Xiaoyang is from the affiliated high school of No. 1 Middle School? He even plays basketball?"

What about his thin and weak appearance?

"Oh yeah, you're just finding out? Didn't he mention it during the self-introductions on the first day?"

Fang Yuenian shook her head, "How could I remember which school everyone came from? He should be from the city, so why is he living in the dorms?"

"His family situation is special. His parents passed away when he was young, and he lived with relatives. He had no choice in junior high school, but he lived in high school when he could. I guess he didn't want to cause trouble for his relatives. All of us classmates know about this. He even lived in the same neighborhood as He Linjie. They used to be very close, but I don't know what happened later. They stopped even greeting each other."

Fang Yuenian was stunned. "Wow, this is..."

After digesting the question for a while, he asked one he really wanted to ask: "Why do I feel like you don't really like He Linjie?"

Li Peixiang frowned: "Why would I like him? With his arrogant attitude that he thinks he's the best in the world? Anyway, it would be best if Meng Xiaoyang broke up with him. Sigh, never mind, let's get started."

Liu Miao and Shen Xiaoxiao are really good, their skills and strength are both on point. Li Peixiang is a bit worse, and Shen Xiaoxiao mocked him for having already fallen into disuse. Fang Yuenian only played a few times with Cheng Bing during the summer vacation, so his level is average. But this way, each team has a bad teammate. Fang Yuenian even has a slight advantage. He teamed up with Liu Miao, and after a few hours, they were covered in sweat and felt great.

The two girls said they needed to go home and take a shower. Li Peixiang, a rough guy, didn't care and even asked Fang Yuenian if she wanted to have lunch together. Fang Yuenian refused while packing up her racket: "No, I agreed to have lunch with Meng Xiaoyang. It's just the two of us in the dorm this weekend."

Li Peixiang quickly said, "Then take me with you? I don't know what to eat anyway."

Aren't you going home to take a shower?

"What's wrong with that? You two aren't girls!" he said confidently, but then hesitated, "Oh well, you're more like it. Meng Xiaoyang is here... let's just forget it."

Fang Yuenian: "What do you mean, 'I'm almost there'?"

Li Peixiang scoffed, "If you're as ethereal as Meng Xiaoyang, then I won't be so presumptuous in front of you."

Fang Yuenian: "Isn't it strange that you describe a boy as ethereal and otherworldly?"

"You can choose someone else, someone gentle and refined, okay? But let me tell you, if you want to get first place in the class, your main competitor is him. He just didn't perform well in the entrance exam for the direct-advancement class, otherwise he might be bunkmates with your school heartthrob Cheng now. Would you even have a chance?"

Fang Yuenian: "..."

"How do you know so much about my bunkmate's situation?" he asked, puzzled. "Weren't you not close to him?"

Li Peixiang zipped up his golf bag tightly and said, "We may not be familiar with each other, we were only in the same class in the third year of junior high, but we were in the same school before. There are so few people in the affiliated high school, who doesn't know who?"

Fang Yuenian thought to herself: You are the king of gossip. Your "unfamiliarity" probably means that you have never been paired with him before.

The two were arguing when Liu Miao and Shen Xiaoxiao brought over some water, shared it with them, and said, "Let's go."

"Let's go, it's so hot," Li Peixiang said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "So, ladies, would you like to team up with us again next time?"

Liu Miao smiled, and Shen Xiaoxiao said, "Building is fine too, but you have to practice, otherwise we definitely won't be able to participate in the competition."

Fang Yuenian was shocked: "You still want to participate in the competition?"

Why should I even bother playing against you guys with my terrible skill level?

Liu Miao hurriedly said, "The competition is still a long way off. The annual intra-school competitions at No. 1 Middle School are in the next semester. Our level is not good enough to participate in formal inter-school competitions. We'll just play casually within our own school."

Fang Yuenian's mind raced.

Oh, so Meng Xiaoyang participated in the inter-school competition, and he was the first singles player?

Wow, a master is right next to me!

Li Peixiang said, "We'll see. Anyway, we can play whenever we have time. It's good exercise. Okay, let's go, I'm starving."

We were delayed quite a bit, and it was almost 1 a.m. when we got back to the dorm.

Fang Yuenian felt extremely embarrassed and rushed into the room, where he saw Meng Xiaoyang sitting quietly at the table, writing something.

"I'm late!" Fang Yuenian said swiftly, quickly taking off her shirt, opening the closet and grabbing two pieces of clothing. "Are you hungry? I need to take a shower; I'm all sweaty."

Meng Xiaoyang glanced at him, then looked away and said, "I'm not in a hurry, take your time."

"Okay, okay, go ahead," he touched his meal card, shirtless, and gestured, "Write a little longer, I'll be done in ten minutes."

Their student dormitory is newly built and just opened this semester. The conditions are good, with private toilets and showers. Previously, the old student dormitory buildings only had public toilets in the corridors, and people had to go to public bathhouses to take showers. Later, a successful alumnus returned and donated money to rebuild it, which is why the new generation can now enjoy the coolness.

Fang Yuenian went into the bathroom, took off his clothes, and had just wet himself with hot water when the card reader started beeping "0.00"—his meal card and water card wallet were empty.

"Damn it!" he cursed silently.

Well, it's hot today, so rinsing with cold water won't be a big problem. He was in a hurry, so he just rinsed himself with cold water, put on his clothes, and came out.

Meng Xiaoyang had already put on his shoes and stopped doing his homework, sitting at the table in a daze.

Fang Yuenian came out, her eyes drenched in sweat. She grabbed a towel to dry her hair and asked, "Were you studying in the dorm all morning?"

“I didn’t study,” Meng Xiaoyang said. “I read books.”

"How is reading not studying?" Fang Yuenian thought. "Then what do you want to eat? Li Peixiang told me you're from the affiliated high school of No. 1 Middle School, so you must know this area better than I do. Do you have any favorite restaurants?"

Meng Xiaoyang turned her gaze to him with a faint look in her eyes. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, "...I just remembered, there's a hot pot restaurant there. Do you want to eat there?"

Fang Yuenian paused: "Maocai... what is that?"

Meng Xiaoyang was a little surprised. "Huh? Oh, it's like mala tang, where you choose your own ingredients to cook. But I don't eat spicy food, so I usually go to that place where you can choose a non-spicy soup."

"Great!" Fang Yuenian's expression had changed drastically when she heard the words "mala tang" (spicy hot pot), but when she heard that she could choose a non-spicy option, she immediately agreed, "Okay, let's go!"

If you like it, I'll invite Cheng Bing next time!