Chapter 18: He wants to confess his love during the team-building event at the Institute of Computing Technology.
The sky was bright, and Luo Shu woke up with her muscle memory. She opened her eyes quickly, but what she saw was not her enclosed upper bunk bed, but the wide view of the ceiling. She sighed that it was impossible, closed her eyes and opened them again. It was over, she really was not in the school dormitory.
She jumped up and looked around cautiously. It was a completely unfamiliar environment, and her cell phone and some miscellaneous items were placed on the bedside table.
Luo Shu took a look and saw a handbag and two boxes of medicine, one for allergies and one for scar removal.
I picked up my phone and a message popped up: [Here's a package from Master Tang, and two boxes of medicine. Remember to pick them up.]
The thorns that grew all over his body out of defense slowly retracted, and the cold words felt strangely warm to read.
-
At the Institute of Computing Technology of Shenzhen University of Technology, Fang Qingzhuo was invited by the laboratory director and tutor to return to the school to provide guidance and pass on his competition experience to his younger classmates.
The short-haired guy Zhong Zixu and the girl Tao Jun, who I met at the door of the hot pot restaurant last time, were also there.
Fang Qingzhuo wrote two words "value" on the whiteboard.
"In fact, my experience can be summed up in one sentence: what matters is not how strong your technology is or how perfect your algorithm is, but innovation and practical value."
Everyone below was busy typing on their keyboards and taking notes.
At this moment, a sudden, sarcastic sneer echoed from mid-air: "You're really misleading the students. If the competition doesn't value skill, then what's the point of such a competition?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a group of people led by Duan Ran standing outside the door, and the one who was speaking was his follower.
Fang Qingzhuo slowly turned around and calmly capped his whiteboard marker. "It seems you have a different opinion?"
He dragged an empty swivel chair over to the front row of the lecture area and sat down in front of everyone. He put his right leg on his left knee, and then used his left foot to support himself and spun around to face the door. He said disdainfully, "I'm being polite, but how about you come over and share a few words?"
The man had never expected him to pull off the "If you can do it, then do it" trick, and then he just gritted his teeth and swelled his face to pretend to be strong: "I can't say I have any insights, I just think Duan Ran has more say."
Before Fang Qingzhuo could respond, Tao Jun behind him spoke out, "How ridiculous! Senior Fang is an ACM Gold Medal winner. Forgive my ignorance, but I wonder what competitions Senior Duan has won gold medals in?"
This one sentence left the guy speechless.
"Mr. Tao, how can you say that!" Zhong Zixu, a competent teammate, added fuel to the fire at the right time, "A gold medal for being a good son is also a prize."
So, a group of computer students burst into laughter.
Duan Ran's face turned blue and red, he glared at the nosy man in dissatisfaction and left in a huff.
It was lunchtime, and the discussion was temporarily suspended. Having experienced failure the previous time, Tao Jun boldly invited, "Senior, would you like to go to the cafeteria to eat with us?"
"Yeah, Brother Zhuo, come along and talk to us about the competition." Zhong Zixu agreed.
Fang Qingzhuo glanced at the message that popped up on his phone and said politely, "No, I have another appointment. We'll continue in the afternoon."
Then she left behind a resolute back. Tao Jun's thoughts were wandering. She had an appointment. Could it be with the girl from last time? She knew that girl. She was a little famous in the school. Her name was Luo Shu.
Guan Siqi booked a private room in the school cafeteria to treat the two brothers to a meal, using the excuse that he had too much money and had no place to spend it, but his real intention was to ease the relationship between the two brothers.
In the private room, after the waiter served the last dish, Guan Siqi scratched his forehead and said casually, "Azhuo, let's go back to the dormitory to sleep tonight. I can't even finish my game halfway through. Besides, we shouldn't throw our dirty clothes and smelly socks around. Isn't that right, Yangzi?"
Gu Yang was tearing the chopstick packaging without saying a word.
Guan Siqi tsks, "Are the two brothers still quarreling?"
Hearing this, Gu Yang pinched the end of the chopsticks and handed them to Fang Qingzhuo beside him with a wave of his hand: "I'm sorry, I'm being too sensitive."
There were steps down, so Fang Qingzhuo naturally didn't insist. He took the chopsticks and returned the drink as a courtesy.
"We'll play a game tonight. If you come back late, you guys can start a game and wait for me."
Guan Siqi, who was standing by, breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the scene unfold. They had finally reconciled.
I can't help but think back to the past, specifically the pleasant time before I started the second year of junior high school at the age of 13. Although their ages were not much different, Fang Qingzhuo was the youngest. At that time, Xiao Fang was the most childish of the three. He was a defense-breaking monster. If something didn't go his way, he would often take matters into his own hands and often threatened to break up the friendship. The two of them took turns coaxing and deceiving him like a child. In fact, it was understandable. The only child in the Fang family was doted on.
People in the circle say that the three families are a group that shares interests, and they will fall apart when faced with issues of principle. They allow icing on the cake but refuse to provide timely assistance. This is the truth. They have lived in peace until their generation. They have all become playmates since childhood despite family pressure. Their original intentions may not be very good, but their relationship is indeed very good.
Gu Yang, a few months older, tolerantly assumed the role of big brother, a fact officially endorsed by his sister, Liang Anqi. He and Fang Qingzhuo were both mischievous children—naughty to put it nicely, mischievous to put it bluntly, like-minded. One was the brains, the other the brawn, making them both disliked and feared by everyone. It wasn't until the summer vacation of his second year of junior high that Fang Qingzhuo's personality suddenly changed. It was as if they had transformed into adults overnight.
Everyone has bad qualities, but Fang Qingzhuo's dark side is well controlled by Zhu Jie, his mother. Zhu Jie hopes that he will study hard and become a pillar of society, so he strives to be the best in everything. However, privately, he is still the same Fang Qingzhuo, except that he has changed from being open and aggressive to hiding his dark side.
Zhu Jie wanted him to stay in China to study, but he decisively gave up studying abroad. He and Gu Yang were also specially recruited into Shenzhen University of Technology.
What is puzzling is that this filial piety and obedience seem to have a touch of flattery. As for the reason, no matter how curious he is, he will never cross the line of brotherhood and take the initiative to ask about his family affairs. After all, every family like theirs has some stories.
After having a good meal, Fang Qingzhuo was going back to the Institute of Computing Technology to continue giving guidance to his junior classmates. Passing by the bustling basketball court where players were chasing each other, Luo Shu and Hou Sisi came towards him side by side, about five or six meters away.
Everything was too coincidental. It was her first encounter after she unilaterally broke the window paper when she was unconscious. In addition, Guan and Gu, who had just separated not long ago, took a three-pronged approach and did not give Fang Qingzhuo any chance to buffer. Luo Shu immediately spotted him as if by telepathy. She stopped where she was, her eyes curved and she suddenly became excited. She raised her hand to greet him, when two inquiring eyes from a distance followed her.
No one noticed that there was an orange-red basketball flying towards Luo Shu in the air in the center of the court.
Unexpectedly, the basketball hit her back of the head so accurately, then bounced back, bouncing and bouncing, the speed becoming slower and slower until it came to rest on the ground.
Fang Qingzhuo didn't know about the others, but he clearly heard the dull sound of the heavy blow hitting the skull, which echoed in his ears, deafening.
Luo Shu was hit and screamed "Ah". She dropped her neck out of inertia and felt a strong pain in her scalp. She covered the back of her head, breathed, and waited quietly for the pain to pass.
"Luo Shu, are you okay? Do you want to go to the infirmary?" Hou Sisi exclaimed, covering her lips.
Luo Shu waved her other hand to indicate that everything was fine. Suddenly, when she looked down, she saw a pair of cement-gray low-top men's sneakers.
Fang Qingzhuo had stood in front of her without her knowing when, his fingers secretly curled up.
On the court, the culprits who hit people hesitated, pushing each other to shift the blame. Seeing the man falling from the sky was like a lifeline: "Brother Zhuo, the ball."
Fang Qingzhuo had no obligation to clean up after them. As he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of Luo Shu clutching her clothes tightly. He took two steps and sighed inwardly. He picked up the ball on the ground and threw it into the court. The ball hit one of them squarely in the arm. He then said, "Apologize to him."
The man held up his injured arm in pain, pointed at the thin figure and asked awkwardly, "Brother Zhuo, do you know each other?"
"I don't know him."
Fang Qingzhuo fell silent, then left without looking back.
Silence spread in the air. The oxygen was unusually heavy, and every breath into the lungs was extremely difficult. Luo Shu still kept nodding her head, her chest rising and falling. Rather than the pain, his "I don't know him" was more like a knife stabbing into the back of her neck, making her unable to raise her head.
Under the shade of the tree, Guan Siqi patted Gu Yang's left chest and raised his eyebrows: "I feel relieved now."
Gu Yang stared at the man's receding back with burning eyes, pondering in silence. I hope so.
-
A week later, the first general meeting of the school student union was being held in a classroom in the Computer Science Department teaching building.
It was a long and drawn-out process that lasted for half an hour before they were finally relieved. Suddenly, a large number of men and women filed out of the classroom, dragging their feet, and the entire corridor was filled with a roaring uproar.
Luo Shu was the most eye-catching among the groups of three or five, like the earliest lotus flower to bloom in a lotus pond, standing tall and graceful against the backdrop of green leaves and fresh breeze, so graceful that Fang Qingzhuo, who was walking at the back of the corridor, caught her at a glance.
The student union has a regular meeting today, and he saw the news in the group.
The noise gradually faded away, and through the glass window, a small number of people were still left in the classroom. They formed a circle with Duan Ran as the center, and it was unknown what big thing they were plotting.
About 10 minutes later, Duan Ran, with a beaming face, was escorted away first. Several girls followed behind and went together. Tang Tang was in a hurry to go to the bathroom, so she had to go in the opposite direction. However, she ran into an uninvited guest at the corner. Fang Qingzhuo was leaning against the wall with her arms around her chest, as if she was waiting for someone.
Tang Tang stopped abruptly. She and Fang Qingzhuo were not very familiar with each other, but because of his status as a direct senior and the fact that they had met a few times in the student union, she still greeted him respectfully.
"Hello, senior."
Fang Qingzhuo glanced at her briefly and nodded.
Seeing this, Tang Tang continued to head to the bathroom. Before she had taken two steps, Fang Qingzhuo called her, "Wait a moment."
Tang Tang responded and turned around to ask if there was anything she wanted to tell him, but Fang Qingzhuo spoke first, stopping her from saying anything else.
"What was said in the meeting?"
You must have heard it right. Fang Qingzhuo actually took the initiative to ask about the situation in the meeting. How could someone who usually never showed up care about the content of the meeting? Although she was suspicious, she answered truthfully.
"It's the freshman orientation team building. It's almost Frost's Descent, so we're discussing where to go camping."
Without even thinking, Fang Qingzhuo questioned directly: "It's just a team building, and you're holding two rounds?"
It's said that top students have quick minds and are meticulous. Tang Tang hesitated and evaded the question, "Of course, there's also Chairman Duan Ran's personal matters."
Sure enough, there was something fishy going on. Fang Qingzhuo pretended to be nonchalant: "Oh, what's your personal matter?"
"He's going to confess at the team building."
His face darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye, and Fang Qingzhuo felt his heart sink as well. He couldn't tell exactly what he was unhappy about, but he was in a bad mood anyway.
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