Chapter 111 - Playing the Victim
After another lesson of knowledge was crammed in, Luo Yan ended get out of class on time.
The teacher seemed to be in a hurry, not even giving time for the after-class Q&A session, and left in a rush. The students couldn't help but whisper among themselves, saying all sorts of things.
Luo Yan overheard this, then slung her bag over her shoulder and went to the stairwell to wait for Chen Jinhong. After waiting for a while and still not seeing her, she wasn't sure where they had agreed to meet, so she decided to go upstairs to check.
Chen Jinhong had just come out of the classroom and was talking to her classmates when she didn't notice Luo Yan immediately.
Luo Yan wanted to call her name, but when she looked up, she met Zhou Xiuhe's eyes and hesitated for two seconds without opening her mouth.
Zhou Xiuhe also saw her, subconsciously turned his head away, and deliberately said loudly, "Finally, school's over."
Luo Yan instinctively felt that the message was meant for her, but she didn't understand why, so she simply stopped trying to figure it out and went ahead to stop Chen Jinhong, who was gradually approaching.
Chen Jinhong wasn't startled at all, and naturally took her hand: "Have you been waiting long?"
Luo Yan shook her head slightly, walked alongside her, and said, "Teacher Chen really does run overtime no matter which class she teaches."
Chen Jinghong was also taken aback for a moment and asked, "How did you know we were using an online generation service?"
After asking herself the question, she awkwardly changed the subject: "What kind of dumplings do you like?"
Luo Yan didn't actually mind mentioning Zhou Xiuhe, but she only answered the latter one, saying, "I wonder if they have zucchini today."
The dumpling shop at the entrance of Jiaotong University is run by an elderly couple. Due to their age and declining energy, they can't even choose the fillings, and whether they can get a serving depends on how fast they can walk.
Chen Jinhong said apologetically, "It's my fault, I was too late."
Luo Yan said it was fine, and added, "I'm not a picky eater, I enjoy everything."
Chen Jinhong chimed in, "Me too."
The two girls chatted and laughed as they walked out. Before they even reached the dumpling shop, they saw a long queue. They exchanged glances and said, "It's so nice to have so many people."
Because there were so many people, they continued to wait, their foreheads sweating from the sun, before they finally got to eat.
The shop is small, with only three or five tables, so crowded that there's no room to walk through, and steam from boiling dumplings keeps rising everywhere.
Luo Yan's face turned bright red from the heat, and she frantically fanned herself with both hands.
Chen Jinhong was also suffering.
She was wearing polyester today, a material that clings to the body when you sweat, and said, "I feel like a mummy."
Luo Yan then suggested, "How about we eat at my brother's shop?"
Chen Jinghong wasn't shy and had met Luo Hong before, so she nodded twice: "It's definitely cooler than here."
Luo Yan guessed that her brother probably hadn't eaten yet, so she brought him a meal and rushed across the street with a large bowl she had borrowed from the shop owner.
Luo Hong was working when he saw his younger sister rushing in and asked, "You..."
She had barely opened her mouth when she saw Chen Jinghong following behind her and greeted her, "You're here."
Chen Jinghong greeted him, then put down the bowl she was holding, turned on the tap to rinse her hands as if they were old friends, and said, "It's so hot."
Luo Yan also reached out her hand, blowing air out of it, without saying a word, and the two girls burst into laughter.
What's so funny? Luo Hong didn't understand the affairs of young girls, but he felt that since his sister had classmates visiting, he should treat them well. He put down the wrench in his hand and walked out.
Luo Yan caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye and asked, "Brother, where are you going?"
Luo Hong: "Buy soda."
Chen Jinhong quickly said, "No, no, I won't drink."
Luo Hong brushed the dust off his pants and said, "Don't be shy, please sit down."
He not only bought soda, but also brought back a side of cold dishes.
Chen Jinhong politely said thank you, picked up her chopsticks but saw that he didn't intend to sit down, so her hand stopped in mid-air.
Luo Hong: "You guys eat, don't wait for me, I still have some work to do."
Since he opened this shop, he has never missed a meal, whether it's lunch or dinner.
Luo Yan was already used to it, and took the lead in picking up her chopsticks, saying, "Eat up, eat up, ignore him."
Since even her own sister said so, Chen Jinhong stopped being polite and started chatting about random things.
He talked about how his physics teacher's girlfriend worked at the finance bureau, and how two pairs of socks had gone missing from the girls' dormitory, and he did it all with great enthusiasm.
Luo Hong listened for a bit, then washed his hands after finishing his work, picked up the portion his sister had saved for him, and moved to the doorway to sit and eat.
Actually, Chen Jinhong didn't talk about anything private, and she didn't mind if others could hear, but this made her feel much more at ease, and she smiled knowingly at him.
To be honest, all the friends my sister makes are very socially adept and their conduct is impeccable.
Luo Hong wondered if she just liked people like that. Zhou Weifang inexplicably popped into her mind, so she quickly shook her head to get rid of the distracting thoughts.
Luo Yan thought her brother was trying to repel mosquitoes, so she took a mosquito coil from the shelf, lit it, and talked to him as she did so.
Two girls sat there for the whole afternoon, and then went to class hand in hand. From behind, they looked like good friends.
While feeling a bit emotional, Luo Hong muttered to himself, "How come I only make one friend when I change schools, but I do make two more?"
He found it really strange, and asked his sister about it when she came over that evening.
Luo Yan held up two fingers, then bent her middle finger downwards, and said, "I have one and a half in college."
She thought Ji Ning was a nice person, but they didn't get to know each other very well.
Luo Hong was really worried about her, and said helplessly, "Now I can make more than two friends just by walking around on the street."
Luo Yan said matter-of-factly, "That's just how I am, what can you do about it?"
People's personalities, even those born of the same mother, are vastly different.
"Whatever you want to do," Luo Hong tapped his sister's hand, which was slapping on the table. "Whatever makes you happy."
Luo Yan bared her teeth at her brother, but her brows slowly furrowed as she asked, "Why hasn't he arrived yet?"
She had been out of school for ten minutes, but Zhou Weifang was still nowhere to be seen.
Luo Hong was also muttering to himself, craning his neck to look outside: "I hope nothing bad happens on the way."
Luo Yan's heart skipped a beat at these words, and she pursed her lips uneasily.
Fortunately, Zhou Weifang appeared the next second and said, "It's like the hunter who was caught in the crossfire; my cart wheel broke halfway through the journey."
He couldn't just abandon his bicycle halfway, so he had to push it all the way.
It turned out the car had broken down. Luo Hong said, "If you hadn't come, I would have gone looking for you."
Zhou Weifang handed him dinner first, then turned to look at Luo Yan and said, "I'm very punctual and never late. Today was an exception."
"It's never too late to love," Luo Yan thought to herself, though she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But she kept a straight face and nitpicked, "You said you're a goose hunter."
Zhou Weifang: "I'm not saying this, but it's just a common saying."
Luo Yan retorted, "Where is the proverb? Who is the proverb? I only heard you say it."
This was unusual for Zhou Weifang, who was speechless and didn't know how to defend himself. He glanced at his childhood friend who was about to start eating and said, "Wait a minute, Yan Yan put too much chili in hers."
Luo Hong originally thought they were all the same and there was no difference. He had already put the food in his mouth and said, "I was practically drooling over it before you said it. She appreciates it."
She could only accept it in her heart, and Luo Yan said disdainfully, "Don't give me any more."
Now that people are more particular, Luo Hong said, "When I was a kid, you would eat half of my popsicle."
Luo Yan firmly denied the matter, took a vicious bite of the donkey meat sandwich with only a little chili, and suddenly looked Zhou Weifang up and down.
Zhou Weifang's heart tightened, and he asked, "What's wrong?"
Luo Yan felt that there was something strange about the way he was standing, and that his eating manners seemed unusually delicate. After looking him over from left to right, she couldn't help but say, "Something's not right with you."
Zhou Weifang subconsciously took a step back: "No."
This is like trying to hide something obvious. Luo Yan just glared at him with her big eyes, forcing him to slowly move forward.
Even Luo Hong noticed something was wrong and looked on with amusement: "We've gotten ourselves into trouble, we've definitely gotten ourselves into trouble."
Zhou Weifang gritted his teeth: "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
"How dare you criticize others?" Luo Yan retorted, "Explain your own problems."
Zhou Weifang honestly held out his bent elbow to show her: "It was just a slight brush."
When the car broke down, he braked too suddenly, causing the whole car to veer to the left, and he lost his balance and fell.
According to Luo Hong, it's not a big deal at all; it will heal on its own once the scab forms.
But Luo Yan disagreed, putting down her dinner and saying, "You need to disinfect this."
She was actually quite afraid of blood; when she was little, she would cry buckets if a layer of her skin peeled off. Zhou Weifang put his hands behind his back and said, "Disinfect, definitely disinfect. I'll go to the clinic in a bit."
Luo Yancai didn't believe it: "I know what kind of person you are. At most, you just spit on me."
No, Zhou Weifang had to clarify: "That was when I was a child."
No matter what kind of injury it is, everyone puts it in their mouth and licks it; he's not the only one who does it.
No matter when, Luo Yancai would say, "Rinse yourself, and I'll put some red medicine on you."
Zhou Weifang dared not disobey, and he lowered his eyes and became extremely obedient.
Luo Hong said sarcastically, "You've really become precious now, huh?"
Before Zhou Weifang could say anything, Luo Yan had already scolded her brother: "What kind of hero are you if you don't take medicine? You regret it even if something happens once. You two are the same."
Well, I should have known better than to pull the tiger's hair out of its head.
Luo Hong dared not go against his sister, thinking to himself that he had tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead.
Zhou Weifang found the "excitement" amusing, but he didn't dare to smile, fearing he might also get a beating.
Luo Yan doesn't like either of them very much now, but she still tries to be gentle when applying the medicine, saying with a habit she doesn't know where she got it from, "Bear with it if it hurts."
It's like coaxing a child.
Zhou Weifang's heart melted like a lump of mud mixed with water, ready to be kneaded and molded at will. His voice inexplicably tightened: "It's okay, I'm not afraid of pain."
Luo Hong had never heard his childhood friend speak like this in twenty years. Touching his arm, he said, "I get goosebumps all over."
Zhou Weifang couldn't help but glance at him sideways, thinking that he should let his childhood friend find a home as soon as possible, otherwise it wouldn't be good to just leave him hanging there.
Luo Hong had no idea that he wanted to "marry" her off, and was still making sarcastic remarks.
Zhou Weifang held back for a long time, but after applying the medicine, he finally couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to "beat" the person.
As soon as he raised his hand, Luo Yan shouted, "Don't move, eat properly."
Luo Hong then stood behind his sister, posing as if he had connections.
Zhou Weifang offered a pitiful three points: "He kept talking about me."
This aggrieved tone reminded Luo Yan of the group of children in the yard, who spoke gently: "He's wrong, I'm criticizing him."
Then I realized I was being too gentle, and then I turned stern again.
She was so focused on changing her own emotions that she didn't notice Zhou Weifang raising an eyebrow at her brother. The two of them, taking advantage of their height, were exchanging insults silently with her head as the axis.
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Author's note: Good night!
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