Chapter 85 (First Update)
Luo Yan entered the classroom as the school bell rang, and after sitting down, she habitually glanced at the corridor.
She couldn't tell whether she was looking forward to seeing Zhou Xiuhe or simply trying to escape; she just followed her instincts and opened the book.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that she had brought the wrong textbook.
Unfortunately, today she was surrounded by classmates she wasn't very familiar with. She was worried that sharing a book with them would be inconvenient for them, so she could only barely finish a short section before changing seats and going to find Ji Ning, whom she was somewhat familiar with, to explain the situation.
Ji Ning moved over a little to make room for her, saying, "I brought the wrong chair last time too."
Luo Yan recalled what she had been doing before leaving home that morning, smiled faintly, and for some reason felt a little like sighing.
Judging from this, she seems a bit out of sorts today. Ji Ning: "Are you on your period?"
Girls sometimes don't need to look for reasons; they have ready-made ones. Luo Yan nodded gently.
Ji Ning suddenly perked up and squeezed next to her: "I'm spreading good luck. My period still hasn't come this month, it's driving me crazy."
Although Luo Yan didn't think this kind of thing was something that could be transmitted between people like a cold or fever, she still reached out her hand for her to touch.
Despite being an adult, Ji Ning found her actions somewhat endearing and said, "Don't think it's impossible. If you've ever stayed in a dormitory, you'd know that one person can bring five others."
Luo Yan only has an older brother and really didn't know that girls living under the same roof could have this effect. She asked with some skepticism, "Really?"
Ji Ning pulled her roommate over to corroborate her statement, and the two of them exchanged glances and words, steer the conversation toward the braised pig's trotters in the cafeteria.
The food in the cafeteria is best on Mondays, but Luo Yan doesn't really want to go today because she always seems to run into Zhou Xiuhe.
She said, "I'm not going. I'm going to find my brother."
Speaking of her brother, Ji Ning said, "Are you here at noon? XX from Class 1 wants to buy a car, and I'm going with her."
She's really popular; there's probably no one in her entire major that she doesn't know.
Unlike Luo Yan, who had no recollection of whether the person's name was male or female, she still greeted them warmly, saying, "I'm here."
Zhou Xiuhe happened to be "passing by" with his classmate at that moment. He saw her smiling face and his expression froze. He wondered why she could act so nonchalantly.
His classmate followed his gaze and teased, "Looking at a pretty girl?"
Zhou Xiuhe stubbornly replied, "It's not very pretty either."
His classmate didn't take it to heart and put his arm around his shoulder: "Yes, yes, just look at yourself in the mirror, you won't see any beauties there."
As Zhou Xiuhe was led away, he thought to himself: I can see her very well.
He hadn't slept all night, repeatedly considering how to make peace, but seeing Luo Yan seemingly unaffected, he couldn't bring himself to say it. He simply couldn't bring himself to be in a subservient position, and his fists clenched unconsciously.
By the time Luo Yan remembered to look down the corridor, he was already gone. She didn't see anyone familiar and thought to herself: There shouldn't be so many coincidences between people.
She felt a little relieved, but then couldn't help feeling melancholy. She rested her chin on her hand and spaced out for a while. When she heard the bell ring, she slowly came back to her senses, and the morning had passed just like that.
After school, Luo Yan went to find her brother.
When Luo Honggang came back from getting his food, he saw her and said, "You're in luck, today's dish is a real treat."
The small restaurant across the street is where students eat the most, so the dishes naturally have to be cheap and affordable; the taste is just average.
Luo Yan thought that even if it was good, it couldn't compare to the braised pig's trotters in the cafeteria, but her nose twitched and she smelled a familiar aroma. She said, "They also sell roast duck around here?"
Dream on, Luo Hong: "They gave it to me as a gift."
Actually, Zhou Weifang had just brought it over, and specifically told him not to reveal who it was.
But Luo Yan had to ask, "Who is it?"
Luo Hong: "Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, guess?"
My brother is always busy making social connections, so it's not unusual for someone to give him half a roast duck in return.
Luo Yan sat down to eat without any qualms, and mentioned Ji Ning to her brother as she did so.
Luo Hong: "Is that the classmate who bought the car at the third-party dealership last time?"
Luo Yan was surprised that her brother still remembered, and hummed in response.
Having a business deal is a good thing, but what's even better is that my sister is at least doing well in class, and someone is willing to give her face.
Luo Hong: "She's not a local, is she? It's almost Dragon Boat Festival, remember to give her some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings)."
Ah, that sounds better than bringing Ji Ning cookies tomorrow, which I had planned.
However, Luo Yan wasn't very familiar with the lunar calendar, so she asked, "Is Sister Yuyao getting married first, or first on Dragon Boat Festival?"
Luo Hong: "Let's get married first."
He added, "I almost forgot, go to the department store and pick out something that girls like, around ten yuan, and give it to her."
"Huh? When did the capital city introduce new rules?" Luo Yan asked. "Isn't it customary not to give gifts when sending off brides?"
Otherwise, Zhou Yuyao probably wouldn't have felt comfortable inviting her along.
It wasn't originally necessary, but Luo Hong had his reasons: "This time when I was getting my license, Brother Wang helped me save a lot of trouble."
Although they are all neighbors, they didn't have a very deep relationship before, and it wasn't entirely because of their childhood friendship.
Luo Yan understood and stuffed a large bag of roast duck skin into her mouth.
Her cheeks puffed out, and her eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled; she looked quite happy.
Luo Hong wasn't surprised that his sister loved roast duck so much, but he couldn't understand why his childhood friend would do a good deed anonymously.
He thought Zhou Weifang was queuing up at Quanjude early in the morning to launch an offensive, but he didn't expect that he would only benefit from it.
After thinking for a while, he felt that he would have a good chance to benefit from this in the future, and unconsciously revealed a "sinister" smile.
Luo Yan kicked her brother under the table: "What mischief are you plotting now?"
Luo Hong wiped the oil off his hands: "It's all bad news, I can tell you."
Luo Yan glared at him and rubbed the oil on her brother's clothes.
But she forgot that these were clothes she wore while working, and they weren't much cleaner than her hands. After wiping them, they seemed to be covered in a layer of dust, so she patted them off in disgust.
"She's the most picky person in the whole world," Luo Hong rolled his eyes, then noticed a few female students at the shop entrance. He whispered, "Look, aren't they your classmates?"
Luo Yan noticed that it was easy to not eat well amidst the hustle and bustle of the street, so she always sat with her back to the door. She turned her head slightly, raised both hands, and greeted, "Ji Ning."
Ji Ning raised an eyebrow at her, but instead of introducing everyone around her, she simply said, "We've come to look at cars."
Luo Hong greeted, "Take your time looking around. I'm Yan Yan's classmate, so I'll definitely get a discount."
His shop wasn't big, and he didn't have many bicycles, but it was enough for a few girls to examine them over and over again.
Although Luo Hong had only been in business for a few days, he had already figured out a pattern: although the girls asked detailed questions, he could close at least two deals out of every five girls who came. Unlike the male students, who practically had "money is no object" written all over their faces, offering expert opinions on every bicycle as if they were some kind of guru, but hardly any of them actually bought anything.
This is also proven by the female students in front of us.
They whispered among themselves for a long time, probably afraid of being overheard, and used a lot of hand gestures. In the end, they sent Jining to ask about the price.
"I'm saving face for my sister," Luo Hong said. "Usually it's 153, but we'll round it down to 150, okay?"
He couldn't make much money from a single vehicle anyway, as the factory's purchase price was fixed.
They had clearly done their research before coming.
After exchanging glances, the girl buying the car reached into her pocket and said, "Okay, thank you!"
Luo Hong: "Since you're buying a car, I should be thanking you."
Then he asked her to choose a bicycle basket, saying, "I'll load it for you."
Bicycle baskets all look pretty much the same, but girls can always find one that they think looks better.
After the girls finished choosing, they stood to the side and waited for a while, and then the group of people happily pushed their bicycles away.
It's strange, even though everyone's age is not much different, Luo Hong always feels a sense of wonder about youth whenever he sees his students like this.
Looking down at my younger sister, I realized she was just a child.
Luo Yan looked at her brother and urged him, "Hurry up and finish eating, or someone else will come."
Eating a meal in several portions is bad for digestion.
Seeing his sister's nagging manner, Luo Hong tapped her on the head: "Nonsense."
Luo Yan stretched out her paw and scratched him, her lively expression turning slightly dazed the next second.
Luo Hong looked over but found nothing, though he seemed to have guessed something. He patted his sister's head to comfort her.
Luo Yan wasn't sure if the person who had just passed by was Zhou Xiuhe. She thought maybe she was seeing things, since her eyesight wasn't particularly good to begin with.
But this time she wasn't mistaken; the person who had just flashed by was indeed Zhou Xiuhe.
After lunch, he repeatedly tried to mentally prepare himself, still wanting to come and see Luo Yan. But when he saw her chatting and laughing with her brother, he just couldn't cross that threshold. After taking a deep breath and exhaling, he left.
One should press on with one's might, but the momentum will wane and eventually be exhausted.
Zhou Xiuhe took a few steps and looked back, suddenly realizing that perhaps his fate with Luo Yan had come to an end.
As if sensing something in the darkness, Luo Yan suddenly sighed.
Why are you sighing? Luo Hong: "Haven't you heard that sighing more than a hundred times will bring bad luck?"
"Nonsense," Luo Yan said. "That's all feudal superstition."
She herself was no less feudal and superstitious than others.
Luo Hong scoffed, then poured the remaining dishes into the rice, mixed them together, and ate them.
After finishing her meal, Luo Yan washed the dishes, saying as she did so, "I'll stay at the library for a while after school tonight and then come back."
Luo Hong: "No rehearsal today?"
Luo Yan: "The teacher is taking leave tomorrow morning, so we have to practice for a long time."
Even she said it would take a long time, probably a whole morning. Luo Hong: "I feel like you're very enthusiastic about the choir competition."
Of course she was enthusiastic. Luo Yan said, "I'm the lead singer." Admittedly, her presence at the front was more about looking good than her actual talent, but when a task is assigned to her, it's a responsibility, and she naturally has to do it well.
Luo Hong was aware of her serious personality, but he didn't expect it to be even more pronounced as she grew up than when she was a child.
He said, "I wish your class will get first place."
The situation is not optimistic. Luo Yan said, "Our class has just reduced the number of tunes to three."
Luo Hong had also heard her mention it, and laughed: "Is being out of tune contagious? How come everyone in your class is so bad at it?"
Luo Yan disagreed, saying, "There's still more than a month left, and we're making progress slowly."
Okay, having collective honors is a good thing; at least it proves that the group didn't exclude her.
Luo Hong: "Alright, you guys train hard."
Luo Yan also clenched her fist and shouted encouragement, showing she had a knack for motivating herself.
But after rehearsals the next day, he was listless and came to the restaurant for dinner with a hoarse voice.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Luo Hong laughed: "Then you can't finish this stir-fried green peppers and pork."
"Who says I can't eat it?" Luo Yan said firmly, "I'm not afraid of spicy food."
She loves spicy food. After two bites, she gasped and drooled, "Delicious!"
It was delicious! Zhou Weifang specially bought it from several alleys away; his hospitality was comparable to that of Lei Feng.
But Luo Yan couldn't tell which restaurant it was from, and made a random comment: "It's better than the one we ate at Erchi Hutong last time."
"Nonsense, they're clearly from the same company." Luo Hong, who held the truth in his own hands, smiled enigmatically: "I think they're pretty much the same."
Luo Yan, speaking with an air of superiority, said: "That's why I say you don't understand fine food; you're just a glutton."
"Who doesn't understand?" Luo Hong sneered. "You understand? You understand best."
He always spoke in a sarcastic tone, but Luo Yan didn't take it to heart. She picked up another dish with her chopsticks and smiled sweetly, "These are all my favorites~ Thank you, brother."
No, no, no, Luo Hong felt unworthy of such an honor: "You're welcome, you're welcome. I'll add more dishes for you tomorrow."
"Great!" The slight sadness Luo Yan felt when she met Zhou Xiuhe just outside the school gate vanished, and she asked expectantly, "What are we eating tomorrow?"
"Well, it's all your favorite food anyway," Luo Hong said.
We can't exactly say he didn't know either.
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Author's note: The second update is in production.
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