Social Phobia Detector
Even after the three parted ways, Zhou Lexing was still unable to persuade the shy Gu Jiansheng.
"You really want to listen to your mother and become friends with him?"
Seeing Zhou Lexing's disappointed expression, Zhou Lixing couldn't help but speak up.
"Yes. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. With me here, I'm sure he won't have any more suicidal thoughts."
He was quite pleased with himself.
Zhou Lixing laughed: "I think you have your own selfish motives, don't you? What? You're tempted because she's prettier than you?"
Zhou Lexing: "What are you saying? I'm the village's most handsome guy, the coolest guy around here. Brother, what are you saying? You're just jealous of my good looks."
Zhou Lixing: "Tch. When I was the village heartthrob, you were still wearing pants with your crotch showing, stirring up poop and playing in the mud."
The two bickered all the way home.
As soon as they got home, the two of them rushed to the well.
It's so hot outside. Both of them were covered in sweat after just one trip outside.
Hearing the noise, Zhou Yuanxiang went to the front of the house: "Don't pour water directly on your head, it's easy for your brain to catch a cold, and you'll get migraines when you get old!"
"oh!"
Both of them obediently agreed.
Zhou Lexing washed his face and wiped it with water before noticing that Zhou Lixing was washing his hands with soap.
He was about to laugh at his brother for being fussy, but when he saw the dense red bumps on Zhou Lixing's fingers, his expression immediately changed.
"Brother, what's wrong? Does it hurt?"
Zhou Lexing pulled him over to take a closer look.
Several fingers were covered in red blisters, with the thumb and forefinger being particularly red, resembling blisters from being scalded by boiling water, which looked rather eerie.
"It's nothing, I just touched some red vines. It'll be fine after washing with soap."
Zhou Yuanxiang hadn't even entered the house when she saw the commotion and came over. When she saw Zhou Lixing's hand, she was speechless.
"How old are you? Why are you still playing with these things? Hurry up and wash your hands with soap, then rub them with some medicated wine." Zhou Yuanxiang looked at the bewildered Zhou Lexing, and seeing that his hands were fine, she swallowed back what she was about to say, turned around to get the medicated wine, and said, "I'm really fed up with you. This must be so itchy..."
Although Zhou Lexing didn't know what red rattan was, he knew from the words that it could cause allergic reactions, so he quickly helped to lather up the soap and let Zhou Lexing's hands soak in it.
"Brother, do you have any elsewhere?"
Zhou Lexing held up two handfuls of bubbles and looked Zhou Lixing up and down.
Zhou Lixing couldn't help but laugh: "That thing won't burst unless you squeeze it. I'm not stupid, why would I rub it on my body with my hands?"
As the two were talking, another head popped out of the house.
"elder brother!"
Such affectionate address confirms he's definitely their younger brother.
"You guys went out to play without me..." Zhou Shusheng complained hesitantly.
When they left, Zhou Shusheng was still lost in his dreams, and since what they were doing wasn't exactly a good thing, they naturally couldn't drag him along.
Zhou Lexing teased him, "When I went out, I only saw a snoring pig, not you."
Zhou Shusheng scratched his head, puzzled: "Huh? I was lying right next to you, brother."
Zhou Lexing and Zhou Lixing exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter.
Just then, Zhou Yuanxiang came out of the house with some medicinal wine and patted each of them on the back: "Alright, stop bullying your brother! Hurry up and put the medicinal wine on!"
After a day of playing around, the three brothers were getting hungry, so Zhou Yuanxiang cooked a meal early. They ate until their bellies were round, and it was a rare occasion for them to go for a walk with their mother at sunset.
"Yuanxiang, taking a walk?"
The villagers greeted them with smiles, and no matter what frictions or disputes they might have on a daily basis, they were always outwardly friendly and amicable.
Of course, we should still ask the gossip that needs to be asked and point out the flaws that need to be pointed out.
"Oh my, it feels like just yesterday your second son was born, and now he's all grown up. Has he settled on a blind date yet?"
"I heard Lele bumped her head, but I hope there are no lasting effects?"
"Shusheng can't go on like this. This is the third time he's been held back a grade. I heard from Teacher Chen that if this continues, they might not let him continue his studies."
Although Zhou Lexing was a scoundrel, he didn't care about such things and left his elderly mother and second brother behind without any maternal or fraternal love.
In any case, in the original owner's memory, no one in the village dared to really provoke their family, and they could hardly gain any advantage in words.
Sure enough, as Zhou Lexing rode on Zhou Shusheng's back and ran away, he could still hear Zhou Yuanxiang's powerful counterattack from behind.
"Lixing works in the city now, he doesn't have time to go on blind dates. He's only in his early twenties, there's nothing to rush. But Xinghua, your eldest son is almost 30, right? You'd better start to get nervous!"
Everyone in the village knew that Zhou Xinghua's eldest son, Zhou Daqiu, had declared that he was determined to marry a city girl with a job. They even had a big argument with the matchmaker over this. They didn't even consider that a city working woman with those qualities would be interested in his ugly son.
That's just wishful thinking, always dreaming good things.
"Look at Le Xing, he's such a goofball! If he could be a little dumber, I'd have it easier!"
Zhou Lexing was a local bully. The villagers weren't afraid of him, but they certainly didn't expect anything good from him.
Zhou Yuanxiang's words were heartfelt; she only hoped that her third son could study hard, even if he was a little slow-witted.
"Old Zhuang, I don't like what you're saying. Teacher Chen clearly said that Shusheng should go to tutoring classes to catch up with the class, but you're making it sound so bad. Besides, we always pay our textbook fees in advance, which is much better than those who have been dragging their feet for half a year."
The youngest son in Lao Zhuang's family is about to get married, but the cost of his elementary school textbooks is still a sticky mess.
ox!
As expected of his mother, she truly delivered a powerful debate!
Zhou Lexing exclaimed, jumping off Zhou Shusheng's back, who showed no signs of fatigue: "Come on, it's my turn to carry you!"
Zhou Shusheng excitedly jumped onto Zhou Lexing's back, and Zhou Lexing shot off like a rocket, making Zhou Shusheng laugh out loud.
The two originally intended to cool off under the big banyan tree in the middle of the village, but when they rushed forward, they were not paying attention and almost bumped into someone who appeared out of the alley.
"Huh? It's you! How come you..."
Even now, with the sun setting and the light dimming, Zhou Lexing wouldn't mistake that handsome face, which wasn't even on the same level.
He was just about to talk to Gu Jiansheng when he heard several middle-aged women and men talking loudly under the banyan tree not far away.
"What a pervert! I can't believe there are still people like this in this day and age!"
"Yes, completely naked, it was really an eyesore! It scared my daughter half to death!"
"Don't even mention your daughter, this old man finds her an eyesore!"
"It's alright, the town's police have intervened, they'll definitely teach him a lesson."
Yes, that's why Gu Jiansheng is here now.
The person he originally planned to kill today was instead taken to the town's police station by the Zhou brothers.
He watched helplessly as the tricycle carrying the man surnamed Li drove away from him, and the knife-wielding man's plan was completely aborted.
As one of the parties involved in the disruption, Zhou Lexing didn't think too much about it; instead, he secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.
The pervert the older women and men were talking about—he could tell with his bare hands that it was that greasy man.
I never imagined that perverts would be so unrestrained these days. It's one thing to dance naked outside the village, but to dare to dance inside the village is truly incomprehensible.
"Bro, what does 'pervert' mean?"
Zhou Shusheng asked, still confused, and rested his head on Zhou Lexing's shoulder.
Zhou Lexing: "A pervert is someone who takes off their clothes and dances around wildly."
Zhou Shusheng: "Huh? Am I a pervert?"
Gu Jiansheng glanced at him, seemingly casually.
Zhou Lexing was about to explode on the spot. His face turned red as he took off the thick cotton-padded coat that was covering his back and said righteously, "Your brother was taking a shower at home. Who takes a shower at home without taking off their clothes?"
Zhou Shusheng blinked his big eyes: "Brother Ke danced."
Zhou Lexing felt like his head was about to explode, and he didn't dare to turn around to look at Gu Jiansheng's expression: "I was just humming a couple of lyrics, I didn't dance at all! You can't slander your brother's innocence!"
Zhou Shusheng, half-understanding, replied, "Oh."
Zhou Lexing: "..."
This is unbearable.
Gu Jiansheng was in a gloomy mood and had no interest in watching the two of them act silly, so he turned to leave.
Zhou Lexing quickly stopped him.
"Are you going into the mountains again tomorrow? If you're not in a hurry, why don't you wait until the end of the month and go into the mountains with the villagers? When everyone goes together, even wolves won't dare to come near, and we can catch snakes and rabbits for a treat."
Zhou Lexing didn't know if Gu Jiansheng's behavior was due to his personality or if he simply didn't like her.
Although he was a social outcast, he wasn't oblivious to other people's emotional changes. Even though he didn't know how he had offended Gu Jiansheng, he was still worried that something bad might happen to Gu Jiansheng if he went into the mountains on his own.
Zhoujia Village relies on the mountains for its livelihood.
Although young people nowadays all want to work in the city when they have the opportunity, jobs in the city are scarce and are all reserved for those with urban household registration, so small mountain villages like theirs don't get a chance. Therefore, the village still organizes hunting trips into the mountains every month as usual, usually at the end of the month.
If you catch a venomous snake and sell it to the village's big hospital, you can make a fortune.
Gu Jiansheng remained indifferent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, simply staring at him silently.
If anyone else were here, they would probably feel uneasy under Gu Jiansheng's cold gaze.
But in Zhou Lexing's eyes, it was a timid fellow staring at him expectantly.
Look at those pitiful eyes; they understand everything without saying a word!
“Okay! I understand! Don’t worry, I’ll sign up with the village chief later, and we’ll go together. I’ll protect you.” Ou Lexing patted Gu Jiansheng’s shoulder solemnly.
Gu Jiansheng: "...?"
No, did he just say something?
Why did you suddenly agree?
Gu Jiansheng opened his mouth to say something, but Zhou Lexing added a sentence in a serious tone.
"It's okay, everyone has things they're not good at. If you have any other problems, just tell me, and I'll take care of them perfectly!"
As a social tyrant, there's always something called a social phobia detector in the antennas he projects outwards.
Some social harassers prey on people with social anxiety, taking pleasure in mentally manipulating them. But Zhou Lexing doesn't consider himself that kind of person. He has helped hundreds, if not thousands, of people with social anxiety.
Sometimes it's just helping to order food, and sometimes it's going to participate in activities together.
Every little thing we do can save a day from social anxiety.
Zhou Lexing believes he has some understanding of social anxiety.
As soon as he finished speaking, not wanting to cause any mental burden to the socially anxious Gu Jiansheng, he quickly signaled Zhou Shusheng to follow, turned around and was about to leave, concealing his merit and fame.
Gu Jiansheng: "..."
no.
Why would he need help?
wrong.
The problem is that he didn't say a word from beginning to end!
Gu Jiansheng: "Wait..."
He tried to salvage the situation, but then several figures on bicycles suddenly darted out from the other side of the banyan tree. Their hair was all strangely styled, but without exception, it was covered in thick hair gel. They were making strange whooshing noises as they deliberately crashed into them.
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