Chapter 67: Hormones Bursting
Luo Huihui glanced at the small courtyard next door. Apart from the fact that there were more miscellaneous items piled up in the yard, it was not much different from other small courtyards.
Yan Ruyi pointed to a corner in the courtyard, "Look there."
Luo Huihui looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a pile of broken porcelain shards.
There were so many things piled up in the yard that she didn't even notice them at first glance.
Even though she saw them, she couldn't figure them out. She asked Yan Ruyi, "What's wrong with these porcelain shards? You're not going to tell me that all of these are from that Song Dynasty celadon, are you?"
"No, but this pile of porcelain shards is indeed quite interesting."
It contains items from the Tang Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and the Republic of China period.
The largest is as big as an adult's palm, while the smallest is about the size of a fingernail.
In an ordinary household, who would have so many porcelain shards piled up in their home?
The courtyard gate was ajar, and Yan Ruyi didn't know if anyone was inside, so she stood at the gate and looked inside.
The courtyard is a typical small siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), but the house is quite dilapidated, and the courtyard is messy, with piles of random things scattered everywhere.
Looking at it this way, I can see something interesting.
When she worked at the Cultural Relics Bureau, she would sometimes go to the restoration center to watch Zhou Changlin and his colleagues restore cultural relics and antiques.
She had some knowledge of the materials used in the restoration.
The small courtyard is piled with materials used for antique restoration, mostly for repairing porcelain.
As she was looking, the door to the main room creaked open, and a man in his fifties walked out. He was dressed fairly neatly, but his hair was a bit unusual, just like in the portrait of Mr. Lu Xun, with each strand standing upright.
The man saw Yan Ruyi and Luo Huihui, frowned, and asked them, "What are you two doing standing at my door?"
Yan Ruyi pointed to the pile of broken porcelain shards in the corner, "Comrade, how come you have so many broken porcelain shards in your house?"
Man: "Why are you asking this?"
“I work in the field of cultural relics, so I was a little curious and that’s why I’m asking.”
The man looked Yan Ruyi up and down, seemingly not quite believing her, and replied perfunctorily, "It's useless, just piled up there for fun."
After saying that, he picked out a piece from the pile of broken porcelain shards, took it, and went back into the house.
With a creak, the door closed again.
Yan Ruyi said to Luo Huihui, "Let's go."
Luo Huihui: "What does this person do? He seems a bit strange."
"Did you see the file in his hand?"
Luo Huihui said blankly, "I didn't notice, he had a file in his hand?"
“He took a small file, the kind with a curved shape, a special file for porcelain repair. He just picked up a piece of broken porcelain and took it back into the house. I suspect he is repairing porcelain.”
"Then why don't you go in and ask him?"
“We don’t know who he is or what he does. We also don’t know if there’s anyone else in the house. It’s not safe for us to go in rashly.”
Luo Huihui is oblivious and didn't even think about safety issues.
After Yan Ruyi said that, she also felt that the two women, even if they were allowed to go in, should not just rashly follow them into the house.
What if there are bad guys in the house? With their small bodies, they wouldn't even be able to take down one of their arms.
Yan Ruyi said, "Xia Pengfei and I will come over tomorrow and ask around at the subdistrict office first."
The two went to a noodle shop, ate noodles, played outside for a while, and then went home.
To comfort Commander Song, who was alone in his room all day, Yan Ruyi went to Taifeng Roast Chicken Restaurant.
Taifeng Roast Chicken Shop is the most famous roast chicken shop in Beijing, and it is said to have a history of over a hundred years.
They cook and sell everything fresh. Because braised pork offal is very time-consuming, they only cook two batches a day, once at 10 a.m. and once at 4 p.m., until they sell out.
When Yan Ruyi arrived, there was already a long queue at the roast chicken window, and she waited for more than half an hour before she could buy some.
When I got home, I saw two workers pulling telephone lines.
It's very inconvenient not having a phone at home, especially for Song Yiping. Sometimes there are emergencies at the military base that require him to be contacted promptly, but since there's no phone at home, Cheng Chao has to come over to inform him.
Song Yiping submitted his application to the post office to install a telephone a long time ago, but he has only just been scheduled to get a number.
No one has a telephone installed on this side of Wutong Road; the telephone lines are run from the telephone booths.
After the telephone was installed, a worker said to Song Yiping, "Commander Song, why don't you make a call and see if you can make a normal call?"
Song Yiping then called Fang Yuru, but Aunt Liu answered the phone.
"Yiping, you're looking for your mother, right? Dr. Fang isn't home. She's on duty today and went to the hospital. Why don't you call her office?"
"I'm not looking for my mom. We installed a phone, I'll try to call her. That's all, Aunt Liu, you go ahead with your work."
Song Yiping hung up the phone and said to the workers, "We can talk now."
The two workers checked the wiring one last time to make sure there were no problems before leaving.
Yan Ruyi pulled Song Yiping to the kitchen, "I bought Taifeng roast chicken, it's still hot."
Song Yiping washed his hands and first tore off a chicken leg and gave it to Yan Ruyi.
"Today's shopping trip was definitely worthwhile; I got a lot of good stuff."
While she was munching on a fragrant chicken leg, she told Song Yiping about what had happened in the courtyard.
“Gallic is short-staffed. If that person really has this skill, I would like to invite him to work at Gallic.”
Song Yiping said seriously, "You're right. When the situation is unclear, we can't act rashly. No matter what we do, the first priority is our own safety. If you really want to know what men do, I'll take a day off tomorrow and go with you."
"You don't need to ask for leave. Tomorrow, Xia Pengfei and I will go to the subdistrict office first to find out the situation, and then we'll go there together with the staff from the subdistrict office."
After eating the chicken leg, Yan Ruyi showed Song Yiping her newly bought swimsuit.
“Huihui bought one too. I made a bet with her to see who would learn to swim first.”
"Let's go to the swimming pool next Sunday, and I promise you'll learn how to swim first."
"That's hard to say. Although Huihui doesn't like sports either, she's more athletic than me. Comrade Song Yiping, teaching me to swim is a rather challenging task."
"In that case, I'll have to charge you tuition."
Yan Ruyi pointed to the roast chicken, "Haven't we already paid for it?"
One roast chicken isn't enough.
He whispered something in Yan Ruyi's ear, and Yan Ruyi blushed slightly, glaring at him, "Commander Song, do your soldiers know how good you are at being a hooligan?"
The soldier, of course, didn't know that he only acted like a hooligan in front of his wife.
The next day at work, Yan Ruyi called Xia Pengfei over and told him what had happened the day before.
The two first went to the Erdao District Subdistrict Office.
When the two arrived, the neighborhood committee staff were cleaning up. A middle-aged woman asked them, "Comrades, what can I do for you?"
Yan Ruyi: "Hello, we are from Jialide Auction Co., Ltd."
Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei handed over their work IDs.
After the female comrade examined her, she recognized Yan Ruyi and said to her, "I've seen you in the newspaper. Please come inside and sit down."
The woman's name is Su Qunying, and she is the deputy director of the Erdao District Subdistrict Office.
Su Qunying ushered Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei into her office and poured them water. "You two, is there something you need?"
"I want to ask you about someone."
Yan Ruyi then told Su Qunying what had happened yesterday.
After listening to Yan Ruyi's description, Su Qunying said to her, "I know who you are talking about. His name is Gao Zhicheng. He is 55 years old this year. He lives alone. He worked at Fuhe before liberation, but I don't know exactly what kind of work he did. After Fuhe closed down, he stayed at home and did odd jobs, such as mending pots and bowls. You need to see him, right? If so, I will take you two over. He is basically at home every day."
Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei exchanged a glance.
When the two arrived, Yan Ruyi told Xia Pengfei that the person might have worked in antique restoration.
Yan Ruyi was right.
Yan Ruyi said, "Then I'll have to trouble Director Su."
"It's no trouble at all, just a few steps away."
Su Qunying then led the two to Gao Zhicheng's house.
When they arrived at Gao Zhicheng's house, Su Qunying stood in the yard and called out, "Gao Zhicheng, are you home?"
The door to the main room opened, and Gao Zhicheng came out. He looked a little drowsy, probably having just woken up. "What is it?"
After saying that, she saw Yan Ruyi next to Su Qunying and frowned, "Why are you here again?"
Su Qunying: "These two are Comrade Yan and Comrade Xia from Jialide. You know Jialide, right? It's the newly opened auction company. They have something to discuss with you."
Gao Zhicheng was a key person in the neighborhood committee's poverty alleviation efforts. Su Qunying had visited his home many times and knew it very well. Without Gao Zhicheng having to greet her, she went inside and brought out a few stools. She said to Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei, "It's bright and airy outside, let's talk in the yard."
Actually, Gao Zhicheng's room was so messy that there was hardly any room to step inside. This was a matter of face for the Erdao Subdistrict Office, so Su Qunying was embarrassed to let Yan Ruyi and the other person into the room.
Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei were seated.
Yan Ruyi said to her, "Director Su, you have a lot of work to do, so I won't take up any more of your time. You should continue with your work."
"Okay, if you need anything, just go to the neighborhood office and call me."
After Su Qunying left, Yan Ruyi went to the pile of broken porcelain shards in the corner, picked up a few pieces and looked at them, then asked Gao Zhicheng, "Master Gao, you have both Tang and Ming porcelain here. Where did you get all of these?"
Gao Zhicheng knew that an auction company had opened in Beijing.
He also knew Yan Ruyi's identity.
After all, it was written in the newspaper, and there was even a picture of Yan Ruyi in it.
I just didn't expect Yan Ruyi to be so young.
At first, he thought Yan Ruyi was just a pretty face who became the head of Jialide through connections.
Seeing that Yan Ruyi recognized the origin of these porcelain shards at a glance, he immediately looked at Yan Ruyi with new respect and asked, "How did you recognize them?"
“The porcelain-making techniques are different in each dynasty. If you look closely, you can still tell the difference. Master Gao, if I’m not mistaken, you used to work in porcelain restoration at Fuhe, right?”
Gao Zhicheng didn't reply to Yan Ruyi, but stood up and went back inside.
Xia Pengfei's thoughts began to wander. "Could it be that he was discovered, became enraged, and went into the house to get a weapon?"
Yan Ruyi said speechlessly, "Why don't you go write novels?"
Xia Pengfei scratched his head and whispered, "It's because his behavior is too strange."
Gao Zhicheng came out again soon, this time with a double-eared porcelain bottle in his hand.
He handed the porcelain bottle to Yan Ruyi, saying, "Take a look at this."
Judging from its age, this double-eared vase dates back to the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty. It's not a rare item; it's just an ordinary double-eared porcelain vase.
Strangely, the bottle shows the year as 998, but the bottle neck and bottom show the year as 456.
Yan Ruyi looked at it more closely and discovered that the mouth and bottom of the double-eared vase had been repaired.
However, the restoration is so seamless that it's impossible to tell unless you look closely.
"Master Gao, this double-eared vase has been restored, hasn't it? But why was it repaired using porcelain from the Ming Dynasty? Did they not find any porcelain shards from the same period during the restoration?"
Now it was Gao Zhicheng's turn to be surprised. To be able to tell that the double-eared vase had been restored was already quite remarkable.
If you can tell it was repaired using Ming dynasty porcelain, then it's the work of a master among masters.
He dared not underestimate Yan Ruyi any longer. He pointed to the pile of broken porcelain shards in the corner and said, "I don't have any Song Dynasty porcelain here, only Ming Dynasty pieces, as well as Qing Dynasty and Republic of China pieces."
"Where did you get these porcelain shards?"
"These were all collected by Fuhe back then for porcelain restoration. They weren't famous pieces and weren't worth much. When Fuhe closed down, the higher-ups wanted to get rid of them all, but I felt it was a waste, so I took them all."
Yan Ruyi said, "Master Gao, it's such a waste for you to be unemployed with such excellent skills. Jialide is short-staffed right now, and I'd like to invite you to Jialide to take charge of antique restoration. If you're willing, you can go to Jialide now to complete the onboarding procedures and start working as soon as you're done."
Upon learning Yan Ruyi's identity, Gao Zhicheng guessed her purpose in coming.
He had gotten used to being free on his own over the years and originally didn't plan to find a job in the conventional way anymore.
However, Yan Ruyi showed sufficient sincerity, and although she was young, she was quite accomplished.
Gao Zhicheng hesitated for a moment, "Let me think about it some more."
"Okay, I'll leave you my phone number. Call me back when you've made up your mind."
Yan Ruyi took out paper and pen from her bag, wrote down her office phone number, and gave it to Gao Zhicheng.
"Master Gao, we won't bother you any longer. Jialide looks forward to your joining us."
Yan Ruyi and Xia Pengfei left Gao Zhicheng's house.
Xia Pengfei was still a little confused. "He doesn't seem to be doing very well. If it were someone else, they would be overjoyed to hear that they could work at Jialide. He actually wants to think about it some more."
“Capable people are often a bit eccentric, and he’s gotten used to being free over the years, so he probably doesn’t want to be tied down anymore. But if we sincerely invite him, he should agree.”
The two went to the Erdao Subdistrict Office again, and Yan Ruyi did not hide it from Su Qunying. She told Su Qunying about wanting to invite Gao Zhicheng to work at Jialide.
Gao Zhicheng has always been a recipient of assistance from the subdistrict office.
Although he lived a secluded life, spending his days at home tinkering with his pile of junk, he never caused any trouble.
However, the neighborhood committee has to submit a list of impoverished families to higher authorities every year, and Gao Zhicheng is on the list every year. When the leaders see this, it doesn't look good.
If he can go to work at Jialide and earn an income, it will mean one less impoverished family for the Erdao Subdistrict Office.
Su Qunying said to Yan Ruyi, "Comrade Yan, leave this matter to our street office. If he doesn't go, we'll send someone to talk to him and make sure he goes to work."
"Let's respect his personal wishes. If he really doesn't want to go, then so be it. You can't force a good thing."
“Okay, then we’ll try our best to persuade him. He’s not that old, and it’s not good for him to stay idle at home all the time.”
Xia Pengfei was always worried that Gao Zhicheng wouldn't go to Jialide.
Yan Ruyi, however, was very confident.
She could tell that Gao Zhicheng was obsessed with porcelain restoration.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be at home alone mending porcelain.
Sure enough, the next day, Gao Zhicheng called Yan Ruyi and agreed to work at Jialide.
When processing Gao Zhicheng's onboarding, Yu Jinxiu said to Yan Ruyi, "Isn't he a bit too old?"
Gao Zhicheng is 55 years old. Under normal circumstances, men retire at 60.
In other words, Gao Zhicheng should retire after another 5 years.
Yan Ruyi actually doesn't like to talk about her age.
Being young has its advantages, and being old has its advantages too.
Antique restoration relies heavily on experience. Hiring a young person and training them for 8 to 10 years won't get them up to speed.
As for Jinxiu, he said, "You just need to handle the formalities for him. If he reaches retirement age, we will rehire him."
Yu Jinxiu: "Okay, I'll process his onboarding in a bit. There's one more thing. A woman named Zhou Huili came to apply for a sales position. She's 25 years old, a high school graduate, and has a good personal image. I had a brief chat with her and thought she was pretty good. It's just that she doesn't have a letter of introduction. Why don't you talk to her in person?"
Post-auction maintenance includes contract signing, communication with clients, and maintaining client relationships.
These are all the work of salespeople.
The job posting was released a long time ago, but we haven't been able to find a suitable candidate yet.
Yan Ruyi said, "Okay, tell her to come over this afternoon."
"This is Zhou Huili's personal information. Please take a look at it first."
"Okay, give it to me."
As soon as she arrived at work in the afternoon, Yu Jinxiu brought Zhou Huili over and knocked on Yan Ruyi's office door. "Manager Yan, Zhou Huili is here."
Yan Ruyi said, "Please come in."
Zhou Huili bowed as she entered, saying, "Manager Yan, hello."
Zhou Huili is similar to Wu Meili; both are tall, with full figures, and have a very healthy and radiant appearance.
She was dressed fashionably, with big wavy hair and a bright red dress.
You can tell from his clothes and appearance that he is an outgoing person.
Yu Jinxiu left after bringing the person there.
Yan Ruyi pointed to the chair in front of the desk, "Comrade Zhou Huili, please sit down."
Zhou Huili sat down on the chair with a natural and generous air.
Yan Ruyi flipped through Zhou Huili's personal information. "It says here that you used to work in a textile factory. Why did you quit? As far as I know, textile factories have very good salaries and benefits."
Zhou Huili frankly stated, "Because I beat up our workshop material handler."
Yan Ruyi, "..."
Zhou Huili didn't hide anything, "I'm a widow. My husband passed away the year before last. I have no children and I haven't remarried. Of course, I'm not going to stay a widow for my husband. I just haven't met the right person. Our workshop material handler is the workshop director's brother-in-law. He has a bad reputation and likes to grope female workers."
After my wife passed away, he kept harassing me. When I went to the warehouse to collect supplies, he cornered me and started assaulting me. I beat him up, damaging his genitals. As for whether they can be cured, I don't know.
Yan Ruyi couldn't help but interject, "Well done."
Zhou Huili laughed, "Manager Yan, you're the first person to say I played well. Even my mother said I shouldn't have acted impulsively and told me to hold back."
“You can’t tolerate it. If you do, he’ll take advantage of you. It’s not your fault, so why are you the one who quit the textile factory?”
Zhou Huili frankly stated, "His family was afraid I would make a big fuss, so they didn't dare to sue me, but they demanded that I leave the textile factory. My sister-in-law also works at the textile factory. My mother kept begging me, but I couldn't fight against them, so I left the textile factory. Anyway, his thing is already broken, so even if I lose my job, I won't suffer any loss. That's why I saw that you are recruiting salespersons here, so I thought I'd come and give it a try. That's my personal situation."
Through her conversation with Zhou Huili, Yan Ruyi realized that Zhou Huili was actually a very easy person to communicate with.
Their language expression skills are also quite good.
They'd be quite suitable to be a salesperson.
He said to Zhou Huili, "I personally admire you very much, but since you don't have a letter of introduction from the subdistrict office, we still need to conduct some visits to investigate your situation. I'm letting you know in advance. If you can accept this, go home and wait for news. If you can't accept it, we respect your personal wishes and won't force you. I hope you can understand."
The municipal textile factory is a large state-owned enterprise with excellent wages and benefits. No one would leave voluntarily unless there was a specific reason for it.
If it's really as Zhou Huili herself said, that she injured the material handler because he harassed her, and that's why she had no choice but to leave the textile factory.
Yan Ruyi could accept this reason.
They even thought that injuring the material handler was too lenient a punishment.
It's best to destroy it.
However, if Zhou Huili is lying and left because of some disgraceful personal matters, then that would be a different story.
Jialide wouldn't want someone like that.
Telling her in advance is a way of showing her respect.
Zhou Huili stated frankly, "I can accept it and understand it."
Yan Ruyi told her to go home and wait for news.
Then Yu Jinxiu was called over again, and she was asked to send someone to the street office where Zhou Jiali was located to find out if what Zhou Jiali said was true.
Yu Jinxiu quickly told Yan Ruyi the results of her visit.
"I asked Xiao Zhu to go to the neighborhood office to ask. What Zhou Huili said is basically true. She did injure the workshop director's brother-in-law there. I don't know the exact extent of the injury, but he is still seeing a doctor."
Zhou Huili went to the subdistrict office, but they refused to issue her a letter of introduction. Xiao Zhu also said that the subdistrict office staff advised us not to hire Zhou Huili, saying she had a bad temper and was a jinx to her husband. "And she's a subdistrict office cadre! How could she say such things? I don't know how she became a subdistrict office cadre."
According to what Xiao Zhu learned, Zhou Huili's husband passed away from an illness caused by congenital heart disease, which was incurable. He and his family had kept this a secret from Zhou Huili.
Zhou Huili was clearly the victim, but in those people's mouths, she was accused of being a jinx to her husband.
Yan Ruyi smiled and said, "Some cadres in the subdistrict office were promoted during the political movement, and their personal abilities are indeed not very high. In that case, you should contact Zhou Huili and, if there are no other problems, process her employment."
Zhou Huili is so beautiful. After she joined Jialide, Yan Ruyi felt that the overall appearance level of Jialide had been raised.
Zhou Huili is grateful and hardworking. She has a cheerful personality and is also smart, so she can grasp many tasks very quickly.
The person currently in charge of the business department is named Zhong Hua, and he was hired from Gangcheng.
The contract was for one year, after which he returned to the port city.
Therefore, Yan Ruyi intended to groom Zhou Huili so that when Zhong Hua returned to Hong Kong, Zhou Huili could take over the business department.
Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping have agreed to go to the swimming pool to learn to swim this week.
She thought the swimsuit was dirty, so Song Yiping washed it for her after buying it, and she never tried it on.
I took it out of the closet, ready to try it on.
Song Yiping watched her from the side.
Although the two were already an "old married couple," Yan Ruyi was still embarrassed to change clothes in front of Song Yiping, so she told him, "Turn around and don't peek."
"I'll turn around and promise not to peek."
Song Yiping turned around, and Yan Ruyi quickly took off her clothes, preparing to change into her newly bought swimsuit.
But it turned out she didn't know how to wear it.
"How am I supposed to wear this?"
Song Yiping turned around. "Let me see."
Yan Ruyi was so focused on figuring out how to put on the swimsuit that she forgot she wasn't wearing any clothes and handed it to Song Yiping.
Song Yiping took the swimsuit and stared intently at her.
Yan Ruyi then realized she was naked and stepped forward to cover his eyes, saying, "Don't look."
Song Yiping hugged her and pressed her onto the bed, kissing her from head to toe.
Seeing that things were about to escalate to an indescribable point, Yan Ruyi pushed him away, saying, "We still need to go swimming."
She had made a bet with Luo Huihui about who would learn to swim first.
The loser has to treat the winner to a movie.
Going to the movies is a small matter, but saving face is a big deal, so she's determined to learn to swim this summer.
Song Yiping stood up, examined the swimsuit for a while, pulled Yan Ruyi up from the bed, squatted down and said to Yan Ruyi, "Put on the feet first, pull it up from the bottom."
I helped Yan Ruyi put on her swimsuit.
Not too big, not too small, just right.
The tight-fitting swimsuit accentuated Yan Ruyi's great figure, highlighting her curves.
Yan Ruyi stood in front of the mirror and admired her graceful figure before putting on her clothes.
Song Yiping already had swimming trunks, so he changed into them at home.
He has a classic inverted triangle physique, with broad shoulders and narrow hips.
Because of years of consistent exercise, I don't have an ounce of excess fat on my body.
His skin wasn't the pale, fair skin that's popular among pretty boys these days; it was a healthy tan.
He's obviously bursting with hormones and full of energy.
Faced with his handsome appearance, Yan Ruyi couldn't help but touch his abs.
Song Yiping grabbed her hand. "Do you still want to go to the swimming pool?"
Yan Ruyi quickly said, "Think about it, let go."
Song Yiping let go, and Yan Ruyi quickly touched her again before running away.
The nearest swimming pool to them is the city stadium swimming pool, where city-level swimming competitions are held and it is open to the public when there are no competitions.
An adult ticket costs 50 cents and can be used for any time.
Song Yiping bought two bills, then led Yan Ruyi inside.
The stadium's swimming pool is indoors, and it has two swimming pools: a shallow pool and a deep pool.
It was Yan Ruyi's first time swimming, so Song Yiping took her to the shallow pool.
He first had Yan Ruyi sit by the pool and massaged her arms and legs to prevent her from getting cramps after getting in the water.
After the massage, I took her hand and led her down the escalator.
As soon as she got into the water, Yan Ruyi felt like she was about to float away.
This made her feel very insecure, so she quickly grabbed Song Yiping's arm.
Song Yiping said, "Stand in the water for a bit to get used to it. Don't be nervous, I'll be right next to you."
Yan Ruyi slowly released Song Yiping's hand.
Song Yiping stared at her intently, his arm outstretched as if ready to lend her a hand at any moment.
Yan Ruyi stood in the pool for a while and gradually got used to it. Song Yiping then pulled her to walk slowly in the water so that she could get used to the feeling of being in the water.
How are you feeling now?
Yan Ruyi said, "I feel like I'm about to turn into a fish and swim freely in the water."
Song Yiping, "..."
His wife is too confident, which puts a lot of pressure on Commander Song regarding his teaching duties.
"Let's learn how to hold our breath first."
Song Yiping taught her the technique of holding her breath: "First, open your mouth wide and inhale, letting the air sink into your abdomen. Don't puff out your cheeks. Then, completely submerge your head in the water, including your ears. Don't pinch your nose. Come on, I'll hold you up. Try holding your breath for a bit."
Following Song Yiping's instructions, Yan Ruyi took his hand and submerged her head in the water.
In just three or four seconds, she emerged from the water, rising so suddenly that she almost fell over.
Song Yiping quickly hugged her.
Yan Ruyi held her breath until tears welled up in her eyes. "I almost choked on the water. Did you choke on the water last time?"
Yan Ruyi's thoughts jumped too quickly. Song Yiping thought for a moment before realizing that she was referring to the time he tripped and fell during the disaster relief efforts in Nan Province.
Although she didn't say it, she's probably still feeling scared.
It was indeed dangerous at the time; the current was too strong, and it could have swept me away in an instant.
He touched Yan Ruyi's wet swimming cap and said gently, "Cheng Chao pulled me up immediately, so I didn't choke on the water."
When Yan Ruyi went into the water for the first time, Song Yiping started by teaching her the simplest techniques: holding her breath, exhaling, and floating...
After studying for an entire afternoon, I finally learned how to float in place.
Song Yiping still supported it from below with his hand.
If things continue like this, they'll most likely lose to Luo Huihui.
After practicing for a while, he sat on the edge of the pool and said, "Swim for me."
"Then sit still and don't go into the water by yourself."
Yan Ruyi urged him to swim quickly. Song Yiping pushed off the pool wall with his legs and darted far away. Then he stretched out his arms and started swimming.
His movements were fluid and smooth, no less than those of a professional swimmer.
He quickly swam a lap and came back. Yan Ruyi's eyes lit up with envy. "Old Song, you swim so well! How long did it take you to learn?"
Song Yiping thought for a moment, "I learned it in one afternoon."
Yan Ruyi, "..."
She absolutely refuses to admit that she is stupid.
It must be that Commander Song's teaching methods are wrong.
Teach me the way the person who taught you taught you.
Song Yiping: "I was standing by the pool when he kicked me in."
Yan Ruyi said, "...Haste makes waste. I think I should learn slowly."
Song Yiping chuckled sullenly and reached out his hand to Yan Ruyi, "Get down."
Yan Ruyi jumped down, and Song Yiping caught her.
In one afternoon, Yan Ruyi was able to paddle a few times in the water.
She immediately regained her confidence and felt certain that she could beat Luo Huihui.
After getting out of the pool, the two went to the men's and women's changing rooms to change clothes.
Yan Ruyi has never been comfortable exposing her body in public, so she quickly changed her clothes and came out.
She had just come out of the locker room when someone called out to her from behind, "Ruyi!"
She turned her head and exclaimed in surprise, "Huimin!"
Li Huimin: "You've changed so much, I almost didn't recognize you. Did you come swimming alone?"
Yan Ruyi: "I came with my partner. Did you come alone?"
“I came with my sister, but she has already gone out.”
Song Yiping had already come out of the locker room. Yan Ruyi introduced him to Li Huihui, "This is my husband, Song Yiping."
He then said to Song Yiping, "This is my college classmate, Li Huihui."
Li Huimin has been doing research at the university and doesn't have much contact with other students.
She always thought Yan Ruyi had married Shen Zhimin.
Seeing Song Yiping now, I was a little surprised.
She didn't want to pry into other people's private affairs, so she exchanged a few pleasantries with Yan Ruyi and left.
"Li Huimin was my classmate. Later, she was admitted to our school's graduate program and is still studying there now."
She also took the postgraduate entrance exam that year, but she didn't perform well and failed.
I met Li Huimin today, and the idea of pursuing graduate studies has started to resurface.
Her goal is to make Jialide bigger and stronger, and to take Jialide further. As the leader, a bachelor's degree is not enough, so she wants to pursue further education.
"What do you think about me pursuing a master's degree? I'm currently working and can't study full-time. I wonder if it's possible to pursue a master's degree while working."
Song Yiping: "Study if you want to."
"I'll call Huihui tomorrow. She works at the Education Bureau and should be quite familiar with the enrollment policies."
"I'll ask my older brother when I get home."
The only person Song Yiping called "elder brother" was Yang Shiyuan.
"Doesn't my older brother work at the procuratorate?"
“My sister-in-law works at the Education Bureau, let him ask her.”
"Don't you two have a good relationship?"
Song Yiping patted her head. "Little comrade, your brother and sister-in-law are a couple, just not as close as we are."
Yan Ruyi said embarrassedly, "I thought they didn't talk to each other at home."
Song Yiping was speechless. "If nobody pays attention to anyone else, where will the child come from?"
Yan Ruyi always tries to make sense even when she's wrong. "That's why I said my brother is being pretentious. He already has a child, yet he uses this as an excuse to be decadent, acting like everyone owes him something."
Song Yiping, "He's just stubborn, he can't get out of a dead end."
That evening, Song Yiping called Yang Shiyuan, and Yang Shiyuan answered the phone.
Song Yiping: "Big brother, it's me, Yiping."
Song Yiping rarely called him, and Yang Shiyuan laughed, "Why are you calling me all of a sudden? Tell me, what's up?"
Is my sister-in-law home?
"The child missed her maternal grandmother, so she took the child back to her parents' home. Do you need to see her for something?"
"Ruyi wants to pursue a part-time postgraduate degree and would like to learn about the relevant policies from her sister-in-law."
"She'll be back tomorrow. I'll ask her when she gets back and then I'll call you back."
"Okay, then I'll wait for my brother's call."
"Yiping, don't hang up yet."
"Brother, please speak."
"Come over for a meal sometime. Just the four of us, no other guests."
"Okay, you set a time."
"How about tomorrow night? Call me again if anything changes."
"Okay, Ruyi and I will go over after get off work tomorrow."
Song Yiping was actually somewhat surprised. Yang Shiyuan rarely invited people to his home for meals, especially not with his wife. This was unheard of.
Moreover, judging from his tone of voice, which was a far cry from his previous dejected state, Song Yiping could actually detect a hint of joy in it.
Could it be that he and Yan Ruyi are to witness their divorce?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
