Seventy-five genuine puppy love
Li Wei approached Luo Da and kindly asked, "How about it? Do you need any help? I can help you with mimeographing?"
But she clearly underestimated Luo Da's boredom. Luo Da glanced at her and said, "No need." He then continued to examine the wax paper in his hand. He had never seen this thing before, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't curious. Anyway, he was just idling around, so he might as well do a good deed.
There were two papers each for politics and Chinese, so four papers needed to be cut. Luo Da took out a fountain pen, squeezed out the ink in a few strokes, drew some pictures on the exercise book, cleaned the nib, laid out the wax paper, glanced at the papers a few times, and started writing.
Li Wei had been watching from the sidelines. She noticed that Luo Da was quite efficient and didn't make any common-sense mistakes. She was surprised that this seemingly rough-around-the-edges guy was actually quite meticulous. Especially his hands—they were big, but surprisingly nimble. Thinking of the phrase "skilled and clever," Li Wei almost laughed out loud. She hadn't expected that to be associated with Luo Da.
Seeing that Luo Da was quite enthusiastic about this new thing, and since he was going to fight anyway if he didn't write, being able to stay in his chair was a good thing, Li Wei ignored him and started studying on her own.
I had barely read two pages when my deskmate, Zhou Xiaoyan, nudged me. Zhou Xiaoyan is now Li Wei's deskmate; it was changed today. Su Xiuli was originally seated there, but Zhou Xiaoyan pushed her out. I don't know what's gotten into Zhou Xiaoyan; she switched seats with Su Xiuli as soon as she arrived this morning. Other students might not dare to switch seats so easily, but Zhou Xiaoyan is no ordinary person—she's the child of a local high-ranking official, and a high-ranking official's child who loves to abuse her privileges and never shows any courtesy.
Li Wei didn't care who she sat with. If she didn't care about the impact, she would prefer to sit at the same table as Luo Da. If there was anything she didn't like to do, Luo Da would do it for her, and she would also have a private car to pick her up and drop her off at school. That would make her very happy.
Seeing Zhou Xiaoyan poking her, she looked up at Zhou Xiaoyan and said, "What are you doing? Don't interrupt my reading. I've just figured out a bit of the trick."
Zhou Xiaoyan, as if she hadn't heard, leaned closer mysteriously and said, "Hey, Li Wei, have you heard? Yuan Jiawei and Shen Tao kissed in the grove behind the house last night."
Oh my god! So Xiaoyan came here this week to spread rumors. But Li Wei was also curious: "Who is Yuan Jiawei? Who is Shen Tao? Which class are they in?" Come to think of it, a kiss isn't a big deal; it won't get her pregnant. At most, it's just solid evidence of puppy love.
Zhou Xiaoyan looked at her with surprise, as if to say, "You don't know this? Yuan Jiawei is very famous. I heard about her when I was in elementary school, but unfortunately not in our school. She was the prettiest girl in our middle school!"
"Oh! Which class? Look. Everyone with 'Wei' in their name is a beauty, right?" Li Wei finally became interested. It seems that changing her name was such a wise decision.
"She's from Class 2, Grade 9. I heard her grades are average and her family's financial situation is average too. Oh. Do you know that Shen Tao?" Zhou Xiaoyan's criteria for judging people are only three: appearance, grades, and family background. In all her years, only Li Wei has caught her eye.
Li Wei nudged Zhou Xiaoyan's arm with the book in her hand: "Big sister, could you please finish what you just said at once?"
Zhou Xiaoyan looked up at the homeroom teacher sitting by the window on the podium, explaining problems to the students. She lowered her voice and said, "Judging from your expression, you don't seem to know. Shen Tao is in Class 7 of the second year of junior high. That guy is really something. I heard he broke someone's leg last semester and almost got expelled. He was held back a year because he skipped too many classes. I heard about him when I first entered junior high school. He's pursuing Yuan Jiawei."
So he repeated a year. Li Wei thought it was a relationship between an older woman and a younger man. But... according to Zhou Xiaoyan's description, this boy named Shen Tao... doesn't he look a bit like Luo Da? They both seem to like fighting. But it seems Luo Da is much more well-behaved. After all, he rarely skips class, although he spends more time sleeping.
Li Wei wasn't interested in this young romance. It was just a kiss. Getting pregnant would be a big deal. So she opened her book again: "It's just a small thing. Why are you so excited? Go back to your book."
Zhou Xiaoyan retorted, "A small matter? Do you know how many boys have written love letters and notes to Yuan Jiawei? And how many boys have waited for her on her way home from school? Shen Tao even got into fights with a lot of people because he was pursuing Yuan Jiawei! It was quite a dramatic affair!" As she finished speaking, Zhou Xiaoyan's eyes seemed to sparkle.
Li Wei, without looking up, said, "It is quite a sensation. Don't worry, when you're in your third year of junior high, it will definitely be even more sensational than hers. I just don't know if that brave and skilled prince will come to your rescue. Just focus on your studies and wait patiently." This kind of childish drama is really hard to get excited about. From sparrow to phoenix, princes and princesses are the most timeless, melodramatic, and ridiculous topics.
Zhou Xiaoyan's gossip didn't interest Li Wei much, which left her a little disappointed, but she quickly found a new chat buddy to gossip with. Seeing how enthusiastically she was doing it, Li Wei remembered a saying: "Love gossip, love life."
After school in the evening, Li Wei, Zhou Xiaoyan, and the other girls who practiced dance were allowed to leave early and didn't have to attend the remaining self-study sessions. Li Wei packed her schoolbag, turned around to look for Luo Da, but no one was there.
After thinking for a moment, she figured he'd probably gone to the small, run-down room to mimeograph exam papers. Li Wei had done this job in her previous life because she was a good student. She picked up her schoolbag, said goodbye to Wu Feng and Zhou Xiaoyan, and headed to the smallest, most secluded room in the office area to see how Luo Da was doing and let him know. She then rode away in Wu Feng's car.
The mimeograph room was called a "little shack" because it looked terrible from the outside. The glass on the doors and windows was covered with black paint, and some damaged parts were even covered with newspaper. The paint on the door was also peeling. I don't know why the school was so short of money that it couldn't fix up the doors and windows.
Li Wei didn't knock. She just pushed open the broken door and peeked inside. What a lively and bustling scene of labor!
Inside, Luo Da, Huang, and Hei were gesturing and working, seemingly busy with something.
Especially Xiao Hei, who would dangle a roller brush, twirl it around a couple of times, and then, with a whoosh, it would roll once more. Meanwhile, Xiao Huang would remove the printed paper from underneath, and Luo Da would close the lid. Xiao Hei would roll it again… and so on, the three of them working together quite smoothly and happily. Xiao Hei would also occasionally make his own sound effects, as if he were practicing some kind of martial arts technique.
Seeing that the three of them were working happily, Li Wei felt relieved and called to Luo Da, "Luo Jianhua, I'm going back now. You keep up the good work."
Luo Da noticed Li Wei's arrival and before he could say anything, Xiao Hei excitedly held up a roller brush: "Sister-in-law, could you get us some water? Look how hard we've worked for Luo Jianhua!"
Li Wei glared at Xiao Hei: "Nephew, can't you speak properly? There's so much ink on the ground, you can drink some if you're thirsty. It'll save you from being uncultured. Someone once said, 'A hooligan isn't scary, what's scary is a hooligan without culture,' and that's you!" Before he could react, Li Wei quickly shrank back, closed the door, and left.
That little black guy, he's not very big, but his thoughts are quite complicated. You can't be too polite to him.
On the way home, Li Wei rode in the back of Zhou Xiaoyan's car; she had no choice. After comparing them, the tall and strong Zhou Xiaoyan seemed more reliable. That girl's long legs—she could just stick them out a little bit and the car would stay perfectly steady, making the other girls incredibly envious.
A group of beautiful girls whizzed past on the town's main road, creating a striking scene that drew the attention of passersby.
Upon arriving at Li Wei's home, as soon as Zhou Xiaoyan entered the building, she automatically and consciously ran to greet Li Wei's mother, Cheng Min, in her office. This pleased Cheng Min greatly, who praised Zhou Xiaoyan for being both beautiful and sensible. Wow!
As for the girls who went in later to say hello, they were naturally not as outstanding as Zhou Xiaoyan. Li Wei didn't know what the other girls thought, but she knew perfectly well that this was due to her family's tradition of wit and tact! Among this group of girls, there were quite a few who were more eloquent and adept at reading people than Zhou Xiaoyan, but no one could match Zhou Xiaoyan in seizing opportunities to show off.
Although she still retains the naivety of a young girl in her interactions with others, she also displays a worldly wisdom stemming from her upbringing.
Since they had been there before and were already somewhat familiar with each other, Li Wei didn't need to make any arrangements; things like moving the dining table, pulling the curtains, and setting up the tape recorder were all done automatically and conscientiously by others.
Li Wei was quite relaxed. After changing her clothes, she led everyone to dance to the music twice. Once they were almost in sync, she let Yang Liqiu and Zhou Xiaoyan, who had a better sense of rhythm, lead the dance, while she went to get some food.
Just as Li Wei went downstairs and passed her mother's office, the door suddenly opened. Her aunt came out, her eyes brimming with tears and her face contorted with anger. Li Wei quickly greeted her, but Aunt ignored her and walked straight away.
Li Wei rolled her eyes. What's wrong now? She looked into her mother's room and saw her mother sitting there in a daze, looking depressed.
Li Wei walked in quietly, closed the door behind her, and asked, "Mom, what's wrong with Auntie? She seems quite unhappy." Could it be that the old problems of the family business have resurfaced?
Cheng Min looked up at her daughter and sighed, "It's pointless to talk to you. Just go do what you're supposed to do!"
Li Wei was eager to know what had happened, and maybe she could even give her mother some advice. She quickly went over and massaged her mother's shoulders while pleading, "Oh, Mom—please tell me, what exactly happened? Is it because you didn't divide the spoils equally?"
Cheng Min laughed in exasperation: "Go away, what nonsense are you talking about? Your mother is doing business honestly and uprightly, not a robber. What do you mean by dividing the spoils!"
Cheng Min sighed and said slowly, "You know your aunt, she's not very articulate. I thought she was a reasonable person, but the other day she told me she didn't like cooking anymore, so I arranged for her to be the storekeeper. But who knew she would keep making the wrong payments, causing the customers to complain to me. I said a few words to her, and you saw it, she had a bigger temper than me, with a whole bunch of excuses... Sigh, never mind, it's pointless to talk to you about these things. Why did you come down here? If you're going to take some snacks, go find your grandpa."
This is really difficult to handle. They don't have the skills but insist on taking on a job they can't handle. They have no self-awareness whatsoever, but they have a very powerful backer. They are typical relatives of the emperor.
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