【019】 Enemies from the previous life
This hot pot restaurant has a very complete range of side dishes, including vegetables, poultry, livestock meat, seafood, processed foods... Gu Juan quickly added more than a dozen dishes with a pen and ordered two cans of beer.
“Ding ding dong…”
Xi Lang apologized to Gu Juan before answering the phone, "Brother... I'm having dinner outside... No... If you have nothing else, hang up." Without waiting for the other party to speak, he hung up the phone and glanced at Gu Juan.
The dishes arrived quickly, and Gu Juan picked up a few dishes and poured them into Xi Lang's hot pot. The medium-sized pot was almost filled with fish slices, lotus root slices, fish balls, meatballs, mushrooms, etc. It was obvious that he did it on purpose.
"Are you still holding a grudge against me for what happened when we first met?" Xi Lang didn't stop him. In his eyes, this was just a child, not someone to be bothered with.
Gu Juan opened a can of beer and handed it to him, denying it, "How could that be? Since it's my treat, of course I have to treat you well."
Xi Lang remained noncommittal, clinking his beer with his. "Congratulations. Which university are you planning to apply to?"
Gu Juan raised his head and took a big sip of beer, "Congzhou University of Foreign Studies and Foreign Trade."
Xi Lang's eyes flashed with surprise, and he looked into his eyes. "If I remember correctly, Congzhou Foreign Languages and Trade University is a second-tier university. I must have heard it wrong."
"You heard right," Gu Juan said expressionlessly. He knew full well that the news that the provincial science champion had applied to a second-tier university would cause a stir. He had privately spoken to Teacher Xie, asking him not to leak the news. Although he had already chosen Congzhou University of Foreign Studies as his first choice, he wasn't completely relieved. So, when Xi Lang asked, he couldn't help but speak out. He believed Xi Lang wasn't a big talker.
Xi Lang noticed his irritation and frowned, "Can I ask why?"
Gu Juan took another sip of beer without saying a word. His calm eyes inexplicably had a sense of vicissitudes, as if he had experienced great sorrow and despair.
Xi Lang was puzzled, but he spoke matter-of-factly, "I don't know why you made such a decision, but it's obvious that you're impulsive and are playing with your future. Don't think that just because you're young, you have the capital to be willful and extravagant. There's no medicine for regret in this world, and not every mistake can be corrected. If you have a reason to stay in Congzhou, Congzhou University, one of the top ten prestigious universities, is also a good choice. Consider it carefully."
Not all wrongs have the opportunity to be corrected...
Gu Juan's heart suddenly trembled, and he found that he had indeed fallen into a misunderstanding. After rebirth, of course he wanted revenge. The fact of rebirth was too incredible. In the first few days after rebirth, he was also confused and panicked. He had searched for several rebirth novels on the Internet. He thought that the protagonists in the novels could calmly face the enemies who killed them in the previous life after rebirth were pure nonsense. He even thought that after rebirth, if the enemies had not harmed him yet, he could ignore them. Such an idea was ridiculous. He thought he was not so tolerant. Revenge must be taken, but he should not put the cart before the horse. Not everyone has the opportunity to start over. Since he was reborn, the first thing he should do is to cherish his second life, instead of thinking about revenge and destroying himself. Those two scumbags were not worth his sacrifice!
The familiar heat within his dantian surged once more, breaking through a barrier. Gu Juan was overjoyed. He immediately returned to seclusion, aiming to reach the middle stage of Kaiguang without issue. Relaxed both physically and mentally, he couldn't help but smile gratefully at Xi Lang, raising his beer and clinking glasses with him. "I've been lectured so many times, but this time, I think you're right."
The food in the pot was almost cooked, so he picked up the slotted spoon and scooped some meatballs, fish fillets, etc. into Xi Lang's bowl, "Eat more."
Then, he took out his cell phone and said, "Excuse me, I need to call our head teacher first."
Xi Lang nodded, "Whatever you want."
Although there were only five days to fill out the application form, Gu Juan was still a little worried that Teacher Xie had already submitted his application information, so he quickly called Teacher Xie.
"Teacher Xie, I'm Gu Juan. Sorry to bother you. I want to change my major."
"You finally figured it out." Teacher Xie's tone was relieved and relieved.
Gu Juan's heart moved, "Teacher Xie, have you been waiting for me to call you?"
"Right," Teacher Xie said frankly. "If you still didn't change your mind by the last day, I was going to try to persuade you again. Fortunately, you figured it out yourself, so that's the right thing to do."
Gu Juan felt ashamed and touched. "Thank you. I'll go to the school to see you tomorrow morning...Okay, goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, he saw that Xi Lang had not started yet.
"Why don't you eat?"
Xi Lang picked up the chopsticks and tasted a piece of mushroom. It was numb and spicy. He paused imperceptibly and continued eating.
Gu Juan was in a good mood, with a good appetite. He picked up the spoon and scooped up a full bowl of food. He took a big bite, the spicy taste wrapped in a rich aroma, and nodded secretly. Seeing that Xi Lang's bowl was empty, he helped him add more food in time. He was surprised to find that his face had turned red. He didn't know whether it was from the heat or the spiciness.
Gu Juan couldn't look away for a moment. Xi Lang's features were striking, their edges and corners distinct, especially his eyes, which were deep and sharp, like a hawk's. His aura was so overwhelming that most people wouldn't dare look him in the eye. His blushing face somewhat diminished his sharpness, making him inexplicably more endearing.
The more Gu Juan watched, the more he wanted to laugh. He quickly lowered his head and stuffed a chopstick of enoki mushrooms into his mouth to cover up his mistake. His shoulders trembled slightly.
"Laugh if you want to." Xi Lang touched his hot face, supported his forehead, and looked at him indifferently.
"Puff - cough cough... cough cough!" A piece of chili pepper fragments was stuck in his throat, making his throat itchy. Gu Juan coughed violently, and his handsome face turned red in an instant, "Cough cough cough..."
Xi Lang immediately stuffed the beer into his hand and said, "Take a sip. No one's competing with you for it, so why are you eating so hastily?"
Gu Juan took a long sip of beer to wash away the chili flakes and the spiciness in his throat, and breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking that he had made fun of Xi Lang instead of making fun of him, his ears felt hot, and he coughed lightly, "It's okay, keep eating."
Xi Lang didn't say anything, ordered a pot of tea, and poured a cup for both of them.
The two of them finally started to eat their meal properly.
Seeing that Shi Lang was not used to the spicy taste here, Gu Juan ordered a three-fresh hotpot for him.
Xi Lang held the teacup and watched him easily finish the dishes one by one. He couldn't help but glance at his stomach.
"By the way, Mr. Xi, as the general manager of a large group, must have quite a bit of insight into investment," Gu Juan said. "I have some savings, and I'm thinking of making some safe investments. I wonder if Mr. Xi could give me some advice?"
"Just call me Xi Lang." Xi Lang didn't answer his question immediately, but asked, "You want to invest on your own? Does your family know?"
Gu Juan's tone suddenly faded, "I have no family." He was so high-spirited just now, but now he cooled down like a stalled engine.
Xi Lang paused while drinking his tea and said, "Sorry."
Gu Juan shook his head, "Nothing."
The atmosphere suddenly became cold.
Xi Lang answered his previous question, "That depends on how much money you have. It's hard to explain in a few words. I'll email you a copy later for your reference."
"Thank you." Gu Juan lowered his head and continued to eat, obviously not as hearty as before.
Xi Lang couldn't make out his expression. His gaze fell on his face, as if he were looking at him, yet not at him, his thoughts swirling. With no family, meaning he was an orphan, it was no wonder he resorted to such drastic measures as filming a video to fight back against his classmates' attacks. Perhaps it was only in this way that he could feel a modicum of security. Alone, with no one to supervise him, no one to care about him, yet he managed to become the provincial champion in science, one could only imagine the hardships he had endured. Xi Lang couldn't describe his feelings at the moment; a mixture of admiration and pity. This complex mix of emotions was unfamiliar to him.
He brought up the topic again, but after receiving only a bland response, he stopped forcing it.
The two did not talk until the meal was over.
Gu Juan paid the bill, walked out of the door, looked up at the sky, turned to Xi Lang and said, "Don't mind it, it's not directed at you."
Xi Lang nodded in understanding. "Where do you live? I'll take you there."
"OK."
The two walked side by side towards the parking lot. They met five or six young people who looked like students, arm in arm, chatting and laughing. They were all dressed in extraordinary clothes and did not look like ordinary people.
"Uncle!" One of the tall and thin boys saw Xi Lang and walked over quickly.
Others followed.
"Xiaoxuan, do you want to go out and play with your friends?" Xi Lang nodded to them.
The boy glanced at Gu Juan curiously and said, "Yes, we are going to the Internet cafe to play games. Uncle, what are you doing?"
"Just finished dinner." Xi Lang said to Gu Juan, "Gu Juan, this is my cousin's son Lin Xuan. He goes to the same school as you - what's wrong?" Before he finished speaking, he noticed that Gu Juan's expression was not right.
Gu Juan's gaze was sharp as a knife, fixed on the handsome boy standing next to Lin Xuan. Intense hatred instantly flared up, darkening his already inky eyes even darker and deeper. He clenched his fist tightly, unclenched it, then clenched it again, taking two steps forward. The paper bag in his hand dropped to the ground with a loud "crack." Before anyone else could react, his fist had already struck the boy's nose.
The boy was caught off guard and fell to the ground. Two streams of blood flowed from his nostrils, staining his white clothes red.
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