Chapter 21 The Sophisticated Egoist
"Here comes the young master!" Ah Fu quickly jumped onto the carriage and sat in the front driving position.
Because of Xiao Yu's strange illness, he always travels in a carriage to avoid contact with pedestrians on the street.
Xu Chuchu also sat next to Ah Fu and did not get into the car.
Even if Xiao Yu had no interest in her, being alone in such a small space with just one person would still make Xiao Yu feel uncomfortable, so she was too lazy to bother herself.
Just as the carriage was about to set off, a woman's delicate voice suddenly came from across the street.
"Third brother, look, that carriage across the way, isn't that Ah Fu sitting outside?"
Ah Fu heard someone calling his name, looked over, and immediately turned around and knocked on the car wall: "Master! I ran into Lord Shao from the Dali Temple and his sister, Miss Shao!"
"Huh? Here?" Xiao Yu quickly came out of the carriage, recognized the brother and sister opposite, straightened his clothes, and walked over to talk.
Xu Chuchu and Ah Fu got out of the car and stayed there waiting.
The three of them seemed to be talking happily, and all of them had surprise on their faces, as if they had not expected to meet old friends in Tailing County.
Xu Chuchu scratched her chin and thought for a moment. Hmm… Dali Temple? Isn't that an ancient institution dedicated to solving crimes? She remembered it being shown in a TV series.
Xiao Yu is also investigating cases everywhere, so he is an official from the Dali Temple?
But she remembered that the Dali Temple's official position was not high. Even if there was evidence of guilt, it was impossible for them to have the power to take down the county magistrate right away? The position of county magistrate was considered the same as that of a provincial governor nowadays.
She looked at the brother and sister quietly again. The brother, Mr. Shao, had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and had an orthodox masculine appearance. He was not handsome nor ugly, but a mediocre type, but not her type.
And my sister... Xu Chuchu frowned unconsciously when she saw it.
The girl was dressed exquisitely, had a quiet and elegant temperament, and a faint smile on her lips. At first glance, she looked like the quiet and graceful lady of an ancient wealthy family.
Her facial features are quite pretty, but from the perspective of physiognomy, this girl has a narrow forehead, inward-facing eyebrows, narrow nostrils, and a slightly pointed chin, which is the most typical face of a selfish and cunning person.
To describe it in modern terms, this person is a "sophisticated egoist."
Although Xu Chuchu is not the best face-reading master, he has some experience in "reading faces and touching bones", so he will not make a mistake here.
She usually doesn't deliberately judge people's personalities by looking at their faces, because few people have perfect personalities without flaws. There will be some things like being irritable or greedy.
If you see people too clearly, you will inevitably overthink and be on guard when interacting with them, and life will be too tiring.
It was just that the "selfish" face of the woman in front of him was too standard, almost exactly the same as what was recorded in the book, so Xu Chuchu could see it at a glance.
Many people say that appearance is innate, while personality is mostly influenced by acquired factors. It is unreasonable and superstitious to judge a person's personality and destiny based on his appearance.
But it’s not.
The ancients had a saying, "Appearance is determined by the heart."
This word means that your face will look like what kind of person you are. This principle is actually easy to understand.
For example, people who are often angry have deeper wrinkles between their brows because they frown at every turn, making their faces look more fierce. On the other hand, people who smile a lot have firm muscles at the corners of their mouths, making their faces look gentler.
For example, the popular saying "husband and wife look alike" means that when a couple spends a long time together, they will look more like each other. This also has a basis.
Because couples often share joys and sorrows in life, the same emotions will lead to synchronized changes in their facial features, giving people the feeling that they "look more alike."
——However, the above statement does not mean that people with gentle facial features are really suitable for socializing. They may also be harboring evil intentions in their hearts that they don’t often reveal.
Terms like white-cut black, green tea and white lotus describe those who are two-faced.
A hypocritical personality can also be reflected in facial features.
To give a simple example, a smile from the heart generally involves 17 facial muscles, but if it is a fake smile, one has to show an unwilling smile while controlling the facial expression so that the other person will not notice, so the number of facial muscles involved may be more than 50.
Over time, the faces of people who often fake smile and those who often smile sincerely will look different. However, this difference can usually only be seen by professional physiognomists.
As for the Miss Shao in front of him, judging from her appearance, she is narrow-minded and too selfish. It is okay to have a nodding acquaintance with her, but if you want to have a deep friendship with her, you will suffer backlash.
"Um, Master Xu?" Ah Fu suddenly called her from the side.
"Ah?" Xu Chuchu came back to her senses from studying physiognomy.
"Xiangshi Xu, why don't you just walk back to the yamen by yourself?" Ah Fu looked at her a little embarrassedly. "You see, the young master and the two old friends are chatting quite well. I guess we'll have to take them back to the yamen soon. There's not much room left in this carriage."
"Hmm? I can still..." Xu Chuchu wanted to say that she could still sit next to Ah Fu, but then she thought that those dignitaries were sitting together, and she was just an ordinary person who didn't know them, so it would not be appropriate to stand there.
But after thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Isn't your young master forbidden to be near women? Aren't you afraid that something might happen if it gets crowded in such a small carriage?"
"Why are you worrying about this?" Ah Fu immediately became wary. "I'm telling you in advance, this Miss Shao is no ordinary person to our young master, so don't do anything rash."
"Oh oh oh, sweetheart?!" Xu Chuchu immediately started gossiping and imagined a big drama in her mind.
"Shh!" Ah Fu was so scared that he almost covered her mouth. "Don't say anything nonsense. The girl and the young master are innocent. It's just that she once did him some favors, and the young master respects her."
"Oh, really?" Xu Chuchu looked at Xiao Yu carefully again and found that his eyebrows were gentle and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth. He seemed to be in a good mood, completely different from the bitter face he usually had when he was with her.
The left hand hanging down gently pats the corner of the clothes from time to time, which shows that he is paying attention to the other person's performance.
"So that's how it is. I understand." Xu Chuchu smiled slyly. "The young man, suffering from an illness and low self-esteem, always felt that he was despised by everyone. One day, a beautiful and elegant girl appeared. She didn't care about his strange illness and even treated him with kindness. So the foolish young man fell in love with this girl who was the first to be kind to him. However, because of his illness and low self-esteem, he felt that he was not worthy of the girl. He never dared to take that step, and always used 'respect' as a disguise..."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Ah Fu's legs went weak after hearing this, and he jumped up and beat her up, "If the young master hears you making up stories about girls, I'll chop off your head."
"...The young master has always kept this feeling hidden in his heart, not daring to speak out. Foolishly and heartbroken, he watched her get engaged to another man, marry him, and ultimately live with regret for the rest of her life." Xu Chuchu finished the story while dodging Ah Fu's flying kicks. "I've read this one, it's too cliché. Let's try another one."
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