Mother Zhi had been in a good mood recently. Her daughter had actually made many friends in high school, like Jiang Wei from next door and some other classmates who were about to come to Lugu Mountain to play.
Since she was happy and content, she allowed Zhi Ying to bury herself in the world of math.
"Ying Ying, your phone is ringing." Mother Zhi went upstairs to get some things. When she passed by Zhi Ying's room, she heard it ringing for a long time, and it didn't stop.
No one responded to her. Mother Zhi frowned and pushed open the door that was not fully closed. The constantly ringing phone was placed on the desk, but Zhi Ying was nowhere to be seen.
Mother Zhi was not surprised. She went up to pick up the phone, but kicked a fur slipper. With a sigh, Mother Zhi picked up the slipper and walked around the room. Sure enough, she found Zhi Ying in a corner.
There were a few books and pieces of scrap paper in the corner. Zhi Ying sat facing the wall with her back to the door. She was concentrating on writing, and there was only one slipper on her foot.
Mother Zhi squatted down and put the slipper back on Zhi Ying's foot. The phone stopped ringing at that moment. She glanced at the screen that was still lit up and saw that the caller ID on it was Jiao Jiao.
Placing the phone next to Zhi Ying's hand, Mother Zhi rubbed her daughter's head, took the coat off the bed and draped it on Zhi Ying before going back downstairs.
Despite all the movement around her, Zhi Ying failed to notice any movement from the outside world at all. By the time she finished solving the math problems, it was already dark outside. Zhi Ying touched the coat on her body, picked up the phone and stood up. At the moment, her legs were numb. She limped to the desk, and solemnly put her results into a folder.
"Hey, Jiao Jiao." Zhi Ying called back.
On the other side of the phone, Han Jiaojiao was currently lying on her bed with a facial mask on. When she heard her phone ring, she quickly got up and searched for it.
"Ying Ying, what have you been doing all day?" Han Jiaojiao's mouth moved slightly, not daring to make big movements with her mouth. "I called you several times and you didn't answer."
"Oh, I was doing my homework." Zhi Ying looked through Han Jiaojiao's call records from the morning and afternoon, each of them perfectly missing her meal times. "In the future, you can call me before and after meal time."
Around that time, her parents would come to call her, and Zhi Ying would put down her books to go down and eat.
"I discussed it with the others. How about we come to your place to play the day after tomorrow?" Han Jiaojiao covered her facial mask with her hands and smiled, "Zhao Qian said he wanted to see your so-called villa."
"Then you guys take a taxi to the north side of the Lugu Mountains tomorrow, and I will pick you up along the way," Zhi Ying said, being familiar with the north side. "There are many interesting places in that area."
The two discussed the agreed date and finally decided to stay over at the Zhi family's house for three days.
There were about three to four kilometers to the north and south, and there were not many vehicles along the way. Tourists didn't come to this area, and most of the homeowners in the south were here for health care, so they liked to go on walks. Thus, the scenery along this road was also well maintained, and the road was easy to walk on.
After Han Jiaojiao and the others took the taxi up the mountain, Zhi Ying was already waiting at the gathering place.
"Zhi Ying!" Zhao Qian was tall and saw Zhi Ying holding up a small flag at a glance.
The three hurried in the direction of Zhi Ying.
"You actually even have a flag?" Li Ge looked up at the flag with 'xx travel agency' written on it and asked curiously.
"It was not wanted by others, so I just picked it up." Zhi Ying handed it to Li Ge, "Let's go quickly, there will be a group of tourists coming later. It'll become very crowded."
The group of four were reunited once again, and the atmosphere was very good. Especially when Li Ge looked around, he felt so happy that even his round body actually looked a little light.
"It's so fresh!" Li Ge took in a sharp breath and sighed, "The air here is still so good!"
Zhi Ying looked at him strangely: "This is a gathering place for tourists. Cars come and go every day. All you can smell is car exhaust. How is it fresh?"
"…" Li Ge thought about it carefully, and found that his nose was indeed full of the smell of gasoline exhaust. He had expressed amazement before he even had time to experience it.
Zhao Qian took it in with delight and said, "Fresh, this exhaust is very fresh and refreshing."
Han Jiaojiao also bowed her head and laughed. Li Ge was embarrassed and stopped his attitude of flying like a bird.
As they got closer to the villa area, the surrounding air was indeed a lot fresher, and the houses were all beautiful.
"It is estimated that living here will give you a long life." Han Jiaojiao sighed.
As soon as she finished speaking, Han Jiaojiao suddenly stopped and pointed to a person's back in front of her: "Do I have blurred vision, or is that Jiang Wei from the neighboring class?"
"No blurred vision." Zhao Qian said firmly.
"Why did he come here? Could it be that he was visiting Lugu Mountain?" Li Ge expressed that he couldn't figure it out.
Probably because their voices were too loud, the person in front of them suddenly turned around. It indeed turned out to be Jiang Wei.
Zhao Qian and the others were all taken aback, and their footsteps had halted. However, Zhi Ying was still walking forward without noticing them.
"Let's go." For fear of any conflict between the two, Li Ge hurriedly followed. What if there was a fight? He didn't understand the world of geniuses.
"Good morning." Jiang Wei nodded towards Zhi Ying, who walked over with a very natural expression.
After Zhi Ying also greeted him, she naturally walked forward side by side with Jiang Wei, leaving the other three dumbfounded.
What made it even more difficult for them to accept was that Jiang Wei actually lived opposite the Zhi family.
"…He, classmate Jiang Wei, and you are neighbors?" Li Ge quickly updated the gossip database in his mind, causing his brain to short circuit.
"Yeah." Zhi Ying pushed the door open and motioned for the three of them to sit down.
Han Jiaojiao and Zhao Qian glanced at each other and said, "But you didn't know Jiang Wei before."
"I also only met him in high school." Zhi Ying bent down and poured water for the three of them. Mother Zhi had already placed all kinds of snacks on the table. "When Classmate Jiang Wei was still studying in the capital, he would come here during summer break."
"And you two didn't know each other then?" Han Jiaojiao whispered, "I really don't know if you two have fate or not."
Mother Zhi and Father Zhi were cleaning the guest rooms upstairs. When they came down, Li Ge and Zhao Qian had already eaten a round of snacks. These three people were not introverted, and they all politely greeted them and made small talk, making Mother Zhi and Father Zhi smile.
"Yes, our Zhi Ying is extremely powerful, and she directly crushed the entire school. Not only does she have good grades, but she is also good at running! She beat everyone at the sports meeting that day, and even almost broke the school record." Li Ge sat opposite Mother Zhi. There was a tendency to chat for three days and three nights.
Mother Zhi pursed her lips and smiled. It was the first time she knew that her daughter had such a lively side, and she couldn't help but want to know more: "Ying Ying only knows how to do math, and it is estimated that many classmates don't talk to her very much."
"How come? Zhi Ying is so popular. The battle for honor in our class is on her." Li Ge retorted.
"Yes, Auntie, you don't know that Jiang Wei is very powerful. If it weren't for Zhi Ying, our class would have been demolished." Han Jiaojiao agreed.
"...Xiao Wei?" Father Zhi heard and came over, hesitantly asking, "Comparing grades?"
"He is always second and Zhi Ying is the first." Han Jiaojiao said quickly.
"Oh, so that's the situation." Father Zhi nodded thoughtfully.
Zhi Ying's parents were very happy to meet their daughter's friends today. They hadn't seen one for so many years, so they hadn't expected to suddenly have three friends over today. Not to mention they were all good children.
Zhao Qian and Li Ge each stayed in a room, and Han Jiaojiao and Zhi Ying slept together. After eating, Zhi Ying led them to see their own rooms.
"Here…doesn't Jiang Wei live in the opposite villa?" Li Ge walked to the window, and his gossip radar suddenly stood up.
Zhi Ying walked over, glanced at the taut curtains, and nodded, "Mhm, classmate Jiang Wei lives there."
"Then do you two talk when you meet up? Like today." Li Ge wanted to know more.
Zhi Ying thought about the recent situation for a while before answering: "Yes, but our schedules are different, so we can hardly meet each other."
Jiang Wei liked to go out in the morning and at night, and in the afternoon he would sit at the bay window and read a book. As for Zhi Ying, in addition to completing the three meals and three emergencies, the rest of the time was spent on math.
Zhi Ying planned to set aside three days to play with them, and the books had already been put away.
"Want to play poker?" Li Ge suggested.
"My family doesn't seem to have any cards." Zhi Ying didn't know about these things.
Han Jiaojiao raised her hand: "I brought some."
The four of them immediately sat together in a circle and played poker in the carpeted room.
"A pair of jacks." Zhao Qian played the card, "Has Lao Han said who is in the class?"
"No, my dad has made a big deal about this recently." Han Jiaojiao threw out a card and said, "He has to pick out the liberal arts students from the volunteer forms of the arts and sciences division, and then choose the top 50 in the science department."
Then Zhi Ying played a card: "Classmate Jiang Wei is probably in our class." If he was in the same class, it would be more convenient for her to buy books at the Fengyang Road Bookstore.
"That's for sure!" Looking at his cards, Li Ge couldn't help but be proud, "He's the second in the grade, and he'll go to the best class no matter the choice of liberal arts or sciences."
Zhi Ying silently revealed her cards and became the winner.
The three were stunned for a while, and they didn't react. After a while:
"What, you can win like this?"
"A burst of luck."
…
"Poker is actually a mathematical probability problem." Zhi Ying raised her head and smiled slowly, "You guys still need to strengthen your mathematical skills."
"This is boring!" These words popped out in their hearts at the same time, and they decided not to play anymore.
Jiang Wei didn't stay at Lugu Mountain for too long. Someone from the capital wanted to take him back for the New Year. He could only pack up immediately and prepare to head down the mountain.
"Young master, this is the fruit sent over by classmate Zhi." Uncle Li came over with a small basket of wild fruits.
There were many unique wild fruits on Lugu Mountain. When the season came, some local people would always pick them up and sell them. It sold very well among tourists, and it was basically sold out as soon as it was taken out to be sold.
Zhi Ying knew an uncle who sold wild fruits. She used to help him settle accounts when she was a child. In order for Han Jiaojiao and the others to eat them, Zhi Ying greeted the uncle in advance and asked him to leave some fruits behind for them.
After returning, Zhi Ying picked out another basket and sent it to Jiang Wei. This time, it wasn't her mother forcing her to do it, but her own thoughts.
Jiang Wei came from the capital. Although he lived on Lugu Mountain, he has never even tried the most basic wild fruits. Zhi Ying thought about it and felt that as Jiang Wei's new classmate, she should also express friendship.
"Fruit?" Jiang Wei frowned and looked at the basket in his hand. The fruit inside was full of pits, and it was small. Can something like this be called fruit?
At this time, Jiang Wei received a text message: [The fruit is delicious and has been washed.]
Looking down at the message again, Jiang Wei's mouth curved slightly, evoking a small arc.
"Uncle Li, you go start up the car first." Jiang Wei took the small basket and said.
Today they were going to the airport, and Uncle Li had originally come up to tell Jiang Wei to go down.
Watching Uncle Li walk away, Jiang Wei looked down at the basket:
These wild fruits were really ugly, and some even had scars and marks on the back.
Even so, Jiang Wei took a bite and put it in his mouth... very sweet.