Zhi Ying learned a new problem-solving technique yesterday, and became so excited that she forgot that she had made up her mind not to stay up late anymore. She studied until one or two in the morning before finally going to bed. In the morning, she got up early as usual, nestled in her bed and continued her calculations.
Lin Xiuyu got used to seeing her daughter's tousled appearance, and didn't react for a while. It was only when she turned her head and saw Ruo Lan opposite her that she suddenly took a deep breath.
"Ying Ying, there are guests at home, hurry up and change your clothes." Lin Xiuyu said while holding onto Ruo Lan's hand to prevent her eyes from falling on Zhi Ying.
"Oh." Zhi Ying had only gone halfway down the stairs, and when she heard her mother's words, she immediately turned around and went back to her room.
Ruo Lan was indeed taken aback by Zhi Ying, but it wasn't because of her fried looking hair, but because Zhi Ying had become pale again.
"Ying Ying she..." Ruo Lan was a little curious, and wanted to ask Lin Xiuyu why Zhi Ying was so tan before.
"Ying Ying, that child is like this, she doesn't care about anything else when she does math problems." Lin Xiuyu interrupted helplessly.
Ruo Lan burst out laughing, apparently recalling Zhi Ying's fried hair from just now.
"I met her once in No. 1 High School. At that time, Ying Ying didn't seem as white as she is now." Ruo Lan said tactfully.
Lin Xiuyu realized immediately. After all, Zhi Ying came here almost every summer vacation, and she was used to it.
"She sells things on Lugu Mountain during the summer break, basks in the sun all day, and then she becomes white again when she starts school again." Lin Xiuyu didn't want to care about Zhi Ying's unique behavior. Anyway, it would allow her to interact with others and not stay in her room all day.
After Zhi Ying changed her clothes in the room, she combed her hair with a comb. Just as she opened the door, a bunch of hair on the back of her head suddenly popped up again, but obviously she didn't notice it.
"Good morning, Auntie." Zhi Ying was greeted by her mother and sat down, and said hello to Ruo Lan who was opposite.
Soon Father Jiang also came down, and finally in the living room there was a meeting between the two parents.
When leaving the Lin house, Ruo Lan stood at the car door and asked her husband, "How is it? I said Ying Ying is a good child."
"Mhm, not bad." Father Jiang's always stoic face still didn't relax, "But the tempers of the two children don't seem to be too extroverted, so they can't complement each other."
"...That's true." Ruo Lan thought about it carefully, "But Xiao Wei likes her, so let's let him be. Ying Ying is also pretty good."
On the other side, Father Zhi also looked at Zhi Ying seriously, "Are you sure you want to be with Jiang Wei?"
"We've been together for some time." Zhi Ying was caught in the conversation and talked for so long that her stomach was already very hungry. She picked up food on the table to eat to fill her stomach.
"Dad means that you are sure you want to marry him in the future?" Father Zhi was a little melancholy, "The situation of the Jiang family is a bit complicated."
"Cough, cough..." Zhi Ying was choked by the fruit in her mouth, and after a while she asked, "Dad, when am I going to get married?"
Lin Xiuyu next to her also looked at her husband in surprise.
Father Zhi was taken aback, unwilling to admit it in every possible way, and muttered, "That Jiang Wei looks very serious, as if you are going to get married."
"What era is it, you still have such rotten thoughts." Lin Xiuyu was the first to criticize, "Dating does not mean marriage."
"If you are not aiming to get married, why would you have such a happy talk with the Jiang family?" Father Zhi looked at his wife strangely, "Didn't the Jiang family come to visit to see their future daughter-in-law?"
Indeed, the two families placed too much emphasis on their children's love affairs. According to other people's practices, they definitely didn't interfere with dating. Only when they get married will they come to visit.
"Dad, Mom, I'm going back to my room first, call me for lunch." Zhi Ying felt that the question was getting more and more profound, so she simply went upstairs.
However, this question made her doubtful. So after returning to the room, Zhi Ying did not immediately start on math problems, but called Jiang Wei instead.
Jiang Wei was at his company when he received the call. The staff next to him were still standing on the podium to announce the plan for the new quarter.
In Jiang Wei's company, he usually didn't manage much. Once he stayed in the company for a period of time, it meant that there was going to be a big move. The company was definitely going to spend several years to achieve his goal.
The phone on the boss's desk vibrated, and it was particularly conspicuous in the conference room. Almost all the staff present were looking at Jiang Wei.
Jiang Wei took the phone, saw the display on it, and immediately made a gesture to continue talking, and opened the door to answer the phone.
"Zhi Zhi." A smile appeared on Jiang Wei's cold face, "What's the matter?"
Zhi Ying felt a little hot while holding the phone, and couldn't help changing her hand, "I want to ask you something."
"Yeah." Jiang Wei's eyes softened again, "Zhi Zhi can ask anything."
"It's just..." Zhi Ying felt a little nervous for some reason, "Will you marry me?"
Although she liked Jiang Wei, she hasn't thought about marriage. Besides, if Jiang Wei knew that she was in a relationship to lower his grades, he might not talk to her anymore.
Jiang Wei froze at the door, recalling the words Zhi Ying said just now.
After exhaling lightly, Jiang Wei asked, "Does Zhi Zhi want to?" He did want to.
"Me?" Zhi Ying was silent for a moment, then answered dryly, "Actually, I just asked you casually."
"Does Zhi Zhi still want to marry someone else?" Jiang Wei's voice seemed a little colder.
"How, how is it possible!" Zhi Ying nervously denied, "I, don't, I only like you."
Jiang Wei leaned against the wall in the corridor, and hooked his lips in satisfaction, "If Zhi Zhi wants to get married, I can..."
"I'm going to read books." Zhi Ying held the phone in one hand and covered her beating heart with the other, interrupting Jiang Wei's next words.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Wei sorted out his emotions, opened the door and walked into the meeting room.
The members of the conference room saw with their own eyes that their impossibly young boss had calmed down from an angry face and even showed a rare softness after answering the phone.
"This plan doesn't work. Make another one in three days." Jiang Wei dropped a sentence, and stopped staring coldly at the staff in charge of the company's quarter.
...
See someone occasionally, and you see them more often.
That was how Zhi Ying met Zhou Cheng.
Even if she went to the capital, she needed to buy new year's goods for the New Year. It was just that Lin Xiuyu took care of most of it, and Zhi Ying just went out to buy some things that she missed and forgot to buy.
There were also many stores here in Beijing, which were full of life.
Zhi Ying was not very familiar with the road and store, but fortunately, the store was designed to lead straight to the end. No matter how 'road-stupid' she was, she would not get lost.
Walking around slowly, Zhi Ying was stopped by someone.
"Hello, Teacher Zhou." Zhi Ying turned around and saw the visitor, and called out politely.
"Did you come shopping?" Zhou Cheng dressed casually today, without any glasses, looking like a young college student.
"Yeah." Zhi Ying glanced wildly, and when she saw Zhou Cheng, her first thought was all the books he possessed that she wanted to read.
"I'm also here to buy new year's goods." Zhou Cheng revealed the list in his hand to Zhi Ying, "Do you want to go together?"
Zhi Ying had a ghost in her heart, of course she was willing. She followed Zhou Cheng, thinking about how to borrow books from him.
"Why are you still in high school?" Zhou Cheng asked casually.
Zhi Ying stopped at a stall, "My parents said that skipping a grade will easily break away from a normal childhood. They hope that I will have a sound mind."
It would be normal for ordinary people to say this, after all, parents would always hope that their children could be happy. But the Lin family...
"Not all geniuses become mentally unsound after skipping a grade." Zhou Cheng said while pawing at the couplets on the stall, "And your uncle also started skipping from elementary school and finally entered the teenage class, isn't it pretty good?"
"My uncle?" Zhi Ying didn't understand Zhou Cheng's words.
"Isn't he your uncle? Lin Yuan." Zhou Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Zhi Ying was paying the money, and she didn't hear Zhou Cheng's last words clearly.
Zhou Cheng thought she had acquiesced, and continued, "I heard that your uncle is as good as you, with full marks in everything, but language arts was not very good."
Zhi Ying looked at Zhou Cheng suspiciously, wondering who could be so miserable like her.
"I've always wanted to get to know your uncle Lin Yuan." Zhou Cheng laughed at himself, "No matter where I go, your uncle's name is always with me. What about Lin Yuan, if Lin Yuan is here, he can definitely solve it..."
Seeing the difference in Zhi Ying's expression, Zhou Cheng thought that she didn't like talking about her uncle.
"Sorry, I'm a little out of control." Zhou Cheng shrugged, "You've already bought what you bought, so I'll continue shopping first."
"Oh, goodbye, teacher." Zhi Ying stared blankly at Zhou Cheng's back, and even forgot about borrowing books from him. Only the words "Lin Yuan" and "uncle" were playing in her mind.
When did she have an uncle? Zhi Ying always thought that her grandfather had only her mother as a daughter.
But...the name Lin Yuan...she seemed to have heard somewhere.
Returning home in a daze, Zhi Ying put down the things she bought.
"All bought?" Lin Xiuyu smiled and touched her daughter's head, "Thank you for your hard work Ying Ying."
"Mom, do I have an uncle?" Zhi Ying finally couldn't help asking.
Lin Xiuyu had just picked up the bag that Zhi Ying brought back, and wanted to see what was inside. When she heard her words, she lost her strength all of a sudden, and all the things spilled on the carpet.
In a panic, she turned her head and glanced at the study room. Without caring about the scattered things on the floor, she pulled Zhi Ying over, "Where did you hear that?"
"A teacher told me." Zhi Ying didn't expect her mother's big reaction, it seemed as if she really had such an uncle.
"Ying Ying, don't ask your grandpa about that." Lin Xiuyu led Zhi Ying to her room, and locked the door behind her.
"Mom?" Zhi Ying called out hesitantly.
Lin Xiuyu closed the door, and when she turned around, her eyes were already red.
"Ying Ying..." Lin Xiuyu pulled her daughter to sit down, "You do have an uncle, but don't mention it in front of grandpa, your grandpa will feel uncomfortable."
"Oh." Zhi Ying was completely at a loss.
"Your uncle..." Lin Xiuyu paused several times before she could continue, and finally gritted her teeth and said, "He's missing."
Zhi Ying opened her eyes wide, "Missing?"
"Mhm, you are very similar to your uncle." Lin Xiuyu touched Zhi Ying's face, and seemed to see her younger brother through her, "Xiao Yuan, he is talented, he loves mathematics, and is keen on all calculations. He skipped grades all the way, and when Mom got into college, your uncle was already a professor."
"Professor?" Zhi Ying couldn't imagine how a teenager could teach a college student.
"Of course it's just a title. Normally your uncle wouldn't even go to class." Lin Xiuyu smiled, lost in memory.