Zhao Jiadi, with a cigarette in his mouth, lay on the chair in a daze. For no reason, he began to miss those unprecedented and non - crazy days of his sister Wang Banjin. After that incident, Wang Banjin went to Imperial College London to enjoy life. She no longer harassed and molested the innocent Zhao Baliang for no reason. And Brother Baliang gradually got used to the days in Zhaojia Village when there was no one sneaking into his bed in the morning to examine the size of his penis. There was no longer a woman accompanying him to measure his height to see if he had grown by one centimeter or half a centimeter. Now, occasionally, Zhao Jiadi still wondered if he should knock Wang Banjin unconscious when she went to become a nun at the age of 30. Before he knew it, he lit the Yuxi cigarette in his hand. Then, unconsciously, he was burned by the cigarette that had burned to the end. All of a sudden, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground. Zhao Jiadi, who at least had a sense of public morality, immediately got up to pick up the cigarette butt. He found that Mu Hongli, who had just walked out of the medical room and was fine, had already squatted down to pick it up for him. Her complexion was much rosier. Because she had a strong aura of a female literary youth, there was an underlying meaning of keeping people at a distance. This unusual rosiness was extremely charming. At this moment, Zhao Jiadi neither coveted Mu Hongli nor had the paranoid thought of confronting her in the classroom. He smiled, stretched out his hand, and said, "I'll go and throw it away."
Mu Hongli was on the verge of speaking but then stopped. She returned the cigarette butt to the young man she thought was called "Zhao Jiadi". Zhao Jiadi, who had no intention of waiting for an ethereal "thank you", said in a gentle tone, "Then I'll be off first."
After throwing the cigarette butt into the trash can in the corridor, Zhao Jiadi walked away briskly without any hesitation. However, when he counted to 10, Mu Hongli had already caught up with his pace, yet she remained silent. Zhao Jiadi retraced his steps according to his memory. When passing a teaching building, the bell for the end of class rang. Zhao Jiadi, who had originally intended to maintain a solemn and vicissitudes - like manner, couldn't help but ask, "Are you going the same way as me?"
Mu Hongli smiled and shook her head.
"Are you so grateful that you plan to pledge your life to me?" Zhao Jiadi put his hands behind his head and said something that he would only say in front of specific people in specific situations. It was neither serious nor in line with propriety.
"Gratitude is real, but I'm not prepared to pledge myself to you." Mu Hongli walked with a light step, probably in a good mood. She stared at the face of the man not far from her. He was very young, but not childish. As for whether he was mature or calculating, Mu Hongli didn't have discerning eyes. Since she hadn't fallen in love with Zhao Jiadi at first sight, she naturally couldn't tell. After all, she was just a good - natured child with excellent family education, living in an ivory tower and a greenhouse in the traditional sense. She said sincerely with a bit of guilt, "No matter who it was that was picked out as a negative example by the Russian lecturer while sitting in your seat today, I wouldn't have spoken up for him. So, it has nothing to do with what your identity or knowledge is."
"Do you want me to take back that comment?" Zhao Jiadi said with a smile.
"No. That's your freedom. I'm just giving my own explanation. I never try to persuade or argue with anyone. Standing on the moral high ground is too thankless." Mu Hongli shook her head and said.
"Yeah, as long as you have a clear conscience." Zhao Jiadi nodded. Mu Hongli's explanation was quite reasonable. Presumably, this girl was also tired of so many fawning suitors around her. Once bitten by a snake, she naturally got used to keeping a respectful distance from this group. Zhao Jiadi had always been self - aware in this regard. When pursuing a high - and - mighty goddess by overstepping one's level, it was reasonable to be classified into the toad group at the beginning.
"Long live understanding." Mu Hongli said with a smile, fully agreeing with Zhao Jiadi's so - called having a clear conscience.
Zhao Jiadi stopped in his tracks and gave Mu Hongli a hard look. Then he grinned, revealing his bright and neat white teeth, and said with a smile, "That's it. No goodbye. Finally, to correct you, my name is Zhao Jiadi, 'Jia Di' as in 'the best in Jiangnan'."
No goodbye?
Mu Hongli was stunned for a moment.
Looking at that receding figure, Mu Hongli quietly wrinkled her delicate nose and muttered to herself, "He's even prouder than I am."
This time, she didn't plan to catch up with him. The first time she rushed out of the classroom was to give a simple and clear explanation, and the second time she chased out of the infirmary was to say thank you. If she followed the boy again, the situation would change its nature, and it would no longer be something Mu Hongli could handle. She didn't want to mislead or suggest anything to anyone. However, Mu Hongli suddenly caught sight of the back of Zhao Jiadi's soaked T - shirt. The sun above was so scorching that just walking a few steps would make one drenched in sweat. This made Mu Hongli think of the scene where the boy was running across the campus with her on his back. She thought that he must have been very tired at that time. In her hazy memory, even when they arrived at the infirmary, he hadn't wiped his sweat even once.
A person like this can't be thoroughly bad at heart, can he?
So Mu Hongli, who had been sentimental towards a guy at the wrong time and in the wrong place, shouted, "Zhao Jiadi, I'll treat you to lunch."
Whoosh. The men and women pouring out of the teaching building after class and those hurrying to the teaching building for class all stared fixedly at the belle of the Russian department who had firmly refused to fall in love and kept her single status intact for three years. It was as if they had seen a ghost during the daytime. The male students who didn't know Mu Hongli all felt sorry that such a beautiful flower was going to be "planted in the manure pit". Some guys who had heard of or witnessed Mu Hongli's charm were even more dumbfounded. It was so unprecedented. Mu Hongli, who regarded men as insignificant as ants, was actually taking the initiative to extend an olive branch to the opposite sex?
"Is there wine and meat?" Zhao Jiadi turned around and asked with a silly, cheerful look, completely ignoring the countless nearby stares that regarded him as an idiot.
"Drink wine from big bowls and eat meat in large chunks." Mu Hongli covered her mouth and laughed. This guy is so cute.
Zhao Jiadi and Mu Hongli walked together as a matter of course. Although it was just after ten o'clock, they could probably make it to lunchtime if they dawdled a bit. Although Mu Hongli still wasn't quite used to the strange "scrutiny" of the schoolmates around her, after a while, seeing Zhao Jiadi's self - righteous look, she was also amused, thinking that this guy was really extraordinary. In class, he just pretended to be stupid and endured until the lecturer showed off for a long time, and then dealt a fatal blow at the climax, and finally left the battlefield in a grandiose manner. Actually, if it hadn't been for the last paragraph being too targeted at herself, Mu Hongli would have thought it was a perfect solo performance. After all, in the foreign language department, few students could outshine their tutors in the academic field. Seeing Zhao Jiadi suddenly snickering, Mu Hongli asked curiously, "What's going on?"
Zhao Jiadi confessed honestly, "I just felt that we were a bit like the Condor Heroes. But after thinking about it, I think those guys who almost popped their eyes out must think that you are Little Dragon Girl for sure, and at most, I'm just that bit - part eagle."
Mu Hongli almost burst out laughing without caring about her image. She lowered her voice and said, "No more cold jokes. My stomach still hurts."
"Generally speaking, you can decoct sliced large angelica in water or swallow ground sophora flavescens mixed with vinegar. These traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions are all beneficial with no harm. They are more reliable than going to the infirmary. Girls' bodies need to be carefully nursed by themselves, or there will be a lot of after - effects." Zhao Jiadi said softly.
Mu Hongli was shy, her cheeks blushing, and she didn't dare to respond. After all, it was okay to talk freely about menstrual cramps among the same sex, but she really didn't have the nerve to have an in - depth discussion about it with a boy. After a long while, Mu Hongli asked softly, "How do you know about this?"
"When my grandfather was young, he was a country doctor. Later, he never let that little knowledge go to waste. When I was a child, I always went into the mountains with him to collect herbs." Zhao Jiadi said in an understated way. "You have cold - type pain. If you trust me, I'll give you a folk prescription. It's just that the materials are a bit complicated and I have to make a trip to the pharmacy."
"Is that okay?" Mu Hongli said hesitantly. It seemed that she thought it would be too much trouble for Zhao Jiadi. For some reason, she didn't even suspect whether Zhao Jiadi's medical skills were just amateurish.
"Are you afraid that I'll poison you with arsenic? Or knockout drops?" Zhao Jiadi joked.
"I thought you were going to ride off like a chivalrous hero. Why, are you still concerned about the life and death of a weak woman like me?" Mu Hongli snorted. Obviously, she still harbored a grudge about Zhao Jiadi's third resolute departure.
"A great hero must have the demeanor of a great hero. Otherwise, wouldn't you take me for a charlatan in the Jianghu who sells the 'Sunflower Manual' or the 'Nine Yin Manual' in bulk? This is called playing the long game." Zhao Jiadi laughed heartily.
The joking and teasing stopped at the right point. Zhao Jiadi didn't get carried away just because he got a little encouragement. Mu Hongli had shown some kindness, but being too over - the - top would only be annoying. Zhao Jiadi's talk of "playing the long game" wasn't false. His outstanding performance in science brought him an additional advantage, that is, an extremely clear sense of distance. It's not simply the length from point a to point b on a line, but also includes the physical and mental distance between a man and a woman.