Bai Lian lazily tilted her head, her left hand clutching her hair, faintly revealing a streak of crimson, the smoke lightly blurring her exquisitely beautiful face.
It was a breathtaking beauty.
But in the reflection of Bai Lian’s seemingly smiling face in white vest’s pupils, no other desires could arise.
He couldn’t speak, only shaking his head in frantic fear.
“So it’s like this ah.”
Bai Lian said as she let go of her hand.
She didn’t like the smell of smoke.
Languidly, she dropped the cigarette at her feet and stamped it out. “Cleaning up the battlefield, do you know?”
She asked politely, making the others genuinely afraid.
They nodded obediently.
Bai Lian patted her sleeves and glanced at them before leaving, casually remarked, “What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like I chopped off your heads.”
Her attitude was very easy-going.
Of course, that would be if she hadn’t used a tone like she was chopping cabbage.
It wasn’t until she left that the man in the white vest slid down to sit in the corner, fearfully moving his numb fingertips.
It took a good while before his underling dared to quietly move over, squatting at his feet, and lit a cigarette to calm his nerves. “What were you doing provoking her?”
White vest: “…….”
Fifteen minutes later.
Two patrolling officers came back around, their eyes wide and mouths agape as they looked at the storefront. The notorious gang leader from Qing Shui Street, who had some backing, was now dutifully helping the shop owner—
Sweeping the floor, moving things.
The other underlings were also busily working away.
“What are you looking at?” The man in the white vest, with a cigarette in his mouth, glanced at the two patrolling officers and said irritably, “Damn cops!”
After cursing, he continued to move boxes.
The store manager beside him, who was trembling with fear, was just about to lend a hand.
The man in the white vest who returned the money he owed for cigarettes to the store owner, said with a fierce look, “Did I ask you to clean up?”
He continued to move the goods with his head down, smoked a pack of cigarettes, but still couldn’t figure it out.
No, isn’t she crazy??
She smiles so sweetly but fights so fiercely?! The man in the white vest thought expressionlessly. She even wanted to chop off his head!
Not far away from being crazy.
“Hey? Captain.” The young officer watched the convenience store cautiously, took out the walkie-talkie, and said with a serious expression, “Yes, I request a thorough investigation of the manager of the convenience store at 112 Qing Shui Street, no, I’m not joking!!!”
****
It wasn’t dark yet, and when Bai Lian returned, Ji Shaojun was just about to come out to look for her.
He noticed that after going out, Bai Lian seemed to be in a better mood again.
Ji Shaojun felt somewhat relieved. There was a big difference in living standards between the north and south of Xiang City, and he was really afraid that Bai Lian wouldn’t get used to it.
Bai Lian sat by the stone table, lazily propping her chin with her hand, watching Ji Shaojun fill the water tank at home back and forth, and suddenly spoke, “Uncle.”
Ji Shaojun put the water bucket beside the well, when he heard Bai Lian’s voice, he was stunned.
Bai Lian had only been to Xiang City twice with Ji Mulan before, and this was the first time she called him uncle.
“Ah,” his voice suddenly rose, “You speak.”
Bai Lian blinked her big eyes, looking very obedient. “I want to switch to science.”
She didn’t say “I think.”
But “I want.”
“Ah,” Ji Shaojun picked up the rope for drawing water, his thoughts flipping, “Can you tell uncle why?”
He knew that Bai Lian studied liberal arts, and the difference between liberal arts and science courses was too great. Science was very cruel, with clear logic and reasoning, and the difficulty was distinct, if one didn’t understand one thing, you just wouldn’t understand it.
Bai Lian smiled.
Ji Shaojun and Ji Heng, both men of few words, treated Bai Lian with obvious caution and care, which gave her, a newcomer to this different world, a sense of acceptance and recognition.
She didn’t hate it, and even felt a little sense of belonging.
Of course, she didn’t understand why the original host would abandon such a good family and die in a lake for a few unrelated people.
“For no reason,” Bai Lian tilted her head and asked again, “Can’t I? Uncle?”
Ji Shaojun replied, “Okay, you can…leave it to me!”
Watching Ji Shaojun put down the bucket and went to find Ji Heng, Bai Lian withdrew her obedient look and smiled lazily, propping up her chin.
Living, it seems, is also alright.
****
“Is this the reason you agreed to her?” Ji Heng picked up a piece of cloth, looking at Ji Shaojun, his face creased with wrinkles, showing an expression of incomprehension.
There weren’t many people in the yard, and besides the kitchen on the left, there was a small warehouse filled with cloth.
Although some of the cloth was old, the colors were still bright.
Ji Shaojun would help Ji Heng clean whenever he had time.
He chuckled, pulled over a dust cover, and muttered softly, “But she called me uncle.”
“Nonsense,” Ji Heng said coldly, his authority undiminished, “She’s ignorant, and you too? Ah Lian is already in her senior year, is switching from liberal arts to science a joke?”
Switching schools in senior year was quite nonsensical.
His son was quite intelligent, how could he be so confused about this matter?
Ji Shaojun also didn’t understand how Bai Lian, after going around and coming back in a good mood, suddenly wanted to change her major.
He silently worked on the task at hand, then suddenly remembered something and hesitantly spoke up, “The two illegitimate children of the Bai family, aren’t they both studying science?”
Bai Shaoke was the top scorer in the city last year and was admitted to Jiangjing University. The Bai family had been hyped up on the internet for a long time, and even Xiang City had heard about it. It was said that the illegitimate daughter was also excellent in science.
Ji Heng stroked a piece of fine satin, and upon hearing this, he didn’t speak immediately.
His hands were already wrinkled with deep lines, and after a long while, he said, “Her temperament…”
“Dad,” Ji Shaojun regretted bringing this up, “I think Ah Lian has become sensible this time, she’s thoughtful, a late bloomer. You should give her a chance, she could repeat a year and possibly achieve an ideal score next year.”
Of course, he was just saying it casually.
He knew what his niece was like. It would be good enough if she could quietly finish her senior year. Their family didn’t expect her to bring back a top scholar title or anything like that. As long as she was happy, they would let her be.
Whether she studied liberal arts or science didn’t matter.
Ji Heng turned around and carefully pulled out a small oil-paper package from the cabinet behind him, then opened the package and took out a long, thin needle.
He didn’t argue anymore.
Ji Shaojun could tell that he had tacitly agreed, so he put away the cloth and watched Ji Heng take the needle. “Shall I help you bring out the embroidery frame?”
Ji Heng didn’t respond immediately.
After a while, he nodded almost imperceptibly, “Take it.”
Ji Shaojun’s eyes lit up, “Alright! I’ll go now.”
It was already dark, and Ji Shaojun called Shen Qing to say he would return later, then stayed to help Ji Heng clean the warehouse, took out the embroidery frame and other items to wash, and then placed them in the yard to dry.
He hummed a song while wiping the dark-colored embroidery frame.
The light in Bai Lian’s room was also on. Hee could see her reflection in the window, reading at her desk.
Bai Lian was different, Ji Shaojun could feel it. Even when she stepped into the inky water in the stones today, she didn’t frown.
She was different from her mother.
Ji Shaojun suddenly felt that Bai Lian being sent back by the Bai family might not be a bad thing after all.
****
Ji Shaojun was helping Bai Lian contact the school and teachers.
In addition, her household registration needed to be transferred to the Ji family.
Bai Lian had been in the library these past few days. What surprised her about this era was not just the mobile phones and computers, but also the library.
She had never seen such a rich collection of books that was also open to the public.
This is indeed a great era.
But there’s a problem—
Bai Lian looked down at the physics book in her hand, glanced at the physics exercises, wrote two problems, then put down her pen and murmured softly, “Am I…..finally going to start tarnishing my teacher’s reputation?”
In the past, with that gentleman’s Six Arts and The Eight Essences of Life, she wouldn’t dare say she was highly proficient, but at least she had completed her apprenticeship.
With the rapid development of modern technology, the original host’s mind was empty without a shred of knowledge. She herself had read books in the library for a few days and was able to understand most of them.
She felt that the books she read were not difficult, but…
The problem is this—
The knowledge and examples she learned: [1+1=]
The problem she did: [Prove e^{iπ}+1=0]
Bai Lian thought gloomily—
I wonder if I go back and burn a couple more incense sticks for my teacher, will he forgive me for embarrassing him in modern times? The library has many books, but it also has its shortcomings.
For example, deeper knowledge, or a larger amount of problem sets.
She hasn’t seen them.
Hearing her sigh, the child next to her holding a paintbrush tilted his head, his big eyes clear and black, flickering as he looked at her.
“Choose C.”
He suddenly spoke up.
Bai Lian paused, flipped through the answers, and C was correct.
So she turned her face and asked, “Mental calculation?”
On her first day at the library, she saw the child who had followed her from the train station to the city gate upon her arrival in Xiang City, a not so shallow fate.
In the following days, both of them appeared on time at the library’s opening at eight o’clock. They read and studied together, both not very talkative.
The little kid shook his head.
After a while, he explained, “My brother set up a mnemonic model for this kind of problem, there’s an algorithm.”
Which ordinary child memorizes mnemonic models?
But Bai Lian accepted it well. “I see, want some milk tea?”
“No…”
Bai Lian didn’t give him a chance to object, she leaned on the table and laughed, gentle as a spring breeze. “By the way, I’ve always considered you my good friend—”
She stumbled over her words, “What’s your name?”
Jiang He: “..…”
“Jiang He, the crane that went to the solitary mountain and has not returned.” (TL: Character “鶴” or He in his name meant crane.)
“Oh, then, I’ve always considered you my good friend, Jiang He.” Bai Lian crumpled the paper in her hand into a ball and casually threw it behind her, tapping his head, “Let’s go, out.”
The two left their seats.
The paper went straight into a red hollowed-out wastebasket in the corner.
Her phone rang in her pocket, an unnamed number, Bai Lian casually answered, “Hello?”
The person on the other end obviously didn’t expect her voice to be so calm, paused for a moment, then spoke indifferently, “It’s me.”
“Who?” Bai Lian had little patience.
“Bai Lian, I have more common topics with Bai Shaoqi, even without her, our relationship won’t change,” on the other end of the phone, Song Min didn’t believe Bai Lian didn’t have his number, he just thought Bai Lian was doing it on purpose. He pressed his brow, coldly and annoyedly said, “So you, taking the apprenticeship letter to Xiang City, don’t you think it’s very childish?”
Thank you for the update!