"Would you like... to buy you a beer?" There was obvious nervousness when he spoke, and his Adam's apple twitched due to the swallowing movement.
Anya, who was watching this scene not far away, almost laughed out loud.
However, Che Linwan did not deliberately prolong Xia Mingzhi's embarrassing time. She just glanced at the appointment schedule.
During this 16-day academic visit, most of the time was fixed, and only the itinerary after dark was free.
So some other male professors in the team began to live a nightlife that had been banned for a long time in China.
They also tried to drag Che Linwan into the water. After all, she was the only female professor in the group.
It's a pity that Che Linwan always has a social attitude of wanting nothing, which makes them very depressed.
It's the last few days of the exchange program, and there are more and more blank days on the itinerary. Several professors have made an appointment to go to a famous local gay bar. Forbidden love has always been guarded against in China like a scourge, but in love killing The aspect is particularly significant.
A male student came over and asked for a beer? The fellow professors stopped their hurried steps one by one and waited to watch the show.
Xia Mingzhi licked the corners of his lips, "If Dr. Che has other things to be busy with..." Normally, he would not leave himself any room, he would either accept or reject. But inexplicably, he felt awkward and his heart beat faster in front of this female forensic doctor. In his eyes, it was a very contemptuous psychological activity. He was also afraid of and avoided her rejection.
So she paved the way for her retreat before she refused.
From the beginning of the seminar to now, more than one boy has invited this female forensic doctor.
According to Xia Mingzhi's private and complete statistical observation, she seemed to have only socialized with the visiting professor who was responsible for hosting the event, that is, a Jewish professor who discriminated against the status of Asian women.
Other male students who were obviously dating for purpose or female students who acted as wingmen were all politely declined.
Her polite and considerate gestures clearly convey her social attitude, which is entirely business-like. She doesn't want to share her private time with anyone.
Xia Mingzhi knew that he should not go against the trend. It’s just that I’m really too curious about this female forensic doctor.
Why can't I help but follow her when I see her? Forensic science, which had no interest at all under Anya's encouragement, was able to sit through the discussion for several hours because of her presence.
And she broke the rule since he came to this university. If she stared at him for more than 3 seconds, she had to invite him for a beer. Indeed, as Anya said, she had been staring at him for more than 3 seconds. He was not someone who had never been rejected in his previous experiences, so why was he so afraid of being rejected by her.
What he should have said was, do you want to buy me a beer? Only after he said it did he realize that he meant, do you want to buy you a beer. The mood has completely changed. The latter's words are full of confidence, while the former is somewhat awkward and uneasy.
Have you even begun to back down
She looked up from her schedule.
Looking at him with a little too bright eyes.
Why are you looking at him like that? Why give him hope when you clearly want to refuse.
"But I don't drink beer."
Xia Mingzhi could feel it himself, and his expression became exaggerated. He also heard the frustrated whimpers of the male professors behind him.
"Can I drink something else instead, coffee? Tea?"
The ups and downs of mood are like a roller coaster!
Xia Mingzhi immediately reminded himself secretly not to get carried away. This female forensic doctor must be a veteran. Can you actually play with him without leaving any trace? Unforgivable.
"Is there anything in particular Dr. Che wants to try?"
"Is there a hot spring restaurant that seems to be famous?"
"Ah... are you sure?"
Very famous indeed. But few Asian tourists have tried it.
It is a fully exposed open hot spring with mixed bathing for men and women. The food provided is indeed very exquisite, which is in line with the tastes of Westerners, especially those in Europe and America.
Anya heard that the two of them were going to a famous local hot spring restaurant for dinner, and her eyes were so shocked that she almost fell out of her eyes.
Blinking, he looked at Xia Mingzhi with an expression on his face: "Little boy, what are you going to do?"
Xia Mingzhi laughed narrowly, ready to see the female forensic doctor retreat.
When the travel media checked in, I was ranked first, but in fact, a real person checked in, and the number was negative. This is a hot spring restaurant that even travel media punch-ins may not have actually visited.
The sign at the door is written in nearly 24 languages, including Tibetan, but there is no German that belongs to the country? It is clearly and concisely stated that this is an open, fully exposed, high-quality hot spring. As long as you still have the last piece of fig leaf left on you, don't even think about going in!
Che Linwan was stunned.
She turned to look at the expressions of Xia Mingzhi and Anya. The former was just watching the show, while the latter had thoughtfully started searching for other nearby restaurants with good reviews.
"Just go in." Che Linwan rubbed his cheeks to recover from his frozen expression.
"What..." the other two people said in unison.
"Are you afraid?"
Anya visibly took a step back. Xia Mingzhi was worried that Che Linwan didn't understand it at all, so he pointed at the explanatory notice board, which contained a line of Chinese characters.
"The meaning of this line is that everyone should be honest with each other, regardless of gender. In it... "
"Aren't you going in?" Che Linwan continued to challenge their bottom line.
Xia Mingzhi turned to Anya suddenly, "Can you explain to her what it means to be honest with each other."
Che Linwan suddenly put his chin on his hand and asked curiously, "So are you boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Ah? What." Xia Mingzhi and Anya were caught off guard at the same time.
"I often see you coming in and out together."
"That's because I don't have a car."
"He gets a free ride."
"We live together too."
"It's a tenant."
"I'm a boarder."
Che Linwan nodded thoughtfully.
Xia Mingzhi was very upset by her expression. What does she mean
But Anya's expression turned serious.
The senses between girls are always sharp.
She likes Xia Mingzhi, she did, but not so much now.
In fact, if she was serious, she felt that Xia Mingzhi would not reject her.
However, I always felt like something was wrong.
He looks like a... soulless machine.
Anya always felt that Xia's name was either due to something she had experienced, or lack of experience. So I always waited patiently for him.
He has a high emotional intelligence, is very smart, and takes good care of her, but he also knows that he lacks a basic point, that is, the basic point that can send him out at all costs.
Some people will never meet in her life, such as Anya, but she never feels regretful. Because sometimes giving away desperately means an irreparable black hole.
The appearance of the female forensic doctor in front of her broke this balance. As Xia Mingzhi's good friend, she could clearly feel that there was a scale in his heart that was silently sliding towards this strange, unknown person with eyebrows. There was a sense of peace brought by the years, and the female forensic doctor who seemed indifferent to everything in the campus lecture hall suddenly seemed to be interested in Xia Mingzhi, an international student.
Anya doesn't care about losing to the cheerleaders of any club. Those girls are all brainless, or they appear a bit stupid due to excessive exercise that consumes the amino acids needed by the brain. They can just meet the needs of ordinary men for women.
They could easily attract Xia Mingzhi's attention and buy him a beer, but after finishing the drink, he would return to her small home and continue to be her tenant.
She enjoyed this certainty. But the female forensic doctor in front of her obviously made her feel some kind of threat.
So Anya laughed, a bit abrupt and unnatural. Che Linwan also laughed a few times.
It turned out that two girls took the lead and walked into the open and fully exposed hot spring.
The locker rooms are separate for men and women, which is very weird. Because when I walked into the hot spring bath later, it was a mixed bath for men and women.
The front desk gave each of them a hand sign and a bath towel that had faded due to over-soaking in disinfectant. They were required to enter the bathing area barefoot.
Before entering the pool, you must hang your bath towel on the artificial tree branch at the entrance.
There is a lot of fog in the hot spring pool, and some of the fog is caused by sulfur. The temperature is not high. It was almost impossible to see the human form clearly within three or four meters, only a ball of white flesh could be seen.
Xia Mingzhi came out of the locker room first, and everything he saw was white... Two local middle-aged men who were drinking beer even reached out to greet him. After all, people with Asian skin are rare here.
A young woman with an explosive figure walked past him calmly and proudly, while glancing at his lower body provocatively...
Xia Mingzhi turned around suddenly and saw Che Linwan and Anya walking out of the women's locker room wrapped in bath towels and about to take off their bath towels.
"Stop—" he pulled the towel around his waist and raised his hands in surrender to the two war goddesses, "I admit defeat! I lost, and I am willing to lose. I will be responsible for all the next purchases. Can we switch to another store?"
"Why?"
"Why."
Xia Mingzhi was left speechless by the two men's questioning.
Is he the only one who is scared? Is he really the only one who is scared
He looked at Anya pleadingly, but his eyes always avoided the female forensic doctor.
It was a strange, unreasonable possessiveness. Not to Anya, but to this strange female forensic doctor with whom she had almost no interactions.
Before he came in, he had a very certain feeling that she would definitely shrink back. Will!
Where the confidence comes from, he himself can't tell.
But something seems to have changed.
Become unpredictable and uncontrollable.
"I told you I'm going to treat you. Let's go!"
Anya joked, "Oh, you're angry when you say you're angry."
When three people are dining, there is a very eclectic way of sitting, which is a round table.
But Anya naturally moved her chair towards Xia Mingzhi a few times, and took advantage of the situation to look at the menu in his hand.
Che Linwan silently put the menu in his hand in front of Anya, "I've taken a look at it, you can order it."
Xia Mingzhi looked at the two of them without knowing what was going on. They both had smiles on their faces. However, from the perspective of psychological profiling, he found that there was no smile at all in their eyes, and there was even a bit of vigilance and caution. A tense situation
He didn't quite understand the character of the female forensic doctor, but he knew Anya. Anya was a happy-go-lucky person, a romantic soul painter, and definitely not an aggressive person.
It must be a hell today.
While eating, we talked about Che Linwan's itinerary.
"The return ticket is expected to be the day after tomorrow. There will be no specific arrangements starting tomorrow."
"Then what are your plans?" The people responsible for chatting were Che Linwan and Anya.
"Get ready to go shopping in a big supermarket. There are always relatives who need to bring souvenirs."
"Doctor Che doesn't have children at his age. When I celebrate the Chinese New Year, I have to buy gifts for my relatives' children. That's the most troublesome thing. It's expensive, and I have to choose age-appropriate toys. The maintenance rate must not be too high, and the Can't be dangerous... it's terrible."
Che Linwan thought of Lemi. After all these years, I don’t know if that pink-puffed little girl is doing well.
"Doctor Che?"
"Um."
"Why did you stop talking all of a sudden?"
"I remembered a little girl I knew before."
"Is he a relative's child?"
"No. She's my adopted daughter."
"Ah! Doctor Che actually has an adopted daughter? Doctor Che is still single, so why would he think of adopting a daughter? That girl must have grown up now."
Che Linwan's expression became slightly uncomfortable. Lemi was an eternal pain in her heart, a guilt that could not be overcome. She promised her that she would raise her and protect her until adulthood, but she broke her promise.
After putting in so much effort, I still broke my promise.
Xia Mingzhi waved to the waiter to fill the three people's glasses with water, and changed the subject with Anya.
But Anya still refused to give up and brought the topic back to Che Linwan, "Dr. Che should not be single now if he has such good conditions. Has he ever experienced any unforgettable and unforgettable love?"
Seeing that Che Linwan's expression was very wrong, Xia Mingzhi bumped Anya secretly with her elbow.
Anya seemed to understand, but changed the topic, "I saw that several other professors in the exchange group went to places like bars to relax and hunt for sex. Isn't Dr. Che interested in having a chance encounter in this foreign country..."
"Anya!" Xia Mingzhi couldn't help but spoke suddenly.
Anya and Che Linwan looked at him in surprise at the same time.
Xia Mingzhi lowered his gaze, "Anya, don't you have classes soon? Go ahead."
Anya said inexplicably, "Me? What kind of class do I have?"
Xia Mingzhi suddenly raised his head and stared at Anya's eyes for a moment, "You go first."
Anya paused.
She first glanced at Che Linwan, and then focused all her hateful eyes on Xia Mingzhi's face. She closed her lips and wanted to say something, but the last bit of pride kept her from saying anything.
Anya's sudden departure made the atmosphere at the small round table suddenly drop to freezing point.
Che Linwan wanted to speak to break the silence, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
But Xia Mingzhi suddenly spoke, "I'm sorry, Doctor Che... I didn't mean to make you go through this before leaving. In fact, Anya is not like this."
But he didn't expect that Che Linwan stretched out his hand and pressed it on the back of his hand, "No need to apologize or explain. It doesn't matter."
At that moment, he seemed to know her. He had known her for a long time, so long that he knew her better than anyone else in his memory.
Before coming to Germany to study, there was a car accident. It was his parents who told him, and some fragments of his memory became blurry.
He stayed in the hospital for a long time. At that time, as the physical fatigue subsided little by little, there was a tense nerve in my mind.
A voice kept popping up in the dark night, reminding him, "Remember! Remember! Remember..."
But he couldn't remember what he wanted to remember.
Later, a doctor named Dr. Smith came to see him. This doctor looked different from a surgeon. He sat in front of him and did nothing else, just chatting.
Xia Mingzhi asked him that he seemed to have something very important and couldn't remember it. What should he do
The doctor said that since you can't remember it, your brain must have made the decision for you, thinking that if you remember it, it will cause harm to your body, so it is protective in letting you forget it.
"But this matter seems important."
"Try to recall it slowly, don't be anxious, you will naturally remember it when it no longer hurts you."
No matter where his body was, the forgotten thing in his mind never disappeared, but he was never in a hurry, and he couldn't find any clues anyway.
And he kept comforting himself that it shouldn't be an urgent matter. Otherwise, how could no one remind him? Even his parents never mentioned anything he didn't remember. He went through all the records at home, all the cloud storage, everything Notes without a single word.
However, what frightened him was that everything changed from the day he met Che Linwan.
Becoming anxious, becoming anxious, becoming depressed.
He woke up from his dreams again and again, his back soaked with sweat. There was a voice desperately reminding him that he must remember, must, immediately!
But when I woke up, I couldn't remember anything about the conversation in the dream.
What is it, what happened to me.
He tightened his fingers little by little, turned his palm over, and nestled her fingers in his hand.
The inexplicably familiar touch, temperature, breath... There is a nerve axis in my mind that is beating fiercely.
"Xia Mingzhi!" The tone of her calling his name was also familiar...
Pieces of gray filled the air before his eyes.
Xia Mingzhi fell straight down, knocking over tables and chairs.
The waiters and surrounding customers gathered around and asked if they needed help.
When he woke up again, Xia Mingzhi found himself in the hospital and lying in a quiet ward.
He turned around and looked around, but there was no one there.
The monitor makes a steady and gentle sound.
After a while the nurse came in to make rounds and handed him a phone and told him that his mother was on her way.
Xia Mingzhi was stunned and grabbed the nurse's wrist, "How did you contact my mother!"
"Your friend told us."
"friend?"
Anya opened the door and walked in.
Xia Mingzhi lay down quietly. Anya did know Ma Jiaxunyi's contact information. Once he asked his mother to send a box of books, but he happened to be away, so Anya helped to collect them.
"Did you inform my mother?"
"The discussion group has left."
Xia Mingzhi closed his eyes and said no more. He understood what Anya meant. The female forensic doctor, Dr. Che, left.
He didn't know if he would see her again or if he would have a chance to find her.
(End of chapter)