After Shi Ci arrived, Shi Hai was not in a hurry to leave. He clamored to order more food and went to order dishes with Fang Xiuqi.
Shi Ci looked at the bottle of coconut juice in front of him, glanced at the glasses provided by the store to customers that others were drinking from, then glanced at the disposable cups on the table, and finally decided to drink it with a straw.
There were two girls sitting opposite her. One of them was the first time she met. She was very familiar with them and understood the atmosphere, but she wasn't really familiar enough to continue calling her sister. "Professor Shi, you and your brother are so tall!"
Shi Ci took a sip of coconut juice and smiled, "My parents are both tall."
"Yeah, yeah, there aren't many people in the South who are this tall..." Zhang Zi, who was 1.68 meters tall, mocked Tang Zuo mercilessly and gently pushed her down, "Tang Zuo is just a dwarf!"
Tang Zuo was still wondering whether to leave early because she was really tired. When Zhang Zinan pushed her, she looked at her speechlessly.
Shi Ci raised the corner of his mouth, but did not express any opinion.
Tang Zhuo rubbed his tired eyes and didn't want to refute, "I want to go back. You just said on the phone that you wanted me to bring something back?"
"Oh, this, I bought a pair of cups, and my bag can't fit them." Zhang Zinan took out a box containing a pair of small dolls.
Tang Zuo took it and put it into the bag where she kept her uniforms. As she was moving, the headphone cord of the MP3 player fell off. She took the MP3 player out of her small bag, wound up the headphone cord, and was about to put it back into the bag when her cell phone rang.
Tang Zuo froze when he saw the name on the phone and unconsciously put the MP3 into his bag.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Zinan leaned over and looked at the phone screen. "Your aunt?"
Tang Zuo nodded slowly.
Zhang Zinan curled her lips, "Don't answer it! She will definitely scold you again!" She looked at Tang Zhao's speechless profile and her much sharper chin, and simply grabbed the phone and swiped the screen to hang up the phone for her, "Be nice to yourself, you have done your best."
Tang Zuo lowered his head.
Shi Ci suppressed his smile and observed silently.
"I have to go back first." Tang Zhuo was stunned for several seconds and said softly. As soon as he stood up, he was pulled back by Zhang Zinan, "Didn't you say that..."
She turned to Shi Ci and smiled, "Professor Shi, if it's convenient for you, could you please take Tang Zuo back to school later?"
"Hey..." Tang Zuo wanted to say something.
Shi Ci smiled and nodded, "It's on the way, no problem."
Tang Zuo knew that it would be a bit troublesome to take the bus back to school, so she hesitated for a moment and did not refuse.
Later, two boys came up and the second round of fried skewers they ordered was served. The young people started chatting animatedly again, as did the tables next to them. The whole restaurant was bustling with activity.
Shi Ci could see that Tang Zuo was obviously absent-minded and very tired.
It’s a bit like staring out the car window during Tomb Sweeping Day.
But it’s a little bit different.
It seems that apart from the family's lack of wealth, there are other troubles.
The girl next to her nudged her and said, "Eat something."
The fried skewers the two boys ordered were mostly meat, and there were some other fried foods such as fried pumpkin meatballs, lotus root boxes, and eggplant boxes, which they separated and placed on plates.
Shi Ci watched as she finally picked up the chopsticks, picked up a meatball, bit it, and chewed with her mouth full.
Then her expression gradually softened, and she pinched another eyebrow. Her big eyes also softened, and her eyelashes grew as if they were artificially grafted. They were black and curled, making people of the same sex envious and jealous, and making people want to touch them.
Shi Ci saw that she had already eaten three pumpkin balls and seemed ready to eat the fourth.
Professor Shi suddenly had evil thoughts and picked up the chopsticks to pick up the remaining pumpkin meatball on the plate.
Tang Zuo's chopsticks hit nothing, and she probably didn't expect this to happen. Her expression was blank and she paused for a second or two before picking up a piece of lotus root and taking a bite. While biting, she raised her eyes and looked at her quietly.
Shi Ci was not in a hurry to eat. She held the pumpkin pill and observed it. She accepted the gaze of the girl opposite her without any pressure and looked at her with a smile.
Tang Zhuo first withdrew his gaze and started eating the lotus root box. He said: "Okay, if you want to eat it, I'll give it to you."
Shi Ci was sure that he saw her expression, which showed that she was a little unhappy but had to give up, and she seemed to pout.
Pretend nothing happened, pretend she really doesn't want to take the fourth one.
Shi Ci really wanted to laugh. He finally looked a bit innocent and naive like he should be at his age.
She thought that since she had already snatched it, she might as well eat it.
It is actually a pumpkin pie with red bean paste filling. Once you bite into the crispy glutinous rice skin on the surface, you can taste the slightly warm red bean paste.
Well. Besides being a bit oily, a bit sweet, and high in calories.
It’s okay.
Shi Ci came to the conclusion that he would have to increase the amount of exercise tomorrow morning.
On the way back, Shi Hai was really drunk and started to act crazy. He wanted to sit in the back seat of the car with Tang Zuo. As soon as he sat next to her, he smiled at her foolishly, "You are so beautiful!"
Patting his chest, he said, "I'm also very good-looking, look—" He lifted the hem of his short T-shirt, "Look at my abdominal muscles! Come and feel them!"
Tang Zuo: “…”
Shi Ci listened to his silly brother getting closer and closer to sexual harassment, and called him with a headache, "Shi Hai!" He turned to Tang Zuo and said, "He didn't mean that. He was drunk."
Tang Zhuo pursed his lips, moved closer to him, and stretched out his hand -
Shi Ci raised his eyebrows slightly.
Tang Zuo stretched out his hand to Shi Hai's shoulder, pulled the seat belt with a "swish", and buckled him into the seat with a "click".
Then she carried the bag, pushed the car door out, opened the passenger door, got in, put down the bag, and fastened her seat belt.
After completing the series of movements neatly, she stopped moving.
Shi Hai in the back seat was a little slow to respond, "Huh?"
Shi Ci raised the corner of his mouth and started the car. "What time is the dormitory curfew? I'll take him home first and then you. Is it in time?"
"Ten thirty." Tang Zuo moved his body hesitantly, "Or I can go back by myself..."
"Sit down." Shi Ci glanced at the time, "It's okay, there's still time."
“… Thank you, Professor Shi.”
Shi Ci took a shortcut. Driving fast requires paying attention to the road conditions. He did not talk to Tang Zuo along the way. However, Shi Hai in the back seat was very noisy. His cheeks were red, and he muttered in boredom. He also hummed a song, but it was not in tune. He just hummed and sang whatever he thought of, a little here and a little there. He fell asleep when he reached the door of the villa.
Before arriving home, Shi Ci called Ms. Ding, who happened to have just returned from a trip with Old Man Shi.
The Shi family’s villa is an old-style house with a separate entrance and separate household.
Shi Ci honked the horn when he reached the gate, then got out of the back seat, opened the door, and pulled Shi Hai out.
Tang Zuo got off the car without thinking.
Shi Ci was wearing high heels and was not much shorter than Shi Hai, but the drunk man was very heavy and she found it a bit too much for her to handle. Tang Zuo ran over and held Shi Hai's other arm. Although she was not tall, she could actually share a lot of the weight.
"Here comes this brat!" Ms. Ding arrived before she could even reach the top of her voice, with a white mud mask on her face. When she saw Shi Hai like this, she shouted, "Old man, come quickly!"
"Whose child is this?" He then looked at Tang Zuo and asked curiously.
"Student." Shi Ci paused, "Not my student..." He added, "I know him from Shi Hai."
"Hello, Auntie." Tang Zuo called out.
"Hey," Ms. Ding smiled, "You are so pretty. Come in and sit down."
"Ms. Ding!"
At this time, Old Man Shi came out, and Shi Ci pushed Shi Hai over, "It's too late, I want to take her back to school."
"Well, that's good..."
"Goodbye, uncle and aunt."
After getting in the car, Ms. Ding waved to Tang Zuo with a smile, "Come over and play when you have time."
After the car started, Tang Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief. He was already tired, and now he had to meet so many unfamiliar people. After working for so many days, his social skills have greatly improved. His polite reaction just now was completely a conditioned reflex.
She still felt tired and just wanted to go back and have a good sleep.
Don't hitchhike next time.
She realized later that she seemed to have been seeing the Shi family too often in the past few months.
It’s okay for Shi Hai, after all, he is a student of her and is very familiar with Zhang Zinan’s boyfriend, so it’s normal for them to meet.
But Tang Zuo didn't expect that the frequency of her and Shi Ci meeting seemed to be even higher.
Tang Zuo turned his head to look at Shi Ci.
A bit of belated curiosity.
Life makes her meet her frequently. Is it a hint that she will play an important role in her life
"Hmm?" Shi Ci noticed that she was looking at him quietly, and when he looked over to the side, she had already looked away.
At night, the scenery outside the car window is speeding by, and street lights are passing by the front of the car.
Alternating between light and dark.
The young girl leaned her head against the window, light and darkness meeting on her face.
Cold, alienated, tired, lonely these words can all describe her at this moment.
But her face is still as delicate as a painting, so beautiful that it is natural for others to feel that she ignores her.
It was very quiet in the car.
They did not talk.
Shi Ci didn't want to turn on the music either. He felt that the quiet atmosphere at the moment was actually a rare experience, as if the hour and minute hands were still for a moment, and yet it seemed as if they were moving rapidly and smoothly.
Shi Ci looked at Tang Zuo again and found that her eyelashes were closed, her breathing was light, and she had fallen asleep.
The car drove under a bright street lamp, and a large patch of orange light poured in from the front of the car, like the filter seen in art films.
The halo was like oil paint sprinkled on the young girl's white T-shirt. She had small, thin shoulders and thin arms.
Shi Ci was one step behind her just before she came forward, so he saw a corner of the Band-Aid sticking out of the heel of her flat shoes, on both feet.
Shi Ci didn't want to wake her up.
The fact that she was able to fall asleep proved that she subconsciously believed that this was a safe environment.
Shi Ci felt proud of it.
Shi Ci also knew that she paid too much attention to this girl, but she strangely didn't want to delve into it. At this age, she could predict the results of every step in her life, and every encounter with Tang Zuo was unexpected. She enjoyed the subtle feeling that this casual and unexpected thing brought her.
When they arrived downstairs of the dormitory, before Shi Ci was thinking about whether to wake Tang Zuo up, the girl suddenly started, opened her eyes, and was stunned for two seconds before she seemed to realize where she was.
"We're here." Shi Ci said.
“Oh…” Tang Zhao rubbed her eyes and pushed the car door, but it didn’t open at first. She pushed it again, then thought of something, turned around to thank him, took a few steps out, and then remembered to come back to get the bag.
Shi Ci saw that she was sleeping soundly and felt uneasy, so he got out of the car and walked over to her. As soon as Tang Zuo turned around, she bumped into Shi Ci, and the bag she was holding fell to the ground with a whoosh.
There was a huge height difference between them, and Tang Zuo's face hit Shi Ci's shoulder. She let out a cry and tried to stand firm, but she stumbled and fell again. The height difference was too big, and this time she fell into Shi Ci's arms.
Shi Ci was stunned for a moment, raised her hand, hesitated for a moment, felt that it was not appropriate to put it anywhere, she put her hand down, paused, and asked softly, "Are you okay?"
The summer night wind blew away the thick clouds that had accumulated during the day, and also blew the sparse shadows of the trees on the road.
A pale moon revealed her face.
Tang Zuo straightened up stiffly, with her face drooping. No one knew why, but she suddenly turned around and walked towards the dormitory without saying a word.
"?" Just when Shi Ci was a little confused, the girl came back, picked up the bag on the ground, and almost ran into the dormitory.
“???” Shi Ci was really confused now.
Could it be――
Is she being disliked