During the break, Mu Chenghe returned to the office, and I was just about to return the original printed materials to him. When I walked to the door, I heard Chen Ting's voice. It turned out that he hadn't left yet.
I was about to go in with a smile, but I heard my name in their conversation. I have a good ear, so I stopped in my tracks out of curiosity.
"This kid is quite interesting." This was Mu Chenghe's voice.
"Her family is like that, so I was quite worried when I left. I was afraid that she would get into trouble while I was away and there would be no adult to take care of her," said Chen Ting.
"In fact, she is much stronger than we thought." Mu Chenghe said.
A cold wind blew in from the corridor, ruffling my bangs.
At the same time, I was feeling a bit confused.
It turns out that Mu Chenghe knew everything.
We misunderstood everything.
His special treatment of me from the beginning was just to take care of me on behalf of Chen Ting. It was not what I and Bai Lin and the others mistakenly believed.
My hands dropped weakly, and I felt mixed emotions.
It turns out... it was just wishful thinking.
How could such an outstanding person be attracted to a "child" who was still wet behind the ears? I twitched the corners of my mouth in self-mockery, trying to smile, but I couldn't pull out that difficult arc.
They said something else, probably about me.
But I didn't want to listen anymore. I turned halfway and leaned my back against the wall. I felt a little weak all over. My five fingers loosened and the two pages of information fell to the ground.
Most of the final materials Mu Chenghe gave me were printed, but some of the important notes were handwritten by him later. I selfishly kept the originals, and now I give him a photocopy. If he asks, I have already thought of a response on the way here, just say that I accidentally lost it, I think he won't mind.
The only two text messages he sent me were saved in my phone. The first one was: You're welcome. The second one was: No problem.
The last time I went to his lecture, I brought back a copy of the speech with his introduction printed on the title page and I also put it in my diary.
What else? Nothing.
I slowly squatted down to pick up the papers. The light from the office almost shone on my hands, and I quickly picked up the things and put my hands back.
Then I heard Chen Ting say another sentence.
Because there was a long pause before he spoke, I could hear it clearly even if I didn't pay attention.
Chen Ting said, "There's nothing going on between you and Xue Tong, right?"
Chen Ting hesitated and said, "Chenghe, don't pour all the love you didn't get as a child into her just because of some similarities in your family."
I hurried downstairs and sent a text message to Bai Lin, asking her to help me bring my things from the classroom back to the dormitory.
Bai Lin replied: You're not going to class? There's still one class left.
I wrote: No.
Bai Lin asked again: What's wrong with you
I wrote: My stomach aches.
I returned to my dorm and turned on my computer. I browsed around the internet for a while but didn't know what to do. I went to bed, lay on my back, and took out my wallet. I stared at the photo of my dad, in a daze.
I don’t know how much time had passed, but my cell phone in my coat suddenly rang.
There were only a few people who called me, and I picked up the phone without thinking and said hello.
"Xue Tong."
I heard his voice and my heart tightened: "Mr. Mu...?"
"Where have you been? How dare you skip my class?"
"I..." My mind went blank for a moment.
"Little girl, you didn't even give the teacher face in the last class."
I was extremely nervous and gave a confusing explanation before hanging up the phone.
When his voice said "goodbye" and disappeared from my ears, a little bit of indescribable melancholy rose in my heart.
However, this melancholy did not last long, as it was overwhelmed by the surging exams. After half a month of hard work, the long-awaited winter vacation finally arrived.
During the winter vacation, I took three tutoring jobs at once.
Apart from the fact that Peng Yu mentioned Mu Chenghe's name from time to time, my life had almost no intersection with him. Instead, Liu Qi and I became familiar with each other.
Liu Qi is also a local. He is obviously different from me. He was very idle during the winter vacation. He called me every now and then, either to invite me to the Lantern Festival or to the movies.
I made excuses once and twice, but when I couldn't refuse anymore, I just took Peng Yu with me.
When Liu Qi saw me appearing at the park gate with a burden, his eyes dimmed noticeably.
Peng Yu secretly said to me without Liu Qi's knowledge, "Teacher Xue, this man definitely has bad intentions towards you."
"What do you know?"
"I really didn't expect this." Peng Yu sighed.
"What did you not expect?"
"Teacher Xue actually has someone pursuing her. It shows that the old saying that different people have different tastes is quite true."
I glared at him fiercely: "Little brat, I'm going to get angry."
However, it turns out that I was right to bring Peng Yu here. The three of us were walking in the amusement park, and Liu Qi suggested, "Let's go ride the Ferris wheel."
Peng Yu looked at him in surprise: "Master, I always thought that the Ferris wheel was something that adolescent girls liked. I didn't expect you to also enjoy it?"
Liu Qi had no choice but to change his words and said, "The pirate ships are quite thrilling. I'm afraid Xue Tong will be scared."
"Actually, I'm not that scared," I declared.
"I'm not afraid either." Peng Yu agreed.
So we bought three tickets and boarded the pirate ship.
Liu Qida said righteously: "Xue Tong, if you are afraid, don't be stubborn. Close your eyes and grab me, then scream."
I smiled at Liu Qi: "Okay."
While we were talking, Peng Yu had already sat down in the middle of the three seats, patting his head and saying, "Teacher Xue, come here quickly."
Then Liu Qi and I had to stand on his left and right.
The safety rail was lowered, and the boat began to swing slowly, rising little by little, and suddenly dropped when it reached the highest point. I felt a sense of weightlessness, and my heart suddenly knotted. I opened my eyes and enjoyed the comfort of the wind whistling past my ears. I have never been afraid of this kind of thing since I was a child. When I had my birthday as a child, I asked my dad to take me here.
One time, my dad lost the only ten dollars he had on his way here. At that time, ten dollars was a lot of money, so he anxiously asked me to wait for him to go back and find it.
Later, I couldn’t remember whether he found it or not.
When we got off the pirate ship, Liu Qi's face was pale and he even walked unsteadily.
"Are you okay?" I stopped and asked him.
He tried to cheer himself up and said to me, "Very good. If you want to do something exciting, let's continue."
When I heard this, I suddenly felt a little guilty. We shouldn't have teased him like this.
I don’t know if he just has a crush on me or he really likes me.
There is nothing wrong with liking someone.
I said, "You must be tired from playing. Are you hungry? I'll treat you to some ramen."
"No, I'll treat you." Liu Qi said.
Before they even sat down, Peng Yu asked, "Is it Master Uncle or Teacher Xue who's treating us? Have you guys agreed? If you have, I'll start ordering."
I said unhappily, "Who of us treats you has nothing to do with your order."
Peng Yu said, "Of course it does matter." Then he winked at me.
Suddenly, I thought of the time when Mu Chenghe invited him to dinner, and the heroic look on his face when he was holding the menu and ordering food. Could it be that if I were to treat him, he would be frugal, but if someone else was to treat him, he would spend lavishly
Unconsciously, the three words "Mu Chenghe" popped into my head again. I calmed my mind and quickly drove them away.
During the conversation, they mentioned that Liu Qi was studying computer science, and Peng Yu suddenly asked, "Master, can you do mental arithmetic?"
Liu Qi put down his chopsticks in confusion: "Mental arithmetic?"
"For example, 1444 times 1444 can be calculated in one second."
Liu Qi laughed: "How can that be possible? My brain is not a computer."
"Teacher Xue studies foreign languages, and she sounds like a foreigner when she speaks them. You study computers, so your brain should be like a computer."
“…” What kind of fallacy is this
After a while, Peng Yu said, "Computer science is a science subject, so you should be good at physics?"
"Just barely." Liu Qi replied, "But it's been lost for a long time."
"Then do you know why airplanes can fly?" Peng Yu asked.
Now I understand that this guy came here deliberately to ruin Liu Qi's business.
"Bernoulli's Principle." Liu Qi seemed to know nothing about it, but kindly explained to Peng Yu, "Bernoulli said that in a fluid system, such as air or water flow, the faster the flow rate, the smaller the pressure generated by the fluid. When the plane reaches a certain speed, it generates huge pressure, and the air can hold up the plane."
Peng Yu asked with an innocent and curious expression: "But there is pressure both above and below. If the speed is the same, then the pressure above and below will be the same, so won't it still be impossible to fly?"
I really want to ask, what does it have to do with you if other people’s planes can’t fly
This really stumped Liu Qi. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and said, "Then I don't know."
Peng Yu raised his eyebrows with great disdain.
I said, "Do you know?"
Peng Yu raised his chin and said, "Of course, I asked Teacher Mu."
"Teacher Mu?" Liu Qi was puzzled.
"A teacher in our school," I said.
"Teacher Mu said that the shapes of the upper and lower surfaces of an airplane's wings are different. The upper surface is a streamlined curved surface, so the distance is longer, and the airflow has to travel a longer distance in the same amount of time, so the speed is faster. The lower surface is a flat surface, and the flow speed is lower. According to Bernoulli's principle you just mentioned, the greater the speed, the lower the pressure, so the airplane uses this pressure difference to fly." Peng Yu explained confidently.
I was confused by what I heard, and it took me a long time to figure out that it seemed like the pressure above was less than the pressure below, which made it fly or something.
Liu Qi was not angry that Peng Yu teased him. After listening to Peng Yu's words, he fell into deep thought. After a moment, he showed an expression of sudden enlightenment: "So that's how it is. I've really learned something new."
Hearing the other party praising him like this, Peng Yu looked so proud that his tail was about to rise to the sky, and said proudly: "This kind of thing is a piece of cake."
"But, Mr. Peng," I deliberately said to him, "there is one thing I don't understand."
"What?"
"You've seen those American fighter planes flipping on TV."
"Yeah." Peng Yu nodded.
"So, when the plane flipped over," I gestured with my hands, "their wings were upside down. Why didn't they fall?"
"This..." Peng Yu scratched his head, "I didn't ask at the time, so I didn't hear Teacher Mu say it."
Now we're even.
On the way back, I said, "You can't always use other people's strengths to belittle him. Liu Qi is also very good. The robot developed by his team entered the national finals of the robot competition last year. Everyone has their own advantages and strengths. If you ask Teacher Mu to build a robot, it will definitely be difficult for him."
Peng Yu turned his head away and said with a pout, "But I just like Teacher Mu. You and Liu Qi are from the same country, and so are Teacher Mu and I." After saying that, he has been in a bad mood ever since.
"You are so stingy." I teased him.
"Teacher Xue, you are biased."
"How am I biased?"
"You called me here just to use me as a light bulb and find fault with Liu Qi, didn't you?"
I blinked my eyes. He seemed to be a sensible man.
"But you can't bear it anymore and think I'm bullying him. So you turn around and bully me. I help you and you help him. If I'm not biased, what am I?" he said aggrievedly.
I was stunned for a moment. He realized he was absolutely right, and then I touched his head apologetically.
He still ignores me.
I said, "Okay, don't be angry. I'll treat you to KFC next time as an apology."
"There are so many things in KFC, you can just buy me a cup of Xiaoke and send me off."
"I'd like to invite you to have a family bucket."
"Plus a box of egg tarts."
I gritted my teeth and said, "Okay."
"Is it a deal?"
"It's a deal." I nodded, feeling my heart bleeding.
He turned around and said, "Then I'm not angry." A smile spread across his face.
Every thing has its own nemesis.
If I kill Mu Chenghe, Peng Yu will kill me.
On the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, my mother and I went to my uncle’s house for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
When I was eating dumplings, I took a bite and found the one containing the fifty-cent coin.
My cousin said, "Oh, I made this. It's incredible! Xiaotong will have good luck next year."
I slowly spit out the money.
Grandma said: "I hope I can find a good job and support myself."
My aunt said, "Mom, your requirements are too low."
"Yes, grandma, I can still support you, my grandpa, and my mom."
Grandma continued eating and said nothing more.
I suddenly thought of a question: "Sister, did you wash the money clean when you put it in?"
After dinner, no matter how my uncle and aunt tried to persuade us, we did not stay to watch the Spring Festival Gala. We just ate and left.
When we walked downstairs, my mother said, "Actually, I think it's better for you to stay up with grandma and the others. I have to go on duty at nine o'clock anyway."
I walked straight ahead: "What's the point of staying here? It's so noisy. Luckily, we can only watch one program tonight. If it were normal times, they would have to fight for a long time over which channel to watch."
My grandmother has always lived with my uncle. She raised my cousins, so she has a better relationship with them than I do. When I see their family of five enjoying themselves, I think I am redundant.
I sent my mother to the entrance of the square to wait for the police car that would pick them up from the prison for duty.
She said, "Hurry up and take a taxi home. Don't hang around outside. It's unsafe when it's late."
I chuckled: "What's unsafe? I guess all the bad guys are on vacation today."
She patted my head and turned to get in the car.
I was walking alone on the street. There weren't many people around, most of them were in a hurry to go home.
I took out my phone to check the time and found that I had received many text messages of blessings, each one more hilarious than the last. I was immediately amused and picked the most interesting one, signed my name at the end and clicked the group message. In less than a minute, I received a bunch of replies one after another.
At the same time, the phone vibrated, and three words appeared on the screen: Mu Chenghe.
My hands clenched instantly. I had just included his number in the group message intentionally or unintentionally. I didn't even know if I had such a tiny hope in my heart.
He returned my call so suddenly.
I picked it up carefully.
"Xue Tong?" His voice came from the receiver.
"Teacher Mu, long time no see. Happy New Year." I said casually.
"Happy New Year to you too," he said.
"Have you eaten?" I didn't know what to say, so I just chatted.
He didn't answer, but probably heard the noise around me, so he asked, "Are you on the street?"
"Yeah. I just came out from my uncle's house after dinner."
"one person?"
"yes."
"Where's Mom?"
"I'm on duty."
He was silent for a while on the other end of the phone, then asked, "Where are you?"
Twenty minutes later, the familiar car stopped in front of me. I saw a face I hadn't seen for a long time. He got out of the car, closed the door, and walked towards me. He didn't look like a real person.
He and I didn't go anywhere, we just wandered around the street and unknowingly walked to the river. We found a chair on the sidewalk and sat down. In front of the chair was the sidewalk, and in front of the sidewalk was the wooden railings by the river, and outside the railings was the wide river.
The river flows quietly eastward, and the water reflects the brightest lights of the city.
"Is it cold?" he asked.
"It's not cold." I shook my head. At least even though it's cold outside, my heart is warm.
On such a lonely and special night, he actually accompanied me.
I am not noble and I don't have a strong self-esteem, so I am happy to accept Mu Chenghe's appearance, whether it is sympathy or pity.
Even if it is an illusion, I don't care.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he took out a bottle of wine from his coat and shook it in front of me: "New Year's gift, the vodka that some people dream of."
I whistled happily.
I like this New Year gift.
"Are you really going to treat me to a drink?" I laughed.
"Of course, I always keep my word."
Then, like a magic trick, he pulled out a small upright glass, unscrewed the cap, and filled the glass two-thirds full.
He said: "A friend once told me that the purest way to drink vodka is to use this kind of cup, add ice cubes, and nothing else, and then swallow it in one gulp."