At noon, Yan Shouyi woke up and found that Long Feichen wasn't in the dorm.
This guy always slept as long as he could, and not even the end of the world could stop him from oversleeping. Today, however, he had surprisingly gotten up.
Yan Shouyi groggily took out his phone and found a text message from Long Feichen:
"Brother Yan, you threw up all over yourself yesterday, the smell was too much, I really couldn't stand it and got up to stand guard. Hurry up and take a shower when you wake up, I'm begging you!"
Did I smell that bad?
Yan Shouyi grabbed the collar of his shirt and sniffed it, almost spitting out the peanuts he had eaten yesterday.
He quickly stripped naked and rushed into the bathroom for a shower. Due to the hot weather, Yan Shouyi directly used cold water.
That invigorating feeling was both refreshing and stimulating, instantly washing away Yan Shouyi's sleepiness.
Feeling the cold water wash over him, Yan Shouyi leaned against the wall with one hand and pondered for a while.
He had received a lot of information from Chen Dawei yesterday. Although he had thought a lot about it on the way back, he hadn't made any concrete decisions.
Now that he had calmed down, he had to make some decisions.
"After I visit that old man's house in Guling in a couple of days, I'll go see the Li family in West Lake. What's meant to happen will happen," he muttered to himself.
After cleaning himself up, Yan Shouyi changed into a new security uniform and went to the West Gate guardhouse to find Long Feichen.
So many things had happened at the school, with the principal and vice-principal both arrested. Walking on campus now, Yan Shouyi didn't feel any strangeness in the atmosphere.
He figured that such a large school had its own rules of operation, and it didn't seem to make much difference whether the principal and vice-principal were present or not.
Arriving at the guardhouse, Long Feichen was eating takeout. Seeing Yan Shouyi arrive, he quickly called out:
"Brother Yan, you finally woke up. Here, I saved one for you, Rongcheng Lychee Pork over Rice! Eat up!"
"Thanks."
Yan Shouyi sat down, unwrapping his takeout, and asked, "Was I very drunk yesterday?"
"Let's just say, do you remember how you got back to school?" Long Feichen sighed and said.
Yan Shouyi shook his head.
Long Feichen said with a wry face, "Last night it took me all my might to carry you back to the dorm. Many students saw us on the way. Fortunately, Director Du from the Moral Education Office knew you had connections; otherwise, they would have come looking for trouble again."
Yan Shouyi awkwardly rubbed his forehead. "Alcohol is really not a good thing. I'll be careful next time and definitely won't get drunk."
Actually, Yan Shouyi's constitution was such that he could drink anyone under the table. However, yesterday he had something on his mind and was specifically looking to drown his sorrows in alcohol, which led to him being knocked out by over thirty bottles of beer.
Long Feichen then asked, "Brother Yan, my master's soul has been found now. Do we still need to work here as security guards?"
"Do you have a better job?" Yan Shouyi asked.
Long Feichen shook his head.
"This place provides accommodation, five insurances and one fund, and food is cheap in the cafeteria. I'm not earning much anyway, so I plan to keep working here until December," Yan Shouyi said.
"Alright, there are many beautiful girls at Shanghang Art School, so it's not a loss for me to stay here!" Long Feichen chuckled and stuffed a large piece of lychee pork into his mouth.
People from Rongcheng liked sweet food and seafood, and most seafood was prepared by blanching, then drizzled with soy sauce and shrimp oil.
Although Yan Shouyi was not picky, he preferred spicy food from Sichuan and Chongqing. The food in Rongcheng was a bit too sweet for his taste.
After they finished eating, they leisurely watched the gate at the guardhouse. It was soon afternoon, the time for classes. Yan Shouyi noticed a girl getting out of a black Volkswagen official car and rushed out of the guardhouse to call out,
"Caiwei!"
Lu Caiwei was wearing a princess dress today, dressed up like a doll, and carrying a small bear backpack. She looked very cute.
She heard someone call her, turned around, recognized Yan Shouyi and Long Feichen, and asked with a smile,
"Why are you two still security guards!"
Long Feichen came closer and said glibly, "Isn't it to protect the safety of beautiful girls like you!"
"Hmph, I don't believe you!" Lu Caiwei, the "sea queen," gave Long Feichen a roll of her eyes.
Yan Shouyi said earnestly, "Caiwei, have you seen Zhitong?"
"Oh, you still care about her!" Lu Caiwei feigned surprise. "What are you looking for her for?"
Lu Caiwei's eyes were bright. She knew that Lin Zitong liked Yan Shouyi, so much so that she wouldn't have anyone else, but she also knew that Yan Shouyi deliberately avoided Lin Zitong everywhere, as if he had something on his mind.
This was the first time today that Yan Shouyi had proactively asked about Lin Zitong.
Yan Shouyi, who was not good at expressing his emotions, awkwardly took out the brocade box given by Old Jin and said, "Last time Zhitong injured her soul, I got her some medicine to help her recover. I don't have her contact information, and I don't know which classroom she's in, so I could only wait at the school gate."
"You really are..."
Lu Caiwei's mouth opened wide in speechlessness. How could this blockhead Yan Shouyi not even have Lin Zitong's contact information?
If it were her, she would have dumped Yan Shouyi ten thousand miles away long ago!
Although she admitted that Yan Shouyi was sometimes very charming, he wasn't the only charming man in the world. Lu Caiwei couldn't understand why Lin Zitong only liked Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi said, "Can you help me give this medicine box to her?"
Lu Caiwei immediately hid her hands behind her back and said, "No, you should give it to her yourself. As a man, how can you not even dare to give something to a girl yourself?"
"..."
Then Lu Caiwei continued,
"However, you might be a step too late. After her morning class, Zitong took a few days of leave, reportedly because of some family matter that urgently required her to return."
"She went back to Licheng?" Yan Shouyi was surprised.
After spending a few days together, Lin Zitong's sudden departure even made Yan Shouyi a little angry.
But then he thought that neither of them had exchanged phone numbers, so even if Lin Zitong wanted to notify him, she couldn't.
"Look at you, you didn't cherish her when she was here, and now you miss her when she's gone! Heh, men!"
Lu Caiwei mocked Yan Shouyi mercilessly, then flicked her ponytail and headed into the school.
Yan Shouyi stood there stunned for a moment, then quickly chased after her, holding the brocade box, and asked,
"Why did Zitong go home? Could it be that she encountered some trouble?"
"Don't follow me. If other students see us, it will be hard to explain," Lu Caiwei said, and then started running.
Long Feichen sprinted ahead of Lu Caiwei and shouted at her, "Caiwei, just answer Brother Yan's question! If you don't answer, I'll molest you!"
Lu Caiwei: "You... you're too shameless!"
"Ahem, I have no choice!"
Lu Caiwei suddenly circled around Long Feichen and said without looking back as she ran, "Zitong's family called her home for a blind date, alright? I'm leaving. I'm going to be late for class. The professor today is particularly fierce. If I get punished with standing, I'll never forgive you two!"
Hearing Lu Caiwei say that, Yan Shouyi and Long Feichen didn't dare to stop her, as studies were important.
But Lu Caiwei's parting words made Yan Shouyi uneasy: "Zitong... she went home for a blind date?"
Long Feichen laughed heartily, patted Yan Shouyi on the shoulder, and said, "Brother Yan, Caiwei must be joking. Think about it, first of all, Sister-in-law likes you, so she would never go on a blind date. Secondly, her family is so wealthy and she's a renowned strong woman. As long as she agrees, what man wouldn't be desperate to approach her? Why would she need to go on a blind date?"
"What you said makes sense. I don't believe that brat would go on a blind date either, but..."
"No buts. Let me tell you, based on my years of experience in the relationship arena, they are definitely playing hard to get! You've always been lukewarm towards Sister-in-law, so Sister-in-law is unsure if you like her too. At this point, Lu Caiwei must have given her advice to deliberately ignore and scare you for a couple of days, and then you'll obediently fall in line?" Long Feichen analyzed seriously.
Yan Shouyi felt that Long Feichen was a bit unreliable. "What you're saying sounds like a scene from a movie."
"Aren't movie plots derived from reality!" Long Feichen hooked Yan Shouyi's shoulder and said, "Let me tell you, we absolutely cannot pay attention to them now. Just do as you normally do. It's best to go out for a drink or sing karaoke. You must not fall into their trap. In a few days, Sister-in-law will definitely come back obediently, and she'll be more clingy, more obedient, and more sensible than before!"
Yan Shouyi: "...How about I try a divination?"
"This kind of thing can also be calculated??" Long Feichen's eyes widened. "Then in the future, when you're in love, you'll be invincible?"
Yan Shouyi sighed to the heavens. "My grandfather said that even the most profound divination arts have one thing they can't calculate, and that's a woman's heart, because a woman's heart is too complicated to be fully understood!"
"Alas, that's exactly it. How can matters of love be reliant on calculation? You have to feel it with your heart. Anyway, just listen to me, and it will be right!"
Long Feichen was extremely confident, patting his chest with an expression that said, "If I'm wrong, I'll stand on my head and defecate."
Yan Shouyi indeed had little experience in matters of romance between men and women, and seeing Long Feichen so sure, he could only blindly believe him.
Thus, for the next two days, Yan Shouyi lived strictly according to his usual routine.
Eating, sleeping, and practicing Tai Chi.
Fortunately, the Tianyuan Juhun Pill could be stored for decades without spoiling, otherwise Yan Shouyi would have had to go find Old Jin again.
However, he often worried if Lin Zitong's health had truly recovered.
In two days, Lin Zitong did not contact Yan Shouyi at all, and even Lu Caiwei had disappeared.
Yan Shouyi sometimes felt that this vast Shanghang Art School seemed to be missing something.
Was it a certain scent?
A certain sound?
Or someone's shadow, someone's smile, someone's eyes filled with admiration and love?
The thought of finding Lin Zitong continued to grow in Yan Shouyi's heart, but time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day they were scheduled to visit the old man's house in Guling.
Although he really wanted to go to Licheng to find Lin Zitong, Yan Shouyi was a man of his word, so his plan to go to Licheng had to be postponed.
...
Under the setting sun, Yan Shouyi walked alone off the empty bus.
This was Guling, to the east of Rongcheng.
Upon reaching Guling, even the scorching heat of midsummer had somewhat receded. After sunset, the mountain forest had a unique scent, like sun-baked matting, which brought peace to the mind.
Apart from the road and the bus stop sign, there were trees all around, making it a bit desolate. After the bus drove away, Yan Shouyi could only hear the chirping of birds returning to their nests.
"Zuihualiyuan No. 1... Does that old gentleman live at the head of the village?"
Yan Shouyi held the note, a bit bewildered.
Just then, the sound of an engine roared on the road. Yan Shouyi turned his head and saw from a distance a fiery red, large-displacement motorcycle speeding towards him.
He quickly raised his hand to flag it down, wanting to ask for directions. However, the rider, dressed in cycling gear, had no intention of stopping. They even deliberately swerved towards Yan Shouyi, scaring him into jumping onto the curb.
"Woohoo! Hahahahaha!"
The rider seemed proud of scaring Yan Shouyi and let out an arrogant laugh before disappearing in an instant.
"Damn it, so dangerous!"
Yan Shouyi was a bit angry. If he hadn't been quick-witted and dodged just now, they both would have fallen off the cliff.
And that rider thought it was their own good riding skills, feeling smug!
Before Yan Shouyi could recover, more motorcycles were rushing up the mountain from below.
Guling was relatively close to the city center, and the mountain roads were winding with little traffic, making it a paradise for motorcycle enthusiasts to ride. They twisted the throttle to the maximum on the road, leaning their bikes so low that their knees almost touched the ground on every turn, enjoying the thrill and excitement of speed.
To avoid delaying his business, Yan Shouyi voluntarily stood by the roadside, planning to find Zuihualiyuan No. 1 after these people had passed.
Watching the riders flash past him at high speed, Yan Shouyi felt indifferent. He didn't like such excitement at all because the "excitement" he had experienced was far more stimulating than racing.
Unexpectedly, the rider at the very end, riding the slowest, stopped in front of Yan Shouyi.
The rider asked curiously, "It's getting dark, why aren't you going home yet? Are you lost?"
Judging by the voice, it seemed to be a girl, but Yan Shouyi couldn't see her face through her helmet.
He replied, "I'm going to visit an old man. His house is in Zuihualiyuan."
"Zuihualiyuan? Haha, what a coincidence, my home is in Zuihualiyuan. It's still three kilometers away from Zuihualiyuan. How about you come along for a ride? I'll give you a lift?" the female rider invited Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi looked deeply at the female rider and actually shook his head and refused: "Perhaps it's better not to..."
The female rider was stunned: "You, you actually refused me?"
The female rider was wearing a cycling suit that accentuated her voluptuous figure. No normal man could refuse such temptation.
But Yan Shouyi refused, which made the female rider a bit unable to accept it.
Could it be because she secretly ate a piece of cake last night, and her figure had gone out of shape?!
Yan Shouyi quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand me. I don't mean anything else. It's just that you have a blood disaster today. If I ride with you, we might crash. I promised to visit someone tonight and don't want to waste time."
The female rider: "..."
You said don't misunderstand?
You said you didn't mean anything else?
If you can't speak properly, could you donate your mouth and tongue to someone in need???