Lu Fan walked forward. The little girl was very cute, resembling a character from an animated cartoon. However, Lu Fan frowned slightly. This illness was truly strange. Playing was a child's nature; why would she be in a deep sleep, unable to wake?
"Ruomei! Zhantai Ruomei! Wake up! Brother Lu Fan is here to see you." Jiang Ruoxin came over, tugged the little girl's arm, and called out a couple of times.
"Mmm?" The little girl slightly opened her eyes, looked groggily at Jiang Ruoxin, tilted her head, and became groggy again!
"Zhantai Ruomei! Heh heh! It's a compound surname! That's quite a rare surname." Lu Fan smiled slightly, stepped forward, took Zhantai Ruomei's small wrist, and carefully felt her pulse. He then examined Zhantai Ruomei from head to toe.
The child was just like a healthy person, showing no symptoms at all. No wonder no one could figure out what was wrong.
"Alas! This child is too mischievous!" Lu Fan shook his head slightly and said with a smile.
"Principal Lu! What's going on?" Jiang Ruoxin's eyes lit up as she asked. From Lu Fan's words, she sensed a glimmer of hope.
Meng Jun, Xu Hongye, and the others also widened their eyes. Everyone was baffled. This kid put on a show with such a statement; what did he mean?
"Did this child dislike studying before and was she fond of playing?" Lu Fan suddenly asked.
"Well... I think Auntie mentioned it. She really didn't like studying!" Jiang Ruoxin smiled apologetically. She hadn't been in the country herself and didn't know much about this child.
"Don't worry, this child isn't sick. It's just that she seems to have a talent since childhood for self-hypnosis! So, she's using it to avoid studying!" Lu Fan said with a slight smile.
"No... that can't be right?" Jiang Ruoxin looked astonished. This seemed utterly unconvincing.
"Tch! Utter nonsense!" Xu Hongye scoffed beside him, saying with disdain, "I've never heard of a little girl hypnotizing herself to avoid studying, sleeping all day! This isn't being mischievous; she's just lazy."
The others also looked at Lu Fan. This reason was not convincing at all. However, Lu Fan was, after all, the honorary principal personally hired by Meng Jun. They didn't want to offend Lu Fan like Xu Hongye, nor did they want to offend Meng Jun. To say Lu Fan was nothing would be indirectly calling Meng Jun blind.
Lu Fan also smiled slightly. He couldn't be bothered to look at Xu Hongye. Whatever this guy said beside him, he'd just treat it as farting.
Talking more was useless; demonstrating his ability would be more convincing. With a flick of his wrist, Lu Fan produced an apple.
Everyone's eyes immediately brightened. This kid was starting his magic tricks again!
"Zhantai Ruomei! If you don't wake up soon, you won't get to eat anything delicious!" Lu Fan dangled the apple in front of Zhantai Ruomei and said.
"Mmm...? The smell of apple!" With a whoosh, Zhantai Ruomei abruptly opened her big eyes. Seeing the apple in Lu Fan's hand, her eyes widened, and her face showed a greedy expression. She was just short of drooling.
"Want to eat it? If you want to eat it, call out 'Gege'!" Lu Fan dangled the apple and said.
"Brother Lu Fan!" Zhantai Ruomei called out charmingly.
"Heh heh! Eat up! After you finish, let Sister Ruoxin take you to play!" Lu Fan handed the apple to Zhantai Ruomei and said.
Zhantai Ruomei took the apple and began to eat it with loud crunches.
"What the heck? She's awake now?"
"Is it... is it really hypnosis?"
Gulp... Xu Hongye swallowed.
"Zhantai Ruomei! Why are you so mischievous? Pretending to be asleep just to avoid studying!" Jiang Ruoxin said sternly from the side.
"Hmph! Why are you accusing me? I'm not close to you!" Zhantai Ruomei lifted her small face, gave Jiang Ruoxin a sideways glance, and continued eating her apple.
"You..." Jiang Ruoxin was rendered speechless. Zhantai Ruomei was right; she had been abroad for the past few years and wasn't really close to this little cousin.
"Teacher Jiang! Hypnosis is a talent within this child's subconscious. Ordinary people can't learn it even if they want to. Don't underestimate her! Haha! Alright, I have something else to do, so I'm leaving." Lu Fan said, standing up to leave.
"Brother Lu Fan!" Zhantai Ruomei's big eyes flickered. With a whoosh, she jumped off the sofa and reached out to grab Lu Fan's pants, "Brother Lu Fan! Where are you going? Can I go with you?"
"Ruomei! Brother has to go home! You... you can't come with me. You have to stay here with your cousin and wait for your parents to pick you up!" Lu Fan said with a slight smile.
"I'm not staying. I'm not familiar with them!" Zhantai Ruomei pouted.
Lu Fan felt a bit amused and exasperated. Had this child been bribed by a single apple?
"Ruomei! It's also the first time I'm meeting you!" Lu Fan said quickly.
"Then... can we make a deal? I'll help you pursue my cousin, and then you'll be my cousin-in-law. That way, I can visit you often!" Zhantai Ruomei suddenly said after thinking for a moment.
"Didn't you say you weren't familiar with me? You're selling your cousin so quickly?" Jiang Ruoxin was somewhat amused and exasperated.
"It's precisely because I'm not familiar with her that it's okay to sell her. I won't feel bad," Zhantai Ruomei said righteously.
"Heh heh! I think you're not here to play with me, but you want to eat fruit?" Lu Fan chuckled. This child was a little imp! She'd sacrificed her cousin for an apple.
"Alright! I have two more apples. I'll leave them with your cousin now. As long as you listen to your cousin, she'll give them to you." Lu Fan finished speaking, flipped his wrist, and produced two more apples, then handed them to Jiang Ruoxin.
Jiang Ruoxin immediately took the apples and waved them triumphantly at Zhantai Ruomei, as if to say: Hmph! Are you going to listen to me now?
"Alright! Cousin! Let's go home!" Zhantai Ruomei went over and pulled Jiang Ruoxin towards the exit.
What the heck... the change was too sudden! The people nearby almost fell over!
...
Lu Fan drove back to the county town; it was already evening. He arranged for Wu Ma and Fan Xue'er to stay at the hotel, then drove back to the village alone. As soon as he reached his doorstep, he saw Liu Ruyan and Shen Xinyi sitting in the yard, looking helplessly at Li Jingjing, who was having a blast playing with the second senior sister!
This girl had come again today, and it was so late, yet she hadn't gone home?
"Lu Fan! You're finally back. Jingjing came in the morning and said she wanted to tend pigs for you. She made the second senior sister, along with her mother and young, go to the river to bathe. It took them a whole day to return. Moreover, Li Mantang came to pick her up in the evening, but she refused to go, saying she wouldn't leave until she saw you. It made me do nothing all day because of her," Liu Ruyan said with a helpless expression upon seeing Lu Fan return.
"Brother Fan! I'll tend pigs for you from now on, and I want to live here too!" Li Jingjing said immediately upon seeing Lu Fan return.
"Oh my god..." Lu Fan felt a headache coming on.