The first half of each year has a special charm for students, and this charm is called anticipation. After the Qingming Festival, there is the May Day holiday, and after the May Day holiday, they continue to look forward to the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. They wish they could have 24 holidays after the successful application of the 24 solar terms for World Heritage status.
Shen Li had no expectations for this kind of thing. No matter how many holidays she had, she would not miss a single test paper.
There was a continuous "ping pong pong" sound coming from outside the door. Shen Li threw her pen down and shouted at the next door: "Shen Tianyou, can you be quiet for half an hour?"
No one answered her next door, but it was much quieter. Shen Li picked up her pen and continued to work on the last big question. She calculated on the draft paper and copied the result onto the test paper. When she looked at the time again, it was already half past twelve.
Shen Tianyou was indeed quiet for half an hour, and Shen Li decided to order two more dishes that he liked when ordering takeout. She cleaned up the table and went to find Shen Tianyou next door.
"What are you doing?"
After leaving the room, she saw Shen Tianyou looking out from the door, his movements were furtive, as if he had done something shameful.
Hearing Shen Li's voice, Shen Tianyou was even more frightened and quickly looked behind him: "You scared me to death by speaking suddenly."
Shen Li poured a glass of water and drank it. She took a big gulp and then answered while holding the glass: "Are you so timid? You have a respiratory problem, not a heart problem. Stop pretending!"
Shen Tianyou shook his head: "You don't understand."
Shen Li found it funny. Was she being scolded by a little brat?
She put down the water cup, took out her cell phone from her pocket , and called out, "Stop playing, young master, come and see what we have for lunch. Also, my parents said they can't come back to cook in the evening, so let us eat by ourselves."
Shen Tianyou ignored her, his attention returned to somewhere outside the house, and he waved his hand casually: "Whatever, just order whatever you want."
"This is not like you!"
Shen Tianyou looked back at Shen Li who was playing with the "Monkey King" and said sarcastically: "I want to eat fried chicken, will you let me eat it?"
Shen Li smiled but didn't smile.
Shen Tianyou shrugged: "See, there's no point in asking me."
Shen Li ignored the child and called the takeaway to place an order. Two restaurants in a row said they were too busy to deliver food. When she opened the food delivery app, the restaurants she wanted to eat at all showed "Busy, not accepting orders at this time". Shen Li had no choice but to change her shoes and go out.
When Shen Tianyou saw that she was about to go out, he looked anxious: "Where are you going?"
"Buy food, young master." Shen Li took the key from the shoe cabinet. "Takeout can't be delivered to your door, it's faster to buy it yourself."
"I'll come with you?"
Shen Li rolled her eyes at him: "Why are you so clingy to me? Go and have your own fun."
Ten minutes after going out, Shen Li regretted not bringing Shen Tianyou out. She always felt that someone was following her.
The road leading out from Shen Li's house has many twists and turns, but there are not many pedestrians on the road. Every time Shen Li feels that there is someone behind her, she looks back and sees nothing.
She didn't know whether she was being too suspicious or the other party was very skilled in tracking her, so she trotted into a restaurant with the idea of ​​being cautious.
After entering, she looked out through the glass door and found that there was no one on the road she came from. She shook her head and went to find the waiter to order food.
The dishes were freshly prepared in the kitchen, and Shen Li had to wait in the restaurant for them to be prepared and packed for her. In just two or three minutes, someone else came uninvited and sat next to her.
"Brother Qiao, it's you again!"
Qiao Zishun's face flushed and he looked a little embarrassed.
Shen Li felt it was strange that a 1.80-meter-tall college boy was suddenly so coy, so she quickly interrupted Qiao Zishun and asked, "Do you have something to say?"
The other party nodded.
Shen Li then asked: "For Qiao Lu?"
The other party nodded.
Shen Li sighed and said, "I knew you came here for him, but you can't follow me. It scares me."
Just as Qiao Zishun was about to say that he didn't have any, the waiter brought over a packed lunch box and interrupted him: "Your meal is ready, a total of 82 yuan."
Shen Li took out her phone to pay, completely forgetting about that. "My brother is still waiting for me to bring him food. How about this? You add me on WeChat, I'll send you the address, and you can meet me there tomorrow afternoon and we can chat?"
"Don't you have my WeChat?"
Shen Li's eyes widened: "Isn't that Qiao Ziyao's?"
Speaking of Qiao Ziyao, Qiao Zishun looked like he was enjoying a good show: "That's mine. The WeChat ID your idol gave you is mine. He never uses WeChat."
Thinking of how she was so happy that she couldn't sleep when he added her as a friend, Shen Li gave him a fake smile with mixed feelings: "Haha."
The next day at noon, Shen Li ordered takeout in advance and made sure that all the test papers were completed so that she would not fail to hand in her homework on Monday before she went out.
Before leaving, Shen Tianyou seemed a little strange and asked her if anything happened yesterday. What could have happened? Shen Li ignored the nervous Shen Tianyou and got on the bus to the suburban small animal rescue station.
Speaking of which, Shen's parents have been acting strangely lately. It's the weekend, but they've been out early for two days in a row. Shen Li told them that if they needed her, she could help, but Shen's parents said, "Students' duty is to study."
After taking the bus for more than 40 minutes, I arrived at the small animal rescue station after getting off the bus.
When Shen Li saw Qiao's father leave in disappointment, she felt that Qiao Zishun would definitely come to see her. This premonition came inexplicably, but was extremely strong. Qiao Zishun was more arbitrary than Qiao's father, but she vaguely felt that this boy cared about his family in his own way. With this idea in mind, Shen Li asked him to go to the small animal rescue station. She wanted him to see what kind of person Qiao Lu was.
The small animal rescue station is not big, but there are many cats and dogs. Big dogs with bad tempers will be given "special treatment". When Shen Li first came, she was frightened by the ferocity of the big dogs. Qiao Zishun followed her and did not dare to show fear on his face when passing by, but he obviously did not dare to approach the kennel of the big dogs.
Shen Li knew that he was afraid, so she pretended that she had lost her balance and deliberately pushed Qiao Zishun into the door of the kennel.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Qiao Zishun moved half a meter closer to the kennel, then quickly moved back, shouting at Shen Li with a red face, "Did you do this on purpose?"
Shen Li held back her laughter and gestured to him mysteriously to speak in a low voice, saying, "Shh, there's a very domineering large dog living in there. If you speak so loudly, it will think you are provoking it." Qiao Zishun subconsciously fell silent.
Uncle Liao, who is in charge of the small animal rescue station, laughed: "She is teasing you. That large dog is very docile."
Qiao Zishun glared at Shen Li fiercely. Shen Li laughed and took advantage of Uncle Liao's inattention to signal Qiao Zishun to lower his head. She leaned close to Qiao Zishun's ear and said, "The staff all have a 'real father and mother' mentality. In their eyes, all the animals here are docile."
After saying that, Shen Li took a step forward, and Qiao Zishun stood straight behind her expressionlessly, and secretly touched his ear while Shen Li was talking to the uncle. He put his hands behind his back, ignoring the burning sensation of his fingers, and his eyes shuttled across the entire venue.
This place is called a small animal rescue station, but it is actually a residential building. The front yard is the territory of cats, the backyard is a kennel for stray dogs and puppies, and there is a shed on the left side of the front yard for large dogs to live in. The staff tried their best to keep everything in order, but there were too many cats and dogs, and no matter how they cleaned it up, it was still messy. Coupled with the indescribable smell, Qiao Zishun had a terrible impression of this place.
But his disappointing younger brother was determined to run here.
What's good here?
When Shen Li turned around and saw Qiao Zishun putting his hand on his nose and fanning it from time to time to dispel the odor, she knew that he still disliked this place.
Shen Li smiled and suddenly asked Uncle Liao who was in charge: "Uncle Liao, I heard that you were also the top scholar when you were studying?"
The man called Uncle Liao is actually only in his thirties, but according to the current trend, he is indeed an "uncle". Shen Li suddenly brought up this, and Uncle Liao was a little shy: "Hey, what kind of 'top scholar' am I? I'm just the first in Zhuhui District."
Zhuhui District has always been a gathering place for famous schools. Every year, the "city top scorer" is basically from Zhuhui District. Although Uncle Liao was a dark horse in the college entrance examination that year, making the "city top scorer" that year go to another district, it cannot be denied that Uncle Liao's gold content as the "top scorer" of Zhuhui District.
Shen Li pointed at Qiao Zishun and said, "This guy is also a top scholar, and he's your junior."
“That’s amazing!”
Qiao Zishun looked at Shen Li's smiling eyes and figured out what was going on. She wanted to tell him that even the "Zhuhui District No. 1 Scholar" could come to work at the rescue station, so why couldn't Qiao Lu be a veterinarian?
Qiao Zishun avoided Shen Li's gaze and instead focused his eyes on a cat with only three legs.
Shen Li didn't force him to figure it out right away. She looked at the cat and said softly, "Its name is Orange. It had been in a car accident when it was found. Uncle Liao performed surgery on it and saved its life."
"Uncle Liao?" Qiao Zishun remembered that his school was a science and engineering school. How could he perform surgery on a cat?
Uncle Liao had already left. He had a lot of things to do, such as changing the cat litter and making cat food, so he didn't stay with them the whole time.
Shen Li looked at Uncle Liao who was busy in the distance, and said with respect: "He is self-taught. He studied at your school. After working in this field, he felt that being a veterinarian could better help small animals relieve their pain, so he took the medical qualification exam."
Shen Li turned around and asked Qiao Zishun: "Isn't it amazing?"
No trophies are needed to prove it, and no one needs praise. Ability speaks for itself.
Qiao Zishun looked at the sparkling eyes of Shen Li and could not say anything to express his disapproval. He just mumbled "hmm".
Shen Li struck while the iron was hot: "Qiao Lu is also very capable." Seeing that he didn't respond, she began to talk on and on, "He is brave and has a good memory. Once when Uncle Liao was away, a cat was foaming at the mouth. He gave the cat medicine based on the cat he had seen Uncle Liao treat with the same case. Afterwards, Uncle Liao said that if Qiao Lu hadn't been decisive, the cat would have died."
She expected some reaction from Qiao Zishun, but there was nothing on his face.
After all the conspiracy, covert attack, and covert attack, Qiao Zishun still looked like a hopeless case. Shen Li was annoyed, so she pulled his hand and stuffed the brush into his hand: "Now that you are here, you have to work. Squat down and comb the cat's hair!"
Qiao Zishun's face finally showed some expression, and he looked at Shen Li in astonishment.
Shen Li said angrily: "This is a task, we have to comb every one of them!"
Qiao Zishun squatted down obediently and tried to approach a cat carefully. Shen Li was annoyed by his lack of knowledge of how to start, so she picked up a cat that passed by her feet and combed its fur. The cat wanted to resist at first, but became obedient after being served by Shen Li.
Qiao Zishun imitated Shen Li and combed the cat's hair whenever he got the chance. Sure enough, the kitten became obedient after the first combing, and looked up and acted like a spoiled child in his hands. He put his hand on the cat's head, from the head to the neck, and saw how it enjoyed itself, and his heart seemed to be touched by the little paw pad.
Shen Li tilted her head and looked at Qiao Zishun. He obviously thought the little animals were cute, so why wouldn't he admit it?
Qiao Zishun keenly felt that Shen Li was looking at him, and the faint smile on his face disappeared again.
Shen Li smiled disdainfully: "Little animals are cute, why do you want to laugh but dare not?"
However, Qiao Zishun never smiled again after that, even when Shen Li wasn't paying attention to him. When Shen Li saw him like this, the only thing in her mind was "control yourself and return to propriety."
He should be at an age where he can let go of himself and be full of vigor, but Qiao Zishun is like a strict and rigid old man. She really couldn't persuade and educate a person who had no interest in life, so she said goodbye to Uncle Liao early and left with Qiao Zishun.
"I'm going to take the bus, how about you?"
Qiao Zishun pointed to his bicycle parked in the corner and said, "I have a bike."
"Oh." Shen Li walked towards the bus stop by herself, "Then I'll go take the bus."
"I...I'll take you there." Without waiting for her to answer, Qiao Zishun ran to unlock the car, pushed the bike and followed her.
The two stood at the bus stop waiting for the bus. The sunlight at three o'clock in the afternoon smelled of grass and was warm, making people unable to help but feel lazy. On impulse, Shen Li opened the comic manuscript saved in her mobile phone and handed it over.
Qiao Zishun was surprised: "What?"
"Take a look first."
Shen Li was afraid that if Qiao Zishun delayed for another two seconds, she would regret it, so when she saw him take the phone, she turned her face away. She didn't want to see her work being "reviewed" in front of others.
The comic tells the story of a monkey who accidentally moves into a house and a "naughty kid" getting along with each other. Although the writing is immature, it can be seen that a lot of effort has been put into it. The whole story is not complicated, but it is unexpectedly touching. Even a boring person like Qiao Zishun will be moved after reading it.
"How is it? Give me some words!"
Qiao Zishun was stunned for a moment, then returned the phone to Shen Li and replied dryly, "Oh, it's fine."
Shen Li said proudly: "I have been drawing since elementary school!"
Qiao Zishun echoed, "He does have some talent."
"fart."
Qiao Zishun looked at Shen Li in surprise. Her expression changed so much that he didn't know how to respond.
Shen Li answered as a matter of course: "How can there be so much talent? How good can the things drawn by elementary school students be? It's nothing more than getting some praises and winning prizes in competitions among peers. I am willing to work hard in this direction after tasting the sweetness. My current drawings are immature compared to others , but if someone likes them, I can also get satisfaction, so I am willing to work hard in this area."
Shen Li glanced at him: "Aren't you like that? Your parents used 'praise education' a lot when you were a child, right? If you were given calculus problems to do when you were in junior high school, and you were called stupid if you couldn't solve them, you wouldn't be able to become the 'city champion'."
She even sneered, talent? We are all ordinary people, how can there be so many talents?
Qiao Zishun's eyes were deep. He stared at Shen Li without saying a word. Then he saw her open Weibo and find Qiao Lu's Weibo homepage to show him.
"You and my idol are like two huge mountains. Qiao Lu can't get over them. No matter how hard he tries, he can't get any praise. The more he learns, the more painful it becomes. Plus, your dad thinks that not raising Qiao Lu to be like you and my idol is a failure and a disgrace... To be honest, the fact that Qiao Lu didn't rebel or grow up crooked is definitely due to the good deeds of your ancestors."
Seeing that Qiao Zishun didn't know how to use Weibo, Shen Li took the initiative to approach him and taught him how to watch videos, photo albums, and jokes: "What he is doing now can give him a sense of accomplishment, which you have never given him. The little animals he has helped and the fans who read our series, all these give him a sense of accomplishment and make him feel that his existence is meaningful."
The bus slowly approached. Shen Li pulled out her phone and took one last look at Qiao Zishun: "Now you know why he doesn't want to go home, right ?"