Volume 1: The Golden Years Chapter 027: Love and Hate
"Suosuo, your scrambled eggs with tomatoes don't have eggs, only tomatoes."
Zhang Anren came back from the queue with two plates of scrambled eggs with tomatoes in his hands. He put the plate without eggs in front of Zhu Suosuo and the plate with eggs in front of Jiang Nansun, smiling and whispering softly:
"Nansun, for your scrambled eggs with tomatoes, I asked my aunt to beat a few eggs to give you some extra nutrition."
Seeing Jiang Nansun and Zhang Anren showing affection in front of her, Zhu Suosuo stared at the scrambled eggs with tomatoes in front of Jiang Nansun and pretended to be unreasonable:
"I want to eat eggs~~"
"Then I'll make another one for you."
Seeing Zhu Suosuo deliberately acting unreasonable, Zhang Anren didn't get angry or refute. He stood up and went to the cafeteria window to queue up again and get another serving of scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
"Sit down!"
Seeing that Zhang Anren was really going to line up again at the cafeteria window, Jiang Nansun couldn't help but speak out to stop him, saying unhappily:
"Can't you see that Suosuo is joking?"
"It's okay, just another serving of scrambled eggs with tomatoes."
Zhang Anren explained with a smile, then sat down obediently. While picking up the bowl and chopsticks to prepare for dinner, he looked at Zhu Suosuo who was sitting opposite Jiang Nansun and deliberately making trouble, and said:
"Suosuo, you and Nansun should eat together. She can't eat so many eggs by herself."
Seeing Zhang Anren's serious look, Zhu Suosuo couldn't help but complain:
"I don't like eating eggs. I was just joking with Jiang Nansun. Besides, you clearly know that our Nansun has a small appetite, so why did you beat so many eggs?"
Seeing her boyfriend's embarrassed expression, Jiang Nansun deliberately put a piece of egg into Zhu Suosuo's mouth, teasing her while diverting her attention:
"I've given you all the eggs. If you can't finish them, I'll show you how I'll punish you!"
Zhu Suosuo ate the egg in her mouth while flirting with Jiang Nansun:
"It's okay. If you can't finish it, I can just pack it up and take it back to give to Mr. Yuan to supplement his nutrition. He works during the day and overtime at night. He is much more tired than me!"
Not knowing what Zhu Suosuo meant, Zhang Anren asked curiously while eating:
"What, Mr. Yuan, your boyfriend?"
Seeing that Zhu Suosuo wanted to say something, Jiang Nansun quickly stuffed a few more eggs into her mouth. Looking at Zhu Suosuo, whose mouth was swollen and she couldn't speak, Jiang Nansun blushed and said angrily:
"Zhu Suosuo, don't say weird things in front of Zhang Anren. Your boyfriend is so bad, don't let him affect Zhang Anren!"
Looking at the naive Jiang Nansun, Zhu Suosuo ate the egg in her mouth and said vaguely:
"All men are equally bad. There is no cat in this world that doesn't like to steal fish!"
Hearing this, Zhang Anren finally understood what Zhu Suosuo meant. He secretly glanced at the pure and lovely Jiang Nansun. Her face was flushed and her eyes were shy. With the white dress that fit her body curves, she looked graceful, pure and sexy.
Zhang Anren just felt his heart was about to make a move, but unfortunately Jiang Nansun was too conservative and wouldn't even agree to a kiss when they were together.
Thinking of this, he secretly envied and was even a little jealous of Mr. Yuan mentioned by Zhu Suosuo. Zhu Suosuo was no worse than Jiang Nansun and was so open-minded. Mr. Yuan would definitely enjoy Zhu Suosuo in every way, unlike himself who was so miserable that he could only hold Jiang Nansun's hand and pretend to be Liu Xiahui.
Seeing her boyfriend Zhang Anren staring at her with strange eyes while holding the bowl and chopsticks in a daze, Jiang Nansun felt uncomfortable all over and couldn't help but open her mouth and said angrily:
"Zhang Anren, what are you thinking about?!"
"Nothing, I was thinking about staying in school!"
Hearing Jiang Nansun's angry voice, Zhang Anren suddenly came to his senses. While taking two bites of food, he covered up in a slightly panicked manner:
"Eat quickly, the food is getting cold!"
Jiang Nansun didn't doubt him, she just thought Zhang Anren was worried about his place in school. Looking at the slightly flustered Zhang Anren, she couldn't help but comfort him:
"It's okay. You are so outstanding and popular. The teachers and leaders in the department all praise you. On the contrary, Wang Yongzheng is always smiling and not steady at all. You will definitely get the place to stay in school. Don't worry!"
Hearing Jiang Nansun's evaluation of himself and Wang Yongzheng, Zhang Anren felt proud. He felt that this was the fact. Wang Yongzheng was capable, and so was he. Moreover, compared to the other party, he was polite to everyone and knew how to behave.
Everyone in the department, from the leaders to the dormitory manager, praised me highly. I thought I would be the one who laughed last. I thought so in my heart, but I pretended to be calm and modest on my face.
"You can't say that. Teacher Wang is also a very good teaching assistant. Let's compete fairly. It doesn't matter who wins or loses. As long as we do our job well, that's all!"
Looking at the sanctimonious Zhang Anren, Zhu Suosuo just smiled and said nothing. She felt that there was nothing wrong with the other party disguising himself. What's more, Jiang Nansun liked such a modest gentleman, if the hypocrite was not exposed.
Compared to Zhang Anren, who only knows how to conceal his desires, Zhu Suosuo feels that Yuan Xudong is more real. This is the fundamental reason why she likes rich men. He can do whatever he wants and play whatever he wants without having to compromise for life and try to please others everywhere. Only such people can live the way they want!
The naive Jiang Nansun could not see through the perfect personality carefully created by Zhang Anren. Seeing that her boyfriend had become confident and modest again, like a modest gentleman, she could not help but give him a green vegetable and rewarded him:
"Zhang Anren, you are the best~~"
Looking at the green vegetables in the bowl, Zhang Anren's eyes twitched. He put some into his mouth and said in a vague and flattering way:
"Thank you, Nansun, this vegetable is delicious!"
"If it tastes good, eat more~~"
Jiang Nansun picked up a few more vegetables for Zhang Anren, who was very touched. Suddenly, she saw Wang Yongzheng, who was playing with a few heavily made-up girls not far away. She immediately stopped smiling and said,
"How can there be such a person in the world? He is so old, but he is still feeding people. Isn't it disgusting?"
Following Jiang Nansun's line of sight, Zhu Suosuo looked up and saw a tall young man hanging out with a few Korean girls. "You feed me a French fry, I feed you a piece of bread." Zhu Suosuo couldn't help but think of Yuan Xudong and herself. Her face flushed slightly as she said,
"It's okay, it's a bit intimate indeed, who is he?"
Jiang Nansun looked up and found that Wang Yong was looking at her not far away. She glared at him, then looked at Zhu Suosuo and said:
"Leave him alone, he's just a disgusting psychopath!"
Hearing Jiang Nansun say this about him, Wang Yongzheng was not angry. He walked towards the empty seat next to Zhu Suosuo and started to tease Jiang Nansun:
"Jiang Nansun, speaking ill of others behind their backs is not what a gentleman does!"
"I'm a woman, not a gentleman as you say!"
Seeing Wang Yongzheng sitting next to Zhu Suosuo uninvited, Jiang Nansun glared at him unhappily and said:
"What are you doing here?"
Wang Yongzheng shrugged his shoulders and explained:
"I came here to tell you that I'm really busy recently, so I don't have time to go to my aunt's homestay for the time being..."
Before Wang Yongzheng could finish, Jiang Nansun interrupted:
"Hey, this is the cafeteria, I don't want to talk about these things now!"
Seeing that Jiang Nansun looked unhappy and didn't seem to be joking, Wang Yongzheng spread his hands and asked in confusion:
"Why?"
Zhang Anren, who was standing by, noticed something and looked at Jiang Nansun who was silent, and said uncertainly:
"Nan Sun, isn't my aunt's homestay supposed to be handed over to me? What does it have to do with Teacher Wang?"
"You don't know yet?"
Without waiting for Jiang Nansun to speak, Wang Yongzheng, who was sitting opposite Zhang Anren, glanced at Jiang Nansun who was at a loss, then looked at Zhang Anren and explained:
"My aunt finally chose my design, so..."
"Could you please stop talking?"
Jiang Nansun stared at Wang Yongzheng and gritted her teeth:
"Aren't you very busy? If you are busy, don't worry about it. Leave it to Zhang Anren. I will explain it clearly to my aunt!"
Wang Yongzheng directly refused:
"That's not necessary. Just tell my aunt. I'll delay for a while. It will probably take about a week!"
After understanding the whole story, Zhang Anren felt embarrassed. He looked at Jiang Nansun and forced a smile:
"Nan Sun, didn't you say that Teacher Wang just drew a few random strokes on the napkin?"
Without waiting for Jiang Nansun to explain, Wang Yongzheng said indifferently:
"It's like this. Because we didn't have any paper or pen when we were eating, I just took a napkin and borrowed a pen from the waiter, then drew a sketch that just met my aunt's requirements, and the result was..."
"Don't listen to his nonsense!"
Jiang Nansun quickly interrupted Wang Yongzheng, then looked at Zhang Anren beside him and comforted him:
"Auntie was fooled by him. I am communicating with her. You worked hard for a week to draw the blueprint, and he just drew a few strokes on a napkin. How can you compare them?"
Hearing Jiang Nansun's evaluation of his design, Wang Yongzheng couldn't help but complain:
"I just want to make the whole design plan look more clear at a glance. Why bother talking so much? The client wants the final result, not how complicated your design drawings are!"
Although she felt that what Wang Yongzheng said made sense, Jiang Nansun still disliked him and said:
"You are just taking advantage of the situation!"
"Why are you so persistent?"
Wang Yongzheng spread his hands, then looked at Zhang Anren who was silent opposite him and said meaningfully:
"If you force yourself to do things beyond your ability, it will be very hard and unhappy, Zhang Anren, right?"
"Can you please stop being so self-righteous?"
Knowing that he was mocking Zhang Anren, Jiang Nansun couldn't help but speak up for her boyfriend:
"What is there for you to be proud of for someone like you who got in with extra points as a foreigner? How many points did Zhang Anren get, and how many points did you get? If it was a fair competition, you might not be Zhang Anren's opponent?"
Hearing the argument between Jiang Nansun and Wang Yongzheng, although Zhang Anren was angry, he still smiled and said:
"Teacher Wang, I think you may have misunderstood. I don't mean to argue with you. If my aunt chose the best option for the B&B, that's fair!"
"Very good, since you think so, let's leave it at that!"
Wang Yongzheng nodded slightly to end the topic, then looked at the angry Jiang Nansun and teased:
"You just misunderstood one thing. I didn't get in because of my foreign nationality. I got in because of my looks!"
After that, he looked at Zhu Suosuo, who was dressed like a queen beside him, and asked:
"Beauty, are you Nansun's friend?"
Seeing Wang Yongzheng chatting up Zhu Suosuo, Jiang Nansun quickly told Zhu Suosuo:
"Ignore him!"
Wang Yongzheng didn't care about Jiang Nansun's attitude. She was like a child who had not grown up, a spoiled young lady. He continued to chat with Zhu Suosuo and said:
"Beauty, what's your name?"
Keeping a certain distance from Wang Yongzheng, Zhu Suosuo smiled reservedly:
"Sorry, Nansun told me to ignore you!"
"It's okay, I understand!"
Wang Yongzheng shrugged his shoulders indifferently, stood up and left, while introducing himself:
"My name is Wang Yongzheng, nice to meet you, I won't disturb you guys during your meal, see you next time!"
Seeing the other party get up and leave, Zhu Suosuo replied politely:
"See you next time, my name is Zhu Suosuo !"
Seeing Zhu Suosuo talking to Wang Yongzheng, whom she hated, Jiang Nansun said angrily:
"Lock Lock~~"
Looking at Jiang Nansun who was acting coquettishly and angry, Zhu Suosuo pinched her face and said lovingly:
"Okay, don't be angry. Come shopping with me this afternoon so you can enjoy the happiness of being Mrs. Yuan!"
Jiang Nansun slapped Zhu Suosuo's hands away and said with disgust:
"Are you disgusting~~"
Seeing the deep sisterly love between Jiang Nansun and Zhu Suosuo, Zhang Anren forced a smile and looked around the cafeteria near the windows while eating his food.
When he saw an old Mediterranean man in a suit and tie, his eyes lit up. He picked up his meal and walked towards the window seat where the man was, while greeting Jiang Nansun and Zhu Suosuo:
"Suosuo, Nansun, I'm going to say hello to Director Zhang. You don't have to wait for me!"
Seeing Zhang Anren walking towards the Mediterranean old man not far away, nodding and bowing, Zhu Suosuo was puzzled:
"Zhang Anren is so enthusiastic, who is that?"
Following Zhu Suosuo's gaze, Jiang Nansun glanced at the slightly humble Zhang Anren and said unhappily:
"Department Head!"
Seeing Jiang Nansun pouting with an expression that said, "I'm very unhappy now, come and comfort me quickly," Zhu Suosuo laughed dumbly and said,
"Princess Jiang, you are an idealist and you don't know how cruel this society is. Zhang Anren is a realist. He has experienced the ups and downs of life and knows how to act cautiously.
He wants to stay in school to teach. It is normal to have such personal connections. Sometimes, a word or an attitude from others can determine your future fate. In front of such people, how many people can stand up straight? "
Hearing this, Jiang Nansun disagreed and said:
"The sea embraces all rivers; it is great because it is tolerant; the cliff stands thousands of feet high; it is strong because it has no desires."
Looking at the proud Jiang Nansun, Zhu Suosuo smiled and said:
"That's because someone has protected you from the wind and rain. You've been spoiled since you were a child, never worried about food and drink, you didn't have to look for a job after graduating from college, and you can continue to study for a doctorate or something. You haven't experienced any setbacks, so you can have such a clear distinction between love and hate now!"
Jiang Nansun naturally understood these principles, but she had never experienced them personally, so she could not understand the bitterness behind them. She looked at Zhu Suosuo, who had a complicated expression, and said proudly:
"Isn't it good to have a clear distinction between love and hate throughout life?"
"Of course it would be good to have a clear distinction between what you love and hate for the rest of your life!"
Zhu Suosuo smiled and agreed with Jiang Nansun, but she sighed in her heart:
"It's a pity, does Zhang Anren have the ability and determination to make you clearly distinguish between love and hate for the rest of your life?"
