Chapter 28: The Crazy Stone

  At night, Siu Yuk and Yiu Kwan ran to "The Back of Time" for a drink after finishing their studies early. The location of this store is not close to the school, nor is it far from home, but rather hidden, which has become one of their favorite dating spots, much to Siu Yuk's delight.

  All the way, she had already told Qi Yun about what happened in the afternoon, except for the detail that Tan Shaocheng made keeping a distance from him as a condition for negotiation. After sitting down, Si Tu Jue added a concluding remark, "Anyway, it's crazy enough, there really are all kinds of people under the sky."

  Yao Qiyun smiled at the familiar long-faced waiter, as a greeting. Then he touched Situ Xuan's hand on the table, as if to comfort her somewhat excited emotions.

  "That's all I can say, you live in a world that is too simple." He said: "To be honest, I don't agree with Tan Shaocity's approach, but I can understand her. Poverty is more terrible than you think, it can wear away many things, just like a very barren land cannot support a delicate flower. Dignity and morality, she may not have them, or maybe she doesn't need them, but that's only after she has the most basic security in life. I've also heard about her family situation, her dad was working as a temporary worker in a mine, had an accident, although it was a work injury, the owner of the mine refused to acknowledge it, what can you do? She still owes tuition fees for her senior year, the school can let her delay payment, but she still needs to eat, her family is hopeless, and they're counting on her to support them... Sometimes people are like this, the most beautiful things are in the sky, knowing that jumping up won't reach it, so you have to give up and look for something lower, even if it's dirty, you have to go pick it up, who will still care about keeping their hands clean? The bottom line will keep dropping."

  Situ Xuan heard this and was stunned, remaining silent for a long time.

  "I... I never thought of these things. You think I was wrong, shouldn't I have refused her?" She paused for a long time before asking Ya Qiyun in confusion.

  Yao Qiyun shook her head. "You're not wrong. However, Ah Yue, have you really never considered her proposal? You don't need that scholarship to prove yourself."

  "I know what you mean. Anyway, the application form is not going to come back, if she can beat me in the exam, that's her ability, I have nothing to say, but I won't intentionally do poorly on it. This has nothing to do with the scholarship, it's a matter of principle. If you say I don't have sympathy, there's nothing I can do about it." Si Tu Jie said with his neck stretched out.

  Yao Qiyun smiled, perhaps he didn't think he could convince her on this matter either. She had her own set of standards, which sometimes gave people a headache, but that was also what made her lovable. The stubborn Sutu Yu, who walked in the direction she thought was right until it got dark and didn't know how to turn back, wasn't that also the Sutu Yu he liked?

  "You said you bumped into Zou Jin later, did he say anything?" Yao Qiyun asked again.

  Situ Xun shrugged, "I thought he would say something too, but in the end, he didn't say anything. Maybe Professor just accidentally dozed off in the car and was startled by us."

  "You think everyone is like you, with everything written on their face?" Yao Qiyun said, he lowered his head and drank something for a while before continuing: "It's said that Zou Jin is a very strict person, and his personality is also hard to grasp. Even the students he brought himself are a bit afraid of him."

  "What kind of person is Zou Jinnah, our college's number one killer, known as 'Zou Yanwang'? He's indeed intimidating, but not to the extent that people would voluntarily go to the underworld to seek his favor. No way, his academic achievements are there for all to see, and who wouldn't want to follow someone with a promising future?" Si Tu Xuan said with a smile.

  "Qu Xiaojuan followed him from master's to doctorate, and it is said that he was quite generous to this female apprentice." Yao Qiyun was not used to speaking ill of others, but since it involved Si Tu Jue, he had no choice but to mention it. Of course, what he heard was even more unbearable, but that was just hearsay. He also knew that Si Tu Jue highly respected Zou Jin, so he spoke very cautiously.

  Situ Xuan suddenly heard the implication in his words and said disapprovingly, "Those rumors were all spread by San Pi, right? He wanted to take Zhou Jin's graduate exam but didn't pass, so he's been slandering others every day. Don't think I don't know about his ulterior motives towards Qu Xiaojuan. It's just sour grapes. I hate listening to these things the most, Yao Qiyun. If 'it's said' were reliable, I wouldn't know how many boyfriends I'd have."

  "Alright, I just said it casually. Look at you, what's the hurry?" Yao Qiyun didn't argue with her anymore.

  Situ Xuan didn't deceive Yao Qiyun, that day Zou Jin indeed said nothing, although standing in his position, even if he said something it wouldn't necessarily be without a standpoint. However, not long after Situ Xuan met Zou Jin again at the institute office, and just as he was about to scold one of his Ph.D. students into nirvana, Zou Jin surprisingly smiled warmly at Situ Xuan, "Situ Xuan, we meet again."

  Situ Xuan looked at the dejected doctoral student walking away from her, if she wasn't mistaken, this "unlucky PhD student" happened to live in the same dorm as San Pi. With a hint of embarrassment and sympathy, she gave a distant bow to Zou Jin, "Professor Zou, no, I mean, Dean Zou."

  Zou Jinyi listened and actually laughed. "What's wrong, you're not even my graduate student, what are you afraid I'll do?"

  Situ Xuan scratched his head, and couldn't help but ask with a big dose of courage: "No way, the rumors are too shocking. I think that to be your disciple, besides having enough luck, one must also have a certain amount of resistance."

  "You missed one thing, that is the real ability of true talent, I detest mediocrity." It seems that Zou Jin didn't mind what Si Tu Jue said, thought for a moment and continued: "Probably because I'm not very good at being human, I've always been strict with myself in academic matters, can't tolerate any sloppiness or negligence, so I also hope my disciples can demand more from themselves. I regard them as my own people, usually without much reserve, plus sometimes I get frustrated when they don't live up to expectations and unintentionally become a tyrant. Even a little girl like you has heard about it."

  Situ Xiong chuckled twice.

  Zou Jin smiled slightly, "But I think I'm still quite courteous to ladies, you can rest assured."

  It's been said that Zou Jin was a handsome young man, and now as the years have passed, it seems his charm has not diminished, but rather added a sense of stability and elegance. Faced with his smile, Situ Xuan also had to admit that it was very pleasing to the eye. Being able to make so many girls inside and outside the hospital unanimously admire him, of course, is not an undeserved reputation.

  "I'm not even Director Zou's disciple, so it's hard to worry about it." She chuckled, with a hint of slyness.

  "What? You want to test me on my graduate studies?" Zou Jin raised an eyebrow and asked.

  Situ Xuan naturally wouldn't let go of the opportunity and immediately shouted loudly: "Who in the entire Medicine Academy doesn't want to, it's just that Dean Zou might not be willing to accept."

  Zou Jin smiled ambiguously and neither confirmed nor denied it, only repeating her name in his mouth several times.

  "Xītù Méi...... Jīn Hán Méi lí, Yù quē wèi Méi, yǒu diǎn yì si, bú guò wǒ jué de lái zuò nǐ de míng zì bìng bù tuǒ dàng."

  Translation:

  "Sito Mei... Jin Hanmei apart, Jade deficiency as Mei, has some meaning, but I think it's not suitable to use as your name."

  As they spoke, he had already walked to Si Tu Jue's side and stood shoulder to shoulder with her. Si Tu Jue suddenly remembered what Yao Qi Yun had said, as well as those vague rumors, she didn't believe them but couldn't help taking two steps back, creating some distance between them.

  "I don't understand what you mean."

  "You shouldn't have that 'flaw', in my opinion, you're a material as good as jade, not even the most precious jade can compare, it's like a natural-born masterpiece."

  If someone else had said something so straightforward and flattering, Si Tu Jue might have felt embarrassed enough to shiver, but Zou Jin didn't. His eyes were as candid and sincere as his words, as if he was stating a fact as simple and ordinary as "one plus one equals two".

  Even so, Sutu Xuan's face turned red, and he stuttered a goodbye before fleeing out the door.

  She met that unlucky senior in the elevator room. The bespectacled boy looked her up and down through his thick lenses and hummed: "Thus commanding parents all over the world, not to give birth to boys but to girls..."

  After the winter break, everyone returned to school, and the grades for last semester were also released. Situ Xuan's overall score was still seven points higher than Tan Shaocheng's, ranking second, while Tan Shaocheng ranked fifth. At the end of March, with the tide of job hunting rising, it was finally announced who would receive the "Fu Xuecheng Scholarship", and Situ Xuan became the undisputed winner. Initially, Situ Xuan thought about how Tan Shaocheng would react at this time, but to his surprise, he didn't see her during several large classes that period. After asking around, he found out that she had taken a week off, saying she was going back to her hometown.

  Although Situ Xuan didn't lack the money, it was still an honor earned through hard work. To say she wasn't happy would be a lie, but when she held the prize money in her hands, she felt unexpectedly heavy-hearted and couldn't help but think of an old saying: "Those who send charcoal in snowy weather are few, but those who add flowers to brocade are many." This saying had nothing to do with her current situation, but it still lingered in her mind. At night, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, she couldn't help but think that if Tan Shaocheng wasn't struggling financially, didn't have to work as a tutor in the wind and rain, and had the same learning environment and foundation as her, would the outcome of this competition still be the same? Furthermore, if Tan Shaocheng had the energy and motivation to participate in extracurricular activities or hold student leadership positions, even if his grades were slightly lower than hers, he might still have won the scholarship. The more she thought about it, the more Situ Xuan realized that she didn't have an absolute advantage. Maybe she wasn't smarter than Tan Shaocheng; maybe she just had the good fortune of being carefree.

  After thinking repeatedly for a night, the next day, Situ Xuan found Wu Jiang and handed over the reward money to him. With a troubled mind, she told him to give it to Tan Shaocheng on her behalf, as long as he didn't mention where the money came from, anything would be fine. Wu Jiang was used to doing good deeds, so why not just do something bad for once? She thought she had won, but in fact, she had lost.

  Wu Jiang was also a straightforward and generous friend, normally he would not refuse to help in such matters. However, this time when he received the money and heard it was for Tan Shaocheng, he immediately pushed it back to Si Tu Xue like a hot potato.

  "I'm telling you, auntie, I've already got a belly full of fire sparks, so stop pushing me into the fire pit!"

  Situ Xuan didn't understand and naturally wanted to ask for the ultimate answer. Wu Jiang finally caught someone who was eager to pour out his bitter water, and immediately opened his mouth.

  This matter actually started from the jade bangle that Situ Jing always wore.

  The one who gave the stone to Sutu Xin was Wu Jiang, but then who gave the stone to Wu Jiang? Seeing Wu Jiang's scratching face, the answer is about to come out, that is Tan Shaocheng, who has been expecting to send his best things to Wu Jiang.

  Tan Shaosheng gave Wu Jiang two pieces of raw jade. Wu Jiang had heard stories about "gambling on stones" before and was very interested when she first saw them, but the value of this thing is hard to say, it's uncertain whether it's a valuable treasure or not, unlike those mountain goods she sent before, so he didn't dare accept it at first. Tan Shaosheng did not expect that Wu Jiang, who lacked nothing, would be delighted with this thing, and her heart was full of joy. As for Wu Jiang saying that she wanted to give him money to buy the raw jade, she wouldn't agree, saying that it was picked up by her father who worked in a mine on the border, and she didn't need it, as long as Wu Jiang liked it, then she put down the thing and ran away without waiting for his refusal.

  So, Wu Jiang "obeyed" with a smile and accepted the gift. He didn't keep it all to himself, thinking that Xiao Wan would also find it interesting, so he picked out a large one to give to Qu Xiao Wan, and another one was given to Si Tu Yue, who was equally fond of strange things.

  But who knows that human calculations are not as good as heavenly ones, he originally had a good heart, but the result was a complete failure. After cutting open the piece of jade given by Qu Xiaowen, it turned out to be a decent pale green nephrite with a good texture, and after some processing, it would make a pretty good object. However, when Qu Xiaowen found out that this thing was given by Tan Shaochen to Wu Jiang, and then Wu Jiang gave it to her, she immediately showed displeasure on her face, sneered, and threw the stone aside. No matter how hard Wu Jiang tried to explain, she only said that she couldn't accept such a "crooked" favor.

  Wu Jiang learned a lesson and never mentioned the origin of the stone in front of Si Tu Jue. The two of them excitedly went to find an expert to appraise it, but the result was that the remaining piece was made of the lowest quality jade, which is also known as "brick material" in the expert's words. In the end, they returned home disappointed and defeated. After returning home, Si Tu Jue threw the stone into the trash can. Wu Jiang cried out in injustice, and eventually, he coincidentally met Tan Shao Cheng on campus and sincerely apologized to her, which was a loss all around.

  It seemed that the matter had come to an end. However, Wu Jiang inadvertently discovered that Xiao Gen was down in the dumps for some reason, like a cucumber that had lost water, and he sighed all day long. Wu Jiang thought he was worried about finding a job, so he found a time to invite him to a small restaurant near the school to drink and talk, and also to fulfill his duty as a friend and comfort him. If he didn't drink, it would be fine, but after three cups of beer, Xiao Gen confessed his sorrows to Wu Jiang. It turned out that since freshman year, Xiao Gen had always had a crush on Tan Shaocheng. In his eyes, Tan Shaocheng had a similar background and they could commiserate with each other, but she was much smarter than him and looked very beautiful, like a golden phoenix flying out of the mountains. Xiao Gen felt inferior in front of her and only dared to secretly like her, and he was happy to be by her side, never complaining. However, this time, he knew that Tan Shaocheng's family had encountered difficulties, and she had also missed the scholarship she had been longing for. Looking at her gloomy expression, Xiao Gen could only hate himself for being useless, unable to help except feeling anxious. The worst part was that the person who snatched the scholarship from Tan Shaocheng was Situ Yue, who was a good friend of Xiao Gen's. Xiao Gen wouldn't speak ill of her, so he couldn't even stand up for Tan Shaocheng in front of her.

  Wu Jiang was somewhat surprised by Xiao Gen's hidden, unrequited love, but the key point wasn't that. Rather, it was that when Xiao Gen was drunk and speaking disjointedly, he suddenly heard something - that Xiao Gen had once mustered up the courage to give Tan Shao Cheng the two original stones he had brought from his hometown and treasured deeply. Of course, Tan Shao Cheng had accepted the stones, but not Xiao Gen's heartfelt intentions. In other words, Tan Shao Cheng had lied, and the true owner of those two stones wasn't her, but rather Xiao Gen, who secretly liked her.

  In this way, the two crazy stones were passed from hand to hand among a group of young people with unclear minds. Xiao Gen gave it to Tan Shaocheng, Tan Shaocheng gave it to Wu Jiang, Wu Jiang gave it to Qu Xiaowen and Situ Xue, Situ Xue threw it away, was picked up by Yao Qiyun, and finally gave it back to Situ Xue.

  Wu Jiang figured out the whole story and suddenly felt that the word "feelings" was really too much for his brain cells. He had already been feeling a bit guilty, and just before Xiao Gen fell down, he knew to pat Wu Jiang's shoulder and say that he knew Shao Cheng liked him, but he also knew that in every aspect, he couldn't compare to Wu Jiang, nor did he dare have even half a point of jealousy. He only hoped that when Wu Jiang was tired, she would realize that there was still someone silently wishing her well, even if that person was useless.

  Looking at Xiao Gen's still melancholic face after getting drunk, Wu Jiang's guilt in his heart deepened. After sobering up, he encouraged Xiao Gen to confess to Tan Shaocheng bravely, now is the time when she needs comfort most, and when she turns around, she will find out who truly cares for her. Maybe Xiao Gen's true feelings will move her. This way, Wu Jiang's worries were alleviated.

  Xiao Gen only knew to blush and smile at the time, without saying a word. Soon after, Wu Jiang came out of the hospital where he was interning for the night shift, but encountered Tan Shaocheng waiting for him at the gate, who had been standing in the cold wind on this winter's night for who knows how long.

  That day, Wu Jiang had actually made plans with Qu Xiao Wan. For some reason, Xiao Wan's emotions had been fluctuating wildly lately. Whenever they were together, she would get angry or upset over nothing, and her temper would flare up at the slightest provocation. Yet, despite this, she couldn't bear to be apart from Wu Jiang. Wu Jiang hoped that she could calm down on her own, but instead, she insisted on seeing him every moment, which made Wu Jiang feel both helpless and heartbroken. He had no choice but to tread carefully and try to soothe her.

  At this time, he saw Tan Shaocheng, looking at her shivering and red-eyed appearance, Wu Jiang's words "in a hurry" couldn't be said, so he suggested finding a sheltered place to talk slowly.

  He invited her to a small coffee shop near the affiliated hospital, and when they were about to arrive, Tan Shaochen stopped at the door again. Wu Jiang asked him why, and he smiled wryly and said that the consumption inside was not low, so there was no need to waste money.

  Wu Jiang didn't say a word and pulled her in. After they sat down, Tan Shaocheng let out several loud sneezes.

  "What's the point of this? If you have something to discuss, you can just give me a call." Wu Jiang said while handing her a tissue.

  Tan Shaochen kept her head down, warming her hands with a cup of hot water. She said, "Some things are better said in person."

  She said that, but Wu Jiang had been waiting for a long time without hearing what she was about to say. He looked at her face with some surprise and found that her eyes seemed to be locked on him tightly. The expectation, longing, pleading... and some unclear things in those eyes also shocked Wu Jiang, who usually didn't care about anything. In the past, when they were alone together, Tan Shaocheng's gaze had also lingered on him, but she would always avoid eye contact when he looked back at her.

  "Don't scare me like this, Shao Cheng, we're all friends, just say what's on your mind." Wu Jiang said.

  Tan Shaocheng curled up his lips and smiled, "Am I really your friend? I thought people like Si Tu Jue were your friends..."

  Wu Jiang also smiled and said: "Situ is of course a good friend, a good brother, but there's no need to compare, friends can have many kinds."

  "What about me?" Tan Shaocheng seemed to realize his excitement was a bit too sudden, and he tightened his grip on her slender hand, causing Wu Jiang to wince in sympathy.

  Xiao Gen came to see me in the afternoon...

  Wu Jiang began to understand a little, he just didn't expect Xiao Gen's movements to be so fast. He nodded and quietly waited for Tan Shaocheng to continue speaking.

  Her voice was getting lower and lower, Wu Jiang had to perk up his ears to hear clearly.

  "...He said he hoped I would be her girlfriend." Even her pale neck flushed with a hint of red.

  Wu Jiang asked the waiter to replace the glass of water in her hand that had gone cold. "Xiao Gen is a good person, isn't this just fine?" he said.

  "Do you really think it's good this way? Is that what you truly feel?"

  Tan Shaocheng's injured expression on his face made Wu Jiang somewhat unbearable. He didn't want to hurt this girl who was already in a pitiful situation, but at this point, he had no choice but to make things clear. He sympathized with her, but only sympathized, even though her expectations would make him seem a bit ruthless.

  "Of course it's true, Xiaogen's feelings for you are clear to all of us, he finally dared to say it out loud, I'm happy for both of you."

  "So you knew all along that he would come and tell me those things?"

  Tan Shaocheng's trembling lips and pale fingertips gave Wu Jiang the illusion that she would disappear into thin air in the next second.

  He hesitated and spread out his hands, "What's wrong with this? You're all my friends, I should be happy for you."

  "I think I understand what you mean." Tan Shaocheng slowly stood up, and although tears were welling up in her eyes, she used all her strength to hold them back. "Yes, I think I should have understood long ago. How could I not understand?" She muttered repeatedly.

  "How are you?" Wu Jiang asked with some concern.

  "I've caught a cold, that's just how it is." Tan Shaocheng actually smiled and put down the cup in his hand. "What a pity, wasting your blessing. I'll take this opportunity to bid you farewell too, my dad's condition has worsened, I need to take leave to go back to my hometown for a while. And thank you for this glass of water."

  Wu Jiang stopped her. "If I made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry, Shaocheng." He immediately took out all the money from his wallet, except for what was needed to pay the bill, and handed it over to Tan Shaocheng.

  "Take these first, if there's anything I can help you with, just let me know."

  His hand was suspended in mid-air for a long time before Tan Shaocity slowly took over the money.

  As she was leaving, she said: "Thank you, you're really a great friend. But you can help me once or twice, but you can't help me for a lifetime, right?"

  Wu Jiang told Situ Xuan: "I think she was still crying when she turned around."

  Situ Xuan listened to what had happened from start to finish and clicked his tongue, saying, "This is really terrible."

  "No, this is not the worst." Wu Jiang sighed and said word by word: "I don't know how Shao Cheng refused Xiaogen later, I only know that Xiaogen didn't attend the make-up exam the next day. He had already retaken two courses before, now, he's probably going to be held back a year."