Chapter 1 (4)

  Lin Yuxiang confessed: "I'm not familiar with Liu Yong's lyrics, but Ouyang Xiu's are okay."

  Shen Xi'er commented: "Nonsense!" Lin Yuxiang thought this was really unfair.

  Susa vindicated Lin Yuxiang: "Not bad, nowadays boys are too shallow, it's rare to have talented ones like Lin Yuxiang." Lin Yuxiang heard this and felt sweet in his heart, he couldn't help but nod in agreement, smiling shyly.

  Luo Tiancheng was excluded from the conversation of three people, with unfulfilled ambitions, like Mao Zedong who was excluded from the "Military Highest Three-Man Group" during our army's Long March, no one paid attention to him, and even more like a fish in Shaolin Temple, an outcast of contemporary Shaolin Temple.

  Susa found out Luo Tiancheng's mistake and made up for it by saying: "You are too, great philosopher."

  Lu Tiancheng was praised and excitedly spoke words of wisdom, saying things like "Life is false, plain talk is true", which made Susa's eyes shine brightly.

  After a long wait, Lai finally came up. The four of them each had a bowl of noodles, the difference being that Susa's noodles were plump and full of spirit, also with a "gentlemanly" appearance; in comparison, the other three people's noodles looked like they had been through a disaster, yellow and thin. In politician-speak, Susa's noodles were worthy of representing national confidence on the international stage; the others' noodles were a manifestation of internal contradictions within the nation.

  Shen Creek child threw chopsticks and said, "I'm not eating anymore!" Susa apologized desperately and divided her noodles. Comparing further would be infuriating, the braised beef on Susa's face was more than the total of the other three people combined, let alone the quality. Putting them together, those three plates of noodles seemed like Juliet's maids when she made her entrance, only serving to highlight the master's exceptional dish.

  Susa had to divide the beef again, and Lin Er Xiang was lucky enough to get a piece. He felt moved, thinking that such a considerate girl is hard to find, and couldn't help but take a few more glances at her. Pretending to be casual, he asked: "Hey, Su, what do you think your ideal boyfriend is like?"

  "Susa said: 'I want him to be second in his grade.'"

  "Why wasn't it first place?"

  "Hmm, because I'm first, I don't want him to surpass me, so hehe, isn't that very selfish? Mischievously smiling."

  Lin Yuxiang ate more surprises today than the bridges in Zhouzhuang. Suddenly, she realized that she was the rumored first-place winner of her age group, the beautiful and cold beauty. She felt ashamed of her own ignorance. A beautiful woman is like a good landscape, hearing people say it's nothing special, but seeing it with your own eyes makes you feel that it's indeed beautiful. It can be seen that in love, the eyes are not the most deceitful, but the ears are.

  Lin Yu's current feeling is only disappointment, because his team does not have the strength of second place in the group.

  Shen Lang again pestered Susa to talk, wasn't it just some math problems? The two of them finished talking and still looked at each other smiling.

  Lin Lixiang thought that after broadcasting, he couldn't get in, and was indignant in his heart. He thought that since you've already said everything, why are you still occupying Lin Yuxiang's precious youth? In people's eyes, occupying a toilet without doing one's business is despicable. However, the most hateful thing is to occupy the toilet even after finishing one's business and waiting for others to do theirs.

  Lin Lixiang hesitated and asked questions, no matter good or bad, as soon as she exposed her head a little, Shen Xi'er would sign off on the question without mistake.

  Furiously, he asked sternly: "Have you ever advised?"

  Although this question is vague, it has a rich connotation, and Shen Xi'er thinks that even if she wants to cut it off, she can't cut through the copper wall and iron wall.

  A faint blush appeared on Susa's face, and she bit her lip, saying, "Of course not, really not."

  Lin Yuxiang felt a lot more at ease. Nowadays, boys have distorted the concept of Platonic love; they think that once a girl has been "bitten" (i.e., kissed or slept with) by someone else, she's no longer desirable. But Xiang was honored to be the first one to take a "bite".

  Lu Tiancheng wants to fight with Yu Xiang, exposing the animal side of human nature. Lin Yuxiang asked Susa for her phone number. Lu Tiancheng eats noodles while silently memorizing it in his heart. His outlook on life hasn't changed much, but his love situation has turned upside down, and he still thinks that having a beautiful woman is good. Every time Lu Tiancheng recalls the ups and downs of his own life, he will be shocked, just like someone who goes out for a trip and comes back to find that their house has been replaced with a new one, definitely feeling that kind of shock. Lin Yuxiang's house hasn't changed, but the owner has. The flames of passion can no longer be suppressed, burning fiercely, strong enough to make Kuwait's oil fields feel inferior to death.

  Those were just internal changes. The two of them appeared calm on the surface, like still water. Suddenly, Susa exclaimed with surprise and said: "Hey, I found a poem on the table!" Lin Luo's two heads hurried over to take a look. Lin Yuexiang's poetic talent was inspired by his emotions. On the table, someone had written a poem:

  Lying in spring, lying in plum blossoms, again hearing the dragon

  Lying in the middle of the sky, fish kissing the stone water

  Lying on the stone, answering the green spring

  Lin Yuexiang shouted "Good! Good poem!" and began to analyze it: "This poem doesn't pay attention to rhythm, it's not written by Han Yu. This kind of five-character quatrain must have been created by Liu Zongyuan during his opposition to arrogant literature. I've seen it in the 'History of Chinese Literature'. According to my memory, 'lying plum blossoms' refers to a type of plum blossom that grows in the north, with branches that grow horizontally and appear to be lying down. The host is lying in bed, imagining himself as if he were in the middle of the sky. As for 'lying stone', it seems to be from some ancient book... '_Wild Notes_' maybe? There's a place in Yunnan... it seems to be a scenic spot, with a pool of water called 'Lying Stone Water' nearby, and fish lightly kissing the Lying Stone Water. This section is really well-written, just like Liu Zongyuan's 'Record of the People of Yongzhou' and 'A Record of the Small Stone Pool West of the Hill'. Finally, 'lying stone' seems to be answering that spring has arrived. Good poem! Good imagery!"

  "Susa listened with wide eyes and exclaimed: "Wow, Lin Yuxiang, you're amazing!"

  Lin Yuxiang confidently spoke out the title of the book and article, achieving an unexpected effect, satisfying his vanity, and his ambition surged to express more opinions. Unexpectedly, Luo Tiancheng said coldly, "Try reading it a few more times."

  Lin Yuxiang read it three more times. Susa burst out laughing, praising Luo Tiancheng for being clever. Lin Yuxiang hurriedly asked what was wrong, but Susa couldn't speak from laughter, and Luo Tiancheng joined in on the laughter. Shen Xi'er didn't understand at first either, but after reading the poem a few times, she also laughed until she almost lost her breath. Lin Yuxiang carefully read the poem to himself several times, and suddenly his face turned bright red. It turned out that the poem's homophonic phrase was: "I'm stupid, I have no culture, I only know how to farm. Ask me who I am? I'm a big stupid donkey." After realizing this, Lin Yuxiang felt embarrassed, thinking about how he had just recited a bunch of nonsense, and could only lower his head in shame and eat his noodles.

  Luo Tiancheng didn't give Yu Xiang a chance to cover his embarrassment, saying: "Everyone's eaten enough, let's go, there's still half a day left."

  "Shake hands and say: 'No, I don't have half a day left, this afternoon I still have to rush back, you guys go play.'"

  Yu Xiang walked out of the shadows of defeat, reluctant to part with her, and said: "It's okay, we can walk together with the Literature Club tonight anyway, it's on the way."

  "No, I'm not from the literature club."

  Yu Xiang regretted not having the authority to admit Susa on the spot. He secretly disagreed with Ma Debao's idea: "Teacher Ma is actually a good person."

  "Susa insisted: "Really, I'm not done yet, I still have things to do." Luo Tiancheng arbitrated: "Alright, Lin Yuxiang, don't bother her, there's no banquet that doesn't disperse, when it's time to leave, let her go." Dongdong asked again: "Susa, what time are you planning to leave?"

  There's still half an hour left.

  "Why don't we finish touring the Pursuit Garden first?" Lin Yuxiang suggested.

  Luo Tiancheng smiled and said: "Genius, this is Zhouzhuang, there's no Chui Si Garden here, only Shen Hall." Lin Yuxiang was so embarrassed that he couldn't speak.

  Shen Creek child heard the old ancestor's hall, excitedly pulled Susa to go. Four people hastily settled the bill, the shopkeeper couldn't retain them, and smiled secretly at the door. The four of them turned around for half a day, finally finding Shen Hall.

  People with spirit don't die after death; similarly, rich people's wealth doesn't disappear after they pass away. Shen Wansan's wealth attracts tourists from all over the world, and the crowd in Shen Hall is so dense that it teaches people the importance of family planning. The four of them were quickly swept apart, and Lin Yuxiang was lucky to be pushed together with Susa. Being with one person feels much better than being with four. In the crowd, Susa and Yuxiang stuck close together, and Susa's fragrant hair wafted into his face, making him feel an instinctual urge to reach out and hold her hand. According to an ancient legend, when God created humans, the first batch of people had two heads, four arms, and four legs - just like the hermaphrodites in biology today. But God thought they were too smart, so he split them into two with a fiery sword, creating men and women as we know them now. As a result, men have an instinct to search for their other half. Of course, some people get it wrong and end up being gay. Lin Yuxiang remembered this legend and couldn't help but laugh silently.

  "Susa asked: 'What are you laughing at?'"

  Lin Yuxiang was afraid of being misquoted again, and after getting three yuan in a row, he shook his head and said, "Nothing." Thinking about it still made him laugh. No wonder the romantic TV series nowadays all have this line: "The two of us eating alone together". From a formal logic point of view, this sentence doesn't make sense - what does it mean for two people to be "alone"? But from a theological perspective, it suddenly makes perfect sense - only when two people are together can they truly become one person, so "alone". If one person eats alone, at most they're just half a person.

  Lin Yuxiang found the other half of this person, although he didn't know if it was his original partner, but he was overjoyed and wanted to get close.

  They got closer. Susa instinctively took a step to the side and accidentally stepped on someone's foot. The person next to them, two little secrets, were about to open their mouths to scold, but the one who was stepped on saw Susa's apologetic smile and immediately retreated, "Soy, Soy".

  Non-stop. Two female demons from ghost stories wanted to avenge their boss but failed and glared at each other.

  Let's walk a bit further. Susa is worried that she and Shen Qier will scatter and not gather again, so she wants to go downstairs to find them. Yu Xiang comforts her: "People look for people, looking for each other is a matter of course."

  "Dead people." Susa smiled stubbornly and said, "I don't care if I'm looking for dead or alive people, she's my friend, I must find her." As she spoke, she took God's work into her own hands, cut herself with a knife, and left Lin Yuxiang. Yuxiang couldn't stop her, so he had to follow her.

  Two people were walking in circles in the hall, Lin Yuxiang's mind was racing and he kept stepping on others' feet. After becoming an expert at it, he discovered a rule: when stepping on a Chinese person's foot, you can't say "sorry", you have to say "soy", only then will the victim forgive you. It's clear that foreign languages are more valuable than Chinese. You could say that one "soy" is worth ten "sorry"s, which matches the exchange rate of RMB to USD and GBP, proving the close relationship between language and economy; whereas stepping on a foreigner's foot is no big deal, their toes are as thick as their wallets, there won't be any consequences from stepping on them, who knows, your own feet might even get cancer.

  In the midst of a sea of people, Susa was overjoyed to discover Shen Xi'er standing at the door with an angry expression, and rushed over, saying: "I've finally found you!"

  Lin Yuxiang also followed. Shen Xier asked during the interrogation: "What did you do?"

  "Looking for you guys!" Susa said innocently.

  "Let's just believe it for now. Oh, Susa, isn't your time almost up?"

  "Gosh, really, I have to rush back."

  Lin Yuxiang stared at Luo Tiancheng's face, feeling that the vinegar taste on his face was thicker than Zhou Zhuang's autumn. He patted Luo Tiancheng's shoulder and said magnanimously: "Be more open-minded." Then he asked: "Shall we send you off?"

  "Susa smiled and said, 'No need, I'll go myself. Today was too much fun.' Yuxiang wanted to ask something, but seeing Susa saying goodbye to Shenxi so intimately, it was hard to interrupt, even if he cut off his own words like a poem by Mallarmé, so he gave up."

  Susa waved goodbye to Lin Yuxiang and skipped away, disappearing into the depths of the ancient alley. The street was left with only hurried passersby. Yuxiang stood there in a daze, gazing far into the distance, but Susa's pure figure had long since vanished. Yet he still replayed their encounter over and over in his mind, though his heart felt empty. The bustle of just moments before now seemed dull and unfeeling, as if his thoughts had frozen, like his heart could be formatted.

  Yu Xiang couldn't bear to turn his head and look at the river beside him, but he discovered a strange phenomenon. He took a closer look and exclaimed: "Rain!" Within a five-meter radius, everyone looked up at the sky. The heavens did not disappoint, and the rain grew denser, with raindrops covering the entire surface of the river. It was as if a mist had risen before their eyes. Three people huddled under an eave to avoid the rain, surrounded by a crowd of people. Lin Yu Xiang was pressed against a long-haired woman, who was wearing colorful clothes and kept taking out a mirror to check if her makeup had been ruined by the rain. She gave off a strange, pungent fragrance. He was also pressed against a bald man, which seemed even more intimate, as if even God had his moments of carelessness.

  That man should have been as old as Peking University, but his heart was not old. He often used his hands to comb the remaining hair, and had to caress it back and forth. His other hand was not idle, tightly holding a colorful umbrella. Lin Yushao couldn't help but squeeze to the side, and someone shouted: "Ah, you're squeezing!" Scared, Lin Yushao quickly stood up straight. Some people brought umbrellas, and under envious glances, they opened their umbrellas, grateful that the weather forecast had finally been accurate for once.

  The impression of Susa was gradually fading away in Yuxiang's mind. He had almost forgotten what she looked like. Suddenly remembering something, he shouted: "It's all over!"

  Shen Luo jumped in fright and asked what was wrong. Yu Xiang said: "Susa didn't bring an umbrella, she'll get soaked."

  "Don't worry about it. She's not a kid." Luo Tiancheng and Shen Xi'er said in unison.

  The Jiangnan water town is more elegant and unique in the rain. The smoke and miscellaneous things in the snack shop float gently in the rain, and people who take shelter from the rain can't help but buy some as a gesture. On the book and painting stalls, those paintings with mist finally meet the weather that matches their mood, regardless of quality, they are selling well.

  The temperature dropped sharply. The bald man hugged the woman tightly to warm up. Lin Yuxiang looked at it with a confused heart, only worried that Susa would not be cold, and couldn't help but rush out. Luo Tiancheng was numb and trembling, and Shen Xier also bit her lip tightly.

  Rainbow dispelled the idea of chasing Susa, as even if he caught up, he couldn't do anything. So he paid attention to the girls in Jiangnan. After Susa awakened his long-hidden desires, he became very interested in girls and stared at the passing water-town beauties. There were few beauties on the streets because in this era, there were more beauties who went to bed once a day than those who walked on the street once a day. Generally speaking, girls with some charm all stood in big hotels; those with great charm slept in big hotels; and those extremely charming ones lay in the arms of hotel managers. Occasionally, a few pure and elegant ones would walk by, extremely quiet.

  She glanced at him, blushing and smiling shyly as she quickened her pace to walk past Rui Xiang. This was something that Shanghai beauties didn't have.

  The beauties of Shanghai walk on the street with their eyes fixed straight ahead, ignoring everyone around them, even when crossing the road. On the other hand, most men in Shanghai are not so noble, they try hard to search for beauties, and the muscles on their faces have been trained to move independently without control from their brains, breaking into a smile whenever they see one. Due to such attention, in Shanghai you only hear about cars hitting old ladies, but rarely about cars hitting beauties.

  Lin Yuxiang was delighted with his own fanciful ideas about transportation, and habitually wanted to tell Susa, but only realized that Susa had left when he turned around, feeling a pang of emptiness in his heart, and let out a disappointed sigh.

  It has been raining for almost an hour, Susa should be on the road. The three of them went to visit South Lake again, in the faint misty light of the lake, all three were silent. Lin Yuxiang seemed to have a deep grudge against Luo Tiancheng, and they both looked at each other with reverence.

  It's getting late, and the wind is driving away tourists. The three of them rushed back and forth, being stopped along the way to ask if they were staying in a hotel. It wasn't until they finally got on the bus that their earlier excitement was gone, leaving only fatigue and regret.

  Ma Debao gave an impromptu speech on the spot, holding a newly purchased booklet to introduce the history of the small town. He also said that he had received an invitation to participate in a national essay contest and would lead the club to submit entries.

  Lin Yuxiang didn't mean to participate, Luo Tiancheng returned to being calm and composed. He talked about the "tragic consciousness of life" saying "Life is false, mediocrity is true, indifferent to fame and wealth, letting go of all glory, washing away vanity". The four female members present praised him as the second Liu Rui, but when they saw Luo Tiancheng, there was no joy. They even said that Liu Shu was better than Luo Tiancheng. Lin Yuxiang had no thoughts at all. A lonely figure dissolved into the sunset.