Chapter 1: Are you sick?

  He hung up the phone and stood still for a long time in silence.

  There is a little joy, but more comes from the sorrow deep in my bones.

  Some things, once broken, can never be restored. Like a mirror. Some things, once past, can never be made up for. Like feelings.

  "Make up for it?" Tang Zhong's smile was somewhat chilly. "Perhaps I'm just thinking too much."

  Suddenly, Tang Zhong's mood became somewhat downcast.

  In front of him was Lake Mingli, and he wanted to go to the center of the lake to sit for a while.

  Surrounded by water on all sides, alone in the center of the lake, perhaps that kind of isolation from the world could give him a moment's rest and recuperation.

  When he was in a bad mood or lost a fight at the Henshan Prison, he liked to go up to the mountain and lie down for a while. The quiet and solitary environment allowed him to think about many things and understand many truths.

  Unexpectedly, there were still people on top of Mingli Pavilion.

  "Su Shan?" Tang Zhong's thoughts were suddenly stirred.

  He had to admit that he had an inexplicable fondness for this girl. Without any contact, just a glance, he thought she was very lovely.

  Tang Chong originally thought it was love at first sight, but later discovered that Hua Ming and Liang Tao in the dormitory had the same feeling as himself, so he knew it was a common disease of men being lustful.

  But this doesn't mean he's unwilling to get close.

  Because the wood bridge was wet due to the recent rain, it's slippery to walk on. If there weren't railings on both sides, one could easily fall off at any moment.

  Although the sky has begun to clear, the entire world is still shrouded in a layer of mist. The bamboo pavilion located on the lake's center seems even more ethereal and illusory, as if it had drifted here from the distant Penglai.

  Not even close yet, but heard a girl's crying voice 'Woo Woo'.

  Tang Zhong suddenly realized it wasn't Su Shan.

  Su Shan won't cry.

  He didn't have any examples to prove his point, it's just that subconsciously he thought a girl like that wouldn't cry.

  What would it be like if she burst into tears?

  Apparently, the crying person hadn't expected anyone to come over and disturb them either. They lifted their small face and looked over with a bewildered expression.

  Her raven-black hair was slightly curled, her small face as delicate as a porcelain doll, and her black-and-white eyes reminded one of a black gemstone wrapped in white silk. Her hair was slightly damp, her face had a bit of mud on it, and her eyes were red from crying, making her look pitifully lovely.

  She mustn't have put on makeup because even though she cried like this, her false eyelashes didn't fall off.

  Her little mouth was slightly open and her eyes were wide with wonder.

  When she saw Tang Chong's face clearly, her pretty face suddenly flushed red, and she said angrily: "How is it you again? Why are you always following me?"

  Tang Chong stared at her with a stunned expression. This woman's self-awareness was too good, wasn't it?

  Seeing her looking a bit nervous and a bit angry, Tang Chong thought she was quite cute.

  Pretty, doesn't know how to disguise her expressions and emotions. Her small face and eyes are like a weather forecast chart, whatever she thinks is obvious at a glance.

  There are many types of beauties in this world, but each type of beauty has several layers of protective color. This is not a bad thing, but it destroys their original flavor.

  There are many beautiful women in this world, but each of them thinks they're not beautiful enough. They think they lack something and want to cover it up or make up for it. It's not a bad thing, but it inevitably gives people a sense of artificiality.

  The most beautiful woman is pretty without pretending, the perfect goddess is so beautiful that she doesn't need to pretend.

  "What are you laughing at?" The girl wiped her face with the back of her hand and shouted: "What's so funny?"

  "Keep laughing. Laugh again and I'll dig out your eyeballs."

  "You... you're not allowed to laugh... waaahhh"

  The girl scolded him a couple of times, but seeing Tang Chong still smiling with his eyes narrowed, and looking more and more pleased, she thought he was also making fun of her. Feeling wronged, she couldn't help but start crying again.

  "Alright, alright. I'm not laughing." Tang Zhong hastily surrendered. "See? I'm not laughing now."

  "Who cares if you laugh or not." The girl opened her mouth and cried loudly. "You're all bad eggs. You all bully me."

  Generally, when a girl cries with her mouth open, she will more or less expose some of her shortcomings. For example, her mouth is too big, for example, her teeth are not white and neat enough, for example, her tongue coating is very white and dirty... but she doesn't. Her mouth is still round and lovely even when it's open, her teeth are like porcelain, white, clean, tidy, and shining with a healthy glow. Her tongue is also pink and clean, just like it's washed every morning with clear water.

  Tang Chong walked over and sat down in front of her, asking: "Tell me, who's been bullying you?"

  "You. And them." The girl said innocently. Perhaps she also wanted to find someone to confide in.

  "Who are they?"

  "Hanna, Luohuan, and also Cheng Pei." The girl said with tears streaming down her face.

  "How did they bully you?"

  "They won't let me drink the boiled water they made. They sneak off to military training without waking me up, so I'm late and get scolded by the instructor. When they go shopping, they don't take me with them either - even though we agreed to go together! As soon as I change my clothes and come out, they've already run off without a trace... Waaah, they're all bullying me!"

  Tang Chong was so angry and amused at the same time that he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

  This is the typical communication-inept girl. Because most families nowadays are single-child households, parents overindulge their children, resulting in kids developing a selfish personality. They only know how to take care of their own emotions but rarely consider things from other people's perspectives.

  Moreover, girls' psychology is more complicated than boys'. The infighting and scheming among girls are also more intense.

  Perhaps they see girls who are richer or prettier than them and subconsciously reject the idea, thinking that both parties are not on the same path.

  There was originally a natural gap between them. If this girl, who is richer and more beautiful than them, still doesn't know how to be tactful and flattering, then the distance between both sides will only grow further apart.

  Beautiful women always find it harder to make close friends than ordinary girls. This is the price they pay for their beauty.

  Tang Chong suppressed the smile on his face, lest it trigger the girls' psychological rejection, and said: "Do you know why they bully you?"

  "Is it because...because I'm prettier than them?" the girl spoke up.

  "There's also this possibility." Tang Chong smiled and nodded. Praising them, agreeing with them, made it easier to gain their acceptance.

  As expected, the girl burst out laughing and said: "I knew it was because of this reason."

  Tang Chong shook his head again and said, "There is this reason, but it's not entirely because of this reason."

  "What's the reason?" The girl asked with a puzzled face. What she didn't know was that Tang Chong had already started using today's psychology knowledge to give her a lesson.

  "I'll ask you a few questions first." Tang Zhong didn't immediately answer the girl's question, because the answer to this question wouldn't be very pleasant. Only by letting her realize that this was a big problem would she know it was her own mistake and think of ways to correct it. If someone else said it, perhaps she would reject it in her heart. "You just said they don't let you drink the boiled water they make. Have you ever made boiled water yourself?"

  The little girl's face turned red as she said in an embarrassed tone: "Grandma said... Grandma said she was afraid that the boiling water would scald my hand. She told me to buy my own water to drink."

  Tang Chong let out a mournful cry. Why didn't he have such a great grandmother?

  "That can't always drink mineral water." Tang Chong said with a smile. "What if sometimes forget to buy? Can't drink water that night?"

  "Then... then I'll go fetch water myself from now on?" the girl asked uncertainly.

  "Right." Tang nodded her head. "You not only have to buy a water bottle for yourself, but if you have the time or energy, it's best to also bring out the other girls' water bottles in the dorm and fill them up with water too."

  "Really?" said the girl. "They don't let me drink their boiled water, why should I fetch water for them?"

  "In order to ease the relationship," said Tang Chong. "Your current relationship has entered a vicious cycle. Even if you buy a kettle and fetch water, it will only guarantee that you have hot water to drink for yourself. It has nothing to do with them. If you can proactively open the door for them, they will feel your kindness. Put yourself in their shoes, and later on, they will also return the favor."

  "Okay." The girl nodded. "I'll get them water and they'll be fine with me?"

  "That's still not enough," said Tang Chong. "You need to make an effort from multiple angles. Don't you rarely take the initiative to talk to them?"

  "Uh-huh. Grandma doesn't let me talk to strangers."

  "Again, it's because of your grandma-" Tang Zhong said somewhat helplessly. "Think about it. You don't usually take the initiative to talk to people, and when others try to talk to you, you ignore them. How can they be willing to be friends with you? How can they call you out in the morning? Going shopping is something that friends do together-----you can't even become their friend, so how can they be willing to take you shopping?"

  "So I should talk more with them?"

  "Right." Tang nodded his head. "Take the initiative to talk. Buy some small gifts for them occasionally..."

  "A small gift?" The girl looked embarrassed. She had never bought a gift for someone else before, it was always the other way around. "Then I...I'll buy several LV handbags to give to them?"

  Tang Zhong suddenly had an urge to dive headfirst into this rational lake. Among students, who sends 'small gifts' by directly buying LV handbags?

  "Did your grandmother ever tell you something, do you still remember?" Tang Zhong asked with a serious face. He had to be serious because he knew this matter would have a great impact on the girl's future life. "Don't let others know that your family has money."

  "Why?" The little girl's face was bewildered. She lived in a world that was tightly protected, where there were no storms, no setbacks, no pain, no hardships, and nothing bad at all. There was only laughter, pampering, praise from loved ones, and flattery from others, as well as exquisite feasts and expensive luxuries, and also beautiful dolls-----

  "Do you want them to flatter you or befriend you?" Tang Zhong asked solemnly.