Chapter Twenty: Idioms Are Serious—It's You Who's Reading Them Wrong
At this time, the term "gold digger" hadn’t even emerged yet, and He Yueyue’s ambitions were far grander than those typically associated with such a label.
He Yueyue’s “ideal” bore some resemblance to Qian Lu from a later era: Qian Lu, who came from an ordinary family, was beautiful, diligent, and went through four marriages, each time crossing social strata, ultimately becoming a tenured professor at Harvard, one of the world’s top universities.
In the future, after He Yueyue conquered Lin Cheng, she transformed into a high-level goddess, looking down upon Lin Cheng who sought her favor tirelessly. She began to be elusive and capricious, hot and cold unpredictably, triggering a hormonal explosion within him. Caught between impulse and restraint, he succumbed... and from there, it was a game of give and take.
He Yueyue might not yet have realized the ultimate “achievement” of her “ideal”—but to stumble so early left her deeply unwilling to accept defeat.
...
“Where’s my Chinese exam paper?”
Lin Cheng returned to his seat intending to review his mistakes across subjects, only to find his Chinese test paper missing.
Zhuang Sijing pursed her lips and gestured toward He Yueyue’s desk.
Lin Cheng approached He Yueyue. “Give me back my test paper.”
Her tone was irritated: “I just looked at your paper and felt that some of your answers to the poetry questions were inaccurate. You shouldn’t have scored that high.”
“You’re not the author; how do you know my explanations are wrong?”
“If it’s not the same as the answer key, it’s wrong.”
Lin Cheng smiled. “Teacher Chen said there shouldn’t be only one correct answer in Chinese.”
“Do you think Teacher Chen is right?”
Not wanting to get entangled or become a laughingstock, Lin Cheng said, “My Chinese grade was given by the teacher, that’s how it is. If you’re not satisfied, let’s have a contest.”
“How?”
He Yueyue looked at Lin Cheng, who had aced the test once but now seemed to have forgotten who he was, with mild amusement.
Lin Cheng said, “I’ll write three idioms with blanks, if you can fill them all in, I’ll admit the teacher was biased and gave me too high a score.”
“Bring it on,” He Yueyue thought sarcastically: So cocky! Let’s see what you’ve got.
Lin Cheng grabbed a scrap of paper from He Yueyue’s desk and quickly scribbled a few words. He Yueyue glanced at it and her face flushed red. “How did you get so disgusting!”
Lin Cheng chuckled, “You asked for it!”
“What nonsense did you write?”
Chen Zishi was also puzzled by Lin Cheng’s sudden leap in grades. He snatched the scrap paper and saw:
“Hollow hole□□.”
“Pinch□□stick;”
“□□tight pursuit;”
Chen Zishi gaped, instinctively glanced at Zhuang Sijing, and said to Lin Cheng, “Lin Cheng, you’re a pervert, aren’t you?”
“How am I a pervert?”
Lin Cheng gave an “innocent” laugh. “These are all idioms: ‘Hollow hole,’ ‘pinchgun sticks,’ ‘step-by-step pursuit.’ Are the idioms improper, or are you guys just thinking in the wrong way?”
Chen Zishi was momentarily stunned...
Lin Cheng smiled warmly and warned, “Mr. Top Student Chen, don’t be so prudish.”
...
On the way home, Chen Zishi couldn’t stop thinking about the three “vulgar idioms” Lin Cheng had written.
He had experienced Lin Yueyue—her gentle curves, the comforting warmth, and astonishing delicacy...
...
Zhao Guangtao, Zhuang Sijing, and Lin Cheng chatted and laughed all along the way.
Suddenly, Zhao Guangtao asked, “Maybe I should buy a phone?”
Zhuang Sijing, thinking they were discussing studies, found his remark odd and said, “If you get a phone, will anyone call you?”
Zhao Guangtao snorted, “Tch,” then began rambling to himself:
“Yesterday, while waiting for the bus, I met a girl, small and really pretty...”
“Eh—” Zhuang Sijing gave him a disdainful glance.
Ignoring her, Zhao Guangtao continued, immersed in his recollection:
“She rummaged through her bag several times but couldn’t find money. Then she looked helplessly around and searched her small purse again.”
“I said, ‘Don’t bother, I have some.’ Then I took out a coin and helped her pay.”
“That little girl thanked me gratefully, and we got on the bus together.”
“After a while, she looked at me and suddenly asked, ‘Do you have a phone? I want to pay you back.’”
“I said, ‘No need, it’s just one yuan!’”
“She looked a bit helpless and said, ‘Alright then.’ After that, we didn’t talk anymore.”
Lin Cheng was getting impatient. “That’s it?”
Zhao Guangtao went on: “About ten minutes later; anyway, I felt it was like telepathy. It seemed like she was about to get off...”
“We locked eyes for a second, and she blinked her big eyes and said, ‘Give me your school and class info, I’ll pay you back.’”
“I said, ‘Really no need, it’s not much money.’”
“‘Okay, you’re a nice person,’ she said, shrugged, and got off.”
“When I got home and looked in the mirror, I suddenly realized!”
“I’m the mentally challenged version of Wu Yanzu!”
Lin Cheng quietly listened, then glanced at the enchanted Zhao Guangtao and said, “Stop being so damn narcissistic. You’re just mentally challenged!”
“Ah... hahaha... ehehehe,” Zhuang Sijing laughed so hard she nearly toppled over.
Zhao Guangtao was speechless.
Lin Cheng laughed for a long time, suddenly feeling that childhood friends were truly captivating creatures.
In the future, Zhao Guangtao would serve as a naval ground crew chief, primarily repairing fighter jets.
He once complained: This isn’t a job for normal people. Every time a plane flies, the ground crew works themselves to the bone but no one knows. There are confidentiality rules and all sorts of regulations, but the pay is decent...
Two years ago—or rather, in a past life—Zhao Guangtao visited home for a month.
When he was about to return to the naval base, he deliberately arranged to have a drink with Lin Cheng.
He spent the whole evening sharing embarrassing school stories and gossip about Su Xiang’s tragic love death—all from that time.
A cup of fully poured liquor sat beside Zhao Guangtao the entire evening... Lin Cheng hadn’t dared to ask about it then.
That drinking session was also the last meeting between Zhao Guangtao and Lin Cheng.
Zhao Guangtao said: On a night patrol mission, he was in charge of pre-flight preparations. While inspecting the pneumatic tube, due to routing issues, his comrade was accidentally sucked into the fighter jet engine...
As the direct operator responsible for pre-flight checks, Zhao Guangtao caused a major casualty incident.
At that point, Zhao Guangtao broke down crying uncontrollably!
Only then did Lin Cheng understand the significance of the cup of liquor beside him...
Behind peace, soldiers also shed sweat and sometimes give their lives, all so quietly.
Seeing the self-important Zhao Guangtao now, Lin Cheng really wanted to give him a hug, wishing he hadn’t chosen to go to military school.