Striving for Science C87

Shen Chang'an couldn't help but touch his arm. What was wrong with Dao Nian lately? Why did he keep saying such awkward things?

"Dao Nian..." Shen Chang'an hesitated, looking at Dao Nian, "Have you done anything lately that made me unhappy?"

Dao Nian: "..."

"Nothing, go to sleep." Dao Nian coldly threw Shen Chang'an into the corridor, slamming the door shut.

Shen Chang'an: "?"

Was he embarrassed and angry, or was he feeling guilty?

The next day, Dao Nian kept a cold face towards Shen Tu for most of the day. Shen Tu timidly asked, "Sir, have I done anything wrong recently?"

You're always going to keep a cold face towards me?

"I tried the method you taught me," Dao Nian's expression was a bit strange, "Chang'an didn't suspect that I had feelings for him. Instead, he asked me if I had done anything wrong to him recently."

Shen Tu: "..."

One who can't flirt but insists on flirting, and another who lacks an emotional antenna. These two together are a disaster.

"Perhaps, you're being too literal?" Shen Tu quickly explained, "Any sweet talk, is spoken from the heart, when feelings are strong."

"The things I said to him, were all sincere…"

Shen Tu: "..."

How could he have been so out of his mind back then, to help the sir think of ways to pursue Shen Chang'an?

Shen Chang'an discovered that after he asked Dao Nian if he had done anything wrong to him, Dao Nian returned to his usual self and stopped saying strange things to him.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Dao Nian kept saying strange things to him, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

After the "zombie" was caught, the police issued a public announcement, saying that the tomb robbers, in order to escape the pursuit of law enforcement officers, deliberately pretended to be zombies to cause public panic and paralyze the law enforcement officers' vision. Now the matter has been investigated and clarified. Please, all citizens, do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors, and work together to build a harmonious and beautiful home.

Christmas was only two days away. The unmarried couple at the Hundred Years of Harmony Flower Shop closed their shop for two days before resuming normal business. However, brother Ming told Shen Chang'an that money was endless, and they would definitely close their shop earlier in the future and no longer stay up late.

The two of them had already treated Shen Chang'an as family. They even brought a lot of mountain goods from their hometown for Shen Chang'an to take back and eat.

Shen Chang'an had just walked out of the flower shop with a bag of walnut kernels when he was stopped by two boys who claimed to be college students.

"Hello, we are preparing for a final enterprise project and want to survey a passerby's data. Would you mind taking half a minute to answer a question?"

"What question?"

"Can you accept deception?"

"What kind of deception, benevolent?"

"Not benevolent." The two shook their heads, looking seriously at Shen Chang'an, as if they were very concerned about his answer, "It's someone who hides everything about themselves, approaches you with ulterior motives, and may even be using you. Can you forgive that?"

Shen Chang'an thought carefully, "Probably... not. In human relationships, honesty is still very important."

"Okay, thank you for your help with our studies." The two boys smiled and nodded at Shen Chang'an, as if they had received a satisfactory answer, and hurried away.

When they reached a deserted place, the two boys suddenly turned into two black strands of hair, flying through the air and landing in a white hand.

"That's interesting…"

He clenched his fist, the black hair vanished, and the man laughed.

The laughter carried a hint of mockery and delight.

***

After Christmas, Shen Chang'an started discussing with Dao Nian about going to the provincial capital for New Year's Day. The general plan was that Shen Chang'an would suggest where to go, Dao Nian would nod in agreement, and the others would start making travel plans.

The people from the Civil Service Department heard that Shen Chang'an was going out for New Year's Day and couldn't help but advise, "Going out for New Year's Day? Half the time you'll be stuck in traffic going there, and half the time stuck in traffic coming back. What's the point?"

"Maybe it won't be congested when I go?" Shen Chang'an tapped away at his keyboard, his work enthusiasm even increased as the holiday approached.

"You might as well think about how to win five million." Ding Yang poured himself a cup of coffee. To ensure they could leave on time for New Year's Day, everyone in their department was working overtime with renewed vigor.

Five million is nothing, I have a whole chest of gems and a chest of large pearls.

Shen Chang'an felt that he could now truly treat money like dirt.

On the evening of December 31st, Shen Chang'an and his colleagues finished all their work, let out a collective cheer, grabbed their belongings, and rushed out.

Driving past a traffic light intersection, he saw a couple arguing.

The girl was squatting on the side of the road, crying and cursing, while the boy apologized, "I really messed up, will you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? What am I supposed to forgive you for?!" The girl choked back a sob and shouted, "You said you were poor, so I saved every penny, just wanting to buy you a better jacket. You said you missed your mom, so I worked overtime, even came back to cook for you, and now you say what? You're actually rich, all those things you said before were lies?"

"Is it fun to pretend to be poor and pitiful?!" The girl screamed, "You played me for a fool, do you think I'd fall for your money or your family background?!"

"Get lost, get lost, get lost! I'm not good enough for a rich kid like you!" The girl cursed, "This past year, I might as well have fed my feelings to the dogs!"

"No, dogs are better than you, at least they wouldn't lie to me."

After saying all this, the girl turned and ran into the night.

After watching this little drama unfold, the long traffic light finally turned green. Shen Chang'an nodded to himself, this little girl was interesting.

Using a test as an excuse for disguise is a form of disrespect.

Back home, Shen Chang'an saw that Dao Nian and Uncle Zhao hadn't gone to sleep yet. He took the milk Uncle Zhao had warmed for him and casually mentioned the incident.

"I think the reason why the girl didn't beat the boy half to death is probably because she didn't want to break the law."

Dao Nian: "..."

Stay calm, Chang'an didn't imply anything else.

Besides, he didn't intend to test Chang'an, the nature of this situation... was, well, a bit different from that couple, right?

Old Zhao turned to look at the kitchen, "I'll go see if the broth for tomorrow morning is ready."

He didn't want to become the second Shen Tu, so he didn't want to give the master any bad advice on matters of the heart.

"What kind of soup is it? Is it good?" Shen Chang'an came home from overtime, his stomach a little hungry, but for the sake of his health, he gave up the idea of having a late-night snack.

But just taking a few sips of Uncle Zhao's soup wouldn't count as eating.

"It's not good, it's not good." Hearing Shen Chang'an wanting to eat his cooking in the middle of the night, Uncle Zhao remembered the fear of being watched by his master as he ate several bowls of spirit mushrooms a few months ago, so he immediately dismissed Shen Chang'an's desire to have a sip of soup.

Shen Chang'an: "..."

I just want to have a few sips of soup, don't react so dramatically.

Unable to have soup, Shen Chang'an finished his milk and gave the walnuts and peanuts to Old Zhao, who was wandering around the kitchen.

"What's this smell?" Old Zhao took the peanuts and walnuts, sensing a strange aura on the bag.

"Earthy smell?" Shen Chang'an said, "These are all authentic mountain goods, not industrially processed."

Old Zhao put the bag aside with a serious expression, asking casually, "Who gave this to you?"

"The owner of the 'Hundred Years of Harmony' flower shop gave it to me." Shen Chang'an secretly peeked at the pot, smelling a faint aroma of meat broth.

"Oh." The smell on this bag was very faint, like it was accidentally touched, so if the flower shop owner had brought it over, the smell wouldn't be so faint.

"They gave it to me a couple of days ago, I left it in the car and forgot to take it out." Seeing that Uncle Zhao didn't seem to have any intention of giving him soup, Shen Chang'an went back upstairs to sleep dejectedly.

"Master." After Shen Chang'an fell asleep, Old Zhao brought the bag that had held the walnuts and peanuts to Dao Nian, "I felt the aura of the Great Dao and resentment on this bag, but it's very faint."

"Is the resentment of the Great Dao's remnant trying to get close to Chang'an?"

"It's not the Great Dao's remnant." Dao Nian reached out and sensed the bag, "It's something that has been tainted with the aura of the Great Dao."

"What does it want to do by getting close to Chang'an?" Old Zhao's brows furrowed tightly.

Dao Nian remained silent, having absorbed that wisp of energy.

***

The next morning, Shen Chang'an and his group got in the car and headed for the provincial capital. Miraculously, even though it was the peak travel season for New Year's Day, their car went smoothly all the way. They didn't even have to wait at a few traffic lights and went straight to the hotel parking lot.

After sitting in the car for a few hours, he was more tired than if he had walked. Shen Chang'an lay on the big bed in the hotel and didn't want to move. He even had the hotel deliver dinner to his room.

When they arrived at the zoo, he was full of energy and went to get tickets, asking the staff where the white fox that was rescued a few months ago was.

"The white fox?" The staff member said, "The white fox is kept in the fox area. Because it's special, it has its own space. If you want to see the white fox, go early. There will be a lot more people lining up to see it later."

"Is the white fox that popular?"

"That's natural. That fox is smart. Many tourists say that if that fox could live for another few decades, it might be able to cultivate into a yao."

Distributing the tickets to everyone, Shen Chang'an walked straight towards the fox area as soon as he passed through the ticket gate: "Let's go to the fox area first."

Liu Mao was surprised. Given Hu Ming's personality, he could actually stay obediently in the zoo and even be liked by so many tourists. This was simply not something Hu Ming would do.

Could this white fox not be Hu Ming?

But the closer they got to the fox area, the stronger the fox's yao energy became. Liu Mao was certain that the fox was in the fox enclosure.

As soon as they approached the fox area, they heard the laughter and screams of children, along with the parents' weary replies, or perhaps the sounds of some animal.

"Xuexue is so cute."

"Nonsense, it's clearly called Tuan Tuan."

"It's called Maomao."

Shen Chang'an walked over to take a look. A plump, lazy white fox was sprawled out on its back in a very small, very cute cradle. At first glance, he almost thought it was a ball.

"This is..." Was it the white fox they saved? He clearly remembered that the white fox had soft, shiny fur, was just the right size, and was incredibly beautiful.

This fox that looks like a pig, it definitely isn't that little cutie.

Liu Mao: "..."

Don't doubt your eyes, this pig-fox is Hu Ming.

Hu Ming lazily rolled over, preparing to sunbathe on his side, but when he opened his eyes, he saw Shen Chang'an lying by the window.

"Squeak!"

How did Shen Chang'an, this green tea white lotus, end up here?!