Chapter 239
Chapter 239
Xie Shiqing raised her palm slightly. “Here, this is the first time I’ve ever peeled a tangerine.”
Zhong Ning lowered her head and took it into her mouth, chewing a few times. “Wow! Oh my gosh, it’s so sweet! This segment feels like it’s been dipped in sugar. How can it be this sweet?”
She broke off another segment herself and put it into her mouth. “Huh, that’s strange. Why isn’t the one I peeled sweet? Shiqing, do you know why?”
Xie Shiqing nodded. “I know.”
“Because your sense of taste has malfunctioned.”
Zhong Ning looked serious. “I don’t believe you. Unless you feed me another one. I need to compare.”
With a faint smile on her lips, Xie Shiqing fed her another segment. “What about this one? Is it sweet?”
Zhong Ning said, “Wow! So sweet!”
Xie Shiqing’s brows curved as she pinched another piece of tangerine flesh between her fingers and brought it to her lips. “This one’s even sweeter. Do you want it?”
Zhong Ning nodded. “Mm-hmm!”
Then she saw Xie Shiqing place the tangerine segment into her own mouth, holding half of it between her lips while the other half remained outside, raising her brow slightly.
Zhong Ning: “……”
She looked left and right, glancing around, craning her neck furtively… then, with lightning speed, she leaned over and snatched it away in a flash.
“Just this one!” she said, her earlobes slightly red. “Don’t tease me anymore. There are people around.”
Xie Shiqing said, “Okay.”
Zhong Ning had figured out the pattern. Whenever this person started having mischievous thoughts, she had to block her immediately—before her tricks escalated, directly accepting it was the best solution. Otherwise, the more she was told not to say something, the more enthusiastic she became.
Usually, when they were outside among strangers, she could just blush a little and hypnotize herself into thinking no one knew them, and it would pass. But now their friends were around. With just one glance, they would spot something suspicious. That would be true social death.
Xie Shiqing was satisfied and indeed settled down. She simply leaned against her, took out her violin, and began to play leisurely.
The weather was cool, a gentle breeze blowing. Thick white clouds cast shadows, and the leaves and grass swayed with the wind.
It felt so pleasant.
“It feels like everyone is very happy,” she said softly, putting down the violin.
“You’re very happy too, and I’m very happy,” Zhong Ning kissed the top of her hair. “Of course we’re happy when we come out to have fun.”
“I once thought that happiness came in only one form, and that there was only one way to obtain it—by being the best, the highest,” Xie Shiqing murmured, her soft voice scattering into the wind.
“Just now, it suddenly felt like this ‘best’ and ‘highest’ have no standard at all. How can a person be the best? Even if someone becomes the richest person in the world, in other aspects, there will always be things where they are inferior to others.”
“There is no perfect person in this world.”
“Look at them. They’re clearly not that wealthy, yet they’re still very happy—happier than I was.”
Children chased and played, couples lay on the ground watching the sky together, friends took turns snapping photos. Every face carried a smile.
“Aren’t you happy now?” Zhong Ning asked.
“Mm… happy.” Xie Shiqing suddenly smiled. “When you’re by my side, I’m happy—happier than anyone, more blessed than all.”
The two leaned against each other. Xie Shiqing lowered her eyes, listening to the sound of the wind and laughter, feeling an incomparable sense of peace.
In fact, there was no need to put so much pressure on oneself. No matter how one chose to live, it was still about living happily. Since when did life have a standard?
No wonder Zhong Ning liked to walk around in nature and take a look. It truly stirred something in the heart.
The next time she went to see Dr. Feng, the speed at which her mindset had shifted even made the doctor look at her in surprise.
Xie Shiqing was a smart person. Sometimes, the smarter someone was, the more they tended to get stuck in a dead end, preferring to use their own cognitive experience to face everything.
But once she let go and truly figured things out, her transformation was faster than anyone else’s.
Moreover, Xie Shiqing was extremely proactive about wanting to change. That attitude of self-salvation was the strongest guarantee for turning her mindset around.
As time passed, the intervals between her meetings with Dr. Feng grew longer and longer.
Finally, when Zhong Ning started school again, it became once a month.
In Zhong Ning’s School of Economics and Management, quite a few people dyed their hair, but most chose shades of brown. Some had highlights, yet none were as avant-garde as Zhong Ning. The art students over at the Academy of Fine Arts were more likely to go that bold.
Her short, curly hair dyed in interwoven pink and blue was truly eye-catching.
An elderly professor even praised her a few times. “Young people—good. You should be full of vigor.”
Meanwhile, Zhong Ning was considering whether she should transfer departments. She also wanted to learn a musical instrument. After thinking it over, she realized that starting a professional program now would clearly leave her far behind. It would be better to enroll in a training class or hire a private tutor—one-on-one lessons would be faster.
When she told Xie Shiqing about this idea, the latter expressed full support. She knew many titans in the music world. If she could not invite them personally, inviting their disciples would be just as good.
“What instrument does Ning Ning want to learn?”
As she spoke, she was already thinking through the masters she knew. Yangqin? Guzheng? Guqin? Or flute, violin, saxophone?
“Suona!” Zhong Ning said.
Xie Shiqing’s smile stiffened. “What?”
“Suona! Shiqing, I want to learn the suona. It’s so imposing.”
Zhong Ning’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “It’s super cool, and very convenient too. You can just tuck it into your waistband and carry it around.”
Xie Shiqing truly had not expected that answer. But after another thought, it was indeed something Zhong Ning would like.
“That’s fine. I happen to know someone.” She scrolled through her contacts. “Her name is Wen Yi, Teacher Wen. Have you heard of her, Ning Ning?”
“I know her! I’ve seen her on TV—she’s amazing. I think she’s even some kind of association president or something. Shiqing, you even have her in your contacts?!”
“How many immortals are there in your list?” Zhong Ning exclaimed.
Xie Shiqing said, “There’s also piano teacher Wang Hai, guzheng teacher Qin Yu, and coloratura singer Fang Ming. Why don’t you take a look yourself?”
She handed over her phone, opened the music category in her contact groups, and passed it to Zhong Ning, who began scrolling.
Each time she saw a name, she squealed—this one too, that one too—until all her amazement condensed into a single sentence: “This is incredible!”