Chapter 186: Drawing a Big Pancake
When Su Zhaozhao woke up, she yawned and said to Xie Huaizheng, "I’m sleepy."
"Then how about I carry you to the bath?"
Xie Huaizheng certainly didn’t mind.
But Su Zhaozhao pushed him away. "I’ll go by myself."
If she let Xie Huaizheng have his way, she felt she wouldn’t get any sleep again tonight.
Xie Huaizheng watched her retreating figure. ’I really want to follow her... But no, I can’t. She’s too tired. I wore her out last night. I should let her get some proper rest today.’
The next day, after waking up, Su Zhaozhao went to the Li family’s home.
Li Jian Country had gone to work, and Wang Anning, who was the director of the local Women’s Federation, also had work to attend to.
But Li Tiantian was home.
When Li Tiantian saw Su Zhaozhao, she rushed over to greet her enthusiastically. "Zhaozhao, this is great! You’re finally here! You look so beautiful today, just like a fairy from the heavens."
Su Zhaozhao glanced down at her white knit shirt and white skirt.
’Beautiful?’
’This is just my usual style.’
"But then again, Zhaozhao, with a face like yours, you’d look like a fairy even in a burlap sack," Li Tiantian said with a giggle, tugging on Su Zhaozhao’s arm.
"Is your brother here?" Su Zhaozhao asked.
"He is, but he’s still in his room studying. That kid... as soon as he gets home every day, he locks himself in his room and only comes out for meals."
Li Tiantian pulled Su Zhaozhao upstairs. "I’ll take you to see him. But let me warn you, my brother’s temperament is... peculiar. He always stares at you with this all-knowing expression. You can’t get anything past him because he seems to predict your every move!"
Sometimes, Li Tiantian felt that Li Weichuan didn’t seem quite human.
He seemed more like a higher life form. Otherwise, how could he act like he had the Mind Reading Technique?
Even the psychologist they’d hired before had been scared off by him.
"It’s fine. I’m thick-skinned," Su Zhaozhao said with a smile.
’Even if Li Weichuan really knew what she planned to do with him, so what?’
’In fact, it’d be for the best if he could read her mind. That way, their communication would be much more effortless.’
The second floor had a row of four bedrooms.
Li Tiantian walked up to one of the doors and knocked. "Wei Chuan, your Sister Zhaozhao is here to see you! Open up."
There was no response from inside.
So, Li Tiantian simply opened the door.
Su Zhaozhao watched her, surprised at how direct she was.
A young man was sitting at a desk, a pen in his hand. He didn’t stop what he was doing when they opened the door, not even sparing them a glance.
Li Tiantian walked over to Li Weichuan. "Wei Chuan, stop writing for a bit. Look how much you’ve already done. Come and chat with us."
The pen in Li Weichuan’s hand paused. He turned his head and looked at Li Tiantian and Su Zhaozhao.
His gaze lingered on Su Zhaozhao for a moment before moving away.
Li Tiantian immediately said to him, "Do you remember? This is the sister who helped you the other day. You’re so impolite, you kid. You didn’t even thank her."
’He just ran off, without a single thought for what happened to us.’
"Why should I be polite? What’s the use of politeness?" Li Weichuan asked, sizing up Li Tiantian with a curious expression.
Su Zhaozhao studied Li Weichuan. ’He really is different from other people, just as Li Tiantian said.’
Just then, the boy’s deep, dark eyes landed on her. "You’re not here to treat my ’psychological problems’ too, are you? You all think I’m sick, but I’m not. I also know what methods you’ll use. It’s nothing more than making me confront my inner trauma so I can ’move on,’ right?"
’So, he knows a thing or two about psychology.’
Without missing a beat, Su Zhaozhao pulled a chair over from the side and sat down across from Li Weichuan.
The two of them were now face-to-face, a much better arrangement for a conversation than when she had been standing and looking down at him.
Su Zhaozhao smiled at him. "Well, since you already know everything, shall we start the treatment?"
Li Weichuan hadn’t expected this. Su Zhaozhao wasn’t surprised at all; instead, she just went right along with it!
’Wait... How could she do that?’
Li Weichuan froze for a second, then refused, "No. You should go. Don’t keep me from my homework."
The pen in the boy’s hand hadn’t stopped, scribbling away at math problems.
Seeing Li Weichuan act like this, Li Tiantian got a little angry. "Hey, you brat, can you stop this? Zhaozhao is my friend, your sister’s friend! At least show me some respect!"
"I don’t think she needs it. She’s pretty thick-skinned," Li Weichuan muttered.
’He even knows I’m thick-skinned.’ Suddenly, Su Zhaozhao felt that Li Weichuan actually had the potential to become a psychologist himself.
’He’s able to quickly judge what kind of person someone is.’
At this thought, Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but laugh. She reached out and took the workbook from in front of Li Weichuan.
"Kiddo, since you know I’m thick-skinned, you should also know that I’m not easily brushed off. How about we have a little chat?"
Su Zhaozhao then turned to Li Tiantian. "Tian Tian, why don’t you step out for a bit? I’ll talk to him alone."
"Will that be okay?" Li Tiantian asked, a little worried.
She could tell that Li Weichuan was getting angry about Su Zhaozhao taking his notebook.
Su Zhaozhao nodded. "It’ll be fine. Go on."
The door closed. Su Zhaozhao turned back to meet the boy’s pitch-black, icy eyes, which were now simmering with anger, as if she had snatched away his most prized possession.
’Perhaps in his world, these things are the most precious.’
’Only here could he find his sense of self.’
Su Zhaozhao placed the notebook back down in front of Li Weichuan. She didn’t bring up the past again.
’Since he was so resistant, that approach was a dead end.’
She asked him, "Do you want to compete in the provincial math competition?"
Hearing this, Li Weichuan froze. He looked at Su Zhaozhao, the previous impatience gone from his face.
"I... Can I?"
"Of course. With your talent, you definitely can. Let’s start with the provincials, okay? Later, you could even compete in the national math competition." Su Zhaozhao felt like a boss promising the moon to an employee.
But seeing the hopeful look in the boy’s eyes, she knew she had painted the right picture.
Su Zhaozhao knew that, in this era, great efforts were being made on all fronts to discover and nurture talent.
For instance, all sorts of academic competitions were being held, open not only to students but to the general public as well.
There were also reporters and organizations that traveled around, searching at the grassroots level for those dedicated to their studies, screening for talent in every possible way.
Since Li Weichuan loved studying so much, a competition was probably the best way to pique his interest.
...
When Su Zhaozhao came out of Li Weichuan’s room, Li Tiantian immediately rushed over. "How did it go? My brother didn’t give you a hard time, did he?"
Su Zhaozhao shook her head. "No. But I am planning to have him enter the provincial math competition. If I remember correctly, it’s held sometime around September."