NOVPUB
Chapter 352: Chapter 166 Limping
Su Huai quickly hit it off with Li Ziqi, whom he met for the first time, while Cheese, who had already visited several times, still wasn’t familiar with her...
The difference wasn’t in the sincerity, but in a strategy of ’dimensional reduction attack.’
Before entering the room, Su Huai took off his windbreaker and draped it over his arm, whispering, "Grandma hasn’t gone to bed, has she?"
Li Ziqi didn’t catch on at first and didn’t understand why he was taking off his coat.
Su Huai smiled sincerely and said, "Elders might not understand our young people’s sense of fashion; I’m afraid I’ll startle her, then she might think I’m not a good person..."
Look at that, how thoughtful!
In an instant, Li Ziqi’s Favorability Rating for Su Huai went off the charts, which she plainly expressed with a sentence, "You sit down, I’ll go and add a couple of dishes for you."
"Sure, you go ahead, I’ll chat with grandma."
Su Huai entered the main room and saw the old lady leaning on the inner room’s door frame; he quickly walked over and squatted down to grasp her hand.
"Grandma, my name’s Su, how are you feeling?"
"Ah?" 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
The old lady was a bit flustered by Su Huai’s familiarity, as she had never seen this type before!
However, Su Huai was handsome—his appearance hadn’t been finally determined yet, but the base was already above 85, and his skin was in particularly good condition, so it was fair to describe him as good-looking.
And a good-looking and enthusiastic young person is always favored, so the grandmother grinned and started chatting with him nervously, chuckling.
"Yes, yes, I’m doing well... Where are you from?"
"Grandma, I’m from the Northeast, from a place with heavy snow in winter. Have you seen snow?"
"Oh, that’s rare! The last time I saw it was several years ago, it about covered the whole finger..."
Chatting aimlessly and digressing, Su Huai always found topics and gradually delved into their lives, understanding the living condition of the grandmother and granddaughter.
The mountains were cold and harsh, but they had long since become thoroughly integrated into the mountain life, treating hardship as a form of leisure.
"Ni’er has had a hard life!"
The grandmother sighed like this, her voice soft, filled with a sad aftertaste.
"Her husband died early; her stepmother mistreated her, shoving her into a ditch and beating her. We, the old couple, could only take her back, but we didn’t look after her well.
Her grandfather didn’t survive the winter of ’01, and since then it’s just been the two of us scraping by in this mountain, living a hard life!
I told Ni’er to study hard, and some kind people were willing to pay for her education, but she went off to work as soon as she finished junior high school... Alas!"
The old woman’s heavy sigh seemed to still lament the situation.
Su Huai consoled, "Studying is something that requires full dedication, Jiajia is strong-willed; she couldn’t rely on other people’s support to calmly study through three years of high school and four years of university..."
Li Ziqi suddenly poked her head out from the kitchen and shouted, "I just didn’t study well, no need to sugarcoat it for me!"
Her face was red, yet her demeanor was surprisingly fierce, really interesting.
Su Huai chuckled and smoothly changed his words, "That must also have something to do with talent; your talent lies in hands-on work, and you do lack a bit when it comes to intellectual tasks..."
This way of conversing made Li Ziqi feel more relaxed.
"That’s right, I’m very efficient at work!"
Su Huai watched her chopping away at something with great gusto, even more deft and skilled than his own mother, and he knew she was someone who had truly experienced the hardships of life.
Of course, there was also the matter of talent.
Su Huai’s mother, Mo Hongjuan, had been selling pancakes at a street stand for many years and had only mastered the craft of a pancake fruit roll; the meals she made at home were so bad that even a good dog would refuse them—Su Huai had painfully eaten that food for years, and even thinking about it now gave him a headache.
Whereas Li Ziqi cooked with methodology and rhythm, a delightful sight to behold.
Su Huai took a couple of glances and continued chatting with the old lady.
"A kind-hearted journalist helped us publish an article; we survived thanks to the government..."
The old lady emerged from her sadness and, holding Su Huai’s hand, showed him the newspapers she had kept.
The articles dated back to the summer of ’02, where the reporter vividly depicted the lives of the struggling grandmother and granddaughter. Later on, the town included the grandmother in its welfare program, the school waived Li Ziqi’s miscellaneous fees, and kind-hearted people from the community sponsored her to continue her education...
It was actually quite similar to Hua Qianqian from her class; the difference was that Hua Qianqian had a greater talent for studying, whereas Li Ziqi was more resolute, eager to dive into the social melting pot as soon as she turned 14.
However, what set her apart from the countless ordinary working girls was that she was always trying various possibilities and dared to act on her thoughts.
Signing up for a music class as a waitress, infiltrating the night scene to become a DJ—this level of determination, how many men possess?
There are chance elements in a person’s success, but successful people all have some kind of inevitability.
Certainly, Su Huai from the previous life did not have her sort of ’fight tooth and nail’ spirit.
"You are a typical pragmatist," Su Huai said with a smile, looking at Li Ziqi.
"Hm, what about it?"
She glanced back in surprise, chopsticks in her mouth.
Su Huai continued, "But the core of your videos is extreme romanticism, so you are very remarkable, having a classical artistic temperament that is both pragmatic and romantic."
The big sister’s face turned red from the compliment.
Part of the reason was that Su Huai’s smile was just too handsome now.
Cheese silently observed from the side, also silently lamenting: Damn, I just can’t learn this!
Li Ziqi didn’t quite believe it, or rather, found it hard to believe, so she bluntly questioned, "Really? I feel like you might be buttering me up..."
"Really."
Su Huai explained at a leisurely pace, and quickly presented evidence.
"Look, you didn’t learn music because you loved it, but because being a DJ was profitable, more so than being a waitress, right?"
