People are good at finding and using their strengths.
Zhao Dafu knows his strength is his money, if he was to compare his looks and talent with Zhu Jian and Xu Huawei it would only end up bringing humiliation to himself.
Just as Zhu Jian was still concentrating on his painting and Xu Huawei was still playing the flute, Zhao Dafu, who was still having difficulty reciting the poem on his mind, trotted over to Li Shinianâs side, flipped open his folding fan and said with a smile on his face: âbeautiful girl and beautiful sceneryâ-this trip has been well worthwhileâ-Shinian, are you hungry?â
Li Shinian smiled, shaking her head: âIâm okay. I just had two pieces of cakes.â
Zhao Dafu glanced at the plate of cakes, before he said: âWe came here in a hurry, so I only had time to ask the kitchen to prepare a few cakes. If Shinian doesnât like them, I can ask the kitchen to make something elseâ-Shinian what is your favorite? It must be the red bean paste lotus cake, right?â
âI like to eat osmanthus cake.â Li Shinian answered.
Paâ
With the closed fan in his hand, Zhao Dafu gently tapped it against his palm as he said: âlike I saidâme and Shinian like the same things, we both like the refreshing fragrance of osmanthus. The flavour is strong and itâs not heavy, itâs very hard to get sick of it. Shinian if you like, I can bring a box over to you tomorrow.â
âZhao Dafu, youâre so meanâ-thereâs so many other girls here but youâre only giving it to Shinian, are we invisible?â
âExactly, we also want someâ-my taste is different to yours, I like to eat red bean cakes â-â
âI like glutinous rice cakeâ-â
ââ
Zhao Dafu flipped open his paper fan and laughed loudly: âYes. Yes. Just a few boxes of cakes, if you like, I can tell someone to bring it over to all your housesâââ
âDid you hear, thereâs a difference. Shinianâs cakes are personally delivered by Zhao young master but he will ask âsomeone to bring it overâ for usâ-â
âItâs because sister Shinian is beautiful. If you were as beautiful as sister Shinian, people would also treat you the sameâââ
âExactly, this is a society that only cares about looksâitâs too cruelââ
ââ
With a full smile on his face, Zhao Dafu turned to look at Li Shinian and said in a gentle voice: âShinian what do want to eat for lunch? The freshwater fish at Shou Mian Pavilion is pretty good. I know the young boss there, I can ask them to save us two puffer fish. The roast duck at Yi De Restaurant is also good, itâs carved into thin slices and rolled up. It melts in the mouth. Of course, if you have other suggestionsâdo not hesitate, I am paying today.â
Li Shinian shook her head: âI canât eat lunch with you, I have to go home. I did not tell my family when I went out, they are waiting for me to come back.â
âIs this not a trivial matter? I can just send someone to your house and let them know? After we have lunch, we could tour around Sunset LakeââWatch the setting sun at Sunset Lake with classmates and friends, it really is a joy.â
Li Shinian still shook her head. Seeing this, Liu Caicai grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear: âShinian, letâs goâ-itâs rare for Zhao young master to treat us to a good meal.â
âExactly. We should go to eat roast duck, their roast ducks are famousâ-â
âI want to eat pufferfishâ-â
ââ
Li Shinian still shook her head, she firmly said: âyou guys go eat, I really have to go backââIf I donât my parents will be worried.â
Before Li Muyang left Jiangnan, many things have happened at their home. Luo Qi and Li Yan had been cautious and anxious all the time, worried that their children would meet with another accident.
Li Muyang was not around anymore so they were unable to take care of him. But they still cared for Li Shinian in every possible waysââAlthough Li Shinian felt that they were a little too strict, she understood her parentsâ kind intentions.
So, she tried her best to stay by her parentsâ side the majority of the time. During the long summer holiday, she seldom went out.
Even her close classmates and friends were puzzled by her actions, Li Shinian is confident and outgoing, back then she often went sightseeing all over the place with her friends â-
âShinianâââ Zhu Jian and Xu Huawei also walked over. Zhu Jian offered the scroll in his hand to her and said: âhelp me take a look, where else do I need to make changes?â
Li Shinian did not reach out to pick it up, instead said: âZhu Jian, youâre embarrassing me. You know I donât know anything about paintingâââ
âIâve seen you drawâ-â
âI was just doodling. â
Xu Huawei held onto the bamboo flute and said with a charming look: âShinian, the other classmates are going to stay, you should also stay and have fun togetherââif you leave now everybody would be sad, right?â
Li Shinian already stood up, with a sweet smile on her face she replied: âIâm sorry, but I really have to go backââyou guys have fun.â
With that, she hitched up her skirt and dashed towards the broken bridge.
After she passed over the broken bridge she will reach the bank of the lake, then by following the path along the bank she will reach home. There is a big difference between her and Li Muyang.
Li Muyang is a boy who is weak on the outside but is even weaker in the inside; he could adjust his ideas and goals at any time according to his requirement.
He does not have strict demands on himself.
Li Shinian is weak on the outside but tough in the inside, once she had came to a decision it is near impossible for her to change her mind.
âI can arrange a car to take you home.â Seeing that there was no way he could persuade Li Shinian to stay, Zhao Dafu immediately changed his strategy.
Li Shinian refused with a smile: âNo. You look after Caicai and the othersââItâs only a short distance home.â
She waved her hand in the air and ran in large strides.
âHissâ-â
A sharp sound suddenly echoed across.
Just as Li Shinian was still in doubt of where the sound came from, a shocking scene occurred before her eyes.
In the depths of Xishi lake, where the lotus leaves clustered densely on the surface, a monster with a frog-like head and a human-like body leaped out of the lake.
Its feet looked like duck webs that could step across the water at a rapid speed.
It treaded across water without a trace, like a ghost.
Water spirits!
An extremely vicious creature that is rarely seen in the divine continent.
This creature can live on both water and land, and are mainly found in the area of the Lake of Death
With their frog-like face and human-like body, they resemble devilish ghostsâ-Whoever caught sight of them would think itâs a ghost.
At first it was just one, then very quickly many water spirits, one after another, rose out of the water.
They clenched onto a black, shiny fish spear as they pounced over to where Li Shinian was situated on the broken bridge.
The group of water spirits rushing forth looked like a huge army of frogs in migration.
Of course, the former was infinitely more horrifying than the latter.
Li Shinian was frozen in fear by this scene.
She had never seen such evil creatures, more importantly, had no idea why would they attack herâ-
Her eyes were opened wide, her mouth hung open, her legs quivering and her body unable to shift in the slightest.
âHissâ-â
The water spirit in front came close to her as it opened its mouth, revealing an extremely long tongue, while the fish spear in its hand lifted high up, thrusting towards the stomach of the little girl paralysed with terror.