"My eye bags."
After taking her pulse, Chi Cheng glanced at Shi Ling, who was standing to the side without making any attempt to avoid him, and spoke first.
"Everything else is the same as before, no change."
"Come pick up the medicine tomorrow. It's too late today, so why don't you just decoct it?"
"Yes, thank you, Uncle Huang."
Chi Cheng snapped his fingers at Shi Ling, who was looking at the names of the medicines on the cabinet next to him.
"They're gone."
Shi Ling turned around and asked him, "You haven't paid yet."
Chi Cheng said casually, "No need."
The old Chinese medicine doctor also said, "You're still being polite to him; he'll give it all together later."
Shi Ling was also unaware that traditional Chinese medicine was so prevalent in Guangdong.
Back at the hotel, the two said goodbye at the elevator.
Chi Cheng wanted to go up one more floor, so he held the elevator door open and explained things to Shi Ling.
"I'll get it for you tomorrow. Don't bother with moxibustion; traditional Chinese medicine is more effective. It's basically the same as herbal tea. You should get some treatment from time to time in Guangdong, remember that."
Shi Ling asked him, "What is the third point?"
"What?"
"You mentioned three things: not smoking, drinking traditional Chinese medicine, and anything else?"
Chi Cheng's tongue pressed against the inside of his mouth.
"Come closer and I'll tell you."
Shi Ling was already standing outside the elevator, about a meter away from him.
Hearing his words, I felt even closer.
Chi Cheng smiled. "Thirdly, you need to release your anger in time."
Although his face, which always seemed to be taking advantage of others, didn't look lewd when he said this, but rather both roguish and handsome. Shi Ling had already grasped the meaning behind his smile.
"Same as you?"
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Chi Cheng withdrew his hand from the elevator door.
"right."
He spoke very softly, as if he were trying to persuade him.
The next sentence returned to normal: "See you tomorrow."
The elevator doors slowly closed.
A note from the author: Please search for the relevant technical terms yourself.
Things like the "Dragon Drill" (a type of drill) require searching to understand their essence.
Chapter 8 (Minor Revision)
(Reality timeline)
After a week or two of adjustment, the project started gradually in the third week. After lectures, we went to seminars, and then various group meetings were interspersed.
Most foreigners don't take afternoon naps. Chi Cheng's two group assignments are due in two weeks, and this week there are almost daily meetings at noon. Chi Cheng was so angry that he cursed a few times in front of the foreigners, but he still went anyway.
After a chaotic week, we finally got to know all the Chinese people in the Angle Lane dorms through a WeChat group. I don't know who organized it, but we had a get-together after class on Friday, which helped us get to know all the Chinese people in the AL dorms.
Of course, there are a few who don't come, like Shi Ling.
After returning from the dinner party, Fang Ze became very close with two girls from the next dormitory.
It seems they've made plans to go out together again this weekend.
Chi Cheng had no intention of refusing, but early Saturday morning, Fang Ze came knocking on the door again.
"Can we get out or not?"
Chi Cheng was half asleep and had already forgotten that the two girls next door had invited him yesterday.
Where to?
“Tina wants to buy a pet house and cat food,” Fang Ze said in a low voice. “Coco told me to definitely call you. I think she likes you a lot. Help me win her over. I want to pursue Tina.”
Coco tried to make a move on Chi Cheng last night, but he ignored her. Only after Fang Ze mentioned it did she notice Fang Ze's hair, which was meticulously styled with glue.
He couldn't help but laugh, "Is your hair at least 10 centimeters long?"
Fang Ze dodged his hand.
"Don't mess with my hairstyle."
Fang Ze continued, "Just treat it as a dorm activity. Brother Bin has already agreed to go."
Chi Cheng released his grip. "Where's Shi Ling?"
He realized something was wrong as soon as he finished speaking, and Fang Ze was already looking at him with amusement, "Tsk tsk, Brother Chi."
He was about to walk over and knock on Shi Ling's door when he said, "Wait here, I'll call her for you."
Chi Cheng's hand, which was gripping the door, was bulging with veins. He immediately raised his hand to cover up his yawn.
"I just wanted to say that I'm just as hard to please as Shi Ling. Don't disturb my sleep."
He slammed the door shut as soon as he finished speaking.
Fang Ze: "..."
A little while later, when they left, Fang Ze, still holding a grudge, knocked on Chi Cheng's door several times.
Chi Cheng lay back on the bed, tossing and turning several times, unable to fall asleep.
Only he and Shi Ling remained in the dormitory.
Since that last time, in front of Fang Ze and Zhao Yongbin, they still pretended to be nodding acquaintances. When the two of them met alone, they didn't even make eye contact.
Recently, Chi Cheng felt involuntarily irritated every time he saw her icy expression. He couldn't bring himself to bow down to her, and he was also unusually cold to other girls.
He put on his headphones and listened to music for a while, and faintly heard sounds outside.
Knowing that it was just the two of them in the house, Chi Cheng was particularly sensitive.
I took off my headphones and listened to what was happening outside for a while.
After a while, I heard knocking on other doors outside; it was Shi Ling's voice.
"Fang Ze, is he in his room?"
Chi Cheng's body reacted faster than his mind.
She had already reached the door, but then turned back and fiddled with her hair.
Shi Ling was standing in the corridor, preparing to dial the reception number.
Chi Cheng opened the door and stood in the doorway, his voice still hoarse from just waking up, "The two of them went out."
Shi Ling could tell that he had just woken up, but his hair was neatly combed. He usually slept shirtless, but now he was wearing a sweater properly, which Shi Ling found a little funny.
She nodded in agreement and continued dialing.
Just as I was saying, "A cat came into my room," Chi Cheng snatched the phone from my ear.
His hand touched the skin on her face, which was still warm.
He was much taller than her, and holding her phone, he said to the person on the other end, "The problem is solved. Thank you."
He put his phone down; perhaps he had just woken up, because his ears were completely bare, without a single earring.
Chi Cheng frowned. "Why didn't you call me?"
Shi Ling had just knocked on the doors of Fang Ze and Zhao Yongbin, but not his.
Shi Ling avoided answering, only extending her hand, "Give me back my phone."
The two of them stood in the narrow corridor. Chi Cheng placed his phone in her hand, his breath almost enveloping her entire body.
Shi Ling stepped aside to let him walk to her room.
Soon, Chi Cheng came out carrying a chubby ginger cat. He held it by the scruff of its neck with his right hand and supported its body with his left. With his fluffy bangs and delicate face, he looked quite like a manga boy at first glance.
Chi Cheng went straight downstairs and took the cat to the door of the entire dormitory building.
When I returned, I saw that Shi Ling had already put on a trench coat and was carrying a bag, about to leave.
She wore light makeup, her lips were the color of maple leaves, and her hair was slightly curled at the ends.
The two hadn't been this gentle and amiable in a long time. Not wanting to spoil the atmosphere, Chi Cheng didn't ask her where she was going, but casually asked about something else.
How did the cat get in?
Shi Ling's tone was calm, completely unlike the person who had mocked him last time.
"The front door was open. I went to the kitchen to boil water, and when I came back, I saw it in my room."
Chi Cheng stood in front of her, raising his hand to brace against the wall of the corridor, preventing her from passing.
He had already figured out that Shi Ling had deliberately put on an act for him last time.
He didn't stand up straight, but lazily bent over, leaned close to her, looked her in the eye, and asked, "Still not over it?"
Chi Cheng's tone made it sound as if Shi Ling had only been throwing a tantrum for two days.
Shi Ling glanced down at the time on her phone.
"Chi Cheng".
Shi Ling always called him by his full name, even during sex, she never used a more intimate term of address for him. Chi Cheng originally preferred women who were as affectionate as cats in bed, but after being with Shi Ling, he had to admit that her deliberate, enunciated manner had a unique kind of sensuality.
Chi Cheng hadn't heard her call him in a long time, and it was pleasant to hear, but he saw Shi Ling's expression grow colder and colder, her face full of disgust for him.
Shi Ling didn't want to look at him at all. "You don't need to be like this. We haven't been together that long. Can't we be a man and end things amicably?"