Chapter 125: Chapter 83: Are You Still Looking at Feet Tomorrow?
Chen Yuan: "Dang Gui, Dang Shen, and Huang Qi, 6 grams of each. Bai Shao, Bai Zhu, and Bai Fuling, 10 grams of each. Jujube, goji berries, and longan, 20 grams of each. Just boil it all in three bowls of water until it reduces to one."
Fang Youqing: "Thank you for going to the trouble."
Chen Yuan: "It was nothing, Sister Qing."
There was always a faint sense of detachment about Fang Youqing, which might have been due to her aura.
After class let out at noon, he went to eat with Song Jianian, and then they headed to the driving school to practice.
As usual, after Chen Yuan drove a couple of laps to get the feel of it, Zhou Jianye stopped him and gave the rest of the time to Song Jianian.
"Instructor, how do you think I’m doing?" Song Jianian asked.
Zhou Jianye clutched the seatbelt with one hand and the grab handle above with the other, his foot planted on the passenger-side brake. He thought for a moment.
"Well, it’s not a huge problem. And even if there are problems, they aren’t *big* problems."
"Why?"
"Think about it. The second test is just parallel parking, reverse parking, hill starts, and S-curves. None of it is high-speed. At worst, you’ll just have to pay a little for damages, so none of it is a big deal."
"Makes sense."
Zhou Jianye: ???
"’Makes sense?’"
"I’ll get full coverage."
"That’s not..."
In that moment, Zhou Jianye felt his entire worldview take a severe blow.
"Aren’t we getting a license so that we can drive safely ourselves?"
"It’s okay. If I turn out to be a good driver, I’ll drive. If not, I still have Uncle Zhang."
"Then what’s the point of you getting a license?"
"So Chen Yuan has a license to deduct points from."
"I... well... uh... you have a point."
By the end of the afternoon, Song Jianian’s driving, while flawed, had actually gotten quite good. She wasn’t making many mistakes anymore; it was just that every mistake she did make was utterly absurd.
Chen Yuan wasn’t paying much attention to Song Jianian’s practice. He was trying to figure out how to find a construction site where he could take her to do some manual labor and cure her insomnia.
「Around 4:30 PM」
They finished their driving practice for the day.
"Hm?"
As they walked out of the driving school’s gate, Chen Yuan spotted two middle-aged men in hard hats laying down paving stones.
Nearby was a pile of sand, used for filling the gaps between the pavers.
An idea suddenly struck Chen Yuan. This might be the perfect opportunity.
Song Jianian stood obediently beside him, a little confused as to why he had stopped walking.
"Let’s go help them with their work."
"Work?"
"I’ve asked around, and this is the most effective cure for insomnia. You won’t have to take medicine anymore."
Song Jianian shot Chen Yuan a look.
’What is he doing?’
’Why is he connecting this to curing my insomnia?’
’The doctor at the psychiatric hospital only ever prescribed me medicine. He never said anything about hammering paving stones.’
"Work is one thing, but what does it have to do with curing insomnia? Don’t think I’m an idiot. Also..."
Song Jianian said in all seriousness, "When I went to the psychiatric hospital, it was just for some neurasthenia and depression. There’s nothing actually wrong with my brain. Otherwise, I never would have gotten into college."
’She’s growing up. Not so easy to fool anymore.’
"Then how about we go play in the sand?"
Ooh?
Song Jianian’s interest was piqued.
Chen Yuan was quite pleased with his new tactic. ’Four is the perfect age for loving to play in the sand.’
’She’s sure to give in.’
"We don’t have to do it here," Song Jianian said. "I know a place. Want to go?"
"As long as you’re digging, I’m in."
"Great, let’s go!"
Song Jianian pulled Chen Yuan away, looking utterly delighted.
’If I’d actually gone to hammer those paving stones with him, he would have found out how strong I am. No way was I going to let that happen.’
As the two walked toward the bus stop, Song Jianian’s brow remained furrowed, as if she had something heavy on her mind.
’Something’s off about Chen Yuan!’
’Extremely off!’
’Could he have sensed how strong I am? Is this his way of testing me?’
’What a jerk!’
’Good thing I’m smart enough not to fall for his tricks.’
Soon, the bus arrived, and the two of them returned to University City.
After they got off the bus, Chen Yuan had a vague, ominous feeling. There were no construction sites in this area, which meant there was probably no sand to dig.
This feeling intensified when Song Jianian led Chen Yuan down to the second basement level of the underground mall.
Because this was a children’s amusement park.
Following Song Jianian’s gaze, Chen Yuan saw parents sitting with their children outside a small enclosure.
Inside the enclosure was a sandpit, and mounted on the barrier outside were joysticks for controlling a toy excavator within.
"We already agreed you’d play with me," she said. "You can’t go back on your word."
"Didn’t you say we were going to dig sand?"
"And is this not digging sand?"
Chen Yuan found the conversation to be profoundly philosophical. ’Maybe I’m the one who’s actually crazy.’
"Come on, let’s go play."
Chen Yuan thought it was childish, but he didn’t refuse.
It wasn’t that he felt obliged to keep his promise; he actually thought it looked pretty fun, too.
So, the two of them went to dig sand.
Song Jianian controlled the excavator, and Chen Yuan controlled the dump truck.
’It really is fun.’
As they played, Song Jianian’s attention was drawn to a nearby kiddy ride.
"Song Jianian, digging in a sandpit is my limit."
"But you were having a lot of fun, too. You’re a little childish, Chen Yuan."
Chen Yuan: ???
"You’re the one who wanted to play, and now you’re calling me childish? How have you got the nerve?"
"But you didn’t just play with me. You went over and started hauling sand for someone else."
"By ’someone else,’ do you mean that little girl who’s about five years old?"
"Yes."
"Are you jealous?"
"Mhm. You have to stay with me and haul my sand."
Chen Yuan rubbed his temples. What a headache.
After playing for a full hour, Song Jianian started to feel a little hungry, and only then did she reluctantly leave.
They had dinner at the mall’s food court. "Let’s grab a few things, then find a place to study our vocabulary lists," Chen Yuan suggested.
"That reminds me," Song Jianian said. "My English teacher told us to print out the vocabulary list with the definitions. We have a test on Monday."