Chapter 228

Xiao Qi rode around beating the drum a few laps.

Steven swallowed down his previous words along with the drink, and didn't bring up leaving again. His gaze was very ardent as he looked at Xiao Shengzhou.

Xiao Shengzhou also smiled.

In a rare good mood, he posted a friend circle.

It was just the photo he had taken just now of the sunset, Xiao Qi riding the waves and drumming, her figure parallel to the ground on the horse's back.

The golden sunset was in front of her.

There were no words, just a single picture.

Actually what he wanted to say was 'so beautiful', but was afraid his parents would misunderstand. He was in his fourth year of university and still hadn't dated, and his parents kept asking about it.

If he said 'so beautiful', his dad might think he was talking about the horse, but his mom would definitely think he was talking about the girl on the horse's back...

And Xiao Yu saw his nephew's friend circle right away.

Beating his chest in frustration, his nephew with those thick eyebrows and big eyes had started paying attention to girls!

He also felt regret that the little girl had gone to the equestrian center today but he hadn't.

Xiao Qi, Steven, and the chairman ate dinner together at the club.

Steven greatly admired Xiao Qi's big appetite. A good rider needed a healthy physique and couldn't lose weight just for a slender figure and be frail.

Xiao Shengzhou laughed. "Steven, you don't understand your student. Add her on WeChat and from now on, you'll know the number one in your daily step count will always belong to one person."

Steven didn't understand what he meant. Xiao Shengzhou opened the WeChat step count.

Looking at the daily champion displayed, it was always the same person.

Every day it was over 30,000 steps.

Steven was shocked. 30,000 steps was no small amount. When he trained riders, he also had them warm up and build a strong physique first. He didn't expect the young girl in front of him to be able to run so many steps every day.

"Are you a long distance runner?" Steven asked in surprise.

Xiao Qi shook her head. "I signed up for the marathon equestrian race, so I've been persisting in running. Of course I also really enjoy running on my own." Xiao Shengzhou deliberately showed off.

He also opened the photo of Xiao Qi winning the 200m swimming championship of Jingnan Province this year.

He left Steven reeling. He had thought he had an eye for talent, and didn't expect the young girl herself to already be so outstanding.

"The world belongs to the young." He sighed and swallowed a big bite of the steak with blood veins. Xiao Qi still preferred the Chinese food the chef here made. She only occasionally ate Western food, mostly ordering Chinese food.

The few chatted about delicious food for a while, communicating entirely in English.

Xiao Shengzhou was secretly surprised. He didn't expect Xiao Qi's English to be so good, with very authentic pronunciation.

He thought he was already outstanding among his peers, but didn't expect the young girl in front of him to be just as extraordinary.

Xiao Qi thought about the speech competition she had to participate in on Friday, and consulted the chairman about the content of the speech.

The two of them spoke in Chinese.

Steven was originally Chinese so he could understand Chinese, just hadn't spoken it for a long time so wasn't as fluent.

Xiao Shengzhou was the student council president, and had participated in too many speeches, so he had some experience and insights.

"I think for speeches, first you need to have a poised demeanor. You need to present yourself with confidence in front of everyone, don't let others doubt you. Next, your content needs to be able to move yourself. Human emotions are connected most of the time, so if you can touch yourself, you'll be able to move others. Finally your speech content needs to allow the audience to relate, putting themselves in your shoes, then it will be a successful speech." Xiao Shengzhou summed up.

Xiao Qi listened very seriously, nodding along very seriously, while thinking about what topic she could choose.

The meal was eaten steadily, overall quite pleasant.

After drinking, Steven talked more. He liked girls who could eat a lot.

Xiao Shengzhou was pragmatic, liking people of substance.

And the two chefs in the back listened to the people babbling on in English, very admiring of the young girl.

The Western food chef Xiao Luo, although he made Western food, didn't know English. At most he could ask if the egg was fried on one or both sides, how well-done the steak was, and that was it.

This meal took quite a while. After eating, on the way back to the old district, Xiao Qi didn't return to the dorm and went directly to her elective Japanese class.

There were still few people in the class, but it was very quiet. Xiao Qi recorded with her phone while taking notes. Diligence makes up for stupidity, if she didn't understand some parts listening more and studying more would help her grasp it slowly. Language can be easily absorbed.

After class ended, Xiao Qi still bid farewell to Teacher Yamamoto.

Today there was no mechanical prompt. Teacher Yamamoto was probably used to her already. Xiao Qi actually felt that was quite nice.

Xiao Qi returned to the dorm.

The roommates didn't bring up their hours-long battle with Xiao Qi on the school forum that afternoon at all. Even the chatty Honey didn't come to show off.

They just asked how Xiao Qi's speech planning was going and if she needed help.

If not for the system prompt, Xiao Qi wouldn't have even known. On her way back she had checked the forums, and the topics had indeed changed.

"I have some initial ideas, I'll let you take a look after I write it out." Xiao Qi said.

Before lights out, Xiao Qi went to take a shower. Although it was going into autumn, Meng City could still be very hot and especially stuffy, covered in sweat and very uncomfortable.

In the dorm, Yunshu was addicted to reading novels, but was quite skilled with computers. Wei Cheng was easily satisfied and sentimental, but her writing was very good. She often read the articles and casual essays Wei Cheng wrote, and Honey was very cheerful and outgoing, quick-witted, and great at socializing.

After living in the dorm for this long, Xiao Qi had basically figured out her roommates' strengths. But what about herself?

Thinking through it, it seemed she didn't excel in anything in particular. The only thing that could be considered praiseworthy was her persistence and patience. In terms of talent, she didn't have anything especially outstanding in computing, writing, math, English, just average. She relied completely on persevering and spending more time studying, using diligence to make up for lack of talent.

Thinking this way, Xiao Qi corrected her attitude towards studying even more.

After showering and tidying up, Xiao Qi practiced her calligraphy for a while.

Now practicing calligraphy morning, afternoon, and evening had become a habit, no need to say more about it.

The roommates were used to it too, and kept quiet as much as possible.

After practicing calligraphy for half an hour, Xiao Qi's heart finally calmed down a bit. Actually giving help to others and accepting help from others were two completely different emotions.

When giving help, Xiao Qi felt very happy and enjoyed it. The giver's position was noble.

When accepting help, she felt very apprehensive and uneasy, as if ashamed. The receiver's position was low.

She didn't expect her roommates to actually do this. In fact, she herself was quite cold-hearted, protecting herself wisely. Small citizen and peasant thinking was deeply ingrained in her. If not for the system, she thought she wouldn't have changed and wouldn't have tried her best to help others, because malice in this world sometimes came so suddenly and turbulently that it could easily overwhelm goodwill.

She took a look at the content on the forums earlier, and actually it wasn't that she didn't care. When she looked, she felt her blood freeze, hands and feet stiff, like something in her heart was collapsing, as if she really saw a group of people come up and scold her, pointing at her forehead, and she really was garbage.

If not for the changes over the summer, she felt she really might be, perhaps just as those people said, unable to withstand temptation, because she possessed too little. So when the other side took out just a tiny thing, not to mention a bag of fruit, in high school it was because of a single milk tea that she would easily be moved and fall for someone.

She was too impoverished, so all temptations easily succeeded for her.

She felt those keyboard warriors scolded in a frightening way, but they had scolded out her heart's most fragile place. This was probably why some people really couldn't accept this kind of online violence and went as far as suicide.

Because people were sometimes truly fragile.

She ran, practiced calligraphy, studied, trying hard to forget those things.

At this moment she truly felt grateful, grateful to have such good roommates who helped her.

After finishing practicing calligraphy, she climbed into bed and suddenly asked, "What gifts do you all most want right now?"

Honey was the most proactive, but thought for a long time and still couldn't decide: "You guys go first, let me think about it."

Wei Cheng was the most sincere and said, "I want a computer. After all, we are computer science majors, so I feel we should get familiar with computers." But she didn't want to ask her parents for one since a computer was a big purchase for her. Her money from working part-time while studying could only cover living expenses.

Yun Shu already had almost everything. She had recently started learning tea ceremony. She had a bit of choice paralysis and said, "I want a new tea set so I can brew tea for you all in the future."

Mi'er mumbled for a good while before saying, "Ah, there are so many things I want. But recently I want a camera. Let me tell you, the upperclassman from the photography club is so handsome. Even though he's a math major, he doesn't look nerdy at all. He's very suave and tall. He even asked me to go take pictures with him. But unfortunately I don't even have a camera. Bringing my phone would be so unprofessional. If I had a camera, in the future when there are student council events and external affairs club events, I could bring a camera with me to take pictures. It feels like this position has good prospects. During meetings I wouldn't have to sit there quietly, I could take the chance to wander around with the camera. Xiao Qi, what do you want the most?"

Xiao Qi remembered what her roommates wanted. Caught off guard by the question of what she wanted, her mind went completely blank. It seemed there really wasn't anything in particular she wanted?

Oh right, she still wanted to buy a house. Xiao Qi had bought a house in Lvshan City last time and felt very reassured.

She felt that while studying at Enhua, she could also buy one. She liked the lakeside apartments in the new district.

But she didn't say this. She felt like this idea might be a bit weird among students. Recently she basically hadn't touched the money in the interface, 24,000 every day, it had already accumulated to over 600,000.

She felt she was a happy miser.

She had Jin Zaiyan help her look into the apartment. She estimated that when there were results, she would probably be able to afford it. No need to go big, just buy a small one. Like Jin Zaiyan's little apartment, it would be great, very cozy.

"I haven't decided yet, I'll let you know when I do. Let's sleep early."

Xiao Qi's breathing was steady. She hadn't actually fallen asleep, but soon the room echoed with Mi'er's and Wei Cheng's soft snores, one after another.

At first she felt it might be a bit noisy, but now she was used to it. Listening to the soft snores, it seemed she could also fall asleep well. Xiao Qi also entered dreamland.