Chapter 458: Unreasonable

Ye Anning kept her head down, following the Fish-Dragon Array, walking forward listlessly.

She had been so excited before, why did she suddenly lose interest?

Lin Sicheng followed beside her, deliberately teasing her: "Cousin Ye, is that cousin of yours very terrifying?"

Ye Anning curled her lip, automatically filtering out all the preceding words, leaving only the last one: Afraid?

Having fought from childhood to adulthood, that word did not exist in their dictionary.

Ye Anning was afraid of trouble.

There was no need for Ye Anlan to embellish anything; as long as she met people, she would speak the truth after returning:

Oh, that friend of Anning's is so handsome, like a celebrity?

Young, spirited, very stylish, even more like a young master than Ye Anqi?

Although young, he knows so much, as if there is nothing he doesn't understand?

He has great ability too, at such a young age, he already has such a big career—

Just these few sentences, as long as the elders hear them, who wouldn't be curious?

Once curious, they would definitely ask, and then ask again: Tsk tsk, Ye Anlan is actually not bragging?

Just like what Uncle said: Why did Great-Grandfather mention him several times, even specifically writing calligraphy for Lin Sicheng, and Lin Sicheng also went to Beijing several times, why didn't Uncle take him to see Great-Grandfather?

Because the family is large, there are many ideas; exposing Lin Sicheng to the spotlight too early is not a good thing.

But how did it happen so coincidentally that they ran into Bei Qiutang?

Ye Anning felt some regret: If she had known, she shouldn't have followed Lin Sicheng to join in the fun—

The sound of gongs and drums was a bit noisy, so she tugged at Lin Sicheng's sleeve and leaned into his ear: "Later, if you feel Ye Anlan is being impolite, don't indulge her, retort—"

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment: This wasn't a melodramatic wealthy family drama, was it?

One could imagine: Being able to fight Ye Anning to a draw, even if she had some thoughts, she wouldn't show them on her face, let alone say them out loud. Unless, she was doing it on purpose.

Besides, Lin Sicheng didn't have that kind of personality. If asked to retort, he really wouldn't know how to do it.

"How do I retort?" Lin Sicheng looked very serious, "Like this: I'm not eating your family's rice, am I?"

Ye Anning glared, clenched her fist, and poked him: "Lin Sicheng, can you be serious?"

"How am I not being serious?" Lin Sicheng dodged with a laugh, "No matter what she says, I'll just use that one line!"

Ye Anning was stunned: Hey, don't say, it might actually work?

Ye Anlan: What does Student Lin's family do? They must be very powerful, right?

Lin Sicheng: I'm not eating your family's rice, am I?

Ye Anlan: What kind of work do Student Lin's father and mother do? Their rank must be very high, right?

Lin Sicheng: I'm not eating your family's rice—

Thinking about it, Ye Anning burst out laughing: "Lin Sicheng, be serious!"

"Don't worry, when I get serious, I'm even more serious than the Lecturer."

Who, Uncle?

Forget it—

Ye Anning laughed and gave him another poke.

Just as they were messing around, Zhao Da behind them shouted: "Master, Miss Ye, Professor Wang is calling for you!"

Lin Sicheng paused and turned his head back.

Zhao Da pointed further back: It seemed they had run into acquaintances; Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng had stopped.

Not far, just eight or nine steps away, three young people were standing on the side of the road.

Two men and one woman, all looking quite spirited; one of the older ones was talking to Wang Qi Zhi. The remaining man and woman were tilting their heads, watching this side with interest.

Ye Anning was stunned: "Brother Zhao, when did they arrive?"

Zhao Da thought for a moment: "Just now, when the Fish-Dragon Array first started moving!"

That was two or three minutes ago: At that time, she was tugging at Lin Sicheng's sleeve and whispering.

But it didn't matter: Rather than letting Ye Anlan make things up after she went back, it was better to let her see it for herself.

Calculating the time again: It should have been when Ye Anlan called her that they arrived at Xiguan, and they weren't far from here. Otherwise, they wouldn't have arrived so quickly.

But no matter how gossipy Ye Anlan was, she wouldn't be this proactive. It felt more like they were already strolling through the flower market and were already in the vicinity?

So, why was it such a coincidence?

While pondering, Ye Anning composed her expression, the corners of her mouth curling slightly to reveal a proper smile.

Lin Sicheng's heart stirred: He had only seen this expression on Ye Anning once before.

Just last year, at the Poly branch, when she was preparing to deal with that female Supervisor who had been digging holes and tripping her up.

Subconsciously, Lin Sicheng's pace slowed by a beat, and a game sound effect inexplicably popped into his mind: The conflict has begun!

Better walk slower, don't get splattered with blood—

Seeing Lin Sicheng and Ye Anning stop and walk back, the few people at the very front also walked back.

The Fish-Dragon Array had moved a bit further away, and the sound of gongs and drums was much quieter.

The three young people all looked very much like Ye Anning; they must be the cousins she mentioned earlier.

Ye Anning's smile remained proper as she introduced them in the center, missing no one: "This is Li Zhen, Uncle's colleague, a Lecturer at Northwest University. This is Fang Jin, a research assistant at Northwest University. These are Brother Zhao and Brother Zhao Er, and these are Boss Feng and Boss Ding; Uncle should have introduced General Manager Zhao, they are all in the antique business. This is Lin Sicheng, Uncle's graduate student, Graduate Student Year One—"

"This is my cousin Ye Anqi, cousin Ye Anlan, and this is cousin Tao An; his mother is my aunt—"

At first glance, this introduction was flawless: Lin Sicheng was the youngest and a student, unlike the others who all had jobs, so he definitely had to be placed last.

But just now, they had seen with their own eyes Ye Anning tugging at his sleeve and whispering in his ear?

Having grown up together, they knew what kind of personality Ye Anning had: always serious, like a little adult, and only occasionally would she act spoiled like that with her third uncle (Ye Anning's father).

Ye Anning finished the introductions; not wanting to stare only at Lin Sicheng, the three of them exchanged greetings all around.

He was very polite and courteous; at least for the moment, one couldn't tell what the "deliberately impolite" behavior Ye Anning had mentioned looked like.

But curiosity was also genuinely there: six eyes darted around, all landing on Lin Sicheng.

Setting aside why Ye Anning was so close to him, just look at this arrangement: Wang Sanshu is an archaeology professor who specializes in Artifact Research, so it's not strange for him to be with an antique dealer.

Bringing along a Lecturer from the same research group or a graduate assistant wouldn't be strange either, but bringing a student who had only just started their first year of graduate school was quite rare.

It couldn't be that Wang Sanshu only had this one graduate student, could it?

"What a coincidence, Tao An is also a first-year graduate student," Ye Anlan smiled. "Studying Chinese history at Zhongshan University."

It was indeed quite a coincidence; at least their majors were very close. If one were to discuss rankings, it was on par with the Archaeology Department at Xida: both were national key disciplines, both were at the forefront of the Ministry of Education's national discipline assessments, and both had been awarded the Ministry of Education's key research bases for humanities and social sciences.

Comparing schools, Zhongshan University naturally had a higher ranking: it is a 985 and 211 university, in the top ten nationwide, while Northwest University is only a 211.

Perhaps because their ages were similar, perhaps because they were both students, or perhaps because they were both not bad-looking, Tao An did not feel the sense of alienation he usually felt when meeting other peers.

He adjusted his glasses: "Lin Sicheng, does your school require exams for Marxism-Leninism and historical theory? Are they easy to pass?"

Lin Sicheng was stunned and couldn't answer: these two were compulsory courses, and all graduate students in humanities and history had to take them.

But Lin Sicheng hadn't attended graduate school in his past life, and as for this life, he didn't even know which way the exam hall doors opened.

Seeing him not speak, Tao An assumed he hadn't passed and had failed the course, but was too embarrassed to say so, so he changed the subject: "How many years is your archaeology graduate program?"

Lin Sicheng knew this: "Same as yours, three years!"

"Do you have to go out into the field often? That must be very hard, right?"

Lin Sicheng gave an ambiguous answer: "It's alright!"

The two exchanged questions and answers; while it seemed to lack substance, in reality, someone like Tao An had the normal mindset of a student: when students get together, if they don't talk about school or their major, what else is there to talk about?

But Lin Sicheng had a social-type mindset: if you wanted to talk to him about international affairs or politics, he could keep up with you. If you talked to him about student life, he didn't even know as much as Li Zhen or Fang Jin.

He couldn't just say: "As a graduate student, I basically don't have to attend classes at school," otherwise it would sound like bragging. But out of politeness, he could only struggle to cope; although he kept smiling, he invisibly gave people the feeling that this person didn't like to talk.

Taking a peek, Ye Anlan leaned over to Ye Anning's side, her voice very low: "Is he very introverted?"

Ye Anning glanced at her: Ye Anlan, you might as well be direct: "How come this person looks a bit dim-witted?"

Ye Anning could even guess seven or eight tenths of what Ye Anlan was imagining: Wang Sanshu has such an outgoing personality, how could he take on such a dull student?

Ye Anning also felt like she had seen a ghost; how could she actually like such a blockhead?

While thinking to herself, she just wanted to sneer, but suddenly remembered the words Lin Sicheng said when he was joking with her, and blurted out: "Did he eat your family's rice?"

Ye Anlan froze, as if she hadn't expected Ye Anning to snap back the moment she opened her mouth.

"Ye Anning, I'm looking out for you, you don't appreciate kindness!"

Ye Anning let out a "Heh": "Gossip!"

In the past, the two would have already started fighting, but today Ye Anlan went against the norm and wasn't angry at all.

Rather than bickering, it was better to just watch the drama.

"You guys came out to play on purpose, right?"

Ye Anlan rolled her eyes and pointed to the Fish Lantern Array in the distance: "According to tradition, the flower market isn't supposed to be held until the end of the year. But because of the Olympics this year, there are many foreign tourists in Guangzhou, so it was moved up by a month to New Year's Day."

"There's fish dancing, lion dancing, and you can watch Cantonese Opera; if you know a little, you can even go on stage and sing a few lines, or even let you do the Lion Dance—there are also couplets, riddles, and treasure hunts—isn't it interesting? Why don't we walk around together?"

They really hadn't come out to play on purpose: because this year's New Year's Day flower market was only being held in Liwan District, not the whole of Guangzhou, so neither Lin Sicheng nor Wang Qi Zhi knew about it.

But it didn't matter; walking around was fine.

Ye Anning nodded: "Okay!"

Ye Anlan was startled: Huh?

She thought Ye Anning would refuse very firmly.

After all, they weren't close, and forcing themselves to play together would feel awkward.

Furthermore, this student Lin didn't seem very lively, and being from out of town, he didn't understand Lingnan culture well, so he surely wouldn't like folk activities like the "flower market."

Since he didn't understand it, he would show his ignorance and feel it was very boring. So, even out of consideration for this student Lin, Ye Anning shouldn't have agreed.

Even if she did go, she wouldn't go with them.

But unexpectedly, she didn't even hesitate?

Ye Anlan looked suspicious: "Did the sun rise from the west?"

Ye Anning sneered without a word: What do you know?

A woman's life, besides being born well, also depends on marrying well.

From childhood to adulthood, the two sisters had always been competitive; Ye Anlan wouldn't go so far as to mock her, but how could she not be curious?

She had to observe more, no matter what.

But believe it or not, he could dazzle your eyes—

Ye Anlan intuitively felt something was wrong, but couldn't put her finger on it for a moment. After thinking for a while: "Ye Anning, let's get this straight, no fighting today!"

Ye Anning nodded: Nonsense, don't I know how to maintain my image?

After saying a few more words, Wang Qi Zhi said he was impatient with the noise and told Ye Anqi to take the young people to play. He found a place nearby to invite Fourth Brother Ye (Ye Anlan's father) out to reminisce, and also asked Zhao Xiuneng to accompany him.

Zhao Xiuneng knew his place and politely declined, saying he had made a vow and had to go to Guangxiao Temple to burn incense today. Before leaving, he also called away Zhao Da, Zhao Er, as well as Feng Laosan and Ding Aqin.

Li Zhen and Fang Jin also wanted to go back, but were kept behind by Wang Qi Zhi.

No one knows a student better than their teacher: if these two also left, would you believe Lin Sicheng wouldn't last half an hour here?

Because they were strangers, and even more so because they had no common topics, Lin Sicheng couldn't just keep chatting with Ye Anning, could he?

He couldn't be too rude, and Lin Sicheng didn't have the habit of deliberately catering to others, so he could only find an excuse.

And so, only seven young people remained.

After seeing Wang Qi Zhi off, Ye Anqi turned back: "Anning, the whole area around Liwan Lake is the flower market, where shall we go to walk around?"

""

"Second Brother, let's follow the lantern array!"

"Good!" Ye Anqi nodded and walked to Lin Sicheng's side, "Sicheng, I am the second oldest at home, you can just call me Second Brother!"

Lin Sicheng paused for a moment: "Alright, Second Brother!"

It wasn't that he was overly familiar, but Ye Anqi could tell that Wang Qi Zhi valued Lin Sicheng highly, far exceeding the typical relationship between a student and a teacher.

Moreover, it definitely had nothing much to do with Ye Anning.

Judging from this, him calling out "Sicheng" and having Lin Sicheng call him Second Brother was absolutely fine.

"Sicheng, chatting with Tao An must be quite boring, right? He has spent too long studying and is full of scholarly air; please don't laugh at him!"

Lin Sicheng was quite surprised: "Second Brother, you are being too modest!"

Ye Anqi just smiled.

He was not Tao An, who lacked social experience and discernment. He was even less like Ye Anlan, who only cared about gossip and nothing else.

Although it had only been a short while, Ye Anqi could clearly sense the attitude those people had toward Lin Sicheng earlier.

When Wang Sanshu said he wanted to invite Fourth Uncle for tea, he looked at Lin Sicheng. When that General Manager Zhao said he wanted to go to Guangxiao Temple to fulfill a vow, he also looked at Lin Sicheng.

General Manager Zhao called his two sons, those two tall young men, to go offer incense together, but they didn't look at their father; they looked at Lin Sicheng.

And that teacher and that Artifact Research Assistant—when Wang Sanshu told them to stay behind, they didn't look at Wang Sanshu; they still looked at Lin Sicheng.

Including Ye Anning, when he asked him where he wanted to go for a stroll, he also looked at Lin Sicheng first?

If it were just one person, it could be called a coincidence, but everyone was like this?

It was as if a group of people had formed a circle, and Lin Sicheng was the Center point.

It was not only strange but also unreasonable.