Chapter 57

That night, after Su Xinghui took a shower, Wan Xing'an invited him to play mahjong. He said he had something to do in the evening and wouldn't go, so Wan Xing'an went by himself.

Su Xinghui opened the locked drawer, took out the Shoushan stone that Professor Qin Jie had given him, and took out a set of seal-carving tools. He had brought this Shoushan stone back for several days, but he hadn't been prepared to carve it.

Tonight, he planned to ponder how to carve it.

Su Xinghui started learning seal carving in elementary school. He had an art teacher in elementary school named Pan Yuxuan. This Teacher Pan was a bit different from other art teachers; he not only taught students to draw but also taught them seal carving.

However, not all students could learn seal carving. First of all, seal carving required tools, and one had to buy a whole set of carving knives, big and small, which was considered a significant investment in that era, and it was an unnecessary investment, so some parents were unwilling to buy them.

Teacher Pan didn't force those who were unwilling to buy them, as this wasn't a course stipulated by the school anyway.

Even students who bought the tools might not be able to learn. First, it required interest, and second, it required talent. Even students who learned it might not be proficient. Therefore, at most one or two students in a class could reach a considerable level.

And Su Xinghui was the one with the highest level in their class.

Although Pan Yuxuan was just an elementary school art teacher, his family learning was profound, and his calligraphy, Chinese painting, and seal carving levels were quite high. In these aspects, he could be considered Su Xinghui's enlightenment teacher; it was he who opened up Su Xinghui's interest in these areas.

He taught students seal carving, initially letting them carve on tiles. Tiles were softer than stones and easier to carve. This material was also available everywhere, very easy to obtain, and low in cost, making it most suitable for beginners.

When Su Xinghui reached a certain level, he taught Su Xinghui to carve on wood and stone. It could be said that Su Xinghui's foundation in seal carving was all laid by Pan Yuxuan.

Later, Su Xinghui learned seal carving from his uncle Yu Maode and Professor Qin Jie. It could be said that his seal carving techniques drew on the strengths of many, and coupled with the more than twenty years of polishing before his rebirth, his seal carving level had long surpassed that of Pan Yuxuan at the time.

But today, he looked at the Shoushan stone for a long time, sighed, and locked the stone and carving knives back into the drawer.

His heart was a bit chaotic today.

This chaotic state of mind came from emotional entanglements. Although he hadn't had many relationships, he knew that Xue Qin, Xia Zhu, and Lu Xiaoya all had good feelings for him. But it just so happened that the three of them met by chance today, which made Su Xinghui a bit at a loss.

Since his rebirth, Su Xinghui had thought most about making a career in this life, but this didn't mean he didn't want to make up for the regrets in his emotions from his previous life. In his previous life, his first love ended in a breakup, and a marriage existed in name only. He hadn't felt much sweetness of love or warmth of family.

Now that he was reborn, he naturally wanted to find a partner who was more suitable for him and loved him more. But what he didn't expect was that after his rebirth, his romantic luck seemed to have improved. He only wanted one relationship, but three girls appeared at the same time.

These three girls were actually very good, and there was nothing to criticize in terms of appearance and character. If they hadn't appeared at the same time, dating any one of them would be a good choice. But with three appearing at once, he was naturally conflicted. Choosing any one of them was not an easy task, and he was also afraid that choosing one would hurt the other two.

Moreover, Su Xinghui could be said to be "once bitten, twice shy" in emotions. In his previous life, he was hurt twice in emotions. The first time, let's not talk about it; the second time, he married for the sake of marriage, and he didn't date his wife for too long before holding the wedding in a hurry. In this life, he didn't dare to be rash again, so he hoped to spend more time with his future partner before marriage, which was a more responsible attitude toward each other.

Su Xinghui couldn't help but compare these three girls in his heart.

First was Xue Qin. She was Su Xinghui's high school classmate for three years and was his deskmate for a period. It could be said that Su Xinghui knew her best. She was a very proper girl. If he married her, she would definitely be devoted to the family, which made her a good candidate for a wife.

However, Su Xinghui didn't like Xue Qin's personality, especially today, when she deliberately caused various misunderstandings, acting as if she were Su Xinghui's girlfriend. But in reality, there was nothing between her and Su Xinghui. Su Xinghui could understand Xue Qin's thoughts, but he really didn't like this.

Next was Xia Zhu. She was also a very good girl, beautiful, pure, kind, and strong. Although her family background was not good, she possessed excellent bamboo weaving skills. Just as Song Qiaoli said, she would definitely become a master of arts and crafts in the future. By then, she would have turned from an ugly duckling into a white swan.

However, Su Xinghui was afraid that Xia Zhu's good feelings for him were mixed with a sense of gratitude, because the biggest factor in Xia Zhu's destiny being changed was Su Xinghui. It was easy for a girl to develop good feelings for her benefactor.

Finally, there was Lu Xiaoya. Lu Xiaoya was, of course, also very outstanding. She was beautiful, simple, had a good personality, and she would definitely be of great help to Su Xinghui's career, because her father was Lu Zhenghong, a super potential stock. After this year's Party Congress, he would turn over a new leaf, jumping from a Director of the "cold" Party History Office to a member of the Provincial Party Committee.

If he could date Lu Xiaoya, how much help could Lu Zhenghong give Su Xinghui in the future? This was something one could think of with their knees. And precisely because Lu Zhenghong was currently sitting on the "cold bench," Su Xinghui's motive for approaching Lu Xiaoya would not be suspected, which would not make Lu Zhenghong lose his good impression of Su Xinghui.

However, Su Xinghui didn't want to mix his emotions with such things. He didn't want to date Lu Xiaoya for the sake of obtaining Lu Zhenghong's help. Even if others didn't know, he knew it himself, and he couldn't pass his own test.

You could say he was pedantic or pretentious, but this was Su Xinghui's principle. If a person had no principles, it was difficult to achieve anything great.

Of course, if Su Xinghui's relationship with Lu Xiaoya could develop to the point of natural success, then Su Xinghui wouldn't refuse this relationship. He wasn't pedantic to that extent.

In short, these girls each had their own advantages, but each also had aspects that made Su Xinghui feel hesitant. He really didn't know who to choose now.

Forget it, it was too early to consider this matter now. Su Xinghui decided to put this matter aside. Now the most important thing was his career, and he would talk about emotional matters later.