Tong Tong was "sold" like this. In order to repay the boss's great kindness, Gao Xiaobao took the initiative to propose that in the next time, he would work harder to go out to the street to distribute flyers, recruit children to learn taekwondo, and would spare no effort to track Tian Yimei, striving to find out Teacher Meng's whereabouts as soon as possible.

Tong Tong’s biggest wish is to get off work early in the evening, take a walk with Geng Xiaoqing, go home to read a book, or lie in bed to rest for a while. He doesn’t want to chat with the old man, but since he agrees, there is nothing he can do, just spend time with him!

Geng Xiaoqing hated Gao Xiaobao so much that he blamed him for causing trouble, which implicated Tong Tong's failure to date her. Logically speaking, they were still "roommates" upstairs and downstairs, but Gao Xiaobao could only play on the floor on the mat, while Geng Xiaoqing had his own warm little room, and the difference between the two was very different.

On the day Tong Tong first chatted with the old man, Geng Xiaoqing returned to the Taekwondo Hall and happened to meet Gao Xiaobao who was going upstairs. Her eyes widened, and before she could speak, Gao Xiaobao hurriedly slipped away. He was afraid that he would see the whites of Sister Geng's eyes, which was so scary.

Geng Xiaoqing was not in a good mood those days, because she went to find Tong Tong after work, and it was inevitable that she would meet Qian Qian Qian. So far, their relationship was not tense, but it was not much better.

After Qian Qianqian got off work, she went to the cafeteria with her friends. Geng Xiaoqing walked behind her and wanted to make food for Tong Tong. Qian Qianqian didn't notice her existence at all. She said to her female companion casually: "Boss Tong is so good, but that woman is cold and selfish. She basically doesn't interact with others and is completely unworthy of him. One day, Boss Tong will definitely dump her."

If they were the same age, Geng Xiaoqing could grab her hair and fight her. But she was twenty-six years old and was over the age of impulsiveness. Although she was so angry that she exploded, she had other ways to cure Qian Qianqian and do it without realizing it.

Tong Tong didn't understand these conflicts, so he went to the hospital after dinner. In order to make more money, he closed the store for a while and arrived at the hospital at 8 o'clock. After finally entering the ward, the old man fell asleep in bed. The old man lived in a single room and no one took care of him at this time. I guess it was because he wanted to chat with him, the old man deliberately refused to let him in!

The old man's bed had not yet shaken, his upper body and lower body were 120 degrees. It seemed that he was not a fake sleep at this moment, but he accidentally fell asleep while waiting for him.

Tong Tong felt a little guilty, but the old man fell asleep like this, and he didn't know when he would wake up. Tong Tong tiptoed down by the bed, took out a Carver novel from his bag, and read it intently with the lights that were not bright.

He looked too seriously. When he felt thirsty and raised his head from the book, he happened to meet the old man's eyes.

Tong Tong was shocked, but the old man said with a smile: "I woke up for a long time, because you looked at it too seriously and didn't call you."

Tong Tong stood up in a hurry and said, "I'm rude to make you wait for so long."

"It's a good thing to read books, and there's nothing wrong with it." The old man asked kindly, "What book are you reading?"

"The one I read about Carver's novel is "Feather".

"Oh?" the old man found a comfortable sitting position and asked, "How does it feel? Is it interesting?"

Tong Tong shook his head honestly.

The old man laughed: "But Carver is known as the greatest short storyteller in America this century. How could his novel be boring?"

Tong Tong said truthfully: "But my appreciation level is limited. If I don't read the explanation, I will not be able to understand his novels at all."

The old man nodded: "You are very honest. Do you understand the "Feather" he wrote?"

"Maybe not old, there is no other experience except feeling discouraged."

The old man said with praise: "I still said I can't understand it, but I just read it all at once?"

“…I’m talking nonsense.”

"It's okay, it doesn't matter if you can't understand it. Don't rush to check and explain it online. First make an evaluation according to your feelings, and then think about it carefully, why did you get such an evaluation."

Tong Tong was a little confused, but he could understand it, so he nodded like a chicken pecking at the rice.

When the old man wanted to drink water, Tong Tong hurriedly handed it to him. After moistening his voice, the old man said: "Take "Feathers" as an example. I feel that he has similarities with Qian Zhongshu's "The Siege". People who were originally glamorous will become vulgar as time goes by; life in an orderly manner will become messy. Sweet newlyweds will eventually become speechless. We will eventually become the people we despise, and this is a dilemma that we cannot get rid of. You may not be married, let alone have children. You cannot understand how desperate this process is, but if you can feel frustrated and depressed, it means that this work has affected you."

Tong Tong nodded blankly, and he even forgot to ask, Who is this old man?

The hour hand was almost nine o'clock, and the old man was obviously much more tired. Tong Tong asked him to rest, but he couldn't bear to sleep: "To be honest, I haven't met a young man like you for a long time. He likes to read and doesn't show off. Many years ago, I had a few students. I asked them to study Maupassant and Chekov first, but they read Kafka all day long, and of course they also read Kafka. I asked them how they were, and they said it was good without exception. No! The articles that I can't even understand, a group of furry children with no life experience, would they say it's good? Or if you are honest and feel bored, just say it!"

"It may also be that I'm too shallow."

"Ha, how advanced do young people want?"

He is really an old man with a true temperament.

Tong Tong then smiled and asked, "Dare you ask, where was the tallest place in the past? Hongcheng University or Haida?"

The old man smiled and shook his head: "Don't worry about that much, just call me Lao Bai."

"That won't work, that's too disrespectful to you. At least... it should be Professor Bai, right?"

"Okay, just call me Professor Bai!" Professor Bai asked, "What's your name?"

"I...a name is Tong Tong for the time being. Tong Xiangyu's Tong, a child on Children's Day."

"Well... this name is easy to remember, but it's a bit girlish. You're also a little bit interesting, why does it have a temporary name?"

"I have my real name and will be changed sooner or later." Tong Tong said simply: "Although I want to change it now, it's not yet."

"Okay! Then I'll ask you, why do you like reading?"

Tong Tong didn't know how to answer for a while, and then said, "Before I was in high school, I hated studying. But in the year of high school, I met a very good teacher. Under her leadership, I fell in love with studying. In the four years of college, I became one of the students who borrowed the most books. Until now, reading has become an indispensable part of my life. It is also possible that I loved reading very much, and that teacher inspired my reading potential."

Tong Tong paused and said, "You know, my biological parents are both college masters, and they have also run literary magazines together."

The old man's eyes lit up. Just as he was about to ask something, Tong Tong hurriedly said, "My life experience is quite complicated, I will tell you slowly in the future."

"It's okay, I just want to talk to you about reading now. As for the others, I'm not very interested now. Reading is great, but there are too few people around me who like reading."

Perhaps he met a soulmate for a long time, Professor Bai was very excited. That night, Tong Tong stayed until 10 o'clock and arrived at home almost eleven o'clock. Before leaving, he mustered up the courage to send the link to Professor Bai, and said sincerely: "Although I don't know what you did before, I can guess that you are definitely not a mortal. This is the official account I just opened, and I plan to build it into a literary platform. If you are bored in the hospital, you can take a look. But... hahaha, I feel that you shouldn't be able to watch it."

Tong Tong deliberately used a laugh to hide his embarrassment, but Professor Bai smiled and said, "Why do you think I can't stand it?"

"Because... it may be too naive to you."

"It doesn't matter if you are naive, but novels, whether they are fictional or non-fiction, are the most important thing to be interesting."

The word "interesting" is like a magic pill, instantly opening up Tong Tong's Ren and Du meridians.

Professor Bai blinked his eyes sly and said, "I heard from my daughter yesterday that you have great reasoning skills, so guess what am I doing?"

"The older generation of intellectuals." Tong Tong said: "It is very likely that he has been abroad, and that he may have studied European and American literature, or comparative literature. The previous employment unit may not be a Hong Kong city, but is very likely a well-known university in a big city."

...

Now it was Professor Bai's turn to be stunned. Tong Tong hurriedly said, "I'm just guessing nonsense, talking nonsense, making rash mistakes in front of you, don't forget to go to your heart."

"Come on, tell me your reasoning!"

"Yesterday you said that you eat public food, and you are very likely a civil servant or teacher. Since you mentioned students and do not reject the title of "Professor Bai", it means that you should be a university professor or a researcher in the research institute. As soon as I mentioned Carver, you immediately mentioned Qian Zhongshu, which shows that you have a deep study of both writers. And what you ask students to read are foreign works, which means that their research direction may not be a domestic writer. Naturally, their teachers will not only study domestic writers."

Professor Bai was stunned again and murmured: "Then...how do you know that I am not from Hong Kong City?"

"The wind only blows twice a year in the Hong Kong city, each blowing for half a year." Tong Tong joked and continued: "So, the elderly in Hong Kong city now do not ride bicycles and cannot ride them at all. Yesterday you rode a bicycle, which was very difficult and not skilled, which means you have very little understanding of the climate characteristics of Hong Kong city."

Professor Bai applauded: "Excellent, wonderful! Student Tong, you must have been a detective who made a case like a god in the past, right?"
Chapter completed!