The place agreed upon on the phone was a small cafe two streets away from the back entrance of M University.
The environment there is nice, the location is not too remote, and there won't be crowds of people during meal times.
The distance from the cafeteria to the cafe is not very far, but it is still quite a distance. When Lin Ruoxi got there, her injured ankle was already aching.
She stood on the sidewalk opposite the cafe for a while, took a few deep breaths and stretched her clothes before slowly walking over.
There were not many customers in the store, and there were only two or three tables here and there.
Lin Ruoxi stood at the door, and after slowly walking around, she saw Xiao Shuai's father nodding and smiling at her in the booth near the window.
Although Xiao Zhengguo has a standard Chinese character face, he has a pair of smiling eyes. In addition, he was a scholar in his early years, and he is stained with bookishness, so usually people's first impression of him will be that of kindness and affability. But after all, he has been immersed in officialdom for many years.
He is a man who occupies an important position. In addition to his kindness, he is also dignified and shrewd, and has a superior detachment and scrutiny.
Lin Ruoxi realized this when she was in the car with him that day.
Therefore, Lin Ruoxi straightened her back subconsciously when she saw him. She walked over slowly, looking at the injury while trying to keep her center of gravity steady, not wanting to expose her limp appearance to others for no reason.
As if that would make her inferior.
"Uncle Xiao, I've kept you waiting for a long time." Lin Ruoxi smiled and nodded at him.
"Xiao Lin, your legs and feet are inconvenient, please sit down quickly!" Xiao Zhengguo stretched out his hand to the opposite position and made a 'please' gesture. "Actually, it's because I came abruptly." He waved to the waiter and called him over.
, but his eyes were always looking at Lin Ruoxi, "What do you want to drink?"
Lin Ruoxi shook her head quickly, "Uncle No, I just finished eating!"
But Xiao Zhengguo still turned to the waiter and said: "A cup of hot coffee." After a pause, he added: "And a cup of hot milk. It is beneficial for girls to drink more milk." The latter sentence was obviously meant for her.
of.
She no longer refused, she just smiled and said, "Thank you, uncle."
"Xiao Lin, you are so polite!" Xiao Zhengguo smiled at her, with a hint of kindness in his expression, "Xiao Shuai often mentioned this coffee shop. He said that the coffee here is not ordinary bitter, but it is also the most refreshing! Stay up late and read a book.
It's perfect to have a drink before!" He said and laughed twice, "I will try it today to see how bitter it is."
Lin Ruoxi smiled and said slowly and politely: "I always thought that Xiao Shuai was a genius, but I didn't expect that he would work so hard."
"No one can succeed without working hard!" Xiao Zhengguo seemed to be sighing when he said this, but Lin Ruoxi felt that there must be a deeper meaning behind the sigh.
Lin Ruoxi is not smart, but she is not stupid either.
The moment she received the call, she had almost foreseen that Xiao Shuai's father would not have anything good to say when he talked to her.
Xiao Zhengguo only met her once, and although they talked with her on the way back, they were just a few words out of politeness. So Lin Ruoxi knew very well that it was not an exaggeration to consider him a stranger when he found her alone today.
Junior, just for chatting about family matters.
So, this time she just looked at Xiao Zhengguo with a smile and did not answer.
But Xiao Zhengguo continued to gossip: "Xiao Lin is about to graduate?"
"Well, I'll have an internship in the second half of the year."
"What are your plans for the future?"
"I want to go back and find a job in town A."
This kind of answer is somewhat surprising. Although the medical department of M University is not among the top in the country, the diploma is still very valuable. If you don’t pursue any career or academic development, after graduating from undergraduate degree, it is common to go to a local first-class hospital.
There won't be any problem.
But he never expected that Lin Ruoxi would choose to return to a remote and backward town.
"Really!" Xiao Zhengguo smiled and scolded with an elder's attitude, "The young girl is in a good time, she should be a little enterprising!" After a pause, he continued: "Xiao Lin has thought about taking the postgraduate entrance examination.
What?"
"There is no such plan."
"Why? The graduate students at M University are pretty good, and I am familiar with all the teachers here. Oh, by the way... Professor Qu Bainian from your laboratory is my classmate in the same dormitory in college!"
"If you want to take the postgraduate entrance examination, uncle can still give you a few words!"
Lin Ruoxi's smile was a little stiff.
Perhaps she was too sensitive, Qu Bainian's expression and tone were just right, but she felt that there was a bit of disdain in his 'kindness'.
"Thank you uncle for your kindness, but I really haven't thought about taking the postgraduate entrance examination." Lin Ruoxi shook her head, and then told the truth without hesitation, "To be honest with uncle, my family's conditions are not good, and the tuition fees for the past five years have been patchwork. Graduate student
There’s no need to even think about it. And…”
"Besides, my mother is in poor health, and I also want to go out to work early to reduce the burden on my family."
"Work early..." Qu Bainian repeated her words gently, as if unintentionally, his eyes became sharper as he flashed, and then he went straight to the point without warning, "Xiao Lin, do you know that Xiao Shuai asked him to help him two days ago?"
Someone asked for the admission recommendation form from Zhang Affiliated Hospital?"
M affiliates have always had quotas for internal referrals, which is the so-called back door. Generally, those who can get the recommendation list will stay there nine times out of ten.
Lin Ruoxi was surprised. She was stunned for a moment before saying, "I don't know. I've been staying in the dormitory for a while, and I only talked to him on the phone once."
"Xiao Shuai has always been a proud and arrogant kid. Even if he wanted to join the affiliated school, he didn't bother to ask for a recommendation form. Moreover, he said two days ago that he was preparing to take the Ph.D. exam, so there is no way he would need that kind of thing." Xiao Zhengguo looked at it.
She had scrutinizing eyes, but her calm tone was aggressive, "Can you tell me who he got that recommendation form for?"
Lin Ruoxi suddenly felt like she had been slapped in the face by someone in public. She frowned and her body trembled slightly with anger. After what the other person said, she should understand no matter how stupid she was.
After a while, Lin Ruoxi slowly stood up.
Her bright eyes flashed with strong stubbornness. She looked condescendingly at Xiao Zhengguo's slightly smiling face and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, "Director Xiao, don't worry. I don't know who Xiao Shuai's recommendation form is for.
Who wants it? But..." At this point, his heart trembled with excitement.
She bit the tender meat in her cheeks until the smell of blood dissipated, and then she calmed down, "But, I can guarantee one thing... Xiao Shuai's recommendation list has absolutely nothing to do with me!" After saying that, she grabbed the seat.
backpack, turned around and left the booth.
"Wait a minute!" After walking a few steps, Xiao Zhengguo suddenly called out to her.
Lin Ruoxi paused in her steps and turned to look at him with wide eyes, furious.
Xiao Zhengguo didn't care about her anger. He just smiled and said slowly: "If possible, I hope you don't just have nothing to do with that recommendation form."