The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 545 - 478: Something with Depth

Chapter 545: Chapter 478: Something with Depth
Chenxi had just sent a message, and the others immediately jumped out.
"What’s up?" Susu was the first to ask, "Aren’t you always in spring fever, Number Four."
Xinyu quickly followed Susu’s lead: "You were always in spring fever, now it’s time to... get flirty."
Chenxi couldn’t care less about how they were teasing her, thinking of the conversation she had just eavesdropped on, she was over the moon. It turned out that everything was a misunderstanding; that Cheng Lin was not Professor Luo’s girlfriend at all. From what she heard, Professor Luo was still single. In that case, didn’t she have a chance?
"I solemnly announce to you all, Professor Luo is single." Chenxi sent many "yay" emojis.
"Really? Someone as outstanding as Professor Luo is still single? Could it be that there’s something off with his orientation?"
"Another possibility is that he’s a playboy, changing girlfriends faster than underwear, so fast that you wouldn’t even know he had one."
Chenxi hurriedly explained: "It’s absolutely true, I heard it with my own ears, I am now filled with strength, my world is a blooming garden."
At this moment, Quan Jin cuts in lazily: "So what if Professor Luo is single, he wouldn’t take a fancy to you, Flat-Chested Academic Dreg."
"I’m flat-chested, and I’m proud of it, saving fabric for the motherland." Chenxi snorted, "Big Breasted Cow."
Susu said: "Right, Number Four, aren’t you guys going up north to see the ice lanterns? How’s the planning going?"
"Yes, yes." Chenxi immediately perked up and pushed, "Xinyu, you start planning it."
After a long while, Xinyu sent a shy emoji: "I can’t go see the ice lanterns with you guys."
"Damn, friend forgotten for a lover."
Quan Jin and Chenxi simultaneously sent a string of disdainful emojis.
The sisters chatted away merrily, and before they knew it, night had fallen.
Susu: "Qi Hao is back, we’re going to the market to buy groceries, we’ll talk later tonight."
Chenxi hurriedly typed: "Quan, keep me company a bit longer, I’m so bored."
Quan Jin sent an unapologetic "bye" emoji: "A hot guy has invited me to dinner, I’m going on a date, have fun by yourself, be good."
"You-sure-know-how-to-prioritize-boys-over-friends." Chenxi angrily put down her phone, which just happened to land on that thick medical book, and only then did she belatedly realize she hadn’t read a single word all afternoon.
When Luo Shangqing came back, Chenxi was hastily cramming, and with a glimpse at the page number she was on, he knew she had wasted yet another afternoon.
Dinner at Xiangshan, Chenxi looked longingly at the mouthwatering dishes in front of her, swallowing her saliva in secret. Helpless, she only had the fate of an onlooker, not a diner, because she couldn’t answer any of Luo Shangqing’s questions, she wasn’t allowed to eat, according to his rules. And Luo Shangqing seemed to do it on purpose, ordering all her favorite dishes.
Seeing him enjoying the meal solo, Chenxi couldn’t help but ask, "Professor Luo, can you finish all that?"
"I can’t." Luo Shangqing stated plainly, and just as Chenxi was about to say she could help, he added indifferently, "I’ll have it packed up and give it to the stray dogs outside the community."
Chenxi kept her mouth shut; as much as she wanted to eat, she couldn’t compete with dogs for food.
After Luo Shangqing finished eating, he had the waiter pack the leftovers and handed them to the security guard at the entrance of the community to feed the dogs.
Chenxi watched the security guard walk away with several food containers, swallowing her saliva once more.
Back home, Luo Shangqing went into his study. After a moment of careful observation, Chenxi concluded that he was angry, for he hadn’t said a word to her all the way home.
Although Luo Shangqing never lost his temper in class, his standards were extremely high. Anyone taking his course couldn’t just scrape by with sixty points; not one student he had taught had ever failed, which was a record in school history.
So, suddenly having to deal with a student like Chenxi, who had no desire to excel, completely overturned Luo Shangqing’s educational perspective. Today, he even wondered how such a student had managed to get into university.
Chenxi lingered in the living room before deciding to go apologize. She remembered the pen holder she had casually bought the other day; although it wasn’t expensive, it was thoughtful. As the saying goes, don’t hit a smiling face, especially when she was holding a gift. Hopefully, Luo Shangqing wouldn’t embarrass her too much.
Luo Shangqing was practicing calligraphy at his desk. Hearing the knock on the door, he didn’t respond and continued focusing on his writing.
Soon, Chenxi sneaked in, greeted with a cheery, "Professor Luo, I made you a cup of coffee."
Luo Shangqing ignored her, still absorbed in his calligraphy.
Unfazed, Chenxi placed the coffee cup on one side of the desk, ingratiatingly edged closer, "Professor Luo, your writing embodies natural grace, ever-changing and vibrant, simply ten thousand times better than the calligrapher Zhang Xu."
Luo Shangqing said indifferently, "This is semi-cursive script, Zhang Xu is known for his cursive script."
Mu Chenxi was somewhat choked up and thought to herself, all calligraphers, yet there’s still a distinction between semi-cursive and cursive? After mulling it over in her mind and unable to recall any calligraphers known for their semi-cursive script, she simply said, "Anyway, it’s good."
After Luo Shangqing finished writing a piece, Mu Chenxi eagerly ground the ink for him, saying while grinding, "Professor Luo, I happened to pass by a small shop the other day and bought a pen holder for you, I don’t know if you’d like it."
Pen holder? Luo Shangqing finally deigned to glance at her, and upon meeting her somewhat ingratiating gaze, he also noticed a sly playfulness in the depth of her eyes, aware that she realized he was upset and was trying to apologize.
"What pen holder?"
"I’ll go get it for you." Mu Chenxi immediately scurried back to the bedroom and soon returned with a black plastic bag.
Seeing such poor-quality packaging, Luo Shangqing couldn’t help but frown. He had a great passion for calligraphy and liked to collect various inkstones and pen holders, but could this thing she dug out of a gray cardboard box really be anything other than a five-yuan good from a street stall?
"It’s this one. I think it looks quite nice and very suitable for you." Mu Chenxi handed the pen holder over.
Luo Shangqing put down his brush, picked up the pen holder, and looked it over. When he saw the seal script on the bottom of the holder, he was taken aback for a moment. He scrutinized it carefully and gently tapped it with his finger, asking with some suspicion, "Where did you buy this?"
Mu Chenxi’s eyes darted around, not having the nerve to admit she spent only five yuan on it, so she made up a place, "Bought it at the business trade center."
"How much did it cost?" Luo Shangqing asked directly.
Mu Chenxi thought, what kind of person is this? To receive a gift and then ask about the price.
Just as Mu Chenxi was about to continue fabricating a reasonable yet not too shabby price, Luo Shangqing, who didn’t care about her answer, was already muttering to himself, "This pen holder is from the mid-Qing Dynasty, worth at least hundreds of thousands. Did you steal your dad’s pen holder to give to me?"
"Hundreds of thousands?" Mu Chenxi thought she had heard wrong, hurriedly picked up the pen holder and examined it closely, but it still looked like an ordinary piece worth only five yuan and nothing special.
With a serious expression, Luo Shangqing said, "Mu Chenxi, even if you give me a gift, it doesn’t mean I’ll let you skip a single page of those books. Also, hurry and return this pen holder to your dad, what kind of bad habit is this?"
"No, it’s not." Mu Chenxi hurriedly explained, "Professor Luo, this isn’t my dad’s. I really bought it myself."
"You bought it? Where’s the receipt?" There couldn’t be a transaction without a receipt at a formal business mall like that, and moreover, the business trade center doesn’t sell antiques.
Mu Chenxi was at a loss for words, stomping her feet in anxiety, finally confessing the truth, "Actually, I bought it at a roadside stall, the one next to the hospital, that craft shop. If you don’t believe me, we can go confront the shopkeeper tomorrow. And this isn’t what you called a pen holder from the Qing Dynasty; I bought it for five yuan."
"Really?" Luo Shangqing was still half in doubt.
Mu Chenxi raised a hand, "Really, I swear by the lamp."
"Go return it to them tomorrow."
"Is this really worth hundreds of thousands?" Mu Chenxi was still hesitant to believe it, weighing it carefully in her hands, though her movements had become more cautious.
Luo Shangqing nodded, a resigned smile on his face, "They say a fool is always lucky; your luck isn’t bad."
Mu Chenxi did feel fortunate about her luck, but she quickly caught the real implication in his words, looked up with a bit of reproach in her eyes. Professor Luo was too mean, indirectly calling her foolish. Forget it, considering he was not happy today, she decided not to take it to heart.
Because of the pen holder incident, Luo Shangqing was less upset, and he bent his head to continue writing.
Curious, Mu Chenxi leaned over and asked, "Professor Luo, can I write a few characters? I’ve never tried writing with a brush before."
Luo Shangqing glanced at her and paused for half a minute before setting the brush on the stand, then picked up a thinner brush and handed it to her.
"Thank you, Professor Luo." Mu Chenxi picked up the brush with excitement, spread out a sheet of rice paper, just dipped the brush in ink to write, then suddenly turned to ask, "This paper is expensive, isn’t it?"
Luo Shangqing was drinking the coffee she made; he chose to ignore her childish question.
Mu Chenxi anticipated he wouldn’t answer, but this didn’t affect her enthusiasm for writing at all. After pursing her lips in thought, she began to write, "Hoisting the hoe at noon, sweat drips down to the soil beneath..."
When Luo Shangqing saw the lines she was writing, he almost spit out his coffee. "Mu Chenxi, even a three-year-old could recite this poem. Can’t you write something more profound?"
More profound? Mu Chenxi frowned in thought for a moment, her eyes lit up, and she grabbed another piece of paper to write a new line: "Professor Luo, the handsomest!"
Luo Shangqing burst out laughing. In her eyes, this was profound?
Setting down his coffee cup, he walked over, "You’re holding the brush wrong; you can’t properly learn the characters this way."