Rebirth of the Rich Second Generation's Growth Diary

Chapter 183 Silly Girl

Even after so much time has passed, Xia Xiaohe is still not much different from when she first met her; she speaks softly and likes to daydream.

For example, Xia Xiaomiao has already gone inside to take the exam, while Li Xu and Xia Xiaohe, who have nothing to do, are strolling around nearby. While strolling, Xia Xiaohe suddenly starts daydreaming.

Because of the many unexpected events and setbacks that have occurred recently, Li Xu even developed a fever and two blisters in his mouth.

He strolled slowly along the pedestrian path, squinting at the somewhat pale sun. Xia Xiaohe beside him remained silent, like an emotionless doll.

Li Xu said out of the blue, "I really want to eat an ice pop."

Xia Xiaohe paused for a moment, then looked at Li Xu with a strange expression. What he said sounded really odd. It was already November, and although the weather wasn't exactly freezing, it was long past the season for popsicles.

However, Xia Xiaohe did not refute him. She rarely refuted Li Xu's words unless Li Xu expressed his regret or blame, such as "Sigh, if only I had thought of that sooner..." Only then would Xia Xiaohe say in a serious tone, "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. You have done very well."

The two passed by a small supermarket, and Xia Xiaohe said, "Wait for me a moment." Under Li Xu's questioning gaze, Xia Xiaohe walked into the small supermarket.

Although it's not the season for popsicles, they're still available, and they don't spoil easily when kept in the freezer.

Xia Xiaohe picked out an ice cream she thought was very expensive. When she took it out to pay, the owner smiled and said, "It's so cold, aren't you afraid of getting sick from eating something so cold?"

Xia Xiaohe blushed slightly, but didn't explain much. She quickly paid the bill, grabbed her popsicle, and went out. Her complexion was rosy, giving the impression that she had a heavy and regular menstrual flow, which made her older sister a little envious.

When Xia Xiaohe stood in front of Li Xu with that ice cream, Li Xu couldn't help but chuckle.

Xia Xiaohe tore open the ice cream and handed it to Li Xu, saying, "Eat it."

Li Xu didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the ice cream and took a bite. The cool sweetness instantly made his mouth feel less painful.

They continued their walk while eating ice cream, chatting casually about random topics, mostly focusing on Xia Xiaohe's parents' small house in the countryside. That's just how this little girl is; she can chatter away endlessly in such a small place.

After walking for a while, Xia Xiaohe noticed that Li Xu had stopped eating ice cream. She was now very curious about what it was like to eat ice cream in winter, and she regretted it a little. She should have gotten herself a piece earlier.

Li Xu didn't notice Xia Xiaohe's gaze. He always ate like this, just tasting it first. He rarely ate until he was stuffed just because he liked something, even with ice cream; only the first bite was the most delicious.

But now that the ice cream was in her hand, she couldn't just throw it away. Although the weather in November was already cool, the ice cream was starting to melt a little.

Xia Xiaohe finally couldn't help but ask, "Don't you want to eat anymore?"

Li Xu paused for a moment, blinked, and then looked at the ice cream as Xia Xiaohe pointed.

Xia Xiaohe continued, "I'll take care of it for you."

Li Xu had initially thought that there was no need for someone else to do the trash, but he genuinely enjoyed Xia Xiaohe's service and felt very comfortable being with her. Unlike Tang Qiaoning and An Duoduo, Xia Xiaohe's thoughtfulness was gentle and soothing, making him feel at ease.

Li Xu readily handed the unfinished ice cream to Xia Xiaohe. Xia Xiaohe looked left and right, saw a trash can in front of her, and said, "Wait for me, I'll go throw it away."

Li Xu nodded, watching Xia Xiaohe's retreating figure as she ran away step by step.

Xia Xiaohe has good taste in clothing these days. Although it's still not expensive, she wears a simple gray dress and black cotton leggings, which is both simple and youthful.

Before long, Xia Xiaohe returned, and the two of them went for another walk.

Xia Xiaohe asked, "Why do you eat ice cream in winter?"

Li Xu gave her a strange look. The question was actually meaningless; he just suddenly thought of giving it a try, partly because he had blisters in his mouth. But when the words came out, they turned into a bunch of nonsense: "When the whole world is telling you to drink hot soup, this ice cream is a rebellious flag raised against mundane life—after all, even Antarctic research stations are equipped with ice cream machines, which is a certification of performance art that transcends latitudes."

Xia Xiaohe opened her mouth, unsure how to respond.

That's a really profound statement.

Li Xu smiled and walked slowly forward. He was quite satisfied with Xia Xiaohe's stunned expression.

Looking at Li Xu's back, Xia Xiaohe secretly savored the taste from earlier. It seemed that eating ice cream in winter really did taste sweeter than in summer.

Of course, Li Xu must not find out about this... she would be so ashamed she would die!

……

This math competition will last for 7 days, with the exams taking place over two days, each lasting 4 hours. Therefore, accompanying Xia Xiaomiao to this competition is not something that can be done in just one or two days.

Xia Xiaomiao didn't come alone, but without a doubt, the person who could give her the most emotional support was her own older sister. Xia Xiaohe naturally had her reasons for coming, but when Li Xu also took leave from school and even skipped class to bring her over, Xia Xiaohe still felt embarrassed.

From childhood to adulthood, she has always been someone who doesn't like to trouble others. However, if someone wants to trouble her, she rarely refuses. In fact, throughout her long youth, when faced with such situations, she would often ask naively, "Do you need anything else?"

So, in a sense, Xia Xiaohe was in some pain because of how Li Xu treated her. However, just as her pain stemmed from her unwillingness to trouble others and her inability to refuse people, she needed to refuse Li Xu to end her current suffering, which created a contradiction.

As usual, Li Xu drove to pick her up downstairs at their college. When Xia Xiaohe squeezed out of the crowd, she kept her head down the whole time, hurriedly opened the car door and got in, saying, "Actually, I could have taken the bus."

Li Xu said irritably, "You're supposed to be one of my future top generals, why are you taking the bus?"

Xia Xiaohe actually thinks taking the bus is fine, and she still believes that only a common mode of transportation like the bus is more suitable for her.

Xia Xiaohe wanted to argue with Li Xu, but Li Xu turned around and told her to shut up. Xia Xiaohe was startled and obediently shut up.

Li Xu wanted to laugh so badly at that moment. This silly girl.

...Xia Xiaomiao's competition went very smoothly, but Li Xu wasn't really sure just how smooth it went.

Xia Xiaomiao simply said that if she performed normally, there shouldn't be any major problems. This competition is the finals. If she can make it into the top 60, she can enter the national training team and choose between Tsinghua and Peking Universities. At that time, it will be a sure thing for her to directly enter Tsinghua or Peking University.

Therefore, from this perspective, it should be considered a very serious matter.

After the competition, Li Xu planned to take Xia Xiaomiao to explore the area near the capital, and naturally, he would also bring Xia Xiaohe along.

On the way, Li Xu asked Xia Xiaomiao how confident she was, and said, "If you can get in, you'll be even more impressive than Ye Ruida. Even someone as strong as Ye Ruida was only officially admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University in his second year of high school."

Unlike when he was younger, Xia Xiaomiao didn't boast about how well she did on the test or how many questions she got right.

Of course, he didn't intend to explain the reasons to Li Xu. The main reason was that he had met many remarkable people. This nation will never lack geniuses. Before meeting even more remarkable geniuses, it doesn't matter how arrogant one is. And the more talented a person is, the stronger the sense of frustration they will feel when they meet other geniuses.

This is actually quite easy to understand. The smarter a person is, the clearer their vision becomes, and the better they can see their own limits. Therefore, they will rationally conclude that they can never surpass or even catch up with those prodigies who break through those limits. On the contrary, the less intelligent a person is, the less difference they make when looking at a 90-point genius and a 190-point genius.

After rationally recognizing this point, Xia Xiaomiao also made a clear judgment about the limits of his own abilities. He said to Li Xu, "Brother Li Xu, I can definitely become your best researcher in the future, but as for me to do more advanced and cutting-edge things, such as becoming a figure like Qian Lao and Deng Lao, I probably can't do it in this lifetime."

Hearing this, Li Xu found it hard to describe his feelings. Just a second ago, he was wondering why Xia Xiaomiao was feeling down, and the next second he realized that the kid's frustration stemmed from comparing himself to a great man.

This huge difference gave him a strange feeling. Li Xu coughed, patted Xia Xiaomiao on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "It's okay. Shining and radiating light is shining and radiating light no matter where you are."

The words of comfort sounded rather strange, and Li Xu didn't know why he said them, but Xia Xiaomiao seemed to appreciate them.

Ah.

The happiest person was naturally Xia Xiaohe, because from Xia Xiaomiao's calm yet somewhat dejected tone, one could conclude that this kid should be able to enter the national training team.

In other words, it won't be long before he's here as a student from Tsinghua or Peking University.

What Xia Xiaomiao said to Xia Xiaohe that day, though it seems somewhat naive and immature now, was undoubtedly a great encouragement to Xia Xiaohe.

Having a younger brother like this would be a very lucky thing.

If Xia Xiaomiao joins Li Xu's team, with his abilities, he will definitely be able to achieve something in a short time.

At that time, I will be more confident in front of Li Xu and speak with more conviction.

Li Xu took Xia Xiaomiao and her brother to play in the capital for two days. In fact, there are only so many things to experience in a city, and Li Xu had taken different people to experience them too many times, so he was almost numb to it.

However, Xia Xiaomiao and Xia Xiaohe had a lot of fun, and their mood infected him quite a bit.

He had some interesting ideas: the best way to break the curse of getting bored from constantly experiencing the same pleasure is to take different people to experience it.

While Li Xu was focusing most of his time and energy on Xia Xiaomiao and her brother these past few days, Ye Jin's bidding for that piece of land was handled quickly and smoothly, and good news soon followed.

According to inside information, the land deal is practically a done deal. Although the official announcement won't be until tomorrow, Ye Jinhe is already preparing to hold a celebration party. Of course, this celebration party is something she decided for herself, and the only people there are her and Li Xu.

Yes, she called Li Xu. Ye Jinhe didn't arrange to meet Li Xu in his office; instead, she chose a coffee shop as the meeting place.

Li Xu walked to the private room that Ye Jinhe had specially reserved, a place with excellent privacy. Ye Jinhe was wearing a straight-cut black silk mini-skirt, exuding a lazy yet sexy aura.

She gently tossed her hair, took a portable voice recorder from her bag, and placed it on the table. Just as Li Xu was wondering what was going on, Ye Jin pressed the play button, and a conversation that surprised Li Xu came through.

First came Zhang Ye's voice. He said, "I know you're retaliating against us. Let's be frank. That piece of land is very important to us, but it's not as important to Li Xu. You don't have to go against us. As long as you can give it up, just name your terms. You can even come back. I can keep the vice president position for you."

What followed was Ye Jin's merciless sarcasm: "President Zhang, you may have misunderstood. I am just an clerk. I can't make decisions. If you want to talk to someone, you should talk to our President Li yourself."

Zhang Ye retorted, "Don't think I don't know. You were in charge of everything, from negotiating with the land seller to handling all the bidding process materials. If you give up..."

Ye Jin then interrupted Zhang Ye, coldly saying, "Zhang Ye, you are far inferior to Li Xu."

Li Xu looked at the recorder on the table with great interest, but just then, Ye Jinhe decisively pressed the pause button.

She slowly put the recorder away and said, "I'm not here to take credit, but I think you should reward me, shouldn't you?"

Li Xu said, "Regardless of the outcome after the bidding, I will keep my promise. You will be the HR manager from now on."

Ye Jin looked into Li Xu's eyes, then suddenly smiled and said, "Is that all?"

Li Xu blinked but remained silent.

Ye Jin looked at Li Xu calmly and said slowly, "There are many hidden dangers in your company, especially in terms of personnel. It involves offending people. You should be aware of this. I am not afraid of offending people. I can be the one to take responsibility for you."

After a pause, Ye Jinhe said seriously, "What I said earlier was a joke. I don't want any reward from you. I did all of this willingly, do you understand?"

Faced with Ye Jinhe's aggressive questioning, Li Xu said casually, "Don't do that. You probably don't know me well. I don't fall for that kind of trick."

Li Xu naturally acknowledged Ye Jinhe's abilities and contributions, but he would not allow anyone to try to manipulate him in this way.

Despite Li Xu's indifference, Ye Jin felt a strange, exhilarating thrill. She gazed at Li Xu intently and said, "I understand. I will win the bid tomorrow. Just wait for my good news."

(End of this chapter)