Although They're Mentally ill, They're Extremely Easy to Comfort - Chapter 17

Qu Ye held the insulated bag containing dry ice and rushed to the side of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class without stopping.

Qiao Bo’er rolled down the passenger-side window and briefly instructed: “Just put it here. It’ll be convenient for me to grab later.”

“Yes, Boss…” Qu Ye cautiously placed the bag on the car seat and then hurriedly asked, “Oh, right, Chu Xi asked me to check if you need a restaurant reservation for tonight?”

Qu Ye’s sudden question made Qiao Bo’er pause.

Chu Xi had practically analyzed all possible storylines that might follow the boss’s interaction and tutoring session with the ‘Salted Fish’ (Xianyu).

Ostensibly, it was a meticulous and sophisticated secretary confirming the boss’s schedule, but in reality, she was subtly helping Qiao Bo’er make a decision.

It must be said that Chu Xi’s foresight and predictive ability were so precise that even the big boss was momentarily taken aback.

When she recovered, Qiao Bo’er nodded nonchalantly: “It’s too hot for anything else. Have her find a good omakase Japanese restaurant and book a table for two.”

“Understood!” Qu Ye nodded in confirmation and headed to the elevator lobby.

She checked the time; it was almost one in the afternoon. Time to go to Xuan Yi University and happily bully that big hapless victim, Ling Xi.

Qiao Bo’er was in a good mood, and the car’s Bluetooth stereo was playing “So Long.”

It was a mournful love song, its melody long and lingering, and the few lines of lyrics seemed to vaguely pluck at her heartstrings.

“Till we say hello hello, It’s shimmer my love, It’s shimmer my love…” (Until we greet each other, it’s my love that shimmers…)

The sunlight outside the window boldly spilled onto Qiao Bo’er’s face, flashing and fading as the car sped along. She habitually propped her head with one hand, her fingers tapping lightly on the steering wheel in time with the rhythm.

As the melody concluded, she couldn’t help but murmur the final lyric: “It’s shimmer of us.”

…

In the afternoon, Ling Xi was cycling the “Heart Sutra” as usual for self-cultivation, but unlike previous days—she wasn’t sleepy at all.

Leaning back in her chair with her arms resting behind her head, she stared blankly at the azure sky outside the window, simply enjoying the tranquility of letting her mind wander and time pass.

Everything needed for the class was neatly arranged on her desk.

She resisted teaching because she was a ‘Salted Fish’ dedicated to slacking off; she looked forward to teaching because it seemed like the only way to display a strong, superior side in front of that crazy woman.

Therefore, it was a strange, paradoxical anticipation.

She didn’t know how many times the “Heart Sutra” had looped when the office door was finally pushed open gently.

She had been dozing with half-closed eyes, and the scent of green orange and neroli instantly pulled the lazy Ling Xi back from her world of wandering thoughts to reality.

Thinking it was a hallucination, she took off her headphones and turned back dazedly towards the doorway.

In Ling Xi’s eyes, Qiao Bo’er seemed to bring her own dazzling light whenever she appeared; merely standing in the doorway, the colors of the surrounding world became brighter.

Qiao Bo’er was wearing a black spaghetti-strap maxi dress with a pure hand-embroidered white crane spreading its wings, extending from her waist to her chest.

The wind from the corridor fluttered her skirt, giving her an ethereal, fairy-like appearance.

Her makeup was also much lighter than the previous few times, as if she had intentionally dressed in a classical style for today’s class.

Qiao Bo’er lifted the insulated bag in her hand and beckoned to Ling Xi, her eyes conveying that it was something good and to hurry up and come out.

Ling Xi checked the time; it was still twenty minutes before half past one. Might as well take her to the classroom to sit down first.

So, she quickly grabbed her textbook, lesson plan, and a box of unknown contents, and hurried out of the office.

The two walked down the corridor.

Ling Xi, holding a large pile of things, spoke insincerely: “Why are you so early? Can’t you let me have a proper lunch break?”

Qiao Bo’er had long seen through her little mind games and immediately dismantled her playful arrogance: “But I saw you practically skipping out of the office just now. Weren’t you happy?”

“Where did I?!” Ling Xi certainly wouldn’t admit it, her eyes falling on the other woman’s hand.

Seeing her eager look, Qiao Bo’er was equally arrogant: “I brought ice cream cones. They were buy-one-get-one-free, and I can’t finish them. You can help me eliminate them.”

“I knew you wouldn’t be kind enough to treat me to food. Turns out they’re discounted, cheap goods.” Ling Xi clicked her tongue, extremely dismissive.

Entering the classroom, she put down her things at the podium. Though her words were unsparing, her eager actions had long betrayed her true nature as a greedy cat: “Let me see what kind of ice cream cones they are?”

Qiao Bo’er found the seat closest to the podium, pushed the insulated bag toward her, and generously offered: “Eat.”

Ling Xi opened the packaging, and the dry ice carried dreamy mist, drifting everywhere.

She reached out, grabbed a cone, and squeezed it. It was rock-hard and impossible to bite: “I think an ice cream cone this hard could be used as a murder weapon.”

Qiao Bo’er frowned slightly, took out the other one to look, and realized Qu Ye had put in too much dry ice. Both cones were rock-hard.

Despite this, Ling Xi didn’t show disappointment. Instead, she fiddled with the cone, meticulously studying the packaging: “Oh… this brand isn’t domestic, is it? Not surprising. You’re a big boss; all your food is imported. So, it’s not cheap goods after all.”

Qiao Bo’er didn’t respond to Ling Xi’s teasing, simply placing the two cones side by side on the desk to slowly melt.

Since class hadn’t started yet, Ling Xi simply started playing with the dry ice. She cupped the insulated bag and kept blowing into it, sending cold mist drifting everywhere.

“You big baby.”

Qiao Bo’er leaned back in her chair and scolded. Ling Xi heard it clearly, immediately turned to face her, puffed out her cheeks, and blew even more dry ice her way.

This was her silent revenge.

Qiao Bo’er feigned disgust, waving her hands to fan away the dry ice: “You’re so childish. Do your students know?”

Ling Xi shrugged carelessly, wearing a smug expression that said, ‘What can you do about it?’: “They probably do. At least you, this student, know.”

Amidst their back-and-forth bickering, the class bell finally rang.

Ling Xi reluctantly put down the insulated bag, fearing the dry ice would all escape and she wouldn’t have any fun later, and even tied the bag shut with a tight knot.

Qiao Bo’er watched her, feeling that this little lazy cat was truly easily satisfied. Playing with carbon dioxide could be this fun? What was the difference between this and playing with air?

Ling Xi returned to the podium and organized the items she had brought, then tossed a brand-new book across the distance onto Qiao Bo’er’s desk.

“This is the first-semester textbook for Paleography. Of course, we won’t be using it today, and maybe not much later either,” Ling Xi explained, lowering her head to flip open her lesson plan, only to be dumbfounded.

[Qiao Bo’er is a psycho, just randomly teach ‘freestyle’ (^_^)!]

She had napped all afternoon yesterday and slacked off until quitting time. Did she really write this lesson plan?

It seemed so. Jiang Xingran had even come over and chatted a bit… Hiss… what the heck is ‘freestyle’?

Damn it! She had dug her own grave again.

Ling Xi raised a hand to touch her forehead and then scratched her head. The classroom was too quiet, amplifying her guilt.

Qiao Bo’er saw her long silence, crossed her arms, and changed her sitting posture.

Her posture was exactly like a top boss scrutinizing an employee for slacking off, and she criticized coldly: “Haven’t you taught a class in a long time? A class is 45 minutes, and you’ve wasted 5 minutes without saying a word.”

“Tsk, don’t rush me!” Pressed into action, Ling Xi glared at Qiao Bo’er, picked up a piece of chalk, turned around, and first wrote her name on the blackboard, dragging out time one minute at a time.

“Hello, student Qiao. I warmly welcome you to my class. I am your Paleography teacher—Ling Xi.”

In just one sentence, Ling Xi stopped joking and adopted a strong sense of distance. With a commanding presence, she formally reintroduced herself.

Her confident and steady tone made Qiao Bo’er feel a misconception, as if the person in front of her was completely different from the ‘Salted Fish’ in her memory.

“Today is your first class. We will teach according to your interests and temporarily ignore the book content.” After explaining, Ling Xi wrote three large characters on the blackboard: “This class, we will learn about Zhongshan Seal Script. I heard you are very interested in it.”

“Yes, I am.” Qiao Bo’er replied without emotion. Ling Xi nodded slightly and continued to ask: “Then, how much do you know about Zhongshan Seal Script?”

The reason she gave Principal Wang that day was just a casual excuse. Qiao Bo’er knew nothing about ancient scripts; her only goal was to get closer to Ling Xi.

She was also someone who cared about her reputation and naturally avoided admitting ignorance. Ling Xi’s question seemed more like a challenge to her, so she didn’t reply politely: “I’m only interested in it, which doesn’t mean I’m knowledgeable.”

Ling Xi did not let Qiao Bo’er’s tantrum lighten the atmosphere. She merely glanced at her indifferently, picked up the chalk, turned, and began writing in Zhongshan Seal Script style on the blackboard.

Qiao Bo’er’s gaze followed the nimble hand. The chalk was applied with force, the strokes vigorous, neat, and completed in one go. The writing surface looked very clean.

Ling Xi’s board writing skills were profound, showing the marks of years of practice.

Soon, she finished writing eight sample characters.

Wiping the chalk dust from her hands, she didn’t need the lesson plan. The ancient texts were already complete chapters in Ling Xi’s mind, and her explanation flowed naturally.

“Zhongshan Seal Script, also known as Zhongshan King’s Seal Script, is hailed as the most beautiful ancient script in the world.

Before studying Zhongshan Seal Script, we must first understand the State of Zhongshan during the Warring States period and the Three Zhongshan Artifacts.

In the 1970s, the tomb of the King of Zhongshan was excavated by archaeologists, who subsequently unearthed over 20,000 precious historical relics.

In 1977, archaeologists discovered the most representative relics among them—the Three Zhongshan Artifacts.”

Qiao Bo’er didn’t take notes, merely leaning against the chair and listening to Ling Xi’s lecture. The dry content, spoken by her, somehow became interesting.

Ling Xi rested both hands on the podium. This was probably to save energy—in short, she was lazy.

Qiao Bo’er raised her hand with a smile to interact: “I have a question.”

“Speak.”

“What are the Three Zhongshan Artifacts?”

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