DFLB – Chapter 11

After eating breakfast with Lu Xun under pressuring eyes of many girls, Qian Wei went back to the dormitory with Liu Shiyun to get her textbook and go to her Criminal Law class. Criminal Law was one of the 14 core courses in the law major, and it was also a key subject in the judicial examination. Of course, the reason why Qian Wei has to attend was that the teacher of the Criminal Law class liked to give in-class tests on the content of his previous classes, and the score of the in-class tests for the semester would be counted toward the final grade. If the scores of her in-class tests were not satisfactory, then even if she passed the final exam, there was still a risk of failing.

Qian Wei had a skill, that was, she could immediately enter a coma once class started and would wake up as soon as the class was over. Today as usual, as soon as the Criminal Law class was over, she woke up and then quickly packed up her things. Without paying attention to Liu Shiyun, she quickly ran and caught up with Li Chongwen. When she left Mo Zixin was walking up to Lu Xun and saying something to him but Qian Wei was gone before she could hear anything.

“Li Chongwen, let me give you back your notes from the last civil law class.” The Criminal Law class ended at around lunchtime, so when Qian Wei finally caught up with Li Chongwen she said, “As a token of gratitude, let me treat you to a meal.”

Li Chongwen was as kind and gentle as ever. He smiled faintly: “No, we’re classmates and I just lent you my notes. It’s nothing much. You don’t have to spend money to treat me to a meal.”

Qian Wei knew that he was probably not going to eat lunch so Li Chongwen was probably facing a dilemma. He was always restrained, kind, and gentle, very much the picture of a well-educated and promising youth from the Republic of China. His pain and his uneasiness were all his own, and his pride would not allow him to blame society or the world for it. It wouldn’t allow him to complain about his problems to others or for his mind to become imbalanced. Even if he was in trouble, he would never admit defeat. He was the type of man who believed that you can still live a decent life full of hope every day. You could walk step by step and, even if you were slow, you could always forge ahead towards your goal.

“As a matter of fact, I didn’t quite understand some of the cases mentioned by the teacher in our criminal law class today. I’d like to ask you for advice again. It would be convenient to ask you over a meal. That way maybe my test scores will be better in the future.”

Qian Wei was going to keep saying more to show that she was sincere but she was interrupted by Liu Shiyun’s voice from behind. She had just finished collecting her textbooks and had caught up with Qian Wei.

“Qian Wei, you don’t have a fever, do you? Is your brain all right? ” She looked suspiciously at Qian Wei and touched her forehead. “Why do you suddenly want to study criminal law? Didn’t you used to say that, in today’s society, big cases look at politics, medium cases look at influence, and small cases look at relationships, and most of the time they don’t bother with the law, so don’t you have to study hard?”

Qian Wei almost burst into tears. She used to find all kinds of high-sounding reasons to excuse how she didn’t study. Liu Shiyun, Liu Shiyun, don’t you know how hard it was for her to find an excuse to invite Li Chongwen to a meal? Could she stop tearing it down?!

Qian Wei coughed: “Who says we don’t have to bother with the law? When you take the final exam, you have to bother with the law.” She said righteously, “And criminal law especially must be studied hard.”

Liu Shiyun was puzzled: “Why?”

“Because when you grow up, you will understand that the ways to make a lot of money are written in the criminal law.”

Li Chongwen finally couldn’t help laughing: “Well, let’s have a meal together and study the ways to make a lot of money in the future. We can discuss whether we are going to rob a bank or kill people and cross the border.”

After that, the three of them went to the canteen together and they really discussed the criminal law class while eating. Qian Wei actually understood these types of cases already, but in order to naturally find an excuse to buy Li Chongwen a meal she ruthlessly forced herself to listen to the boring legal analysis.

“So it’s like this!” After Li Chongwen’s analysis, Qian Wei pretended to have a sudden realization, “When you say it like that, it’s really enlightening!”

Li Chongwen smiled and said, “Is there anything else you want to learn?”

“No, no, no! You speak so clearly. But there are in-class tests in every criminal law class, can I ask for you again in the future? We could set up a study group? In return, I’ll buy you breakfast for a month. ” Qian Wei was dreaming big. Anyway, she had to get up early to buy breakfast for Lu Xun anyway, so she might as well buy it for Li Chongwen while she was at it. Li Chongwen was a good man. He really should not have developed stomach cancer so young. Not to mention he will be a judge in the future, so being on good terms with him could be very helpful to her future contacts.

“Don’t disagree.” Qian Wei said before Li Chongwen could politely decline, “I am the kind of person who would rather stay in bed than eat breakfast but I decided to get up early and study during this semester. But if I keep trying to do it alone I certainly won’t be able to hold on. Just let me buy you breakfast. I’ll feed you and you can supervise me while I’m trying to get up early.”

In the end, Li Chongwen could not beat Qian Wei, he could only nod and agree.

“By the way, I went to the supermarket yesterday and they were selling pineapples on a buy one get one free sale. Now I’ve bought too much and I can’t eat it all alone. I’ll give you a box.” Probably because delivering the pineapple to Lu Xun had gone so smoothly, Qian Wei did not think and began to blurt out flattery, “Pineapple can allow you to concentrate. It will go from germination, to growth, to a brilliant bloom, and the result will be a mind immune to distractions. There are no boundaries. And even if there is only a single square inch of land, using pineapples you can go deep into the essence, with the belief in the pursuit of perfection. So we can say the pineapple symbolizes perfection, just like you! I think among the fruits, only pineapple is worthy of you! When I saw this box of pineapples, I thought of you so you must give me the face and eat them.”

Li Chongwen was not like Lu Xun. Lu Xun’s face would not change and his heart would not thump when he heard these kinds of words of praise. It was obvious that he had long been immune and he could calmly accept praise no matter how brazenly it was spoken. Li Chongwen was much more shy though. When he heard Qian Wei’s words, his pale cheeks flushed slightly and his eyes dared not look squarely at the offered box of pineapples. But Qian Wei had achieved her goal when he eventually accepted the gift.

After Li Chongwen left, Liu Shiyun, whose mouth had been hanging open in shock just now, recovered. She looked at Qian Wei meaningfully and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Qian Wei, you are so wise.” Liu Shiyun patted her thigh and said in a tone full of chagrin. “Why didn’t I think of that? If I were half as wise as you, would I still be single?”

Qian Wei: ???

“My mistake was that I have always had only one goal at a time. I really shouldn’t put all my eggs in the same basket. I should have chased both the hunk from the architecture department and the genius from the computer school at the same time. I should have used your method, multi-tasking! It saves time and effort and the efficiency is very high. For instance, I could copy you and, at breakfast, just two buy together. Buying a pineapple gift, buy two, and send them out together. And even if it is just saying some empty flattery to two people, just recite one set of words! All that stuff about how pineapples symbolize perfection, you can use it on anyone you want to chase!” Liu Shiyun patted Qian Wei on the shoulder. “Qian Wei, you are really a talented person! You also have the courage to chase Lu Xun and Li Chongwen at the same time. But both of them are from our law school, aren’t you afraid that things will be exposed?”

“Since when am I trying to chase those two?” Qian Wei coughed. “I’m just trying to have a good relationship with these two people. Haven’t you heard the saying: The golden scale in the pool, will it be a dragon that can change the wind and clouds?* Can’t you see, Lu Xun and Li Chongwen, those two are the future elites of the legal circle. I want to be a lawyer in the future so I have nothing to lose from having a good relationship with these kinds of future big shots. This is called an investment! To get in touch with the big while they are small! With people, it is only once they have known each other for many days that they will become acquainted with each other deeply. If you want to wait until after they have prospered to get to know them, you probably won’t even be able to look at them!”

Unfortunately, no matter how Qian Wei explained, Liu Shiyun also looked at her with a knowing expression that seemed to say ‘I already know, you don’t have to explain’. And all afternoon, she was staring at Qian Wei with a worried face.

“But what if you really catch Lu Xun and Li Chongwen? Who will you refuse once that happens? Well, from your perspective, it could be a big headache. It would be hard to make a choice…” She said thoughtfully. But then she immediately denied herself, “But probably not, after all, neither of them are blind.”

“…”

Liu Shiyun touched her chin and did not forget to twist the knife: “At least we know that Lu Xun is not. Li Chongwen seems to have a more gentle personality, so it might be possible for you to conquer him. But Lu Xun is impossible. He is so cold and noble, he is completely an emperor above the commoners, and he usually looks down his nose at people. You can rest assured that you will not be faced with a dilemma where you are forced to choose. “

Hearing this, although there were no unreasonable points, Qian Wei was not convinced: “Why can’t Lu Xun like me? I also have a lot of advantages. I am smart, lively, and lovely. “

Liu Shiyun pursed her lips and rolled her eyes skyward: “OK, if you are smart, lively and lovely enough to get Lu Xun, I will kneel and call you my father.”

“Huh.” Qian Wei’s head was swollen with pride. “My cleverness does not need to be proved with this kind of thing. My intelligence should be applied to promote the progress of China’s legal system! As human beings, how could we limit ourselves to some small love between children? We need to show our great love of the country!”

To answer her, Liu Shiyun gave an extremely powerful “Bah”.

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*this line is quoted from a poem I think? And machines don’t really “do” poetry so forgive me for draining all the artistry out of it. Basically it means that a person with talent can, like a dragon, transform themselves when taking advantage of an opportunity and realize their potential. It references the popular ‘carp jumping over the dragon gate’ idiom since the carp in that saying apparently has golden scales?